(NEW YORK) — All eyes will be on Serena Williams Monday when she takes the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium for her final US Open.
The tennis superstar will face 80th ranked Dana Kovinic in her final Grand Slam event. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. ET.
Williams, 40, announced earlier this month that she will be retiring from tennis after 27 years in the sport. Throughout her career, she has won 23 Grand Slam titles, six of which were at the US Open.
(PROVO, Utah) — A Duke University women’s volleyball player was allegedly harassed by a fan with a racial slur while playing in a game against Brigham Young University in Utah on Friday, according to BYU.
The fan, who was not a student, was sitting in the BYU student section, and was identified by Duke during the game, according to BYU. The fan has since been banned from all BYU athletic venues.
“To say we are extremely disheartened in the actions of a small number of fans in last night’s volleyball game in the Smith Fieldhouse between BYU and Duke is not strong enough language,” BYU said in a statement. “We will not tolerate behavior of this kind. Specifically, the use of a racial slur at any of our athletic events is absolutely unacceptable and BYU Athletics holds a zero-tolerance approach to this behavior. We wholeheartedly apologize to Duke University and especially its student-athletes competing last night for what they experienced.”
Rachel Richardson, who is Black, is a sophomore at Duke and was the target of the alleged racial slurs. Richardson heard the slur “every time she served,” according to former Texas county prosecutor Lesa Pamplin, who is running for county judge and said Richardson is her goddaughter in a tweet posted on Saturday.
“She was threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus. A police officer had to be put by their bench,” Pamplin tweeted. “Not one freaking adult did anything to protect her.”
In a statement posted on Twitter Sunday, Richardson said officials and BYU coaching staff were aware of what was happening during the game but she said they failed to stop the fan and end the behavior.
“This is not the first time this has happened in college athletics and sadly it likely will not be the last time,” Richardson said.
But she said that after game, Tom Holmoe, athletic director for BYU, was “quick to act in a very respectful and genuine matter,” and said that he is taking steps to better educate his staff and student-athletes on ways to handle inappropriate behavior from fans in the future.
“This is an opportunity to dig deep into closed cultures which tolerate amoral racist acts, such as those exhibited Friday night, and change them for the better,” Richardson said Sunday. “It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist.”
Holmoe said he met with Richardson and her coach to discuss what had happened, and while addressing fans at a match Saturday night said, “As children of God, we are responsible. It’s our mission to love one another and treat everybody with respect. And that didn’t happen. We fell very short. We didn’t live up to our best.”
Duke University Vice President & Director of Athletics Nina King said Friday’s alleged incident is unacceptable and all players should be able to compete in a safe environment.
“Duke student-athletes should always have the opportunity to compete in an inclusive, anti-racist environment which promotes equality and fair play,” King said in a statement on Saturday.
Duke Athletics has been in contact with its student-athletes at the tournament, said King, and will “continue to support them in every way possible and look forward to connecting further upon their return from Provo.”
BYU and Duke were competing in the doTERRA Classic on Friday and Saturday, which was a four-team round robin tournament in Provo that also included Rider and Washington State University.
Duke’s match against Rider on Saturday was moved to a different location to “afford both teams the safest atmosphere for competition,” King said. Attendance was limited to staff and family, BYU Volleyball said on Twitter.
“On behalf of my African American teammates and I, we do not want to receive pity or to be looked at as helpless,” Richardson said. “We do not feel as though we are victims of some tragic event. We are proud to be young African American women; we are proud to be Duke student-athletes, and we are proud to stand up against racism.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Arizona 3, Chicago White Sox 2
Minnesota 8, San Francisco 3
Kansas City 15, San Diego 7
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 12, Boston 4
LA Angels 8, Toronto 3
Houston 3, Baltimore 1
Detroit 9, Texas 8
Seattle 4, Cleveland 0
Oakland 4, NY Yankees 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
LA Dodgers 8, Miami 1
Washington 3, Cincinnati 2
Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 0
Colorado 1, NY Mets 0
Milwaukee 9, Chicago Cubs 7
St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
NY Jets 31, NY Giants 27
Pittsburgh 19, Detroit 9
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Seattle 76, Las Vegas 73
Connecticut 68, Chicago 63
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Atlanta 3, DC United 2
Orlando City 2, New York City FC 1
LA Galaxy 2, New England 1
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — The Buffalo Bills released rookie punter Matt Araiza Saturday after he was named in a lawsuit that accused him and two others of gang rape.
