Claressa Shields suspended in home state of Michigan after testing positive for marijuana
The Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission suspended the 29-year-old athlete from competing in the state after an 'oral fluid sample' taken after the fight on February 2 showed the presence of marijuana, which is banned in competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
'Ms. Shields' conduct as a licensed professional boxer constitutes an immediate threat to the integrity of professional boxing, the public interest, and the welfare and safety of professional athletes,' the Michigan Commission said on Thursday.
The World Boxing Organization (WBO), which does not have the authority to suspend boxers, has requested a 'show notice' from Shields to provide an explanation. The Michigan Commission is also conducting its own investigation to determine if disciplinary action is necessary.
Shields, the only boxer to hold every major world title – WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO – in three weight classes and a two-time Olympic gold medallist, took to social media last week posting, 'Clean athletes win'.
Under the World Boxing Council Clean Boxing Program, both Shields and Perkins have been tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
20 minutes ago
- NBC News
It was supposed to change pro track. Now, short on cash, it owes athletes millions.
As summer began in 2024, former Olympic gold-medal sprinter Michael Johnson stood in a downtown Los Angeles restaurant that had been rented out for a big announcement. Johnson said he had secured $30 million in funding for a new track league, promising payments never before seen in track and field. In a sport where even top stars earn modest livings by the standards of professional athletes, Grand Slam Track represented a huge windfall. More than one-third of that promised funding would be earmarked for prize money alone, a pool of more than $3 million per meet. And the biggest winners at each of its four meets would pocket $100,000 per meet — five times as much as first place earned on track's other global circuit. Additionally, 48 competitors who signed contracts with the circuit could earn an annual base compensation, plus a cut of revenue from group licensing. Yet just 14 months after Johnson's grand announcement, and four months after the group held its first meet in Jamaica, Grand Slam Track has yet to pay many of its athletes and vendors, and Johnson acknowledged Friday that the cash crunch — what one source said was around $13 million in unpaid money to athletes alone — poses an existential threat to the fate of the circuit returning for a second season. 'The cruelest paradox in all of this is we promised that athletes would be fairly and quickly compensated. Yet, here we are struggling with our ability to compensate them,' said a statement signed by Johnson that was posted on social media Friday. Johnson also maintained that he is 'confident about the future of Grand Slam Track.' NBC News spoke with four agents who represent multiple athletes still owed money by Grand Slam Track, who spoke on condition of anonymity to retain relationships with organizers. Three expressed serious doubts the circuit would be able to drum up enough funding from investors and confidence from athletes to return for a second season, in 2026. A fourth said he was willing to give the benefit of the doubt, for now. 'My message to our athletes is, look, it's not good,' that agent said. 'But on the other hand, their intent is to pay and we're going to wait for them to pay us. Otherwise, they won't have a future.' Agents, coaches and meet organizers in track and field said their concerns about Grand Slam's trouble go far beyond receiving the money owed from the three meets it hosted this spring in Jamaica, Florida and Philadelphia. If Grand Slam Track were ultimately successful in drawing strong ratings and crowds, there was a hope that such demand could entice more outside investors with deep pockets to pour money into a sport that often operates on shoestring budgets compared to other professional leagues. 'It feels like to a lot of people that this will be a massive deterrent to future endeavors,' said Paul Doyle, a prominent athlete agent who founded and has also operated a pro track circuit, the American Track League, since 2014. 