Diddy's wild hotel attack on Cassie seen in newly released unedited surveillance video
Sean ' Diddy ' Combs' violent attack on ex-girlfriend Cassie during a freak-off in a Los Angeles was made public early Wednesday after the full unedited footage was shown to court.
Cassie Ventura, 38, came face-to-face with the hip-hop mogul on the second day of his trial as she revealed intimate details of their sordid relationship.
The singer claimed she took part in his days-long sex parties because she feared he would blackmail her if she refused, jurors heard yesterday.
The videos have been submitted, unedited as evidence at the trial and show various angles of the brutal attack as Diddy drags the R&B singer from an elevator and paces down the hallway in a towel.
Combs shook his head slowly from side to side and the packed courtroom fell silent as jurors were shown the 2016 hotel security camera video for the first time.
The video did not have sound.
Jurors watched intently on video monitors at their seats in the jury box, but there were no discernible, visible reactions.
First, prosecutors showed it all the way through. Then, they played it as the hotel's assistant security director at the time, Israel Florez, described what was happening.
Prosecutors then played a different version of the footage that Florez recorded off a monitor with his iPhone.
Combs' lawyer then showed it again as she sought to poke holes in Florez's recollection of events.
You see clear footage of Cassie walking down the hall at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City and at one point, Combs clearly drags her across the floor, mid-tantrum.
As she tried to get into an elevator, he grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed her on to the ground.
He then kicked her as she lay on the ground motionless.
Diddy stood over her, kicked her again, and then dragged her back to their room by the hoodie.
Late in the clip, you see what appears to be a security guard walk into the fray.
Florez, the security guard in question, testified in court Tuesday and submitted an email showing his report of the incident that includes stunning photos of the aftermath in the hotel room.
Now a Los Angeles Police Department officer, Florez wrote back in 2016 that at one point after diffusing the situation, Combs attempted to offer him a bribe, allegedly saying: 'You take care of this, I got you, let's go to my room.'
The security guard responds by telling Combs he knows who the mogul is before shaking his hand.
'[I] said all I ask is for respect for the guest and myself, so do me the favor and lets return you to your room,' he wrote.
At one point, Florez claims Diddy saw Ventura coming down the hall and 'raised his voice' toward her.
'I then told him that if he didn't respect the guest, then he would be escorted out of property,' Florez said.
They arrive at the room, where Combs allegedly pulled out a band of about $100 in cash and said: 'You take care of this and I take care of you.'
'I declined the money and told Mr. Combs that all we needed was for him to stay in his room until check out, which is today,' Florez said, before leaving the scene.
As he and an associate started to take photos, Diddy looked ready to yell at them, when Florez said he told him they 'were not there to make it bigger than it already was.'
Combs at one point tries to grab the associate's phone, assuming he's there to record him before he was told he wasn't being filmed.
Florez clamed that Diddy calmed down and said: 'It's just that I don't want to lose anything and I can lose it all.'
He reassures the rapper that they just want him to calm down and avoid further scenes before leaving.
The trial's first witness, Florez, testified about responding to a report of a woman in distress and witnessing Combs tell Cassie: 'You're not going to leave.'
Florez said he recognized Diddy immediately after getting called up to his room and only later understood it was Ventura with him.
According to Florez, Diddy was 'on the chair slouched down and was in a blank stare'
He said: 'As soon as I walked out…it was a devilish stare, looking at me. When I got out of the elevator I'm looking at him, he's looking at me with no movement. He was wearing just a towel and socks.'
Florez told the court that Ventura looked 'scared.'
He said: 'She was in the corner. She had her hoodie on, pretty much covered up, I couldn't see her face. She was pretty much in a corner.'
Florez testified that he recorded the hotel's video of the attack on his cellphone because he wanted to describe what he saw to his wife and feared she wouldn't believe him.
As for her own testimony, Cassie claimed in a since-settled lawsuit that Diddy had paid the same hotel $50,000 for the footage after the attack.
