And along those lines, check this out, and also check in on your own state legislature, because these laws are coming from a national organization. Also, dig “Independence Day”, which is not at all acknowledged in the Bible; it gets more time than even Christmas or Easter. I do not think “Christian” means what they think it means. Emphases within are mine.
TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature’s negotiators on education bills deleted a Senate-approved change to state law prohibiting school sports practice and competition on Sundays, Wednesday evenings and multiday periods centered on Easter, Christmas and Independence Day.
The effort to expand on Kansas State High School Activities Association rules for scheduling athletic events, currently concentrated on Dec. 25 and July 4, was led by Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi, R-Wichita. He convinced Senate colleagues to accept his amendment to Senate Bill 515 expanding no-sports days on calendars at public and private schools statewide.
During Senate debate on Blasi’s amendment, questions were raised about his focus on Christian faith traditions. His amendment passed on an unrecorded voice vote of the Senate.
During Senate and House negotiations Monday on SB 515, Wichita Republican Rep. Susan Estes and Wichita Sen. Renee Erickson, who serve as lead negotiators on the Legislature’s education bills, agreed to cast aside Blasi’s broadened moratorium. His amendment was removed from legislation intended to enable homeschool students to join sports at private schools in the way state law permitted them to be part of public school athletics.
Blasi said he was motivated to act on concerns expressed by constituents that school-sponsored sports interrupted periods that ought to be reserved for family or church activities.
Specifically, his amendment would forbid sporting events on Sundays and on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. to midnight from Sept. 1 to April 30. In addition, he sought to apply the prohibition to a four-day window around Easter, but only from 6 p.m. to midnight. A five-day ban at Christmas and a seven-day ban encompassing Independence Day would be part of the new state law.
“This is going to assure we focus on what really keeps communities strong — that is family and faith,” Blasi said.
Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, said she was anxious the Legislature was wading into the KSHSAA rulebook without considering family interests in other religious faiths. Blasi’s amendment didn’t address Islam’s Ramadan, Judaism’s Passover or Rosh Hashanah, Hinduism’s Maha Shivavatri or Buddhism’s Bodhi Day.
“Not any religion was considered,” Blasi said. “This was just a response to constituents.”
Francisco wasn’t convinced of the amendment’s merits.
“My constituents would like me to be as inclusive as possible,” she said.
The amendment left on the cutting room floor by the House and Senate conference committee was defended by several other members of the Senate.
Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, said she was a strong supporter of Blasi’s effort to turn back the clock in Kansas to an era more respectful of faith traditions.
“It’s a sad day that we have to legislate this,” Tyson said. “Years ago, it wasn’t even an issue. It was a standard and acceptable, but here we are.”
Sen. Brad Starnes, R-Riley, said the amendment was crafted to affirm religion as the “bedrock of our country.”
The objective of the amendment was to clear school calendars so students had more time to pursue religious interests, said Sen. Michael Murphy, R-Sylvia.
“As we move away from that, we do so at our peril,” Murphy said. “It’s time we moved back to some of those traditions that served us well.”
The House-Senate conference committee bundled the stripped down SB 515 and Senate Bill 361 into Senate Bill 382. SB 361 allows foreign exchange students to enroll in their host’s public school district. SB 382 deals with administration of state assessments to K-12 students in virtual schools. As of Tuesday, neither the House nor Senate had voted on the the three-bill deal.
To me, this is basic misogyny; soon it will be simpler for the Olympics to ban women and girls entirely. I will note that it doesn’t seem that they’re going to check for trans men. I wonder if trans men ought to play in women’s sports, under this “logic”? Meanwhile, all the girls and women who are a little too tall, a little too strong, a little larger built in the shoulders, etc., etc. are going to be excluded along with other women who passed through male puberty before transitioning. The illogic of this makes my head explode.
I will add that there is a special place in hell for women who undermine other women; especially those who get somewhere, then yank the ladder up behind them. Lookin’ at Kirsty Coventry, pictured below, now IOC President.
GENEVA (AP) — Transgender women athletes are now excluded from women’s events at the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” the International Olympic Committee said, to be determined by a mandatory gene test once in an athlete’s career.
It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, though weightlifter Laurel Hubbard did at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 without winning a medal.
The eligibility policy that will apply from the L.A. Olympics in July 2028 “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category,” the IOC said.
“It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs,” said the IOC, whose Olympic Charter states that access to play sport is a human right.
After an executive board meeting, the IOC published a 10-page policy document that also restricts female athletes such as two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya with medical conditions known as differences in sex development, or DSD.
“We know that this topic is sensitive,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in an online news conference to explain the policy.
Coventry and the IOC have wanted a clear policy instead of continuing to advise sports’ governing bodies who previously have drafted their own rules.
“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” Coventry, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, said in a statement. “So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”
She set up a review of “protecting the female category” as one of her first big decisions last June as the first woman to lead the Olympic body in its 132-year history.
“This was a priority for me way before President Trump came into his second term,” Coventry said. “There’s not been any pressure (on) us to deliver anything from anybody outside of the Olympic Movement.”
Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, three top-tier sports — track and field, swimming and cycling — excluded transgender women who had been through male puberty. Semenya, who was assigned female at birth in South Africa and has testosterone levels higher than the typical female range, won a European Court of Human Rights judgment in her years-long legal challenge to track and field’s rules which did not overturn them. (snip-there is more, sort of pleading for understanding, but go see the rest of it if you like)
The expert group agreed the current gene test is “the most accurate and least intrusive method currently available.” The saliva, cheek swab or blood sample screens for “the SRY gene, a segment of DNA typically found on the Y chromosome that initiates male sex development in utero and indicates the presence of testes/testicles.”
