The family of Terrance “T” Howard, a football player at North Carolina Central University, went live on Facebook Thursday in a dramatic video that saw them performing CPR on him, alleging that doctors at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte administered something harmful through his IV.
Howard, 19, tragically died after being hit by a car, in an attempt to assists another driver.
He was a graduate of Ridge Point High School in Missouri, Texas, and transferred from powerhouse the University of Alabama to the HBCU in Durham, North Carolina, to continue his football career. Accoring to reports, he had been fighting for his life since the accident occurred on Monday (July 22).
Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer addressed Howard’s death to begin his press conference on Sunday in Tuscaloosa.
“Before I make comments on the team, I do want to send along thoughts and prayers,” DeBoer said. “Terrance Howard, who was with us and transferred on to North Carolina Central, he did pass away and he’s got some guys who are here on this team close to him and also think about him. Just want to send prayers and thoughts up to his family.”
According to Click2Houston, which spoke directly with Howard’s parents, he was involved in a fender bender on I-85 near Salisbury, North Carolina, early Monday morning.
Howard was fine when he exited the vehicle. Unfortunately, after exiting his vehicle to check on the other car’s passengers, he was struck by another passing vehicle, resulting in life-threatening injuries, including severe brain trauma.
Everything took a turn for the worse on Thursday as a dramatic scene unfolded in Howard’s hospital room at Carolinas Medical Center as his family struggled with the reality of his condition.
His father, Bishop Anthony Allen, went live on Facebook, alleging that the doctors “decided to put something in Terrance’s IV to kill him.” Meanwhile, Howard’s mother was seen performing CPR on him, with no medical personnel assisting.
“He has been fine and stable,” Allen said in the video. “The moment we got ready to get him out of here and transfer him, they interfered. As soon as we got the medical records to give over to the doctors they had somebody come in here and put something in his…“
Allen accused the medical staff of deciding they wanted to let Terrance die and asked them to perform life-saving measures, but the hospital refused.
He also said Howard was having bowel movements and the hospital decided not to make a note of it.
“So, right now they are trying to let him die…they put something in his IV to kill him, ” said Allen. “Of course, we’re not medically inclined, and the people that we had here who were medically inclined they [doctors] waited until they left and then got in here and did something.”
Allen also alleged that the hospital was trying to steal their son’s organs.
In another video livestreamed by Allen, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department showed up in the room and told them to leave, threatening to trespass them.
As the police entered the room, Terrance’s mom said, “we’re not bowing, we’re not bending to these snakes and these devils.”
A girl who identified herself as Terrance’s sister accused the hospital of trying to make them leave their brother in there alone with hospital workers, suggesting they had nefarious intentions.
This is a sad and tragic situation and another incident where a Black person is allegedly given questionable care and refused certain treatment while in the hands of healthcare workers. The accusations levied by Howards’ parents towards the hospital should be investigated but can easily be attributed to grief if found to have no truth. Hopefully, the Allen family can get some answers and closure in this situation.
The viral incident of the man detained by Oklahoma police in front of his six-year-old autistic son, has enraged former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
Oklahoma officers body slammed and handcuffed the father for taking a “pretty suspicious” early morning walk on July 4 with his son and refusing to provide ID upon demand.
Favre has plenty of his own things going on as he still fights to regain his reputation after being accused in a welfare fraud operation a few years ago, but he found time to offer his opinion on something that obviously didn’t sit right with him.
John Sexton, confronted by police as he walked down a narrow street in Watonga, Oklahoma, around 6 a.m., explained to the officers that he and his son take early morning strolls pretty often, which isn’t unusual at all. The officers said they found his behavior suspicious and threatened to arrest Sexton if he didn’t show ID. The dad responded that he didn’t have any ID on him and was not required to show ID in Oklahoma.
The officer then asked Sexton to turn around to be handcuffed (still unsure of his crime at this point) while the man pleaded for them not to do this in front of his young son.
The situation escalated, when Sexton said he needed to record the police interaction and was aggressively tripped and slammed to the ground. Then the cop knelt on top of him and put the handcuffs on him, no doubt traumatizing his autistic son.
The incident was captured by bodycam footage. Favre isn’t the only one outraged. Blaine County Sheriff Travis Daugherty revealed that he received hundreds of calls from concerned citizens.
“We’ve had over 200 phone calls this weekend,” Daugherty said.
While it isn’t his department, the sheriff called for both officers involved to be taken off of the streets while OSBI works the case.
“I can understand why they feel the way that they do, because of hearing that child scream is one of the hardest things,” Daugherty said.
According to reports, the officer in question has a history of other complaints, including from his former colleagues when he worked for the Blaine County department, according to the sheriff.
“The deputies that were underneath him, they had lost faith in him as their leader. Yeah, and so I demoted him back later,” Daugherty said.
Sexton says the incident may have lasting effects on his autistic son.
“He’s been a cop for Halloween for the last two years, that’s what he’s been wanting to be when he grows up. That’s what he says, and now he’s scared of them.”
According to reports, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is still gathering information into whether or not the use of force was justified. Viewers have also sent news outlet KOCO 5 hundred messages, emails and calls, complaining about other cases with the alleged officer involved.
When clear violations of human rights by police or video evidence of aggressive force that can’t be disputed occurs, we often begin to find out about past actions that those same cops have inflicted upon others.
These kinds of clear over aggression don’t usually happen on camera. When one is caught it’s usually not the first time.
While plenty of people feel the anger that Brett Favre feels, he has his own legal problems, where he is labeled as an oppressor and contributor to a form of systemic oppression.
Favre is currently battling a fraud case, in which he is accused of stealing welfare funds in Mississippi to build a new volleyball stadium for his alma mater.
Favre has vehemently denied this and also filed lawsuits against Shannon Sharpe, Pat McAfee and state auditor Shad White for defamation.
Favre’s lawsuit against White, whose office first discovered the fraudulent spending that ultimately led to criminal charges against six people, accuses White of “shamelessly and falsely attacking Favre’s good name” to advance his political career.
Favre has not been criminally charged.
“White has made egregiously false and defamatory statements accusing Favre of ‘stealing taxpayer funds’ and knowingly misusing funds ‘designed to serve poor folks,'” the lawsuit states.
“Everything Auditor White has said about this case is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals at the Office of the State Auditor,” Fletcher Freeman, a spokesman for the State Auditor’s office, said Thursday in response to Favre’s lawsuit.
Favre became involved in the public fraud case in 2020 after investigators in White’s office discovered that at least $77 million in public money from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, earmarked for the neediest families in the state, instead was used to line the pockets of Mississippi’s wealthy and privileged.
Ryan Clark gave a bold prediction for the upcoming NFL season. Justin Fields is undoubtedly loving it. Russell Wilson is probably wondering why he’s being dismissed before ever taking the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers have what many call a good problem on their hands. After three ugly seasons of below-average quarterback play since the retirement of franchise stalwart Ben Roethlisberger, the team went out and made two very shrewd moves to this offseason to fix that problem.
First the team signed former Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson when he was cut by the Broncos.
Feeling that wasn’t enough the team then traded for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields after the team made the decision to draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams as the No. 1 overall pick this year.
The moves give the Steelers options, and on paper makes them a much better team. In an effort to quell any QB controversy longtime head coach Mike Tomlin let it be known that Wilson would be the starter barring any unforeseen circumstances. In week 1 of training camp that unforeseen circumstance seemingly reared its head as Wilson missed time with an injured calf.
