(NEW YORK) — New York Mets acting general manager Zach Snyder was placed on administrative leave after pleading not guilty to driving while intoxicated in New York, the team announced Thursday.
“We were surprised and deeply disappointed to learn this morning about an alleged DUI involving Zack Scott. We take this matter very seriously,” the teamsaid in a statementon Wednesday. “We take this matter very seriously. Zack will not be traveling with the team for our upcoming road trip while we learn more and determine next steps.”
Snyder pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
The Mets have placed Zack Scott on administrative leave until further notice. Mets Team President Sandy Alderson will be assuming Zack’s responsibilities.
Snyder was driving in White Plains early Tuesday morning after police found him asleep at the wheel of his car at a traffic light, White Plains police Capt. James Spencer told ESPN.
Spencer said Snyder refused a breathalyzer test.
The team said Snyder was at owner Steve Cohen’s house in Greenwich, Connecticut for the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.
Scott was promoted to acting general manager in January after former general manager Jared Porter was fired following an ESPN report saying he sent sexually explicit texts to a female reporter while working for the Chicago Cubs.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Colorado 9, Texas 5
Chicago Cubs 3, Minnesota 0
Chicago White Sox 6, Pittsburgh 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Seattle 1, Houston 0
NY Yankees 4, LA Angels 1
Toronto 5, Baltimore 4
Boston 3, Tampa Bay 2
Detroit 8, Oakland 6
Cleveland 5, Kansas City 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 4
Arizona 8, San Diego 3
Cincinnati 12, St. Louis 2
Milwaukee 5, San Francisco 2
LA Dodgers 4, Atlanta 2
Philadelphia at Washington (Postponed)
Miami at NY Mets (Postponed)
(NEW YORK) — The New York Giants will retire Super Bowl winner Michael Strahan’s No. 92 this season.
Former teammates Justin Tuck, Eli Manning and Jesse Armstead surprised Strahan, who currently co-hosts ABC’s Good Morning America, by appearing on the morning show Wednesday to announce his number would be retired during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 28.
Watch the announcement from Good Morning America below:
(NEW YORK) — The New York Giants will retire Super Bowl winner Michael Strahan’s No. 92 this season.
Former teammates Justin Tuck, Eli Manning and Jesse Armstead surprised Strahan, who currently co-hosts ABC’s Good Morning America, by appearing on the morning show Wednesday to announce his number would be retired during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 28.
Watch the announcement from Good Morning America below:
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Chicago White Sox 4, Pittsburgh 2
Texas 4, Colorado 3
Chicago Cubs 3, Minnesota 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 4, Toronto 2
Oakland 9, Detroit 3
Tampa Bay 8, Boston 5
Cleveland 7, Kansas City 2
L.A. Angels 6 N.Y. Yankees 4
Houston 0, Seattle 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE
N.Y. Mets 3, Miami 1
Philadelphia 12, Washington 6
San Diego 3, Arizona 0
Milwaukee 6, San Francisco 2
L.A. Dodgers 3, Atlanta 2
St. Louis at Cincinnati — (Postponed)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 85, Washington 75
Indiana 74, Los Angeles 72
Minnesota 74, New York 66
Phoenix 103, Chicago 83
(NEW YORK) — As the Tokyo Paralympic Games near their end, Team USA athletes have already made history — smashing world records at the international competition.
Here are some of the highlights from Team USA’s stint at the games so far:
US swimmers break multiple records
Anastasia Pagonis, 17, won a gold medal in the S11 400-meter freestyle, breaking her own world record at 4:54.49 and winning Team USA’s first gold of the games on day two. She had set the world record at the Paralympic trials.
She was more than 10 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, and 13 seconds ahead of the bronze medalist.
The S11 classification, according to World Para Athletics, is for “visually impaired athletes with low visual acuity and/or no light perception.” To even the competition, all S11 athletes wear blackened goggles.
“If you told me this a few years ago, I wouldn’t even think I’d be alive so just being here and being able to have this experience and this opportunity — unbelievable,” Pagonis told Team USA’s website.
