(NEW YORK) — The NFL told a federal judge in New York on Monday it will try to move former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ race discrimination lawsuit into arbitration.
“It is the defendant’s position that all the matters raised by the plaintiffs … all are covered by the arbitration agreement,” the league’s attorney, Loretta Lynch, said during a hearing, the first since Flores filed the lawsuit.
Flores wants the case to remain in federal court and pushed for discovery so he can view relevant material held by the league. His attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said a motion to compel arbitration would be improper because the arbitrator is league commissioner Roger Goodell.
“The failure to hire is not subject to arbitration,” Wigdor said.
In his lawsuit, Flores alleged systemic race discrimination within the NFL in hiring practices, termination practices and the terms and conditions of employment.
The NFL and several teams named in the lawsuit have denied the allegations, saying they have not discriminated against Flores nor the other plaintiffs.
“This is a contract issue. Is there a valid agreement to arbitrate? Does it cover the kind of claims raised here?” Lynch said in previewing the NFL’s motion, due next month.
Judge Valerie Caproni offered the two sides a settlement conference but neither was interested.
“We’ve always been interested in talking about making the NFL a place that fairly represents blacks,” Wigdor said.
“The league is also focused on the important issues,” Lynch said. “We have invited Mr. Wigdor and his client” but Lynch said they’ve declined the invitations.
Wigdor said Flores would not meet with Goodell only to have him arbitrate a case later.
Caproni conceded neither side is ready to talk about a settlement yet.
(NEW YORK) — It’s no secret Asian American athletes are underrepresented in professional sports in the U.S. They make up just 1.4% of the WNBA, 1.3% of Major League Soccer and 0.1% of the NFL, according to data from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports.
But Natalie Chou, Sean Davis and Younghoe Koo hope to change the landscape and are speaking out at the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month to inspire more young Asian Americans to embrace the sports they love.
Natalie Chou, basketball
Natalie Chou is a star on the court. The 6’1 Texas native is a guard for the UCLA Bruins and first learned how to play basketball from her mother Quanli Li, a former pro basketball player for China’s national team.
As a young girl, Chou said she faced skeptics who didn’t take her seriously.
“When we would walk by teams that we’re about to play, they’re like, ‘Oh, I got the Asian girl,’” Chou said to ABC News’ Good Morning America. “But … I let my game speak for itself.”
Chou dreams of playing professionally after she graduates.
“I think now more than ever, representation is so important,” she said.
Sean Davis, soccer
Sean Akira Davis is a midfielder in the MLS. The former team captain for the New York Red Bulls now plays for Nashville SC.
Davis’ mom is Japanese and the New Jersey native makes a point of highlighting his Asian roots.
“When I think about my Instagram handle or my Twitter handle, I think it’s really important for me to include my middle name so that different Asian kids around the world can see that there is an Asian presence in MLS,” Davis told GMA.
At games, Davis said young Asian American kids and their parents often come up to him and he welcomes the interactions.
“I just hope that after meeting me they feel inspired to touch a soccer ball or to try a team sport,” he said.
Younghoe Koo, football
Younghoe Koo was born in South Korea and only learned about football after he moved to the U.S. at the age of 12.
The 27-year-old is now a kicker in the NFL who joined the league in 2017 with the Los Angeles Chargers. Two months ago, Koo re-signed with the Atlanta Falcons for another five years.
“I really believe that like no matter what I look like, if my talent and if my skill level is good enough, the football doesn’t know who’s kicking it,” Koo told GMA.
When he was growing up, Koo said he never saw any football players that looked like him and is excited to be a role model for other young kids today.
“I think it’s really cool to be in this position to kind of share my story and be able to inspire the younger kids,” Koo said.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Seattle 7, Miami 3
Texas 7, Atlanta 3
LA Dodgers 6, Detroit 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 9, Tampa Bay 3
Baltimore 9, Boston 5
Toronto 3, Houston 2
LA Angels 6, Chi White Sox 5
NY Yankees 6, Kansas City 4
Cleveland 7, Oakland 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 5, Pittsburgh 2
Chi Cubs 2, Milwaukee 0
St. Louis 7, Arizona 5
Colorado 10, Cincinnati 1
Washington 11, San Francisco 5
NY Mets 10, Philadelphia 6
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Milwaukee 101, Boston 89
Golden State 117, Memphis 116
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Winnipeg 4, Seattle 3
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New York City FC 3, San Jose 0
Philadelphia 1, Nashville 1 (Tie)
Los Angeles FC 2, Minnesota 0
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Friday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final Miami 8 Seattle 6
Final Atlanta 6 Texas 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 5 Detroit 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 Minnesota 1
Final Boston 3 Baltimore 1
Final L.A. Angels 5 Chicago White Sox 1
Final Houston 11 Toronto 7
Final N.Y. Yankees 12 Kansas City 2
Final Cleveland 9 Oakland 8
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final San Diego 7 Pittsburgh 3
Final N.Y. Mets 3 Philadelphia 0
Final Milwaukee 11 Chicago Cubs 1
Final Arizona 6 St. Louis 2
Final Colorado 10 Cincinnati 4
Final Washington 14 San Francisco 4
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Memphis 114 Minnesota 106
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Detroit 5 New Jersey 3
Final OT Buffalo 3 Chicago 2
