Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has been criticized by fellow Canadians for his apparent support of President Donald Trump.
Trump has drawn disdain from the country up north for saying it should become the "51st state" and initiating tariffs on Canadian goods.
Before the 4 Nations Face-Off championship between the U.S. and Canada in Boston, Gretzky was named Canada's honorary captain, and he received backlash.
That prompted hockey legend Bobby Orr, a fellow Canadian, to write in the Toronto Sun that he was disappointed when he read criticism about someone he considers one of the "greatest Canadians ever."
"How fickle can people be, when someone who has given so much time and effort to Canadian hockey is treated in such a way," Orr’s column said. "Listen, we all have our personal beliefs as they pertain to things such as religion and politics. Wayne respects your right to such beliefs – why can’t you respect his?"
Janet Gretzky, Wayne's wife, saw Orr's column, and she reacted on social media.
"Thank you Mr. Bobby Orr. Your words mean the world to Wayne and his family , i have never met anyone who is more Proud to be a Canadian and it has broken his heart to read and see the mean comments . . He would do anything to make Canadians Proud , with his Love for Hockey and his Country," Janet wrote in an Instagram post in which she shared Orr's column.
One user commented, "You cant be a great Canadian if you support trump who trying to destroy canada its that simple."
Another wrote, "Written from one Trumper for another. If Wayne is so proud, maybe he should make a public statement denouncing your friend’s call to annex his homeland. Thanks would speak louder than anything a fellow Trumper could write about him."
Trump recently said he asked Gretzky to become the next "governor of Canada" after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would be resigning.
But after Gretzky expressed support for "Canada remaining a separate Country, rather than becoming a cherished and beautiful 51st State," Trump declared Gretzky a "free agent."
"I don’t want anyone in Canada to say anything bad about him. He supports Canada the way it is, as he should, even though it’s not nearly as good as it could be as part of the Greatest and Most Powerful Country in the World, the Good Ole’ U.S.A.!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Wednesday.
Gretzky attended a victory party for Trump's 2024 election win after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris. Gretzky was spotted wearing a MAGA hat shortly afterward and attended Trump's inauguration.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a major announcement on Thursday, saying they will be reinstating former head coach Jon Gruden’s spot in their Ring of Honor.
Gruden was removed in 2021 after resigning from his position as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails with racist, homophobic and misogynistic language came out in multiple reports.
Since then, Gruden’s only position in the league was as a consultant with the New Orleans Saints. Then, he became a member of the media, starting his own YouTube channel and recently joining Barstool Sports.
But the Buccaneers have had a change of heart, and they released a statement on their decision.
"Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise," the team’s statement read.
"Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor."
Gruden’s tenure as Tampa Bay's head coach from 2000-08 featured the organization’s first Vince Lombardi Trophy for winning Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.
The Bucs went 57-55 in the regular season, as well as 3-2 in the playoffs, during Gruden's seven seasons with the team.
Raiders owner Mark Davis recently commented on Gruden’s resignation in 2021, which prematurely ended his tenure with the club that had signed him to a massive 10-year contract in 2018.
Davis said he believes Gruden’s departure set the organization back quite a bit.
"He was someone that I brought in and really expected to be that person on the football side that would bring stability to the organization," Davis said to media members when introducing Pete Carroll as the Raiders' new head coach late last month. "He had a 10-year contract and all that — and his head was chopped off."
Gruden, who is suing the NFL, had his emails leaked, which saw him use derogatory remarks directed at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, among others.
But Gruden has tried to remain in the game as best he can, now in his media gig, and the Buccaneers appear to be letting bygones be bygones.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was on the call for his alma mater Auburn’s men’s basketball game Wednesday against Ole Miss, and he didn’t mince words about the state of college education.
He specifically addressed cost.
Almost unprovoked, Barkley began sharing his opinion about the name, image and likeness (NIL) system in college sports, saying he doesn’t thinks it's sustainable.
"I think we have to have a talk about college basketball," he said. "I don’t think the model of NIL is sustainable. Listen, I want all these kids to get whatever they can get. But asking colleges to come up with $20, $30 million a year, especially some of the smaller schools, I don’t think that’s a sustainable model."
