🥇🥈🥉🏀0️⃣5️⃣6️⃣ Travis Murphy
Meet Travis Murphy, a CEO, founder, and a former diplomat whose journey from the Kansas heartland to the helm of Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment is a testament to the power of blending diverse experiences and a passion for public service.
Travis' Story
Murphy grew up in Kansas, a state known for its wide-open spaces and strong sense of community. Against this Midwestern backdrop, he developed an early love for sports, playing baseball, basketball, football, and track throughout his youth. This passion, combined with a growing interest in public service, led him to Kansas State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communications. Murphy's professional journey began in the world of journalism, specifically in radio. He was drawn to the field and his work as a news director opened doors to a broader understanding of the political landscape. That led him to Washington, D.C., where he served as a press secretary and later as Chief of Staff for a congressman from his home state. These roles provided Murphy with invaluable insights into the workings of government and solidified his passion for public service. After a Master’s degree in Public Administration at Arizona State University, Murphy applied for and was accepted into the U.S. Foreign Service, a way to broaden his horizons. He joined the diplomatic corps at the onset of the Obama administration, a period marked by a shift in U.S. foreign policy, with renewed emphasis on diplomacy and international cooperation. Murphy's diplomatic assignments took him to South America and West Africa, where he worked in consular offices, engaged with local communities and helped to facilitate U.S. diplomatic missions.
His last assignment with the Department of State was in the Division of Sports Diplomacy. This unique office leverages sports as a tool for cultural exchange and international relations, a concept that resonated deeply with Murphy given his lifelong love for sports. Through this role, he worked on facilitating exchanges that sent athletes abroad to work with U.S. embassy staff, promoting U.S. values and building bridges across cultures through the universal language of sports.
The Sport Diplomacy Connection
Murphy has engaged in different types of sports diplomacy throughout his career. His earliest experiences were through the formal, official side of his time with the U.S. Government. First as a consular officer in Ecuador and Suriname, then as the Information Officer and Spokesperson for the Embassy in Cote d'Ivoire, he communicated, represented, and negotiated on behalf of the United States. In Ecuador, his first real experience in sports diplomacy, a program that donated softball and baseball equipment to youth , left indelible impressions. “I was feeling pretty comfortable with my Spanish. I figured I could give a presentation to a bunch of kids,” he recalled. But explaining the intricacies of baseball in Spanish was not so easy.
“As soon as I started to try to explain balls and strikes and bases and stealing, I was so out of my depth. They were so confused.”
A simple, spontaneous gesture changed everything.
“We then opened the box of brand-new baseballs. When you think of a baseball, the white leather, red stitching, there's something so iconic about that, and just eyes wide open. No matter what I bungled through while trying to explain to them, I literally just took a ball and threw it to a young girl, and she caught it. It was just instantly, it was like, ‘That's it.’ It was a real aha moment for me to see that.”
At the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship game in Miami. Photo: Travis Murphy
That moment demonstrated the power of simple, shared experiences, and Murphy subsequently sought out opportunities to engage in sports wherever stationed.
In 2016, he was recruited by the NBA to oversee its international government affairs where he managed a complex web of visa and passport requirements for athletes and staff, ensuring their smooth participation in global events. His innovative approach to navigating these bureaucratic challenges streamlined operations and highlighted the potential of sports as a tool for informal international diplomacy. Working in this space, Murphy had an opportunity to engage beyond just the NBA to help those who needed to navigate the sports and immigration space.
Murphy founded Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment in 2022, a company that combined his extensive experience in government, diplomacy, and sports. The firm specializes in providing consulting services to elite athletes, sports leagues, and entertainers, helping them navigate the complex intersections of sports, entertainment, and international relations. “We’re also trying to elevate the conversation around sports as a serious policy tool,” he relayed of Jetr’s multifold focal points To that end, Murphy sought to push the U.S. Government to include sports as a main policy tool.
