(NEW YORK) — USA Gymnastics is adding additional mental health services for athletes and coaches as part of its new athlete and wellness program, the organization announced Monday.
Athletes will receive up to eight mental health visits a year up to $125 per visit, while coaches are eligible for up to four visits per year, according to USA Gymnastics.
“Athlete health and wellness is at the core of our value system, and the importance of mental health has been paramount not just for athletes, but for everyone in recent years,” USA Gymnastics CEO Li Li Leung said in a statement.
“Being able to fund services that athletes and their coaches can receive in their hometowns, by their preferred providers, is essential for wellbeing and something we have always wanted to do. We thank GK for providing the additional funding that has enabled us to make this program a reality,” Leung said.
Both coaches and athletes will also be able to choose a licensed therapist in sports psychology or mental health.
USA Gymnastics coincided its announcement with this year’s World Mental Health Day.
Over half of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lives and one in five Americans will experience a mental illness each year, based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization, 15% of working-age adults live with mental illness around the world.
Last year, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles withdrew from some competitions at the Tokyo Olympics “to focus on her mental health,” USA Gymnastics announced at the time.
Biles has also had a difficult history with the sport of gymnastics.
She was one of dozens of gymnasts who spoke out about the rampant sexual abuse by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in prison.
In June, Nassar’s victims sued the FBI for $1 billion over its handling of Nassar’s sexual abuse case.
ESPN reporter Jason Reid is interviewed by ABC News. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — For decades, Black quarterbacks struggled to make a name for themselves in the NFL despite their impressive skills on the field. In recent years, more and more Black players, such as Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, have been leading the offense.
ESPN reporter Jason Reid chronicled the long struggle to break the NFL quarterback color barrier in his new book, Rise of the Black Quarterback: What it Means for America.
Reid spoke with ABC News Live Prime Friday about the book and the issue and said while the league has made progress in recent years when it comes to its longstanding race issues, there is a whole lot more to be done to ensure equity among all levels of the game.
Reid said during the early days of the league Black players were small in number. Fritz Pollard became the first Black NFL quarterback in 1923 for the Hammond Pros and Reid said he was the first Black star of the league.
“Fritz Pollard was such a great rep for Black players in college football who really wanted to play in the NFL. He really was the one to blaze the path,” Reid told ABC News.
Racist policies, however, set back a whole generation of Black athletes as league owners informally banned Black players from 1933 to 1946, according to the NFL Football Operations archives. Even though Black athletes were allowed to join teams in the post-World War II era, the quarterback position kept going to white players.
“There was a belief in the NFL that Black players were not smart enough to play the ultimate thinking man’s position,” Reid said. “They thought they were inferior.”
On the contrary, Reid said that many Black quarterbacks at the college level and in other football leagues were winning games for a long time.
Warren Moon, the first Black quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, told ABC News that he faced those struggles while playing football as a kid all the way up to his professional career.
Despite succeeding as a quarterback at the University of Washington in the mid ’70s, Moon wasn’t immediately signed by the NFL and had to play in the Canadian Football League for six seasons. In 1984, Moon was signed by the Houston Oilers and would go on to play with them for 10 seasons.
When he retired in 2000, Moon had an NFL record of 3,988 completions for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdown passes, 1,736 yards rushing, and 22 rushing touchdowns. Still, Moon told ABC News that he would face a double standard any time he had a bad game.
“I faced a lot of hate and personal ridicule, but I still wanted to play the position and show I could play it. I knew if I could play well it would help the next generation of players,” Moon told ABC News.
Moon was the only Black quarterback in the league when he started. More quarterbacks slowly began coming up through the ranks to great success and that, in turn, made more owners want to take a chance on Black players.
“All these things made owners and general managers stand up and say, ‘Hey these guys can play this position in a very high level, so let’s start giving them more of an opportunity,'” he said. “And that’s all we’ve ever wanted was an opportunity. We didn’t want anything given to us.”
Reid said that while the league has been more open to hiring and starting Black quarterbacks, it still hasn’t made significant progress in adding Black professionals to coaching staffs and in front offices.
“The next frontier is coaching, but also front office leadership,” he said.
Earlier this year Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL over allegations of discrimination after he claimed the league hasn’t done enough to hire and retain Black coaches.
