Latest news with #Ebner
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
NFL players can compete in flag football. Have others been to the Olympics?
NFL players could participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics after team owners approved their status to try out for flag football at league meetings in Minneapolis this week. But it won't be the first time NFL athletes have seen the worldwide stage. A number of former NFL players have competed in previous Olympics. The majority competed in track and field events, often before their NFL careers took shape. Advertisement Flag football will be new to the Olympics at the 2028 Games, hosted in Los Angeles. Per the resolution approved Tuesday, one player per NFL roster can try out for a given country's Olympic team. Here is a list of a few notable Olympians who were also NFL players: Ebner is rare in that he competed in the Olympics while being an active NFL player. He played rugby in the USA team circuit throughout high school and his first two years of college. As a junior, Ebner walked on to the Ohio State football team, despite no high school football experience, and earned a scholarship for his senior year as a standout special-teams player. The New England Patriots drafted him in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. When his four-year rookie deal was up after the 2015 season, Ebner entered contract discussions with his then-coach Bill Belichick, which he detailed on an episode of Julian Edelman's 'Games With Names' podcast in November 2024. In one of those conversations, Ebner brought up his desire to compete with Team USA in the 2016 Olympics, and, somewhat to his surprise, Belichick gave the green light. 'An hour or two later, he calls me up and said, 'It's not like you're going sailing, we've got to put something in your contract if something happens to you,'' Ebner remembered. All was well in Rio — Belichick had the team stop training camp in New England to watch Ebner compete. Ebner and Team USA finished ninth in rugby sevens. Ebner returned for another four seasons with the Patriots as a safety and special teamer before ending his career on a two-season stint with the New York Giants. He is now a minority owner of the New England Free Jacks of Major League Rugby. Goodwin's career-best 8.33-meter long jump at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials would have been good enough for the gold that summer. But he came up short in London to finish in 10th place. He ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine (now tied for eighth all-time) and was selected by Buffalo in the third round that year. He posted career highs of 962 receiving yards on 56 catches in 2017 with San Francisco and played his last NFL season in 2023 with Cleveland. A football player and track athlete at the University of Arizona, Bates did not enroll in school in 1991 to prepare for the Olympics. He edged out gold medalist Carl Lewis for the final qualifying spot in the 200-meter dash at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials and won the bronze at the Barcelona Games. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Seattle Seahawks in the 1992 draft, but didn't sign a contract with the team until the following season. He went on to become a five-time Pro Bowler with the Carolina Panthers. Walker was a star running back at Georgia, winning the Heisman Trophy during his junior season in 1982. He started his professional career in the USFL before being drafted in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Between stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, Walker was recruited to be a pusher for Team USA bobsledding. He finished seventh in the two-man competition with teammate Brian Shimer, then returned for his final six NFL seasons. Advertisement Five months was the length of time that separated Carter winning the silver medal in shot put at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and winning a ring with the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX. He won two more Super Bowls and was a three-time Pro Bowler as a nose tackle for the 49ers from 1984 to 1992. Teammates on the track and the gridiron. Brown and Graddy won the 4×100-meter relay for Team USA with a record-setting 37.83-second time at the 1984 Olympics. The duo later overlapped in their NFL careers with the Los Angeles Raiders. 'To have the opportunity to circle back and end up playing with Willie … was a special time,' Graddy told Gault qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 in the 4×100-meter relay and 100-meter sprint, but the U.S. boycotted the games in Moscow. The Chicago Bears selected Gault 18th in the 1983 draft, and during their 1985 Super Bowl run, Gault caught 33 passes for a team-high 704 yards to go with a career-high 577 kick return yards. He also made the 1988 U.S. bobsled team as an alternate while on the Los Angeles Raiders. Hayes won gold medals in the 100-meter dash and 4×100-meter relay in 1964. The next year, he began his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons (1965-67) and led the league in receiving touchdowns in his first two. When the Cowboys won Super Bowl VI, Hayes became the first athlete to win a Super Bowl ring and a gold medal in their career. Carr won gold in the 200-meter sprint and 4×400-meter relay in 1964. He was selected by the New York Giants in the 1965 NFL Draft and played three seasons as a safety and cornerback. Advertisement Davis won three gold medals across two Olympic appearances (two in the 400-meter hurdles and one as part of Team USA's 4×400-meter relay). After his track career, he played wide receiver for the Detroit Lions in 1960 and 1961, where he had 10 catches for 132 yards in his two years. