The New York Knicks secured their first victory in an Eastern Conference Finals series in a quarter-century on Sunday night.
Star guard Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, while center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to complete New York's second half comeback in Indianapolis. The Knicks trailed by 20 points at one point in the game, but rallied to a 106-100 Game 3 win over the Pacers.
Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 20 points and six assists. Myles Turner added 19 points as Indiana dropped to 0-4 all-time playing on the same day the Indianapolis 500 was held.
The Pacers held a 68-52 lead early in the third quarter, but New York charged back. The Knicks cut the deficit to 80-70 as time expired in the third quarter.
Then behind the strength of Towns and the nimbleness of Brunson, New York finally retook an 89-88 lead on Brunson’s basket with 7:10 to play.
The Knicks never led by more than four until the final free throws with 2.6 seconds left.
Both teams will have an off day tomorrow, before the series resumes on Tuesday.
Tensions flared during Saturday's NCAA baseball game between Samford and Mercer.
Samford outfielder Michael Gupton hit a two-run homer to increase the Bulldogs' lead over the Mercer Bears. Gupton appeared to shout something at Mercer players during his spirited jog around the bases.
Gupton's words seemed to target at least one player on the baseball diamond as well as the Mercer dugout. Gupton eventually touched home plate and celebrated with his Samford teammates.
A visibly frustrated Mercer shortstop, Bradley Frye, attempted to follow Gupton and had to be held back by umpires. Mercer coaches also voiced their frustrations to the umpires.
Mercer players then began leave the playing field in apparent protest.
Several Mercer players had to be held back in the dugout.
Southern Conference commissioner Michael Cross was in attendance for the game and was eventually seen talking with the umpires.
Gupton and Frye were ejected from the game after a video review. Coaches were also thrown out, with Samford assistant Gil Walkes and Mercer pitching coach Tanner Gordon receiving ejections.
Frye's mother was also shown the door after she was seen standing and jumping on top of the dugout moments after she learned of her son's ejection. Other Mercer fans were tossed out after they went onto the dugout roof.
The game was delayed for approximately 25 minutes.
Samford ultimately celebrated a 5-1 victory on Saturday. The win punched Samford's ticket to the SoCon championship game.
The New York Liberty visited Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Saturday. The reigning WNBA champions won 90-88 to keep their record unblemished.
But much of the chatter after the game centered around the game's officiating, particularly the last 10 seconds of the close contest. While there were at least three calls of note that favored the Liberty, the Fever's final possession seemed to draw the lion's share of the attention.
Clark had possession with Indiana trailing by two with a chance to tie. But New York guard Natasha Cloud knocked the ball away from Clark. Referees did not blow the whistle for a foul despite pleas from last year's WNBA reigning rookie of the year.
The referees' decision in the closing seconds, and Clark's reaction, sparked mixed reactions across the sports world. CBS News New York sports anchor and reporter Steve Overmyer added his two cents during a recent broadcast.
"On the final play, Natasha Cloud comes up with the game-winning steal. Was it a foul? Take a closer look," Overmyer said as a replay of the moment was shown on the broadcast.
"She got all ball. Clark tried to sell it like she got hit by a sniper, but there was no foul, no call," he concluded.
Cloud also blocked a shot from DeWanna Bonner. Some observers argued Cloud made contact with Bonner, not just the ball, on the play. However, officials did not call a foul on the play.
Indiana head coach Stephanie White took issue with Saturday's officiating. She described the non-call on Bonner's shot attempt "egregious."
"I thought it was egregious, honestly. I thought it was obvious," White said.
Elsewhere, Fever guard Lexie Hull was whistled for a foul against New York's Sabrina Ionescu. Indiana could not use one of their challenges for the play in question because they had already exhausted their timeouts.
White offered her assessment of the play.
"It was an offensive player veering into the defensive player's path. We have to be able to play through it. But at the same time, I feel like it's really disrespectful," the coach said.