With Wilson sidelined for a few practices, Fields took advantage of the opportunity leading the offense, and for the most part he looked crisp, accurate and decisive. His play was so good that ESPN analyst Clark, a former Steelers player, even went out on a limb in his three bold predictions for the 2024 NFL season.
During a segment on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Clark included the Houston Texans making the AFC Championship, Washington Commanders rookie and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels having a C.J. Stroud-like rookie season and Fields beating out Wilson for the Steelers’ starting quarterback job and leading them into the playoffs.
“And Justin Fields is going to lead the Steelers to the playoffs,” Clark said. “That’s right. That means first he has to become the starter — which he is. And then when he becomes the starter, he has to get into the playoffs — which he will. Mike Tomlin always fields a competitive team. Now he’s going to have a dynamic playmaker at quarterback, and they will be in the playoffs.”
Bold take from Clark, but even colleague Adam Schefter made light of what Fields showed Steelers coaches during Wilson’s absence.
“I think Russell Wilson remains in the pole position, but I also think that Justin Fields has opened some eyes and they see the type of offense they could have.”
And last but not least, Clark sided with Fields leading the way for the Steelers over Wilson.
When you compare and contrast Wilson and Fields as pertains to the run-heavy zone stretch offense that utilizes the play action pass heavily, Wilson is the better fit for the team in the short term. He’s a better passer in the short-to-intermediate, and he’s still a very adept deep ball passer.
But what he doesn’t bring anymore is the dynamic playmaking that Fields brings with his arm and legs. If a first-year offensive coordinator wants to get the most out of his backs from a rushing standpoint, then having Fields as another guy who can tote the mail as well as beat defenses deep with his arm, takes the Steelers to new heights. That’s exactly what Clark is banking on, and he just may be correct.
Don’t be surprised if the Steelers are playing into the second weekend of the playoffs in the 2024-25 season, but Fields has never actually played with a chance to win every Sunday, so we will see if he can handle the weight when his number is called.
Friday marked the end of Skip Bayless’ tenure at FS1.
After eight years, the longtime sports analyst announced that Friday’s episode of “Undisputed” was his final with the show created for him in 2016.
During Friday’s show, Bayless gave no indication that it was his final one. In fact, it went normally as scheduled, with Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce in their usual spots, and legendary rapper Lil Wayne making his weekly appearance.
You’d figure that Skip would say a couple of words to the fans who helped feed his ratings during his peak years and as he and Shannon competed with juggernaut show ‘First Take’ for eyeballs. He truly is a titan of the game and at one time was the highest-paid daily show talking TV head in the business.
Immediately following the show Bayless took to X to let the cat out of the bag and thank his boy Lil Wayne for an iconic theme song.
“Today was my last show on Undisputed. I’m leaving FS1. I’ve been planning to pursue other opportunities for several months. I had a great 8-year run with a lot of great people at Fox, but now I’m excited for what’s coming up. Stay tuned.”
When the show was formed in 2016, Bayless chose Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe as his debate partner. The two formed a pretty strong duo for the first seven years — that is, until Bayless began to take unnecessary personal shots at Sharpe during certain segments.
Things seemingly came to a head following Bayless’s insensitive and controversial tweet concerning Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin who nearly died on the field during a key Monday Night Football matchup between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
That followed a huge on-air argument where Bayless downplayed Sharpe’s illustrious career while praising seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady’s career. These two instances pretty much killed any on-air chemistry between the two, and in June of 2023 Sharpe departed the show, and the ratings plummeted.
Sharpe’s departure forced Bayless to revamp the entire show, and that’s where things got dicey. Following the three-time Super Bowl-winning tight end’s exit Bayless attempted to add other former pros. The aforementioned Johnson, Pierce, Richard Sherman and Michael Irvin as well as longtime analyst Rachel Nichols. From the jump this setup was an unmitigated disaster with more yelling back and forth than actual sports talk and debate.
Ratings took a nosedive, and when Sharpe joined ESPN’s “First Take” things got even uglier for his former co-worker and his show. In an effort to quell the notion that FS1 asked him to leave, Bayless did his best to make it seem as as if he’s been looking to leave and has other opportunities lined up.
As of now that’s a mystery, but one thing for sure and two things for certain, a possible return to ESPN is out the question. When it was announced that Bayless would be leaving FS1 by summer’s end, ESPN brass quickly put to rest any realm of speculation that he was returning.
Caitlin Clark attended a Jordan Davis concert accompanied by her Indiana Fever teammate Lexie Hull, and both players went on stage and embraced the singer.
This was a few weeks after Angel Reese was twerking on stage at a Megan Thee Stallion concert.
Reese and Meg also hooked up on stage at Lollapalooza recently.
Davis showed Clark and Hull the crossover love that WNBA players need in order to market and brand themselves and the league. Davis even passed Clark the mic and let her sing some of the words to one of his songs. The crowd responded very favorably.
Some Reese fans thought Clark was clout-chasing and doing that to keep up with Angel Reese who has a very busy social life and was already on Megan Thee Stallion’s stage.
“She’s just trying to be like Angel Reese, she saw Angel going to concerts and bringing her teammates on stage so now she’s trying to copy that,” one fan posted.
“Why she wanna be Angel Reese so bad,” @AngeReeseGOAT tweeted.
There’s always going to be a comparison between Reese and Clark, and people choosing sides and trying to fuel a rivalry that only truly exists in the minds of a new generation of women’s basketball fans, which both players have accepted.
Reese is enjoying her WNBA break and was spotted in Paris to support Team USA, who she hopes to play for in 2028. Reese has also been hanging with various NBA celebrities like Boston Celtics NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, and there are rumors of a love connection between Reese and Detroit Pistons player Jalen Duren.
Clark isn’t jet-setting across the country, but she’s definitely having fun. She posted pics of herself, and teammates Hull and Katie Lous Samuelson getting white girl wasted on a boat while taking in the sun in bikinis.
So both Chi Barbie and CC are celebrities. Their audiences are clearly different when it comes to their personal lives and their personal connections with people. Just look at the concerts that attracted them. Meg Thee Stallion is a hardcore and pop hip-hop artist, whose brand has begun to transcend her music.
Jordan Davis is a songwriter in the American country pop genre. You couldn’t be on more opposite sides of the musical and cultural spectrum.
So the comparisons and the alleged rivalry and the different fan base is all built in. It’s been there since Reese, a child of Baltimore, went to LSU and won a national championship by defeating the pony-tail rocking all-time NCAA leading scorer from the sticks of Iowa.
And their fan bases will always be around to fuel the fire, keep the brand hot and ultimately the money flowing.
Simone Biles has been busy making more history in Paris and also flipping on social media, showing her ability to not only perform at an elite level but multi-task.
After her social media drama, where she seemingly called out her former teammate MyKayla Skinner after Skinner made some unflattering remarks about the “work ethic” of the current Team USA gymnastics team, Biles expressed what seemed to be a sarcastic response to former president Donald Trump.
I love my black job,” Biles said in a post on the social platform X Friday. Biles won the gold medal for women’s individual all-around gymnastics performance on Thursday, following up on her team gold award from earlier in the week.
The former president has used the term “Black jobs” before, and notably used it in a Wednesday interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention.
“I will tell you that coming — coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs. You had the best —” Trump said, as one of the moderators asked him what a “Black job” was.