“We have released Punter Matt Araiza,” the NFL team said in a statement Saturday.
An additional post attributed to GM Brandon Beane expanded as to why the decision was made to release Araiza, a 22-year-old NFL rookie nicknamed the “Punt God” who has denied the accusations.
“This afternoon, we decided that releasing Matt Araiza was the best thing to do. Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning football games,” the post read.
Beane, who was joined by Coach Sean McDermott, also spoke at a press conference and said it was a “tough” situation for all the parties involved.
“It’s been tough. And you know, we sympathize with this whole situation all the parties involved this young woman, what she went through, you know, you really feel bad for that whole situation. And, you know, ultimately this is a legal situation. We don’t know You know, all the facts,” he said.
Beane added that the team had spoken to the accuser’s lawyer and that “we tried to be thorough, and thoughtful and not rush to judgment.”
“With the serious nature of allegations and we just can’t, we don’t have the means to put all the facts together. And there’s multiple versions of of what happened and you know, he’s a football coach. I’m a GM like we don’t have access to everything. And so that’s more important than playing football. And so we want Matt to focus on that,” he said.
Beane also said that the team’s investigation into the allegations were ongoing after previously stating that the team “conducted a thorough examination of this matter.”
“This was about not a football move about letting Matt go handle the situation,” he said.
Araiza’s lawyer, Kerry L. Armstrong, released a statement Saturday following his release.
“I have not talked to Matt about this yet, but I sent him a text. I am sure he is very upset and disappointed that his career with the Bills ended not because he played poorly, but because of false allegations leveled against him by a young lady and her attorney. I hope he is back in the NFL soon. He deserves to be, as he is the hardest-working twenty-two-year-old I know,” the statement read.
On Thursday, Araiza and two of his San Diego State University teammates, where they played college football, were accused in a lawsuit of raping a 17-year-old girl last October at a Halloween party.
“The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press,” Araiza said in a statement following the announcement of the lawsuit. “I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”
The alleged victim’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, released a statement Friday and said the primary reason why a civil suit was filed was to obtain evidence and information.
“Now that a civil case has been filed, I have the power as an attorney to issue subpoenas and force entities and people to talk under oath and to hand over documents, photos, videos, records, and other information to us—and they have to do it now. This is very important because “time is the defendant’s best witness,” the statement read. “Memories fade and documents disappear. There is every reason and right in the world for a victim to file a civil case early on, especially when the authorities like San Diego Police Department are thumbing in their nose at the victim’s “Bill of Rights.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 8, LA Angels 3
Seattle 3, Cleveland 1
Baltimore 4, Chi White Sox 3
Toronto 6, Boston 5
Houston 6, Minnesota 3
NY Yankees, 13 Oakland 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 8, Chi Cubs 3
Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 0
NY Mets 3, Colorado 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Kansas City 17, Green Bay 10
Houston 17, San Francisco 0
(LOS ANGELES) — A lawsuit filed in California alleges that professional boxer and former heavyweight champion George Foreman sexually assaulted at least two women in the 1970s, when they were teenagers and below the age of consent.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, does not identify Foreman by name, but identifies the alleged abuser as a former professional heavyweight boxer who defeated Joe Frazier in 1973 to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Foreman became champion after he defeated Frazier on Jan. 22, 1973.
Foreman has denied the allegations in a statement to ABC News, alleging people are “trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family.”
The lawsuit, filed by a woman identified as Denise S., alleges Foreman started “grooming” her at an early age by taking her out for ice cream and allowing her to sit in his lap as he drove his car, according to the suit.
According to the lawsuit, Denise S. is the daughter of an Oakland-based boxer who trained with Foreman in the early 1970s. She allegedly met Forman when she was around 8 years old.
According to the suit, the alleged sexual assault and misconduct occurred when Denise S. was 13 to 16 years old, below the legal age of consent. Foreman was over the age of 23, the suit said.
Foreman and Denise S. allegedly had sexual intercourse several times when she was 15 years old and she alleges she was sexually abused by Foreman in a San Francisco hotel on at least one occasion, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is filed under a new California law that increases the limit for when someone can bring a legal action to recover damages from childhood sexual assault.
The law allows accusers to bring a suit 22 years from the date the plaintiff reaches the age of majority, 18 in California, or within five years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness after the age of 18 was the caused by the sexual assault, whichever is later.