Gia Pergolini, also 17, swam in the S13 100-meter backstroke. She had broken the world record during preliminary heats, but in the race for gold, she smashed it again with a time of 1:04.64.
The S13 classification is for athletes who are visually impaired, according to World Para Athletics, but these athletes have higher visual acuity and/or a larger visual field than athletes in S11.
Robert Griswold, who has won two world championships, claimed the gold in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S8 — breaking the world record that was set at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. In 2016, he earned the bronze, but came back and claimed gold in Tokyo.
“I just had more peace than I’ve ever had before a race,” Griswold told Team USA’s website. “I felt peace knowing that I’ve got a family and friends who love me and people who really value me and care about me. I carried that with me, and I’m trying to do the best I can and give back to the people who’ve given so much to me.”
1st-time Paralympian makes history on the track
Nick Mayhugh won gold for Team USA in the T37 100-meter dash — earning a world record time of 10.95. Mayhugh committed to track and field just two years ago when his original sport, soccer, was removed from the Paralympic program.
He’s the first T37 athlete to break the 11-second mark.
“It’s changed my life,” he said. “It’s everything I’ve worked for in the last year, and a half came down to today and this competition. I finally feel like I’ve proved myself in the world of track and field.
The T37 classification is for athletes who have moderate hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis on one half of the body, according to World Para Athletics. This often includes athletes with a traumatic brain injury or cerebral palsy, like Mayhugh.
USA’s Breanna Clark breaks world record to win gold
On the long list of record-breakers, this year is Breanna Clark, who won the gold in the T20 400 meters. She rounded the track in a total of 55.18 seconds to beat her 2018 world record and has defended her 2016 title.
The T20 classification is for athletes with intellectual disabilities, like autism, such as Clark.
She’s also the daughter of Olympian Rosalyn Clark, who won two silver medals in the 400 meters and 4×400-meter relay at the 1976 Montréal Games.
Women have won 66% of Team USA’s medals in Tokyo
The women on the U.S Paralympic team are bringing their A-game. Women have won about 66% of U.S. medals so far, and 70% of the country’s gold medal, NBC Sports reported.
The U.S. Paralympics team has more women than men for the first time, although women only account for about 42% of Paralympians overall, according to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.
“Inclusion is at the core of everything the IPC does,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a statement earlier this year. “We are constantly striving with our members to increase female participation at all levels of the Paralympic Movement, from athletes to administrators, from coaches to Board members. … Despite this progress, we will not rest on our laurels, and we will continue to work hard with our members to increase women’s participation at all future Games until we reach gender equality.”
(NEW YORK) — Tennis star Naomi Osaka has opened up recently about her mental health struggles and now she is sharing a new strategy to help her cope.
Osaka, 23, said on Twitter that she realized she is “extremely self-deprecating” and always thinks she is “never good enough.”
“I’ve never told myself that I’ve done a good job but I do know I constantly tell myself that I suck or could do better,” she wrote, adding, “Every time a new opportunity arises my first though is, ‘wow, why me?'”
In hopes of turning a new page and better protecting her mental health, the reigning U.S. Open champion said now she plans to celebrate even her small wins.
“I’m gonna try to celebrate myself and my accomplishments more,” Osaka wrote. “I think we all should.”
Giving examples of the seemingly small wins worth celebrating, Osaka continued, “You got up in the morning and didn’t procrastinate on something? Champion. Figured something out at work that’s been bugging you for a while? Absolute legend.”
Osaka’s tweet prompted a reply from Ted Lasso, the fictional American football coach turned English football manager known for his positive attitude.
“I agree with every bit of this,” Lasso’s Twitter account posted Sunday. “The thing about small victories is that they’re easier to carry with you. I’m calling myself the champion of popping every single kernel of popcorn in the microwave last night.”
Osaka, who is currently defending her title at the U.S. Open in New York, faced a summer of setbacks due to what she has said are her mental health struggles.
She withdrew from the French Open in June after being fined $15,000 for missing a post-match press conference.
Osaka had announced at the start of the tournament she would not participate in the mandatory post-match news conferences in order to preserve her mental health.
Osaka also withdrew from Wimbledon this summer, with her agent explaining at the time that she was “taking some personal time with friends and family.”
