Latest news with #Donte
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lakers Legend Claims Knicks Lost ‘Swagger' After Roster Move
Lakers Legend Claims Knicks Lost 'Swagger' After Roster Move originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The New York Knicks just enjoyed one of their best seasons in recent memory after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. Unfortunately for them, they faced off against a familiar opponent: the Indiana Pacers. Advertisement Not only was it the ninth time the two sides had met in the NBA Playoffs, but it also marked the second consecutive year that the Pacers had eliminated the Knicks. Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots against Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43).Brad Penner-Imagn Images Lakers legend claims Knicks lost their "swagger" While some would consider this season a success for the Knicks, the team's upper management didn't share the same view, as they chose to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau shortly after the team's playoff exit. The team faces uncertainty at the position, considering nearly every request for an interview they've sent out has been denied. Following the team's playoff exit, Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson made a bold claim regarding the team, stating that he believes they lost their swagger after trading Donte DiVincenzo as part of the deal for Karl-Anthony Towns, on ESPN's "Get Up." Advertisement 'The swagger left the Knicks when [DiVincenzo] got traded, and they don't have that swagger again,' Johnson said. 'See, they got nice guys, but they don't have tough, mean guys, and that's what Donte brought to the table. 'I love what Donte brought from the bench when he came on the floor, and New York Knicks fans loved him because he was tough, he was mean, but also he could score." The Knicks, perhaps more than any team, rely on their starters for much of their production. While players like Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride could come in for sparing minutes, they clearly weren't the same team as they were the season before. Advertisement Instead, they were more top-heavy, leaning on players like Jalen Brunson and Towns, especially if it was an off night for Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby. There has been considerable speculation about the moves the Knicks will make this summer, including whether they will trade Towns after just one season. With an evident championship-or-bust mentality going into next season, this offseason will be a telling one for the Knicks. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
10-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Coddling our kids is a way to kill their confidence, veteran coach says
Coddling our kids is a way to kill their confidence, veteran coach says Boxing coach Donte' Brown says parents need to be comfortable watching their kids face adversity. When you put your trust in Donte' Brown, you're putting it in a coach, but also in your child. You're also putting your child in the ring. Boxing coaches, Brown says, can make the most uncomfortable situations feel comfortable. But it doesn't mean you will be. 'I'm not doing it for your comfort,' says Brown, who runs Donte's Boxing Gym in Washington's Maryland suburbs. 'I'm doing it because it's gonna help you get a little bit sharper. And it may exhaust you a little bit, but at the same time, if you stick with this, I guarantee you by the time you leave today, you'll be more proud of yourself than you would if you just quit now.' Brown, 33, has trained professional and amateur boxers and MMA and UFC fighters. But he's speaking here to kids, and to their parents if they're listening. He has trained thousands, from the ages of 4 through 81, using his sport to help boys and girls in particular think and act independently and as leaders. It's not so easy in a world full of what he calls 'butler parenting.' His lessons and opinions are in his book, 'How Coddling Kids Is Killing Kids' Confidence,' and they resound throughout his gym. You'll never leave with a participation trophy. Instead, stick with him and you could go home with something else. 'He's trying to build kids that are gritty and happy,' says Jillian Copeland, who has known Brown for a decade and works with him through her nonprofit, Main Street, which is dedicated to serving people with disabilities. He has also trained three of her four sons, including Nicol, who has special needs, since he was a teenager. 'I'm just as guilty as other parents of this, but we keep trying to fix our children and make their lives as easy as they can be because their pain is our pain,' she says. 'And I think what I learned from Donte' is it's theirs and not ours. And if we fix it, heal it, buy it, if we take it over, we're not helping. 'He is such an amazing human that is changing the world one student at a time.' Brown spoke with USA TODAY Sports about how we can parent our athletes with the voice of a boxing coach. Are you a parent or a 'butler'? We can't be both Many kids come to Brown, he says, lacking emotional maturity. He treats their symptoms, but says the root cause rests at home, where he sees interference with their ability to handle stress. You know the term 'helicopter parent.' Brown has seen something deeper – not just a type of parent, but a parenting style that doesn't depend on your race or your economic situation. 'Butler parenting,' he writes in his book, 'is a consistent behavior in which parents take over tasks their children should be learning to do on their own.' It occurs, he says, when parents are uncomfortable with their kids facing adversity and even fear their kids will fail. 'I am convinced that when Donte' wrote the chapter, 'Butler Parenting,' he was talking to me,' says Brittany Love-Campbell, the principal of Gaithersburg (Maryland) High, whose daughter, Brielle, 10, has been working with Donte' for three years. 