Sports

The USOPC said it will appeal a decision forcing American gymnast Jordan Chiles to return her bronze medal.

Published

3 months ago

August 12, 2024

IAM

PARIS (AP) — U.S. Olympic officials said they will appeal a court ruling that ordered American gymnast Jordan Chiles to return the bronze medal she won within the free exercise on the Paris Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Chiles’ coach’s appeal to allow her to finish third, finding that the appeal was filed 4 seconds after the one-minute deadline for questions on the result had expired.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday evening it would respect the court’s decision and promote Barbosu to third place. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the ruling on Sunday, announcing that the bronze medal from Monday’s women’s freestyle final would go to Romanian Ana Barbosu.

“We firmly believe that Jordan was rightfully awarded the bronze medal. There were serious errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the subsequent CAS appeals process that must be addressed,” the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement.

CAS ruled Saturday that U.S. team coach Cecile Landi’s appeal to add 0.1 to Chiles’ rating got here outside the 1-minute window allowed by the FIG. The ad hoc committee wrote that Landi’s inquiry got here 1 minute and 4 seconds after Chiles’ initial rating was posted.

Two-time U.S. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles shows off her medals after the closing bell rings on the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York’s Times Square, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) –

The IOC said in a statement that it would contact the USOPC about returning the bronze medal to the Chilean and would work with the Romanian Olympic Committee to discuss a ceremony to transfer the medal in Barbosu’s honor.

“The initial error occurred in the FIG scoring and the second error occurred during the CAS appeals process when the USOPC was not given sufficient time or notice to effectively challenge the decision,” the USOPC said in a statement released Sunday.

It was unclear exactly what appeals process would happen first. Two potential venues for the USOPC to appeal are Switzerland’s highest court, the Swiss Court of Justice, or the European Court of Human Rights.

CAS wrote Saturday that the initial order needs to be restored, with Barbosu in third, Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth and Chiles in fifth. The organization added that the FIG should set the ultimate standings “in accordance with the above decision” but left it up to the federation to resolve who would receive the medal after gold winner Rebecca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.

The FIG said the decision to reallocate the medal was up to the IOC. The IOC confirmed Sunday that it would respect the FIG’s decision and seek the return of Chiles’ medal.

The rapid turn of events added one other dimension to what has been a difficult few days for all three athletes.

Legendary Romanian gymnast and 1976 Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci feared for Barbosu’s mental health due to the difficult situation wherein she went from bronze to fourth place.

“I can’t believe we treat athletes’ mental health and emotions like this… let’s protect them” – Comaneci published on X earlier this week.

At the identical time, Comaneci criticized the judges for his or her evaluation of Maneca-Voinea’s routine — the gymnast was deducted 0.1 points for going outside the sideline, but viral replays showed she barely stayed on the sideline. Comaneci called for a protest from the Romanian Olympic Committee, which was filed, but CAS rejected the appeal.

Chiles suggested such a decision in Instagram Story on Saturday, hinting that she was devastated and was “taking this time to remove myself from social media for the good of my mental health, thank you.”

Jazmin Chiles, Jordan’s sister, wrote on Instagram that Chiles was stripped of her medal “not because she wasn’t good enough. But because the judges didn’t give her a hard time and forced an investigation.”

Team USA teammates offered support to Chiles, a two-time Olympian.

“Sending you lots of love, Jordan” American star Simone Biles posted on Instagram“Keep your head up, Olympic champion, we love you.”

“All this talk about the athlete, but what about the judges?” six-time Olympic medalist Sunisa Lee added on Instagram. “Completely unacceptable, this is awful and I am heartbroken for Jordan.”

In a statement released Saturday, USA Gymnastics said it was “devastated” by the decision.

“The investigation into the difficulty rating of Jordan Chiles’ freestyle exercise was initiated in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure fair scoring,” the organization wrote.

Romania’s Ana Barbosu competes in the ladies’s individual freestyle final in artistic gymnastics on the Bercy Arena through the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) –

Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were overlooked of the medals within the freestyle final, ending tied on 13.700 points. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea thanks to a tiebreaker — a higher rating for execution — and started celebrating by waving the Romanian flag.

Chiles was the last competitor to compete and initially received a rating of 13.666, which put her in fifth place, just behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an investigation into Chiles’ result.

