And Now For Some Funny Fun

A Lime-Green Dildo Got Thrown Onto a WNBA Court. Chaos Ensued

Players cracked wise about the launched sex toy on social media.

By James Factora July 30, 2025

Lez Out July might be drawing to a close, but one WNBA fan made damn sure that it’s not going out without a bang, pun semi-intended. And by that, we mean that someone launched a lime- green dildo onto the court at an Atlanta Dream game last night.

The incident occurred during the fourth quarter of the Dream’s July 29 game against the Golden State Valkyries at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. With a minute left on the clock and both teams tied at 75 points, the drama was already high. Perhaps that’s why one attendee felt inspired to launch a dildo into the air and onto the court with truly impressive velocity.

(embedded tweet; I can’t get it, see it on the page, linked in headline)

At about 17 seconds into the above clip, you can see slowed-down footage of the dildo’s journey, seemingly tossed from somewhere high up in the stands and bouncing across the court into the sidelines. And yes, we did get a close-up shot of the “object” in question, as the commentators called it. Absolute Cinema, if you ask us.

(embedded tweet; I can’t get it, see it on the page)

Though the commentators said that there was “no room for that type of activity,” and we certainly don’t support launched objects at concerts and games, it seems that WNBA players themselves have at least enough room to make jokes about that type of activity online. Las Vegas Aces guard Kierstan Bell quote-posted a video of the incident with, “Damn how my shit get there,” and an eyebrow-raised emoji. Indiana Fever point guard Sydney Colson, meanwhile, posted, “Sorry I did NOT mean to throw that so far y’all.” Though she didn’t include a video, that lime-green heart emoji (which is weirdly close to the color of the actual dildo) makes this an unmistakable reference. (snip-good sports, all! MORE)

More clips from The Majority Report on different subjects I feel are important to share.

UK Petition To Regulate Greyhound Breeding & Racing

Please read thoughtfully and sign if you’re in the UK, and share it with people you know who are in the UK. And thank you!

In 2025, why are men still afraid to come out in professional sports?

There are zero openly gay and bi men actively competing in America’s top pro sports leagues. What’s keeping the closet door shut?

This story was originally reported by Benjamin Land and Spencer Macnaughton, Uncloseted of The 19th. Meet Benjamin and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.

This story was originally published in Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ-focused investigative news outlet.

When Jason Collins came out in a 2013 Sports Illustrated cover story, he broke down the long-sealed closet in men’s sports by becoming the first openly gay active player in any major league sport. President Barack Obama called him to offer his support, saying he “couldn’t be prouder,” and Oprah Winfrey called him “a pioneer.”

“By not having to hide who I am, just being able to live an authentic life, there’s something powerful about being the one to out yourself and step forward and speak your truth,” Collins told Uncloseted Media. “There’s no greater feeling.”

Many thought that Collins’ announcement would lead to a slew of men coming out in professional sports; commentators called it a “tipping point” and the moment “when things really changed.” But 12 years later, the silence is deafening. Today, there are zero active openly gay or bisexual players in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, PGA and ATP.

What makes these numbers particularly shocking is that more than 1 in 5 Gen Z adults in the United States identify as LGBTQ+. “It is a legit claim that the last closet for men is sports, especially in the North American context,” says Charlene Weaving, a professor of gender studies at St. Francis Xavier University. “If you look at sport[s], it’s as if what’s happening in society is amplified. Sports is the worst place for sexism and homophobia. … There’s so much pressure to adhere to a heterosexual persona.”

So what’s keeping the closet door shut?

Coaching can help or hurt

Brian Burke participates in the 2025 Toronto Pride Parade on June 29, 2025.
Brian Burke participates in the 2025 Toronto Pride Parade on June 29, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Harold Feng/Getty Images)

One key element in men’s sports that can help or hinder someone from coming out is the mentors who surround them.

“The coaches create the culture, right? What you say, what you allow [in] your locker room, that’s all on us,” says Anthony Nicodemo, a gay high school basketball coach in Westchester, New York.

