On Tuesday’s episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” the Daily Wire editor-in-chief talks about how the sports media complex only allows politics in sports when it comes from the Left. Video and partial transcript below: 
So there is a rule in sports media. The rule is that if you are on the Left and you want to talk politics, then you are a hero; If you&#8217;re not on the Left and you to talk politics, you get fired. 
That is the rule in sports media. We&#8217;ve talked about this — my friend Clay Travis, who is a lifelong registered Democrat as far as I&#8217;m aware, and he fully agrees that the sports media are extraordinarily biased to the Left. Like more so, statistically speaking, than the news media, actually. This is how you end up with these two juxtaposed stories: 
In <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/opinion/deadspin-sports.html">The New York Times</a>, an editorial by a guy named Barry Petchesky, who is the former deputy editor of Deadspin — [which] had turned into this wild Left outlet that had almost nothing to do with sports, they spent their days ripping on Ted Cruz until Ted Cruz owned them — [Petchesky] has a piece called “I Was Fired from Deadspin for Refusing to ‘Stick to Sports.’”
<blockquote>Two weeks ago, I was fired as acting editor in chief of Deadspin, where I’d worked since 2009. The entire staff resigned, following me out the door after we refused a new company mandate to &#8220;stick to sports.&#8221; Jim Spanfeller, installed as chief executive of G/O Media by the private equity firm that bought the company seven months ago, called me into his office, pointed to some offending stories on our home page and had me escorted from the building.
This is the first time I&#8217;m speaking up about my firing, and my stance remains the same as in the countless meetings with management where I explained and insisted that sports don&#8217;t end when the players head back to the locker room.
We refused to &#8220;stick to sports,&#8221; because we know that sports is everything and everything is sports: It&#8217;s the N.B.A. kowtowing to its Chinese business interests; it&#8217;s pro sports leagues attempting to become shadow justice systems for publicity reasons; it&#8217;s the opioid epidemic roiling N.F.L. locker rooms at least as hard as anywhere in Appalachia, even as the league refuses to relax its marijuana policies; it&#8217;s racist fan chants chasing black players off the pitch in Italian soccer matches; it&#8217;s Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki wearing a &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; cap at the White House. (These last few stories occurred in the past week and so were not covered on Deadspin; the &#8220;stick to sports&#8221; diktat forced the outlet to ignore the biggest sports stories in the world.)
Reporting sports with integrity requires knowing that there&#8217;s no way to wall off games from the world outside.</blockquote>
This guy&#8217;s a hero! I mean, it doesn&#8217;t matter that Deadspin was basically bankrupt, which is why a private equity firm had to buy them, and reinvigorate them and change everything out. But the idea here is that if you speak about politics from the Left in the sports world, then you are a hero of the republic.
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This guy Petchesky, he said:
<blockquote>Deadspin was the voice of the long-suffering fan, finding the humor and the heartbreak in everything in the world of sports. It was the fan wondering why he was paying $200 to go to a football game to watch a team whose owner would rather pocket profit than pay to improve the roster. It was also the fan troubled by the culture and politics of sports, the fan who couldn&#8217;t help noticing that the larger issues of the real world spilled onto the field.</blockquote>
Okay, so New York Times gives that guy an op-ed, and we&#8217;re all supposed to lament the return of Deadspin to pure sports. Then, there&#8217;s Don Cherry. 
So Don Cherry is a longtime hockey analyst for the NHL, and he was on SportsNet and he commented on SportsNet on the fact that it was Remembrance Day in Canada. Now, on Remembrance Day — I’ve been there, and everyone wears a red poppy in remembrance of the Canadian soldiers who fell during World War I — and he was upset because he said who&#8217;s walking around the streets of Toronto, and he saw people who he assumed were immigrants who were not wearing the red poppy. Here&#8217;s what Don Cherry said:
<blockquote>CHERRY: I live in Mississauga, nobody wears — very few people wear a poppy. Downtown Toronto, forget it downtown Toronto, nobody wears a poppy. &#8230; Now you go to the small cities and you know those, the rows and rows, you people love — they come here, whatever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you could pay a couple of bucks for a poppies or something like that. These guys pay for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada; these guys paid the biggest price. </blockquote>
Okay, so he said this and, you know, might not be wel-articulated, but he is entitled to his opinion unless he happens to be on the anti-immigration Right, at which point he gets fired. Don Cherry was indeed fired from SportsNet. SportsNet President Bart Yabsley said, quote, “Sports brings people together — it unites us, not divides us. Following further discussions with Don Cherry after Saturday night&#8217;s broadcast, it has been decided it is the right time for him to immediately step down. During the broadcast, he made divisive remarks that do not represent our values or what we stand for.”
I mean, you could just say that, right? You could just have that debate, theoretically. But the point here is that the media will lament if Deadspin is told not to do politics; but if Don Cherry is told not to do politics, then that is SportsNet acting just as a wonderful diverse company should. 
You see the same thing at ESPN. At ESPN, they will cover Colin Kaepernick kneeling for years on end, but if Mike Ditka says something they don&#8217;t like because it happens to be conservative, he says something about how he doesn’t like Barack Obama or something, they&#8217;ll fire him. He&#8217;s gone, end of Mike Ditka. You see that with Curt Schilling, too. Curt Schilling can&#8217;t appear on the network because [he] once tweeted that al-Qaeda was bad and compared al-Qaeda to the Nazis, which, of course, you&#8217;re not allowed to do even though al-Qaeda is kind of like the Nazis.
So just gonna point out the double standard in sports media — one of the reasons why sports circulation is declining. The answer to this probably is to separate off politics from sports again, or if you are going to not separate off politics from sports, then you should, in fact, allow the same sort of freedom of opinion to reign as you would in the political sphere. Don Cherry wouldn’t have been fired for saying what he said on CNN, so if politics and sports are not separate, then let a thousand voices be heard. If politics in sports are separate, well, then supplementing it when left-wing political hacks start hijacking sports websites for their own political agenda. 
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-shapiro-show/id1047335260">Listen to full episodes of “The Ben Shapiro Show” on iTunes. </a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-ben-shapiro-show">Watch “The Ben Shapiro Show” on-demand!</a>

New York, NY &#8211; Nov 1: An employee of the website Deadspin show

SHAPIRO: Left-Wing Sports Coverage Pushed Deadspin Into A Death Spiral

Leftism

Media

Media Bias

Progressivism

Sports

Iconic Canadian broadcaster Don Cherry was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-don-cherry-fired-for-telling-immigrants-to-honor-fallen-vets-responds-to-backlash">fired</a> from his job with Sportsnet this week after using his “Coach’s Corner” segment to encourage immigrants to honor fallen troops. Cherry was apparently upset that a diminishing number of people in the Toronto area wear the traditional poppy pins to commemorate Canada’s Remembrance Day. He (not unreasonably) connected this drop off in traditional observance to the increasing number of immigrants in the area. Here’s how he put it:
<blockquote>“You people love — you, that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey. At least you could pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life, that you enjoy in Canada.”</blockquote>
The worst thing you could possibly say about these comments is that they’re a little bit gruff. But Don Cherry is 85 years old and 85-year-old men have earned the right to be gruff. Other than this lack of diplomacy, there is nothing remotely offensive or bigoted in his point of view on this issue. He isn’t telling immigrants not to come to Canada. He isn’t saying they are inferior to, or less than, himself. He certainly isn&#8217;t saying anything &#8220;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2019/11/11/don-cherry-fired-racist-anti-immigrant-comment/2566800001/">racist</a>,&#8221; as USA Today matter-of-factly put it. He doesn&#8217;t mention race at all and could just as easily be talking about immigrants from a mostly white country. His only point, it seems to me, is to lament a perceived deficit of patriotism and gratitude.
Of course, we live in a time when the only thing more lacking than patriotism is fortitude, so everyone associated with Cherry immediately threw him under the bus and prostrated themselves before the outrage mob. The president of Sportsnet, Bart Yablsey (a fitting name, somehow), announced Cherry’s firing while publicly scolding him for &#8220;divisive remarks&#8221; that &#8220;do not represent our values.&#8221;
The NHL chimed in with its own bit of finger-wagging, accusing Cherry of saying things &#8220;that are in direct conflict with the values of diversity and inclusion that we embrace as pillars of the sport.&#8221; Hockey used to be a game where rough men got their teeth knocked out. Now the National Hockey League delivers lectures on &#8220;inclusion.&#8221; We are truly living in &#8220;Idiocracy,&#8221; except everyone has lost their spines as well as their brains.
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Speaking of spineless, Cherry’s longtime co-host, Ron MacLean, who sat and nodded while Cherry was making these comments, tried desperately to keep his job by knifing his friend in the back. MacLean, doing his best to pretend that he understands why people are upset about this nonsense, called Cherry’s remarks &#8220;hurtful, discriminatory&#8221; and &#8220;flat-out wrong.&#8221; He even thanked the whiney masses for &#8220;calling Don and me on that&#8221; and teaching them a &#8220;great lesson.&#8221; Then his skin turned translucent and he morphed into a literal jellyfish on live TV.
I think there are two points to be made about all of this.
First, Don Cherry was correct. It is indeed important to inculcate patriotism and gratitude in all citizens. As for immigrants, it is their responsibility to assimilate themselves to their new country and show a proper respect for the traditions of their adopted home. Cherry’s point is a good one: If you’re immigrating to a country in order to enjoy its freedoms and luxuries, you should appreciate that many people had to die in order to provide you that opportunity. If there is not enough appreciation for that fact, who should we be scolding — Don Cherry, or the people who made his comments necessary in the first place?
Second, let’s pretend for a moment that Don Cherry’s comments really were &#8220;hurtful&#8221; and &#8220;discriminatory,&#8221; like his aquatic broadcasting partner claims. Could they possibly be more hurtful and discriminatory than a blackface costume? And if they don’t &#8220;represent the values&#8221; of Canadians, then does a man who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackface-photo-justin-trudeau-surfaces-trudeau-ryan-saavedra">wore blackface multiple times</a> represent them?
The hypocrisy is so blatant that it probably doesn’t need to be pointed out, but I will anyway. There was so much outrage in Canada over opinions expressed by a television host that the host was fired. Yet the prime minister of the country wore blackface and still won re-election. Of course, we Americans have no room to gloat. Megyn Kelly was fired from her job at NBC just for talking about blackface.
It just goes to show that these faux-racism outrages are political and performative. Calling the outrage mob &#8220;sensitive&#8221; or &#8220;snowflakes&#8221; misses the point and gives them too much credit. They aren’t sensitive — they’re just frauds.

Don Cherry

WALSH: Legendary Canadian Broadcaster Fired For ‘Racist’ Comments. But Blackface-Wearing Trudeau Remains In Office.

