by tyler | Sep 27, 2023 | CNN, sport
Baltimore Orioles legend Brooks Robinson, a third baseman who won 16 consecutive Gold Glove awards and is considered by many to be the greatest fielder at that position ever, has died, according to a statement from the Robinson family and the Orioles organization.
He was 86. No cause of death was given.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson,” the statement read. “An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of baseball.”
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Robinson made his debut for the Orioles in 1955 and manned the hot corner in Baltimore for the next 23 seasons.
Robinson was named American League MVP in 1964 and helped the Orioles bring World Series championships to Baltimore in 1966 and in 1970, when he was also named World Series MVP.
He set the standard for third basemen during his career, with 18 All-Star Game selections and a record number of Gold Glove awards for a position player.
Robinson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 in his first year on the ballot.
by tyler | Aug 26, 2023 | CNN, sport
Bronny James, the older son of NBA superstar LeBron James, has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and should fully recover from his cardiac arrest last month, his family said Friday.
In July, the 18-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California and was hospitalized. He was discharged a few days later to recover at home.
His family says doctors determined the “probable cause” of the cardiac arrest.
“It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated,” the family statement said. The family is “very confident” in a full recovery and a “return to basketball in the very near future.”
“We will continue to provide updates to media and respectfully reiterate the family’s request for privacy,” the statement said.
LeBron James, a four-time NBA champion, passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in February as the league’s all-time points leader.
by tyler | Aug 26, 2023 | CNN, sport
Spain’s football federation has threatened to take legal action against one of the country’s star players, Jennifer Hermoso, accusing her of lying about being kissed by federation president Luis Rubiales.
Hermoso said Friday that at no point did she consent to a kiss by the country’s soccer chief – at the medal ceremony last Sunday after Spain had won the Women’s World Cup – writing on social media, “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part.”
In a statement Friday, responding to Hermoso and Spain’s Association of Professional Soccer Players (FUTPRO), the federation defended Rubiales, who described the kiss as “mutual” and spoke of “unjust” campaigns and “fake feminism.”
“The evidence is conclusive. The President has not lied,” the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said, alongside descriptions of photos attempting to support Rubiales’ claim.
“The RFEF and the President will demonstrate each of the lies that are spread either by someone on behalf of the player or, if applicable, by the player herself.
“The RFEF and the President, given the seriousness of the content of the press release from the Futpro Union, will initiate the corresponding legal actions,” the statement said.
The federation went on to say that players had “an obligation” to participate in matches “if they are called for it,” after all 23 members of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, including Hermoso, and nearly 50 other professional women soccer players, said they would not play again for the country until Rubiales is removed from his position.
On Saturday, soccer’s world governing body FIFA provisionally suspended Rubiales from “all football-related activities” after it said on Thursday that it had opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales as he may have violated the game’s “basic rules of decent conduct.”
Following Spain’s victory over England in the Women’s World Cup final, Rubiales was filmed kissing Hermoso on the lips after she had collected her winners’ medal, an act which the 33-year-old said later that day she “didn’t like” and “didn’t expect.”
Rubiales, who said on Monday he had “made a mistake,” has come under fierce criticism throughout the week, from the soccer world and some Spanish politicians, including Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who said the apology for what he called an “unacceptable gesture” was “not enough.”
But on Friday the scandal escalated further when Rubiales made a defiant speech at the federation’s Extraordinary General Assembly, where he emphatically said he would not resign.
In responding to Rubiales’ speech, Hermoso said the RFEF president’s explanation of the incident was “categorically” false, adding: “I want to reiterate as I did before that I did not like this incident.”
She also described refusing requests to issue a statement to “alleviate the pressure” on Rubiales, saying she had been “under continuous pressure to make a statement that could justify Mr. Luis Rubiales’ actions.”
“Not only that, but in different ways and through different people, the REF has pressured my surroundings (family, friends, teammates, etc.) to give a testimony that had little or nothing to do with my feelings,” she added.
On a statement posted on the players union site FUTPRO and shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, the national team players said that those who had signed the statement would not “put themselves forward for National team selection as long as the actual leadership remains in place.”
“No woman should see herself needing to answer questions based on the blunt images that the entire world has seen and, of course, no one should be involved in attitudes without consent,” the statement read.
“It fills us with sadness that an act, so unacceptable as this, is managing to tarnish the biggest sporting achievement in Spanish women’s football history.”
Following Rubiales’ comments on Friday, the president of Spain’s High Council of Sport (CSD), Víctor Francos, said the council would look to suspend Rubiales as quickly as it could while following due process.