He says he intentionally uses LGBTQ-inclusive language with his team to signal that there’s nothing wrong with being gay. “If we had a game on Saturday morning and it’s Friday night, I’d say, ‘Hey go home with your boyfriend or girlfriend tonight, stay in.’ My kids would laugh, of course, but then after I said it a couple times, they didn’t even blink,” he says. “If there was a gay kid on my team, that gay kid knows that he’s welcome.”

A 2016 study by the Journal of Sport and Health Science found that gay and bisexual male teen athletes feel particularly unwelcome when playing in formal sporting environments where there are coaches. The study also found that they were more likely to play on an informal team without a coach, which would lessen their chances of becoming a professional athlete.

“The hope is that you’re going to create inclusive environments that are ultimately going to allow those kids to get to the point in society where we feel comfortable with them coming out and eventually playing at the professional level,” says Nicodemo, who worked with Collins at the Pride Center’s LGBTQ+ inclusion basketball clinic in San Antonio this March.

Nicodemo says we need more role models like Brian Burke, the former president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After Burke’s gay son passed away in a car accident in 2010, he made it his mission to explicitly advocate for gay men competing in pro hockey. “If you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you are welcome with the Pittsburgh Penguins,” he said at a 2021 Pittsburgh Pride Revolution March. “You’re welcome to come to our games, you’re welcome to play for our team, you’re welcome to work on our staff. You are welcome.”

Research suggests all players want to participate in more inclusive environments. A 2021 study evaluated college coaches who identified as LGBTQ+, as allies, or as anti-LGBTQ+. In every context, students preferred coaches who embraced nondiscrimination, choosing the ally and the LGBTQ+ coach over the anti-LGBTQ+ coach.

Despite this, Nicodemo says he may be an anomaly when it comes to LGBTQ-inclusive coaches. In fact, a 2015 study concluded that the United States was the most homophobic country in the world when it comes to sports and 80 percent of the study’s participants reported witnessing or experiencing homophobia in U.S. sports.

Just this week, the Wake Forest men’s baseball coach Tom Walter issued an apology after cameras caught him using an apparent homophobic slur during an NCAA game.

“There’s a lot of homophobia in our society. There is a lot of homophobia still in sports, in particular, male sports,” says Collins. “We still have a lot of work to do as far as creating those environments that those athletes do feel comfortable to step forward [in] and share who they are. It’s about education and letting them know it’s okay to say, ‘I am gay,’ ‘I am bisexual.’ You know, you name it, but it’s okay. It’s okay to speak your truth.”

Are the leagues pulling their weight?

Beyond the coaches are the leagues. While some of them have taken steps to create inclusive environments, others have gone in a different direction by rolling back their LGBTQ-inclusive policies amid attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). In March, the MLB removed references to their “Diversity Pipeline Program,” which outlined their diversity-focused hiring initiatives, from their website.

This may have been in response to external pressure. In October 2023, the conservative public interest organization America First Legal, which was founded by Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, filed a formal complaint against the MLB, blasting the league’s diversity pipeline and related initiatives as blatant examples of racial and sexist discrimination against white men.

And in 2023, the NHL banned all LGBTQ+ symbols from uniforms after a handful of players refused to participate in Pride Nights.

While the ban was lifted after pushback from sponsors, players and fans, Nicodemo believes it sent the wrong message to young male players. “I believe wholeheartedly that Pride nights save lives. I think [about] a gay kid that is watching hockey at home and seeing the rainbow flag and how important that is,” he says. “Gay kids need to see people representing pride. When I was coaching before COVID, when we used to actually wear suits when we coached, I wore a rainbow lapel in every game just to show it was okay.”

Some men’s leagues have done more to promote inclusivity. NBA Cares, the social justice arm of the league’s charitable programming, has prioritized including gay youth and men in their initiatives. Nicodemo has worked with NBA Cares, and Collins has contributed as an ambassador.

