Latest news with #fairplay
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bev Priestman ‘didn't feel safe' in Canada after spying ban, appointed at Wellington Phoenix
Former Canada women's soccer coach Bev Priestman says she 'didn't feel safe' in the country after her one-year ban from the sport for her role in a spying scandal at last year's Olympics. Priestman has been appointed at Wellington Phoenix Women, the New Zealand club which competes in the Australian A-League, following the expiration of her suspension from football-related activities due to 'offensive behaviour and violation of the principles of fair play.' The 39-year-old Englishwoman was removed as Canada coach in August 2024 following the spying scandal that overshadowed the nation's Olympics campaign. A staff member for Canada was caught flying a drone over a training session of opponents New Zealand, with it subsequently emerging that drone use against opponents predated that tournament. 'I didn't feel safe (living in Canada after the Olympics),' Priestman said at a news conference, via AFP. 'That's being brutally honest. It was very difficult for my family, and I have to live with that. 'It was an absolute media frenzy. You've got people knocking at your door and everything, and I've got a little boy. Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult. We knew we had to get out of that country.' Referencing the expiration of her ban, Priestman said: 'There's certain values that I hold and unfortunately, you know, things around me have clouded my judgement. 'So for me personally, I just want to get back to … I love working with people. I love getting the best out of people. I love being on a football pitch.' Priestman — married to Emma Humphries, a former New Zealand international midfielder — has said she aims to 'bring some special moments to not only this city, but this country.' Priestman won 30 of her 56 matches in charge of Canada and led the team to the gold medal at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in August 2021. Wellington Phoenix, who were previously managed by Paul Temple, finished ninth of 12 in last season's A-League. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Canada, International Football, Women's Soccer, Olympics, Women's World Cup 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Africa: Fair play team of the 2024 Women's AFCON
Banyana Banyana take home the fair play award after a remarkable campaign. South Africa: Fair play team of the 2024 Women's AFCON South Africa was named the most fair play team of the 2024 Women's AFCON this Saturday, July 26. The Confederation of African Football honored Banyana Banyana for their exemplary conduct on and off the field throughout the tournament. Beaten in the third-place playoff by Ghana (1-1, 4-3 on penalties), South Africa wrapped up their Women's AFCON 2024 campaign with an honorary recognition. Banyana Banyana played six matches during the competition without receiving a single red card. Under the guidance of Desiree Ellis, the team displayed outstanding discipline, even in high-intensity encounters. The South Africans claimed the fair play team award with 510 points, as awarded by the Technical Study Group. "Few fouls, no excessive protests, and a constant respect for the game and its rules. Even in the most tense moments of their journey, such as the quarter-final against Senegal or the semi-final against Nigeria, Refiloe Jane and her teammates kept their composure. This attitude played a key role in earning this award, which recognizes teams that have put sporting ethics at the heart of their journey," reads the official CAF website.
Forbes
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Cynicism Is Not Wisdom: Why Hope Matters More
Hope Under Pep Guardiola, Fernandinho became notorious for subtle tactical fouls in Manchester City's midfield. He had an uncanny ability to escape the referees attention, but by pulling shirts, heel tripping, standing across attackers he disrupted momentum and preserved Guardiola's possession-based system. If you're a fan, he was a master, but to everyone else it was cynical advantage-seeking at the expense of sportsmanship and fair-play. Playing fair has been going out of fashion for decades, whereas cynicism is now hotter than a stolen Tesla. For example, Donald Trump's approach to power reflects a deeply cynical view of human nature. His worldview assumes that anyone smart will be out to enrich themselves, that manipulation and obfuscation are survival tactics, and that honour is naïve. Paying taxes is, of course, anathema: 'I've often said… I fight like hell to pay as little tax as possible… I'm a businessman. And that's the way you're supposed to do it. That makes me smart.' Seen this way public office is just another opportunity for personal gain. Such a worldview, rooted in distrust, opportunism and a disregard for the commons, legitimises grift by framing it as natural and inevitable. By contrast, both George Washington and John F. Kennedy made highly visible gestures to separate public service from personal enrichment. Washington initially turned down a salary, reluctantly accepted it after pressure and made clear his discomfort with profiting from office. Kennedy donated his entire presidential salary to charity, signalling that leadership was a duty, not a deal. These acts reflect a different ontology of leadership grounded in trust, self-restraint, and the belief that honour is an essential character trait for high office. Cynicism Stunts Growth In the world of work cynicism is an everyday, everywhere occurrence, especially in large, bureaucratic organisations where decision making is slow, opaque and hierarchical. In these environments expecting bosses to make capricious, mean or short-sighted decisions can be easily mistaken for intelligence. 