“At that point, we had nothing to lose, so I thought, ‘Let’s just try,’” Landi said after the awards ceremony. “I honestly didn’t think it would work, but when I heard her scream, I turned around and was like, ‘What?’”

The judges upheld the appeal, favoring Chiles over Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea.

Upon returning to Romania, Barbosu stressed that she had no problem with Chiles.

“I just want everyone to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve anything like that, we just want to perform at our best and be rewarded based on our results. The problem lies with the judges, their calculations and decisions.”

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Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, slammed critics in a post, writing that she was “tired” of the derogatory comments directed at Jordan Chiles.

“My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and an unmatched level of sportsmanship,” wrote Gina Chiles. “And they call her disgusting things.”

Uncertainty also coloured a beautiful moment on the medal stand when Chiles and Biles knelt to pay tribute to Andrade after the Brazilian star won his fourth medal in Paris.

“It was just the right thing to do,” Biles said of the moment that soon went viral, even Shutter which in itself suggests it is perhaps worthy enough to be placed somewhere near the Mona Lisa.

This memory now carries with it a complicated and emotional afterword.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Sports

In 2025, the Basketball Africa League play-offs will move to South Africa

Published

13 hours ago

November 22, 2024

IAM

The 2025 Basketball Africa League season will feature a brand new venue for the finals and playoffs and will also start at a brand new location.

The BAL 2025 Playoffs and Finals, scheduled for June 14, 2025, will happen at the recent home in Pretoria, South Africa. This will be the first time the BAL playoffs and finals haven’t been held in Kigali, Rwanda. The BAL 2025 season will also debut in a brand new location in Rabat, Morocco on April 5, 2025. During the BAL 2025 season, 12 of the best club teams from 12 African countries will play 48 matches in Rabat, Kigali and Dakar, Senegal, before traveling to Pretoria for play- offs.

“Over the first four seasons of BAL, we have seen tremendous growth in on-court competition, attendance and engagement from fans and partners in Africa and around the world,” BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said in a press release. “Our groundbreaking fifth season will build on this momentum and continue to showcase the level of talent and passion for basketball in Africa, including through the first BAL games in Morocco and the first BAL Finals in South Africa.”

The 12 teams will be divided again into three conferences of 4 teams each. The group stage of the Kalahari Conference will happen from April 5 to 13, 2025 in Rabat. The group stage of the Sahara Conference will be held in Dakar from April 26 to May 4, 2025. The group stage of the Nile Conference will be held in Kigali from May 17 to 25, 2025. Eight teams from the three conferences will qualify for the play-offs in Pretoria, which will start on June 6 and end with the BAL 2025 finals.

“The Kalahari conference marks another expansion of BAL into a new country on our continent and we are more than satisfied,” FIBA Africa president Anibal Manave said in a press release. “The competition continues to grow each year, providing greater exposure for our sport and helping to raise the level of basketball in Africa, making the league increasingly competitive.”

National champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia routinely qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams are from FIBA Africa’s Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments.

In the 2024 BAL season, Petro de Luanda of Angola became the first team from Sub-Saharan Africa to win the championship. According to BAL, the 2024 BAL season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of greater than 120,000 fans in the 4 host countries and generated greater than 1.2 billion views across the NBA and BAL social media channels.

Marc J. Spears is Andscape’s senior NBA author. He used to have the option to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to do it for years and his knees still hurt.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com

Sports

NFL star Terrell Owens signs a contract with Michael Strahan’s talent agency

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

IAM

NFL Hall of Fame receiver and podcast host Terrell Owens has signed with a talent agency to further strengthen his claims within the entertainment game.

According to , Owens was signed by SMAC Entertainment, headed by host and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and his business partner Constance Schwartz-Morini.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz has also joined SMAC Entertainment.

“We are excited to add TO and Jordan to the SMAC family. They are both at the top of their game and set the standard in their industry,” Schwartz-Morini said in a written statement. “TO and Jordan have already brought an infectious energy to our team, and we are excited to help them realize their vision for careers in media, business and branding.”

A five-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2018, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A member of the 2000 NFL All-Decade Team, Owens finished his profession with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 touchdowns, rating third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Since retiring from skilled soccer in 2012, Owens has already made several moves. He has appeared in several movies and tv shows, including “,” and in addition had his own reality show, “, on VH1.

He currently co-hosts the podcast with former NFL player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe.