“This is very important for coaches, for those people in leadership positions, to think about as far as, ‘How do I get the best possible version of my athlete?’ … One way you do that is by creating a team environment where everyone feels safe,” says Collins.

Homophobia and misogyny in the men’s locker room

A player with a ball his hand sits in a locker room.
A player with a ball his hand sits in a locker room. (Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images)

Unlike men’s leagues, women’s leagues are more accepting of LGBTQ+ players. Billie Jean King, Brittney Griner and Abby Wambach are some of the many women who have thrived while competing as openly gay athletes.

“In the WNBA, [it’s] not an issue,” says Nicodemo, referencing that 29 percent of active WNBA players are openly lesbian.

Homophobia is more common among men. And in the locker room, it isn’t always easy to spot, as it often masks itself in homoeroticism.

“Two male athletes will kiss each other on the lips. And that’s considered to be love and appreciation that you scored that big goal. ‘I’m gonna kiss you and it’s not at all viewed to be perceived to be gay and the grabbing of the bums or the testicle area.’ This idea of showering together, slapping towels, that’s all considered to be like part of men’s sport,” says Weaving. “So it’s this idea where players can be as ‘gay’ as they want and in the context of the field or the locker room, they’re not perceived to be gay. But if they were to act that way outside of that sporting context, then they’re considered to be.”

Collins says this gender divide may be because of sexism and toxic masculinity. This kind of performative homoeroticism is only socially acceptable because it’s understood to be ironic—a joke that relies on not actually being gay. When the behavior slips beyond the bounds of “just joking,” it exposes an undercurrent of homophobia masked as camaraderie.

The financial cost of coming out: something to gain or lose?

Beyond all these pressures lies a monetary component for athletes who are considering opening the closet door while still in uniform. Cyd Zeigler, the cofounder of Outsports, wrote in a 2024 article that he knows “for a fact that agents have told gay athletes to stay in the closet” and that his “best answer has pointed to the agents and managers whose livelihoods depend on athletes maximizing their earning potential in just a few years.”

Weaving agrees. “The general managers and the owners have more traditionally homophobic, sexist thinking. They believe [LGBTQ+ players] will harm viewership,” she says. “It’s still taboo where athletes fear repercussions, predominantly, around sponsorships.”

The fear of losing out on money may be misguided. The first day Jason Collins’ number 98 jersey became available on the NBA website, one year after he came out, it was the top seller of all active NBA players. Carl Nassib’s jersey became a top seller on the NFL’s official online marketplace when he came out in 2021. And Michael Sam, the first gay NFL player, had the second-highest selling jersey in his 2014 rookie class of more than 250 draftees.

The Trump effect on the last closet

Perhaps the biggest factor keeping men in the closet is America’s current political climate, where the Trump administration and corporate America have abandoned DEI and so-called “woke” initiatives.

The Trump administration has also erased many references to LGBTQ+ people from government websites, and at least nine states have introduced measures to overturn marriage equality.

“The Trump administration asks districts to sign attestations to say that they’re not going to do DEI work in schools. That could be a pride flag hanging in the classroom,” says Nicodemo. “If you’re not creating an inclusive environment for these kids, then these kids are never going to feel comfortable coming out.”

What can be done?

As all these factors create a challenging environment for men to feel safe coming out in sports.

Collins says what could move the needle the most is an increase in role models who will make young athletes feel like they’re competing in a safe environment. “It definitely got to very dark, lonely places because I felt like I was going through this alone,” he says. “When I was younger, I was constantly looking for those role models, of people who have sort of been down this path,” he says.

Weaving agrees and says that a lack of LGBTQ-inclusive coaches can be more than just a deterrent for student-athletes seeking to grow their career.

“For many children, it doesn’t only make things uncomfortable, it can push them out of sports altogether,” she says. “Coaches play a big role. Youth sport is the starting point. If you can create positive environments, inclusive cultures at that level, it continues and helps to shift the pro culture.”