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Campbell won a silver medal in the decathlon at just 18 years old. He went on to play football and run track at Indiana before returning to the decathlon event in the 1956 Games, when he won gold. The Cleveland Browns drafted him in the fifth round of the 1956 draft, but he only played one NFL season. Matson won the silver in the 4×400-meter relay and the bronze in the 400-meter sprint months before he began his NFL career with the Chicago Cardinals, where he became Rookie of the Year. He was a six-time Pro Bowler — all with Chicago — and went on to play for the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles. It'd be remiss not to mention Thorpe, who won gold in the decathlon and pentathlon in 1912 and also competed in the long jump and high jump. He became the first president of the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL. (Top photo of Marquise Goodwin: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mum with brain tumour backs research funding calls
Georgie Maynard has suffered from regular migraines all her adult life, but one Saturday lunchtime in May 2023 she knew something wasn't right. "I went out to the garden to get some fresh air and I thought 'no, this light is doing my head in' so I walked inside, sat on the sofa and then it just went bang! "It was excruciating... I actually thought that was it, I was dying at that moment." The mother of five from Oxfordshire had suffered a sudden seizure. Her children called an ambulance and paramedics arrived within minutes. The 46-year-old was taken to hospital and given a CT scan then sent home. The following week an MRI scan revealed she had a grade four glioblastoma (GBM) - an aggressive brain tumour. "It's the worst type of brain tumour," she said. "One in four live past a year, five per cent last five years. "It's quite shocking. At that point you've got no belief that that's coming at your door because it's completely out the blue." Mrs Maynard underwent an awake craniotomy as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Her latest scan showed the tumour was stable, but she is aware that the average life expectancy following diagnosis is 12 to 15 months. According to Cancer Research UK, glioblastomas are the most common type of cancerous brain tumour in adults and remain the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40. However, just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to the disease. 'They call me a cancer super-survivor' Man's brain tumour shrinks by half in therapy trial Extra cancer funding in Tessa Jowell tribute Mrs Maynard is keen to raise awareness of the condition and do all she can to ensure funding for research is made a priority. Together with her brother, Charlie Maynard - the Liberal Democrat MP for Witney - Mrs Maynard visited the Centre for Medicines Discovery at Oxford University. A team led by Prof Daniel Ebner is working on a five-year study to identify existing cancer drugs that might be able to shrink brain tumours. Out of 10,000 drug combinations, only half a dozen have real potential. While clinical trials would still be required, because they have already been approved by regulators, Prof Ebner said they could be given to patients within the next five years. "I'm optimistic for glioblastoma research. Some of the best scientists I've ever worked with are making fantastic breakthroughs," Prof Ebner said. He added: "Where we would definitely need additional help is with funding to carry a lot of the pre-clinical work we've done to date through to clinical trials. That's the major stumbling block at the moment." In 2018, the government pledged to invest £40m in research into brain tumours and improve access to clinical trials, following the death of Dame Tessa Jowell. Nearly seven years later, only about £15m of that £40m has been spent, according to the Brain Tumour Charity. Mr Maynard said he wanted to know why the remaining money has not been invested. He said: "There's tonnes of really good research that's crying out for money. It's not doing any good sitting in a bank and I really want some answers. "Does it exist... and then what are we going to do to spend it and start saving some lives?" A spokesperson for the Brain Tumour Charity said: "A sustainable and strategic approach to government funding for research into brain tumours is long overdue in order to make progress. "This should include a broad range of research projects from early-stage understanding - like Prof Ebner's - to late-stage trials. "At The Brain Tumour Charity we are proud to fund a comprehensive and robust research programme and can only do so thanks to supporters like Georgie." A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We will build on Tessa Jowell's powerful legacy to improve both research and care for brain cancer patients across the UK. "We spend more than £1.6bn annually on health research and have recently launched two new calls for studies unlocking the next generation of treatments for brain cancer." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram. 'My melanoma returned and spread to my brain' BBC's Glenn Campbell: I want to show what it's like living with a brain tumour Man with terminal brain tumour welcomes new trial Mum with terminal cancer's new treatment hope The Brain Tumour Charity Cancer Research UK Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford
BBC News
24-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Oxfordshire mum with brain tumour backs research funding calls