“A Black job is anybody that has a job. That’s what it is,” Trump said. “Anybody that has a job.”
Trump’s delivery strikes some people the wrong way, but he did have the guts to go to NABJ, sit down and engage in a hostile environment.
Biles has the right to feel how she feels about them and also tweet her response to it. It’s politics season, so expect more celebrities drawing lines in the sand, and there will be no shortage of mudslinging as we have already seen.
Off social media and on the mat, however, Biles is a symbol of pride for all Americans. Her Olympic success transcends race and promotes the power of our country and the remarkable people who inspire future generations.
There was a star-studded crowd in attendance to watch Biles and her Team USA participants go for their individual medals. The team gold was already secured.
Biles recovered after a rare miscue on the uneven bars and captured her second women’s all-around Olympic gold medal. She won gold in the all-around competition during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and now has nine medals in her Olympic career.
American teammate Sunisa Lee, who won the all-around gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after Biles pulled out due to the “twisties,” took home the bronze medal.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that Biles remembers the words of Trump’s 2024 running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, when he harshly criticized her for stepping out of some competition at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago for mental and emotional health reasons.
“We’ve tried to turn a very tragic moment, Simone Biles quitting the Olympic team, into this act of heroism,” Vance said. “And I think it reflects pretty poorly on our sort of therapeutic society, that we try to praise people not for moments of strength, not for moments of heroism, but for their weakest moments.”
Comments such as those undoubtedly inspired Biles, who began her Olympic career winning gold medals at 19, to come back at age 27, compete against women a decade younger and still be a force, executing aerial feats never even attempted by other gymnasts.
The clap back at Trump’s “black jobs” comment wasn’t the first smoke Biles sought after this week on socials.
While dealing with ignorant and outdated comments about her hair, the record-breaking seven-time Olympic-medaling gymnast was also dealing with the enemy from within.
Biles and 2021 Olympic vault silver medalist Skinner were teammates in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 202 Tokyo Olympics. However, Biles and Skinner’s friendship took a swift turn after Skinner made negative comments about the other four members of Team USA: Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” Skinner said in a since-deleted YouTube video from July 3 that was captured in a post on X. “I just noticed, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Hours after winning the gold medal in the team all-around competition at the Olympics, Biles posted a carousel photo of her with Lee, Carey and Rivera celebrating their win on Instagram — and added a provocative caption.
“lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸,” Biles wrote, seemingly referencing Skinner’s remarks.
Biles was representing as mama bear and protecting her sisters in gymnastics, who clearly exhibited every attribute needed to win and call themselves the “Golden Girls”.
That’s the official name, although initially the winning quintet first revealed their name was “F[–k] Around and Find Out,” to ESPN commentator Aly Raisman.
Skinner apologized for the remarks by July 6, but the damage was already done. Though a part of past Olympic glory, she will not be a positive memory during this triumph.
Biles left it all on the mat this week and lifted Team USA to world dominance. She deserves to be able to say whatever it is her heart desires and be respected. Her country owes her that.
After some shaky moments during their pre-Olympic tour, Team USA has handled both Serbia (110-84) and South Sudan (103-86), the latter coming just days after a one-point win over them in their final tuneup prior to heading to Paris.
As the team finished off reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in their Olympic opener last Sunday, the attention quickly turned to South Sudan, who present a totally different look and challenge for Team USA.
In the aftermath of the Serbia win, Team USA head Steve Kerr was called out for not playing three-time first team All-NBA player and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Kerr attempted to use the return of Kevin Durant to the lineup as an excuse, but also admitted that he dropped the ball in not playing Tatum. Kerr caught a ton of backlash for the error, as he should’ve.
As the team prepared for South Sudan many analysts and talking heads gave their opinion on who they believed might be the next guy to not play. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst gave some lame excuse as to why he believed Bam Adebayo was the candidate.
“South Sudan’s got a bunch of athletic wing players. Tatum’s gonna be out there. They’re gonna be switching all those screens because they gotta play the perimeter, and there may be a guy like Bam Adebayo gets benched.”
Following his game-high 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win, Adebayo didn’t waste anytime responding to Windhorst’s comments. The former Kentucky Wildcats star and five-time All-Defensive Team selection took to X with this.
“Why he say f— me for?”
Those type of comments make you wonder if these analysts actually pay attention to the game.
To say the team might bench Adebayo, who outside of Anthony Davis is the team’s best defender and one of the top defenders in the NBA is asinine. Adebayo is comfortable guarding any position on the floor and he does it regularly as the anchor of the Miami Heat’s top defensive every season.
No way Kerr was gonna bench him in a matchup like that. If anything, he was perfect for a team like South Sudan.
Just goes to show that just because analysts are on television and giving opinions, doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about. In many ways Adebayo, along with the aforementioned Davis, have been Team USA’s third- and fourth-best player after LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Deion Sanders’ son, Shilo Sanders, has filed for bankruptcy in an apparent attempt to avoid liability for a nearly $12 million judgment from a Texas court over an incident in which he was accused of badly assaulting a school security guard in high school during an emotional tirade of terror.
While his brother Shedeur is sure to see that kind of money after he’s drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, Shilo is not as much of a sure thing for instant NFL glory. According to mockdrafthq, Shilo is expected to go in the fourth round.
Last week, attorneys for the security guard and baseball coach John Darjean restated their case against Shilo Sanders in a new court filing, arguing that Sanders should be held accountable for his alleged assault on Darjean in 2015, when Sanders was just 15 years old.
“If Defendant (Sanders) is allowed to relitigate this matter, then Defendant is creating a new legal loophole to avoid responsibility when someone assaults another,” attorneys for the security guard wrote in bankruptcy court filings last week.
A federal bankruptcy judge could decide the matter in coming months and Sanders could be subject to debt collection efforts until he pays it all back.
It’s wild that this is still going on almost a decade later.
According to Darjean, the incident occurred when he tried — at Deion Sanders’ request — to prevent Shilo from using his phone during school hours, which was a rules violation. Shilo was allegedly a bully who was having a hard time dealing with his mom and dad’s divorce.
It was an explosive end to a day, he alleges, on which Shilo was terrorizing students and disrupting classes.
Something happened between Darjean attempting to enforce the rules, Shilo insisting on calling his mother and the altercation that ensued, which allegedly led to the security guard being hospitalized and in need of surgery.
The 2016 personal injury case, once litigated, led to an eight-figure legal judgment against Deion Sanders’ family including his son, Shilo, after an assault at the successor to Prime Prep Academy, Focus Learning Academy.
The incident would leave Darjean permanently disabled and financially impaired, despite winning a nearly $12 million settlement from the Sanders family. The attack left Darjean in the hospital for multiple days and required significant medical care, including spinal surgery.
The court issued a default judgment that said Sanders owed Darjean $11.89 million, including $3 million for future physical impairment and $2 million in lost future earning capacity.
The incident with Shilo cost medical providers more than $115,000 in medical care for Darjean at the time, and per court documents, made it difficult for Darjean to maintain gainful employment due to neurological injuries and damage to his spine.
Shilo filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year in an effort to get Darjean’s debt collection efforts erased by the court, allowing him “to get a fresh start, free from the oppressive burden of his debts,” as the Sanders’ family attorneys have described it.