Two days later, the pair appeared on the red carpet holding hands for the premiere of The Perfect Match.
At trial Tuesday, Ventura said Combs, 55, forced her to participate in the parties, known as 'Freak Offs', where she would have sex with male escorts while he watched.
They became her 'job' and she carried on taking part because she feared Combs would release videos he had filmed of the parties, the court heard.
The R&B singer said Combs, who signed her to his Bad Boy Records label, controlled every aspect of her life during their decade-long relationship and kept her in check through violence, and left guns lying around to 'scare' her.
Ventura described how he would 'stomp me in the head if I was down' and beat her so badly that the whites of her eyes would turn red.
Prosecutors claim that Combs, who won three Grammys during a music career spanning four decades, ran a 'criminal enterprise' built around coercing women into sex and threatening them if they went public.
His lawyers claim that all the sex acts were consensual and that his appetites were 'kinky' but did not amount to sex trafficking.
Ventura gave evidence to the trial in New York despite being eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her third child. Her husband Alex Fine, 32, is a personal trainer who was hired by Combs to work with her.
Combs's lawyers sought to have Ventura seated in the witness box before the jury came in on the grounds that her being so heavily pregnant might influence them.
But the judge disagreed and she was allowed to walk into court wearing a brown, tight-fitting bodysuit which showed off her baby bump.
Her testimony came a day after prosecutors showed jurors a video of him beating her in a hotel in 2016.
Ventura detailed the arguments she had with Combs, who she began dating in 2006 when she was 19 and he was 17 years older.
She said: 'He would bash me on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down.' Prosecutor Emily Anne Johnson asked how frequently this happened. 'Too frequently,' she replied.
Ventura said she remembered 'my stomach falling to my butt' when Combs suggested the idea of 'Freak Offs'. She told the court: 'Within the first year of our relationship Sean proposed to me this idea this sexual encounter that he called voyeurism where he'd watch me in sexual activity with a third party, specifically another man.'
She added: 'Pretty quickly I knew that it wasn't something I wanted to be doing. Especially as regularly as it became but I was in love and wanted to make him happy. It got to a point I didn't feel I had much of a choice.'
Ventura said she did not want to make Combs 'angry' because he 'controlled a lot of my life' and she feared he would put the explicit videos of her online. She told jurors: 'Over time it turned into the fact there were blackmail materials to make me feel if I didn't do it, it would be hung over my head or these things would become public.'
Ventura said that before she met Combs, she thought he was a 'larger-than-life' figure in the music industry, while she was 'completely sexually inexperienced'. She repeatedly called herself 'naive' and said: 'I was insanely jealous but also super young, didn't get it at all, I didn't get that he was him.
'As he would say, I'm Puff Daddy and Puff Daddy has many women, he likes the company of women. I had to learn that over time. He made me feel like we were in a monogamous relationship.'
Ventura wept as she spoke about her first 'Freak Off' party and how she did not want to engage in any of them. 'I just felt it was all I was good for,' she said.
'I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusted. I was humiliated, I didn't have those words to put together at the time, how horrible I felt. I couldn't talk to anybody about it so.'
Ventura said the only part of the 'Freak Offs' she enjoyed was the 'time' she spent with Combs during them. She told the court: 'Plainly the Freak Offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and try to feel normal again. Staying up for days on end, taking drugs and other substances, drinking. Having sex with a stranger for days.'
Asked how long the 'Freak Offs' lasted, Ventura replied: 'They ranged anywhere from 36, 48 to 72 hours. The longest one ever was four days. Maybe even more on and off with breaks.' She said about 10 large bottles of baby oil were used at each party.
Ventura also claimed that Combs would leave guns lying around his homes to scare her.
'The guns came out here and there – I always felt it was a little bit of a scare tactic,' she said.
Earlier, Judge Arun Subramanian indicated he could make the 'Freak Off' videos and photos public despite pleas from Ventura to keep them sealed.
Combs, who has worked with Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Lopez, who he also dated for a time, denies racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. He faces life in jail if convicted.