"There's a system to making sure we can send [concerns about officiating] in and communicate our grievances, so to speak. I don't know that I ever feel like the system works. We're not looking for a change, we're just looking for consistency."
Palou started the race in sixth position on the second row on the outside of Scott Dixon and next Felix Rosenqvist. He needed to work hard to get to the front as persistent droplets of rain and several caution flags came out, which could have halted his momentum at any time.
As the race came down to the end, he got his opportunity to move around Ericsson. He had some lap traffic in front of him but they didn’t appear to hinder Palou’s ability to win at all. For Palou, it was jubilation down the frontstretch with the anticipation of kissing the bricks and some ice cold milk to cool him off after the grueling event.
Palou may have had some luck on his side, as well.
He was behind Alexander Rossi when his vehicle began to leak fluid across the track. Rossi went into the pits hoping that it would be an issue that could be fixed sooner. However, his vehicle caught fire and his day was finished.
A few drivers took spills throughout the day. It started with Scott McLaughlin, who wrecked his vehicle during the pace laps. Marco Andretti followed up on the first green flag lap and crashed as well.
Rinus VeeKay, Robert Shwartzman, Kyffin Simpson, Kyle Larson, Sting Ray Robb, Josef Newgarden and Ryan Hunter-Reay each had issues and ended their days early. Larson was attempting "The Double" – completing the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.
Ericsson, David Malukas, Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five.
Keith Kirkwood, Santino Ferrucci, Christian Rasmussen, Christian Lundgaard and Conor Day rounded out the top 10.
Palou has five wins in the first six races of the IndyCar season. The only blemish was a second-place finish at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Tom Brady was in a two-seater IndyCar vehicle with NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson as the two greats in their respective sports took a lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.
Brady was in a FOX Sports fire suit and had an IndyCar racing helmet on as Johnson drove him around the track. He was taking it all in as the car was whipping down the straightaways and into the turns.
"This is incredible," Brady told the FOX broadcast. "Jimmie driving, all the fans here, I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve ever been here."
Johnson made 29 IndyCar stars in his illustrious racing career between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He raced the Iny 500 once in his career. He finished 28th in 2022.
"I love the Indy 500," Johnson told FOX Sports earlier this month. "There is an energy and excitement around the 500 that is unlike anything I have experienced before."
Brady wasn’t the only NFL representative at the track on Sunday.
Michael Strahan drove the pace car around the track to lead the drivers to green.
The race was delayed nearly an hour as rain moved through the area.
Scott McLaughlin was out of the race before the race began as he crashed during the pace laps. Marco Andretti wrecked as well during the first green flag lap.
Kyle Larson’s attempt to complete "The Double" ended abruptly on Sunday.
Larson was unable to finish the 500-mile Indianapolis 500 as he caused a three-car wreck on Lap 91. The race had just gotten back to green when Larson was racing to climb up the leaderboard. He was in a tight pack when he downshifted and lost control of his vehicle.
The wreck collected Sting Ray Robb and Kyffin Simpson, ending their days as well.
"It was a bit crazy there on the start. I got really tight behind Takuma (Sato)," Larson told FOX after he left the infield care center. "I was really close to him. I got loose and then I kinda got all over the place and spun. Yeah, just hate … I got a little too eager there on the restart and caused that crash. Hate it for everybody that got caught up in it. Yeah, bummed out.
"Try to get over this quickly and try to get on to Charlotte. Just try to forget about it and try to win the next one."
Larson was attempting to become the second driver in racing history to complete the feat known as "The Double," which includes racing in and completing all 500 laps at the Indy 500 and then flying to Charlotte Motor Speedway to race and finish NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.
He told Fox News Digital before the Indy 500 that he was looking forward to the challenge.
"The main why is I love to race. I like to challenge myself, you kind of learn new cars and all that. And I like to compete in the biggest races in the world. So, to do two of those in the same day, it’s pretty cool," Larson said.
