Tag: sports

New York Hockey Fans Rally to Help NYPD Sergeant Who Received Outrageous Sentence from Far-Left Judge

During Tuesday night’s game between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes on Long Island, hockey fans rallied to help jailed ex-NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran, during a fundraising push to help him in his fight to overturn the controversial sentence handed down by a far-left judge.

In August 2023, fleeing drug suspect Eric Duprey died after a Duran tossed a cooler he grabbed from a local family’s sidewalk table at him. Duprey, who was fleeing a Bronx buy-and-bust drug sting at the time, was knocked off his bike. Duprey died from injuries following the incident.

Duran was charged with second-degree manslaughter in January 2024.

Last week, The New York Post reported that radical Bronx Judge Guy Mitchell handed Duran a sentence of 3 to 9 years in prison despite pleas from the father of three to show mercy.

“Your honor, I am asking for a chance to be there with my kids. I am asking for a chance, just one,” Duran said.

During the Islanders game,  the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association shared a fundraiser for Duran on the Jumbotron to help him raise funds to overturn the harsh sentence.

The New York Post reports:

“This is all about Erik’s family,” said union head Vincent Vallelong, who was joined at the game by Post executive Patrick Judge, Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky and other SBA members.

“Whatever it takes to get him out, is exactly what it is everyone on this board believes and everybody in law enforcement is going to do at this point. The message is that basically, this is going to affect law enforcement across the nation. They all feel that this can happen in their cities.”

Islanders fans were given the option to donate directly to the fund, which had already raised $40,000 as of Tuesday morning, via a QR code displayed on the jumbotron.

A portion of Tuesday night’s 50/50 raffle that took in nearly $45,000 will also go toward the legal fund launched Monday by the SBA to help Duran appeal his conviction.

The fundraiser, spearheaded by The National Police Defense Foundation (NPDF) notes, “In August 2023, Sgt. Erik Duran, a highly decorated member of the NYPD, was supervising a “buy and bust” operation in the Bronx. One of the suspects attempted to evade capture by mounting a nearby motorcycle and driving it on the sidewalk, directly at responding officers. Fearing that his officers would be seriously injured or killed by fleeing felon Eric Duprey, Sgt. Duran grabbed an Igloo cooler and hurled it at Duprey to divert him from crashing into his officers, their prisoner, or bystanders.”

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Department of Justice Launches Investigation Into the NFL: Report

The Department of Justice has reportedly launched an investigation into the National Football League over anticompetitive tactics that could harm the public.

NBC News reported Thursday that the federal government is investigating whether the NFL is charging consumers too much, now that games are broadcast across multiple streaming platforms that require paid subscriptions.

The story cited two unnamed sources who are “familiar with the investigation.”

The Justice Department’s investigation into the NFL is “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers,” one government official told the outlet.

Regulators, lawmakers, and media outlets have voiced concerns over the past several years about how difficult it has become for consumers to watch their preferred sports games as a result of these new rights deals.

In early March, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah sent a letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson about “a new trend in televised sports that may harm American sports fans.”

“To watch every NFL game during this past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions,” Lee wrote.

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Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel CAUGHT on Camera in ‘Intimate Moments’ with Married Leftist NYT Reporter — Just Days After Lecturing Christian Player Over Bible Verse

The head coach of the New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel, was photographed in what many are calling highly inappropriate interactions with a married reporter tied to far-left The New York Times.

The photos, first obtained by Page Six and now blowing up across the internet, show the married Patriots boss hugging, holding hands with fingers interlocked, and relaxing in a hot tub alone with Dianna Russini, a top NFL insider for The Athletic (the sports arm of the failing New York Times).

A ‘Page Six spy’ said that Vrabel and Russini spent the day together at the ultra-luxury Ambiente resort in Sedona, Arizona, on March 28th.

They were spotted having breakfast, lounging poolside, soaking in a private hot tub for nearly an hour, and later heading up to a $2,000-a-night rooftop bungalow with those iconic red rock views.

Photos show the pair getting very comfortable, hugging tightly and interlocking fingers like a couple on a romantic getaway.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Targets Anti-Christian Bias

The Chicago Bulls recently released Jaden Ivey from his contract for being outspoken about his Christian beliefs when he expressed discontent with the NBA’s Pride Month celebrations. Discrimination against Christians isn’t exclusive to the world of professional sports — and thankfully the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), following a Trump administration executive order, has begun to increase efforts to counter violations of Christians’ religious rights.

