Tag Archives: Football

Trump wants suspensions for NFL players who kneel during anthem

FILE PHOTO: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones kneels with players prior to the national anthem prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, U.S., September 25, 2017. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that National Football League (NFL) players who do not stand for the national anthem should be suspended for the season without pay.

The comments come a day after the NFL and the union representing its players said they were working on a resolution to the league’s national anthem policy.

The policy, which was announced in May, followed Trump’s denunciation of pregame protests which were intended to call attention to what critics say is often brutal treatment of minorities by U.S. law enforcement.

Trump and others have blasted the gesture as a sign of disrespect to the U.S. flag and the military.

“The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again – can’t believe it!,” Trump said on Twitter.

“First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay.

“The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand,” he said in reference to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The players union, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), recently filed a grievance over the league’s new requirement that players stand for the national anthem or wait in their dressing rooms.

The NFLPA claimed the new policy was inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and infringed on player rights.

The NFL and NFLPA said on Thursday no new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks while the confidential discussions are ongoing.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

NBC plans to show player protests if they occur at Super Bowl

Some members of the Cleveland Browns team kneel, while others stand, during the National Anthem before the start of their game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, U.S., September 24, 2017. USA TODAY

By Lisa Richwine

PASADENA, California (Reuters) – U.S. television network NBC, broadcaster of this year’s Super Bowl, will show any players who kneel during the pre-game national anthem to protest racial inequality, the game’s executive producer said on Tuesday.

Several dozen National Football League players kneeled, sat or locked arms during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in the regular season, drawing rebukes from President Donald Trump who called it unpatriotic. Game broadcasters showed the protests during the initial weeks but reduced coverage of them later.

The anthem is typically shown live before the Super Bowl and this year will be performed by pop singer Pink at the Feb. 4 championship.

If any players decide to kneel at the Super Bowl, NBC will cover it, executive producer Fred Gaudelli said at a Television Critics Association event in Pasadena, California.

“When you are covering a live event, you are covering what’s happening,” Gaudelli said. “If there are players who choose to kneel, they will be shown live.”

Announcers likely will identify the players, explain the reasons behind the actions, “and then get on with the game,” Gaudelli said.

He also noted that the number of protests had waned since Thanksgiving.

The players who kneeled during the regular season said they were protesting the killing by police of unarmed black men and boys across the United States, as well as racial disparities in the criminal justice system. More than half of all NFL players are black.

The Super Bowl is the year’s most-watched U.S. television broadcast, attracting an audience of more than 100 million people. NBC is a unit of Comcast Corp.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Signs of brain disease in 99 percent of former NFL players: study

FILE PHOTO - New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau celebrates sacking San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers in first quarter of the NFL's AFC championship football game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, U.S. on January 20, 2008. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) – The brains of 99 percent of former National Football League players showed signs of a disease linked to repeated hits to the head that can lead to aggression and dementia, according to research published in a leading medical journal on Tuesday.

The findings were based on the broadest review yet of the brains of former football players for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The condition, also known as CTE, is linked to the sort of head-to-head hits that were long a part of the sport, though the NFL and school leagues have been tweaking the game in recent years to limit blows to the head.

“The data suggest that there is very likely a relationship between exposure to football and risk of developing the disease,” said Jesse Mez, a Boston University School of Medicine assistant professor of neurology, who was lead author of the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers studied the brains of 202 former athletes who had played football in the NFL, the Canadian Football League or at the college or high school level and found signs of CTE in the brains of 110 of the former 111 NFL players.

The condition, which currently can be diagnosed only by taking brain tissue from a dead subject, has been diagnosed in former players including Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau and Pro Bowl safety Dave Duerson, who both committed suicide.

The researchers noted that the study had limitations including that the subjects’ brains were donated by their families, and that families are more likely to opt into the study if the players had showed symptoms of CTE.

“We do not know what proportion of football players, or any group, for that matter, develop CTE,” said Dr. Munro Cullum, a neuropsychologist with the O’Donnell Brain Institute at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

The NFL, which last year pledged $100 million for neuromedical research, said the study would help the league and players to understand the condition.

“The NFL is committed to supporting scientific research into CTE and advancing progress in the prevention and treatment of head injuries,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, in an e-mail.

The study found signs of CTE in the brains of 91 percent of the 53 former college players whose brains were studied and 21 percent of the former high school players.