Flores included text messages from New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick, who congratulated Flores on getting hired by the New York Giants when he hadn’t yet interviewed for the position.
The Giants hired Brian Daboll before any candidates were interviewed, according to the suit. The Pittsburgh Steelers later hired Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.
The NFL has implemented progress to boost minority hiring for front office and coaching positions and league commissioner Roger Goodell told owners that efforts to hire more minority head coaches were “unacceptable.”
“It definitely spurred the league’s effort to do more,” Reid said, referring to Flores’ lawsuit and allegations.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — The Carolina Panthers on Monday fired head coach Matt Rhule following Sunday night’s 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which dropped Carolina’s record to 1-4 this season.
Rhule’s firing comes less than three years into his seven-year contract with the Panthers.
The 47-year-old leaves the team with a record of 11-27, which includes the five games he coached this season.
Defensive pass game coordinator Steve Wilks, 53, will step in as the interim coach.
(ATLANTA) — Right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider is staying put with the Atlanta Braves until at least the 2028 season.
The team announced on Monday that it has signed the 23-year-old rookie to a six-year deal worth $75 million. The contract also includes a $22 million club option for 2029 with a $5 million buyout.
Per the terms of the deal, Strider will make $1 million per season in 2023 and 2024, $4 million in 2025, $20 million in 2026 and $22 million per season in 2027 and 2028. Should he opt to stay a seventh year, his contract would be worth a total of $92 million.
In his first full season with the Braves, Strider appeared in 31 games, starting 20 times. He went 11-5 with a 2.67 ERA and struck out 202 batters while allowing just 86 hits, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out over 200 with fewer than 100 hits allowed.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
San Diego 6, NY Mets 0 (San Diego wins 2-1)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Chicago 115, Toronto 98
New Orleans 111, San Antonio 97
LA Lakers 124, Golden State 121
Sacramento 126, Portland 94
Minnesota 119, LA Clippers 117
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
NY Giants 27, Green Bay 22
Buffalo 38, Pittsburgh 3
Houston 13, Jacksonville 6
LA Chargers 30, Cleveland 28
Minnesota 29, Chicago 22
NY Jets 40, Miami 17
New England 29, Detroit 0
New Orleans 39, Seattle 32
Tampa Bay 21, Atlanta 15
Tennessee 21, Washington 17
San Francisco 37, Carolina 15
Dallas 22, LA Rams 10
Philadelphia 20, Arizona 17
Baltimore 19, Cincinnati 17
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New York City FC 2, Atlanta 1
New England 1, Chicago 1 (Tie)
Cincinnati 5, DC United 2
CF Montreal 3, Miami 1
New York 2, Charlotte FC 0
Orlando City 2, Columbus 1
Philadelphia 4, Toronto FC 0
Colorado 1, Austin FC 1 (Tie)
FC Dallas 2, Sporting Kansas City 1
LA Galaxy 3, Houston 1
Nashville 1, Los Angeles FC 0
Minnesota 2, Vancouver 0
Real Salt Lake 3 Portland 1
San Jose 2, Seattle 2 (Tie)
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Houston 3, Philadelphia 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 5, Toronto 4
Oakland 3, LA Angels 2
Cleveland 9, Kansas City 2
Texas 4, NY Yankees 2
Minnesota 10, Chi White Sox 1
Seattle 5, Detroit 4
Toronto 5, Baltimore 1
Boston 6, Tampa Bay 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 3
Arizona 4, Milwaukee 2
NY Mets 9, Washington 2
LA Dodgers 6, Colorado 1
San Francisco 8, San Diego 1
Chi Cubs 15, Cincinnati 2
Miami 12, Atlanta 9
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Philadelphia 113, Cleveland 112
Indiana 122, Charlotte 97
Toronto 125 Boston 119 (OT)
Dallas 98, Oklahoma City 96
Phoenix 112, LA Lakers 110 (OT)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Boston 5, NY Rangers 4
Washington 4, Detroit 2
Winnipeg 5, Calgary 0
Colorado 2, Dallas 1
Vancouver 5, Edmonton 4
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Houston 10, Philadelphia 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
NY Yankees 5, Texas 4
Texas 3, NY Yankees 2
Cleveland 5, Kansas City 3
Boston 6, Tampa Bay 0
Seattle 7, Detroit 6
Seattle 9, Detroit 6
Chi White Sox 8 Minnesota 3
Oakland 2, LA Angels 1 (10)
Toronto at Baltimore (Postponed)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NY Mets 4, Washington 2
NY Mets 8, Washington 0
Cincinnati 3, Chi Cubs 2
Atlanta 2, Miami 1
St. Louis 8, Pittsburgh 7
Final Milwaukee 3, Arizona 0
San Diego 6, San Francisco 2
Colorado 5, LA Dodgers 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
New York 117, Detroit 96
Minnesota 121, Miami 111
New Orleans 129, Chi 125
Utah 118, Portland 101
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
San Jose 3, Eisbaren Berlin 1
Buffalo 4, Carolina 2
Ottawa 5, Montreal 4
NY Islanders 4 Philadelphia 3 (OT)
St. Louis 4, Minnesota 2
Anaheim 5, Los Angeles 4
Vegas 4, Arizona 3
(NEW YORK) — Babe Ruth and Roger Maris are in the rearview mirror.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his American League record 62nd home run Tuesday.