This week, the EEOC announced it is suing the Cogar Group, a private security company, after it allegedly forced a disabled veteran working as a security guard to resign over his Christian beliefs. In February 2024, the Virginia-based company told the security guard that his schedule would be shifted so that he would be required to work on weekends, according to an EEOC press release. The guard had previously informed the Cogar Group in March 2021 that he was unable to work on Sundays due to his religious beliefs, as he identifies as a devout Baptist and a church deacon. The EEOC says that the Cogar Group refused to honor the employee’s religious practice, forcing the security guard to resign.

Employers who don’t make accommodations for their employee’s religious beliefs are violating Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

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Female Swimmer Beaten By Male Faces Lifetime Competition Ban For Talking About It

Angie Griffin swims like a woman, a skill that earned her the title of a top ten U.S. Masters Swimming competitor in her age group for more than a decade.

The 46-year-old’s dedication to the sport means Griffin does, as she humbly told The Federalist in a phone interview, “all right” at USMS competitions. At first glance, Griffin’s second-place performance last April in her USMS age division’s national championship breaststroke event seemed to fit that bill.

It wasn’t until after the meet that Griffin realized she was only runner-up because a man took first place.

One year later, instead of focusing on winning at this year’s USMS Spring Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina, Griffin is gearing up to argue against a lifetime ban from the organization that made her fall back in love with the water for saying men in women’s sports is unfair.”

“I swim for fun,” the Bay Stater said. “I don’t participate in the committees and the making of these policies and the rules. I didn’t know they had little bylaws that they could say, ‘Hey, you’re speaking your mind and using facts for your opinion. So we’re gonna silence you for having a different opinion than us.’”

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Justice Department Sues Minnesota for Allowing Boys in Girls’ Sports and Intimate Spaces

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) on Monday, alleging sex-based discrimination by allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports and use girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms. 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a well-known advocate for these policies, and he infamously signed a 2023 law, directing all public schools to provide free menstrual products to all menstruating students, including trans students, in grades 4 to 12.

The 45-page lawsuit was filed in Minnesota federal court, arguing that the “unfair, intentionally discriminatory practice violates the very core of Title IX of the Education Amendments.”

“Title IX’s core purpose is to ensure that both boys and girls have equal educational opportunities. This includes protecting girls’ equal educational athletic opportunities by recognizing that boys have an inherent biological advantage in sports,” the filing reads, noting male and female athletes have “undeniable physiological differences.”

“But Minnesota casts this aside in favor of so-called “gender identity,” a choice that elevates ideology over biology, fairness, and safety. In open defiance of Title IX’s antidiscrimination protections, Minnesota’s policies and practices create unfair competition, deny girls equal educational opportunities, and expose girls to a hostile educational environment with heightened risks of physical injury and psychological harm.”

It further points to the over $3 billion in federal funding that the Minnesota Department of Education receives annually from the US Department of Education (USDOE), arguing that Minnesota has a duty to comply with USDOE’s regulations implementing Title IX.

The MDE also receives approximately $42.6 million annually from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is required to comply with HHS’s regulations implementing Title IX.

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Florida AG Warns NFL Against Race-Based Diversity Hiring

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier made it clear that he plans to challenge one of the most controversial practices in sports: an NFL rule that requires minority candidates to be interviewed for key coaching and front office decisions.

In a letter and an accompanying video released Wednesday, Uthmeier said he plans to challenge the so-called “Rooney Rule” used by the league, arguing it violates state law.

According to WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach, Uthmeier’s letter warned that the rule cannot be enforced on the three NFL teams based in Florida — the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — saying all three must “interview, hire, and train based on merit,” as should the NFL.

If the teams are subject to the rule “or any variation or extension thereof,” he warned, it “may result in a civil rights enforcement action.”

He also said that the NFL’s Coach & Front Office Accelerator Program and Mackie Development Program would “limit, segregate, and classify” candidates in a manner inconsistent with Florida law.

“My office is sending a letter to the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, regarding the league’s hiring practices — specifically, the use of the so-called ‘Rooney Rule,’ which requires NFL teams to interview candidates based on race,” he said in the social media video.

“The NFL’s use of the Rooney Rule violates Florida law by requiring race-based considerations in hiring. Florida law is clear: Hiring decisions cannot be based on race, and the Rooney Rule mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions.”