Collins remains hopeful that there will be more visibility of gay men in professional sports but underscores the need for role models to step up.

“If you’re a coach or if you’re an athletic director or even a headmaster out of school, you have to seek out help. You have to bring other organizations who have expertise. And it can be as simple as a 30- to 60-minute conversation, but at least you’re laying the groundwork down for educating those players, educating those athletes,” says Collins, a two-time NBA championship finalist who married his partner last month.

Additional reporting by Sam Donndelinger.

The good, bad, ugly and of course the stupid. 6-25-2025

5000+ Mexicans Form Record “Human Pride Flag”

Cops: Atlanta Teens Filmed Themselves Destroying Gay Bar’s Pride Flags, Hate Crime Charges Possible [VIDEO]

Riley Gaines: Defund States That Back Trans Athletes

Riley Gaines, who has turned a fifth place finish against non-trans swimmers into career with MAGA media.

Now let me see if I have this right. Riley Gaines finished 5th in a race with a trans athlete. And, if that trans athlete had NOT been in the race, Riley Gaines would still have finished in 5th place because the two swimmers were TIED for 5th. So, a trans athlete being in the race did not have any effect on Riley Gaines at all

Grenell Rages At “Hamilton” Creators Over Pride Event

 


Murkowski Floats Leaving Republican Party [VIDEO]

 

Cassidy Realizes Vax Advisory Panelists Are Crackpots

 

Fox Host: Israel Must Carry Out More Assassinations

US Intel: Bombing Only Set Back Iran For Months

 

Fox Host Furious About Ceasefire Announcement: “Adolf Hitler Wasn’t Thrown A Lifeline” At War’s End [AUDIO]

Sen. Katie Britt: “Trump Will Win The Nobel, No Doubt”

 

 

Trump Hints US May Leave NATO Mutual Defense Pact

 

Trump Admin Seeks To Deforest 59M Public Acres

 

Parliamentarian Nixes GOP Plot To Sell Public Lands

ICE Used National Guard Troops To Raid CA Weed Farm

 

Noem: Alligator Alcatraz Will Open “At Turbo Speed”

 

McConnell: Worried About Medicaid? “Get Over It”

Trump Challenges “Stupid AOC” To Cognitive Test

WH Claims DOGE Worker “Big Balls” Has Resigned

First of all, I would like proof of this man’s “big balls.”

Second, he is a national security disaster. From his Wikipedia page:

His maternal grandfather Valery Martynov was a KGB Lieutenant Colonel executed by the Soviet Union as a double agent. After his execution his widow moved with her children, including Coristine’s mother, to the United States.

Also from Wikipedia:

Bloomberg News reported that Coristine had been fired from his internship at cybersecurity firm Path Network in 2022 for allegedly leaking internal company information to a competitor. Following his dismissal, a large collection of internal Path documents and conversations was leaked online.

The apple may not fall too far from the tree in this instance.

Reuters published a story alleging that Coristine’s online content delivery network DiamondCDN had facilitated the work of the cybercriminal group EGodly. In 2023 Egodly thanked Coristine saying “We extend our gratitude to our valued partners DiamondCDN for generously providing us with their amazing DDoS protection and caching systems, which allow us to securely host and safeguard our website,” Egodly has claimed involvement in a number of crimes including email hacking, theft of cryptocurrency, and the harassment of a former FBI agent.

This guy would never have passed any sort of normal security clearance. That this story isn’t a massive front page scandal is an indictment of the times we live in.

Some stories I wanted to share but never found time. I have read these and found them informative and worth the reading

Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang

Call for EU ban on anti-LGBTQ ‘conversion’ gets 1 million signatures

Call for EU ban on anti-LGBTQ ‘conversion’ gets 1 million signatures

Tim Walz Perfectly Explains Why Trump Running The Country ‘Like A Business’ Is A Bad Idea

https://www.comicsands.com/tim-walz-trump-businessman?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=infeed&utm_campaign=linkprogram

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz criticized President Donald Trump during an interview with MSNBC host Jen Psaki, stressing just why the people who elected Trump to run the country “like a business” were completely misguided.

