(TULSA, Okla.) — Justin Thomas stunned fans on Sunday, coming from behind to win the 2022 PGA Championship at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
After starting the day down seven strokes, Thomas, 29, rallied and bested Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff to take home the title, his second PGA championship.
But before the spotlight shifted to Thomas, many were watching Tiger Woods, who ended up dropping out of the tournament Saturday following a career-worst round.
Woods, 46, withdrew from the competition after three rounds, posting a 9-over 79.
Despite a strong early start, it appeared Woods’ right leg, which he had surgically repaired following a car accident last year, was bothering him as the tournament progressed.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cincinnati 3, Toronto 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 4, Cleveland 2
Boston 8, Seattle 4
Houston 5, Texas 2
Minnesota 7, Kansas City 6
Baltimore 7, Tampa Bay 6
Chi White Sox 3, N.Y. Yankees 1
LA Angels 4, Oakland 1
Chi White Sox 5, NY Yankees 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 18, Pittsburgh 4
Miami 4, Atlanta 3
Chi Cubs 5, Arizona 4
Philadelphia 4, LA Dodgers 3
Washington 8, Milwaukee 2
NY. Mets 2, Colorado 0
San Diego 10, San Francisco 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Golden State 109, Dallas 100 (Golden State leads 3-0)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1 (Tampa Bay leads 3-0)
NY Rangers 3, Carolina 1 Carolina leads 2-1)
Edmonton 4, Calgary 1 (Edmonton leads 2-1)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 92, Indiana 70
Chicago 82, Washington 73
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Real Salt Lake 2, CF Montreal 1
Charlotte FC 2, Vancouver 1
New York City FC 1, Chicago 0
Final Miami 2, New York 0
Final Minnesota 2, FC Dallas 1
Sporting Kansas City 1 San Jose 1 (Tie)
Orlando City 2, Austin FC 2 (Tie)
Colorado 1, Seattle 0
Houston 3, LA Galaxy 0
Philadelphia 2, Portland 0
(NEW YORK) — Professional wrestlers are promoted as heroes and villains, but the vulnerability of the men behind those personas has often been taboo.
The upstart All Elite Wrestling, a wrestling organization founded in 2019, is normalizing conversations about masculinity and mental health in a field where these issues have not regularly been discussed, and AEW owner and CEO Tony Khan is encouraging the wrestlers to be candid about their experiences.
The wrestlers aren’t just taxing their bodies by grappling in the ring. Some of the athletes battle substance abuse and mental health struggles.
Jonathan Good, one of AEW’s top performers as Jon Moxley, entered rehab in November 2021. He addressed the crowd with a promo upon his return in January. Jesse Guilmette, who performs under the ring name The Blade, wrote about struggling with depression, anxiety and confidence issues in an Instagram post last year.
“I think having a fun place to work where, you know, we create, like an environment where we really do care about the people here,” Khan told ABC News. “We try to show it and make the locker rooms here places where people aren’t going to dread coming in, and quite the opposite, where hopefully they look forward to seeing the other people that, you know, you get in the ring and fight.”
Male suicides have risen since 2000, and 6 million men suffer from depression that is often not diagnosed, according to Mental Health America, an Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit.
Edward Moore, known to fans as Eddie Kingston, is an integral member of the new generation of wrestlers that is challenging the notion that alpha males must hide their emotions. The Yonkers brawler, known as The Mad King, opened up about his mental health struggles throughout his life in a November 2021 Player’s Tribune profile.
He said he had suffered a panic attack following his well-received match against Miro at the All Out 2021 pay-per-view event and that he wanted to destigmatize mental health issues.
“We’ve lost enough people that, you know, I mean, in our personal lives, you know, away from wrestling, and a lot of us have lost people in wrestling we knew. And it’s because no one talks,” he told ABC News.
“And everybody has this stigma that they had to be tough and rough. And, you know what I mean; I can’t let nobody see my weakness. So I can’t then talk to people, you know, so you hold everything in. Then you find different ways of coping. For me, it was drinking a lot. Yeah, I mean, and I know, whatever it was, it was pills and everything like that.”
AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page, who has dubbed himself the Anxious Millennial Cowboy, has similarly been open.
“In the macho world of pro wrestling, those kinds of emotions are often the least explored and I think people were ready to see that,” Page, whose real name is Stephen Blake Woltz, told ABC News.
There have been critics of the evolving changing guard. Page said that many were too heavily influenced by the past.
“Many are unable to take into account the cultural shift that’s happened in relation to our attitudes toward even acknowledging our mental health, much less the idea that a character can go through those things without being seen as ‘weak,'” he said.