After nearly a week of waiting, Judge led off the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader with a towering shot to left field against the Texas Rangers.
Maris held the AL record for 61 years — hitting 61 home runs in 1961 — after besting fellow Yankee Mickey Mantle in a duel to surpass the Babe. Ruth had hit 60 home runs in 1927.
Judge tied Ruth with his 60th on Sept. 20 with a solo shot in the ninth inning against the Pirates. The homer sparked a five-run rally for the Yankees with a walk-off grand slam by Giancarlo Stanton.
After seven games without a home run, including a series against the rival Red Sox in the Bronx, the Yankees slugger broke through in the seventh inning Sept. 28 in Toronto to tie Maris. The two-run home run broke a 3-3 tie with the Blue Jays and came one night after the Yankees clinched the AL East title.
Barry Bonds holds the MLB record with 73 home runs in 2001.
Judge, 30, has had a magical season as he pursues what will now likely be a bank-breaking contract extension. Judge turned down the Yankees’ final offer in spring training and said he would not negotiate during the final season on his current contract.
Instead, he’s done all the negotiating necessary with his eye-popping stats.
In addition to hitting 62 home runs, he’s in the hunt to win the AL triple crown — leading in homers, batting average and runs batted in. He leads by a wide margin in home runs and RBI, and is locked in a battle with Minnesota’s Luis Arráez for the batting crown. Miguel Cabrera was the last player to accomplish that feat when he did so in 2012. Cabrera was the first to win the triple crown since 1967.
Judge could lead both leagues in all triple crown categories, something that hasn’t been accomplished since Mantle in 1956.
Judge is only the sixth person to hit 60 home runs in a season. Bonds, Mark McGwire (twice), Sammy Sosa (three times), Maris and Ruth have all crossed the plateau, but Bonds, McGwire and Sosa have all been tainted by the so-called Steroid Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Maris’ family, including his two sons, Roger Jr. and Kevin, attended games at Yankee Stadium to catch the record-breaking homer. Roger Jr. made the trip to Toronto to see Judge hits his 61st home run, sitting one row behind the Yankees’ dugout with Judge’s mother.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Philadelphia 3, Houston 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City 5, Cleveland 2
NY Yankees 3, Texas 1
Toronto 5, Baltimore 1
Boston 4, Tampa Bay 3
Chi White Sox 3, Minnesota 2
LA Angels 4, Oakland 5
Detroit 4, Seattle 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 3, St. Louis 2
Miami 4, Atlanta 0
Cincinatti 3, Chi Cubs 1
Milwaukee 6, Arizona 5
San Francisco 4, San Diego 7
Colorado 2, LA Dodgers 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Philadelphia 127, New Jersey 108
Memphis 109, Orlando 97
Oklahoma 112, Denver 101
Sacramento 105, LA Lakers 75
LA Clippers 102, Portland 97
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON
Toronto 5, Montreal 1
Carolina 8, Columbus 1
New Jersey 1, Boston 0
Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 2
Colorado 3, Dallas 2
Edmonton 7, Vancouver 2
Calgary 4, Seattle 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
San Francisco 24, LA Rams 9
