ootball operations Sashi Brown about the problem. We need to be outside. We are an outdoor team. We are not an indoor team. ... The | Forum
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Dec 20 '18
RIO DE JANEIRO -- As Caster Semenya stood on the Olympic medal podium, the gold around her neck, the South African anthem playing, one was reminded of another opinion-changing person from her country: Nelson Mandela. Buy Nike Vapormax Canada .Semenya doesnt have the anti-apartheid leaders oratory gifts. But like the father of modern South Africa who died in 2013, she is teaching the world -- not just sport, but the wider world that is moved by it -- about tolerance, about courage and about judging people not by how they look, but by what they do, how they do it and how they conduct themselves.Semenya does that by running. Running beautifully.Semenyas story shouldnt be any more complex than a celebration of the athleticism she displayed in winning the 800 meters at the Rio Games.But, of course, it is complex.This would usually the place for a paragraph about gender, about testosterone, about fairness or otherwise, about science and pseudo-science and plain old BS. In short, a paragraph that could not even begin to do justice to the injustice, the questions, the whispers, the doubts, the finger-pointing, the name-calling and Byzantine cruelty that Semenya has had to wade through since she announced herself to the world by winning the 800-meter world title as an 18-year-old in 2009.If, at this point, you dont know what were talking about, then lucky you, because it hasnt been pretty. Look it up, if you must.The short version is this: Like Mandela, she has risen above it all. Her dignity, like his, is both her shield and her weapon. He forced white South Africans to look at themselves. Eventually, they could no longer stomach what they saw. Semenya, too, has become a mirror: Those who judge her only by her looks, who have called her a half-man, or whatever, will eventually get sick of their own ugliness, their lack of compassion and basic humanity. Like Mandela, she has had to learn how to tune hatred out.Were not here to talk about some speculations, Semenya said. Its not about looking at people, how they look, how they speak, how they run. Its not about being muscular. Its all about sports.Perhaps the best bit about her Olympic gold was how it seemed, almost immediately, to bring her out of her shell. She has, understandably, always run from excruciatingly personal and intrusive questions about whether she was born with internal testes, no uterus and has high levels of testosterone -- in short, absurd questions about matters that are nobodys business but her own.But she isnt running any more. In Semenya, sport long thought it had a problem. But in the belly of Rios Olympic Stadium, sports instead got a new leader who preaches unity where, for too long in her case, there has been nothing but discord.Here I am, she told a large group of reporters, after avoiding questions all week. I just want to be the best I can be.You just need to lead by example, she added. Maybe, if people they just unite, it can be a great world.Amen to that.Slowly, Semenya seems to be winning over her rivals, too. They have mostly learned to keep their thoughts to themselves about whether their sport needs rules to somehow dial back the competitive advantage they perceive women like Semenya to have. Some of them arent happy. Semenyas winning time of 1 minute, 55.28 seconds was one of the top 20 times ever in the two-lap race. Rivals predicted that she would blow away the field. And she did. Burundis Francine Niyonsaba was more than one second behind in 1:56.49 for silver and Kenyas Margaret Wambui ran 1:56.89 for bronze.But this night, Semenyas night, was neither the time nor place for rivals to get into the debate about the need or otherwise for testosterone-limiting rules. That will soon be back in the hands of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It suspended the rules last year, judging that they were based on uncertain science. The International Association of Athletics Federations will be going back to the CAS in the next year to try to change its mind.Bottom-line: Semenya broke no rules.But is she breaking barriers.She said one of the first things she wanted to do was call her wife, Violet.I still have to make a long call, obviously, my wife is waiting, she said.After all Semenya has been through, the freedom she expressed on and off the Olympic track felt like a message to the world.All it must do now is listen.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicesterap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester . See his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/john-leicester---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicesterap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester . See his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/john-leicester ;Nike Vapormax Canada . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Cheap Nike Vapormax Canada . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. http://www.vapormaxcanada.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. BEREA, Ohio -- Not for lack of trying, but of talent, the Cleveland Browns arent winning.They arent quitting, though.Faced with the very real possibility of running the table and going winless over 16 games, it would be easy for them to wave the white flag, surrender with two games left, pack it up and be done with this miserable season.Coach Hue Jackson has experienced that with players elsewhere.I know what they look like, feel like, act like and all of it, Jackson said Tuesday. I have seen it. I have not seen that in this group.The Browns (0-14) are bad, and they may soon go down as one of the worst teams in NFL history, but they plan to do it swinging.I think we still have some fight in us, were still focusing on finishing this season off strong, said nose tackle Danny Shelton, whose improvement in his second year has been one of the few positives in an otherwise forgettable season. There are a lot of guys who still believe.Terrelle Pryor leads the list. The teams top wide receiver intends to play in Clevelands final two games -- home on Christmas Eve against San Diego and at Pittsburgh on New Years Day -- with a torn ligament in his right middle finger, an injury that will require surgery, which has been scheduled for the day after the Steelers game.Pryor got hurt on the first play of the second half in Sundays game at Buffalo when he reached down to catch a low pass from quarterback Robert Griffin and jammed his fingers on the artificial turf.Following Tuesdays indoor workout, Pryor described the painful mishap.Every single time I bent my knuckle, my knuckle felt like it got smashed with a hammer, he said. It was flat.Pryor tried taping his fingers together during the 33-13 loss, Clevelands 17th straight over two seasons, but that didnt work and he spent time on the sideline trying to get it so his finger would straighten.He worked with the teams medical staff over the past two days on fitting him with some protection and hell play with a partial cast covering his finger.Earlier this year, Pryor said he was willing to go to extreme lengths, saying he would even bbe willing to cut off a finger to help his team win. Nike Vapormax Canada Sale. I meant what I said a long time ago about the finger and now Im here, he said. So its time to go. Its time to live up to what I said and Im excited it.Despite the negativity surrounding his team, the late-night TV jokes and attempts by some fans to organize a downtown parade if the Browns complete an imperfect season, Jackson has been strengthened by his players resolve.The Browns havent given up.This is a tremendous group, Jackson said. I dont think anybody has said, `OK, we are not going to be out there and not want to be out there. Guys have some excuses where they could use them so that could not be out there, but I have not seen anybody do that.I think what is important is playing with your teammates and finishing this thing the right way and getting better and taking these opportunities to continue to grow as a team. That is what all our players are doing.Game notes Jackson expects LT Joe Thomas to be selected to his 10th Pro Bowl, which would be the most by a Browns player. Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Lou Groza were selected to nine Pro Bowls. ... Jackson wasnt happy that the Browns had to practice indoor again because the fields behind their facility are covered in ice. We were indoors because I couldnt get all the snow off the freaking field, said Jackson, adding he spoke to vice president of football operations Sashi Brown about the problem. We need to be outside. We are an outdoor team. We are not an indoor team. ... The Browns signed LB James Burgess and TE J.P. Holtz to their practice squad. Burgess was originally signed by Miami and spent time on practice squads with the Dolphins, San Diego, Baltimore and Jacksonville. Holtz was originally signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent. He spent the preseason with the Browns before being waived during final roster cuts on Sept. 3.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ;cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '
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