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The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
An AP discussion on the courts, lawyers and testimony inside the Diddy, Weinstein and Mangione cases
Julie Walker, AP radio correspondent: We're here to talk about three big cases in New York. Sean "Diddy" Combs charged with sex trafficking and racketeering by the Feds. He pled not guilty. Down the street in state court, Harvey Weinstein's retrial by the Manhattan DA on rape and sex assault charges. He also pled not to guilty. And then there's Luigi Mangione. He's charged by both the state and the Feds with killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and has also pled not guilty. Joining me now, two of the Associated Press reporters covering the cases and the courts, Larry Neumeister and Mike Sisak. And I'm Julie Walker. All right, let's start with Sean "Diddy" Combs, what's been going on with that trial? Larry Neumeister, AP courts reporter: They're fascinated by a celebrity on trial. And as part of that, I've been trying to figure out what was he really called around his office? Was he called Diddy? Was he call Puff Daddy? Was called he Puff? Was he, called you know, Sean Combs? A lot of the witnesses seem to have called him Puff every day at the office. So that's my first takeaway from the trial. Mike, how about you? Michael Sisak, AP law enforcement reporter: I think it's fascinating that you have Sean Combs on trial at the same time as Harvey Weinstein's retrial, because you have the arc of the #MeToo movement playing out in the entertainment industry and across different aspects of the entertainment industry. Harvey Weinstein 's allegations in 2017 really kickstarted the #MeToo movement. He then had his trial in 2020. Now we're sort of on the other side of that arc where it's Sean Combs opening a window into the hip-hop industry, into the music industry, certainly the most famous, most well-known person from that aspect of entertainment, on trial, and you see the media and public attention gravitating to the Combs trial, to the Diddy trial, much more so than the Weinstein retrial, in part because of the fascination with celebrity. NEUMEISTER: And plus, I think with Weinstein, he's convicted out in LA. So, because he's already, you know, going to be in jail, even if he got exonerated at this second trial, he's still sentenced to a long time in prison. SISAK: He has a form of cancer, he has heart issues, he has all of these things that have only gotten worse, his lawyers say, since that first trial. But to your point, Larry, yes, he is convicted in Los Angeles, and the retrial in New York was caused by an appeals court overturning that 2020 conviction. WALKER: So, to sum it up for just one moment, two very different men, but at one point, very powerful, thought to be very untouchable. And I want to get back to both of them, but I want a pivot just for a minute and remind everyone that we're also talking about Luigi Mangione. SISAK: The fascinating thing about the Mangione case is that he could wind up in both courthouses. You have Diddy in the federal courthouse, you have Weinstein in the state courthouse, and Mangione faces murder charges in both the federal jurisdiction and the state jurisdiction. And initially, we thought and were told by prosecutors that the state case would proceed first. Now the state case, the maximum punishment would be life in prison. However, the Trump administration has gone ahead and filed paperwork indicating that they will seek the death penalty in the federal case, that case appears like it will now be the first one out. His next court date in the federal case is not until December. NEUMEISTER: Seeking the death penalty right off the bat adds one year to everything, and probably two to three years in the long run, because everything will get appealed to the hilt, certainly if they found the death-penalty. But the last time I saw in Manhattan them, the prosecutors seeking a death penalty, was in 2001, and it was two guys charged in an attack on two African embassies that like over 100 people. I think it's hard to win a death penalty case in Manhattan. WALKER: Now the other interesting thing is that Luigi Mangione and Sean "Diddy" Combs are in the same jail right now. SISAK: Yeah, Mangione and Combs are both at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which is a federal jail that has been in the headlines not only because of the celebrity guests there. Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency scammer, was also detained there, but also because that jail has a lot of problems. It's the only federal jail in New York City now. They closed the one in Manhattan where Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide. NEUMEISTER: And you know what, we've had a lot of celebrities appear in the federal courts in Manhattan. I mean, over the years, we had Martha Stewart convicted here. We had, just in the last year or two, we had Robert De Niro in the Robert De Niro civil trial. Well, one thing that's interesting about this Sean Combs trial that I don't think I've ever seen is so many witnesses that are subpoenaed to appear in the trial. We must have had a good four or five witnesses who were subpoenaed to appear. A couple of them said they definitely didn't want to testify. One of them would have pleaded the fifth, but was given immunity. So he testified. He said it was the last place he wanted to be. And what that enables is the defense to really kind of co-opt them as their witness. WALKER: You're talking about the ex-assistant. NEUMEISTER: Yes, George Kaplan, I believe is his name, and he appeared and said all these wonderful things about Sean Combs. He still sends him birthday greetings every year, although he did remark that he invited Combs to his wedding and Combs didn't even respond. So, you know, I don't know how that plays to the jury. But yeah, you know, there's so many witnesses and the defense lawyers more than I've ever seen in I think any trial I've witnessed in 33 years covering the courts, the defense lawyers keep treating a lot of these witnesses as their friendly witness. WALKER: I want to get back to the defense and his defense team, but let's talk about the jury for a minute, because a lot of people ask me about that since I have been in court with the two of you. And obviously, you know, the jury is anonymous. Eight men, four women, and then the six alternates, and it's like a slice of life from New York. NEUMEISTER: Well, there's many kinds of anonymous juries, and this is not a super anonymous jury like you have at a terrorism trial where by the end of the trial, all you know is they had numbers. It doesn't seem to be the kind of anonymity that jurors sometimes get to protect their safety or things like that. So, it's more of a milder version of an anonymous jury. But one thing I've seen with this jury that I've hardly ever seen with a jury is incredible attention to every witness. They turn in their chairs, they're pointed toward the witness, they're scribbling notes like mad. I've never seen so much as a juror yawn, although I did see Kid Cudi, he was yawning several times. SISAK: To your point, Larry, I think, you know, you talk about the anonymous jury, or at least the anonymity in that we don't know their names. These high profile cases, more and more, you're seeing judges take extra steps to protect the jury. And in the case of Sean Combs, you also had allegations of witness tampering, witness interference, leading to his arrest in September of 2024. So that could also explain why some of these witnesses are reluctant to come forward. NEUMEISTER: That's the main reason he wasn't given bail, is that they felt he was a threat to witnesses and had reached out to a couple of them. WALKER: Now, in New York, court cases are not televised. We do have sketch artists who are allowed to be in the courtroom, and then we are able to show those sketches. And we see a very different looking Diddy. His hair is completely gray, his goatee gray. He is allowed to wear his own clothes, as is Harvey Weinstein. Let's talk a little bit about what we're actually seeing that people aren't privy to. NEUMEISTER: Can't have dye, right, Mike? SISAK: What we've learned from this trial is that Sean Combs, according to his assistant who testified, was using Just For Men to hide gray hair and he had jet black hair up until the time he was arrested and put in jail last year. And then we also learned that hair dye is not allowed in jail. So in court, he has had this gray salt and pepper hair, goatee. He has been allowed to wear for the trial, sweaters, button down shirts, khakis and the like. It's a stark difference in look. NEUMEISTER: I'll tell you though, the guy is so involved with his defense, it's like off the charts, kind of amazing. I don't think I've ever seen this to this degree before. There was a witness, it was Kid Cudi, where at the end of his testimony, the prosecutors got him to say he believed Sean Combs was lying when he said he didn't know anything about his car when he brought it up. Kid Cudi's car was exploded in his driveway one day with a Molotov cocktail. And absolutely destroyed. And so he had a meeting with Sean Combs some weeks after that. And at the very end of the meeting, he said, brought up the car. And Sean Combs said, 'oh, what are you talking about? I don't know anything about that.' And after, as soon as that, the prosecutor finished asking the questions, got that response, then two lawyers, one on each side of Combs looked to him Combs said no, and only then did the lawyers inform the judge that there would be no more questioning. SISAK: I recall being in the courtroom earlier in the trial when some images were shown from some of the videotapes at issue here with these sex marathons that have become known in his parlance as "freak-offs." And there was a binder of some of these images, and Combs was sitting next to his lawyer and waved over, hey, I want to see