Steve Borden has a unique perspective as a marquee performer who has wrestled in all the top organizations throughout his 30-plus year career as Sting, a mainstay since the 1990s with his signature “Crow” face paint. He credits his faith for turning his life around in 1998 after battling issues of sobriety, addiction and on the brink of a nervous breakdown.
“It wasn’t until I got real and so I’m not going to pretend anymore. I’m gonna take this hat off, and oh, and this hat off. And then this hat and this sadness, depending on who I was with. I was a chameleon. And I’m just going to be Steve,” he said.
“That’s what I’m going to be. And so yeah, I paint my face and I’m a character. And I’m staying and I entertained. But the real man, Steve Borden, behind the mask is very transparent. Not afraid to talk about the real stuff. Not afraid to listen, either.”
Megha Parekh, the chief legal counselor at AEW, also oversees HR and mental health initiatives for the company. AEW provides services that address mental well-being, periodic trainings and facilities discussions that touch upon race and cultural events.
Parekh was trained as a crisis counselor in 2018 and in suicide awareness in 2020.
“Our perspective is that if we want to get the best out of people, we gotta treat them like human beings. Every single human being has mental health that needs to be taken care of,” Parekh said.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cincinnati at Cleveland (Postponed)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 6, Detroit 1
Minnesota 14, Oakland 4
Boston 5, Houston 1
NY Yankees 3, Baltimore 2
Seattle 5, Toronto 1
Kansas City 6, Chi White Sox 2
Texas 6, LA Angels 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 7, Atlanta 6
Colorado 5, San Francisco 3
LA Dodgers 5, Arizona 3
Philadelphia 3, San Diego 0
Washington 5, Miami 4
NY Mets 11, St. Louis 4
Pittsburgh 3, Chi Cubs 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Golden State 112, Dallas 87 (Golden State leads 1-0)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Carolina 2, NY Rangers 1 (OT) (Carolina leads 1-0)
Calgary 9, Edmonton 6 (Calgary leads 1-0)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Seattle 74, Chicago 71
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New York City FC 2, D.C. United 0
Chicago 3, New York 3 (Tie)
Miami 0, Philadelphia 0 (Tie)
LA Galaxy 1, Minnesota 1 (Tie)
Seattle 1, Houston 0
Sporting Kansas City 2, Colorado 1
Nashville 2, CF Montral 1
Vancouver 2, FC Dallas 1
Austin FC 2, Los Angeles FC 1
San Jose 3, Portland 2
(NEW YORK) — Women who play soccer for the United States will now earn the same amount as men in a landmark equal pay win.
U.S. Soccer and the unions for both the men’s and women’s national teams announced Wednesday they reached a new collective bargaining agreement that will achieve “equal pay and set the global standard moving forward in international soccer.”
Under the agreement, players on the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) and the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) will receive the same pay, including appearance fees and game bonuses, and be provided the same working conditions. While women’s players previously had guaranteed salaries, they will now have the same pay-to-play structure as the men’s players.
The two teams will also pool their World Cup prize money, which is unequally distributed by FIFA, the international governing body, and share the money equally, becoming the first soccer federation in the world to do so, according to the agreement.
“This is a truly historic moment,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said in a statement. “These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world.”
“Finally,” Molly Levinson, an adviser to the USWNT players in their fight for equal pay, told ABC News about the agreement. “Let this be a resounding call to every league, every sport, every workplace, every workforce, every C-suite, every boardroom.”
The USWNT’s win on equal pay has been years in the making.
In 2016, a group of players filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint against the USWNT over inequality in pay and treatment.
The following year, the women’s team reached an agreement with the USSF for the EEOC complaint. The agreement included direct and bonus pay increases and per diems equal to the men’s team, according to ESPNW, as well as improved travel and financial support for pregnant players or players looking to adopt children. While it was an improvement, it was still unequal.
In 2019, the USWNT filed an equal pay lawsuit that blasted soccer’s national governing body for allegedly paying mere “lip service” to gender equality and dishing out markedly more pay to the men’s team.
The lawsuit, filed in California federal court on International Women’s Day, cited not just pay but also the denial of “at least equal playing, training, and travel conditions; equal promotion of their games; equal support and development for their games; and other terms and conditions of employment.”
“We know in our hearts, and we know with the facts that we have, that we’re on the right side of this,” Megan Rapinoe, a star forward for the team, told ABC News when the lawsuit was filed.
As an example of the pay gap, the lawsuit stated that female players earned $15,000 for making the World Cup team in 2013, while men earned $55,000 for making the team in 2014 and $68,750 in 2018.