NIL has been a controversial topic, and critics of the system say it creates inequality because bigger schools can outspend smaller ones during the recruitment of top prospects, which Barkley alluded to.
And while Barkley wants the student-athletes to get paid, he thinks the price of tuition at schools around the country is too expensive.
"I love these kids. I want them to do well. But you got to understand, I try to tell people, most of these kids gotta get a free education, which is by far the most important thing," Barkley said. "Because one of the great travesties of this country is what we’re charging kids to go to college. We need to find a way to make sure the smaller schools can compete."
The Education Data Initiative found that college tuition inflation has averaged 3.63% annually from the 2010-11 school year to 2022-23. And the cost of tuition at a public, four-year school or university has increased 36.7% from 2010 to 2023.
In the past, college athletics provided a chance for a free education, mainly at Division I schools and universities with scholarships. But student-athletes making money through NIL has been a decades-long conversation, especially considering the profits institutions make off certain programs that have national appeal.
Just a couple of weeks have passed since the New York Jets revealed their intentions to move on from Aaron Rodgers.
"…. We met with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction at quarterback," newly hired Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey said in a joint statement on Feb. 13.
Glenn was in Indianapolis this week for the annual NFL Scouting Combine, where he acknowledged that the franchise's decision to part ways with the veteran quarterback left some Jets players "upset."
Quinnen Williams was among those who appeared to disapprove of Rodgers' departure, with three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman using a thumbs-down emoji on social media after news of the split surfaced. Williams also wrote, "another rebuild year for me I guess," on X, formerly known as Twitter, in an apparent reaction to the Jets' decision.
Glenn said he had a private discussion with Williams about his reaction. He also made it clear that the Jets' priority is to win football games.
"Yes, I have talked to him," Glenn told reporters. "And listen, I understand the reaction of the players, but I'll say this: Every decision that me and [general manager Darren Mougey] make is to win and to win now.
"So, I understand it, but again: Listen, this is not going to be the last decision I make that's going to upset some people, and that's OK. But as men, we talk about it. We make sure we keep it in-house, and that's what we're going to continue to do."
After his 2023 campaign was cut short by injury, Rodgers played in all 17 games this past season. While he finished with 28 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, his overall performance did not appear to meet the Jets' expectations.
The Jets finished with a 5-12 record. Mougey also addressed reports that said Rodgers was given an "ultimatum" about his appearances on "The Pat McAfee Show."
"I will say this – There was never an ultimatum or rules of engagement for Aaron to potentially join the Jets," Mougey said. "That never happened. AG and I had a lot of dialogue, a lot of conversations, a lot of good thoughts and just felt, at the end of the day, it was the best thing for the Jets moving forward, to go in a different direction at the quarterback position."
Rodgers has yet to make any public comments about his breakup with the Jets. Mougey said the team expects to designate the Super Bowl winning signal caller as a June 1 cut. The move allows the Jets to split the salary cap hit over a two-year period.
Also at the combine, Glenn doubled down on his statements from his introductory press conference about fielding a high volume of Rodgers-related questions.
"I don't want to disrespect any of the players we have on our team, and it kind of p---es me off and some of the other players that that's what we all talk about," Glenn said. "You have Quinnen Williams, you have Quincy Williams, you have an AVT [Alijah Vera-Tucker] and now you have Joe Tippmann. All those guys need to be respected as far as winning games also."
Rodgers' exit leaves the Jets quarterback room thin. Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor remains under contract with the team. Glenn described Taylor as "a good player," but stopped short of declaring him as the team's starter for 2025.
The Jets currently hold the No. 7 pick in next month's NFL Draft.
"I couldn’t be more confident that this will be a non-factor where he’s drafted," Carter’s agent Drew Rosenhaus said on Thursday via ESPN.
"He will put on a show at his pro day."
Carter, prior to the discovery of the stress reaction, was not going to work out at the NFL combine due to a shoulder injury. He played through that condition in Penn State’s loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.
The star defender was recently cleared to resume training. Carter’s shoulder injury will not stop him from performing at a "very high level" in his March 28 pro day, Rosenhaus said.