Still, the mandatory gender screening — already conducted by the governing bodies of track and field, skiing and boxing — is likely to be criticized by human rights experts and activist groups.
Athlete appeal to CAS?
The IOC policy can — and likely will — be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the Olympic body’s Swiss home city Lausanne, perhaps by an athlete acting alone.
Track athletes Dutee Chand of India and Semenya challenged previous versions of their sport’s eligibility rules at the court.
Any potential appeal would examine science underpinning IOC research which was not published Thursday. A case could occupy much of the near-28 months until the L.A. Olympics open.
“As we know in today’s world,” Coventry said, “any and all rules and regulations at any point in time could always be challenged.” (snip)
The White House welcomed the IOC’s decision, describing it as the result of the executive order.
“The IOC aligning their policy with President Trump’s executive order ahead of the 2028 LA Games is common sense and long overdue,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement.
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 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. (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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), and the NWSL Players’ Association are addressing “hateful language” aimed at Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda during Sunday’s match between the two teams.
Banda, who is from Zambia, and plays on their national team, joined the Orlando Pride in 2024. This instance of alleged harassment comes months after she became the target of anti-intersex and anti-trans online bullying after she was named BBC’s Women’s Footballer of the Year last November. Shortly after the BBC’s announcement, anti-trans critics in the U.K. — including J.K. Rowling — began spreading a conspiracy that Banda, a cis woman, was secretly a “man” masquerading within the world of women’s sports. Much of this “transvestigation” stemmed from a 2022 incident in which Banda was prohibited from competing in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) because a “sex verification” test found that her testosterone levels were allegedly determined to be above what the organization had deemed a “normal” amount.
Sources familiar with the controversy told the AP in 2023 that mismanagement within the Council of African Football (CAF) and FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, was to blame for the situation rather than Banda herself, and WAFCON organizers reportedly don’t have a maximum testosterone level at all. Nevertheless, Banda has faced unfounded anti-trans vitriol over the past several months — including “hateful language” during the Orlando Pride’s March 23 match against Gotham at Gotham’s home field, the Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Reddit user @mitzibitsy claimed to be present at the game and to have witnessed the harassment in a March 24 Reddit post. “One fan got pulled aside by security after he cheered for Banda falling down and yelled, ‘She shouldn’t be on the field anyway!’” they wrote. “I was satisfied to see security speak to him, but all he got was a warning. In the meantime, this really ruined the game for me, and made me feel really unsafe in my season ticket seat going forward.”
Advocates have noted that attacks on athletes’ womanhood put women athletes at risk of violence, particularly women of color such as Banda and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
The Orlando Pride, Gotham FC, and the NWSL all spoke out against the incident in a series of March 24 social media statements.
“This behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums,” the Orlando Pride’s statement reads. “Barbra is an outstanding role model and an influential advocate for soccer both in Africa and here in the United States. We look forward to continuing to celebrate and support her on and off the pitch.”
The Pride added that “as a club, the Pride will collaborate with the NWSL and with Gotham to ensure that the proper action is taken to hold individuals accountable when violating the league’s standards.”
Gotham FC’s statement noted that “Gotham and the NWSL are working together to further investigate the incident and take additional action where appropriate under the league’s Fan Code of Conduct.”
The league’s Fan Code of Conduct states that “fans are strictly prohibited from using threatening, abusive, or discriminatory words, signs, symbols, or actions based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, cultural identity, nationality, citizenship status, age, appearance, disability, and/or religion.”
Fans who violate the NWSL Fan Code of Conduct are subject to penalties such as loss of ticket privileges for future games, ejection without refund, and revocation of season tickets. According to the New York Times, Gotham FC is reviewing footage of the March 23 incident using stadium security logs, and the team has spoken to Reddit user @mitzibitsy about what they witnessed.
The NWSL’s statement reaffirmed that “we are committed to ensuring that our venues are safe and respectful environments for all — especially for the athletes who represent the very best of our sport.”
J.K. Rowling delusionally described the win by the cis, Zambian athlete as the BBC attempting to “spit directly in women’s faces.”
“Barba Banda is both an exceptional player and person, and the NWSL is immensely proud to support her as a member of our league,” the league’s statement continued.
In a statement of their own, the NWSL Players’ Association emphasized that “there is no place for harassment or abuse in our sport, and we support efforts to address this incident swiftly and responsibly.”
“Soccer is built on principles of fairness, inclusion, and respect for human dignity,” the statement continued. “Any form of hateful conduct undermines these values and has no place in our fandom. Barbra Banda is a generational talent, and we are fortunate to witness her compete at the highest level.”
During a March 14 appearance on NPR’s All Things Considered, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said that the league has been working for the past few months to find a “technology partner who could help us to monitor all of the social media hate that many [players] are targets of.”
“There were a lot of lessons learned, both about things that we could have done better to support [Banda last year], internally and externally,” Berman continued. “[…] Hopefully, we’ll be in a better position to respond quickly if that happens again in the future.”
BY JEROME PUGMIREUpdated 12:46 PM CDT, July 28, 2024Share
PARIS (AP) — Paris Olympics organizers apologized to anyone who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” during the glamorous opening ceremony, but defended the concept behind it Sunday.
Da Vinci’s painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The scene during Friday’s ceremony featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — flanked by drag artists and dancers.
Religious conservatives from around the world decried the segment, with the French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deploring “scenes of derision” that they said made a mockery of Christianity — a sentiment echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The Anglican Communion in Egypt expressed its “deep regret” Sunday, saying the ceremony could cause the IOC to “lose its distinctive sporting identity and its humanitarian message.” (snip)
The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly had distanced his scene from any “Last Supper” parallels after the ceremony, saying it was meant to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to feasting and French gastronomy. Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps was asked about the outcry during an International Olympic Committee news conference on Sunday.
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