Canada

Immigration

Military

Political Correctness

A week after making headlines for the explosive crowd response to his appearance at Game 5 of the World Series in Nationals Park, Sports Illustrated&#8217;s <a href="https://www.si.com/college/alabama/bamacentral/alabama-football-lsu-president-trump">BamaCentral</a> is reporting that President Trump will be attending the most anticipated game of the college football season: No. 1 LSU versus No. 2 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.
The game, which starts at 3:30 p.m. Eastern and features the undefeated LSU Tigers (8-0) playing against their biggest rival, the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0), will now draw even more attention, if Sports Illustrated&#8217;s sources are correct.
&#8220;BamaCentral has learned that the University of Alabama is making preparations for President Donald Trump to attend the LSU game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday,&#8221; the outlet reported Monday. &#8220;Alabama officials could not be reached to confirm or deny, but sources have confirmed his expected visit.&#8221;
LSU edged out Alabama in the most recent <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings">AP poll</a> (1479-1472), though Alabama returned the favor in the <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings">Coaches Poll</a> (1591-1531). ESPN&#8217;s <a href="http://www.espn.com/college-football/statistics/teamratings">Football Power Index</a> lists Alabama at 2nd and LSU at 4th overall, giving Alabama a 31.6% chance of winning out the rest of the way and LSU an 11.7% chance. The index gives Alabama a 50% chance of winning the conference and LSU a 16.4% chance, in large part because of the daunting task of taking out Alabama. The line for the game currently gives Alabama a -6.5 point advantage.
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&#8220;The high-profile game was already attracting a lot of attention, including ESPN&#8217;s pregame show &#8216;College Gameday,'&#8221; BamaCentral reports, noting that due to security concerns, the stage for the show had to be moved from the Walk of Champions outside the stadium to the Quad. SEC Nation and the Marty &amp; McGee show will also be filming on location on the campus.
This isn&#8217;t the first college football game starring Alabama that Trump has attended. He also made it to the National Championship game in 2017, when Alabama managed to come back in the second half to beat another SEC team, the Georgia Bulldogs.
Though Trump left at halftime when Alabama was still trailing 13-0, the president made sure to celebrate their 17th championship (their 5th under Nick Saban) with them at the White House, calling it &#8220;a win for the ages.&#8221;
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-alabamas-football-team-prays-trump-white-ryan-saavedra">The Daily Wire</a> reported, when the Crimson Tide team visited the White House to meet the president in April 2018, WBRC News sports reporter Christina Chambers posted a moment on video that went viral:  A member of the team asked if they could pray for the president.
“What a cool moment! [Alabama Football&#8217;s punter JK Scott] asked [President Trump] if he could pray for him and his staff,&#8221; wrote Chambers in a tweet. &#8220;Video below shows President Trump and Bama players praying after the Tide’s [at] WhiteHouse visit!&#8221;
WATCH:
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What a cool moment! .<a href="https://twitter.com/AlabamaFTBL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AlabamaFTBL</a> JK Scott asked <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> if he could pray for him and his staff. Video below shows President Trump and Bama players praying after the Tide&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> visit! <a href="https://twitter.com/WBRCnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WBRCnews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BarrettSallee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BarrettSallee</a> <a href="https://t.co/tE4hj4k38l">pic.twitter.com/tE4hj4k38l</a>
— ChristinaWBRC (@ChristinaWBRC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaWBRC/status/983798776866459649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham posted a tweet celebrating the moment. &#8220;As a proud Arkansan, I’m not an Alabama football fan, but I was a big fan of this prayer for [President Trump,&#8221; Grisham wrote.
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As a proud Arkansan, I’m not an Alabama football fan, but I was a big fan of this prayer for <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SEC</a> Always <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WPS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WPS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ArkRazorbacks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArkRazorbacks</a> <a href="https://t.co/P65jAN29zS">pic.twitter.com/P65jAN29zS</a>
&mdash; Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/983904413768089600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Trump also issued a tweet in response to the team&#8217;s visit. &#8220;Today, it was my great honor to welcome the 2017 NCAA Football National Champion, Alabama Crimson Tide – to the White House. Congratulations!&#8221; he tweeted. adding, &#8220;#RollTide.&#8221;
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Today, it was my great honor to welcome the 2017 NCAA Football National Champion, Alabama Crimson Tide &#8211; to the White House. Congratulations! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RollTide?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RollTide</a><a href="https://t.co/hF5EZHlSVS">https://t.co/hF5EZHlSVS</a> <a href="https://t.co/JfGue4IIs1">pic.twitter.com/JfGue4IIs1</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/983824424532144128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/roll-tide-alabamas-top-donor-calls-boycott-against-ryan-saavedra">ROLL TIDE: Alabama’s Top Donor Calls For Boycott Against State, University Over Abortion. Alabama Gives His Money Back, Takes His Name Off Building.</a>
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Alabama at LSU

Trump Going To Alabama-LSU Game

Alabama

Donald Trump

Louisiana State University

As has been the trend among liberal athletes, a Washington Nationals relief pitcher won’t visit the White House with his teammates because of his disdain for President Donald Trump.
Sean Doolittle had previously remained silent on whether he would visit the White House upon winning the World Series when the prospect was merely a hypothetical. But now that the Nationals have won the title, Doolittle <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/01/sean-doolittle-declining-white-house-invite-i-dont-want-hang-out-with-somebody-who-talks-like-that/">told The Washington Post</a> that he would not visit the president of the United States.
“There’s a lot of things, policies that I disagree with, but at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country,” Doolittle told the Post. It is unclear whether Doolittle would decline an invite from a Democratic president, who could just as easily be accused of “widening the divide in this country.”
“My wife and I stand for inclusion and acceptance, and we’ve done work with refugees, people that come from, you know, the ‘s&#8212;hole countries,’” he added.
Trump’s rhetoric on refugees was about how we needed to be sure who they were before we let them into our country, as many could be terrorists posing as refugees.
Doolittle also said he feels “very strongly about [Trump’s] issues on race relations” and the LGBT community. Doolittle’s wife “has two mothers who are very involved with the LGBTQ community,” the Post reported.
Trump is the first president to enter office supporting same-sex marriage, yet he has been painted as anti-LGBT. The claims are typically due to his picking Mike Pence as vice president. Pence is religious and believes in religious liberty, which is often at odds with LGBT beliefs. The Left paints religious people as hateful for their religious views.
Doolittle also criticized Trump for mocking a reporter who was disabled, saying he has an autistic family member.
“I have a brother-in-law who has autism, and [Trump] is a guy that mocked a disabled reporter. How would I explain that to him that I hung out with somebody who mocked the way that he talked, or the way that he moves his hands? I can’t get past that stuff,” Doolittle told the Post.
Doolittle was referencing Trump’s alleged mocking of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has difficulty moving his right arm and hand due to arthrogryposis. Liberal media outlets have maintained that video of Trump mocking Kovaleski shows him mocking the reporter’s disability. Investor’s Business Daily <a href="https://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/fake-news-trump-did-not-mock-disabled-reporter-and-other-lies-from-the-left/">reported</a> that this is how Trump mocks “the mannerisms of people, including himself, who are rattled and exasperated.” Previous videos of Trump show this. As IBD also reported, it didn’t make sense for Trump to mock a man with limited movement by thrashing his arms wildly. Yet the anti-Trump myth persists.
So far no other Nationals player has said they would not attend the White House event honoring their win. Doolittle responded to those who disagreed with his decision not to attend.
“People say you should go because it’s about respecting the office of the president and I think over the course of his time in office he’s done a lot of things that maybe don’t respect the office,” he said. “I don’t want to hang out with somebody who talks like that.”

Sean Doolittle

Liberal Washington Nationals Player Won’t Visit White House Due To Trump’s ‘Divisive Rhetoric’

A time that should have been marked by triumphant celebration ended up being a moment one member of the Houston Astros&#8217; staff has come to regret.
Astros Assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman&#8217;s locker room comment to female reporters after the Astros&#8217; defeated the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship series on Saturday has cost him his job.
According to Sports Illustrated, Taubman repeatedly yelled at a group of female reporters after the game, &#8220;Thank God we got Osuna!  I’m so f***ing glad we got Osuna!&#8221;
Taubman was referencing closer Roberto Osuna, who was traded to the Astros by the Toronto Blue Jays after being suspended for 75 games by Major League Baseball for domestic violence.
Here is how <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/10/22/houston-astros-roberto-osuna-suspension">Sports Illustrated</a> first reported the incident, which the magazine framed as an example of &#8220;MLB&#8217;s forgive-and-forget attitude toward domestic violence&#8221;:
<blockquote>[I]n the center of the room, assistant general manager Brandon Taubman turned to a group of three female reporters, including one wearing a purple domestic-violence awareness bracelet, and yelled, half a dozen times, “Thank God we got Osuna! I’m so f&#8212;&#8212; glad we got Osuna!”
The outburst was offensive and frightening enough that another Houston staffer apologized. The Astros declined to comment. They also declined to make Taubman available for an interview.</blockquote>
Initially, the Astros claimed that Sports Illustrated was fabricating the story, describing it as &#8220;misleading and completely irresponsible.&#8221;
&#8220;The story posted by Sports Illustrated is misleading and completely irresponsible,&#8221; the <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EHcvIdRXkAAm7Rx.jpg">statement</a> read. &#8220;An Astros player was being asked questions about a difficult outing. Our executive was supporting the player at a difficult time. His comments had everything to do about the game situation that just occurred and nothing else — they were also not directed at any specific reporters. We are extremely disappointed in Sports Illustrated&#8217;s attempt to fabricate a story where one does not exist.&#8221;
But after an investigation by the league, the team released a <a href="https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/10/24/astros-fire-assistant-gm-brandon-taubman-clubhouse-incident-female-reporters/">statement</a> on Thursday announcing that they were &#8220;wrong&#8221; in their initial assessment and that Taubman was out.
&#8220;During the past two days, the Astros pro-actively assisted Major League Baseball in interviewing Astros employees as part of MLB’s investigation of the events published in the recent Sports Illustrated article. Major League Baseball also separately interviewed members of the media over the past 24 hours,&#8221; the statement read.
&#8220;Our initial investigation led us to believe that Brandon Taubman’s inappropriate comments were not directed toward any reporter,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;We were wrong. We sincerely apologize to Stephanie Apstein, Sports Illustrated and to all individuals who witnessed this incident or were offended by the inappropriate conduct. The Astros in no way intended to minimize the issues related to domestic violence.&#8221;
&#8220;Our initial belief was based on witness statements about the incident,&#8221; the Astros explained. &#8220;Subsequent interviews have revealed that Taubman’s inappropriate comments were. in fact, directed toward one or more reporters. Accordingly we have terminated Brandon Taubman’s employment with the Houston Astros. His conduct does not reflect the values of our organization and we believe this is the most appropriate course of action.&#8221;
As reported by <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/10/24/jeff-luhnow-addresses-brandon-taubman-firing-astros">Sports Illustrated</a> on Thursday, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said the team was &#8220;wrong&#8221; for initially dismissing the SI claim. The initial statement, he said, &#8220;should have never been sent.&#8221;
&#8220;That original reaction by the Astros was wrong, and we own it as an organization,&#8221; Luhnow said. &#8220;There were many people involved in reviewing that and approving that, and I&#8217;m not going to get into the details of that. It was wrong. It was the Astros&#8217; decision.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mlb-will-investigate-umpire-who-posted-violent-pro-trump-tweet">MLB Will Investigate Umpire Who Posted ‘Violent’ Pro-Trump Tweet</a>