'That's never gonna happen' sounds like hard-worn experience or sophisticated realism. It's easy, for instance, to imagine the skepticism of millions of talented and hard working women through the 1970's and 1980's who were denied promotions or opportunities because executive roles were reserved for men. Internalizing a message such as 'No matter how hard you work, you'll never be promoted. The system is rigged' seems entirely natural. But however understandable, that attitude perpetuates the status quo. Instead, it fell to the relentless efforts of thousands more women who channelled their frustration and anger to overturn archaic laws, challenge corporate Boards and CEOs and eventually unleash the talents of their daughters. Although people differ in their propensity to develop cynicism, we know it is the consequence of repeated disconnects between what leaders say and what they do. It grows in a bed of unmet expectations, the feeling of being powerless, being ignored for their efforts, or toiling in a purposeless role. If self-interest is rewarded over integrity, then caring becomes naïve and detachment is a rational response. Research shows that cynical employees exhibit lower organisational commitment, leading to higher rates of quitting and reduced discretionary effort. Cynicism also erodes job satisfaction and increases emotional exhaustion. Cynical employees are significantly more likely to resist organisational change, not because they dislike change per se, but because they distrust the motives behind it. Cynical climates also suppress the helpful, voluntary contributions that underpin healthy, productive workplaces. The result is a corrosive disengagement that no engagement survey alone will catch. I think it was Freud who said 'Cynicism is the last defence against the loss of hope.' The last defence against the loss of hope Far from being soft or sentimental, hope is a measurable, strategic resource—especially in leadership. Psychologist C.R. Snyder defined hope not as passive optimism but as a cognitive process involving three components: In high-uncertainty contexts, leaders who signal hope—by articulating a future worth striving for and showing how to get there—can boost team performance, resilience, and psychological wellbeing. Research by Shane Lopez has linked higher hope in leaders to: What followers want. Cynicism is particularly contagious when it infects leadership levels. Leaders who lie, or fudge the facts, or deny what employees know to be breed deflation and resignation rather than the inspiration they crave. They are left wielding the tools of instrumentality: in-groups and cliques, buying effort through more money, coercive employment agreements and suits against whistleblowers. Consider that Meta knew, in microscopic detail, that its platforms caused harm, particularly to young women, by amplifying distress and algorithmically promoting harmful advice. As the Wall Street Journal noted: 'Time and again, despite congressional hearings, its own pledges and numerous media exposés, the company didn't fix them.' Followers want leaders who demonstrate trust, are honest, who aren't obviously self-serving and greedy at the expense of others, and who demonstrate humility. Organisational psychology has shown time and again that psychological well-being, and sustained work performance stem from three basic psychological needs that must be satisfied for individuals to thrive: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The author and essayist David Foster Wallace posed a warning as a joke about not seeing the environment in which we operate: 'There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, 'Morning, boys. How's the water?' And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, 'What the hell is water?'' Good leaders make the water visible. They help others believe we are able to make things better, that people matter and are valued, and that their individual and collective efforts are worth it. This takes character, or what Theodore Roosevelt pointed to when he wrote in 1910:
Times
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
Bob MacIntyre always was a class act, now his golf is of highest class too
Sitting in a wood-panelled scoring building at Oakmont, Bob MacIntyre watched and hoped for a play-off. His fate was in the damp and sweaty hands of JJ Spaun, but the American needed a par on the testing 18th hole to beat him. The longest putt of the tournament ushered in a birdie and what the winner called a 'fairytale', but the next few moments defined why MacIntyre is such a likeable figure. In those raw seconds he sucked in the drama rather than the disappointment, clapped his hands and said 'wow' at the TV screen. Not long after he added two more words. 