'Sometimes, I tell myself it's easier and faster for me to do things rather than teach my children because I have had a long day (or week) and just want to be done with it. Or, to keep them safe in my eyes, I avoid allowing them out of my sight for long. But this doesn't teach them how to do things independently, or how to learn to be aware of their own surroundings. They won't always have me, and Donte' reminds me that I have to let them figure some things out for themselves, even though I can provide guidance along the way.' Butler parenting starts at those times we've all faced, when they make mistakes in the classroom or on the field or court. In Donte's ring, it's the moment when they're getting hit. They're trying to hit back, but they can't reach their opponents. They're tired, and they look at their mom or dad to figure out how they're going to respond themselves. Sometimes, they see a look of horror, and the session is lost. They might quit, for the day or even for good. 'Kids aren't necessarily learning how to deal with small adversities,' Brown says. 'They don't build up the mental callous to be able to learn to overcome difficult things, even at the smallest levels. When you become an adult, those small inconveniences or small things become more challenging and they have bigger consequences.' We pack their athletic bags, we fill their water bottles, we tie their shoes (Brown has seen parents do it for 18-year-olds), we give them a wakeup call when they're in college. We don't want to let go. And we end up regretting it. Instead, take a deep breath and put on a reassuring look that gives them the courage to try it again. It's a lesson Copeland learned through, Nicol, who's now 25. 'We're seeing some kids that are older that are really struggling for many reasons, but one of them could be that they don't have to solve a problem, they're not resilient, they didn't build a toolbox because we provided the tools for them, because we didn't want to see them do stuff that was hard or painful or challenging,' she says. 'And I think that's a big mistake for us parents, and I learned that with Nicol. 'I tried hard to level and even the playing field for him sometimes so things would feel normalized. And then when he got older and he started to see that his life looked different than his brothers and his cousins, he was grieving. He had a lot of challenges, and that's part of why I did it: Trying to make life a little softer for him. But I'm not sure that was the right thing in retrospect. 'And so I think that's what Donte' gave me was like, if you really push and you push them … if you stand side by side with them and let them walk through it, and you walk next to them as a support versus holding them or carrying them … being side by side but not taking over, because we disempower people with that.' 'A crisis in leadership': Before we lead our kids, we first need to lead ourselves Brown found boxing as he maneuvered through the metal detectors of his high school and the uncertainty of his Northeast Washington D.C. neighborhood. Boxing at a local gym gave him not only a way to defend himself, but something predictable in his life. In his roles since then − including elementary school teacher, at-risk mentor, counselor and coach − Brown has discovered it's what kids look for in us, too. 'There's a crisis of leadership in the world today,' he says, 'and I think it's why so many younger generations kind of brush off a lot of older generations; they don't see a lot of older generations actually living the example of the same advice that they may be giving them. 'Why a lot of youth specifically pay a lot of attention to athletes and entertainers is because they can actually see them living their truth out loud.' They see Stephen Curry, over a 16-year NBA career, consistently and seemingly effortlessly, raining in his 3-point shots. We have the advantage as coaches, and parents, of being right in front of them all the time. Brown says, like Curry, we need to be unflappable and consistent, too, with following through on our decisions. 'Donte' is kind, but firm,' Love-Campbelll says. 'He has high expectations and requires his clients to rise to the occasion. When Brielle makes mistakes, she has to do extra push ups. However, these extra push ups aren't a real punishment. They are still building her strength. They make her think about her mistakes so she can avoid them. And Donte' does this without being rude. He doesn't yell or even get angry. 'He talks to her. He explains what he's doing to her in a way that a 10-year-old brain can understand.' How many times have we told our kids they can't play in their game unless they complete a chore or homework assignment first, but when they don't, we let them play anyway. When we don't, Brown says, we gain more credibility. 'The next time you ask them to do something, they're gonna remember what you did the first time,' he says. 'Sometimes you have to be a bit of an enforcer because that's what's going to make a deposit of respect for you from your child later. It's like a compounding interest.' COACH STEVE: How Dan Hurley's words could improve parent, coach behavior at games Use 'quiet aggression': That doesn't mean you have to yell Brown doesn't yell when his fighters are in the ring. 'Yelling is almost like a form of weakness,' he says. 'Kids become numb to it, because it's like an empty threat. They're seeing a person lose their composure to try to get them to do something. So it's almost like they're feeling already: 'Well, look what I got you to look like.' So it's almost like, who has the real power here?' Brown coaches with what he calls 'quiet aggression' designed to inspire kids while helping them feel secure. He peppers them with compliments like jabs, but withholds just enough so they stay disciplined and coiled for their next punch. That jab is working … but what I really want you to do is step in with it and then try to throw two or three punches behind it. He's excited, but not too excited, and he offers ever so slight criticism designed to motivate. What you could do better right now is making sure when you see those punches, bring your hands up before you come into 'em, because you're getting hit with some of these shots. But you don't have to; you're better than that. He's in their ears with high praise, but only through their effort. It keeps them focused on what they're doing, not on who's watching or the stakes of the match. Sometimes he lets parents feel it for themselves in the ring, and he gives a little laugh. Your dad ain't like that too much. 