"For me, I want to do it while I’m in my prime. I’m only 32, feel like I’m at the top of our sport, I felt like the timing is right for that. I don’t know how long my NASCAR career will last … I think it’ll be really fun to do a road course race, just to experience that sort of feel of cars that have a lot of power and sliding around, no power-steering, the physicality of it. And also, getting to race with guys in their territory and see what they grew up doing, and just seeing the caliber and level they race at, because it would be different than what us NASCAR guys see and feel on a road course."
Unfortunately for Larson, the feat will be put on hold for at least another year.
IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi was having an incredible day at the Indianapolis 500 as he was competing toward the front of the pack, but it all ended in the blink of an eye.
On Lap 73, Rossi’s vehicle began to leak fluid from the back. It was causing problems for Alex Palou, who was immediately behind Rossi’s No. 20. Rossi entered the pits and was told the crew would take a minute to figure out what was going on with his car.
Rossi pulled into his pit box, and his car was covered in flames. He rushed out of his cockpit as officials came over to extinguish the fire. Rossi got out of the car and threw his gloves down to the ground.
Rossi’s fueler Mike Miller needed to be attended to as well, as he still had flames on him in the pits. He appeared to be OK as the issue was being taken care of.
"Thankfully Mike’s OK too. It’s always a terrible situation and it’s so disappointing," Rossi told FOX from his pit box. "That was such a phenomenal racecar, and the team made a great decision to stay out there when that first split happened with the strategy, and everything we were doing on the 20 Java House stand was awesome. That’s what’s so painful about this day is you got to have so many things go right. It’s just disappointing because it’s another opportunity gone."
Rossi said the gearbox’s temperature started to increase as the race went on, and he believed that was at least one of the reasons why his vehicle went up in flames.
Rossi won the race in 2016. He finished fourth in 2024 and fifth in 2023 and 2022.
Former Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Julian Fleming was seriously injured, and his girlfriend, Alyssa Boyd, was killed in an ATV crash in Pennsylvania, police said Sunday.
Fleming 24, and Boyd, 23, were driving down a rural road in Bradford County near the Pennsylvania-New York border on Friday night when they struck a deer, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Neither Fleming nor Boyd wore safety equipment, police said, via The Citizens’ Voice.
Fleming was a standout wide receiver who played for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2020 to 2024. He committed to Ohio State after he was a standout at Southern Columbia High School in Pennsylvania. He was the No. 1 prospect out of the state in 2020.
He transferred to Penn State before the 2024 season to finish out his NCAA eligibility.
He played in 16 games for the Nittany Lions last season. He had 14 catches for 176 yards and a touchdown. At Ohio State, he had 79 catches for 963 yards and seven touchdowns in 38 career games.
Fleming signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent, however, his contract was rescinded after he failed a physical with the team.
Boyd suffered "extensive injuries" in the crash, police said, via the New York Post. She was a student at the University of Alabama.
Scott McLaughlin’s Indianapolis 500 was finished before the race went green.
McLaughlin and the rest of the field were doing pace laps to get ready for the green flag. McLaughlin was warming up his tires on the front straightaway when his vehicle slipped, and he hit the wall.
The No. 3 came to a rest, and McLaughlin was in disbelief.
The FOX Sports broadcast showed McLaughlin out of his vehicle with his head in his hands. His race team told broadcaster Jamie Little there was no way to repair the car to try to get it running for when the race would go to full speed.
The race had already been delayed for nearly an hour as drops of rain fell just as the event was about to get underway.
The moment became one of the odder moments seen at the Indy 500 in recent memory.
"I really have no idea what happened," he told Little coming out of the infield care center. "Just really upset for my team. They built me a fantastic car again. I’m really sorry to my sponsors, to my fans, my family. I don’t know what happened.
"I can’t believe we’re out of the race. I had so much hope today. Yeah, probably the worst moment of my life."
McLaughlin was set to start in 10th place on the fourth row outside of Conor Daly. Alexander Rossi was on the other side of Daly.