The CSD is an autonomous decision-making body of the Spanish government’s Ministry of Culture and Sport and has the potential power to demand the removal of Rubiales. However, to do so the body needs to follow a series of required steps, including having a complaint filed against him and the case having to be heard in front of a tribunal.
Some members of the Spanish soccer community have been especially critical of Rubiales’ speech, with Hermoso’s international teammate and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas calling it “unacceptable.”
Spain men’s international striker Borja Iglesias said on social media he would not play for the national team “until things change,” while Spain’s acting second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, called for Rubiales to resign.
by tyler | Aug 4, 2023 | CNN, sport
Transgender women will not be allowed to compete in the women’s category of British Rowing events, the sport’s UK governing body has announced ahead of a change in policy due to come in later this year.
Only athletes “assigned female at birth” will be allowed to compete in the women’s category in competitions under its jurisdiction, or be selected to represent Great Britain or England at international events, British Rowing said in a media release published Thursday.
Meanwhile, any athletes are eligible to compete in an “Open” category, while competitions can stage “Mixed” events at any level of competition, providing 50% of crew are eligible to compete as women, British Rowing added.
The policy includes athletes who compete in rowing and para-rowing, and applies at all levels including the Olympics and Paralympics, British Rowing added.
“All rowers are fully welcome in our sport, and we will not tolerate any form of discrimination so we urge the community to come forward should they experience any issues,” the governing body said
British Rowing’s new policy differs from that of World Rowing, which issued guidance in March that transgender women can compete in the women’s category if their “serum testosterone concentration has been less than 2.5 nmol/L continuously for a period of at least the previous 24 months.” This was a reduction in the allowable testosterone level from the previous competition standards.
British Rowing’s updated policy, which comes into effect September 11, follows similar decisions from other governing bodies.
In April 2022, British Cycling banned trans and non-binary riders from competition, while the International Swimming Federation (FINA) voted in 2022 to approve a new policy that will restrict most transgender athletes from competing in elite women’s aquatics competitions.
In March, World Athletics introduced rules that prohibit athletes who have gone through what it called “male puberty” from participating in female world rankings competitions. WA said the exclusion would apply to “male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty.”
Mermaids, a UK-based charity that supports transgender children and their families, said in a statement: “Our recent report into the experiences of trans young people in sport highlighted the importance of inclusion, and yet more and more barriers are being put in their way.
“We want to see sporting bodies like British Rowing listening to trans people and taking proactive steps to make everyone feel welcome and accepted rather than creating unfair policies based on limited science and moral panic,” they added.
Liz Ward, director of programs at LGBTQ+ organization Stonewall, added: “Blanket exclusions on trans people participating are fundamentally unfair, which often causes trans people to stop playing the sports they love.
“While elite sport often dominates these discussions, it only makes up a tiny proportion of all sport played in the UK. We know that trans people are also under-represented in community sport and often feel excluded.”
She added: “Sport has the unique power to bring us together and it’s important that trans people have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of sport without facing exclusion or abuse.”
by tyler | Jun 22, 2023 | CNN, sport
Here is a look at the life of gay rights advocate and tennis great Martina Navratilova.
Birth date: October 18, 1956
Birth place: Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)
Birth name: Martina Subertova
Father: Miroslav Subert
Mother: Jana Navratilova
Marriage: Julia Lemigova (December 15, 2014-present)
Her parents divorced when she was young. She was raised by her stepfather, Mirek Navratil, and took his last name. He was her first tennis coach.
She plays tennis left-handed.
She has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam doubles titles and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
She holds the record for most Open Era Wimbledon championship wins with nine, including six consecutive.
She was one of the first openly gay sports figures.
Sports Illustrated named her one of the “Top Forty Athletes of All-Time.”
1972 – Wins the Czech National Championship.
1975 – At the age of 18, Navratilova defects to the United States.
1978 – Wins her first singles title at Wimbledon defeating Chris Evert. The duo goes on to meet in 80 matches over the course of 16 years, and still maintain a close friendship.
1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 – Is named Player of the Year by the Women’s Tennis Association.
1981 – Becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States.
1983 – Wins her first US Open.
1985 – Releases her autobiography “Martina.”
1986 – Returns to Czechoslovakia for the first time to compete, for the United States, in a tennis match in Prague.
1991 – Ex-girlfriend Judy Nelson files a lawsuit in Texas after Navratilova refuses to honor what Nelson alleges is a “nonmarital cohabitation agreement” they both signed in 1986. They later settle out of court.