those, and he's looking through them and he's holding the press, the public. We were not allowed to see these images. Their graphic images. The defendant, of course, was allowed to see them and he held them in a way that we could not see what he was looking at. And then he passed it back. And then other times he's hunched over a laptop computer looking at exhibits that are showing text messages and emails that were exchanged over the years with various people involved in the case. And then when there are breaks, we see him standing up, stretching, turning around, looking at his supporters in the gallery. His mother has been there. Some of his children have been there, some of his daughters have left the courtroom during the especially graphic testimony. But at other times, when his children are there, when his supporters are there, he's shaping his hands in the shape of a heart. He's pointing at them. He's saying, I love you. He's whispering. There was a moment when another reporter and I were sitting in the courtroom during a break and Sean Combs turns around, there's nobody in front of us and he asks us how we're doing. We say hi back to him because you're in such close proximity. We're only 10 feet apart or so. I'll pivot quickly to the Harvey Weinstein case where there's not as much of that because while Harvey Weinstein does have a contingent of supporters, it's mostly paid supporters, his publicist, his lawyers, his jury consultant. People that he will wave to and talk to and acknowledge as he's being wheeled into the courtroom. He uses a wheelchair to get in and out of court. One of the interesting things that ties the Sean Combs case and the Luigi Mangione case is one of the lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, represents both of those men. Karen Friedman Agnifilo is the lead defense attorney for Luigi Mangione. She is married to Marc Agnifilo. They are partners in the same law firm and Marc Agnifilo is ostensibly the lead attorney for Sean Combs. He is also assisting on Luigi Mangione's defense, both in the state and federal case. WALKER: In the beginning of the Combs case, the jury was shown that explosive video that the public already saw in the L.A. hotel hallway of Combs dragging Cassie and kicking her when she's on the ground and he made a public apology on his social media to her. And his lawyers have said that he's not a perfect person and he has anger issues, but he's not charged with domestic abuse. SISAK: The refrain from the defense has been that, if anything, there could have been domestic violence charges brought against Sean Combs back in 2016. Those charges would have been brought in a California court by Los Angeles police. There has not been any real discussion of an investigation in 2016 of any effort to charge Sean Combs with domestic violence at that time. So, in some sense, while it's a thread that the defense is pulling, that he's actually charged with sex trafficking and racketeering in this federal case, it almost is a bit of apples and oranges in the sense that the violence that the defenses conceding to, prosecutors allege, was part of the mechanism of the racketeer of the sex trafficking. In other words, they allege that Sean Combs used violence to keep people quiet, to people compliant. NEUMEISTER: And a lot of charges like domestic violence are all kind of things they could have brought against Sean Combs years ago. Well, there's a statute of limitations that would rule out certain charges. And certain charges just, there is no federal domestic violence charge. So when the feds go after somebody, they look for what kind of charges are federal crimes. And in this case, sex trafficking, bringing people across state lines to do illegal sex acts, or racketeering, which can involve many different things, including that 2016 tape of Cassie being beat up by Sean Combs by the Elevator Bank in that Los Angeles hotel. That, actually, is a centerpiece of the evidence against Combs in this case. WALKER: The point is that that hallway video of Diddy beating up Cassie is actually part of the case of racketeering because he's using violence to control people. NEUMEISTER: Listen, there's violence all through this, right Mike? SISAK: The Kid Cudi arc in this narrative, which is in 2011, Cassie, who's the longtime girlfriend of Sean Combs, starts dating Kid Cudi. Combs is upset about that, according to this witness, Capricorn Clark. Combs comes into her home holding a gun, kidnaps Capricorn Clark, takes her to Kid Cudi's home, where according to Clark, Combs was intent on killing Kid Codi. Now, Cudi was not there. He testified at this trial, so Combs is alleged wish of killing him did not come to fruition, it may be a bit of a crafty strategy by the defense in this case to own the things that they cannot otherwise explain away. They are owning the things the jury eventually is going to see. The video of the 2016 assault at the hotel in Los Angeles. A video, by the way, that was suppressed from public