'It wasn't all negative. I feel for them in that sense that they're in a tough spot.' On the day Johnson announced Grand Slam Track in 2024, he was bullish but also admitted the venture would take time to generate money. 'If I had an investor who said, 'Well, I need it to be profitable in Year 2,' I would not take their money because that's impossible,' Johnson said in 2024. 'It's just not going to happen. Our investors have come on and said, 'Hey, we believe in the long-term viability of this.'' That viability has been under scrutiny ever since Grand Slam Track canceled its fourth and final meet, scheduled for June. It emailed athlete representatives in July notifying them that earnings from their first meet, held in Jamaica in April, would be paid by that month's end. On Aug. 4, a spokesperson for Grand Slam Track said that it was 'anticipating investor funds to hit our account imminently, and the athletes are our top priority.' As of Friday's announcement, however, Grand Slam had only paid athletes for the appearance fees they were owed in Jamaica, but not any prize money. Johnson, in his statement, suggested that the funding shortfall was due to a change in circumstances 'in ways beyond our control.' Johnson previously told Front Office Sports that an investor had pulled funds. 'Due to our strong desire to make this right as quickly as possible, we offered dated payment timelines and have been unable to meet them,' Johnson said in Friday's statement. 'Understandably, this has led to frustration, disappointment, and inconvenience to our athletes, agents, and vendors. I know this damages trust. I know this makes some wonder if our vision can survive. That is why we are not just addressing the immediate problem; we are putting systems and partnerships in place to make sure it never happens again.' 'While I am no stranger to setbacks and overcoming obstacles, as an athlete, professionally, and personally, this current situation of not being able to pay our athletes and partners has been one of the most difficult challenges I've ever experienced,' the statement added. Prize money payments that take weeks to arrive are not unusual in track and field; if anything, they are the rule. In extreme cases, athletes have said that prize money payments have taken more than a calendar year to hit their accounts. Prize money from March's world indoor championships in China still has yet to arrive, one agent said. Delays largely stem from drug testing, because meets typically wait to pay until knowing an athlete was clean. Results generally take 10-30 days to return. In contracts with its 'racers,' Grand Slam Track stated that drug testing would be completed within 21 days of each meet, and that an athlete's promotional fee and earned prize money would be paid within 10 days of learning the doping results, according to a source. Delays are commonplace. But what made Grand Slam Track different, one agent said, was that there was a belief it already had its announced $30 million in funding waiting in escrow, ready to pay as obligated. Instead, they now wait for emailed updates from Grand Slam organizers. 'You're not getting anything directly answered,' one agent said. ''Our goal is to pay.' Well you can pay, but when? That doesn't sit well with anyone.'
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Chicago Air and Water Show sent the Cubs' dugout scrambling
Airplane fly-bys are a quintessential part of American sports and have been a common pregame tradition for decades. It's just that, typically, those fly-bys don't happen in the middle of the game. Players for the Chicago Cubs certainly weren't expecting it during Friday's loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the Chicago Air and Water Show had other plans. With planes practicing during the day ahead of the show, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, one of them gave the entire Cubs dugout quite a scare as players found themselves running for cover at the sound of the unknown threat. It also led to an incredible broadcasting moment as it occurred during an ad read for Motorola, leading to one of the funniest sponsored line reads you will ever hear. While the Cubs players were certainly startled, it didn't give them the energy boost they needed to emerge victorious as they lost 3-2 to the struggling Pirates. But hey, at the very least, Motorola is probably pleased with the engagement.
Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Turkish Adams Donor Sentenced
With help from Amira McKee THE FINAL STRAW? Construction executive Erden Arkan must not have friends in the Trump administration like Mayor Eric Adams does. So while the Department of Justice moved to dismiss the mayor's case, the wheels of justice kept turning for Arkan. The Turkish-American co-owner of KSK Construction Group was given a light sentence of one year probation today in Manhattan federal court. He'll also pay a $9,500 fine and $18,000 in restitution after pleading guilty in January to giving 10 employees $1,250 each to donate to Adams' campaign. But even while accepting that he broke New York City campaign finance laws, Arkan's lawyer Jonathan Rosen presented him as a victim of 'an unprecedented act of prosecutorial discretion,' suggesting that federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York wanted to salvage some sort of a win following the tumult and rounds of resignations over the dismissal of Adams' case. Rosen also suggested Arkan's case never should have been brought in federal court in the first place, arguing he was 'targeted… to serve some greater end in a bureaucratic power struggle over the Adams case.' While an official from the Turkish consulate helped coordinate Arkan's May 2021 fundraising event for Adams, Rosen said that Arkan 'never had any knowledge of foreign interference' alleged by federal prosecutors. He maintained that neither the Adams campaign nor the Turkish consulate knew about Arkan's straw donor scheme, which he'd cooked up himself. Judge Dale Ho dismissed the arguments. While he conceded 'it is true that there is some incongruency between the government's handling of Mr. Arkan's case and Mayor Adams' case,' he was firm that 'there is not a shred of evidence in the record' indicating that the prosecutors acted wrongly prosecuting Arkan. Another related case hasn't been resolved yet. Former Adams aide Mohamed Bahi pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping to organize a separate straw donor scheme for Adams' 2021 campaign. While Adams himself hasn't been accused of coordinating straw donations, the practice has been a serious problem for his campaign. Adams' old friend Dwayne Montgomery pleaded guilty last year along with other co-conspirators to giving Adams illegal donations, and THE CITY has reported on numerous examples of more apparent straw donations to Adams. Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, told Playbook earlier this week that this wasn't an ideal outcome for Adams' case. 'As a prosecutor, I never liked when, ultimately, the only people held accountable for their crimes were the lower level people,' he said. 'But under the circumstances, when you've charged someone and there's a legitimate reason to charge that person, the right thing to do is to finish off the case.' — Jeff Coltin From the Capitol LET'S ALL GO TO THE (ASSEMBLY) LOBBY: New York moviegoers might soon have an easier time skipping the increasingly lengthy block of advertisements and trailers shown before the film starts, if a bill introduced this week becomes law. Assemblymember Clyde Vanel wants to require theaters to display the time a movie actually starts when promoting showings or selling tickets. His proposal comes as movies increasingly start as much as half an hour after the advertised time. 'For the consumer, this can have a real monetary and social impact,' he wrote in his memo accompanying the bill. 'Consumers not only may leave obligations earlier than they needed to in order to see the motion picture, but they may also consume their snacks purchased at the theater prior to the movie beginning.' 'There is no justification for deceiving consumers,' he wrote, especially since moviegoers 'cannot bring their own snacks to eat if they consumed their purchased snacks within the extremely long 30-minute preview period.' The bill would not apply to broadcasts of the Assembly session — where starting within half an hour of the scheduled time would be a major improvement. — Bill Mahoney FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL NO 'SHOOK ONES': Queens Borough President Donovan Richards pledged today to help turn out Black voters for Zohran Mamdani in November, evoking both Martin Luther King Jr. and Mobb Deep in his enthusiastic endorsement. The Democratic mayoral nominee's policies — including a rent freeze and free and fast buses — are common sense, not socialism, Richards said in the borough that he and Mamdani both call home. Richmond Hill, Queens was the last stop of Mamdani's 'Five Boroughs Against Trump' tour. 'Count me in as a democratic socialist if it means that everyday New Yorkers will be able to afford this city,' Richards said, adding that civil rights icon King 'was called a socialist and communist as well' and referencing hip-hoppers Mobb Deep by boasting that there are no 'shook ones' in the borough, a reference to the group's hit song. Richards had previewed his endorsement of Mamdani a day earlier. One of Mamdani's biggest weak spots electorally has been politically moderate Black voters in areas like southeast Queens. And while he now has Richards as a surrogate, Queens Democratic Party leader Rep. Greg Meeks has yet to endorse him. (A Meeks spokesperson did not respond today to a query on whether the House member plans to meet with Mamdani.) Mamdani's support in the primary was stronger in parts of the city that are heavily gentrified. Southeast Queens includes neighborhoods that have resisted being priced out. Mamdani acknowledged the critical balance between creating homes for new residents without pushing out longer-term residents. 