Walz particularly lamented the impacts of Trump’s ongoing trade war with Canada and Mexico, noting that Trump has a history of scuttling deals and “a proven track record of being an absolute failure.”

https://x.com/Acyn/status/1920290310212759910

https://x.com/Acyn/status/1920290310212759910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1920290310212759910%7Ctwgr%5E00f795982a109b5c6cc456d92454395e8ffdfb59%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicsands.com%2Ftim-walz-trump-businessman

Military commanders will be told to send transgender troops to medical checks to oust them

https://apnews.com/article/transgender-ban-military-discharge-troops-0218f0b6fec595c420bd0ac072d87335

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, officials said Thursday.

A senior defense official laid out what could be a complicated and lengthy new process aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump’s directive to remove transgender service members from the U.S. military.

The new order to commanders relies on routine annual health checks that service members are required to undergo. Another defense official said the Defense Department has scrapped — for now — plans to go through troops’ health records to identify those with gender dysphoria.

 

Far Right Federal Judge Rules Gay And Trans People Can Be Discriminated Against In Workplaces

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/far-right-federal-judge-rules-gay

Judge Kacsmaryk, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas, ruled on the EEOC’s treatment of Title VII employment discrimination claims on gay and trans people.

Montana Court Issues Final Blow to Anti-Trans Health Care Law

A judge found that the law’s premise is not scientific, but “political and ideological.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whiner

Charlie Hustle by Clay Jones

Meet Donny Grifter Read on Substack

After being banned from Major League Baseball for life, gambler Pete Rose and others like Shoeless Joe Jackson are now eligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rose was banned in 1989 and spent the rest of his life crying about it instead of offering repentance. He didn’t even stop gambling. He never helped his case, even when it seemed Baseball wanted to bring him back.

Commissioner Rob Manfred made the ruling and said, “In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.”

If Rose hadn’t bet on baseball, or if he hadn’t been caught, he would have been voted into the HoF as soon as he was eligible, which is five years after retirement. His 4,256 hits, 3,562 games played, and 15,890 plate appearances are still unbroken records. Across 24 seasons, Rose made 17 All-Star teams, won three batting titles, won the 1973 NL MVP, and won three World Series trophies. Rose earned the nickname “Charlie Hustle” for his aggressive style of play. Rose always seemed to find himself on base, and then the next, and then the next, until he was across home plate. He is a baseball legend. Even his gambling addiction couldn’t take away his legend.

I was excited when I heard this, not because I am a baseball fan and am in Rose’s corner. I’ve always had mixed views about Rose’s ban, and Shoeless Joe Jackson’s, for that matter. I was excited because I thought that here’s a chance I can do a cartoon that’s not about Donald Trump. And then I read how this ban was lifted.

Goddammit.

(snip-MORE; Go Read It!)

Jackie Robinson, and More, in Peace & Justice History for 4/15

April 15, 1947
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson became the first African American to play in a major league baseball game in the 20th century. His stepping onto Ebbets Field in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform broke the “color line,” the segregation of professional teams.
The International League in 1887 began a wave of League-wide black exclusion, and it had been complete since 1899, when Bill Galloway became the last African-American player in white organized ball (Woodstock, Ontario).
Though hitless in three at-bats, Robinson started at first base, and the Dodgers beat the Boston Braves that day, 5-3.


“Jackie, we’ve got no army. There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owners, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans will be hostile. We’ll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I’m doing this because you’re a great ballplayer, a fine gentleman.”