The Japan native competed in the Tokyo Olympics in her home country but lost in the third round and left without a medal.
“I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,” Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony, said after the match, according to ESPN.
Osaka said she is focusing on this new approach to her mental health as a way to unburden herself from outsiders’ expectations.
“Your life is your own and you shouldn’t value yourself on other people’s standards,” she wrote. “I know I give my heart to everything I can and if that’s not good enough for some then my apologies but I can’t burden myself with those expectations anymore.”
“Seeing everything that’s going on in the world I feel like if I wake up in the morning that’s a win,” Osaka continued. “That’s how I’m coming.”
(NEW YORK) — Tennis star Sloane Stephens is opening up about mental health ahead of the 2021 U.S. Open.
Mental health for athletes at the top of their game has been brought to the forefront in 2021, largely due to athletes like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles opening up on their own struggles.
“It’s important because no one says that it’s OK to say how you feel. And I think now it’s becoming a big deal,” Stephens, 28, told “Good Morning America” at a Mercedes event in Manhattan.
Osaka pulled out of the French Open in May after she announced she would not be speaking to the press at mandatory post-match press conferences due to mental health concerns. Osaka, the world’s No. 2 player, was fined $15,000 for each missed press conference before dropping out of the tournament.
“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” Osaka wrote on Twitter on May 26.
In wake of Osaka’s call to action for tournaments to prioritize players’ mental health, the U.S. Open announced measures to support players and their mental health including plans to have licensed mental health providers and consultants on site for the tournament. But they will not be changing their mandatory press conference rule.
Stephens, who won the U.S. Open in 2017 and has been playing professional tennis for over a decade, is now one of the many athletes who is speaking out about mental health and sharing her experiences with others.
“Why would you keep [your mental health struggles] to yourself, for what?” Stephens asked. “If you’re struggling why would you just like sit and wallow? Maybe there’s someone else that can help you. Maybe there’s someone that you can talk to. Maybe there’s someone that has gone through the same thing and can offer you advice and support.”
“I feel like a lot of people try to fight it alone and end up in a deeper rut than they were in before because they didn’t ask for help, or they didn’t tell anyone or they didn’t even say it out loud.” Stephens said. “I wouldn’t wish that. I’ve been in a place where it’s been dark. And it’s been deep, and it’s been sad. And I’m like, I need to get out of that place.”
Making mental health about you
Ahead of what Stephens calls “biggest events” in tennis, the tennis star says her mental health is just as much of a priority as her physical health.
“I think that a lot of people from the outside, especially as an individual athlete who feels a lot of pressure and has a lot of anxiety and things like that when it comes to their sport… make decisions based on like, ‘Oh, they’re going to say this about me,’” Stephens shared.
“Kind of getting out of that space and being like I know it’s about me,” Stephens continued. “Realizing that my life, my choices, and my decisions really shouldn’t be based on other people.”
Mental health and the pandemic
Stephens, like many professional athletes, has had to undergo strict COVID-19 protocols for the past year in order to play at an elite level. Playing in international tournaments often means quarantining in hotel rooms for weeks at a time and having to make adjustments to your usual workout and preparation schedule.
“When we were playing in bubbles and all that stuff, it was super restricting,” she said.
Now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased, Stephens says she makes sure to take time for herself and appreciate the things she wasn’t able to do a year ago.
“I’ve made sure now that I’m going to enjoy my food, I’m going to go for walks, and I’m going to make sure that I’m taking care of myself,” Stephens said. “You always have to have something to keep yourself sane and I think for me finding small things has been very helpful.”
Advice for younger athletes
Over the course of her career, Stephens said she has learned how to prioritize her mental health and offered mental health advice for younger athletes.
“Younger athletes are not told that it’s OK to be sad, it’s OK to be happy, it’s OK to show your emotion. They tend to end up in a space or position where you just don’t feel good,” Stephens said. “And [if] you don’t feel good mentally, and you don’t feel good physically and then you can’t perform.”
“I believe at the end of the day there’s so many more people who have been where you’ve been or been through what you’ve been through, what you’re going through,” she added.