He had a tough week ahead of the Indy 500 as he was one of the drivers who suffered scary crashes during practice.
McLaughlin finished sixth at the Indianapolis 500 last season – it was the best finish of his career. Sunday represented the worst finish of his career at the race.
This season, McLaughlin had three top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes.
Shedeur Sanders acknowledged the criticism he’s faced while he played at Jackson State and Colorado ahead of his decision to go pro and enter the NFL Draft and theorized about why he takes a ton of heat.
The spotlight was scorching hot last month when he fell to the fifth round of the draft after being projected to be taken as high as No. 2. The Cleveland Browns eventually took a chance on him at pick No. 144.
He told Cleveland.com he thinks a lot of the hate directed at him is based on his father, Deion Sanders.
"They don't care about other people's opinion of you," Sanders said of the younger generation while visiting a local high school. "They go based off their own — 99% of hatred (directed at him) is toward pops. And then I'm just his son. But (the kids) didn't grow up in an era to where they watched him play. It's just the older generation that does it to me rather than the younger people. Because when I come in person, there's no negativity I see. But it's all over online.
"So, that's why I say I like going (to schools) in person and actually meeting them, and any questions they have, I say, 'Just ask me whatever question you want. Pick any question. No filter, no anything.' That's what they say. And then I just answer whatever they need me to answer."
Sanders will be able to shut up some of the critics who have already written him off.
He enters a crowded quarterback room with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett as well as someone from his own rookie class in Dillon Gabriel.
He signed his rookie contract earlier in the week. All eyes will be on him and his three teammates during offseason workouts.
The tush push survived for at least one more season as NFL owners voted against a proposal that would have effectively banned the play for 2025 and beyond.
The play, made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles, has been used to get quarterbacks the extra oomph they need to either attain a first down or score a touchdown from the goal line. And despite the Green Bay Packers’ efforts, the play survived.
Eagles star Saquon Barkley had a message for those teams, and everyone else, who opposed the play.
"I think it’s soft, to be honest," he said on the "Exciting Mics" podcast with his teammates Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship before the vote occurred. "Everybody can do it. It’s not a play that we only can do. We happen to have one of the best and biggest O-lines, and Jalen Hurts can squat 600 pounds. That’s not our fault.
"Josh Allen is super big, they’re not successful with it. Lamar Jackson is one of the best running quarterbacks of all-time, they’re not successful with it. So, it’s not something that everyone can’t do. Them trying to eliminate it, I think that’s kind of lame."
Barkley also pushed back on the claim that the play is a risk to players’ safety.
The Packers' official rule change proposal would have prohibited "an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap." The proposal added that a penalty would be assessed on any offensive player who violated the rule.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins poked fun at Travis Kelce’s hairy back as a photo of the Kansas City Chiefs star went viral across social media last week.
Cousins spoke to E! News during the week and was among those who weighed in on the tight end while he was at the grand opening of Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida.
"God bless Taylor Swift for being good with that," he told the outlet. "That's awesome. Good for her."
Cousins chalked up Kelce’s hairy situation to "genetics" and said he was happy he didn’t have to deal with that.
Kelce is known for having a big beard around his chin during NFL games. He spoke about his body hair with his brother Jason in the latest episode of the "New Heights" podcast.
"You guys haven't seen the Yeti come out of here," the three-time Super Bowl champion said. "You don't want to see the Yeti come out."
He recalled playing basketball in college at Cincinnati and having to play shirts against skins.
"I had the big beard, I had the long hair. I had the chest hair, back hair, arm hair, leg hair. It's just a big ole Yeti out there, man," he said. "All the homies on the court were calling me 'Big Yeti.’"
Kelce is set to play in Year 13 for the Chiefs. He had 97 catches for 823 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs in 2024. Kansas City made it all the way back to the Super Bowl but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Aaron Rodgers has yet to make a decision on whether to sign with a new team for the 2025 season after two years with the New York Jets or walk away from the game altogether.
