It’s past the point of hearing what they have to say, spreading this kind of hatred... It’s just white fear. It’s the worst kind of hatred. It’s disgusting. | | | | The NFL disciplined Ezekiel Elliott... eventually.
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | | | | | | “It’s past the point of hearing what they have to say, spreading this kind of hatred... It’s just white fear. It’s the worst kind of hatred. It’s disgusting.”
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| | rantnrave:// The usual roaring hype that accompanies DALLAS COWBOYS draft picks followed EZEKIEL ELLIOTT into the NFL last year, but there was more to it than the usual America's Team™ pomp. The former OHIO STATE star's ex-girlfriend accused him of multiple incidents of domestic violence in July 2016, and Elliott spent his rookie season playing, brilliantly, under that dark cloud. On Friday—after the city of Columbus declined to prosecute Elliott, after other public incidents that contributed to what the NFL called "a pattern of poor judgment," after Elliott was named OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR by the Pro Football Writers Association, and 13 months after the NFL opened its investigation—that cloud burst. The league suspended Elliott for the first six games of the 2017 season. As with everything related to the NFL and discipline, the decision left a noisy and complicated wake. There are subtle intimations of a power struggle between Cowboys owner JERRY JONES and NFL commissioner ROGER GOODELL, and there is the residual authoritarian squick of the NFL's high-handed and opaque prosecutorial process and its strange twist on due process. But, given the NFL's endemic cluelessness and conflict when it comes to domestic violence, this may be as close to Getting It Right as we get. At the very least, the league listened to, and believed, a woman... On Saturday, after BRYCE HARPER skidded over a wet first base bag and went down hard, it looked like the WASHINGTON NATIONALS would get some very bad news. On Sunday, they got the best bad news possible—their star has a serious bone bruise in his knee, but no ligament damage; he could play again this season. Given that Washington already lost leadoff man ADAM EATON to a similar injury this year, they have to be wondering whether MLB could create better, safer bases... The weekend's "Unite the Right" hate rally in Charlottesville, Va., started ugly—like, torchlit sieg heil-ing ugly—and got worse; it ended in tragedy. Our games exist within this broader world, and can be a counterpoint to or a reflection of that world's great and small cruelties. Some athletes spoke out over the weekend, but MARSHAWN LYNCH has always been more about that action, boss. When the OAKLAND RAIDERS running back took a seat during the NATIONAL ANTHEM before Saturday's preseason game, the act spoke for itself. Lynch told coach JACK DEL RIO that he has staged similar protests throughout his career, but didn't speak to the press. If the ongoing COLIN KAEPERNICK blackball is any indication, there is surely more bad faith and overstated controversy to come. When Lynch decides to speak on it, it will surely be worth a listen. | | | - David Roth, guest curator |
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| With cable TV subscribers fleeing, the sports giant has to look for customers online. That's not where the money is. | | |
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| You can find causes all along one common route to a coaching career. | | |
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| The NCAA put out a press release Thursday announcing it had adopted a new a sexual violence policy, complete with a press release and a fluffy writeup by the Associated Press. But the policy, as described by its own press release, is meaningless. | | |
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| Some residents are praying for the project to fail, losing sleep, participating in protests, consulting lawyers. | | |
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| Russian Machine Never Breaks |
| Please skip this story if you don’t want to read about racism. This weekend’s Nazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, are an ugly reminder of our current situation. Since Friday night, the Unite The Right rally has brought together various factions representing white supremacy, white nationalism, fascism, and Nazis to the University of Virginia for marches and violence. It’s a sobering reality, and it takes on a pall of surreality when you notice all the Detroit Red Wings logos among... | | |
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| He has the ultimate resume--and he's only 30. Walk along the career path of Myron Rolle, who's setting a new standard for overachievers every day. | | |
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| What most fans dismiss as quirky plays, missed calls and statistical anomalies, Brian Tuohy sees as evidence of the NFL’s corruption. “We see bizarre [referee] calls and bizarre plays and think, It’s just one of those things,” he says. “Well, I don’t think it’s just one of those things. | | |
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| The making of the backup who scored the winning touchdown in Super Bowl LI. | | |
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| Colombia's Victims of War Find Refuge in Sport. | | |
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| You're a pitcher. You're pitching against someone who has never batted before, and isn't even trying to swing. All you have to do is throw three strikes over the plate. Don't screw this up. You're going to screw this up. | | |
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| The Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever passed the time in a leak delay by holding a dance-off at midcourt. | | |
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| Fewer balls are being hit into play. Are Joey Gallo and Aaron Judge the reason? | | |
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| Three years ago, the Buffalo Bills gave up a king’s ransom in order to draft Sammy Watkins. Then-general manager Doug Whaley traded an additional first-round pick and a fourth-rounder to move up five slots to secure the receiver. Now, after just 37 games in a Bills uniform, Watkins’ run in Buffalo is over. | | |
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| More than 500 miles separate baseball’s newest rivals. | | |
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| A two-trophy year? Boston's ace has dominated while bidding for 300 strikeouts, but his season could also top every AL position player for pure value. | | |
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| Welcome to the era of the no-expense-spared Premier League superstar, its recruitment funded by lavish television deals. Iain Macintosh looks at the new class set to dominate English football this season and beyond. | | |
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| Murray led the Florida Panthers, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals and was named coach of the year in 1984. | | |
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| After analyzing MLB’s fastballs, we found that every pitcher has both an ace and a bum lurking inside them. | | |
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| The question from an NFC scout was a simple one: Why aren't more people speaking of Bortles as a bust? | | |
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| The unexpected 100-meter champion opens up about doping, chasing Usain Bolt and keeping the faith. | | |
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