Houston Astros

Houston Astros Fire Assistant GM After Incident In Locker Room With Female Reporters

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Transgender athlete Rachel McKinnon, a biological male who identifies as female, won the women&#8217;s Masters Track Cycling World Championships sprint title for the second year in a row.
&#8220;The 37-year-old, competing in the female 35-39 sprint category, had set a new world best time in qualifying,&#8221; according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/50111521">BBC</a>. &#8220;The Canadian beat American Dawn Orwick for the gold, with Denmark&#8217;s Kirsten Herup Sovang claiming the bronze.&#8221;
McKinnon also took silver in the 500m time trial earlier in the week, BBC notes.
The athlete celebrated the win on social media and made a point of citing critics who&#8217;ve spoken out against biological men participating in women&#8217;s sports.
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&#8220;This jersey, these medals, and this world record mean a whole lot more to me than my first,&#8221; McKinnon wrote via Instagram on Monday. &#8220;There were many more barriers this year, a much bigger spotlight, truly incessant hate and people doing everything in their power to have me banned, make me fail, and make me quit. But I didn&#8217;t. And I won&#8217;t.&#8221;
&#8220;I will be back next year,&#8221; the cyclist added. &#8220;I will be stronger and faster than ever. You can count on it.&#8221;
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</a> 
 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B34TBQglVAD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">This jersey, these medals, and this world record mean a whole lot more to me than my first. • There were many more barriers this year, a much bigger spotlight, truly incessant hate and people doing everything in their power to have me banned, make me fail, and make me quit. • But I didn&#39;t. • And I won&#39;t. • I will be back next year. I will be stronger and faster than ever. You can count on it. • 🌈🦊🥇 #rainbowfoxracing #rainbowfox #worldchampion #herthighness #quaddess #quadzilla #quadgoals #wtfsracebikes #trackcycling #cycling #racing #sportisahumanright #inclusivesport #lgbtq #lgbtqsport #transathlete #transrightsnow #transinclusivesport #girlslikeus #socialchange #socialjustice #transvisibilty #gofastturnleft #transgender #inspiration #sportforall #noplaceforhate * * * °@fujibikes Bike °@fsa_road Chainrings, stem °@vision_tech_usa Crankset, chainrings, wheels °@lazersportusa Helmet, sunglasses °@vie13_kustom_apparel Speedsuit * Coach: @empiricalcycling Nutritionist: @paulsaltercoaching Pro Ambassador for @athleteally</a>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rachelvmckinnon/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Rachel McKinnon, PhD</a> (@rachelvmckinnon) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-10-21T12:06:35+00:00">Oct 21, 2019 at 5:06am PDT</time>
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In a tweet Monday, McKinnon also appeared to deny having any competitive advantage anymore from being biologically male because &#8220;my body doesn&#8217;t produce testosterone anymore.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m just going to come out and say it: My body doesn&#8217;t produce testosterone anymore. And it hasn&#8217;t for nearly a decade. Draw your own conclusions,&#8221; the cyclist wrote.
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I&#39;m just going to come out and say it:
My body doesn&#39;t produce testosterone anymore. And it hasn&#39;t for nearly a decade.
Draw your own conclusions.
&mdash; Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachelvmckinnon/status/1186237256895553537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Some biologically female athletes in the sport have spoken up about McKinnon&#8217;s participation. &#8220;The decision to let McKinnon race alongside cis female (people whose gender identity matches their biological sex) competitors has been criticised by some track rivals, including Victoria Hood,&#8221; reported <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/rachel-mckinnon-transgender-cyclist-interview-unfair-womens-sport-a9161241.html">The Independent</a>.
&#8220;The science is there and it says that it is unfair,&#8221; Hood said.
Additionally, Jen Wagner-Assali, who placed third behind McKinnon at last year&#8217;s World Championships, called McKinnon&#8217;s first place finish &#8220;unfair.&#8221;
Responding to Hood, McKinnon posted a lengthy statement on Twitter Sunday, which deemed Hood transphobic and argued that &#8220;fairness in sports&#8221; means transgender &#8220;inclusion.&#8221;
&#8220;Ms. Hood has expressed an irrational fear of trans women. An irrational fear of trans women in the dictionary definition of transphobia. Transphobia has no place in sport,&#8221; McKinnon wrote.
&#8220;Dr. McKinnon supports trans people&#8217;s right to compete in their legally recognized gender,&#8221; the now two-time Masters Track Cycling World Champion added. &#8220;Fairness in sports means inclusion and respect of every athlete&#8217;s right an identity. #SportsIsAHumanRight.&#8221;
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 <a href="https://t.co/D16irhepzU">pic.twitter.com/D16irhepzU</a>
&mdash; Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachelvmckinnon/status/1186042810388172805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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After last year&#8217;s victory over biological female athletes, McKinnon, who has conceded that biological men could have an advantage over biological woman in sports, similarly branded critics as transphobic.
Amid critics pointing out that there are basic, biological differences between men and women that give men advantages in some athletic competitions, McKinnon slammed detractors, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-cyclist-lashes-out-calls-critics-emily-zanotti">The Daily Wire</a> reported following McKinnon&#8217;s 2018 win.
&#8220;Lots of transphobic bigots are responding to my world championship win saying that &#8216;Next up, the paralympics.&#8217; Hey women, you realize that ALL of these people (many of them women) are comparing you to disabled people&#8230;right? Women = &#8216;disabled men&#8217; they think. Wow. Offensive,&#8221; McKinnon posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Lots of transphobic bigots are responding to my world championship win saying that &#39;Next up, the paralympics.&#39; Hey women, you realize that ALL of these people (many of them women) are comparing you to disabled people&#8230;right? Women = &#39;disabled men&#39; they think. Wow. Offensive. <a href="https://t.co/K5cbZgaOMc">pic.twitter.com/K5cbZgaOMc</a>
&mdash; Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachelvmckinnon/status/1051462807017811968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-cyclist-celebrates-world-championship-hank-berrien">Transgender Cyclist Celebrates World Championship In Women’s Event, Says Critics Are ‘Transphobic Bigots’</a>

Rachel McKinnon

Trans Athlete Wins Women&#8217;s World Cycling Competition, Again; Slams &#8216;Transphobic&#8217; Critics

Transgender

President Donald Trump had a busy day on Friday. He had his daily intelligence briefing, then met with the vice premier of China. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dropped into the White House for a meeting, then held a press conference.
Amid all the other work and meetings, Trump also took time to meet with the winners of the Little League world series, as well as a softball team that won its own championship game.
After a full day of work, Trump left the White House just before 5 p.m. Before boarding his Marine One helicopter on the White House lawn, he did a 15-minute press conference with reporters, taking  25 questions.
But he wasn&#8217;t going home. His day was far from over. Trump was heading out to Louisiana to hold a campaign rally for his re-election campaign and to help state candidates who face a special election on Tuesday.
And he had a special surprise for that Little League team.
The Eastbank All-Stars just happen to be from suburban New Orleans. So the president decided to give them a lift home &#8212; on Air Force One.
The Jefferson Parish-based team had also had a busy day, meeting the president and then getting a tour of the Capitol hosted by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the House minority whip.
Scalise, who joined Trump on his campaign trip, tweeted out a photo of himself and the Eastbank team at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland as they awaited the arrival of the president. &#8220;The champs are flying back to Louisiana on Air Force One with @realDonaldTrump after celebrating their Little League World Series Championship victory at The @WhiteHouse!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The champs are flying back to Louisiana on Air Force One with <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> after celebrating their Little League World Series Championship victory at The <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a>!
What an amazing day! I’m so proud of this team! ⚾️🏆 <a href="https://t.co/k27et9lBCR">pic.twitter.com/k27et9lBCR</a>
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveScalise/status/1182761012468035584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
According to a &#8220;pool report,&#8221; written by a reporter at the airbase, Trump &#8220;spent a couple of minutes shaking hands with a group of Little League players on the tarmac before inviting them all up onto the plane with him. He pointed to pool from the top of the stairs as he said something to the players.&#8221;
&#8220;Your pooler was told they are &#8216;catching a ride home&#8217; to Louisiana,&#8221; the pooler wrote.
But the middle-schoolers&#8217; day also wasn&#8217;t done yet. Trump brought them along to his rally and invited the young players up onto the stage, congratulating them on their winning season.
Trump said he had expected Japan to win the series, as they have done several times, but before introducing the players one by one to the crowd, he said, &#8220;But this year you are the world champions.&#8221;
Trump asked if any of the boys wanted to address the massive crowd, and most shied away. But one boy stepped up to the microphone and said &#8220;Thank you for all the support,&#8221; drawing cheers from the crowd.
&#8220;Go get &#8217;em kids. Thanks fellas,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t choke and we don&#8217;t choke. We don&#8217;t like chokers.&#8221;
The Eastbank All-Stars shut out Curacao 8-0 to win the state&#8217;s first Little League World Series title, <a href="https://www.espn.com/llws/story/_/id/27823925/little-league-world-series-champs-were-invited-president-donald-trump-fly-home-louisiana-air-force-one">ESPN</a> reported. &#8220;The team fought its way back through the losers bracket after dropping its first game to Hawai&#8217;i. Louisiana won six games in eight days, becoming the first team to win the LLWS after losing its first game.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump Takes Little League Team Home To Louisiana Aboard Air Force One