He made clear over the weekend that there’s at least one team he will not be signing with – the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints could be in need of a quarterback as the organization weighs whether to go with Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler or someone else to start the year as Derek Carr retired following a serious shoulder injury.
Rodgers was in Texas for a live episode of the "YNK Podcast" and was asked by a fan whether he would consider playing for the Saints.
"No," Rodgers replied without any hesitation. "That’s the answer. I’ve played there a couple times, but no, the answer is no. I’m too old. I don’t want to live in Louisiana. Sorry."
All signs have pointed to Rodgers playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers but the pen has not been put to paper.
He was also asked during the show whether he would consider playing with the Chicago Bears. In his answer, he dropped one of the biggest hints yet that he had his sights on Pittsburgh.
"No, but I believe there's a team that might play in Chicago this year on a road trip," he said. "I don't know, not sure. Got to check it out. I love Chicago, though. Way more than they love me. It's been a great relationship. All one-way."
Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner was irate at WNBA officials on Saturday night and let them know about it as the team handed the Dallas Wings their fourth straight defeat.
Griner was about to talk to CBS Sports for a halftime interview when the officials walked behind her. She turned around and complained about how she was being fouled during the contest. She was then heard yelling an expletive as the officials went back to the locker room.
Griner apologized to those watching at home for her profane outburst.
She finished with 15 points and eight rebounds as the Dream won the game, 83-75. Allisha Gray led the game with 27 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Griner joined the Dream in the offseason after she spent the first 12 seasons of her career with the Phoenix Mercury. She was a part of a harrowing situation in 2022 when she was arrested in Russia on drug charges and held there until she was a part of a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout, known as "The Merchant of Death."
She played two more seasons in Phoenix after she returned home. A two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, she averaged 17.7 points and 7.4 rebounds during her time with the Mercury.
In four games in Atlanta this season, she has averaged 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
A biologically male trans athlete will compete for the girls' long jump and triple jump state championship in California next week.
The trans athlete finished in first place in both events at Saturday's California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Track Championship Masters Qualifiers.
In triple jump, the athlete won with a distance of 40-04.75, while the runner up only reached 39-06.00. In long jump, the trans athlete's margin of victory was shorter, reaching 19-03.50 while the runner-up managed 19-00.75.
During the long jump medal ceremony, the athlete who finished in third place did not show up and accept the third place medal next to the trans athlete. No reason has been given. The second-place finisher received a noticeably vocal applause.
Tracy Howton, a local parent of an athlete who competes in track and field, attended the event Saturday and had to witness what is becoming a regular site for her and others in the community.
"As the parent of a female jumper, we have watched this happen at the last three track meets. Today we watched incredible female athletes lose their opportunities to go to states to a biological male. I can’t imagine how devastating it would feel to work so hard and then be unfairly stripped of your opportunity to compete at states. It’s heartbreaking," Howton told Fox News Digital.
"Governor Newsom, our California elected officials and the CIF are failing our girls. It’s that simple. They owe the competitive female athletes of California representation. They owe them responsible decisions based on science and fundamental truth. For our family, this experience has reinforced just how important it is to use your voice to stand up for truth, remembering that bad decisions can be corrected."
The CIF has been at the center of a national controversy in recent weeks as the trans athlete has dominated the girls' track and field postseason.
The situation has become so volatile that President Donald Trump's administration sent a warning to the CIF and the athlete's high school, Jurupa Valley High School, of consequences for allowing the situation to continue.
CIF is already under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for defying Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. The federation came under additional scrutiny when its officials allegedly forced athletes to remove shirts that read "Protect Girls Sports" at the Southern Sectional prelims on May 10.
"CIF’s and Jurupa Valley High School’s apparent flouting of federal civil rights law by allowing a male athlete to compete in a female California track and field [Southern Sectional Division 3 final] this Saturday, and the alleged retaliation against the girls who are protesting this, is indefensible," Julie Hartman, a Department of Education spokesperson, previously told Fox News Digital.