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Alert: Olympic Committee Steps up to Protect Women, Bans Trans Athletes from Female Events

No man will grab an Olympic medal from a woman under a new policy unveiled Thursday by the International Olympic Committee.

Under the new policy, genetic testing will be required to ensure only women compete in women’s categories, according to The New York Times.

The decision will take effect with the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition,” IOC president Kristy Coventry, a former gold medal Olympian, said in a statement posted on the IOC website.

“The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” she said.

“So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe,” she said.

“Every athlete must be treated with dignity and respect, and athletes will need to be screened only once in their lifetime. There must be clear education around the process and counselling available, alongside expert medical advice,” she said.

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FA Refuses to Scrap “Racist” Target for a Third of England’s Coaches to Be Non-White

The Football Association has refused to scrap a “racist” target for almost a third of England’s men’s coaches to be non-white after Suella Braverman branded it “utter woke nonsense”. The Telegraph has more.

Braverman, the former home secretary, who is Reform UK’s Equalities Spokesperson, wrote to Mark Bullingham, the FA Chief Executive, on Tuesday demanding the abolition of a policy she said “divides rather than unites”.

The FA’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy sets a target for 30% of the England men’s coaching staff to be from ethnically diverse backgrounds by 2028.

Posting her letter to Bullingham on X, Braverman said: “The @FA Football Association wants to mandate that one in four football coaches come from a Black, Asian or other minority background.

“As the saying in football goes, this is utter woke nonsense. The game’s gone. Fans don’t care what the coach looks like. They just want the best person for the job, based on merit alone. That’s what gets results. Not tokenism.

“I’ve written to the FA urging a rethink. I’m happy to help them draw up a fairer policy. Let’s kick racism out of football, including anti-white racism.”

Braverman, who in January defected to Reform from the Conservative Party, also wrote in her letter that the policy was “fundamentally flawed, inherently racist and bad for the game”.

She added: “The best coaches should get the job, not because of their skin colour, but because they are the best person for the job.”

The phrase “utter woke nonsense” has become a popular meme among football fans.

An FA spokesperson said in response: “Football has the unique ability to break down barriers and bring communities together. Through our EDI strategy, we aim to ensure the game reflects the full diversity of our nation.

“This means opening up pathways and creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds – including those from historically under-represented groups. While we will always take a meritocratic approach by appointing the best people for roles, we also recognise the importance of having a broader range of participants across the sport.

“We are proud that our strategy is supporting the growth of football among men, women, boys and girls from all communities.”

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FC Barcelona Fined for Privacy Violations Over Biometric Data Collection

FC Barcelona got fined €500,000 ($579,219) for scanning the faces and recording the voices of over 100,000 members without doing the legal homework first.

Spain’s data protection authority, the AEPD, found the club had deployed biometric identity verification during a membership census update and processed all of it without a valid Data Protection Impact Assessment.

Members renewing their details remotely were required to either submit a facial scan through their device camera or record their voice. Both systems were live, both were processing biometric data at scale, and the documentation Barcelona produced to justify any of it didn’t meet the bar GDPR sets for high-risk processing.

Article 35 of the GDPR requires organizations to conduct a DPIA before deploying any system likely to create a high risk for individuals. Biometric data used for identification qualifies automatically.

Processing that touches more than 100,000 people, including minors, qualifies. Using new technologies qualifies. Barcelona’s system hit all three. The AEPD concluded the club’s documentation was missing the essential components of a genuine assessment: no real necessity and proportionality analysis, no adequate evaluation of what the processing actually risks for the people whose faces and voices it captured.

The AEPD’s decision in case PS-00450-2024 makes one point with particular clarity: consent doesn’t substitute for a DPIA. Barcelona had asked members to agree to biometric data collection, and members had agreed.

That agreement is legally irrelevant to the separate procedural obligation to assess risk before the system goes live. The GDPR treats them as independent requirements. Satisfying one doesn’t discharge the other.

What a valid DPIA actually requires, according to the decision, is a clear description of the processing, a genuine necessity and proportionality assessment, a detailed risk evaluation, proposed mitigation measures, and a residual risk assessment after mitigations are applied. Organizations that generate DPIA documentation as a compliance checkbox, without substantively working through those questions, remain exposed regardless of what consent language they put in front of users.

The appetite for facial biometric data has become near-universal across industries, and the Barcelona case lands in a moment when that appetite is accelerating faster than the rules meant to govern it.

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