Georgie Maynard has suffered from regular migraines all her adult life, but one Saturday lunchtime in May 2023 she knew something wasn't right."I went out to the garden to get some fresh air and I thought 'no, this light is doing my head in' so I walked inside, sat on the sofa and then it just went bang! "It was excruciating... I actually thought that was it, I was dying at that moment."The mother of five from Oxfordshire had suffered a sudden children called an ambulance and paramedics arrived within minutes. The 46-year-old was taken to hospital and given a CT scan then sent following week an MRI scan revealed she had a grade four glioblastoma (GBM) - an aggressive brain tumour."It's the worst type of brain tumour," she said."One in four live past a year, five per cent last five years."It's quite shocking. At that point you've got no belief that that's coming at your door because it's completely out the blue." Mrs Maynard underwent an awake craniotomy as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Her latest scan showed the tumour was stable, but she is aware that the average life expectancy following diagnosis is 12 to 15 to Cancer Research UK, glioblastomas are the most common type of cancerous brain tumour in adults and remain the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to the disease. Mrs Maynard is keen to raise awareness of the condition and do all she can to ensure funding for research is made a with her brother, Charlie Maynard - the Liberal Democrat MP for Witney - Mrs Maynard visited the Centre for Medicines Discovery at Oxford University.A team led by Prof Daniel Ebner is working on a five-year study to identify existing cancer drugs that might be able to shrink brain of 10,000 drug combinations, only half a dozen have real potential. 'Fantastic breakthoughs' While clinical trials would still be required, because they have already been approved by regulators, Prof Ebner said they could be given to patients within the next five years."I'm optimistic for glioblastoma research. Some of the best scientists I've ever worked with are making fantastic breakthroughs," Prof Ebner added: "Where we would definitely need additional help is with funding to carry a lot of the pre-clinical work we've done to date through to clinical trials. That's the major stumbling block at the moment."In 2018, the government pledged to invest £40m in research into brain tumours and improve access to clinical trials, following the death of Dame Tessa seven years later, only about £15m of that £40m has been spent, according to the Brain Tumour Maynard said he wanted to know why the remaining money has not been said: "There's tonnes of really good research that's crying out for money. It's not doing any good sitting in a bank and I really want some answers."Does it exist... and then what are we going to do to spend it and start saving some lives?" A spokesperson for the Brain Tumour Charity said: "A sustainable and strategic approach to government funding for research into brain tumours is long overdue in order to make progress. "This should include a broad range of research projects from early-stage understanding - like Prof Ebner's - to late-stage trials."At The Brain Tumour Charity we are proud to fund a comprehensive and robust research programme and can only do so thanks to supporters like Georgie."A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We will build on Tessa Jowell's powerful legacy to improve both research and care for brain cancer patients across the UK."We spend more than £1.6bn annually on health research and have recently launched two new calls for studies unlocking the next generation of treatments for brain cancer." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
USA Today
17-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State adds former safety and New England Patriot Nate Ebner to coaching staff
Ohio State adds former safety and New England Patriot Nate Ebner to coaching staff Just when you thought Ryan Day's Ohio State football coaching staff was complete, another addition has been confirmed. According to multiple reports, and confirmation from Day himself, former Ohio State safety and special teams star, Nate Ebner, has joined the coaching staff as a special teams quality control assistant. And don't take just our word for it. Ebner was spotted coaching during the first spring workout on Monday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Ebner's career arc is an interesting one. He joined Ohio State as a walk-on, but once he got a crack in the NFL, he made the most of it, becoming a special teams superstar with the New England Patriots where he was a member of three Super Bowl-winning teams after the 2014, 2017, and 2018 seasons. Ebner was also a part of the USA Rugby program, eventually taking part in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On Monday, Day said Ebner brings a trait to the team that can't be undersold. "This is a guy who was really self-made and turned out to have a great career in the NFL," Day told reporters. "He was a big part of special teams. He can have an impact on the safety room. He can have an impact on special teams. He's somebody that's now trying to make the transition from player to coach, so it's great to have him around." Ohio State continues to look for any opportunity it can to remain on top, and you could do a lot worse than adding a guy who's had to work about as hard as anyone to get where he ended up. That type of mentality could have lasting impacts on the future of the program. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