'Participation trophies should be barred,' but tough love can work for everyone Brown got into college and had his tuition paid through a program for at-risk high school kids. He worked the front desk of a local gym when he was in college. He ended up owning one. 'Those of us that have really, truly earned our position, we know about the failures that we've had to endure and get over,' he says. 'We've known about the bad company. We've known about the bad teachers, the bad coaches. So when we do win in something based off the time that we've put in, based off the effort that we've put in, it is super crucial for us to recognize that when we do something that we've won, that we truly know that we've won. 'So I think that organizations should not at all feel obligated to not try to 'hurt a kid's feelings' because they didn't get anything when they were participating. Participating is the bare minimum. "I think that participation trophy should be barred from sports. This is where entitlement starts kicking in, and we start giving them things just because they're doing what we're asking them to do. Then when they become adults, they're going to just start to feel like, well, I should get just because I showed up to work, I should get something just because I answered the phone or email. What about me? I think that's why I have an almost hatred for participation trophies." Instead, he offer scholarships through Donte's Boxing and Wellness Foundation, his nonprofit, for young athletes to train and serve their community in Montgomery County, Maryland. 'Donte' is also a good role model because he is a Black male entrepreneur,' Love-Campbell says. "When we talk about people who are judged or thought of to not make it in life, people imagine someone like Donte'. Yet he beat all odds and has his boxing gym located in the heart of one of the most diverse areas in the country. He works with people of all ages and races, and shows them that with hard work, passion, and a desire to continue learning, they can be successful too." He plans to bring his students to visit Copeland, his close friend and the executive director of Main Street, where they will help him teach classes. The first time she asked him to run one, Copeland told Brown he would confront autism, people with mobility challenges and, overall, a lot of physical and neurological diversity. He found a familiar way to get through to all of them. 'Because I work with people with disabilities, I find that people often set the bar very low,' she says. 'But Donte' was like, 'No, if I'm doing 10 push-ups, you can do 10 push-ups.' And sure enough, look around the room, and everybody's boxing, and everyone's doing push-ups. And these are really, really rigorous workouts, and they're all doing it. 'The lift and the empowerment and the sort of like, you can do this was such a beautiful thing for my community, and also reminded me that every other instructor needed to be like Donte' and expect that you have the capacity and capability to do this … and if it's something you can't do, that's OK, but get back in the game and let's do what you can.' Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@
The Guardian
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: a striking film about Argentina's gauchos
10pm, BBC Four This black-and-white documentary is so artfully crafted by directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw that it feels more like a cinematic western drama. It follows the everyday lives of Argentina's shrinking community of gauchos (cowboys and cowgirls) who preserve their traditions and fight to remain free in the modern world. There are no introductions or to-camera interviews, just mesmerising observations of cattle herding, family meals and horse-riding. Hollie Richardson 8pm, BBC One Leeds-based couple Ben and Lynda Brearley-Baird need a hand organising their three-bedroom home, which features mountains of useless items – including 619 pieces of wood. Stacey and her team of decluttering experts help them to let go of what they don't need, giving them more play space for their young daughter. Nicole Vassell 8pm, Channel 4 More clients are thrown in at the deep end to face their fears – starting with Jack, whose arachnophobia is tackled by confronting him with a creepy-crawly spider. Next up, James, who is terrified of clowns, and Lynsey, who is traumatised as a result of choking on a fishbone when she was a child. HR 9pm, BBC One Nude photos of a female student are circulating, a new teacher has lost control of the class, and Donte is being very subtle about his suspicion that he may be student Ashton's dad – which means being weirdly pally, trying embarrassing fist bumps, and confessing to his teaching colleagues. Smooth Donte, very smooth. Alexi Duggins 9pm, ITV1In 1981, the body of 36-year-old Carol Morgan was discovered by her husband in the back of their convenience store in Linslade, Bedfordshire. Nobody was charged in relation to her death for decades. This two-parter, loosely inspired by the popular crime drama Unforgotten, follows a police team's six-year investigation into her cold case. HR 9pm, Sky AtlanticWith its talk of 'the death of a century of democracy', this drama about the rise of Benito Mussolini feels grimly timely. However, for all of his strong-arm tactics, this week the would-be dictator (a convincingly oily and sinister Luca Marinelli) is trying his hand at diplomacy, strategically courting parliament in order to subvert it. Phil Harrison Champions League football Bayern Munich v Celtic, 8pm, Prime Video. The playoff second-leg tie.
