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Fox News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Ex-NFL star Dez Bryant slams league's Pride Month messaging: 'Far from right'
Former NFL star Dez Bryant took issue with the league's message as it celebrated the start of Pride Month on Sunday. The NFL released a 30-second video telling its audience what "football is." The video showed the words, "Football is gay," "football is lesbian," "football is beautiful," "football is queer," "football is exciting," "football is transgender," "football is bisexual," "football is power," "football is American," "football is accepting," and "football is everything," among other messages in the clip. Bryant, who spent most of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, expressed his frustration with the ad. "Football is gay. Football is queer. Football is transgender... these are wild statements to make... excuse my silliness," Bryant wrote on X. "I'm going to proudly tell my boys football is none of these things. I have nothing against Gays but this is far from right." Bryant's social media post sparked debate and he fiercely defended himself. "It's gay players in the NFL.. but forcing it in people's faces... especially children... can send the wrong message… Football is a real community, like the gay community. Imagine telling gays they have to advocate for straight people... they probably would have a problem," he added. Several NFL teams fired off messages for Pride Month on social media on Sunday. Celebrating Pride Month had been a contentious topic in sports over the last few years. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Flyers, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays have been among the organizations involved in controversies over the topic. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Time Business News
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
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Otago Daily Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Runit craze should be nabbed in its infancy
Dumber than the film Dumb and Dumber, the 'Runit' craze is crass and brainless. It's the new 'sport' where two people run at each other to 'dominate' the collision. On every level, it's stupid. No wonder there's been an outcry as it reached these shores this week. No wonder neurologists are appalled. It does not require much in the way of brains to know this activity is wrong. Runit started recently in Melbourne, endeavouring to ape the collision impacts of rugby, rugby league and American Football. It describes itself as the world's fiercest new combat sport. Unsurprisingly, participants are sometimes knocked out, although Runit feebly claims that's a possible side effect and not a feature, unlike other combat sports. Runit also touts the vetting of participants, the presence of doctors and strict rules. Legitimate sports have been recognising the dangers of repeated head knocks, head injuries and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Various protocols, stand downs, and rule changes have been introduced. Yet, this raw, crude pastime surges in popularity, attracting many millions of online views. This week, Runit hosted competitions in Auckland, attracting big names, and rival organisations had plans. Run it Straight 24's two events in South Auckland were cancelled after it failed to secure a venue. A clip from one of its Australian challenges is dumbfounding in its horror. A big crowd, including scores of children, cheered as a contestant was knocked out. He twitched on the ground in an apparent fit. Up the Guts NZ was entering the fray using a Jonah Lomu image in its advertising. Sickeningly, it claims the event will raise mental health and suicide awareness. Instead, it's more likely to cause long-term mental distress, given the connection between repeated head knocks and rapid head acceleration and CTE. CTE is linked with dementia and mental health deterioration. Its event today was also cancelled, the organiser citing the backlash to Runit. Up the Guts has under-18s, light heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. What could go wrong? Let's injure teenagers as well. The presence of prominent sportsmen is deeply disappointing. Runit matched former English rugby league star George Burgess against rugby's Nemani Nadolo, a former Crusader. Sporting stars in New Zealand and Australia are associating with Runit. It reflects poorly on them. After preliminaries this week, the NZ finals in June boast a $200,000 first prize. The Runit league will later move to the United States, Saudi Arabia and Britain. New Zealand Rugby has condemned it, and rugby league should do likewise. Players and ex-players should be discouraged from any role in supporting events. Brutal MMA (mixed martial arts) and boxing already feature in the sporting world. Both, like Runit, appeal viscerally to basic instincts. All three are invitations to brain damage. The rise of another harmful combat sport is distressing. Runit and its counterparts have been labelled dumb. That hits the mark. ★★★ On to a genuine sport and more on the "misuse" of words. A "despairing cricket tragic" in an email let loose a bouncer (bumper in older parlance) on "nab" as used by ODT sports journalists and others for "take", as in "he came on to bowl and nabbed Smith's wicket". "Nab only means to catch a thief or to make a theft. "Why can't they simply use 'take/took' or use precise language such as 'bowled' or 'had Smith stumped' or 'had Smith caught in the gully'?" From the Collins Dictionary, the first two meanings, "to arrest" and "to catch (someone) in wrongdoing", agree. The third, "to seize suddenly; snatch", perhaps provides a little wriggle room. The dictionary's list of examples includes two from football, goals being nabbed rather than scored. This is another example of words changing meaning and language losing precision. Nab has swung a long way from its 16th to 17th century use as thieves' slang. civis@
Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
‘Throwing your head in a washing machine' — how teams teach tryline defence