Over the weekend, history was made at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha for its inclusion of the gender-mixed 4&#215;400-meter relay. 
As noted by <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2019/09/28/athletics-history-will-made-mixed-gender-4x400-metre-relay-debuts/">The Telegraph</a>, nations pack their teams with two male and two female runners each. Nearly all participating nations ordered their runners male-female-female-male, strategically placing their two fastest runners to start and end the race. 
Poland, however, stacked their two male runners first and second, leaving their two female runners, Iga Baumgart-Witan and Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, to close out the relay. 
While Poland gained an advantage off the bat with their male runners, the last leg showcased a top-notch female athlete with a <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/news/report/world-championships-doha-2019-mixed-4x400m-re">30-meter lead</a> competing against top-notch male athletes — and the difference was stark.
The female runner was blown out by Michael Cherry, who represented the United States, in the last leg of the relay. All the other male runners, despite being disadvantaged by Swiety-Ersetic’s head start, also beat out the Polish runner. 
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The extraordinary events of the mixed relay at the World Athletics Championships around an hour ago. Watch four men give a woman a 7-second head start over just 400m and cruise past her. <a href="https://t.co/nAf9Oe3vtj">pic.twitter.com/nAf9Oe3vtj</a>
&mdash; Wings Over Scotland (@WingsScotland) <a href="https://twitter.com/WingsScotland/status/1178410585886724096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Here’s a shorter clip of the moment Cherry zooms past Swiety-Ersetic:
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Here&#39;s the short version of what it&#39;s like for female athletes to compete against biological males. <a href="https://t.co/ll0ukegwYT">pic.twitter.com/ll0ukegwYT</a>
&mdash; Wings Over Scotland (@WingsScotland) <a href="https://twitter.com/WingsScotland/status/1178410806469365767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The race is fair, with every nation including two biological males and two biological females each. The gender-mixed race also helps smaller nations that only have a couple male or female runners in the same competitive realm as their opponents, noted British 4x400m relay veteran Martyn Rooney. 
“I think it’s a great opportunity for smaller countries to come through,” Rooney said, according to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2019/09/28/athletics-history-will-made-mixed-gender-4x400-metre-relay-debuts/">The Telegraph</a>. “Teams like India and some of the South American countries who might only have two guys and two girls who are world class.”
What’s unfair, as showcased in the last leg of Saturday’s mixed relay, is allowing biological males to compete in all-female races. But with the Left’s push to have biological sex take a backseat to “gender identity,” girls and women are being subjected to these unfair conditions. 
For example, as previously covered by The Daily Wire, female track athletes were forced to run against biological males in high-stakes competitions when the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference adopted a policy allowing “gender identity” to trump biology in athletics. 
Athlete Selina Soule took eighth place in a Connecticut high school track competition where two biological males who identify as female swept the field; Soule missed an opportunity to compete in front of college coaches by two places.
“It’s scientifically proven that males are built to be physically stronger than females. It’s unfair to put someone who is biologically a male, who has not undergone anything in terms of hormone therapy, against cis-gender girls,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50501/feds-probe-whether-conn-transgender-athlete-policy-amanda-prestigiacomo">said</a> Soule during a Fox News appearance last year.
And with the Olympics approaching, women’s groups are calling foul on the prospect of female-identifying biological males being allowed to compete against females, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/womens-groups-trans-athletes-males-competing-james-barrett">The Daily Wire</a> reported in July. 
“Our sporting orgs are enabling a practice that’s been described by researchers from Otago Uni as ‘intolerably unfair’ — male athletes competing in women’s sport … ,” New Zealand-based women’s group “Speak Up For Women” wrote in a social media post. “We’re calling on [New Zealand Olympics], [Sport New Zealand] and the Minister for Sport [Grant Robertson], to put a stop to disadvantaging women and girls by making clear in policy and practice that sport MUST be categorised by SEX and not gender identity.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/womens-groups-trans-athletes-males-competing-james-barrett">Women’s Groups On Trans Athletes: ‘Males Competing In Women’s Sport Is Blatantly Unfair’</a>

2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships

WATCH: Men Zoom Past Female Runner In World Athletics Championships Mixed Relay

Gender

Conservatives are seeking to underscore Democrats&#8217; radical gender policies, and its destructive implications for girls and women in particular, in a new hard-hitting ad supporting Republican Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin. The conservative is in a hotly-contested race against Democratic challenger Attorney General Andy Beshear.
With election day creeping up on November 5, American Principles Project (APP) Super PAC &#8220;Campaign for American Principles&#8221; released an ad Monday showcasing a grim world wherein Beshear-supported gender policies leave young female athletes behind. In the clip, which can be viewed below, young female track runners are blown out by a male competitor who identifies as female.
&#8220;All female athletes want is a fair shot in competition, at a scholarship, at a title, at victory,&#8221; a narrator says. &#8220;What if that shot was taken away by a competitor who claims they’re a girl who was born a boy?&#8221;
&#8220;Andy Beshear supports legislation that would destroy girls’ sports. He calls it &#8216;equality.&#8217; Maybe. But is it fair?&#8221; the female narrator continues.
The ad closes out urging citizens to vote against Beshear, noting he&#8217;s &#8220;too extreme for Kentucky,” and links to <a href="https://extremeandybeshear.com/">ExtremeAndyBeshear.com</a>.
If the premise seems far-fetched, reconsider the reality that is already on the ground. Soon after the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference adopted a policy allowing &#8220;gender identity&#8221; to trump biology in athletics, high school girls were smoked by female-identifying biologically male track athletes — derailing vital collegiate opportunities in the process.
&#8220;It&#8217;s scientifically proven that males are built to be physically stronger than females. It&#8217;s unfair to put someone who is biologically a male, who has not undergone anything in terms of hormone therapy, against cis-gender girls,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50501/feds-probe-whether-conn-transgender-athlete-policy-amanda-prestigiacomo">said</a> track athlete Selina Soule. The teenager took eighth place in a high-stakes high school track competition where two biological males spanked the field; Soule missed an opportunity to compete in front of college coaches by two places.
Moreover, in Ohio, parents were recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/27309/parents-lose-custody-child-refusing-support-amanda-prestigiacomo">stripped of custody</a> when they opposed their child undergoing experimental sex-change procedures.
Unlike Bevin, a solid conservative standing strong to protect females-only spaces and parental rights against the Left&#8217;s redefining of gender, Beshear is all-in on legislation like the deceptively named <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47176/hammer-house-democrats-equality-act-both-josh-hammer">federal &#8220;Equality Act&#8221;</a> and Kentucky &#8220;Fairness&#8221; bill, which &#8220;would destroy women&#8217;s sports, eliminate parental rights, and allow men to take advantage of women through loopholes in said legislation,&#8221; APP Director of Policy and Government Affairs Jon Schweppe told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;You may not know it, but the truth is that Extreme Andy Beshear supports forcing your daughters to compete against males in sports,&#8221; ExtremeAndyBeshear.com reads. &#8220;And already, parents in nearby Ohio lost custody when their child was encouraged to undergo experimental sex-change procedures. Yet Beshear refuses to support a parental rights bill that would protect families from this abuse. Beshear is too extreme for Kentucky.&#8221;
The site notes that Beshear refused to support a bill protecting parents&#8217; rights when it &#8220;came into conflict with his radical &#8216;equality&#8217; agenda.&#8221;
&#8220;When a child is struggling with mental health problems and expresses confusion about their gender to a teacher or school administrator, should the school keep it a secret from the child&#8217;s parents?&#8221; the site continues. &#8220;Should government bureaucrats and medical professionals make medical decisions for a child against the wishes of the child&#8217;s parents by encouraging a child to take experimental &#8216;gender-changing&#8217; drugs that permanently alter the child&#8217;s body?”
Schweppe put out a warning shot at Democrats. &#8220;Our plan is to show how vulnerable Democrats are on these issues and demonstrate how effective it can be for the GOP to message on them in 2020,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire. &#8220;This is about putting extreme Democrats on notice: We&#8217;re coming for you.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50501/feds-probe-whether-conn-transgender-athlete-policy-amanda-prestigiacomo">Feds Investigating Violation Of Girls’ Civil Rights In CT After Trans Athletes Smoke Competition</a>

screen_shot_2019-09-23_at_11.29.35_am

WATCH: New Ad In Kentucky Gubernatorial Race Scorches Democrats On Radical Gender Policy

Children

Kentucky

LGBT

On Friday, former University of Florida and NFL quarterback Time Tebow argued that college student-athletes should not profit from advertisements of their likeness and jersey sales in order to preserve the team-over-individual atmosphere and to avoid wealthier colleges having unfair advantages in racking up talent.
Following the ESPN segment, Tebow was quickly slammed for his &#8220;privilege&#8221; by professional players and sports commentators.
&#8220;I feel like I have a little bit of credibility and knowledge about this because when I was at the University of Florida, my jersey was one of the top-selling jerseys around the world … It was like Kobe [Bryant], LeBron [James] &#8230; and I was right behind them,&#8221; argued Tebow, according to <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/tim-tebow-college-athletes-shouldnt-profit-from-jersey-sales">Fox Business</a>.
&#8220;And I didn&#8217;t make a dollar from it, but nor did I want to,&#8221; the former Denver Bronco and Heisman Trophy winner continued. &#8220;Because I knew going into college, what it was all about. I knew going to Florida, going to my dream school, where I wanted to – the passion for it. If I could support my team, support my college, support my university – that&#8217;s what it is all about.&#8221;
&#8220;Now we&#8217;re changing it from us, from we, from my university, from being an alumni where I care which makes college football and college sports special,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;To then [change that mentality to] okay, it&#8217;s not about us, it&#8217;s not about we. It&#8217;s just about me. And yes, I know we live in a selfish culture where it is all about us, but we&#8217;re just adding and piling on to that, where it changes what is special about college football and we&#8217;re turning into the NFL where who has the most money, that&#8217;s where you go,&#8221; Tebow concluded.
WATCH:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tim Tebow is not a fan of college athletes getting paid. <a href="https://twitter.com/UnnecRoughness?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UnnecRoughness</a> <a href="https://t.co/pswHws9iah">pic.twitter.com/pswHws9iah</a>
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1172552315259314176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Though ESPN&#8217;s Stephen A. Smith agreed that Tebow made a sound argument, folks online slammed the athlete for coming from a supposed place of &#8220;privilege.&#8221;
&#8220;You trippin Tim Tebow,&#8221; wrote former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Desmond Bryant in a tweet captioning a statement.
&#8220;I have to disagree,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to passionately express this as a person coming from experience &#8230; The majority of these kids come from poverty. Trust me, it&#8217;s not all about &#8216;me, me, me, me&#8217; for many of them &#8230; it&#8217;s about putting food on the table in broken homes.&#8221;
&#8220;What [percentage] of college athletes actually play at the professional level?&#8221; he asked, adding in a hashtag: &#8220;different circumstance [first] generation college students.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">You trippin Tim Tebow <a href="https://t.co/zYWyI51IEo">https://t.co/zYWyI51IEo</a> <a href="https://t.co/OFRc4DZINI">pic.twitter.com/OFRc4DZINI</a>
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) <a href="https://twitter.com/DezBryant/status/1172642050837221381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
In a follow-up tweet, Bryant told Tebow this was a &#8220;learning session&#8221; for him, and took a shot as his apparent &#8220;privilege.&#8221;
&#8220;Not to mention the multitude of opportunities un-evenly handed out to certain players because of privilege,&#8221; the former Cowboy said.
Bryant noted that he doesn&#8217;t have a relationship with his father&#8217;s side of the family and that his dad is not even named on his birth certificate. &#8220;I&#8217;m not coming at you,&#8221; he wrote, &#8220;I still love what you as a player and who you are but I want you to know the other half … your opinions are very singular.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tim Tebow this is a learning session <a href="https://t.co/Rbrh9dbcvb">pic.twitter.com/Rbrh9dbcvb</a>
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) <a href="https://twitter.com/DezBryant/status/1172653067566833664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
CBS Sports&#8217; Chris Towers knocked Tebow: &#8220;It is perhaps worth noting that Tim Tebow left football and, with no experience as a broadcaster, immediately was put into high-profile, well-paying spots on TV,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;He was then allowed to play professional baseball basically because he wanted to. That context seems relevant.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It is perhaps worth noting that Tim Tebow left football and, with no experience as a broadcaster, immediately was put into high-profile, well-paying spots on TV.
He was then allowed to play professional baseball basically because he wanted to.
That context seems relevant. <a href="https://t.co/visWDQMK2E">https://t.co/visWDQMK2E</a>
— boydgenius (@CTowersCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/CTowersCBS/status/1172549184425037825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Tim Tebow stop with the BS,&#8221; posted former NBA player Kendrick Perkins. &#8220;Nobody trying to hear that when you got College coaches making 9-10 million a year for a decade and Universities making Millions [off] players! #Paytheathletes.&#8221;
Perkins went straight from high school to the NBA.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Tim Tebow stop with the BS. Nobody trying to hear that when you got College coaches making 9-10 million a year for a decade and Universities making Millions of players! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paytheathletes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paytheathletes</a>
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins/status/1172600322998640641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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While Tebow indeed was privileged to grow up in a loving, two-parent home, by all accounts, he did not grow up in great affluence. His parents moved to the Philippines in 1985, before Tebow was born, and built a ministry to help those in need and spread the word of God. The athlete himself lives a life of great philanthropy even now. He has two foundations, CURE and the Tebow Foundation, working with sick and special needs children.

