Month: December 2019

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PG teases tale of Indy exit: ‘Not the one to boo’

After getting booed each time he touched the ball Monday in Indiana, Clippers star and ex-Pacer Paul George said he enjoys playing the villain but added cryptically, “I’m not the one to boo. … The people they should boo is here a lot longer than I am.”
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Bettman Outlines New NHL Policies, Training Programs for Inappropriate Conduct

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that the league will work swiftly to make changes to better deal with personnel conduct issues in the wake of incidents that surfaced in recent weeks.

MONTEREY, Calif. — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that the league will work swiftly to make changes to better deal with personnel conduct issues in the wake of incidents that surfaced in recent weeks.

Speaking at the end of the first day of the Board of Governors meeting at the Inn at Spanish Bay resort in Pebble Beach, Bettman told reporters that NHL personnel will be required to attend mandatory counseling regarding racism and anti-bullying. Bettman also talked about the formation of a hotline for people to call to report any such incidents.

”Inclusion and diversity are not simply buzz words. They are foundational principles of the NHL,” Bettman said. ”Our message is unequivocal: We will not tolerate abusive behavior of any kind.”

Bettman’s comments were his first publicly since former NHL player Akim Aliu alleged that former Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters previously directed racial slurs toward him while in the minor leagues a decade ago. Peters, who has also been accused of physical abuse while coaching Carolina, resigned following the accusations by Aliu.

While Bettman said that the NHL is conducting its own review of the Peters-Aliu situation, the commissioner made it clear that there will be zero tolerance from the league moving forward.

To that end, Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Board of Governors about a multi-point plan designed to curb any further issues while allowing coaches to still do their job.

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Megan Rapinoe Accepts 2019 Sportsperson of the Year, Discusses Importance of Truth

Speaking Monday night at Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year event in New York City, Megan Rapinoe accepted the award and pushed people to recognize the importance of truth.

Megan Rapinoe says she’s done a lot of self-reflecting since the USWNT’s World Cup victory.

And speaking Monday night at Sports Illustrated‘s Sportsperson of the Year event in New York City, Rapinoe pushed people to recognize the importance of truth. 

“I think my success bears witness to, not only the necessity of speaking truth to power, but also the power of truth,” she said. “I invite, I encourage, I urge, I demand, I will hand-hold your a** to this. And whatever way it needs to be said to you.

“But for all of us to think deeply about the way we bear witness to the world around us. In our communities, in our workplaces, in our work, in our relationships, and ultimately in our shared experiences—because that’s really all this life is. Because not only do I believe we can be better, I believe that we together—we are just better.”

Earlier Monday, Rapinoe was named Sports Illustrated‘s 2019 Sportsperson of the Year, becoming only the fourth woman in the award’s 66-year history to win it unaccompanied.

Rapinoe received the honor this year after winning the World Cup with the USWNT and being a vocal activist for equality. 

After saying she wouldn’t visit the White House and being called out on Twitter by President Donald Trump, Rapinoe responded with an iconic goal celebration in the quarterfinal match against France when she struck a pose with her arms outstretched. 

The image quickly went viral on social media and the world turned it into a symbol for her patriotism and activism. 

“It was kind of like a ‘F— you,’ but with a big smile and a s— eating grin,” Rapinoe told SI’s Jenny Vrentas about her pose. “You are not going to steal any of our joy.”

Her dominance on and off the pitch turned her into a voice for many around the world.

As Vrentas wrote, Rapinoe was chosen “not because of her newfound fame but because of how she’s handled it. She owned the biggest moment of her life and silenced all the doubts.”

You can read Rapinoe’s cover story with Jenny Vrentas here and look back at some of her best moments in 2019 here.