1992 – Breaks the tournament titles record with 158 titles, more than any other person.
1994 – Retires from playing singles having won 167 titles.
2000 – Is inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
2003 – Becomes the oldest player to compete in the Fed Cup.
2004 – Participates in the Summer Olympics in Athens as the oldest tennis player.
2006 – In her final Grand Slam, Navratilova competes at the US Open in the mixed-doubles championship match. After winning, she becomes the oldest player to win a Grand Slam title.
February 24, 2010 – Is diagnosed with a non-invasive breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
March 15, 2010 – Undergoes a lumpectomy.
May 12, 2010 – Begins radiation treatment at L’Institut Curie in Paris.
June 5, 2010 – Competes in the senior women’s doubles at the French Open and wins.
March 27, 2012 – Is eliminated as a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”
December 8, 2014 – Announces she will be joining the coaching team of Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015.
April 24, 2015 – Steps down as the part-time coach of Radwanska after underestimating the time necessary to “make this a proper and good situation for both Agnieszka and me.”
June 1, 2017 – Navratilova writes a public letter calling former Australian tennis player Margaret Court a “racist and a homophobe” after Court made a comment that tennis is “full of lesbians.”
February 17, 2019 – Pens an article in The Sunday Times that claims it is “insane” that “hundreds of athletes who have changed gender by declaration and limited hormone treatment have already achieved honors as women that were beyond their capabilities as men.” Her comments are immediately criticized and called “transphobic” by transgender athletes and LGBTQ activists on social media. Navratilova has rejected the accusations of transphobia.
February 19, 2019 – Athlete Ally removes Navratilova from its advisory board following her article in The Sunday Times. The nonprofit states, “As an organization dedicated to addressing root causes of homophobia and transphobia in and through sport, we will only affiliate with those committed to the same goal, and not those who further misinformation or discrimination in any way.”
March 3, 2019 – In a post on her website, Navratilova apologizes for the controversy caused by her February 17 article. She writes that she was, “not suggesting that transgender athletes in general are cheats.” She acknowledges that she does not have all the answers concerning physical advantages transgender athletes may have in some women’s sports. She calls for debate based on, “science, objectivity and the best interests of women’s sport as a whole.”
July 2020 – More than 300 female athletes, including Navratilova, sign a letter addressed to the Board of Governors of the National College Athletic Association opposing transgender inclusion in college sports.
December 16, 2021 – The fourth season of “Real Housewives of Miami” is scheduled to premiere on Peacock. Navratilova’s wife, Julia Lemigova, joins the cast as the series’ first LGBTQ housewife, and Navratilova reportedly will make appearances on the show.
January 2, 2023 – Navratilova has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer, both stage one, her agent tells CNN in an email.
June 20, 2023 – Navratilova tweets that she is “all clear” after undergoing treatments for throat and breast cancer.
by tyler | Jun 19, 2023 | CNN, sport
Two people hunched over a black and white checkered board, deliberating what moves they will make, how their opponent might counter and how they might counter that counter, with barely a flicker of emotion passing over their faces.
At first glance, it’s a sport that doesn’t seem the most vibrant or colorful or particularly dynamic, which makes the art of capturing its drama and excitement more complex than most sports photography.
Maria Emelianova is a leading chess photographer, tasked with traveling the world to document the highs and lows of the sport.
With over 10 years of experience, Emelianova has become proficient at capturing the slightest flicker of emotion or tension etched in the faces of the sport’s stars.
But even after years of experience, she finds it hard to put into words what makes it such a difficult profession to capture.
“That’s always a very difficult question,” Emelianova told CNN Sport when asked how she would describe the art of chess photography.
“It’s opening the very outliers in sports to a more general public through the eye of the camera. So like people who know very little of chess and of the personalities can kind of get very close to the game and feel like they are right next to this chess game.
“But I think if I knew the answer to this completely, I would probably have solved (it).”
Growing up in Russia, Emelianova began playing when she was a six-year-old, facing off against her grandfather until she joined a club to practice against her peers.
She earned her woman FIDE master status – awarded to players with an classical rating of at least 2,100 and is the third-highest ranking exclusive to women – in 2010.
She went on to become a professional chess player before taking a break from competitive chess. She did, however, make a brief return at the British Online Championship in December, 2020.
Emelianova switched her allegiances to the English chess federation in February, 2020, citing the affinity built with the organization during years of competitions in the UK and friends she made on the team as reasons for the change. She is also a staunch critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Her Elo rating peaked at 2,144 in 2004. The Elo rating system measures the strength of a chess player relative to their opponents. For context, Carlsen holds the record for the highest Elo rating ever achieved by a human player when he reached 2,882 in 2014.