'Fair play.' And it was. Fair play — and a bit fantastic, too. Of course, this will sting. MacIntyre, 28, read Oakmont better than most all week and had predicted even par would be the winning score, so he was also close in that regard — Spaun finished on one under; MacIntyre one over. After the Scotsman had finished, other contenders started to encounter all sorts of trouble. Only Spaun, heroically defiant, remained. But MacIntyre's magnanimity in the Sunday night gruel was something to cherish. Not long before Spaun made his enormous 64ft putt, the longest by anyone all week, MacIntyre had happily fielded a few questions. He was asked how he had spent the 90-minute weather delay? 'I went up to the locker room, stole an air conditioning unit and pointed it towards my shirt to dry it off,' he said. It was suggested the dire weather would be no problem for a man raised in the coastal town of Oban. 'Fair-weather golfer now I've moved to the PGA Tour,' he deadpanned. More significant was the answer when asked if anyone had given him some words of wisdom during that hiatus. 'Not one thing,' he said. 'I'm a guy who believes.' This is the second uplifting act of grace by a defeated British golfer in recent times. At the Masters, Justin Rose cut an admirable figure as he buried his hurt to embrace Rory McIlroy at the top of his Everest. Rose was MacIntyre's Ryder Cup mentor and partner in 2023, when they were unbeaten in Rome. MacIntyre said he felt that he had let Rose down as they halved a match with Wyndham Clark and Max Homa, but he made up for it and then beat Clark in the singles. Fast forward and Clark has not been covering himself in glory of late. At last month's US PGA he flung a club at an advertising hoarding, breaking his driver and scaring a volunteer 'to death'. He apologised. This week, he was allegedly responsible for trashing members' lockers in the historic Oakmont clubhouse. Clark is a US Open winner but would be a more impressive man if he could be more Bob. After the result started to bite, MacIntyre spent some time with his tight support team, including girlfriend Shannon and long-term manager Iain Stoddart. They all know how significant this week has been. It is not as though MacIntyre has not had big victories — he won the Scottish and Canadian Opens last year — but playing so calmly in the context of a major that was proving too much for the biggest names showed a new strata of grit. He has always been a creative player and hinted at his DNA after the opening round here. While others, to borrow from veteran coach Pete Cowen, wore a 'dog's dead' expression, MacIntyre was brimming with enthusiasm for the fray. Did he have, erm, fun? 'I absolutely did because I like hitting crazy shots. I've just got to ride the horse and let the horse go at times,' he said. Sometimes this approach means superb birdies are quickly undone, but the 'roll the dice' method is thrilling. And to be three under par for his final 15 holes, and bogey free for his last dozen, was proof he can succeed in different ways. Only 63rd out of 66 finishers in terms of driving distance, he was fifth in accuracy off the tee. On the PGA Tour he is a top 15 player tee-to-green. He is now up to No12 in the world rankings, fourth in the Ryder Cup rankings, a shoo-in for Bethpage. Almost the first left-hander to win the US Open, he is different from most tour pros. Unafraid to air his struggles, he admitted he was homesick after joining the PGA Tour. When he made his breakthrough at the Canadian Open last summer, he had his dad, Dougie, as his stand-in caddie. 'I'm a grasscutter, no a caddie,' said MacIntyre Sr, the head greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Club. His son said one of the best things about his success was it meant his parents could pay off the mortgage for their home which backs on to the course. His parents have clearly grounded him, and growing up with foster siblings means that in a world of inflated prize funds he knows the difference between price and value. 'I've been in tears over it, kids going away from you,' he once said. There are lots of snippets that reveal his character. In 2021 he wore a black ribbon at the Masters, a tribute to the veteran golf writer Jock MacVicar, who had died. When he returned from the United States, MacIntyre drove 95 miles from Oban to the tip of the Kintyre peninsula to stand on the roadside and pay his respects as the funeral cortège passed; the funeral party had been restricted to 20. Another? At the Phoenix Open in February he tossed rolled up Oban Celtic shinty shirts into the well-oiled crowd. Each had $20 attached and the note: 'Get yourself a couple of beers. Cheers — B-Mac.' Oakmont was not a normal major course, but MacIntyre now has four top-tens at the majors. His previous best? A sixth at Royal Portrush in 2019, which just happens to be the venue for next month's Open. He believes he can do it now and that is not as easy as it sounds, but part of what makes an indelible sporting finale is the skill and reaction of the defeated. And he was not alone in losing well. Tyrrell Hatton gets a lot of flak, but he was being interviewed as Spaun nailed his putt of dreams. 'Oh, he's holed it,' he said as he watched a TV over reporters' shoulders. 'Unbelievable.' Then he broke into a wide, natural smile. 'What a putt to win!' Without rankings points on the LIV circuit, Hatton can take solace from his fourth place lifting him to second in the Ryder Cup rankings. The countdown for that will begin in earnest after the Open, but the pureness of respect for Spaun's victory bridged tribal boundaries. Cue Viktor Hovland's assessment of Spaun's trio of brilliant putts on the 12th, 14th and 18th: 'Just absolutely filthy.' Spaun, 34, is another who can mine his past for perspective. 