Tim Tebow

WATCH: Tim Tebow Gives Impassioned Take On Why College Players Shouldn’t Get Paid, Gets Slammed For ‘Privilege’

American doubles player Mike Bryan was fined $10,000 for making a shooting gun gesture with his tennis racket during a U.S. Open match on Saturday night.
According to an <a href="http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/27517203/doubles-star-m-bryan-fined-shooting-gesture">ESPN</a> report, Bryan, playing with his doubles partner and brother Bob Bryan, flipped over his tennis racket to resemble a pretend gun and pointed it at the umpire and line judge after a poor call the duo challenged was overturned in their favor.
&#8220;Trailing by a set but leading 6-5, the Bryans challenged a lob that had been called in. When the Hawk-eye replay showed it was clearly long, Mike Bryan turned his racket round so the handle was aimed toward the linesperson before going on to point his finger toward both the umpire and linesperson,&#8221; the report detailed.
&#8220;What did I do? Just tell me what I did, real quick,&#8221; Bryan asked umpire Mariana Alves.
&#8220;The gesture that you did,&#8221; Alves answered. “You did it to the line umpire and did it to me. You did with your racket like it was a gun. I don’t think that was appropriate.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Mike Bryan (<a href="https://twitter.com/Eurosport_RU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eurosport_RU</a> ) <a href="https://t.co/vPwOiZfVqf">pic.twitter.com/vPwOiZfVqf</a>
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) <a href="https://twitter.com/doublefault28/status/1168270623560409088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Bryan issued a statement following the fine, telling <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/01/sports/tennis/us-open-fines-mike-bryan-gun.html">The New York Times</a> that he understands how the playful gesture could be viewed as &#8220;insensitive.&#8221;
&#8220;We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful. But given the recent news and political climate I understand how my gesture could be viewed as insensitive. I promise that I will never do anything like this again,&#8221; the statement read.
A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51271/breaking-shooting-odessa-texas-least-5-dead-frank-camp">shooting</a> in Odessa, Texas, left seven dead on Saturday. The now-deceased gunman, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy, shot at least 20 people, including a 17-month-old baby.
On Sunday, Bryan was hit with the $10,000 fine over the gesture, which was the highest citation doled out to a male player in the tournament thus far, according to ESPN.
Last year, U.S. tennis star Serena Williams was hit with a $17,000 fine after berating umpire Carlos Ramos for a call with which she disagreed. Williams called Ramos a &#8220;thief&#8221; and a &#8220;liar,&#8221; accused him of sexism, and smashed her racket on the court.
&#8220;There&#8217;s men out here who do a lot worse. But because I&#8217;m a woman, because I&#8217;m a woman, you&#8217;re gonna take this away from me? That is not right,&#8221; the tennis pro lashed out, telling Ramos directly: &#8220;You will never do another one of my matches.&#8221;
According to a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/tennis/serena-williams-wimbledon-fined-spt-intl/index.html">CNN</a> report published in July, Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini was fined $3,000 for saying a &#8220;bomb should explode&#8221; on the All England Club at the end of a Wimbledon match. Bernard Tomic of Australia was fined his full Wimbledon prize money of $58,500 for not hitting the &#8220;required professional standard&#8221; during his first-round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the report said, noting that fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios was also fined twice ($3,000 and $5,000) for &#8220;unsportsmanlike conduct in his first and second-round matches.&#8221;
After losing their first set, Bryan and his brother went on to close out two sets for the win.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51302/ted-cruz-backs-2020-democrats-call-not-name-mass-molly-prince">Ted Cruz Backs 2020 Democrat’s Call To Not Name Mass Shooters</a>

Mike Bryan.

Tennis Player Hit With Major Fine For Making Shooting Gun Gesture With Racket At U.S. Open

Guns

At the same time that two professional football players <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/retirements-of-rob-gronkowski-and-andrew-luck-and-ezekiel-elliotts-holdout-show-new-normal-in-nfl-210820023.html">leave</a> the sport in the prime of their careers because their bodies can&#8217;t handle the abuse anymore, a woman is planning her grand entrance. U.S. women&#8217;s national soccer team star Carli Lloyd — a 140-pound, 38-year-old female — says she is considering allegedly serious offers from various NFL teams. These offers were supposedly prompted by a viral video of Lloyd successfully completing a 55-yard field goal at a Philadelphia Eagles practice. With one good field goal under her belt, she feels ready to jump into a sport where the average player outweighs her by 100 pounds and stands about five inches taller. Despite that significant disadvantage, Lloyd says she &#8220;<a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/08/27/uswnt-star-carli-lloyd-reportedly-received-offer-to-kick-for-nfl-team-during-preseason-game/">definitely could</a>&#8221; compete in the league.
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Leftist media have predictably gushed over this news. ThinkProgress <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/carli-lloyd-is-not-a-stunt-679ada2fd6ba/">proclaimed</a> that a female field goal kicker &#8220;would be representing women everywhere who are trying to break through barriers.&#8221; The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/28/carli-lloyd-not-afraid-kick-nfl-will-she-get-chance/">hailed</a> Lloyd&#8217;s &#8220;brawny confidence.&#8221; The Guardian excitedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/26/carli-lloyd-nfl-female-kicker">wondered</a> whether the soccer player might finally break the &#8220;glass ceiling&#8221; that has heretofore prevented women from suiting up on game day. To that point, Lloyd would certainly break something on an NFL field — but it won&#8217;t be any ceiling.
Of course, we should stipulate that converting a field goal on a practice field doesn&#8217;t make you NFL material any more than a hole-in-one in mini-golf makes you a candidate for the PGA Tour. You have to do it with shoulder pads and a helmet, a game clock winding down, 70,000 fans watching, and — most importantly — 11 absurdly fast and extravagantly muscled defenders rushing toward you at a literal breakneck speed.
Speaking of breaking necks, that would be the most likely fate of the first female NFL player. It seems sadly inevitable that the league will eventually cave to P.C. pressure (as it has a tendency to do) and force some poor team to put a woman on its active roster. In our enlightened area, we just cannot allow professional football to remain the exclusive province of men. But I hope for Lloyd&#8217;s sake that — despite her wishes — she is not the lamb sacrificed on this particular altar of wokeness.
Kickers might not absorb as much contact as running backs and linebackers, but they wear pads for a reason. Kickers can get flattened during blocked kicks and while trying to tackle someone who recovers a blocked kick. Kickers can get dog-piled on a fumbled snap. Kickers can get pancaked by hard blocks during kick returns. In all of these cases, the people delivering the abuse are big, strong, nasty men who hit other big, strong, nasty men for a living. All the girl power in the world can&#8217;t compensate for the fact that a woman&#8217;s body simply isn&#8217;t built to withstand these collisions. Men&#8217;s bodies are hardly built for it, either, which is why NFL players often end up hobbled and brain-damaged. But they can at least survive it. For a time, anyway. Carli Lloyd cannot.
Am I saying that Lloyd is weaker, slower, and more fragile just because she&#8217;s a woman? Yes, that&#8217;s precisely what I&#8217;m saying. And one full speed encounter with a 275-pound blocker on a kick return would be enough to prove the point convincingly — and maybe fatally. God help the woman who must suffer that fate just to demonstrate the flaws in modern feminist doctrine.

Women&#8217;s Soccer

WALSH: A Female Soccer Player Says She ‘Definitely’ Could Play In The NFL. No, She Definitely Couldn&#8217;t.

Feminism

Soccer

During tennis star Serena Williams&#8217; embarrassing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/35655/prestigiacomo-dont-praise-serena-williams-amanda-prestigiacomo">meltdown</a> last year at the U.S. Open, she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx9iT1OQMl0">vowed</a> that umpire Carlos Ramos, whom she unfairly accused of sexism, would &#8220;never&#8221; umpire one of her matches, again.
Williams, it seems, got exactly what she asked for. The U.S. Tennis Association announced over the weekend that Ramos will not umpire any of the Williams sisters&#8217; matches during the open. &#8220;This is our collective decision,&#8221; said the tennis organization&#8217;s president Stacey Allaster, according to <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/williams-ban-us-open-umpire-serena-osaka-furore-172754847--ten.html">Yahoo! Sports</a>. &#8220;We want to focus on the competition.&#8221;
As noted by the outlet, U.S. Open tournament referee Soren Friemel contended the Ramos move was &#8220;not the first time that we made decisions where it&#8217;s good for the tournament, good for the players, good for the umpires as well, to not be on those matches.&#8221;
&#8220;In the end, our goal is to assign the best chair umpire for the right match,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So in taking all those factors into consideration, the decision was made that he would not do any of the Williams sisters&#8217; matches.&#8221;
Again seemingly attempting to mask the suspect optics, Friemel argued that Ramos &#8220;has worked all the other Grand Slams. He has done Davis Cup, Fed Cup, he&#8217;s going to the Davis Cup finals. He&#8217;s considered still for all high-profile matches.&#8221;
During her final U.S. Open match against 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, Williams erupted when Ramos docked the athlete for illegally receiving coaching from the sidelines (which was later admitted to by Williams&#8217; coach Patrick Mouratoglou), smashing her racket, and committing &#8220;verbal abuse.&#8221; The tennis icon branded Ramos a &#8220;thief&#8221; and a sexist and demanded an apology. &#8220;There&#8217;s men out here who do a lot worse. But because I&#8217;m a woman, because I&#8217;m a woman, you&#8217;re gonna take this away from me? That is not right,&#8221; Williams lashed out. She also told Ramos directly, &#8220;You will never do another one of my matches.&#8221;
The pity-party continued post-match, too, when Williams positioned herself as a martyr for &#8220;women&#8217;s equality.&#8221;
&#8220;He&#8217;s (Ramos) never taken a game from a man because they said &#8216;thief.&#8217; For me it blows my mind. But I&#8217;m going to continue to fight for women,&#8221; Williams told reporters, adding, &#8220;I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions, and that want to express themselves, and want to be a strong woman. They&#8217;re going to be allowed to do that because of today.&#8221;
Osaka, whose impressive win was undeniably overshadowed by Williams&#8217; antics, said she would be fine with Ramos as an umpire for her future matches. &#8220;I never really say that I don&#8217;t like an umpire, so I never change that. I&#8217;ll never be specific if I don&#8217;t want someone to umpire my match. I just go with whoever is doing it,&#8221; she said, Yahoo! Sports reported.
According to a report from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-usopen/chair-umpire-ramos-has-lasting-impact-on-us-open-idUSKCN1VE05H">Reuters</a>, U.S. Tennis Association officials also said that code violations will be posted on the tournament&#8217;s scoreboards in real time, a first for the event.
WATCH:
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Serena Williams

Williams Told Ramos He’d ‘Never’ Ump Her Matches Again. U.S. Tennis Association Makes Move In Her Favor.

