Country legend Garth Brooks and Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin recently spoke at the Jewish Community Center in Pittsburgh. Their talk was focused on bridging differences to bring people together, rather than divide them.

Brooks shared his philosophy: “We have differences, so what. The color of our skin might be different, so what. Our religions might be different, so what. In judging and separating, dig in and gain knowledge of other religions. Love one another. That’s it. It’s that concave part of love, the forgiveness, the tolerance. Be part of something bigger than you. That’s love.”

Coach Tomlin discussed diversity among professional football players. “There is a lot of diversity in an NFL locker room. Guys come from various walks of life. We come together, but you don’t have to be in that locker room for long to know that we have a lot more similarities than differences.”

Both wanted to speak to the JCC to show their support for the Jewish community that was directly effected by the Tree of Life shooting. Squirrel Hill, the Pittsburgh neighborhood where Tree of Life is located, is also the home of Coach Tomlin.

I admire both of these gentlemen greatly. Not only are they extremely talented individuals in their fields, they are also kind, generous and have good hearts.

Clearly, I’m not the only Garth Brooks fan out there. His concert on Saturday night was the biggest show in Pittsburgh history, with 75,000 tickets sold!

All people need to find common ground; no matter where we come from, we can find a way to connect. When big stars like Brooks and Tomlin are willing to do it, there’s no excuse for the rest of us not to.