view until it aired last year on CNN. NEUMEISTER: And that is part of the racketeering charge, it's alleged that he used all of his employees and his whole security staff to cover up these things. So, when that happened in 2016 at that L.A. hotel, they paid like $100,000 to try to get the copy of the security video so it would never become public. WALKER: I think we've covered so much that I'm not sure what we have left to cover, although there probably is more. But are there any big points or big arcs that you think are worth mentioning? NEUMEISTER: In the beginning, the first week, it was all Cassie's testimony and there was so much evidence in everything and her testimony about sexual acts and such but last week it seems all about violence and threats and how he would have used his employees to cover up the crimes. SISAK: We've heard from Cassie about the freak-offs. We've heard from some of the male sex workers that were involved. And then we're seeing other pieces of evidence that prosecutors say show the depravity of these events and then also the network of people that Combs relied on to keep them secret, to keep going, but to keep them secret. WALKER: Well, I think that that about sums it up. The judge in the beginning said he wanted to be done by July 4th. SISAK: We've had people ask us, all three of us that have been in court at various times, what do you think of the prosecution's case so far? And as reporters, we don't have opinions on things, but I would urge caution whenever there's a case, let the presentation play out, get to the end of the prosecution case, but also listen to the cross-examination, listen to what the defense puts on. Often defendants will not testify on their own behalf because it can be perilous, but there are cases where it might be advantageous. NEUMEISTER: When there's celebrities involved, it's a wild card, where you really can't predict what's going to happen and how that's going to play into the jurors' minds and everything else. WALKER: And I think that's a good place to leave it. Thank you both. Mike Sisak, Larry Neumeister. I'm Julie Walker. Thank you for listening. ___
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Riley Gaines hits Simone Biles with ultimate comeback as she resurrects gymnast's horrific past in trans feud
Conservative activist Riley Gaines has fired back at Simone Biles with a pointed dig at the gymnast's harrowing past amid their bitter online feud surrounding transgender athletes' participating in women's sports. The USA Olympic hero, 28, launched a scathing attack on Gaines Friday night when she compared her to a man after the former swimmer criticized a Minnesota high school softball team for competing with a trans player. Gaines, 25, who has been one of the most outspoken voices against transgender athletes in women's sports, responded by referencing the horrific abuse Biles and other gymnasts suffered at the hands of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar. 'All the horrific sexual abuse @Simmone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man's feelings,' the former collegiate swimmer posted on X following the gymnastics legend's attack. 'You know how many gold medals you'd have if your "inclusive" dream came true? Zero.' Gaines later doubled down, sharing a clip of Biles testifying before Senate about the abuse suffered at the hands of the former team doctor. Alongside it, she posted a screengrab of Biles' tweet. 'Simone Biles when she had to endure a predatory man Vs Simone Biles when other girls have to endure predatory men,' she wrote. Gaines, who tied for fifth with trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships, later clarified her position, insisting that she hopes Nassar 'spends the rest of his life rotting away and miserable in prison.' She said that the gymnasts were 'failed by a system that protected an abusive man at the expense of the girls' safety.' However, she claimed that female athletes were equally being failed by the same system amid the gender row sweeping through sport. Nassar was a leading doctor at Michigan State and with USA Gymnastics, but used his position within those organizations to sexually abuse young women under the guise of treatment at the now-closed Karolyi Ranch National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas. He was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material. The following year, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care. Biles publicly broke her silence in January 2018, revealing in a powerful tweet that she was one of Nassar's victims. In 2019, Biles revealed that the trauma of the assaults had left her struggling with suicidal thoughts. Gaines has forged a career as a political commentator for OutKick and Fox following her time as a swimmer, where she competed against trans athlete Lia Thomas. Her campaigning has won praise from Donald Trump, who welcomed her to the White House before signing the 'Keeping Men out of Women's Sports' executive order in February. On Friday, Gaines retweeted a picture of Minnesota team Champlin Park celebrating the state high school title that they won with transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger on the team. 