Month: November 2022

Iran is demanding that the United States be expelled from the World Cup after the U.S. Men’s National Team posted an image on its official social media accounts of Iran’s national flag without the emblem of the Islamic Republic. The United States Soccer Federation said that it made the decision to edit the official flag’s appearance to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.”

However, the Iranian government has accused the U.S. of “removing the name of God” from its national flag. The state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency in Iran tweeted on Sunday: “By posting a distorted image of the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran on its official account, the U.S. football team breached the FIFA charter, for which a 10-game suspension is the appropriate penalty. Team USA should be kicked out of World Cup 2022.”

In mid-September, demonstrations began in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iran’s morality police. According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an organization that has been tracking the demonstrations, at least 450 people have been killed and over 18,000 have been arrested since the protests began.

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Odell Beckham Jr. was escorted off of an American Airlines flight from Miami to Los Angeles on Sunday morning after crew members who tried to wake him up before departure grew concerned because he “appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.”  Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network obtained a police report saying in part that the Miami-Dade Police Department responded to American Airlines flight 1228 in Miami, bound for Los Angeles, at around 9:30 a.m. after flight attendants called for help out of fear that Beckham Jr. was ill and “his condition would worsen through the expected 5 hour flight,” police said.  Police said in a statement: “Upon the officers arrival, the flight crew asked Mr. Beckham several times to exit the aircraft, which he refused.. the aircraft was deplaned, at which time Mr. Beckham was asked by the officers to exit the plane, and did so without incident.” Beckham was not detained or cited for the incident.

Shortly after the news broke, Beckham appeared to address the situation in a tweet that read: “Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me… I’ve seen it alll..”  “Never. In. My . Life,” he added.  He later wrote: “I COULD NEVER MAKE THIS UP …comedy hr.”  Beckham’s attorney also released a statement late Sunday calling the incident “unnecessary” and saying Beckham was sleeping, which is why he did not initially comply with the flight crew. Beckham’s attorney blamed an “overzealous flight attendant” who, “wanted to prove that he had the authority to have Mr. Beckham removed from the flight” for the disturbance.

This incident comes four days before the Beckham’s first free-agency visit.  The wide receiver, who most recently played for the Los Angeles Rams, is scheduled to visit the New York Giants (who he previously played for from 2014 to 2018) oThursday and Friday; and will then visit the Dallas Cowboys on Monday. Per outlet reports, he also plans to visit the Buffalo Bills at some point.

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The NBA announced on Thursday that Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley has been suspended three games for “forcefully shoving” Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, causing him to fall during L.A.’s game against the Suns on Tuesday. In the league’s statement, the suspension was explained as being “based in part on Beverley’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.” The suspension is without pay and will cost Beverley $268,965 in salary.

Immediately after the incident, which occurred with 3:55 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 115-105 loss in Phoenix, Beverley was assessed a technical foul and ejected for charging into Ayton. Following the game, Beverley said he was “for sure” concerned that the league would discipline him for his actions and added that he would accept the punishment that would be handed out. Said Beverley: “Very unprofessional by myself. Definitely could have reacted in a different way … So, yeah, I’m a big boy. I’ll take my lumps however they come.”

Beverley is averaging 4.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 14 starts for the Lakers. As a result of the suspension, Beverley will miss a pair of road games against the San Antonio Spurs on Fri-Sat, as well as a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

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The parents of former Stanford soccer star Katie Meyer have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the University, alleging that the 21-year-old goalie was distressed about facing discipline over an incident from August 2021. Meyer died by suicide in late February. She was a part of the 2019 national champion women’s soccer team, and stopped two penalty shots in Stanford’s 5-4 shootout victory over North Carolina after a scoreless draw.

The civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court says that Meyer spilled coffee on a Stanford football player who allegedly had sexually assaulted a soccer teammate. It also said that Meyer received a formal written notice on the evening of Feb. 28 — the same night she died — that charged her with a “Violation of the Fundamental Standard.” The violation put her diploma on hold a few months before she was supposed to graduate.

In the lawsuit, Meyer’s parents argue that the notice came after-hours while Meyer was “alone in her room without any support or resources,” and says that Meyer responded to the email “expressing how ‘shocked and distraught’ she was over being charged and threatened with removal from the university.” Her parents also allege in the lawsuit that Meyer had “an acute stress reaction that impulsively led her” to take her life, and that Meyer told Stanford employees in November 2021 that she had “been scared for months that my clumsiness will ruin my chances of leaving Stanford on a good note.”

Dee Mostofi, Stanford’s assistant vice president of external communications, said a statement on Wednesday that the school “strongly disagreed” with the lawsuit’s claim that Stanford was responsible in Meyer’s death and hadn’t seen the complaint.

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