(Reporting by Scott Malone, additional reporting by Lisa Rapaport in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Georgia Football Team Helps 5-Year-Old With Rare Brain Disorder Obtain Dream

A five-year-old boy from Georgia was told by doctors that he would never be able to play football because of a very rare brain disorder.

Ben Holloway was diagnosed with brain dural arteriovenous fistual (BDAF) last year.

“Last spring, my wife was telling me that Ben’s eye looked like it was bulging, and though I didn’t think much of it, she was very persistent,” his dad, Joshua Holloway, told ABCNews. “We brought him to a pediatrician after a few days, and he knew something was wrong.”

The doctors immediately rushed Ben to the ER where a CT scan confirmed the BDAF diagnosis.  BDAF is a condition where there is an abnormal connection between blood vessels inside and outside the the brain’s fibrous covering, or dura.

“You can have side effects and devastating problems such as bleeding in the brain, which can lead to stroke, and other problems such as swelling in eyes that can cause vision loss,” Dr. Nicholas Bambakidis said. “In children, these fistulas seem to form spontaneously, whereas adults usually acquire them from trauma such as gunshot wounds.”

Ben had to undergo surgeries to deal with the problems associated with BDAF including an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that brought excess blood the size of a golf ball into his head.  Doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of a stroke and even 20 percent chance of dying during surgery.

A week before a third surgery, the players and coaches of Murray County High School heard about Ben, his love of football and how doctors said he could never play the game.

And they decided to prove the doctors wrong.

Ben was invited to a scrimmage game where he was surprised with his own uniform and equipment including shoulder pads and a helmet.  He was told to suit up and be ready when his number was called.

In the first half of the game, the offense called on Ben to be the running back in a “shotgun draw.”  The quarterback took the snap and handed it to Ben who then ran it in for a touchdown with the entire team cheering him on.

Video of the event has gone viral.

“He was like a kid at Christmas time,” Joshua Holloway said. “It was like Christmas morning for him — it really was.”

“We still watch the video every night,” he added.

Ben had a third surgery the following week that was so successful he may not have to undergo a fourth surgery.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family’s unexpected medical costs.

Cleveland Browns Sign Youngest Player in NFL History

The average age of an NFL player took a huge dip on Tuesday when the Cleveland Browns signed 9-year-old Dylan Sutcliffe to a one-day contract.

“We’re excited to add another quality player to our roster as we prepare for the 2015 season,” said General Manager Ray Farmer. “When we first connected with Dylan, it was clear he was a competitor who had all of the right attributes to be a contributor to our team.”

“Dylan is definitely a young man who has all of the ‘Play Like a Brown’ traits, particularly through his passion, toughness and relentlessness.” said Head Coach Mike Pettine. “We look forward to seeing him bring that energy to practice this afternoon.”

Dylan was receiving a gift from the Make-A-Wish foundation.  Dylan has ataxia telangiectasia (A-T), a immunodeficiency disease that impacts a number of different organs.  His brother Sean also has the disease.

“Day-to-day, they just require a lot more attention,” said Dylan’s father, Derek. “Helping them eat, helping them get dressed, helping them go to the bathroom. Anytime they have to get up out of a chair and walk somewhere.”

The team brought Dylan to their practice complex in a limo, gave him a tour of the facility and a locker with his own #7 jersey.  No player on the team this season wears #7 so he’ll be a unique member of the club.

Dylan’s favorite player is defensive lineman Phil Taylor, who took Dylan under his wing during practice.  At the end of the day, Taylor lifted Dylan from his wheelchair and held him in the air while the team gathered around and did the Browns cheer.

High School Football Player Penalized For Praying

A Florida high school football player who gave thanks to God for scoring his first touchdown was penalized by officials because of praying.

Sam Turner, a senior at Fort Myers High School, scored on a 27-yard touchdown pass and then knelt and pointed a finger to heaven, thanking God.

“I said ‘thank you, God, for this talent you’ve blessed me with’,” Turner told reporters.

The referees penalized Turner’s team 15 yards, saying that the act of praying was unsportsmanlike conduct.

Turner’s coach said that they talked to Sam and told him that his action of praying wasn’t a selfish act.  He also tried to be diplomatic when it came to the officials penalizing a student for showing his faith on the field.

“It comes down to a ref’s discretion. To them, they try to follow the letter of the rules. You accept both sides. I have seen it happen at all levels. The officials have to toe the line,” Sam Sirianna Jr. told reporters.