Carter was the Big Ten’s top defensive player in 2024 with 68 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks last season.
In his career, Carter has 39.5 tackles for loss, 23 sacks and 14 passes defended.
The 21-year-old is likely to go in the first few picks of the NFL Draft, but Carter thinks he should the top pick.
"I feel like I’m the best player in the country, and the best player should be picked first," Carter said on Wednesday speaking to reporters. "It’s the work I put in with my dad, who trained me, and all the sacrifices I made, I know I’m the best."
Should he leapfrog Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and the top two quarterbacks in the class, Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, Carter would be just the fourth defensive player to go No. 1 overall since 2007.
Jadeveon Clowney in 2014, Myles Garrett in 2017 and Travon Walker in 2022 are the three defenders to have been selected with the top pick since 2007. Each was chosen primarily because of his pass-rushing ability.
"Defensive players impact the game just as much as the quarterback," Carter said. "All the teams that have won Super Bowls, they have that one standout player. I feel like I’m that."
Only time will tell whether the Tennessee Titans, who hold the No. 1 pick, will use the top selection on Carter on draft weekend.
Caitlin Clark is coming home, and it's the hottest ticket in town.
Clark will return to the University of Iowa with her Indiana Fever for an exhibition game against the Brazilian national team, just before the start of the WNBA season.
The tickets went on sale on Thursday, and the 15,000 tickets sold out in 42 minutes.
Clark became the face of women's basketball at Iowa with her record-setting college career. She left Iowa as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer for both men and women, and while she came up short in two national title games, her mark on the sport was well planted.
Clark returned to Iowa earlier this month to see her famed No. 22 retired by the program. Her last home game with the Hawkeyes was on March 3, 2024, a 93-83 win over Ohio State, who had been ranked second in the country. (Iowa was fourth.)
Last year, Clark parlayed her illustrious Iowa career into becoming the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft for the Fever. After a 3-10 start, she and the Fever turned things around, and Indiana was able to make the playoffs.
Clark's Fever sold 90 times more tickets on StubHub this year than in 2023; the team with the second-highest increase was Angel Reese's Chicago Sky, and the Fever's sales were nearly double (93% more).
Several WNBA playoff games without Clark still had fewer viewers than Clark's regular-season games, and the Clark-Reese battles had viewership that hadn't been seen in over two decades.
Clark was named the Rookie of the Year for her historic campaign, during which she set the record for the most assists in one season in league history. She even set a single-game record with 19 assists and also became the first rookie to record a triple-double, registering two of them.
Clark received the most votes for the All-Star Game and was just the fifth rookie in league history to make the All-WNBA first-team.
The Brazilian team will also head to LSU to face Reese and the Sky. The team features Reese's WNBA teammate, Kamilla Cardoso, who with South Carolina defeated Clark and Iowa in the 2024 national championship to complete an undefeated season.
"My dog!!! I’m coming back for sure. Going to try and get into the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop," McAfee read during his show. "Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle!!!!"
McAfee then added, in his own words, "I think you can say Travis Kelce is coming back to play football yet again."
NFL Network also reported Kelce would return as well
With Kelce seemingly set to return for a 13th season, the Chiefs can now go about the rest of the offseason without having to make any big additions at the tight end position.
Albeit not being the offensive force he has been in his career last season, Kelce was still productive as he had 97 catches for 823 yards with three touchdowns. The yardage and touchdown numbers were the lowest of Kelce’s career in a full season.
In the Chiefs' AFC Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans, Kelce turned back the clock with a vintage performance, catching seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
However, in the Chiefs' defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Kelce only caught four passes for 39 yards, with all of his receptions coming with the game out of hand.
Patrick Mahomes took to social media to react to Kelce’s supposed return.
The ten-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion is already considered one of the best tight ends of all time, and will have Canton, Ohio waiting for him when he decides to retire.
New FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly has an innovative way to improve FBI agents' fitness.
Patel suggested to heads of the FBI's 55 field offices in a teleconference Wednesday he wants the FBI and UFC to form a relationship that would lead to programs to enhance agents' fitness, ABC News reported.