Final N-Y Rangers 3 Washington 2
Final Toronto 5 Boston 2
Final Pittsburgh 5 Columbus 3
Final Ottawa 4 Philadelphia 2
Final Montreal 10 Florida 2
Final Tampa Bay 6 N-Y Islanders 4
Final Winnipeg 3 Calgary 1
Final Vegas 7 St. Louis 4
Final Minnesota 4 Colorado 1
Final Dallas 4 Anaheim 2
Final SO Edmonton 3 Vancouver 2
Final Seattle 3 San Jose 0
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 2, Seattle 1
Minnesota 7, Detroit 1
Houston 3, Texas 2
NY Yankees 10, Baltimore 5
Kansas City 5, Chi White Sox 2
Toronto 1, Boston 0
LA Angels 4, Cleveland 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 3, Pittsburgh 2
Miami 3, Washington 2
San Diego 7, Cincinnati 5
Philadelphia 7, Colorado 1
Atlanta 5, Chi Cubs 1
St. Louis 8, Arizona 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia 132, Toronto 97 (Philadelphia wins 4-2)
Phoenix 115, New Orleans 109 (Phoenix wins 4-2)
Dallas 98, Utah 96 (Dallas wins 4-2)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 4, Ottawa 0
Carolina 6, New Jersey 3
NY Islanders 5, Washington 1
Columbus 5, Tampa Bay 2
Boston 5, Buffalo 0
Minnesota 3, Calgary 2 (OT)
Edmonton 5, San Jose 4 (OT)
Nashville 5, Colorado 4 (SO)
Vancouver 3, Los Angeles 2 (OT)
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Oakland 1, San Francisco 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chi White Sox 7, Kansas City 3
Tampa Bay 3, Seattle 2
NY Yankees 5, Baltimore 2
Minnesota 5, Detroit 0
Boston 7, Toronto 1
Houston 4, Texas 3
LA Angels 9, Cleveland 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 10, NY Mets 5
Arizona 3, LA Dodgers 1
Milwaukee 3, Pittsburgh 1
Philadelphia 7, Colorado 3
San Diego 8, Cincinnati 5
Miami 2, Washington 1
Chi Cubs 6, Atlanta 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Milwaukee 116, Chicago 100
Golden State 102, Denver 98
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Winnipeg 4, Philadelphia 0
Montreal 4, NY Rangers 3
Chicago 4, Vegas 3 (SO)
Arizona 4, Dallas 3 (OT)
Los Angeles 5, Seattle 3
(NEW YORK) — A college softball star from James Madison University has died at the age of 20, the university announced Tuesday. Her death marks the third of a female college athlete since March.
Lauren Bernett, a sophomore biology major from McDonald, Pennsylvania, was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week on Monday, just one day before her death was announced. Last year, she helped the school reach the Women’s College World Series.
Authorities said Wednesday they are classifying the death of Bernett as an “apparent suicide.”
In a statement, Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson said his department is still conducting its investigation and is awaiting a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia.
On March 2, Stanford University in Stanford, California, announced the death of 22-year-old Katie Meyer, the goalkeeper and captain of the women’s soccer team.
Her parents later shared that Meyer’s death was a suicide, telling NBC’s “Today” show they had “no red flags” about their daughter’s mental health. The Meyers acknowledged the pressure of college sports, however.
“There’s so much pressure I think on athletes, right, especially at that high level balancing academics and a high competitive environment,” Gina Meyer said on the program. “And there is anxiety and there is stress to be perfect, to be the best, to be number one.”
Earlier this month, Sarah Shulze, a cross-country athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, died by suicide, according to a statement from her parents and sisters.
“Sarah took her own life. Balancing athletics, academics and the demands of every day life overwhelmed her in a single, desperate moment,” the family wrote on Shulze’s website. “Like you, we are shocked and grief stricken while holding on tightly to all that Sarah was.”
The family described Shulze as a “power for good in the world” who advocated for social causes and women’s rights and was a member of the Student Athlete Council at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
On college campuses in the United States, around 30% of women and 25% of men who are student-athletes report having anxiety, according to data shared by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Among athletes with known mental health conditions, only 10% seek care from a mental health professional, according to the ACSM.
The NCAA found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, student-athletes continued to experience “heightened” mental health concerns with students reporting stress due to academic concerns, lack of access to their sport, financial worries and COVID-19 health concerns.
Professional athletes like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have been public in recent years about the pressure, stress and burnout they’ve faced at the top of their sports, and those are struggles college athletes may feel too.
According to the ACSM, student-athletes face pressures from academics and competing, as well as other stressors like being away home home, traveling for games, feeling isolated from campus and other students due to their focus on sports and adapting to being in the public spotlight.
Cailin Bracken, a lacrosse player at Vanderbilt University, gained national attention this month after writing an essay urging coaches, schools, parents and fellow players to pay attention to the mental health of student-athletes.
“Playing a sport in college, honestly, feels like playing fruit ninja with a butter knife,” Bracken wrote in an essay titled, “A Letter to College Sports.” “There are watermelons and cantaloupes being flung at you from all different directions, while you’re trying to defend yourself using one of those flimsy cafeteria knives that can’t even seem to spread room-temperature butter.”
“And beyond the chaos and overwhelm of it all, you’ve got coaches and parents and trainers and professors who expect you to come away from the experience unscathed, fruit salad in hand,” she added.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada) and The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.