There are, however, exceptions in the law that would prevent the discharge of certain debts. One of them is if the debt stems from a “willful and malicious injury by the debtor.” Attorneys for Darjean said it was such an attack.
Since Shilo already has a judgment against him for assaulting Darjean, he is in a difficult situation if he wants to be relieved of the bill he owes.
Darjean’s attorneys also noted that Shilo Sanders had defended himself from Darjean’s lawsuit for years, playing the long game by making counterclaims in the case, filed affirmative defenses and testified in a deposition. In 2020, five years after the alleged assault, Sanders dropped his attorneys.
“By participating in litigation up until trial, and failing to show up to trial, Defendant is creating an out of responsibility for what amounts to a first-degree felony of aggravated assault,” Darjean’s attorneys said in court filings last week.
Darjean’s attorneys are seeking a summary judgment ruling that will “determine that the claim of Plaintiff (Darjean) is excepted from discharge” under federal bankruptcy law.
If the judge agrees, Shilo would effectively lose his effort to discharge the debt and would be on the hook for the big bag, though he could appeal. If the judge doesn’t agree with Darjean, the matter could proceed to trial, where the facts of the case can be revisited and contested in court.
Deion Sanders downplayed the overall situation in July at Big 12 Conference media days in Las Vegas. Coach Prime has a ton of pressure entering this season, and this is nothing short of a distraction that has lingered for too long and doesn’t seem to have an end immediately in sight.
Related: “Shilo Is A Dog Man” | Deion Sanders Raves About Son Shilo Sanders’ Leadership And Practice Habits
“At the end of the day everybody is gonna know the truth about everything, you know,” said Shilo, Colorado’s leading tackler last season.
Colorado opens the season Aug. 29 at home against North Dakota State, and they need all of the Sanders boys focused, playing free and leading the way.
LeBron James is once again enhancing his legend and solidifying his legacy as the second-leading scorer for Team USA at 40 years old, averaging 16.5 points per game.
Steve Kerr’s squad did need LeBron to overextend himself a bit in exhibition play with a valiant performance against South Sudan, where he scored the game-winning bucket.
Since those couple of games, the rest of the team has caught up for the most part. Kevin Durant has returned, and the wins are coming easier.
The uncharacteristically bad shooting of Steph Curry has become a growing concern, especially for fans on social media. The greatest shooter in NBA history is shooting 33 percent from the field and less than 24 percent from three-point land in his past three games, which is unheard of.
Some people blame James and his style of play. They also pointed to LeBron’s ball dominance in Olympic play as the reason free agents such as Klay Thompson didn’t want to come to L.A. this offseason.
According to the FB group NBA Real Talk Backup, one user blames LeBron directly for Curry’s poor shooting.
“Sad to see that LeBron has forced the GREATEST shooter ever into a role player Mike Miller type position SMH. So that Bron can ball hog and have a farewell Olympics tour…No wonder stars avoid joining up with him on the Lakers they know this will happen.”
There are two types of LeBron people. The unwavering, devoted fan of everything the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and first player billionaire does. And the critical opponents of the power he wields, his approach to team-building and his 4-6 Finals record as proof.”
LeBron fans will of course shut this notion down completely, dismissing it as pure hate.
One FB user wasn’t buying it, responding to the post, saying “Or he just shot poorly last game, referencing the 103-86 win over South Sudan on Wednesday in which Curry missed all six of his threes and was 1-for-9 from the field.
That brings his Olympic total to 3-for-13 from long-distance, a paltry 23%. Include the last two tune-up games before the Olympics, and it’s 7-of-29 (24%).
Fans either blamed Curry or blamed LeBron, there was no in-between here.
LeBron fans found it absurd that he would be blamed for Curry’s horrible shooting. Curry apologists pointed out the careers of Chris Bosh and Kevin Love and how they diminished once playing with LeBron. Despite winning championships, they were never the same players afterward.
Steph Curry fans seem to be panicking, but anyone can have a couple of bad shooting nights, even the GOAT.
Especially when he’s playing a secondary role in a system that is being created on the go with a bunch of other legendary players. Some fans see it as a competition, but the objective is to bring home the gold, and so far, so good. Before this Olympics is over all of the legends will have made their mark, including Curry.
Deshaun Watson has his money. He got that when Cleveland gave him a record $230 million guaranteed contract in a desperate attempt to capitalize off his legal battles while other teams were leery to sign him and awaiting the fallout of the 26 lawsuits that were filed against him for alleged sexual misconduct against various massage therapists back in 2021. Many wondered if he would even play in the NFL again.
Fast-forward to 2024, he’s got a beautiful and supportive wife, social media influencer Jilly Anais, so he’s regained some of the respect lost for his alleged misogynistic behavior.
He can’t, however, honestly say he’s regained his respect as a football player.
Watson served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season and in the 2023 campaign, Watson was only able to see action for six games after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
In two seasons with the Browns thus far, Watson, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, has passed for just 2,217 yards and 14 touchdowns with nine interceptions on a very mid 59.8 percent completion rate. The production hasn’t matched the salary, but hopes are high that this is the year he regains the form that he had with the Houston Texans, when he was a dual-threat dynamo and considered a top 5 QB in the NFL.
There are those who doubt that Watson will ever be that player again.
During an appearance on 92.3 The Fan’s “Afternoon Drive” show, Mike Golic, who played in the NFL back in the 1980s and 1990s, expressed doubt about Watson’s chances of becoming an elite signal-caller again.
“Everybody is waiting for Deshaun Watson to get back to what he was; I don’t know if he’s ever going to get there, quite honestly,” Golic said.
That statement is a nightmare if you’re GM Andrew Berry and Cleveland, who have assembled a strong team that many believe could make a dark horse run to the Super Bowl if Watson can get back on track.
The prevailing thought was that all of the people against signing Watson would soon forget his past if he performed to the level of the deal he signed.
That hasn’t happened and, in fact, fans are suggesting that he is playing the victim to deflect from the fact that he hasn’t lived up to the hype, while also refusing to accept responsibility for his previous actions.
When asked by a reporter how he’s handled things over the past couple of years since his suspension, Watson said it’s been “tough to block out the bulls**t.”
Of course Watson was referring to the lawsuits.
When his quote surfaced on social media, several fans let him have it.
“Guy is a scumbag,” tweeted one fan. “He actually believes he’s the victim because he still doesn’t think he did anything wrong. He’s a garbage human being. Makes me sick to see how many Browns fans continue to defend this clown. We had a real leader and morons ran him out of town.”
“He’s made over 90 million dollars, produced 12 ta 13 TDs over two seasons, got an offensive coordinator fired, and been outplayed on his own team by J Brissett and J Flacco. BS indeed. DW just wants the national media to kiss his feet like the Cle media has.”
Some Cleveland Browns fans blame the Browns PR for not handling Watson’s public image and connection with the Browns fan base. That loyal group is growing increasingly frustrated with the quarterback who once threw for over 4800 yards and 33 TDS.
“Watson could teach a course in bad public relations,” one X user said.” And I don’t even care about his massage-related stuff. I’m just frustrated with him from the time he’s been here.”
So, the good news is that Watson is healthy, and the Browns added Jerry Jeudy this offseason to an already quality receiving corps with Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore and David Njokum, and Watson can still run.
The bad news is that his connection with Cleveland Browns fans is lukewarm. He hasn’t produced and he’s also blaming situations he created as a cause of stress on his current life, which they perceive as a lack of accountability and a guy who isn’t grateful for the chance the Browns organization and Cleveland fans have given him.