A UFC source told Fox News Digital that, while UFC President Dana White and Patel know each other, the UFC has not been made aware of any information regarding the two sides training with one another. The FBI declined comment.
White has long supported President Donald Trump, who hired Patel earlier this month. The president has long attended UFC events, including UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden just days after winning the 2024 election.
Trump is often spotted sitting with White when he attends, and Trump and Elon Musk joined White at the Garden.
Trump has not attended a UFC event since becoming president, but he did attend the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 earlier this month.
The day before Trump was inaugurated in January, White attended a victory rally in Washington, D.C., and praised Trump.
"This guy is a winner. And I say this all the time. He’s the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met, and nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves," White said. "He embodies what being an American is all about. We are the most toughest, resilient people on Earth, and nothing can stop us when we unite."
White and Trump’s relationship dates back to the early days of UFC, when Trump allowed the sport, which at the time had a bad reputation for being violent, to hold events at his casino in Atlantic City.
"Every time, when he was getting hammered at his worst, we’d walk into that arena, and the place erupts and goes crazy," White told The New Yorker in November. "It shows other people, ‘Oh, wait. Everybody doesn’t hate Donald Trump like the media is telling us.’"
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Dan Hurley is one of college basketball's most fiery coaches. The UConn Huskies head coach has engaged in several heated exchanges with referees from the sidelines during games. He's also taken aim at the media on more than one occasion.
Hurley's latest battle with the media happened after UConn's victory over Georgetown on Wednesday. During his postgame availability, Hurley responded to a question about his handling of the media by describing the press as "a--holes."
The two-time national championship-winning coach appeared to have misinterpreted the question, believing it was referencing his personal handling of the media amid the criticism he'd received.
"Do you feel like you’re starting to handle the press better because you’re seeing more of it?" a reporter asked, according to Storrs Central. "And obviously, not everybody can press the way St. John’s can, but, I mean, do you feel like you guys are getting used to that and handling that better?"
"I mean, I think the press has been an a--hole to me all year," Hurley said. "Oh wait you mean the . . . oh, I thought you meant . . . . There’s people acting far worse than me. What was that? I didn’t know what you were, I didn’t know what you were talking about there. I’m sorry. They’ve been fair at times."
UConn fell out of the AP Top-25 rankings earlier this month. However, Wednesday's 93-79 win over the Hoyas did improve the Huskies' record to 19-9.
UConn entered Thursday in the fourth spot in the Big East Conference standings, behind St. John's, Creighton and Marquette. The Huskies ended the past two seasons by hoisting the national championship trophy.
Popovich addressed the team Thursday for the first time since having a stroke to update players on his recovery and inform them he is not returning this season, according to NBA writer Chris Haynes.
Popovich, 76, had a "mild stroke" in November and released a statement on his decision not to return Thursday.
"I’ve decided not to return to the sidelines this season. Mitch Johnson and his staff have done a wonderful job, and the resolve and professionalism the players have shown, sticking together during a challenging season, has been outstanding," the statement said.
"I will continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future."
Popovich is the oldest head coach in NBA history. He coached at the age of 75 before turning 76 during his time away from the team.
He is a five-time NBA champion, the NBA’s career leader with 1,401 wins and 170 career playoff wins and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
The Spurs are 24-33 this season and are 13th in the Western Conference.
Despite acquiring star point guard De’Aaron Fox at the trade deadline, the Spurs' playoff hopes are slim in a strong Western Conference.
The Spurs would have a much better chance of making the playoffs with star center Victor Wembanyama, but the team recently ruled him out for the rest of the season with a blood clot in his shoulder.
The Spurs’ next game is on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
Jake Knapp made PGA National look like your average municipal course on Thursday.
The 30-year-old shot a 12-under, bogey-free 59 in the first round of the Cognizant Classic – formerly known as the Honda Classic.
Knapp came out of the gates red-hot, birdieing each of his first five holes; he had chipped in on two, and on the par-three fifth, he stuck a tee shot from 194 yards away to just three and a half feet.
He came back down to earth temporarily, parring the next three, but he then birdied six of his next seven. He again stuck a tee shot to inside four feet on the par-three ninth, and on the 15th, another par 3, he drilled a birdie putt from over 31 feet away.
