Sports

Kwame Brown Former No.1 NBA Pick On Playing With MJ, Kobe And Clears Air – ‘I’m Not Crazy’

Posted on by Phil Lam X

The former NBA first overall pick Kwame Brown, often known for being outspoken and his public rants about life, society and what’s wrong with culture and sports, joins The Pivot today for an in-depth conversation about who he truly is as a man and what he stands for.

Ryan, Channing and Fred sit down with Kwame to peel back the layers of this once basketball great and find out if it’s anger or frustration that fuel his words.

Selected as the first overall pick at age of 19 in 2001, Kwame talks about his experience as a child and rough upbringing to making it out to discover a life as not just a professional basketball player, but one of the best in the country at his young age.

Kwame talks about playing with Michael Jordan, the misconceptions of his rookie year and why he was labeled a problem player and later known as a bust. He shares his experience of playing with Kobe Bryant and being on the court for the legend’s historic 81 point performances and also how Kobe shaped him as a better player and man.

Sharing his truth regarding past issues and incidents between his ongoing battle with Stephen A Smith, the use of the word bust and former players speaking out on him- Kwame is not holding back and using his voice as an open book through his platform.

Working now to help today’s youth and provide an outlet and teach through his experiences, Kwame is focused on bringing reality to young men in the community and helping them evolve into better people with hope through opportunities.

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Nick Young On His “Confused Meme” Becoming More Famous Than Him

Posted on by Phil Lam X

In this clip, Nick Young talks about his famous smiling meme, where it came from and why the image is almost more famous than he is at this point. This prompts the former NBA champion to state that he wishes there was a way for him to get paid for the meme which causes DJ Vlad to also indicate that his material often becomes memes that he doesn’t get paid for. As the discussion moves along, Nick shares what a big deal his meme has become in China, before talking about coming home and finding out that place had been burglarized.

Eddy Curry: Chicago Bulls Offered Me $400K A Year For 50 Years To Take A DNA Test, I Refused

Posted on by Phil Lam X

In this clip, Eddy Curry talked about some of the earlier days in his career before running into cardiac problems. Eddy described the situation as a stressful one as his career hung in the balance. He recalled the NBA offering him $400K annually for 50 years if he took a DNA test that showed he was more likely to develop heart problems. However, Eddy explained how his agent at the time showed him the negative precedent he would be setting for future Black players.

Milestone U.S. Soccer Deal Equalizes Pay For Women, Men — World Cup Prize Money And Sponsorship Revenue To Be Split 50/50

Posted on by Phil Lam X

The US men’s and women’s soccer teams will share prize money from their respective World Cups equally in a historic agreement announced on Wednesday.

US Soccer and the unions for the two teams reached the deal during negotiations for their new collective bargaining agreements, which have now been ratified.

“The accomplishments in this CBA are a testament to the incredible efforts of WNT players on and off the field,” said USWNT player and USWNT players’ association president Becky Sauerbrunn. “The gains we have been able to achieve are both because of the strong foundation laid by the generations of WNT players that came before the current team and through our union’s recent collaboration with our counterparts at the [men’s players union] and leadership at US Soccer.

“We hope that this agreement and its historic achievements in not only providing for equal pay but also in improving the training and playing environment for national team players will similarly serve as the foundation for continued growth of women’s soccer both in the United States and abroad.”

USMNT defender Walker Zimmerman, who is a member of the men’s union leadership group, also welcomed the deal. “There are tough conversations, but at the end of the day, it is the right thing to do,” Zimmerman said. “It’s something that [the US women’s team players] deserve. It’s something that they have fought for so hard, and, to be honest, sometimes it does feel like we had just kind of come alongside of them and had been a little late.”

Fifa’s prize money for the men’s and women’s World Cups is unequal. The bonus pool for this year’s men’s World Cup in Qatar is $440m, while the prize money for the women’s tournament in Australia in 2023 is $60m. Under the new agreement, the unions for the US men’s and women’s teams will share the prize money from the 2022 and 2023 World Cups. The US men have already qualified for Qatar 2022, while the women’s team are the reigning women’s champions and are heavy favourites to book their place for Australia 2023 later this summer.

World Cup prize money was not the only area where equal deals were reached. Shares of ticket sales will now be equal, as will win bonuses. Some aspects of income and benefits will differ between the teams. The men will not share their $2.5m bonus for qualifying for this year’s World Cup as it was part of the their previous CBA.

“This is a truly historic moment. These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world,” said US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone, who is also a former USWNT player. “US Soccer and the USWNT and USMNT players have reset their relationship with these new agreements and are leading us forward to an incredibly exciting new phase of mutual growth and collaboration as we continue our mission to become the preeminent sport in the United States.”

The US women’s team has long fought for equal treatment with the men’s team. In December 2020 they reached an agreement with US Soccer over equal work conditions with their male counterparts. The players were granted the same conditions as the US men’s team in areas such as travel, hotel accommodation, the right to play on grass rather than artificial turf, and staffing. Then, in February, the team agreed a $24m settlement that ended a six-year legal battle over equal pay.

Source: The Guardian

Outrage After Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Wins NCAA Contest: ‘Our Daughter’s Sports Are Not A Plan B For Failed Male Athletes’

Posted on by Phil Lam X

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas — the biological male who competes on the women’s swimming team for the University of Pennsylvania — won a 500-yard freestyle this week, at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

UPenn celebrated the news, calling Thomas “the first Quaker female swimmer to win an NCAA individual title.” In addition, CNN hailed Thomas as the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 title.

Thomas set a “program-record time” of 4:33.24, more than one second faster than second-place swimmer Emma Weyant, who earned a time of 4:34.99.

The UPenn swimmer has pushed back against those who note that, biologically, Thomas is male.

“The very simple answer is that I’m not a man,” the athlete told Sports Illustrated. “I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets.”

One USA Swimming official, Cynthia Millen, decided in late 2021 to resign in protest after more than 30 years in the industry. Millen took issue with the rules at the NCAA and USA Swimming that allowed Thomas to compete against biological females.

“I thought, ‘This is wrong. This betrays all of this fairness,’” she told CBN. “I mean, if a swimmer was wearing an illegal swimsuit we would tell the swimmer ‘go change your swimsuit. That’s not the right fabric. It’s giving you an advantage.’”

Among the complainants is the group Concerned Women for America, which filed legal paperwork with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights against UPenn, claiming that permitting Thomas to compete on the women’s team violates Title IX.

“We plead for you to issue clear, decisive guidance to clarify the law and prevent colleges and university athletic programs from violating women’s rights by allowing biological male athletes to compete in the women’s category of sport,” stated the court filing. “Protecting all female student-athletes from this type of injustice is the very essence of OCR’s mission to ensure equal access to educational opportunities and benefits the law requires under Title IX.”

The American Principles Project, a conservative think tank, also spoke out against Thomas.

“Lia Thomas spent 21 years of his life as a man,” tweeted the group. “He started competing against women in swimming this year and became a national champion. Our daughter’s sports are not a plan B for failed male athletes.”

Source: CBN News