Emelianova remembers her mother having a passing interest in photography.
“My mother was doing some photography stuff when she was younger in university, but it was analog photography,” Emelianova explained. “But I was quite fascinated with analog photos.”
Analog photography is the process of using cameras loaded with film and processing the photos in a laboratory afterwards using chemicals.
Emelianova continued: “I would find slides which she had stored from her student trips, and I would really like to go through them because all this stuff, of course, there was no Pinterest or Flickr or anything at the time.”
Emelianova’s life changed ahead of the 39th Chess Olympiad in 2010, which was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
She had been planning to go as a fan and to catch up with friends. At the time, she had been working as a journalist and translator for a magazine in Moscow, for which she occasionally was tasked with taking photos.
A few days before the Chess Olympiad, she was asked at a press conference if she wanted to take some photos at the tournament. Despite having limited experience and equipment, Emelianova accepted.
Emelianova said she had already booked a train ticket but was whisked to the event in a private plane. Then her friend allowed her to borrow his expensive camera equipment.
“At that time, at that moment, I was like: ‘Well, this cannot be a coincidence. There is something kind of like destiny to it, to have this happen,’” she said.
“So I took a lot of photos. I had no idea what I was doing, but I published them online, just on Instagram … And magazines were reaching out, asking for photos, and I sold enough to get my own camera.”
And from there, Emelianova has made it her aim to attend every major chess tournament as a photographer.
There’s more to chess photography than just setting up position and snapping. When she began, Emelianova explained, using cheaper equipment meant the shutter sound was louder when a photo was taken, possibly disturbing players.
“I was always trying to make sure that the moment in the game is either not as critical and I can take a photo where the player can hear me but won’t be too distracted, or I will do it when it’s a really important moment and very tense moment, but I would just try to time it with the move being made,” she said.
“So they are already making the move or I know that the position on the board is already simplified and, of course, playing chess myself helped to see those moments and see that this moment … the emotions are still there.”
Once she could afford better, quieter equipment, Emelianova got closer to the action.
With the access she gets at matches – she admits she’s had to battle organizers to trust her to not intrude on ongoing games – and her knowledge and relationship with players, she knows where and when to take her shots.
“The most important, I think, is that the players trust me to not overstep the boundary. And I also, myself, I sometimes have to even fight with myself like one part is a journalist and another is a chess player,” she said.
“And the journalist is like: ‘You need to come closer and get this moment’ and the player’s like: ‘No, no, you cannot do that.’ Sometimes, being a chess player also stops me from getting a better moment.”
When she approaches a game, Emelianova – who has been working as an in-house photographer at leading chess website, Chess.com, since 2018 – says she has a number of different cues she is looking for to get the best snaps.
She says that her experience as a former professional player allows her to identify from the flow of the game, or seeing the current setting, whether or not she needs to have her camera at the ready.
Outside of the game setting, Emelianova says she is constantly studying the players’ body language.
“Some of the players don’t really show anything. But I already know enough to even, like – to catch a really, really subtle head shake or sitting like too straight or pretending to be very relaxed,” she said.
“I think my favorite part is portraits, but portraits with emotions. They have to be in some moment, not just taken out of the context. But I think, mostly, it’s the reactions of the players, the emotions and the moments which define the decider of the tournament or the game or the match.”
Her personal knowledge of the players also helps her prepare. “Alongside with knowing the players as personalities and kind of knowing what to expect from each one of them depending on the situation, I can quite often be there before something even happens,” Emelianova said.
But even with all that prior knowledge and planning, luck plays a big part in her photography, she admits.
Despite knowing what she’s looking for, it doesn’t make the job any easier. She specifically remembers the skills she learned on a photojournalism course at Moscow State University, which helped her fine tune her craft.
She also says that her work now as a chess streamer has given her a great appreciation for chess photography, as it’s allowed her to approach and talk about her work in an open forum.
“The fact that it’s difficult to find something that stands out is a challenge enough to search for it and, when you find it, it’s like really redeeming and almost impossible to repeat,” Emelianova said, adding that her job “ignites a sparkle” in her.
“Of course, sometimes I also struggle to find something that makes me go: ‘Wow,’ after so many years. But I will still keep looking because, when I do find [it], especially when it’s a player who barely shows anything, they’re completely emotionless, that’s important.
“I think when you can make a story (is important). So like when somebody (who is) not from chess can look at the photos, not necessarily on text, but on the photos and read the story from there, that’s the most important thing.”