Through 15 holes, Knapp was 11 under par, but he would par his next two holes, needing a birdie on the par-five 18th to break 60.
That was no issue. After a 335-yard drive, he hit the green from roughly 200 yards out. He narrowly missed an eagle putt that would have been just the second 58 in PGA Tour history, but it's the 15th 59 ever on tour.
It's also the sixth time in PGA history that anyone has gone 12-under in one round, joining Scottie Scheffler, Jim Furyk (twice), Paul Goydos and Hayden Springer.
It was a 29 on the front and a 30 on the back for Knapp.
Knapp reached each par-5 in two shots, and he knocked nearly 70 feet worth of birdie putts on par-3s and 4s. He then drilled all six of his putts from between 6 and 12 feet on the day.
One would assume correctly that Knapp is the leader in the clubhouse at the moment, with three others closest behind him at eight-under.
Knapp has one PGA Tour victory under his belt – the 2024 Mexico Open, one year and one day to his 59; he competed in his first three majors last year, finishing T55 at the Masters and missing the cut at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
WNBA champion Natasha Cloud talked about her passion for social justice on Thursday.
Cloud, who previously spoke out against the U.S. government on social media over the cost of living in May 2024, spoke this week in defense of DEI after President Donald Trump ordered the elimination of several government DEI programs.
"The systems of power are working as they always were intended to work," Cloud told The Associated Press. "And it’s time to break down a system that has only been about White men."
Cloud added that she believes the country is putting "money over people."
"I understand the business aspect and I understand the human aspect," Cloud said. "Too often this country has put the human aspect aside, and put profit and money over people."
The 33-year-old Connecticut Sun guard's previous statement on the cost of living called for Americans of all backgrounds to speak up about the high cost of living.
"At some point we gotta put our differences aside and understand WE ARE ALL GETTING f-----. & idk about yall im tired of this s---. Everybody can eat. They just make us think everyone eating means someone’s taking from your plate. A lie. Our government been taking all OUR food," she wrote on X. "Forreal idc if you’re a republican or a democrat. White black brown..idc what your religion or sexual preference is. Etc.
"If you don’t wanna fight for a stranger than fight for Yourself Your kids Your grandkids Your parents who worked their entire lives to not be able to afford retiring Your sister who pays thousand for insulin that costs dollars to make Your daughter in 100k debt after college."
In that post, Cloud tagged the Democratic Party, Republican Party, former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, while pointing out issues like inflation and the national minimum wage.
But prior to that, in 2020, Cloud sat out the WNBA season to focus on community reform efforts and join the George Floyd protests. She also used her social media platforms that year to call for WNBA arenas to be used as polling locations.
Now, Cloud is just one of the players on the Connecticut Sun calling for political activism at the start of Trump's second term.
Her Connecticut Sun teammate DiJonai Carrington incited fierce backlash by wearing an anti-Trump shirt in January, and a week later she called for WNBA players to "take action."
"We see that some of the policies are already going into action, and, of course, that means that as the WNBA and being at the forefront of a lot of these movements, it's time for us to also take action," Carrington said. "It definitely needs to happen as women, women's rights being taken away, like, now, LGBTQ rights being taken away now. They haven't happened yet, but definitely in the works."
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker stopped at the White House on Thursday to pay a visit to President Donald Trump more than two weeks after losing in Super Bowl LIX.
Trump picked the Chiefs to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. However, the millions of viewers who tuned into the game on FOX and Tubi saw Philadelphia lay the smackdown on Kansas City, winning 40-22, and ending the Chiefs’ chance at three consecutive titles.
Butker seemed to be in good spirits as he met with Trump in the Oval Office. He also took a photo with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
"Harrison Butker stopped by the White House today, and the President couldn't have been happier to say hello," a White House official told Fox News.
Butker endorsed Trump for president during his 2024 election campaign. He called the Republican the "most pro-life president" in an interview on Fox News Channel’s "The Ingraham Angle."