'One of the many things I appreciate about the borough president is how he has been able to chart a course of building more housing (though) not at the expense of displacing those who already live there,' he said. — Emily Ngo SEX WORK DEBATE: Andrew Cuomo went on the offensive today over Mamdani's past support for state legislation that would decriminalize sex work in New York. The former governor said in a statement that he spent years fighting iterations of the bill over concerns it would lead to an increase in sex trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable New Yorkers. 'Mark my words: This is the real world and if passed, this legislation will open the floodgates,' Cuomo said in the statement. 'Mamdani may not remember the bad old days of New York City, where Times Square was seedy and crime infested and New Yorkers knew which neighborhoods to avoid at all costs. We do, and no one should be eager to return to that era.' Cuomo's stance was backed by Sonia Ossorio, executive director at National Organization for Women New York City. Ossorio has previously criticized Mamdani's position on decriminalization. 'Full decriminalization doesn't protect vulnerable people — it expands a market that thrives on exploitation, human trafficking, and crime in our neighborhoods,' she said in a statement. Mamdani twice co-sponsored a bill that would decriminalize sex work and clear past arrest records related to prostitution while still allowing law enforcement to go after trafficking operations. Campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec declined to say whether Mamdani still supports the concept and whether he would advocate for the legislation from City Hall if elected. But she noted that the Democratic nominee has pledged additional resources to assist victims of prostitution and sex trafficking. 'While Andrew Cuomo is only interested in 'governing' behind a phone screen, Zohran is committed to genuine public safety, including combatting sex trafficking,' Pekec said in a statement that referenced a new department Mamdani plans to create. 'His Department of Community Safety will invest $40 million towards victims services including for programs like Safe Horizon, for which funding has been cut in past budgets.' The issue of whether to decriminalize sex work has been the subject of heated debate over the years. Organizations like DecrimNY, a coalition of sex workers and various organizations aligned with the decriminalization movement, argue the changes would make sex workers safer by allowing them to report violence or unsafe working conditions to authorities without fear of arrest while delivering more autonomy to consenting adults. — Joe Anuta IN THE COURTS CANNABIS REGULATORS SUED AGAIN: A dozen cannabis dispensary licensees are suing the state over a flip-flop on the cannabis agency's interpretation of the state's 2021 legalization law. 'The consequences are staggering. Petitioners' investments, often more than a million dollars, are now at risk' the petition reads. 'Their livelihoods are being threatened.' The petitioners are licensed under the Conditional Adult-use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) and Social and Economic Equity (SEE) licensing programs, which prioritize entrepreneurs with past cannabis convictions, women and minorities. The legal challenge seeks to block regulators from enforcing a new interpretation of school distance requirements in the state's cannabis legalization law, which would force licensees out of their dispensary locations that had been previously approved by the agency. Agency about-face: Earlier this month, the Office of Cannabis Management notified more than 100 licensees that their dispensary locations could be impacted due to the agency's misinterpretation of state law. The licensees are asking the court to annul the agency's new interpretation of the law, declare their locations compliant and block the state from taking any enforcement actions against them over the school distance requirement. A spokesperson for the OCM said that the office does not comment on pending litigation. The agency is proposing a legislative fix that would allow licensees to remain in their locations, but emphasized on its website that passing such legislation 'is not a guarantee.' The state is also creating an $15 million applicant relief fund for up to $250,000 per applicant to help find new locations. — Mona Zhang IN OTHER NEWS —26 FED PLAZA: As fewer immigrants show up for their court hearings, arrests at 26 Federal Plaza's immigration courthouses are nearing a standstill. (THE CITY) — GOV. CLEMENCY: Hochul pardoned a Laotian immigrant Friday to stop his deportation. (The New York Times) — CUT THE CHECK: Progressive Democrats in the New York Legislature are decrying Hochul's $2 billion rebate program as fiscally irresponsible amid looming federal cuts. (Gothamist) Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