Sexism

Major League Baseball announced this week that it has taken action to comply with President Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-government-venezuela/">executive order</a> imposing an embargo against socialist Nicolas Maduro-controlled Venezuela. In an attempt to adhere to the order, the league is barring all players from participating in the Venezuela Winter League.
&#8220;MLB has been in contact with the relevant government agencies regarding the Executive Order issued by President Trump on Venezuela,&#8221; the league said in a statement reported by <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27442220/mlb-bans-playing-venezuela-amid-trump-order">ESPN</a> Thursday. &#8220;MLB will fully adhere to the policies implemented by our government. With respect to the Venezuela Winter League, MLB will suspend its involvement in that league until it receives direction from the relevant agencies that participation by affiliated players is consistent with the Executive Order.&#8221;
According to ESPN&#8217;s sources, the &#8220;murkiness&#8221; of the relationship between the Liga Venezolana de Beísbol Profesional (LVBP) and a government-run business prompted MLB to look into the move, which could impact dozens of major and minor league players who frequently participate in the league.
ESPN&#8217;s Jeff Passan reports that sources say the MLB feared &#8220;that players agreeing to deals with a government-affiliated entity — or agents consummating the deals — would run afoul of the Aug. 5 executive order, which banned any such transactions.&#8221;
Sources also told ESPN that they fear the ban could have larger and lasting repercussions, creating a situation similar to the complicated relationship between the league and Cuba, particularly by prompting Maduro to retaliate by barring amateur players from being able to sign with the MLB.
Passan notes that the Justice Department is currently conducting an extensive investigation into the league&#8217;s Latin American business, including inquiries into the Braves, the Padres, and the Dodgers. In spring, the administration shut down a deal between MLB and the Cuban government &#8220;that would have allowed Cuban players to sign directly with the league instead of taking the circuitous and dangerous paths offered by traffickers.&#8221;
Trump issued the order in response to the increasingly tyrannical actions of Maduro, whose failing socialist government has helped drive the once-thriving nation into economic collapse. The U.S. has formally declared Maduro an illegitimate political leader, throwing its support behind the Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaidó.
In his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-government-venezuela/">executive order on Venezuela</a>, which imposes a full embargo on Venezuela, Trump condemns Maduro and his government officials for &#8220;the continued usurpation of power&#8221; and &#8220;human rights abuses, including arbitrary or unlawful arrest and detention of Venezuelan citizens, interference with freedom of expression, including for members of the media, and ongoing attempts to undermine Interim President Juan Guaido and the Venezuelan National Assembly&#8217;s exercise of legitimate authority in Venezuela.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50791/chicago-teachers-crowdfund-trip-venezuela-come-ashe-schow">Chicago Teachers Crowdfund Trip To Venezuela, Come Back Praising Socialism</a>

Boston Red Sox v Detroit Tigers

MLB Bans Playing In Venezuela To Comply With Trump Order

Nicolas Maduro

Trump Administration

Venezuela

In a video produced by ABC News, Nate Silver&#8217;s FiveThirtyEight staff are asked to do what they initially thought would be an easy task: tell the difference between the kinds of statements made by members of the media about the 2020 Democratic debates and those made by sports commentators about athletes. The result is a bunch of wrong guesses and a rather humorous look at the &#8220;sportsification&#8221; or dumbing down of political commentary in the media.
&#8220;The game was supposed to be simple: I read a quote, you tell me if the quote was from either a sports broadcast or a political discussion about the first two 2020 Democratic debates,&#8221; FiveThirtyEight&#8217;s <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/can-you-tell-sports-commentary-from-political-punditry-we-couldnt/">Tony Chow</a> writes. &#8220;Almost every staff member I pitched it to here at FiveThirtyEight was confident they would ace it.&#8221;
But, as Chow notes, it turned out to be far more difficult than anyone imagined. By average, he notes, the staff guessed only 13 of the 21 quotes correctly. The highest score was 16 out of 21; the lowest was a miserable eight out of 21.
As the video highlights, it&#8217;s not hard to see why it was so difficult to distinguish between sports commentary and political &#8220;analysis&#8221; because the latter often resorts to similarly reductive and metaphor-heavy rhetoric. &#8220;Maybe it&#8217;s impossible to take the sports out of politics after all. Or is it the politics out of sports?&#8221; Chow muses.
A few quotes pulled from pre and post-debate media coverage and sports commentary that threw FiveThirtyEight staff for a loop:
&#8220;He has the ability to take a lickin&#8217;, keep on tickin&#8217;; take a bruisin&#8217;, keep on cruisin&#8217;.&#8221;
&#8220;He got into the fight. His team will be happy that he showed up, that he responded, that he fired back.&#8221;
&#8220;Nasty jab there. Tagged him with the left hook there. That was it.&#8221;
&#8220;I love the guy. I think he&#8217;s great. One thing I particularly love about him, I haven&#8217;t heard a ton of people say, is he&#8217;s just super honest.&#8221;
&#8220;[Blank] turned in a performance that reminded you why he&#8217;s a household name.&#8221;
That last one ended up really not going over well among the staff. Watch below via FiveThirtyEight:
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Silver, a statistician and political analyst, founded FiveThirtyEight in 2008. The site has since become a major player in the political realm, particularly in its predictions and analysis of elections. Silver&#8217;s sway among political elites was recently demonstrated in the controversy over The New York Times&#8217; much-critiqued decision to change a headline about Trump&#8217;s speech responding to the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings after backlash from Democratic presidential candidates.
Silver&#8217;s initial tweet criticizing the Times for headlining its coverage of Trump&#8217;s speech &#8220;Trump Urges Unity Vs. Racism&#8221; was widely circulated, with many Democrats referencing it when they leveled their own criticism against the Times. As <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/50277/democrats-blast-nyt-after-outrageous-trump-speech-james-barrett">The Daily Wire</a> reported, the Times quickly caved and published a revised, more subjective headline: &#8220;Assailing Hate But Not Guns.&#8221; Afterward, Silver expressed his approval of the change, saying it&#8217;s &#8220;better to do this than not.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">FWIW (certainly better to do this than not IMO) they changed their headline between the 1st and 2nd print edition. <a href="https://t.co/DOSAMFbvq0">pic.twitter.com/DOSAMFbvq0</a>
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1158572572805685250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50775/trump-nyt-just-admitted-what-ive-been-saying-all-james-barrett">Trump: NYT Just Admitted What I’ve Been Saying All Along About Their Anti-Trump Agenda</a>

Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate In Detroit Over Two Nights

WATCH: ‘Can You Tell Sports Commentary From Political Punditry? We Couldn’t.’

Democratic Party

Nate Silver

The U.S. Department of Education Office has agreed to investigate a violation of girls&#8217; civil rights in Connecticut following a complaint filed in Boston concerning two biologically male transgender teens triumphing over biologically female competitors in high school track.
&#8220;The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Wednesday granted the request of three teen track athletes to investigate their allegations of illegal discrimination,&#8221; The Alliance Defending Freedom announced in a press release sent to The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Ever since the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference [CIAC] adopted a policy that allows biological males who claim a female identity to compete in girls&#8217; athletic events, boys have consistently deprived Selina Soule and two other female athletes of honors and opportunities to compete at elite levels,&#8221; the release noted.
ADF is <a href="http://www.adfmedia.org/files/SouleComplaintOCR.pdf">representing</a> the three athletes who filed the complaint in June.
The CIAC policy forced Soule to compete against female-identifying biological males in a high-stakes track competition where two transgender sprinters beat the field, taking first and second place by significant margins. Soule landed in 8th, missing an opportunity to compete in front of college coaches by two places.
&#8220;I am very happy for these athletes and I fully support them for being true to themselves and having the courage to do what they believe in,&#8221; Soule told host Fox News host Laura Ingraham in February. &#8220;But, in athletics, it&#8217;s an entirely different situation. It&#8217;s scientifically proven that males are built to be physically stronger than females. It&#8217;s unfair to put someone who is biologically a male, who has not undergone anything in terms of hormone therapy, against cis-gender girls.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Terry Miller of Bulkeley wins the 100m girls dash i. 11.72 (meet record). Andraya Yearwood of Cromwell 2nd, RHAM’s Bridget Lalonde 3rd <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cttrack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cttrack</a> <a href="https://t.co/4GmLRyicDI">pic.twitter.com/4GmLRyicDI</a>
— GameTimeCT (@GameTimeCT) <a href="https://twitter.com/GameTimeCT/status/1003739370736816129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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ADF said the CIAC policy &#8220;regularly results in boys out-performing and displacing girls in competitive high-school track events across Connecticut. Throughout the 2018-19 track season, males consistently deprived the female athletes who are part of the complaint of multiple medals, opportunities to compete at a higher level, and the public recognition critical to college recruiting and scholarship opportunities. The complaint notes that CIAC&#8217;s policy and its results directly violated the requirements of Title IX, a federal law designed to protect equal athletic opportunities for women and girls.&#8221;
&#8220;Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field,&#8221; ADF Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb said.
&#8220;Forcing female athletes to compete against boys is grossly unfair and destroys their athletic opportunities,&#8221; she argued. &#8220;Title IX was designed to eliminate discrimination against women in education and athletics, and women fought long and hard to earn the equal athletic opportunities that Title IX provides. Allowing boys to compete in girls&#8217; sports reverses nearly 50 years of advances for women under this law. We shouldn&#8217;t force these young women to be spectators in their own sports.&#8221;
&#8220;Selina and her fellow female athletes train countless hours to shave mere fractions of seconds off their race times. They put in that effort in hope of the personal satisfaction of victory, an opportunity to participate in state and regional meets, or a chance at a college scholarship,&#8221; added Holcomb. &#8220;But girls competing against boys know the outcome before the race even starts: They can&#8217;t win. Boys will always have physical advantages over girls; that&#8217;s the reason we have women&#8217;s sports.&#8221;
The complaint filed by the three athletes asks the Office for Civil Rights &#8220;to require the conference to acknowledge every girl who would have been identified as a champion or who would have qualified for participation in a higher level competition but for the participation of a male in her event,&#8221; ADF noted in a June press release.
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Feds Investigating Violation Of Girls’ Civil Rights In CT After Trans Athletes Smoke Competition