"We will not allow institutions to trample upon women’s civil rights. OCR’s (Office of Civil Rights) investigation into CIF continues with vigor."
The Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD) has responded to the controversy in a previous statement to Fox News Digital.
"JUSD continues to follow both California law and CIF policy regarding school athletics. Both state law and CIF policy currently require that students be permitted to participate in athletic teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records. JUSD remains committed to protecting the rights and safety of the students we serve, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws," the statement reads.
The situation is set to come to a head next Saturday when the athlete will look to cap off a dominant postseason run with a pair of state titles.
The event will take place at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis, California, and will feature a rematch between the trans athlete and a female athlete who has spoken out against her trans opponent's inclusion.
In long jump, the athlete will face off against Katie McGuiness, who came in second place behind the athlete at last weekend's sectional final. McGuiness earned an automatic state championship qualification this Saturday with a distance of 18-05.50.
"I ran down the runway, and I landed, and I watched them measure my mark, and it was 18.9," McGuiness said in an interview on Fox News' "America Reports." "And I just remember thinking that there was nothing else that I could do. That was it. And I was honestly very discouraged, and I'm a high school senior and winning CIF has always been a goal of mine, and I wasn't able to compete with someone who was genetically different than me."
McGuinness made her overall stance on the issue clear.
"There are just certain genetic advantages that biological males have that biological girls don't," she said. "Frankly, I just can't stand for that."
After a controversial no-call during a play involving Caitlin Clark Saturday, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White lambasted WNBA referees for their officiating in Fever games this season.
In a rant after the Fever's 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty, White called the officiating "egregious."
New York's Natasha Cloud made contact with Clark during the game's final possession, but referees did not blow the whistle.
"I thought she got fouled. I think it's pretty egregious what's been happening to us the last few games," White said of Clark. "The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable. So, it's disappointing, you know, that it doens't go both ways, or it hasn't gone both ways."
White also acknowledged the league has a system in place for teams to communicate disagreements with referee decisions but questioned whether the system works.
"There's a system to making sure that we can send stuff in and communicate our grievances, so to speak. I don't know if I have a feeling that the system works," she said.
"I don't know. I have to go back and watch," Clark said of the call.
During the game, Clark immediately looked to the officials for a foul and quickly began to shout at them when she realized no foul call was forthcoming. Her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, also approached the refs to protest the lack of a whistle.
A replay showed Cloud pushing her shoulder into Clark's the moment the ball came loose. But the referees did not blow the whistle, and the game ended there.
The Fever fell to 2-2 on the season and have been on the wrong end of a number of controversial decisions by officials in their first four games of the season.
On April 19, U.S. Olympic middle distance runner Nikki Hiltz posted a TikTok video that included footage of an interview with women's marathon runner Natalie Daniels. The post came just two days before Daniels was set to compete in the Boston Marathon, and just six months after she gave birth to her first child.
Hiltz's TikTok opened with a clip of Daniels sharing how she considered not competing in the marathon because biologically male trans athletes would be competing in the women's field. The clip was originally from a promotional interview with the activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics.
In the same post on the popular social media platform, Hiltz encouraged Daniels to drop out because of her concerns about trans inclusion, while disagreeing with the new mother's stance against it.
For Hiltz, the post was in line with the athlete's regular TikTok content, which often shows the Olympian promoting pro-transgender beliefs and arguing against opposition to trans inclusion in sports. Hiltz is a biologically female athlete who competes in the women's category, while identifying as transgender and non-binary.
Soon after Hiltz's TikTok post went live, the reaction from it was aimed at Daniels, who said many of Hiltz's followers and fans began to send her startling messages.
"I didn't think there would be this rabid cruelty," Daniels told Fox News Digital of the response she received from the interview. "People were trying to find us when we were in Boston."
Daniels alleges one person told her, "'I live in Boston, and if I see you on the street, I’m going to hunt you down.'"