With FranceAndUS Director Lindsay Krasnoff. Photo: Travis Murphy.
Attending events such as the NBA Paris Game in 2022 and 2023, and working on the lead-up to Paris 2024 provided a deeper appreciation for France’s ability to blend tradition with innovation. “The French sports scene is steeped in history, yet it embraces modern global influences, creating a unique cultural intersection,” he said while pointing to how sports are integral to French national pride, with events like the Tour de France or football matches capturing the collective attention in ways similar to the Super Bowl in the United States.
“It’s evident that France prioritizes not just the role of sports in society, but the economic and cultural impacts that it can have. France also has a keen focus on sustainability and inclusivity in sports, which was on display as they prepared for the Paris Olympics. It's a model for how sports can reflect broader societal values, something the U.S. is also beginning to embrace.”
With USA Basketball’s Kim Bohuny (second from left). Photo: Travis Murphy.
Through his work with Jetr Global, as well as on the NBA Paris Games, Murphy exchanged with French counterparts about how U.S. sports culture emphasizes entertainment and accessibility. “From tailgating at football games to youth baseball leagues, the U.S. focuses on making sports a communal and participatory experience,” he noted. At the same time, he’s expressed his admiration for a French focus on technique and artistry, whether in fencing, football, or in basketball.
“France has a deep reverence for sports as an art form, and the country sees athletes not just as competitors but as cultural icons. I learned that French fans value precision and elegance in sports, qualities that mirror their broader cultural appreciation for aesthetics and mastery.”
French colleagues are often curious about the business side of American sports. They ask him questions about how leagues like the NFL and NBA generate such massive revenues and maintain global appeal, as well as about the role of media rights, sponsorships, and grassroots engagement in sustaining the U.S. sports industry. “There is also curiosity around the unique relationship that American sports has with academics,” he noted. “The concept of sports participation and team choice being affiliated with a school or university is unique compared to the French model, which is more traditional outside the United States. Such exchanges often happened informally—over meals, post-game discussions, or while navigating the logistics of international events, building bridges and creating mutual respect for differing approaches to sports.
With Jetr’s Chloe Dybdahl. Photo: Travis Murphy.
Across his work, Murphy views himself as an advocate for sports diplomacy in leveraging sports to foster competitions and cultural exchange through broader issues like immigration and global event planning. “Whether it’s working with French officials to streamline visas for Paris 2024 or explaining American sports practices to a French counterpart, our organization helps serve as that connective tissue between two worlds,” he said
“Through these experiences, I’m not only sharing the best of American sports culture but also learning how France uses sports to advance sustainability, inclusion, and economic growth. By combining these approaches, I hope to inspire others to see sports as more than just games—it’s a means of building lasting relationships and solving shared challenges.”
He stressed that, in his view, sports diplomacy isn’t just about formal agreements. Instead, “it’s also about the small moments, like tossing a baseball to a kid in Ecuador or helping an NBA player understand French customs. Each of these experiences reinforces the universal language of sports and its power to connect people across borders.”
Murphy’s work demonstrated that sports can serve as a powerful tool for fostering international understanding and cooperation, leaving a lasting legacy in the field of sports diplomacy. “My role in sports diplomacy is trying to advocate for a greater understanding, for a greater use, a greater utilization, and to embrace the opportunities that lie before us. Because I think this could be an incredible decade of global sporting events in our country.”
Mapping the Connection
From Kansas City, Missouri to Paris, France
Sources
[E] Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment https://www.jetrglobal.com/
[E] Sport Business Secrets Podcast, “Episode 526: Travis Murphy, CEO of Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment,” June 24, 2024.
[E] Travis Murphy, “With mega-events on horizon, U.S. must embrace fundamental shift in policy,” Sports Business Journal, December 18, 2023.
How to Cite This Entry
Richmond, Kylie. “Voices: Travis Murphy,” FranceAndUS, https://www.franceussports.com/voices/056-travis-murphy (date consulted).