“There was never a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker and with better judgment than (Jackie) Robinson.”
-Branch Rickey
Jackie Robinson and his work on civil rights from the National Archives
(with teaching activities and worksheets)
(I was concerned this wouldn’t be there, but then recalled they said they put him back. It’s there. -A)
April 15, 1967

King and Dr. Benjamin Spock lead an anti-war march to the United Nations, 15 April 1967
Amidst growing opposition to the war in Vietnam, large-scale anti-war protests were held in New York, San Francisco and other cities. In New York, the protest began in Central Park, where over 150 draft cards were burned, and concluded at the United Nations with speeches by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others.
King’s opposition to the war, excerpts of his speeches and reaction throughout the country 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryapril.htm#april15

Clay Jones Bats It Out Of The Park!

Fascist Hockey by Clay Jones

Get the puck out of here Read on Substack

I suspect a lot of people are not going to like today’s cartoon, especially in my area. I live in Caps country.

The Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL career goal on Sunday, breaking the record set by “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky, which has stood unchallenged since 1999. The NHL is celebrating Ovechkin’s achievement, which he accomplished with only five games remaining in the regular season. The Caps will be the number-seed in the playoffs (which means they’ll probably lose in the first round).

Another person celebrating Ovi’s accomplishment is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who congratulated Ovi, saying, “You’ve surprised legendary masters. Without a doubt, this achievement is not only your personal success but a true celebration for fans in Russia and abroad.”

There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Even if Putin is a monster, it’s expected that he would congratulate a Russian for such a great historic accomplishment, and Ovechkin should be proud to be Russian, just as you should be proud of your nationality, even if you’re not always proud of your nation’s actions. What’s wrong here is that Alexander Ovechkin is a Putin supporter.

Ovechkin is a Putin supporter to the point that his profile image on his Instagram page is of him with Putin.

Ovechkin played on the Russian Olympic team in 2014, when the games were hosted in Sochi, Russia. The Russians were defeated by Team USA and then lost to Finland in the quarterfinals, but they came back later in the year and won the World Championship in Belarus (when most nations didn’t send their best). Putin celebrated with the team in the locker room, where the Great Eight poured champagne into Putin’s glass from the championship trophy.

Later, Ovi visited Putin at the Kremlin, where he asked Putin to give him and each of his teammates a car, a Mercedes GL, to be specific. It was a request Putin granted.

Putin and Ovi have played hockey together, and when Ovi got married, Putin sent a wedding gift, a tea set, but I’d be careful about drinking anything Putin serves. When Russia annexed Crimea and started its war on Ukraine, Ovi expressed his support with a photo on Instagram.

GR8 forgets that there aren’t free elections in his nation, that Putin murders his critics and enemies, that a free press and political opposition are prohibited, and that Putin has been in power for 25 years. “#SaveChildrenFromFascism” is a hashtag used by Russian media to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Here, Alexander Ovechkin is a stooge.

Asked by ESPN about the post, Ovi said, “I don’t try to make a statement. Right now, as a Russian, I have lots of friends from Ukraine. I just don’t want a war. Nobody wants a war.” That was a weak response full of bullshit. You made a statement, Ovi, and it was one supporting Putin’s war that’s killing people in Ukraine. Ovi, you want to “save children from fascism,” but how about saving them from Putin’s bombs?

In 2017, Ovechkin created the Putin Team, a social movement in support of Putin, and issued a statement saying, “I’m sure there are many of us who support Vladimir Putin! So let’s unite and show everyone a strong and united Russia!”

After Putin illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022, Ovi said, “Obviously, it’s a hard situation. I have lots of friends in Russia and Ukraine, and it’s hard to see the war. I hope soon it’s going to be over and there’s going to be peace in the whole world.”

When asked if he still supports Putin, Ovi said, “Well, he is my president, but I am not in politics. I am an athlete, and you know, how I said, I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s [a] hard situation right now for both sides … I’m not in control of this situation,” but that photo’s still his profile image on Instagram.

This isn’t a case of left or right-wing politics. Putin is a monster. He’s a murderer. He’s a liar. He’s tampered with other nations’ elections, including ours. He’s worked to put his puppets in power, puppets like Donald Trump. Putin is a dictator who’s bombed children’s hospitals and has never expressed remorse.