According to Steve Jaconetta of Sole Retriever, Nike is preparing to launch a new sneaker for UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers, making her the first college player to receive her own signature shoe. The figures of her deal, which reportedly is lucrative, have not been revealed as of today.
Jaconetta reports that Nike will honor Bueckers with a special edition of the GT Hustle 3, which debuted earlier in July.
The “multi-color” sneakers will pay tribute to both UConn and Bueckers’ hometown of Edina, Minnesota.
These exclusive shoes are expected to hit the market on September 12, with a retail price of $190.
When Bueckers joined the Nike team in September 2023, ESPN’s Michael Voepel predicted that the deal could extend into her professional career.
That possibility has become a definite as Nike is creating a shoe for the 22-year-old before she enters the WNBA.
Bueckers, who signed a sponsorship deal with Nike, made a remarkable return from a torn ACL to average 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in her junior year, while leading UConn back to a familiar place in the Final Four.
“I am blessed and honored to announce my partnership with Nike,” Bueckers said in a statement last year. “Joining the Nike family is a childhood dream come true. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together on and off the court.”
Shoe deals have historically been elusive even for professional women’s basketball stars.
The ones that do have deals are predominantly white. New York Liberty sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu, her teammate Breanna Stewart and Caitlin Clark are among the WNBA players with deals.
Sheryl Swoopes was the first WNBA player to get a signature shoe from Nike back in 1995.
It had been over a decade since a woman had received a signature sneaker until last year when Breanna Stewart’s Puma Stewie 1 hit shelves, followed by the release of Elena Delle Donne’s Nike Air Deldon.
The Swoosh has also announced Ionescu’s upcoming signature silhouette, the Nike Sabrina 1.
Of course there are some hoops fans who appreciate Bueckers but don’t understand why other great, marketable and famous players such as JuJu Watkins (USC) or rapper/all-world baller Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU) didn’t get the deal.
“Nike’s willingness to throw money at a white girl with a ponytail and a jump shot is offensive at times,” said sports analyst David Grubb on his “Hard In The Paint” podcast. “Another white girl playing a Black sport with a shoe deal.”
Nobody was even paying attention to WNBA shoe deals until Clark got her $28 million deal with Nike and then the pressure for Wilson to get her shoe ramped up on Black Twitter.
Wilson recently joined a select group of only 13 WNBA players in history who have landed their own signature sneaker in the past 30 years.
Bueckers’ achievement will be greeted with some side eyes from folks who don’t like the math when it comes to the racial composition of the WNBA and the women who happen to get sneaker deals recently.
Nike’s decision to honor Bueckers with her own shoe does, however, reflects her incredible talent and potential influence.
It also represents a burgeoning recognition of women’s basketball stars as marketable and revenue-generating brands with an increasing fan base.
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is extremely popular and has no shortage of love interests, although hooping is clearly her first priority, as she is a strong contender for WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Reese, a former LSU basketball star, has over 3 million social media followers who are very interested in her life off the court. Ever since her public breakup with Florida State basketball star Cam’Ron Fletcher after a year-long love affair, Reese hasn’t claimed anyone.
She’s been a free agent, enjoying hoops, her rising celebrity and hanging out with everyone from rappers to NBA conference finals MVPs such as Jaylen Brown, and his new lady, former Chicago Sky player Kysre Gondrezick.
A few months back Reese was spotted cruising the streets of Chicago with rapper G Herbo in his Tesla Cybertruck.
Recently, according to reports, Reese has been spotted hanging tough with Detroit Pistons baller Jalen Duren.
According to reports, the ballers have been seen together at several public events and social gatherings, fueling the gossip mill.
On Tuesday, Duren, 20, posted a video of the sunset from an unknown location on his Instagram Stories. The background for the clip appeared to be similar to where Reese, 22, had posted a picture on her Instagram Stories of her lying out in a pink Gucci monokini and pink Chanel shades the day before.
From attending high-profile parties to casual outings, their relationship hasn’t gone unnoticed.
While neither Reese nor Duren has publicly confirmed the nature of their relationship, their frequent appearances together of course fuels the speculation. It is possible that they are just friends, as Reese has plenty of male fans and acquaintances.
The growing rumors have fans commenting on social media and some of the X users should be stand up comedians.
And although none of her recent appearances with males in public are anything more than “friendships,” according to Reese, the optics have definitely caught the attention of her fan base.
Most responses were positive with many fans rooting for the duo and hoping for an official announcement from “Chi Barbie” soon.
Not sure if any of these rendezvous or collabs are happening in Paris, but Reese is always on the move, so if you blink you might be three days behind with the tea.
Celebrity life aside, most WNBA fans are eagerly awaiting Reese’s return to the court once the Olympics is over.
Once these 2024 Paris Olympics close in August and Reese gets back to the hardwood, fans will be waiting to see if the double-double machine, who’s averaging 13.5 points and 12 rebounds over her first 24 games, can continue to help elevate the league as Caitlin Clark’s archnemesis dating back to college.
We’re five days into the 2024 Olympic Games, which are taking place in scenic Paris, France. And while there are many storylines such as Team USA basketball or Simone Biles and the women’s gymnastics team taking home the gold medal in the team competition, something else seems to garnering a lot of the headlines. That happens to be the amount of money other countries are paying their athletes for winning gold medals versus what the United States is paying their athletes.
The noise began after they at being reported they Taiwan and Singapore are paying their athletes over $600,000 for winning gold.
That’s still not more than the $768,000 that Hong Kong is shelling out to its gold medal winners.
The United States isn’t paying anywhere near that type of cash for winning a gold medal. In fact they’re paying $37,000 for a gold, $22,500 for a silver and $15,000 for a bronze medal.
That huge payout disparity drew the ire of former NFL legends Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco who talked about it on the most recent episode of their hit podcast “Nightcap.”
As the two discussed what’s been happening over the first couple of days of Olympic competition, the talk of pay to the athletes became a topic. Ochocinco called out the situation in his comments.
“You don’t bust your a— for four years straight to represent our country, and the payout saying, ‘Thank you for the work you’ve put in,’ is $37,000?” Ochocinco asked. “C’mon man.”
Sharpe singled out Noah Lyles who’s the favorite to win the gold in the 100 meters saying, “Noah Lyles trained for four years for nine seconds. Hey, Noah Lyles, if you win the 100-meter gold, I and Ocho will each give you $25,000.”
Wanting to do their part to help bridge the gap, the duo has offered $25K to gold medal winners and that doubles to $50K for record-breaking performances.
Since the Olympic Games began the track and field portion has long been a highlight of the games, especially within the Black community.
That’s no different this year with the aforementioned Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson the favorites to win gold in the 100 meters after years of the Jamaicans dominating the event.
In the 200 meters, Gabby Thomas is the betting favorite to do the same, and let’s just keep it a buck, no other events excite the masses like the sprinter running at or under ten seconds in front of thousands in Olympic Stadium.
One could see why Sharpe and Ochocinco are willing to pay anyone that wears the red, white and blue for winning.
John Elway got lucky by signing an aging Peyton Manning and winning a Super Bowl early in his front office tenure with the Denver Broncos that ended in 2021.
That team was loaded defensively, as Elway admits, and Von Miller was at his peak on defense. All it needed was a crafty legend who still could manage the game well enough to help the team win the Super Bowl.