With the Tokyo Olympics looming, women&#8217;s groups in New Zealand and the U.K. are sounding the alarm over the threat posed to the integrity of women&#8217;s sports by biological males who identify as females being allowed to compete against females.
Among the most high profile of the male-to-female transgender athletes sparking the increasingly widespread outcry against the presence of biological males in women&#8217;s events is weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, who competed as a man in the sport for decades before competing — and winning — as a woman in recent years.
Hubbard, 41, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49522/trans-athlete-wins-two-gold-weightlifting-medals-hank-berrien">dominated</a> the Pacific Games&#8217; women&#8217;s heavyweight events earlier this month, bringing home two golds and a silver, and besting Commonwealth Games champion Feagaiga Stowers in the process. Hubbard&#8217;s performance drew pushback from U.K.-based women&#8217;s group &#8220;Fair Play for Women,&#8221; who tweeted in response that it was time for sports officials, particularly the Olympics committees, to &#8220;wake up&#8221; to the implications of allowing biological males to compete against females.
&#8220;Another Gold for male-born weightlifter Laurel Hubbard this time at the Pacific games,&#8221; the group tweeted on July 13. &#8220;Hubbard is on track for Olympic Gold at Tokyo 2020. It&#8217;s not the women in this photo who should be hanging their heads. Sports policy makers must wake up.&#8221;
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<blockquote data-lang="en">Another Gold for male-born weightlifter Laurel Hubbard this time at the Pacific games. Hubbard is on track for Olympic Gold at Tokyo 2020. It&#8217;s not the women in this photo who should be hanging their heads. Sports policy makers must wake up. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FairPlayForWomen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FairPlayForWomen</a>. <a href="https://t.co/CJ8sT4Qkub">pic.twitter.com/CJ8sT4Qkub</a>
— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) <a href="https://twitter.com/fairplaywomen/status/1149973912710733824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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New Zealand-based women&#8217;s group &#8220;Speak Up For Women&#8221; is also calling on policymakers to take action to defend the integrity of women&#8217;s sports. &#8220;We&#8217;re calling on the Govt. to defend women&#8217;s sports following transwoman Laurel Hubbard taking the title in the over 87kg women&#8217;s weightlifting competition at the Pacific Games in Samoa last week,&#8221; the group tweeted last week.
&#8220;Our sporting orgs are enabling a practice that&#8217;s been described by researchers from Otago Uni as &#8216;intolerably unfair&#8217; — male athletes competing in women&#8217;s sport&#8230;&#8221; the group added in a follow-up posts. &#8220;We’re calling on [New Zealand Olympics], [Sport New Zealand] and the Minister for Sport [Grant Robertson], to put a stop to disadvantaging women and girls by making clear in policy and practice that sport MUST be categorised by SEX and not gender identity.&#8221;
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<blockquote data-lang="en">We’re calling on the Govt. to defend women’s sports following transwoman Laurel Hubbard taking the title in the over 87kg women’s weightlifting competition at the Pacific Games in Samoa last week. Come on <a href="https://twitter.com/grantrobertson1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@grantrobertson1</a> speak up for women’s sport <a href="https://t.co/Wh8fTmVbra">https://t.co/Wh8fTmVbra</a>
— Speak Up For Women (@SpeakUp4WomenNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakUp4WomenNZ/status/1153044046127886337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote data-lang="en">We’re calling on <a href="https://twitter.com/nzolympics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nzolympics</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SportNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportNZ</a> and the Minister for Sport <a href="https://twitter.com/grantrobertson1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@grantrobertson1</a>, to put a stop to disadvantaging women and girls by making clear in policy and practice that sport MUST be categorised by SEX and not gender identity.
— Speak Up For Women (@SpeakUp4WomenNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakUp4WomenNZ/status/1155568249129410560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Kiwis (New Zealanders) know that males competing in women&#8217;s sport is blatantly unfair,&#8221; the group&#8217;s spokesperson Ani O&#8217;Brien said in comments reported by <a href="http://news.trust.org/item/20190730054454-gybhb/">Reuters</a> Monday.
As reported by Australia&#8217;s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-30/transgender-athletes-in-the-pacific-under-fire/11360854">ABC</a>, Hubbard&#8217;s dominating performance at the Pacific Games also prompted criticism from Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele, who told a local news outlet, &#8220;This fa&#8217;afafine [a Samoan third gender] or man should have never been allowed by the Pacific Games Council president to lift with the women.&#8221;
As of 2015, International Olympic Committee&#8217;s guidelines allow biological men to compete against women if their testosterone levels are below 10 nanomoles per litre for a minimum of one full year prior to their first competition. Many other sports committees have adopted the IOC&#8217;s policies.
But peer-reviewed studies, including one conducted by researchers at the University of Otago, found that the lowered testosterone levels are not only still &#8220;significantly higher&#8221; than that of most women but also that lowering them &#8220;does little to mitigate natural biological advantages enjoyed by male-born athletes, including bone and muscle density,&#8221; Reuters notes. The Otago study recommended that the IOC include an additional transgender category to prevent future unfair competitions.
Fair Play for Women research director, Dr Nicola Williams, who likewise calls for changes in the IOC transgender rules, arguing that they should be suspendend until more thorough research can be conducted.
&#8220;We must suspend the rules now and wait for that data in the next five, six, seven years and then decide,&#8221; Williams told ABC. &#8220;In the meantime there have to be other arrangements for transgender people so that they can compete fairly and females can compete fairly.&#8221;
Commenting on Hubbard&#8217;s Pacific Games victories, Williams said, &#8220;Any reduction in testosterone, even to zero, wouldn&#8217;t actually reverse the male performance advantage that someone has when they go through male puberty, because we can&#8217;t reverse that.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50053/us-soccer-releases-fact-sheet-showing-womens-team-ashe-schow">U.S. Soccer Releases ‘Fact Sheet’ Showing Women’s Team Actually LOST Millions Yet Was Still Paid More Than Men’s Team</a>

Women’s Groups On Trans Athletes: ‘Males Competing In Women’s Sport Is Blatantly Unfair’

On Thursday, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro invited feminist writer Lauren Duca onto his radio program to debate comments the conservative made about women&#8217;s soccer star player Megan Rapinoe.
Shapiro argued that the U.S. women&#8217;s team should not make as much money as the men&#8217;s team in the World Cup due to a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/03/07/world-cup-soccer-pay-disparity-between-men-and-women-is-justified/#4b7a9c626da4">massive disparity</a> in revenue generated by each team. He also said Ms. Rapinoe racks up sponsorship deals and contracts due to both her far-above average athletic ability and her political activism, such as her widely-covered national anthem protest allegedly for LGBT rights. &#8220;She’s sort of Colin Kaepernick, but with actual talent at her sport,&#8221; Shapiro said.
Duca, apparently attempting to challenge him, told Shapiro in a tweet: &#8220;Lol f*** off, Ben Shapiro. If Megan Rapinoe is getting contracts for any reason other than her talent, it’s because she just provided an entire generation of baby dykes with their awakening moment.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Lol fuck off, Ben Shapiro. If Megan Rapinoe is getting contracts for any reason other than her talent, it’s because she just provided an entire generation of baby dykes with their awakening moment. <a href="https://t.co/js4SEXs3SA">https://t.co/js4SEXs3SA</a>
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurenduca/status/1149337935369711616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Shapiro noted that Ms. Duca’s comment was in basic agreement with his commentary regarding Rapinoe, but told her that if she wanted to come on his show, he’d be &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1149385363477057537">happy</a>&#8221; to discuss the topic. Duca, apparently in disagreement, said her opinion, in part, was for Shapiro to &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/laurenduca?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">STFU</a>&#8221; (shut the f*** up) and agreed to come on his show.
After Shapiro reiterated that it seemed both he and Duca agreed that Rapinoe is getting sponsorships in part for her political LGBT activism, Duca said she was still &#8220;confused&#8221; concerning any agreement.
&#8220;I think it’s very valuable, right, that Megan Rapinoe offers this level of visibility, as a queer woman myself,&#8221; said Duca. &#8220;My heart is just bursting out of my chest. This is just something we don’t really see and it’s brought me to tears multiple times, and I’m so excited about it. I have some criticisms of &#8216;rainbow capitalism,&#8217; but I love to see this level of acceptance around the LGBTQ community and I am really excited about the fact that corporations think that an LGBTQ identity as visible as Megan’s is valuable. So, that’s what I was saying, and it seems to me that you were saying she wasn’t deserving of her success because —.&#8221;
&#8220;Well, that was not my point at all,&#8221; Shapiro interjected. &#8220;What I actually said was that what was making me upset was that Megan Rapinoe’s claim to fame right now, was not merely her sexuality, her sexual orientation — which we’ve seen before, by the way, Abby Wambach famously kissed her partner in 2016 after winning the World Cup.&#8221;
&#8220;I remember that, Ben,&#8221; Duca jumped in. &#8220;That was so hot!&#8221;
&#8220;In any case, the fact that she is a lesbian is part of the story; part of the story is that she’s spent a lot of time complaining about the White House, the United States, talking about how the United States is bigoted and homophobic,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;The point that I was making is you are the beneficiary of an extraordinarily accepting system where corporations are indeed sponsoring you to make ads, where people are indeed celebrating you, where people are paying you inordinate amounts of money to do advertising contracts, in a sport that, ya know, once every four years makes attention but generally does not over the course of American sporting life. And, so, what are you (Rapinoe) complaining about?&#8221;
&#8220;That is not me complaining that a corporation is sponsoring her,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I may have complaints that I think corporations are engaging in exactly what you would call &#8216;rainbow capitalism,&#8217; but that wasn’t actually my complaint. So I’m confused what you’re yelling at me about.&#8221;
Duca responded: &#8220;I think that the confusing comes from there being two very different hierarchical structures at play here. So the United States government is actively eroding LGBTQ rights right now, and there is a pay gap issue that has leveled the advocacy that the U.S. Women’s Soccer team is offering. At the same time, it seems as if these corporations see the LGBTQ identity, which Megan Rapinoe so proudly displays, as valuable. And those are two different things.&#8221;
Duca said Shapiro was &#8220;saying [Rapinoe] is profiting off of victimhood. I saw her with a campaign bottle and trophy. I think that the thing that is happening here is she’s celebrating the LGBTQ identity; corporations also want to do the same, and this is happening concurrently … with the attacks on LGBTQ rights.&#8221;
&#8220;Well, she is not just doing that,&#8221; challenged Shapiro. &#8220;She’s kneeling for the national anthem, obviously; she’s claiming that America is a widespread bigoted country; she’s claiming that America is deeply sexist, and this is resulting in the female pay gap in regard to soccer, which is evidence-free. I mean, this has been fact-checked by everybody from The Washington Post to Snopes. There is not solid evidence that the women are being discriminated against in pay. If you want women’s equity on the women’s World Cup stage you’re going to have to explain how it is that the men’s World Cup earned $6 billion in 2018, and the women’s Would Cup earned $130 million in 2019 and the women and men are supposed to have the same prize money. … In order to receive the same as men, [women] would have to actually earn three times what the entire Would Cup earned for the players themselves, which is just untenable, obviously.&#8221;
Duca answered: &#8220;I hear a lot of numbers, and I do hear what you’re saying and that they are numbers, but I feel like at the crux of this is the question of: Is the United States, overall, a sexist country; is there a problem of LGBTQ representation? I think we can also say that her being so visible in the context of a complete lack of visibility is valuable.&#8221;
&#8220;So you say something in the clip about we’re being made to assume this is delightful, right, and you seem to find it obnoxious,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;But the whole thing is that she has built this level of public-figuredom and absolutely it includes a political element, right? And that it is being deemed valuable, and that perhaps, it does, in fact, it definitely has to do with her identity as an outspoken gay woman; in fact, Ben, I think that’s where we agree.&#8221;
&#8220;So we do agree,&#8221; Shapiro interjected.
Duca went on to suggest the disparity in viewership and general attention between men and women’s soccer is due to sexism. &#8220;Aren’t you saying that men’s soccer is able to create a larger profit margin? What role does the white male identity play in that? It seems to me that where we differ, you think that it’s okay to profit off of identity, it’s just a problem who gets to take home the money, and I’m saying lesbians, too, then, lesbians, too.&#8221;
Shapiro reiterated that the issue is Rapinoe feigning victimhood as an LGBT woman (i.e. kneeling for the anthem) while simultaneously being rewarded for her identity by an overwhelmingly accepting society. He then asked Duca: &#8220;Are you really suggesting that people are watching women’s soccer less because of sexism? Isn’t it just possible that people are watching women’s soccer less because it is not played as high a skill level as men’s soccer? It’s the reason people don’t watch the WNBA the same as they watch the NBA; nobody can dunk in the WNBA.&#8221;
&#8220;Ben, this is so incredibly tired,&#8221; Duca said. &#8220;You’re making a biological difference about skill level on a playing field. I don’t really feel the need to entertain that …&#8221;
&#8220;I know you don’t want to entertain it, but why not?&#8221; Shapiro asked.
&#8220;I’m talking about publicity and acclaim and the level of a public profile that is achieved in accordance with whatever identity the player has,&#8221; she replied. &#8220;And we do tend to celebrate, right, we tend to celebrate men in athletic faces way more than women and that’s why this is so refreshing, right —.&#8221;
&#8220;Serena Williams is pretty well celebrated,&#8221; Shapiro said, noting that Williams is the &#8220;greatest female tennis player of all time.&#8221;
Duca was displeased, saying Williams is the &#8220;greatest athlete&#8221; of all time, male or female.
&#8220;She is not the greatest athlete of all time,&#8221; Shapiro answered. &#8220;She would lose to a good college men’s player; but she is the greatest women’s player of all time.&#8221;
&#8220;Ben, I feel like, I don’t, I, what’s that, is that based on facts or feelings, Ben?&#8221; Duca said.
&#8220;No, that is based absolutely on the United States tennis rankings; they actually have a way of creating a metric —.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s based on the Constitution, that Serena Williams would lose a tennis match to —,&#8221; Duca snarked.
&#8220;No, that’s based on Serena Williams actually losing to two men, one of whom was actually smoking at the time, several years ago at the Australian Open,&#8221; said Shapiro. &#8220;I mean, Serena Williams has admitted this.&#8221;
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LISTEN: Ben Shapiro Debates Feminist Lauren Duca Over Megan Rapinoe Comments