The new mother said the worst alleged comment she saw was from a person who said, "'I hope that your son comes out as trans and never speaks to you again.'" Her son was only six months old at the time.
Daniels said she ultimately takes responsibility for the messages directed towards her and her family. Still, she cited Hiltz's TikTok for contributing to the backlash.
"[Hiltz] has freedom of speech also. So [Hiltz's] opinion is just as valid to be shared as mine is," Daniels said. "I think [Hiltz] encouraged a pile-on that got really out of hand, probably, I think, very quickly … I think the fact that [Hiltz] didn't do anything about it is unsurprising.
"I think I'm ultimately responsible for what I said. And I know that what I said was said out of love and a desire to continue supporting and encouraging women and women's sports."
Still, it didn't make the experience any easier for Daniels.
"The very hateful messages were upsetting. There were a few times where I would just be, I don't want to cry, but a few times I would just start crying," she said. "And I would tell my husband, ‘I’m sorry, it's just like a lot, it's a lot to deal with, to have people being like ‘You’re this evil hateful bigot,' or 'You're stupid.'"
"Instead of having this very rational engagement, they went straight to threats and violence."
Fox News Digital reached out to Hiltz's talent agency, Hawi Management, for a response.
When the day of the Boston Marathon came, April 21, Daniels was prepared for potential attacks and heckling against her on the course after getting messages warning her of it, she alleges. But instead, she only ever heard roaring chants of support, she claims. She even had one of her best finishes, reaching the finish line in 2:50:04 in 110th place.
The love continued on social media, as she saw an outpouring of praise and respect that eventually overshadowed the support she was getting for standing up for women's sports and appearing in the XX-XY Athletics interview to begin with.
For Daniels, it helped validate a decision that she made, partially due to the experience of becoming a new mother. Daniels said that during her pregnancy, a trip to an obstetrician included a survey that assumed the only reason she was pregnant was due to failed birth control, and not her own intentions.
"In society, I just feel like there is this reductive definition of what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be a woman is basically one thing, and it's access to abortion. And in our culture, that just kinda seems like that's all any of us are supposed to care about," Daniels, a native of Virginia, said. She added that the survey, and the growing cultural stigmatization of pregnancy, fed right into her passion for protecting female athletes from trans inclusion as well.
"I know those things may be different things, but it all ties into this dehumanization of women. To me it feels like in this culture, in this political climate, womanhood is this incredibly nebulous, undefinable thing," she added.
The decision earned Daniels praise and support during the marathon and online but not from her running club, Light Horse Track Club in Washington, D.C., which she alleges was more aligned with Hiltz than her.
Daniels said she was confronted by the decision to appear in the XX-XY Athletics interview by the club's leadership.
Daniels said she offered to make a statement clarifying that her stance wasn't meant to attack trans people for their identities, but to stand up for women like herself. But that wasn't going to be enough, she said.
She alleges they offered to let her continue running for the club if she would issue an apology and publicly recognize the ability for a biological male to become a woman, which she refused to do.
Daniels alleges that she was told by the club that in order to appease its directors, she had to share a statement on social media that read: "'I now understand that a person can take hormones and surgery, and they can become a woman.'"
"I was like, ‘I am not going to do that. I cannot do that…’ It goes completely against my Christian values," she said. "It goes completely against what I know about how God works."
Daniels said she then found out about her removal from the team via a text message and email from the board while she was sitting on her patio.
So now, she is starting her own running club with XX-XY Athletics and founder Jennifer Sey.
And while she is still adjusting to the regular online hate, and even the occasional heckle from spectators at competitions, Daniels said she is looking forward to raising her family and embracing her new role in the movement to keep trans athletes out of women's sports.
The Light Horse Track Club did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
One of the main contestants on the game show throughout the years, Tim Cowlishaw, took a swipe at ESPN in his final comments on the show.
"I want to thank ESPN for the opportunity that I did not seek and never expected to get back in 2002. I’d also like to say that while ESPN is currently gearing itself more toward hiring athletes instead of journalists," Cowlishaw said during the show's final episode Friday.