After that win, however, Elways was unable to draft, develop or sign another franchise level quarterback.
In fact, he set the franchise back light years by not finding a franchise QB to repoace Manning despite having the opportunity via the draft — and he knows it.
The franchise struggled under Elway producing just one winning season after the Super Bowl victory, and even back then he had no problem admitting he was the problem.
“This is on me too. I’m responsible too,” said Elway to ESPN. “And we have looked at everything — at all of our decisions, personnel, and coaching.
During Elway’s tenure as GM Denver had a musical chairs of mid QBs.
He struck out more than Reggie Jackson in his prime when it came to talent evaluation at that position, which is surprising considering how great Elways was at the position.
Case Keenum, Joe Flacco and Drew Lock never panned out for Elway. In recent seasons, Teddy Bridgewater was washed and so was Russell Wilson.
The bad luck continued after Elway’s departure.
With the expensive Wilson experiment having failed, the franchise is left with rookie Bo Nix, former first-round bust Zach Wilson or Jarrett Stidham to take over the reins at quarterback.
That’s a QB room that can force most GMs into retirement.
If Elway was more shrewd with his talent evaluation, current Broncos GM George Paton might not be in the dire predicament he’s in.
In a recent appearance on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take,” the legendary Broncos quarterback admitted that Buffalo Bills All-Pro QB Josh Allen was his type of quarterback and that passing on him in the 2018 NFL draft was his “biggest mistake” as Denver’s general manager.
“I know he is [my type],” Elway told the hosts. “Last year, I played golf with him, and I’m wondering how long is it going to take him to realize that I passed on him and took Bradley Chubb instead? And it took him two and a half holes to bring it up. And I loved him right? Just, you know, he was my type and you’re right. That was probably my biggest mistake of my GM days was not taking Josh [Allen].”
Instead he took Bradley Chubb, who did have 11 sacks in his rookie season and looked like a star.
Denver tried to sell us Russell Wilson and a potential Super Bowl and neither he nor the franchise were up to the task or being honest with themselves. Head coach Sean Payton included.
Related: If Denver Broncos GM John Elway Were Black, He Would Have Been Fired Years Ago
Now, as they sit with one of the worst crop of QBs in a QB-plentiful AFC, pitted against young guns who have been drafted over the past five seasons, Elway, still a revered member of Broncos National, winning two Super Bowls at the end of the 90s, can only honestly reflect on how he’s the guy who brought them three Super Bowls and also ensured that they wouldn’t see one anytime soon.
The love story between Connecticut Sun stars Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner continues to capture the attention of the sports world.
Now that people have gotten used to seeing the future married couple on the court together, sharing not only incredible chemistry during games but also sentimental moments off the court, the possibility of Bonner leaving the Sun and separating from her fiancé is a story that has gained interest.
Alyssa Thomas nearly lost her fiancé and teammate in the 2024 WNBA free agency, so as Alyssa is participating with Team USA in Paris and Bonner is there to support her, the sixth-leading scorer in WNBA history also has business in the background of her mind.
Bonner’s four-year, $899,480 contract signed in 2020 with the Sun was up and she hit the market as an unrestricted free agent, expected to receive a trailer load of offers for her services.
She was an unrestricted free agent with no shortage of suitors for her services.
Bonner, a two-time WNBA champion could have gone elsewhere but she instead re-signed a one-year deal for $200,000 to remain a teammate of her boo.
It was a win-win, because Bonner is still one of the most versatile and deadly scorers in the game. This season she made her fifth all-star game and is averaging 16.7 points per game and 6.3 rebounds. The “Slim Good” also has three-point range.
One can imagine how Bonner is dealing with the potential of having to leave the Sun after this season, but in an interview with WNBA insider Mark Schindler, Bonner was candid about the challenges the free agency situation brought the relationship.
“That was a different kind of roadblock in our relationship. It’s something that we really had to sit down and talk about. I think we did a great job of separating basketball and personal life.”
Thomas, who is in Paris competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, also shared her reflections.
“It’s definitely hard. Every time she’s coming to me talking about, ‘I’m leaning towards this team or I’m leaning towards that team.’ And it’s like, you want to be from a relationship standpoint and be supportive. But from a basketball standpoint, it’s like… it’s not better than what we have, you know?”
Bonner’s one-year contract ends the same time as Thomas’ deal. This offseason will be much different. Right now, they are a package deal in every way, but Thomas is also facing free agency and expecting a nice raise, so keeping both All-Stars might not be in the plans for the Sun.
The tandem will be getting married after Thomas returns with Olympics gold from Paris.
The couple has many issues to resolve when it comes to where they both will be balling next season. It’s a change that could alter their entire relationship. Neither player is young on basketball age. It’s unlikely the Sun will offer two 30-plus-year-old players. Alyssa is 32 and Bonner is 36.
Related: The WNBA’s Real MVP A’ja Wilson Has A Back-To-Reality Message For Caitlin Clark and Her Fans
They lead a Sun squad that is 18-6 and have the second best record in the WNBA, behind the Liberty. This will be the perfect season for the Sun, who have reached the WNBA semifinals three times and the finals twice in the past five seasons.
Winning a championship might be the only way for Thomas and Bonner to stay together. Commecticut would probably be less likely to beak them up coming off a championship. They would probably run it back at least one more year, which would work out perfectly for newlyweds.
The United States women were more talented than the smaller but more physical Japanese team. But the disparity in three-point shooting was glaring in a 102-76 U.S. victory in the Americans’ first game in the Olympics women’s basketball competition. Team USA hit just four out of its 20 three-point attempts as A’ja Wilson (24 points) and Breanna Stewart (22 points) did most of their work within the arc.
What Japan lacked in height it made up for in spunk, quickness and three-point shooting, hitting 15 of 39 attempts for a 38 percent clip. Early on it kept them in the game. The U.S. lead was only 50-39 at halftime.
The horrible shooting from distance did very little to sway the outcome the romo over a Japan team that hung in there as long as it could.
The U.S. team was too big and talented this time around, but what happens as they advance against taller and tougher teams?
If three-point shooting is what they need and Sabrina Ionescu is the only consistent threat and Diana Taurasi doesn’t shoot it the same at 42, then “Team Clark” will continue to ask questions about CC’s snub.
Mark Gray, a sports analyst for Sports Rap Radio 1270 AM in Detroit said, “Calling Caitlin Clark”, in reference to Team USA’s shoddy three-point performance in the blowout win. “Imagine CC with the freedom to launch threes without being triple-teamed?” Gray told The Shadow League.
After all, Clark shoots as many three-pointers as anybody in the WNBA, just over eight per game (8.3), and although her shooting percentage has been in the low 30s all season, she is capable of long-range outbursts at any moment.
Gray has a point, because playing with a team full of future Hall of Famers is much different than being the one player that every team game-plans against and the one player on your team with your skill set.
Clark could have been on the Olympic team as a specialist. A three-point shooter who can also pass the ball. as she leads the WNBA in assists (8.2 pg).
As you survey that Team USA roster, outside of Ionescu and Kelsey Plum, who shoots the three at about 36 percent and also takes about eight per game, there aren’t many consistent knockdown three-point shooters.
That’s Clark’s specialty and how she would have loved to not be the focal point of everyone’s defensive efforts and just be a piece of this incredible compilation of talent.