“I’m sure there are many of us who support Vladimir Putin! So let’s unite and show everyone a strong and united Russia!” Ovechkin said in a statement when he created Putin Team.

If that’s disappointing for Caps fans, imagine how Canadians feel about The Great One, a national icon for Canada, being a Trumper.

Yes, hockey fans, I’m sorry to report that Wayne Gretzky is a MAGAt.

Look. Here’s a photo taken at MAGA-Lardo on election, where The Great One (not Trump) was in attendance.

Here he is in a MAGAt cap.

Last February, Trump praised Gretzky in a rambling post on ShitSocial, saying, “Wayne Gretzky is a fantastic guy! They call him, “The Great One,” and he is. He could run for any political office in Canada, and win. Wayne is my friend, and he wants to make me happy, and is therefore somewhat “low key” about Canada remaining a separate Country, rather than becoming a cherished and beautiful 51st State, paying much Lower Taxes, a Free and Powerful Military, NO TARIFFS, and having a Booming Economy. Wayne and Janet, his wonderful wife, love Canada, and they should only support Canada, and whatever else makes the Canadian People, and Governor Justin Trudeau, happy. He’s the Greatest Canadian of them all, and I am therefore making him a “free agent,” because I don’t want anyone in Canada to say anything bad about him. He supports Canada the way it is, as he should, even though it’s not nearly as good as it could be as part of the Greatest and Most Powerful Country in the World, the Good Ole’ U.S.A.!”

Gretzky was a Canadian hero who led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup victories. He was a symbol of national pride, but that started to wane once he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Now, his nation is disappointed in him as he won’t defend them against Trump’s insults, suggesting they become our 51st state, and attacking them with tariffs. He hasn’t even downplayed Trump’s comments that Gretzky could be governor of that 51st state. Talk about installing puppets.

Gretzky tried to defend his MAGAness by saying, “We always, believe it or not, really never talk politics in the locker room…we watch basketball, we watch baseball, we talk about the Blue Jays, we talk about the New York Yankees. (For) hockey players, that’s never on the docket. It’s just something that we stay in our lane. The prime minister and the president don’t tell us how to play hockey. We don’t tell them how to do politics, right?”

Gretzky said hockey players don’t talk politics and stay in their lane, yet it looks like Gretzky’s lane took him to MAGA-Lardo on election night, and it also took him to Washington, DC, to attend Trump’s inauguration (sic) last January.

Gretzky’s hometown of Brantford, Ontario, will take a major hit from Trump’s trade war as 80 percent of its production is sold to the United States. Yet Gretzky has yet to comment on Trump’s tariffs hitting not just his home nation but his hometown.

Many Canadians feel like Gretzky has abandoned Canada and chosen the United States over it. He’s married to an American and has made the USA his home. Recently, someone smeared poo on the statue of Gretzky at Edmonton’s Rogers Place, probably upset over him turning his back on Canada or they mistook it for a Tesla.

In 2009, Gretzky was awarded Canada’s highest civilian honour, Companion of the Order of Canada. Gretzky still hasn’t picked the award up. With him now being a fully-pledged MAGAt, it might be wise for him not to pick it up.

Creative note: This is NOT my most popular cartoon. It only has one like after three hours on Twitter/X, and only 13 shares on Facebook (but 72 likes).

Note about nothing: I almost choked to death on a salad yesterday. I was watching 30 Rock during lunch and Pete Hornberger had shaved his head only to discover a birthmark that looked like a Swastika made out of penises. I did survive…obviously.

Music note: I listened to The Pixies.

Drawn in 30 seconds: (snip-go see)

Trans Athletes: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

John Oliver discusses why trans athletes seem to be at the center of U.S. politics right now, the nuances around competition and safety, where the conversation could be headed, and what The Rock would do in a barre class.