The U.S. men’s soccer team did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Their best finish was third place — in 1930. The U.S. women’s team, on the other hand, has won the World Cup four times — in 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019 — and six Olympic medals, most recently winning bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In February, the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) reached a settlement with USWNT on the lawsuit, agreeing to pay $22 million to the players in the case as well as an additional $2 million into an account to benefit the USWNT players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer.
“This is just such a monumental step forward in feeling valued, feeling respected, and just mending our relationship with U.S. Soccer,” USWNT player Alex Morgan told ABC News at the time the settlement was announced. “I not only see this as a win for our team or women’s sports but women in general.”
Rapinoe and Morgan have both been at the forefront of the fight for equal pay, not only for USWNT but for all women.
On average, women working full-time, year-round are paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to men, according to the National Women’s Law Center, a policy-focused organization that fights for gender justice.
Last year, Rapinoe testified before Congress on the issue of equal pay, telling lawmakers, “If it can happen to us and it can happen to me with the brightest lights shining on us at all times, it can and it does happen to every person who is marginalized by gender.”
“What we’ve learned and what we continue to learn is there’s no level of status, and there is no accomplishment or power, that will protect you from the clutches of inequality,” Rapinoe said in her testimony. “One cannot simply outperform inequality or be excellent enough to escape discrimination of any kind.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cincinnati 5, Cleveland 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chi White Sox 3, Kansas City 0
Kansas City 2, Chi White Sox 1
Tampa Bay 8, Detroit 1
Toronto 3, Seattle 0
NY Yankees 5, Baltimore 4
Houston 13, Boston 4
Texas 10, LA Angels 5
Oakland 5, Minnesota 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NY Mets 3, St. Louis 1
St. Louis 4, NY Mets 3
LA Dodgers 7, Arizona 6
LA Dodgers 12, Arizona 2
San Diego 3, Philadelphia 0
Miami 5, Washington 1
Chi Cubs 7, Pittsburgh 0
Atlanta 3, Milwaukee 0
San Francisco 10, Colorado 7
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Miami 118, Boston 107 (Miami leads 1-0)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Tampa Bay 4, Florida 1 (Tampa Bay leads 1-0)
Colorado 3, St. Louis 2 (OT) (Colorado leads 1-0)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta 101, Indiana 79
Connecticut 92, New York 65
Washington 84, Dallas 68
Las Vegas 86, Phoenix 74
Minnesota 87, Los Angeles 84
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 3, Tampa Bay 2
NY Yankees 6, Baltimore 2
Boston 6, Houston 3
Toronto 6, Seattle 2
Texas 7, LA Angels 4
Chi White Sox 5, Kansas City 3
Minnesota 3, Oakland 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami 8, Washington 2
Chi Cubs 9, Pittsburgh 0
Milwaukee 1, Atlanta 0
San Francisco 7, Colorado 6
L.A. Dodgers 5, Arizona 4
St. Louis at NY Mets (Postponed)
(NEW YORK) — Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees created quite a stir Sunday night when he brought up the possibility of returning to the NFL in a tweet.
Addressing “speculation” from media outlets about his future, Brees, 43, said he is “currently undecided.”
“I may work for NBC, I may play football again, I may focus on business and philanthropy, I may train for the pickleball tour, senior golf tour, coach my kids or all of the above,” he tweeted. “I’ll let you know.”
Despite speculation from media about my future this fall, I’m currently undecided. I may work for NBC, I may play football again, I may focus on business and philanthropy, I may train for the pickleball tour, senior golf tour, coach my kids or all of the above. I’ll let you know
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
INTERLEAGUE
Houston 8, Washington 0
Seattle 8, NY Mets 7
Kansas City 8 Colorado 7
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 0
Detroit 5, Baltimore 1
NY Yankees 5, Chi White Sox 1
Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1
Texas 7, Boston 1
LA Angels 4, Oakland 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 7, Atlanta 3
Pittsburgh 1, Cincinnati 0
Milwaukee 7, Miami 3
Chicago Cubs 3, Arizona 2
LA Dodgers 5, Philadelphia 4
St. Louis 15, San Francisco 6
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Boston 109, Milwaukee 81 (Boston wins 4-3)
Dallas 123, Phoenix 90 (Dallas wins 4-3)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
NY Rangers 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) (New York wins 4-3)
Calgary 3, Dallas 2 (OT) (Calgary wins 4-3)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Dallas 81, New York 71
Atlanta 85, Indiana 79
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New England 2, Atlanta 2 (Tie)
Seattle 3, Minnesota 1