SMAC Entertainment is home to stars similar to rapper and actor Common, Wiz Khalifa, Strahan, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and current NFL players similar to Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf.

This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com

Sports

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker brings an NBA championship desire with his Olympic experience

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

IAM

The gold medal went to the USA Basketball team. Mission completed on the 2024 Paris Games. U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr just answered his final query during his final news conference on Aug. 10 after his team defeated France within the gold medal game.

However, before leaving the stage of the press conference in Paris, Kerr stopped to deliver an unsolicited message to media around the globe.

“Devin Booker is an amazing basketball player. Nobody asked about him. He was our unsung MVP. I just desired to say that,” Kerr said.

The “underrated MVP” compliment meant so much to the Phoenix Suns guard.

“It meant everything. No one really asked him,” Booker recently told Andscape. “That was probably something that was weighing on his mind throughout the entire process. A 12 months ago I said what I desired to do for this team and what we desired to do for the country.

“It was a lot larger than all of us. Survival was something we’d discuss for the remainder of our lives.

The USA Basketball team was centered around NBA star icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. There has also been some discussion amongst media and fans in regards to the lack of playing time for Jayson Tatum and, to a lesser extent, Tyrese Haliburton. Lost within the shuffle was the all-around, unselfish play of sharpshooter Booker wearing the armband.

Guard Devin Booker throughout the final men’s basketball game between France and the United States on the Olympic Games on Aug. 10 at Bercy Arena in Paris.

Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

Booker was fourth in scoring for the U.S., averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 assists and a couple of.2 three-pointers made early in all six Olympics, and likewise had the perfect plus/minus (plus-130) for an American. Kerr was impressed with Booker’s deal with a difficult defense, regardless that he is thought for his offense, ball movement and the way he has adjusted to not being one in every of the highest options on offense.

“I just understood what was at stake,” Booker said. “I’m proud to be from this country. I’m happy with playing basketball. Even though it wasn’t invented in America, we dominated for a very long time. Obviously the world is incredibly talented and the sport is growing, however it was just one other message to allow them to know who we’re.

Booker said he also learned in regards to the preparations from his all-star team, watching the preparations on and off the court. The 28-year-old added that he gained lifelong friendships.

“It’s cool to see that everyone has their own issues,” Booker said. “In my 10 years in the NBA, I’ve learned that you have to choose what you can use for yourself. But the level of detail, the attention to detail, the intensity – it’s all consistent across the board.”

As for Durant, Booker said the bond between the 2 Sun stars “is close and grows stronger every day.” They live about five minutes from one another within the Phoenix area and commonly spend time at home and on the road. Most recently, Booker had to steer the Suns without Durant, who was sidelined with an injury.

The amazing Durant averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and three.4 assists, which were tops for the Suns. However, the 14-time NBA All-Star has been sidelined since November 8 with a left calf strain. Suns players Bradley Beal (calf) and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) were also sidelined. The Suns are 1-5 without Durant, which incorporates 4 straight losses.

Booker and Suns sans Durant’s next rivals shall be the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Over the last six games, Booker is averaging 24.1 points, shooting 43.2% from the sphere and making 16 of 43 three-pointers. Suns guard Tyus Jones said there was numerous pressure on Booker offensively due to the injury.

“We’re asking a lot of Book,” Jones said after Monday’s 109-99 loss to the visiting Orlando Magic. “It’s numerous pressure for him. We are very focused on it. They are physical with him, holding him and grabbing him, throwing two or three bodies at him all night long. So he’s got so much on his plate and we just need to proceed to seek out ways to get him open within the moments we will and proceed to assist him when other players are taking shots and making plays.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (left) with Suns forward Kevin Durant (right) during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 31 on the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Booker currently has two Olympic gold medals, 4 NBA All-Star appearances and one NBA Finals appearance. The only thing missing from the Suns’ second-leading all-time scorer is an NBA championship. Since the Suns joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1968, they’ve yet to win a title.

After experiencing the joys of winning a gold medal, Booker as an NBA champion wants the gold Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy much more.

“Most of the guys that were there did it,” Booker said of his Olympic teammates who were NBA champions. “They were champions. This is standard for them. Anything lower than that, they need nothing to do with it. It’s contagious…

“That’s all I want. That’s all I want.”

Marc J. Spears is Andscape’s senior NBA author. He used to have the ability to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been capable of do it for years and his knees still hurt.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com