It is where matches are often won and lost, a primeval battle of brutal collisions, and yielding an inch can be terminal to your team. Normal rules of defence do not apply and only the bravest survive, the odds stacked in favour of the attacking team, the defence straining every sinew to repel them. Welcome to the muck-or-nettles world of goalline defence, where techniques borrowed from sumo wrestling and American football are employed along with sheer bloody-minded determination. Examples of physical bravery exist in many areas of a rugby pitch, but perhaps nowhere more than the efforts required to stop a pick-and-go from inside the five-metre line. Defenders are crouched on their own line, ready for the ball-carrier to launch himself, often after a Pinter-esque
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
NFL flag vote sees Olympic 'Dream Team' move closer
The prospect of an American football 'Dream Team' has moved a big step closer with NFL players given permission to compete in flag football at the 2028 football was added to the programme for LA 2028 in October 2023, sparking speculation the NFL will emulate basketball's Dream Team at the Barcelona 1992 league has since been working with its teams, the NFL Players Association and national federations for NFL players to be at the NFL's spring league meeting in Minnesota on Tuesday, team owners unanimously passed a resolution that will allow NFL players to participate in flag football's Olympic debut.A maximum of one player from each team will be allowed to participate, plus any team's designated international 32 teams are permitted an additional spot on their practice squad roster for an international player, such as Louis Rees-Zammit at the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2024 season."Players have expressed to us a great desire for the honour of competing in the Olympics, and we're excited that our members will be able to represent their country on the highest international stage," said NFLPA's executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. What is flag football? Flag is the most inclusive and accessible form of American football. It is a fast, non-contact version of the game watched by millions of tackling, defenders must pull a 'flag' from the waist of the attacking player with the is one of the world's fastest-growing sports and the rapid growth of the women's game was key to flag earning the Olympic vote for is governed by the International Federation of American Football (Ifaf), which has 75 national federations as to the NFL, there are now 20 million players around the world with a record 31 nations taking part in last year's Flag Football World Championships."The National Football League is home to the biggest stars in American football, who come from more and more countries, and now have the opportunity to shine on the greatest stage in world sport, showcasing everything that makes flag football a genuine worldwide phenomenon," said Ifaf president Pierre Trochet. How will Olympic selection work? The Olympic flag football format will be five-on-five, with a team's defence and offence on the field at different competition will consist of six men's teams and six women's teams, featuring 10 players per rosters will be selected by each countries' national Olympic committee, based on proposals by the respective national federations, such as USA NFL will now work with the NFLPA, Ifaf and relevant Olympic authorities to implement rules governing the participation of NFL players, which will begin with a try-out or qualification process with their countries' national flag football Football's chief executive Scott Hallenbeck said NFL players will compete for a place with established flag players and "talent-transfer athletes from other sports"."We have a tremendous responsibility ahead of us - selecting, training and leading the US men's and women's national teams for LA28," Hallenbeck added."We're fortunate to have a talent pool that already features prominent flag football stars who have helped USA Football establish a gold-medal standard in international competition. Including players from the NFL only strengthens our ability to build the best US men's national team possible."Minnesota Vikings linebacker Brian Asamoah is interested in playing at LA 2028 but told BBC Sport: "You can't just count out the guys that play flag football."I think that's the tricky thing right there. Just because you're good at American football doesn't mean you're good at flag football, so you have to share that respect." Who could play for Team USA? Many NFL players honed their skills in flag before moving to tackle football, but since 2023 the NFL's Pro Bowl has switched from an end-of-season all-star game to a week-long series of skill contests culminating in a game of flag football."To think about the chances of playing in the Olympics and getting a gold medal is a dream," said Vikings' star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who played in 2023 and 2025."That's a decision I definitely have to weigh in. It's three years from now, the body is going to be different, but that's something I've always wanted to do - compete for your country."Another star receiver Tyreek Hill has reiterated his interest in playing, while two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes has previously said he "definitely wants to".But Asamoah, who has Ghanaian heritage, stressed it is not just the prospect of representing Team USA that makes the 2028 Olympics so appealing, given the increasing number and calibre of international players."There's 10 or 11 Ghanaian players now and I've put them all in a group chat, to share the news," he said. "The word is definitely getting spread around and all the guys are excited."Asamoah attended a football camp in Ghana earlier this year, one of many programmes looking to grow flag football around the world, and he warned that 2028 will not just be a procession to gold for Team USA, as it was for their NBA stars at Barcelona 1992."The talent for Team USA will be kind of crazy, if you just stack our league's stars. I think that would be somewhat like a Dream Team," Asamoah added."But then you've got to face a team like Ghana, who could have a guy that's 6ft 1in, 240lb and fast, then you put him on the football field and he's just doing some crazy things."So I think you have to weigh the talents on a scale then just put them on the field and be like, 'OK, go compete'."