'Comments off lol,' Gaines wrote in response to the post. 'To be expected when your star player is a boy.' Gaines clarified that hopes Nassar 'spends the rest of his life rotting away' in prison It sparked a blistering response from Biles, 28, who first criticized Gaines' view and then compared her appearance to a man. Biles wrote: 'You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. 'You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! 'But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!' She then tweeted at Gaines again, saying: 'Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.' Gaines replied: 'This is actually so disappointing. It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces. You can uplift men stealing championships in women's sports with YOUR platform. Men don't belong in women's sports and I say that with my full chest.' She continued: 'My take is the least controversial take on the planet. Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls' dreams? Didn't have that on my bingo card. Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.' Gaines then addressed Biles mocking her appearance, saying: 'And the subtle hint at "body-shaming" ???? Plzzzz I'm 5'5".' Sage Steele, the former ESPN reporter who has also been a vocal critic of trans athletes, backed Gaines up with a fiery tweet of her own. Biles attacked Gaines on X on Friday night after her latest remarks on trans athletes 'Easy to say this @Simone_Biles when you only had to compete against fellow women. Every one of your Olympic medals came competing against fellow women,' Steele wrote. 'Riley Gaines was not only forced to compete against a man, but forced to share a locker room with a man. THAT is SICK. Shocked and disappointed that you'd attack another woman who has done nothing but uplift other women. 'If YOU think it makes sense to create a league for trans people, go for it! Use that huge platform of yours! But to attack Riley for what she has done for little girls who want to be the next Simone Biles is……..sick.' Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, also gave a savage reply to a Trump voter that wrote back to her: 'Simone, there is a reason they have rings in men's gymnastics, and not women's. Male athletes have a biological advantage over female athletes. That will never changes.' Biles wrote back: 'Can you even read? I see we are lacking comprehension skills as well…..' The gymnast has offered no further comment other than to retweet her original post calling Gaines 'sick'. The issue of trans athletes in sports has been a bigger talking point in the US this week with the Minnesota high school team reaching the state championships. Rothenberger is biologically male. At nine, Rothenberger's mother applied in district court to alter her child's birth certificate after their ninth birthday, with the petition being approved, per Reduxx. Rothenberger was issued a new birth certificate showing to be born female, switching their name from 'Charlie Dean' to Marissa.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Jackie Robinson mural in Miami defaced with racial slurs and swastikas
Miami murals honoring baseball trailblazers Jackie Robinson and Minnie Minoso were defaced with swastikas and racist slurs this week. The vandalism in the city's Overtown neighborhood was reported Monday to police, who told the Athletic on Friday that they are investigating the incident as a hate crime. The defacements of the murals in Dorsey Park included swastikas painted over the players' faces and a racial slur scrawled on Robinson's image. 'This was an act of hate, but it will not define us,' Kyle Holbrook, the artist who painted the mural in 2011 as part of the MLK Mural Project, told the Miami Herald. 'This mural was born from a community's pride, history, and power. We will restore it – stronger, bolder, and with even more purpose. Black history is American history. And no spray paint can erase that truth.' Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The Hall of Famer's uniform No 42 is retired throughout the big leagues. Minoso, who was born in Cuba, also broke ground as the first Black Latino player when he played for Cleveland in 1949. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 2022. US representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida, called the vandalism a 'vile act of hatred' in a statement Wednesday. 'We must treat this for what it is: a hate crime meant to instill fear and division,' she said. 'But we will not be intimidated. We will respond with unity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to truth, justice, and the preservation of our history.' In 2024, a statue of Robinson was stolen from a park in Wichita, Kansas, and later found burned and dismantled.