Even South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley, who played a part in forming the women’s Olympic team that excluded Clark, seemed to have a change of heart this week about Clark’s value to Team USA.
Speaking with NBC’s Mike Tirico, Staley, who led Team USA to the gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, said:
“If we had to to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”
Clark would have contributed a dimension that would have undoubtedly added interest and entertainment value, because no matter how you try to downplay her, she’s the brightest and most famous star in the WNBA.
A’ja Wilson is the best player, but Clark is the biggest brand. While she’s probably enjoying her downtime, the competitor that she is probably watched that game against Japan and thought about what could have been.
The fact that this Olympics is the farewell to six-time Olympian and WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi is also a reason why the committee probably didn’t want to complicate the flowery send off.
If the ineptitude from three-point range continues for Team USA, you will hear the grumblings and second-guesses from everyone who has anointed Clark the WNBA queen and complained about her Olympic team snub, claiming that it was political and not basketball-related.
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Sebastian Telfair has had a wild ride from the streets of Brooklyn, following in the shoes of legends such as Stephon Marbury to the NBA, and then the troubles he faced in retirement, fighting legal battles and trying to get stability in his life after basketball.
He was found guilty in a New York City firearms case in 2019 and he recently narrowly escaped doing prison time for his involvement in a $4 million health care scam where 18 former NBA players were charged and Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sentenced to three years in the federal prison for his involvement.
Telfair recently sat down with famous podcaster DJ Vlad and covered myriad topics in his two-hour interview. One of the more interesting topics that he covered was his personal NBA player insight was side pieces and girlfriends. Words that go with NBA players like peanut butter with jelly on sandwiches.
Vlad brought up former NBA player Eddie Curry and how he had various side pieces despite having a wife, and how having babies out of these affairs led to serious problems for himself and his children who were not under his care.
Eddie Curry was drafted fresh out of high school in Illinois, No. 4 overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2001. He also got married out of high school and after a few years got divorced, but learned his first lesson on the 18 years of monthly child support he had to pay to his child’s mother to pay for the kids, tuition, clothes, school anything they needed.
According to Vlad, when the child turned 18, the mother took Curry to court, claiming he owes 18 years of child support, even though he’s been footing the bill the entire time.
Vlad said Curry had to pay back around $1.5 million to his baby’s mother because the court ruled that the money he gave the child were gifts, being that he wasn’t doing it under a specified court order of child support, so it’s as if he never paid anything in the eyes of the court.
“Of course if they get ya Black ass in there and ya Black ass got some money,” Telfair said. “They’re gonna definitely make sure they do that. And yes I do mean that , I don’t believe white people are going through the same sh-t we are going through out here with this child support sh-t, Vlad. No I don’t believe that,”
Telfair then ventured into vague details about a situation that he’s currently in with his ex-wife, whom he admittingly cheated on with groupies.
“They are about to take $400K from me,” Telfair told Vlad. “I just got a letter last month. My ex-wife is bringing it to the court and I’m sure they are already giving it to them.
Former NBA Player Eddie Curry Lost Ex-Wife and Child to Domestic Violence
Curry was in several other really bad situations with the mothers of his children.
His former wife, Korie Kellogg was arrested and jailed back in 2013 by Mokena police for beating her then 10-year-old son, Eddy Curry Jr., 10 times with a belt, according to her attorney, Jeff Tomczak.
Staff at her son’s school told her to take her child to the hospital, Tomczak said.
Hospital staff alerted police and officers ultimately took her in on a felony charge. Kellogg bet those charges but it was clear Curry’s son was growing up in a harsh environment.
Curry also dealt with the tragedy of losing both the mother of one of his children and his infant daughter in a tragic double murder in which Fredrick Goings, a Chicago attorney, was convicted of murdering Curry’s ex-girlfriend and their infant daughter.
Goings was sentenced to life in prison for the 2009 murders of 24-year-old Nova Henry and 10-month-old Ava. The tragic case stemmed from a child support fight between Goings and Curry, where Henry had hired another lawyer to challenge Goings’ legal fees. That was also the last year Curry played pro ball after 12 seasons.
Sebastian Telfair Regrets Having Multiple Side Pieces Instead Of One Girlfriend Outside Of Marriage
Vlad continued to discuss Eddie Curry’s wild life predicaments involving his many side pieces and his ex-wife. Telfair says he learned a valuable lesson as well by gallivanting with various “chickenheads.”
“I wish I had a girlfriend when I was married (and cheating),” Teflair revealed. “Instead of messing around with all those chickenheads.”
“Some of my teammates used to have a full girlfriend,” Telfair continues, “and I used to frown upon that. But you know, it’s super better off that way.”
Telfair goes on to tell the story of one of his friends – a fellow point guard – who was drafted the same year he was drafted 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2004. During a conversation Telfair’s friend discussed how he had one girlfriend outside of his wife and treated her like gold.
“So you got like a real girl,” Telfair asked. “He said yeah… apartment crib all that. It didn’t seem right to me, but I should have gone and got me a girlfriend that I truly loved and took care of her and been good. I would rather have a full girlfriend than some random guy.”
Speaking of randoms, one of those randoms actually came to court to testify against Telflair in a recent legal matter. And his current girlfriend, according to Telfair, caught a case for grilling the girl and intimidating her while on the stand.
The lifestyle of even an average NBA player is the stuff of legend. Telfair has more stories to tell than his hometown legend Biggie.
The young generation entering the NBA should take notes.
There was a time when the USA sent its top college players to compete in the Olympics and stay in the Olympic Village, where meeting other athletes from around the world and forging a brotherhood within the village was part of the experience.
Since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, when the Dream Team hit the Olympic scene and their celebrity transcended traditional Olympic participants, the U.S. men’s basketball team has consistently stayed in luxury hotels outside the Olympic Village.
In a previous article we noted that the list of highest-paid Olympians, were dominated by Team USA, so there’s a lot of money moving around in Paris and these guys are used to the best accommodations.
The team even used luxury cruise ships for accommodation in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. These lodging choices ensure player security, maintain optimal conditioning and allow unrestricted family visits.
According to the report, Team USA rented an 800-room luxury hotel in Paris. This hotel is large enough to accommodate the players and coaching staff, their families, support staff, team officials, and NBA executives.
Forbes notes that Team USA opts for top-notch accommodations primarily for security and conditioning. Staying in external lodging provides several benefits, including access to the best possible diet, unrestricted family visits, and easy resolution of room assignment issues, reportedly costing in excess of $15 million.
They’ve made a sizable investment to offer options like luxury cottages, private rooms, or even a 6-bedroom private house with a pool.
The cardboard box beds in the Olympic Village, designed to discourage hookups between athletes and are only six feet long, certainly don’t help either.
Kevin Durant spoke fondly of Olympic Village, but living in the lap of luxury takes precedence over walking among the people.
“The last few times I’ve done the Olympics, we’ve spent our fair share in the Olympic Village and felt like a part of the group there,” Durant said. “We stay outside of it, but we get our time right before the Opening Ceremony. As we go to other sports as well, we get to walk through the village. So I think we get enough time there.”
No expense is spared when it comes to the Team USA Men’s team. The women’s team share the same luxurious accommodations, including five-star hotels and shuttle service between Paris, as they seek to reach the gold medal game on Aug. 10.
Security issues arose at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when a large crowd of fans gathered outside the USA basketball team’s hotel to catch a glimpse of the late great Kobe Bryant. Since then, they have implemented even stricter security measures and made the players even more inaccessible.