Denise S. alleges she suffered injuries, including physical and mental pain and suffering, past and future costs of medical care and treatment and past and future loss of earnings and earning capacity, “in an amount not yet ascertained, but which exceeds the minimum jurisdictional limits of this Court,” according to the lawsuit.
She is asking for a jury trial and an unspecified amount of damages.
Denise S. alleges in the suit that she disclosed the abuse to a friend and business associate of Foreman, identified as “Ron,” who allegedly said he was aware of at least one other victim that Foreman sexually abused when she was a minor, according to the lawsuit.
According to the suit, Ron confronted Foreman about the abuse of the two minors on at least one occasion, and Foreman allegedly did not deny the allegations.
According to the New York Times, a second lawsuit was filed by a woman using the pseudonym Gwen H. who alleges she met Foreman when she was under the age of 10 and was groomed by him.
It’s unclear if “Gwen H” is the other teenager Ron allegedly knew Foreman abused.
In a statement to ABC News, Foreman said he will work with his lawyers to “fully and truthfully expose my accusers’ scheme and defend myself in court. I don’t pick fights, but I don’t run away from them either.”
“They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s. I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations. The pride I take in my reputation means as much to me as my sports accomplishments, and I will not be intimidated by baseless threats and lies,” Foreman said.
(NEW YORK) — Novak Djokovic, one of the world’s top tennis players, confirmed Thursday that he won’t be competing at the upcoming U.S. Open.
The Serbian athlete will miss this year’s tournament in New York City due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic, 35, said on Twitter Thursday. “Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!”
Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. ❤️ Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. 💪🏼 See you soon tennis world! 👋🏼
The U.S. government does not allow international travelers to come into the U.S. without proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Djokovic is not vaccinated, telling the BBC earlier this year that “based on all the information that I got, I decided not to take the vaccine.”
The U.S. Tennis Association said Djokovic withdrew from the U.S. Open prior to the draw to determine the tournament’s official seeding list. His withdrawal paved the way for a “lucky loser” to be included in the draw, the association said.
“Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 U.S. Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-U.S.citizens. We look forward to welcoming Novak back at the 2023 U.S. Open,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said in a statement.
The athlete was deported from Australia in January over his vaccination status after arriving to compete in the Australian Open. His visa was revoked at the Melbourne airport, restored, then ultimately canceled.
Djokovic won Wimbledon in the U.K. last month — his 21st grand slam title. The U.K. allows travelers into the country without requiring proof of vaccination. France relaxed its COVID-19 requirements in time to allow Djokovic to play in the French Open in May.
After his Wimbledon win, Djokovic told reporters that an exemption to play in the U.S. Open didn’t seem “realistically possible.”
The U.S. Open and New York City allow visitors without proof of vaccination.
“Though the U.S. Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, we respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for non-U.S. citizens,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Open told ABC News last month.
ABC News’ Michela Moscufo contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Two of golf’s biggest names — Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy — are stepping up to lead a new virtual golf tournament.
Called the TGL, the new virtual golf league, launched in partnership with the PGA, will have pros compete in a series of primetime stadium-style team showdowns.
The announcement comes amid the ongoing battle between the PGA and LIV, the Saudi-backed golf league.
ABC News’ Will Reeve appeared on Good Morning America Thursday to explain more about the new virtual league:
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Detroit 6, San Francisco 1
Oakland 3, Miami 2
Texas 16, Colorado 4
Washington 3, Seattle 1
Cleveland 7, San Diego 0
Kansas City 5, Arizona 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 3, Boston 2
Chi White Sox 5, Baltimore 3
Houston 5, Minnesota 3
Tampa Bay 4, LA Angels 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta 14, Pittsburgh 2
Philadelphia 7, Cincinnati 5
Chi Cubs 7, St. Louis 1
LA Dodgers 12, Milwaukee 6
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Connecticut 73, Dallas 58
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
San Francisco 3, Detroit 1
NY Yankees 4, NY Mets 2
Colorado 7, Texas 6
Arizona 7, Kansas City 3
Cleveland 3, San Diego 1
Miami 5, Oakland 3
Seattle 4 Washington 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 11, LA Angels 1
Baltimore 5, Chi White Sox 3
Houston 4, Minnesota 2
Toronto 9, Boston 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chi Cubs 2, St. Louis 0
Atlanta 6, Pittsburgh 1
Philadelphia 7, Cincinnati 6
St. Louis 13, Chi Cubs 3
LA Dodgers 10, Milwaukee 1
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Chicago 90, New York 72
