James Franklin sat down for his weekly press conference on Tuesday, and he knew the college football world would be watching.

After the letter from a Penn State alum to Jonathan Sutherland chastising him for his dreadlocks went viral, as things do these days, Franklin had to say something in support of his redshirt sophomore safety.

Luckily for us, Franklin said the right thing.

“The football that I know and love brings people together and embraces differences,” Franklin began. “Black, white, brown. Catholic, Jewish or Muslim. Rich or poor. Rural or urban. Republican or Democrat. Long hair, short hair, no hair. They are all in that locker room together.

“Teams all over this country are the purest form of humanity that we have. We don’t judge. We embrace differences. We live, we learn, we grow, we support and we defend each other. We’re a family.”

That’s just a snippet of what Franklin said, and you can watch the entire clip below. It’s worth it.

We knew Franklin was going to stick up for his guy, because that letter was awful in every sense. But Franklin did more than that. He delivered a unifying speech that our country badly needs.

Did you catch one of the big stories from last weekend? No, I’m not talking about China and the NBA. No, not Donald Trump and Ukraine. I’m talking about when the liberal watched a football game with a conservative!

Yeah, somehow Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi sitting next to George Bush and Laura Bush at the Dallas Cowboys game became a news story. I guess in retrospect, that story is perfect for today’s social media landscape. I initially rolled my eyes at it, like who cares? But then I was glad that it got so much attention, because it gave DeGeneres a chance to bring some good out of it.

“Here’s the thing,” DeGeneres said. “I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different, and I think people have forgotten that’s OK that we’re all different.

“… Just because I don’t agree with someone on everything, doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them. When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only to people who think the same way you do. I mean be kind to everyone. That matters.”

Again, watch the entire clip below. Just like Franklin’s statement, it’s worth it.

Score one for sports! It’s as if DeGeneres and Franklin worked together on these things, right? Given a platform, both chose to unify us. That’s what the best leaders do. And that’s what we desperately need moving forward.

In 2019, we are as divided as ever. Social media exacerbates that. It was interesting to follow a Sports Illustrated story from Brian Burnsed on the Atlanta Braves and the political forces at work in their move out of downtown and into the suburbs. The story rubbed some on one side of the political aisle the wrong way, while it was right in the wheelhouse for the other side. Burnsed compared the strong reaction and cultural divide on Facebook and Twitter and how it kind of summed up society right now.

As that story shows, we’re all stuck in our bubbles, it seems, and it’s rare we venture out. That’s why when someone like Franklin has a chance to bring us together and remind us that we’re all Americans and all in this together, they have to take advantage. And lucky for us, Franklin couldn’t have said it any better.

As we head into 2020, it’s only going to get worse. Remember 2016? Aside from the Cubs winning the World Series (which we could all rally around, right?), it was very polarizing. There were a lot of people very upset with friends, family and people they don’t even know over politics. And it seems like it has progressively gotten worse.

So, let’s all channel Franklin’s words and remember that we’re on the same team here.

Sometimes, sports really are just a game. But sometimes, as Franklin showed, sports have a power to bring us together.

“Penn State Football, Penn State University, and Happy Valley provide the same opportunities to embrace one another 12 Saturdays each fall. PSU Football brings people together like very few things on this planet,” Franklin said. “110,000 fans from all different backgrounds throughout our region, from all different parts of the state; and they are hugging and high-fiving and singing Sweet Caroline together.

“This is my football. This is the game that I love and most importantly, my players that I love and will defend like sons. Ultimately this is the definition and embodiment of what we are all about.”