"I’m supporting the president that’s going to be the most pro-life president, and I think Donald Trump is the most pro-life president," Butker said in October. "That's a topic that is the most crucial topic for me. I want us to be fighting for the most vulnerable, fighting for the unborn, and that’s what we should prioritize."
In December, Butker was supportive of Trump’s pick of the Vatican ambassador.
Butker expressed his Christian values in a faith-based commencement speech at Benedictine College last year. He called out former President Joe Biden over his religious views as a Catholic.
Butker wore a tie that had "Vulnerari Praesidio" in cursive during the team’s Super Bowl title visit to the Biden White House in 2023. It's a Latin term that translates to "Protect the most vulnerable." He also wore a gold pin representing the size of a 10-week-old baby's feet.
Fox News’ Pat Ward and Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
California Assembly member Bill Essayli is working to get a bill passed through the state legislature that would ban trans athletes from girls' and women's sports.
Essayli introduced the bill on Feb. 14 amid a flury of controversial incidents in the state involving trans athletes playing on girls' sports teams.
As one of the top Republicans in Sacramento, Essayli believes that the incidents have escalated the issue into one of civil rights for people of all religions in the state.
"Not just for Christians, I hear from Muslims and Jewish Americans as well. People of faith have obviously strong values and morals and beliefs about there being two genders and how everyone was created by God into their perfect body," Essayli told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. "So it is partially a religious civil rights issue."
California has allowed trans athlete inclusion in girls' and women's sports dating back to 2014 and is currently fighting President Donald Trump to keep that system in place after Trump's recent "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order.
The district Essayli represents, Riverside, has been mired in one of the most nationally-visible controversies after a trans cross-country runner took a varsity spot from a girl at Martin Luther King High School, and a lawsuit was filed after administrators compared "Save Girls Sports" T-shirts to swastikas.
Meanwhile, communities in San Diego, the Bay Area and those in other Democrat-run states across the U.S. have dealt with their own incidents involving trans athletes over the past year alone. Additionally, while data shows the majority of Americans, including Democrats, oppose trans inclusion in girls' sports, most of the party's officials continue to enable it.
"What I've concluded is that this is part of this Marxist agenda to break the family unit and to divide students from their parents, and if the government can basically take over the role of the parent and instill the values and systems into the child, then they feel like they'll be able to control that child for the rest of their life," Essayli said.
"I really believe this is a play for the next generation of Americans and who's going to raise those kids and I think that's what the Democrat party is focused on, I think that's the long game here, they're making a play for the next generation of voters."
Essayli added that he believes the current system is not only unfair to girls, but also to school employees who have to carry out the system, and that it is also unfair to the transgender students themselves.
"They're being misled into believing that if they identify as a female they should have all the rights and privileges as a biological female, and they are being encouraged to join the female sports teams and use the female locker rooms, and I don't think that's a good situation for the child, they are not going to fit into that environment," Essayli said.
"Maybe there's an alternative sports teams, maybe a co-ed sports teams, maybe have their own facilities to change in, I think there are other solutions that make more sense… if you put a boy in the girls locker room, if they're still a boy, it's going to be uncomfortable for everyone… it creates a lot of problems and it's our policy makers who have set up this problem."
In the short term, Democrat support of trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports has been one of the party's biggest vulnerabilities over the last year. A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports.
"Thinking about transgender female athletes — meaning athletes who were male at birth but who currently identify as female — do you think they should or should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports?" the survey asked.
Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports.
Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Nearly 70% of Americans say biological men should not be permitted to compete in women's sports, according to a Gallup poll last year.
In June 2024, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. In that survey, 65% answered that it should never or rarely be allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing in women’s sports, 69% opposed it.
The issue may have even played a consequential role in November's election.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."
Despite this, California Democrats and others across the nation continue to fight to keep trans athletes in girls' locker rooms, even at the risk of losing federal funding, as Trump has vowed to cut it to states that defy his executive order.
However, very few have made public statements in support of it, unlike Republicans who have vocally made it a main point of the party's platform over the last year.
"With the Democrats, a lot of them don't want to talk about it, they say it's not a real issue… they seem to want to be avoiding it," Essayli said. "They know the public support it, so they don't want to talk about it publicly, but they continue to push it behind the scenes."