'I've had slumps at every level,' said the man from LA. 'Last year in June it was looking like I was going to lose my job and I thought, 'If this is how I go out I might as well go down swinging'. That's kind of the mantra I've had all year.' In 2018 he was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes and said that trauma contributed to losing his PGA Tour card. Three years later he was re-diagnosed with type 1, by which time he had fallen outside the world's top 500. He is now up to No8. Believing he was done, he watched the rom-com Wimbledon last year, about a washed-up tennis pro who keeps fighting and wins the eponymous tournament, and said it convinced him to keep going. Close at The Players, where he lost the play-off to McIlroy, he had a shocking start on Sunday, dropping five shots in six holes, but the day had been complicated even before that. 'I was running to CVS [pharmacies] in downtown because my daughter had a stomach bug and was vomiting all night long,' he said. 'It was kind of a rough start to the morning. I'm not blaming that on my start, but it kind of fit the mould of what was going on — the chaos.' Chaos and class: that is a pretty potent cocktail for anyone craving sporting gold.
Fox News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maine Rep Laurel Libby reacts to trans athlete that sparked her SCOTUS battle skipping state championship
Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby became a national figure in the movement to keep trans athletes out of girls' sports in February when she called out a trans athlete for Greely High School who won a girls' pole vault competition. The post resulted in Libby being censured, which she fought all the way up to the Supreme Court to overturn. She was granted her voting rights back by the Supreme Court on May 15. On Tuesday, the trans athlete that Libby's post called out did not show up to compete in the Maine Class A track and field state championships, per multiple witnesses. Libby reacted to the news in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Yesterday a biological male who won the girls' State Championship in February chose not to participate in the girls' pole vault at Maine's Class B Outdoor Track State Championship, and a girl rightfully won the State Championship," Libby said. "Our girls' opportunities and podium placements should be decided by their hard work and performance, not the whims of others. All Maine girls should have the guarantee of a fair, safe and level playing field, which is not the case as long as our laws allow biological males to participate in girls' sports." Fox News Digital has reached out to Greely High School for comment. Female athletes took all the major medals in Maine's girls' track and field finals events Tuesday, after the competition was delayed from Saturday due to weather. It marked the end of a contentious track and field season for the state, as the Greely High School trans athlete and another one representing North Yarmouth Academy competed against the backdrop of political conflict. Maine's current laws have resulted in girls across the state expressing outrage, as at least two trans athletes have won competitions in track and field, cross-country and Nordic skiing in recent years. Presque Isle student Hailey Himes previously told Fox News Digital that she was at the February state meet that Libby posted about where the Greely High School trans athlete won first place in girls' pole vault. "I watched this male pole vaulter stand on the podium and we were all just like looking we were like 'We're pretty sure that's not a girl. There's no way that's a girl,'" Himes said. "It was really discouraging, especially for the girls on the podium not in first place. So that motivated me to fight for them." Himes, along with her track and field teammates Cassidy Carlisle, Lucy Cheney and Carrlyn Buck, marched on the state capital of Augusta in early May to meet with GOP leaders on the issue and lobby the state legislature to pass bills banning biological males from girls' sports. Buck added, "It's not just about the points, it's also that our teammates are going to feel discouraged when placed in an event against them because they're going in already knowing that the outcome is decided, with playing against a biological male who is biologically stronger than them, so they have no chance." As Libby fights a legal battle that included Supreme Court intervention to have her censure overturned, the state's Democratic leadership is fighting a battle against President Donald Trump's administration over the broader issue of trans athlete inclusion in girls' sports. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the state in response to Gov. Janet Milles openly defying Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. A federal judge on Tuesday set a trial date of April 1, 2026, for that lawsuit. Trump's administration has said the Maine Department of Education is violating the federal Title IX anti-discrimination law by allowing transgender girls to participate on girls' teams. Meanwhile, Maine's leaders have refused to agree to a written amendment to keep biological males out of girls' sports, citing the Maine Human Rights Act's protections to gender identity. A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women." The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women's and girls' sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