Team USA also helps other sports teams by offering any available extra rooms to athletes from different disciplines. For example, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, U.S. golfers stayed at the same hotel.
Team USA features NBA stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant for the Paris Olympics. Their combined earnings in 2023 totaled $600 million.
When 2024 WNBA No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark was snubbed for the U.S. Olympic Women’s basketball team, selection committee members were immediately called haters.
Team head coach Cheryl Reeve, who isn’t a fan of all the Clark hype, has consistently disregarded questions concerning the matter. In fact, when asked if she regretted Clark being left off the team following last week’s WNBA All-Stars win over Team USA during All-Star Weekend, Reeve responded with an emphatic “NO.”
The committee, which is made up of South Carolina head coach and former U.S. coach Dawn Staley, LSU assistant and Minnesota Lynx legend Seimone Augustus, Old Dominion head coach and L.A. Sparks legend Delisha Milton-Jones, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti and WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin, made the decision on Clark.
The decision in many ways seemed to be based on her being a rookie and having plenty of time to participate in future Olympics. And while that may be true, one member of the committee has since changed her tune.
Speaking with NBC’s Mike Tirico, Staley, who led Team USA to the gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, had some interesting things to say concerning Clark.
“If we had to to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people,” Staley said.
Staley also mentioned that she still stands by the committee’s decision to deny Clark an Olympic spot, because in Staley’s opinion, Clark has recently really come on since the team was chosen.
Prior to that, Clark went through the typical rookie struggles and at that time she probably didn’t deserve a spot based on her play.
Hearing Staley put it that way has to make one wonder what if Clark, who leads the WNBA in assists at 8.2 per game, should’ve been chosen. In fact, she’s already tallied more assists this season than 75 percent of the players in league history.
Not only that, but the Iowa Hawkeyes legend has also created more points than any other player in the league, when you combine the assists and her points (17.1) per game.
When you consider the popularity and star power that Clark commands, she could have been chosen on that alone. No player has ever come into the league with the fanfare that she has, and the league has benefited greatly from her arrival.
The league has seen a huge jump in viewership, attendance and merchandise since Clark was drafted, and last week’s 11-year, $200 million per year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC more than triples the current $60 million revenue budget the league is run off.
That’s why this would’ve been a perfect time to take Clark, the league’s biggest star, to Paris. It just seemed like the correct thing to do, and in many ways the committee dropped the ball.
As pertains to the current guards on the Team USA roster, Clark is a more complete player than any of them from the standpoint of scoring and making her teammates around her better. While all of them are more experienced, none of them can do what she does in the combined areas of scoring and assisting, and Staley knows that, having seen it in back-to-back Final Four matchups with Clark and the Hawkeyes.
As the Team USA women’s basketball team prepares to win its eight consecutive Olympic gold medal, the WNBA players that comprise the squad are also formulating an organized and united plan on how they choose to support Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in these upcoming Olympics.
Team USA women’s 5×5 hoops made its Olympic debut in 1976, and the U.S. has dominated, winning nine gold medals – including seven consecutive starting with the 1996 Atlanta Olympics – one silver and one bronze.
The U.S. did not participate in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, therefore the Soviet Union won gold at the 1976 Montreal Games and in 1980, and the Unified Team (made up of former Soviet republics) captured gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
After that, it’s been all Team USA sweeping any team that stands in its wake.
The WNBA’s Social Justice Council is meeting in Paris and discussing ways that the league can leverage its burgeoning popularity to support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the upcoming election.
“We have been talking in the group chat about finding a way to obviously back Kamala as much as we can,” Breanna Stewart, a member of that council who plays for the New York Liberty and the United States Women’s Basketball Team, said here Saturday.
The Council is a partnership of the WNBA and the WNBA Players’ Association. It was formed in the wake of the 2020 death of George Floyd with a mission “to educate, amplify, and mobilize action to address inequality.”
The burgeoning success of the league, which has led to celebrity rookies such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, chartered flights, increased attendance, ratings, brand visibility and a $2.2B media rights deal over the next 11 years, hasn’t shifted the players’ focus when it comes to continuing to use their platform to fight for the voiceless.
In 2023, an in-season tournament, the Commissioner’s Cup, was created in part so that a cut of proceeds could help fund the group and its outreach.
WNBA players have always been at the forefront of issues with political ramifications, including elections.
The support of the WNBA was pivotal in helping Rev. Raphael Warnock make history in 2021 when he defeated billionaire Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler in Georgia’s Senate runoff election.
Loeffler was also owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream franchise at the time, and she was less than supportive of any of her team’s social justice agenda following George Floyd’s death and dating back to Colin Kaepernick’s influence on the sports landscape.
With incredible support from Stewart and the rest of the WNBA, Warnock beat the odds and became the 11th Black senator to be elected to Congress, also the first Black senator from the state of Georgia. Loeffler was also basically forced out as owner.
Stacey Abrams’ grassroots work gets much of the credit for Warnock’s victory as she helped mobilize voter blocks that could get Warnock the win. But the push he got from the majority Black; female athletes of the WNBA — especially early on in his campaign — was influential.
That’s why this recent meeting of the minds isn’t surprising. The women of the WNBA are meeting to build a strategy for the next election, which is one that most Americans agree is crucial to the immediate future of this country.
It might be infuriating to “shut up and dribble” people who don’t want athletes choosing political sides or having a voice when it comes to such matters, but the WNBA has long been at the forefront of social justice movements and its women like those of the Atlanta Dream who refuse to be silenced by any forms of systemic hate or oppression.
“This is a big, big election,” said A’ja Wilson of Team USA and the Las Vegas Aces, who like Harris is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “We are always going to stand behind her in that sense.”
Stewart, one of the leading voices in the league and the 2023 MVP suggested that plans were just being formed now about how to maximize the league’s current wave of interest in order to reach larger audiences with their message.
“Everything we have been working for this year, the Commissioner Cup, has been about voting rights, reproductive rights,” Stewart said. “The things that she stands for we also stand for. So making sure we can definitely stay united and continue to push the message of registering to vote and where to vote and pushing the resources behind it.”
The WNBA has made no bones about it being a league that slants towards the Democrats as the party that most aligns with their culture as a human rights, LGBTQ, racial and gender equality-driven organization.
There are surely some Donald Trump supporters among the 144 women in the league and 12 head coaches, plus the executive branch of the league. The majority of the players, however, are trying to be a part of history and get the first woman in American history voted into the Oval Office.
It’s a glass ceiling that they are most interested and invested in. so much that they are spending part of their offseason Olympics vacation in Paris, not only playing basketball and representing the USA, but building on ways to make the country more balanced, united and opportunistic for all.
Despite the big political pow wow and the team trying to make history again, WNBA fans on social media can’t forget about Cailtin Clark.
Dawn Staley, a member of the USWNT selection committee joined Mile Terico to do some pre and post game commentary for Team USA men and naturally asked the three-time national championship coach about Caitlin Clark’s Team USA omission.
Staley responded: “If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”
Of course, that one comment took the focus off of the WNBA legends actually participating and opened up a lane for Team Clark to express their displeasure again.
Clark’s time will come in 2028. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see if she joins her WNBA sisters in supporting Kamala Harris or she sides with her male fan base which has been a mixture of Trump and Democrats who are leery on Harris.