Essayli believes the public will pick up on this, and the issue will ultimately strengthen Republican support in his state.
"I think the Democrats will continue to double-down on this, and that will be to their detriment," Essayli said. "If the Democrats continue to double-down and oppose that and push their radical ideologies, I think they'll continue to lose elections and seats in the legislature."
Matt McGloin, a former college football star and NFL quarterback, was set to be a part of the coaching staff at Boston College starting in 2025, but he abruptly resigned less than three days into the job.
Boston College head football coach Bill O’Brien told ESPN that McGloin resigned from his position as the program’s offensive analyst for family reasons. McGloin was Penn State’s starting quarterback in 2012, when O’Brien was the head coach.
McGloin released a statement on the decision. ESPN reported Monday he was hired to be on O’Brien’s staff.
"This week I made a difficult and life-changing decision without full awareness of the consequences it would have on my wife and young children," he said, via The Times-Tribune.
"I truly believed that my decision to accept a role in Boston would be good for my family, but upon further consideration the timing of such a move proved to be less than optimal. I appreciate your respect for the privacy of my family and me at this time."
The paper noted that McGloin resigned as Lackawanna County commissioner before he reportedly decided to take the job at Boston College. It was unclear if he was going to try to reclaim that position.
McGloin joined Penn State as a freshman in 2009, when Joe Paterno was still the head coach. He emerged as a starter in 2010, sharing time with Rob Bolden.
He broke out during his senior season with 3,271 passing yards and 24 touchdown passes.
McGloin joined the Oakland Raiders in 2013 and was with them for four seasons. He appeared in 13 games and had 1,868 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes.
He did not find the NFL field again after the 2016 season. He briefly played in the XFL with the New York Guardians.
Michigan State Spartans guard Tre Holloman gave college basketball fans a preview of the madness to come in March when the men’s tournament begins.
The No. 8 team in the nation was locked in a battle against the No. 16 Maryland Terrapins. The two Big Ten Conference teams were tied at 55 apiece. Terrapins guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie missed his chance at a go-ahead bucket when the Spartans rebounded.
Holloman got the ball in his hands and launched it from around 65 feet and nailed the shot. His Spartans teammates were jubilant as the crowd in College Park, Maryland, was left silent.
Michigan State won the game, 58-55.
"Every day at home, the night before a game, that last practice, we have the guys go around. Everybody gets a shot at a half-court shot. The last two games, Tre has made two of them. He’s made one (before) each game," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. "I thought that thing was in when it left. I really did."
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s policies regarding transgender participation in girls' sports as another issue appeared to arise.
A triple-jump record was broken in California girls high school track and field last weekend, sparking the latest debate about trans-inclusion in girls' sports. The issue came as California bucked President Donald Trump’s executive order keeping biological males out of girls’ and women’s sports.
Navratilova, who has championed fairness in women’s sports, took a shot at Newsom on X.
"Seems fair to me, right??? Hey gov. Newsom- @CAgovernor- this is not ok!!! This is not what one would call progressive. In fact it’s regressive AF," she wrote.
The California Interscholastic Federation was among the high school governing bodies in the U.S. that announced plans to continue to allow trans athletes to compete in women’s sports despite Trump’s order and the NCAA’s own policy change – which has also been criticized.
Minnesota and Maine also joined California’s stance.
Attorney General Pam Bondi warned those states earlier this week to comply with Trump’s order or face legal action.
"This Department of Justice will hold accountable states and state entities that violate federal law," Bondi wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News. "Indeed, we have already begun to do so."
Bondi was referring to the Justice Department’s move to sue Illinois and New York earlier in February for defying federal immigration laws.
"We also stand ready to sue states and state entities that defy federal antidiscrimination laws," Bondi wrote.
Trump directed the Justice Department and the Education Department to prioritize enforcement actions against athletic associations that deny girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys. Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from Maine schools over its gender-participation policy, which sparked a spat with Gov. Janet Mills last week.
In California, Bondi said the state "should be on notice," amid the Department of Education’s Title IX investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation.