Ben Shapiro

Megan Rapinoe

Patriotism

Megan Rapinoe, the captain of the World Cup-winning U.S. women’s soccer team, has become the latest ideological thorn lodged underneath the collective skin of conservatives. But Rapinoe kneeling during the national anthem or saying that she isn&#8217;t “going to the f***ing White House” seems downright inoffensive compared to her behavior over the course of the past few days.
Appearing on multiple news outlets, Megan Rapinoe appeared self-centered and divisive. She criticized President Donald Trump, as expected. She made accusations of homophobia, as expected. And an adoring Rachel Maddow called for Rapinoe to run for president, as expected. After famously scoffing at the very notion of interacting with people who hold different opinions, Megan Rapinoe took to the stage during the World Cup victory parade in New York City to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/sports/soccer/soccer-parade.html">call for unity</a>: “This is my charge to everyone: We have to be better, we have to love more and hate less. Listen more and talk less.”
Speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Megan Rapinoe said that she would be willing to have a “substantive conversation” with &#8220;anyone&#8221; &#8230; who &#8220;believes the same things&#8221; as she does. Combine this with her now-infamous admonition to “Listen more and talk less,” and we are getting dangerously close to Animal Farm’s quip: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Rapinoe, after saying she&#8217;ll never visit Trump, gives a &#8220;shoutout&#8221; to <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a> and says she&#8217;ll go to D.C. to have a &#8220;substantive conversation&#8221; with &#8220;anyone&#8221; &#8230; who &#8220;believes the same things we believe in.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/vfhvlybEGT">pic.twitter.com/vfhvlybEGT</a>
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1148763329269313536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The hypocrisy of those on the Left calling for diversity while actively rejecting diversity of thought is certainly nothing new. However, Megan Rapinoe is indicative of a far greater problem.
Rapinoe has been lauded by her supporters as the ultimate leader. The New York Times described her as a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/sports/megan-rapinoe-world-cup.html">Leader for Her Team, and Her Time</a>.” Unwittingly, the specific language used is actually quite apt. During the parade in New York, Rapinoe looked into the camera, holding the World Cup trophy in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other, and belted out, “I deserve this.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mPinoe</a> holding a trophy and a bottle of champagne and yelling “I DESERVE THIS” is a mood, an inspiration, a battle cry for women nationwide <a href="https://t.co/1r9YUDNBxD">pic.twitter.com/1r9YUDNBxD</a>
— Emmy Bengtson (@EmmyA2) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmyA2/status/1148961770301788160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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“I,” not “we.” “Her,” not “our.” Those who are obsessively praising the leadership attributes of Megan Rapinoe prove that they have completely forgotten the virtues of leadership.
Leaders are not selfish. Leaders are selfless. Megan Rapinoe intentionally cast a shadow of controversy over the U.S. women’s World Cup campaign. She used the tournament as a platform to promote her own ideology, rather than pursuing patriotic unity to bridge ever-growing political divides. In return for the decision to promote herself as an activist, she willingly risked alienating potential supporters, thereby damaging her team and her sport.
Rapinoe has been compared to Colin Kaepernick, a similarly divisive figure who almost single-handedly divided NFL audiences by political ideology. While Rapinoe’s activism is built upon success, Kaepernick built his upon failure, timing his protests perfectly with his demotion to the bench. However, both Rapinoe and Kaepernick were leaders of their respective teams, and both were willing to sacrifice their responsibilities as leaders in favor of selfish and divisive objectives. Their actions represent the absolute antithesis of leadership.
Ronald Reagan, arguably the last true leader to have held the office of the presidency, described leadership as follows: “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
When Reagan spoke of “the people.” he was not speaking solely of those “on his team.” He was speaking of every person in the country. For Megan Rapinoe to earn the title of leader for “her time,” she must be a leader for “the people” — and not just “some people.”
Megan Rapinoe has yet to encourage “the people” to “do the greatest things”. Until she focuses on healing and unity, rather than fueling division, she will never be a true leader. Anyone can bring people together who are the same. It takes someone special to bring people together who are different.

HAWORTH: Megan Rapinoe Is No Leader

Let no one claim that the U.S. women&#8217;s soccer team can&#8217;t beat men. They have, in fact, already unseated the 2007 New England Patriots as the most unlikable winning sports team in modern American history. This is an extraordinary accomplishment in its own right, as it is very hard to be both unlikable and a winner in America. Winning covers up many sins. Even Michael Vick was forgiven after he had a decent season with the Eagles. We love winners in our culture, but it is truly hard to love these ladies.
I will be told that this apparent unlikability is due to sexism — my sexism, the system&#8217;s sexism, everyone&#8217;s sexism, the sexism in the water supply. We have trouble liking the women&#8217;s soccer team, and celebrating its successes, because they are women and we are misogynists, or so the story will go. But that excuse doesn&#8217;t hold. Most of the &#8220;misogynists&#8221; criticizing Megan Rapinoe&#8217;s squad still love to see American women take gold at the Olympics. It was easy to root for Simone Biles and Lindsey Vonn. But it&#8217;s not so easy with this particular collection of female athletes.
The reason for the difficulty probably has something to do with incidents like <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailywire.com/news/49243/us-womens-soccer-player-drops-american-flag-ground-joseph-curl%3famp">this</a>, where three of the players dropped the American flag on the ground and stepped on it during the victory celebration. Snopes says it is &#8220;mostly false&#8221; to claim that the women dropped the flag and stepped on it, but that is literally what happened. It was an act of careless disregard rather than political protest, but still, it&#8217;s gross and hard to watch.
It also didn&#8217;t help that the ladies ran around the field gloating gratuitously after easily dispatching vastly inferior teams like Thailand. The whining about &#8220;equal pay&#8221; has added to the insufferability factor, as have the national anthem protests and the constant Trump-bashing. I&#8217;m no Trump sycophant myself, but it&#8217;s annoying when athletes — especially athletes who are supposed to represent America, as a whole — insist on being political. The drunken belligerence isn&#8217;t terribly appealing either, especially when grown adult women are on video <a href="https://twitter.com/mattwalshblog/status/1149373502442614784?s=21">declaring</a>, &#8220;Hide yo kids &#8230; I got the keys to the mothaf***ing city and I&#8217;m coming for all y&#8217;all b*tches.&#8221; It&#8217;s difficult to be likable while speaking like that.
But I think the real problem with this team was encapsulated in one short <a href="https://twitter.com/emmya2/status/1148961770301788160?s=21">video</a> of Megan Rapinoe at the victory parade yesterday. Holding the trophy in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other, Rapinoe twice declared: &#8220;I deserve this.&#8221; When asked what she deserves, she answered, &#8220;Everything.&#8221; This clip has been predictably celebrated by feminists as empowering and inspirational, but many fans of team sports find it extremely off-putting — and for good reason. I imagine even the inspired feminists would see the problem if it were Tom Brady hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and shouting, &#8220;I deserve this.&#8221; But whatever else you might say about Tom Brady, he certainly wouldn&#8217;t do that. Brady knows that he should always give credit to the team — and he does, obsessively so.
It is difficult to root for people who are self-glorifying and narcissistic. And the self-glorifying narcissism of female athletes is even more annoying because it comes dressed as empowerment. There are plenty of jerks playing male sports. But nobody hesitates to call them jerks, and nobody is tempted to hail their jerkiness as a sign of strength. We all just say, &#8220;Wow what a jerk,&#8221; nod in agreement with each other, and move on. Female jerks, on the other hand, will have a whole chorus of cheerleaders welling up with pride and insisting that boorish, stupid behavior from a woman is actually beautiful. And that just makes the behavior all the more irritating to the sane and reasonable among us.
WATCH:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mPinoe</a> holding a trophy and a bottle of champagne and yelling “I DESERVE THIS” is a mood, an inspiration, a battle cry for women nationwide <a href="https://t.co/1r9YUDNBxD">pic.twitter.com/1r9YUDNBxD</a>
— Emmy Bengtson (@EmmyA2) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmyA2/status/1148961770301788160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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