"Around the Horn" consisted of four different journalists who would appear on the show and discuss current sports topics. However, ESPN is moving away from journalists on its shows in favor of former athletes.
Some of the network’s highest-profile personalities are former athletes like Pat McAfee, Jason Kelce, Kendrick Perkins and Ryan Clark, among others.
"We had a wonderful 22 years on a show where I felt imposter syndrome every time I walked into this studio. I hope the people on the next show in this time slot have as much fun and bring as many smiles over the next 22 years. I’ll be counting," Cowlishaw said.
ESPN has not announced what show will take that time slot.
The 5 p.m. ET hour on ESPN consisted of "Pardon The Interruption" and "Around the Horn," two of the few remaining shows that featured media commentary as opposed to former athletes.
Caitlin Clark threw up her arms, yelled at WNBA referees and punched the air in frustration after a controversial no-call cost her team a chance to knock off the defending champions Saturday.
In the final seconds of the Indiana Fever's 90-88 loss to the reigning champion New York Liberty, Clark took the ball with a chance to tie or win the game.
New York's Natasha Cloud was defending Clark and leaned into the superstar enough to knock the ball out of Clark's hands and knock Clark back slightly.
A replay showed Cloud pushing her shoulder into Clark's the moment the ball came loose.
But the referees did not blow the whistle, and the game ended there.
Clark immediately looked to the officials for a foul and quickly began to shout at them when she realized no foul call was forthcoming. Her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, also approached the refs to protest the lack of a whistle.
The no-call may have prevented Clark from winning the game at the free-throw line because the contact occurred on a shot beyond the 3-point arc. But it also cost Clark a chance at a major WNBA milestone.
Clark, finishing with 18 points, fell just two points shy of a 20-point, 10-rebound game. It would have been the 11th of her career and the most by any player in league history. Clark is tied with Courtney Vandersloot with 10.
Cloud and the Liberty walked away with the team's first-ever 3-0 start to a season in defense of their title.
Cloud has been outspoken about backlash to physical plays against Clark.
During an interview on the "Pivot Podcast" with Ryan Clark in March, Cloud insisted outrage in response to hits on Clark was rooted in "racism."
"It's just a part of the game. There was no targeting, there was no nothing. That narrative that got spun into, ‘Oh, the vets hate the rookies. The rookies hate the vets. The vets are going after certain players.’ It's all bulls---. If I'm just going to be frank, it's all bulls---. What it is is racism," Cloud said.
"It gets blown up into, ‘Oh, they’re going after Caitlin Clark.’ But, no, we're just playing one of the best players that's in this league the way that any other best player or franchise player has been played."
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the seventh straight international player to win the NBA’s MVP award on Wednesday.
James Harden was the last American to win the MVP, when he did it with the Houston Rockets in 2017-2018. Jay Williams, former Duke star and current ESPN analyst, asked if cancel culture is the reason why there hasn’t been an American MVP recently.
"People aren’t gonna like it, but I really don’t care. How much of this do you think this is cancel culture in the political aspects of where we were, compared to where we’re going?" Williams said during ESPN’s "First Take."
"I hear a lot of coaches talk about they don’t feel like they can coach young kids anymore. 'Cause anything they say could get used against them or get twisted if caught the wrong way."
Williams implored coaches to coach young players hard and to give them accountability.
"The level of sensitivity has gotten out of control," Williams said of today’s basketball players.
"‘Oh, he said something bad to me, I can’t play for him!’ When a coach yells at you, and I know there are certain things coaches can’t say anymore, but please, keep coaching those young kids hard! Let them face some d--- adversity. Give them some accountability. And just because a coach is yelling at you, that actually means that he cares."
The top three finalists for the MVP were all international. Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada won, while Serbian native Nikola Jokic finished second, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, aptly nicknamed the "Greek Freak," finished third.
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum was the highest American finisher, in fourth place.