"If the Department of Education’s investigation shows that the Federation is indeed denying girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys, the Department of Justice stands ready to take all appropriate action to enforce federal law," Bondi wrote.
Bondi said the Justice Department "only wants states and state entities to comply with the law."
"And federal law requires giving girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by ensuring that girls need to compete only with other girls, not with boys," Bondi wrote.
Bondi told Fox News that "this Department of Justice will defend women and does not tolerate state officials who ignore federal law."
"We will leverage every legal option necessary to ensure state compliance with federal law and President Trump’s Executive Order protecting women’s sports," she said.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Jake Gibson and David Spunt contributed to this report.
"I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider. These claims are simply not true."
Those are the words of Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker in an exclusive statement to OutKick, his first public comments to the media since the initial accusations.
Since January, a total of 16 massage therapists have accused Tucker of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior during sessions from 2012 to 2016 at eight spas in and around Baltimore. Initially, six accusers were included in a report from the Baltimore-area publication The Banner on January 30.
NFL investigators were in Baltimore last week speaking to some of the accusers, ESPN reports. The Ravens could not be reached for comment for this story, but earlier this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, general manager Eric DeCosta called the allegations "serious and concerning."
Tucker and his legal counsel, led by Joe Terry of Williams & Connolly's First Amendment practice group, deny all allegations and say they are determined to clear Tucker's name.
"Throughout the last four weeks, I have spent countless hours replaying every interaction I have had with bodywork professionals over the last thirteen years," Tucker told OutKick. "I can assure whoever is reading this that I have never intended to disrespect anyone, cross any boundary, or make anyone feel uncomfortable in any way whatsoever."
"It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry," Tucker said in his statement, the full text of which can be found below. "I want you to know I am committed to ensuring that everyone I interact with continues to feel that I respect them and care about them as a human being."
Tucker said he began outside massage therapy in 2012 during his rookie season in Baltimore. He said at the time that the Ravens did not provide the services. After years of visiting local spas for his treatments, Tucker says he signed up for in-house massage therapy from RPMotion Therapy, LLC, in the summer of 2016 after buying a home in the suburbs of Baltimore. He and his wife, Amanda, had previously lived in the city in a condo at Ritz-Carlton Residences – where a therapist recently accused him of "exposing himself" during a massage session in 2013.
"G. gave Tucker two massages at the Ritz-Carlton in 2013 and said he repeatedly exposed himself and that she employed an intense massaging technique hoping to make him stop. ‘It was like a game’ for him, she said, adding that he exposed himself ‘more than I could count." She ended the first massage early, she said. After the second massage, he left behind what she believed to be ejaculate. ’It wasn’t sweat. You could tell what it was,' she said," the Baltimore Banner reports.
In response, Tucker's counsel references two sworn declarations from the previous owners of the Ritz-Carlton spa, disputing the accusations levied, which Outkick obtained.
His lawyer also cited Tucker's meticulous tax documents that the kicker kept of each massage session he attended, which they say show him attending the various salons in question well after his alleged misconduct. OutKick wasn't shown these documents.
In one specific instance, Tucker's counsel said the kicker appeared for 14 different sessions at The QG salon in downtown Baltimore after alleged misbehavior. His legal team provided an email statement from one of the accusers telling him it had been "a pleasure working with you" when he canceled his membership on January 5, 2016.
Through an attorney, the owner of QG, Craig Martin, told The Banner he was unaware of any complaints against Tucker.
Tucker and his attorney also deny claims from the salon owners of the now-closed Studio 921 and Ojas that he was banned over his alleged behavior. According to the Baltimore Banner, the owner of Apothecary was the only other spa owner of the eight to confirm hearing about a specific allegation cited against Tucker.
Per his lawyer, Tucker attended the Ojas seven times in 2014 and Studio 921 18 times from 2013 to 2015. Tucker was accused by a therapist at Studio 921, according to The Banner, of "[being] erect for most of the massage session and regularly sought to expose his genitals."
The Banner reported that he was banned from the establishment, but Tucker's lawyers pointed out that Studio 921, which closed in 2023, posted a promotional picture of Tucker on the website Trip Advisor a year after he was allegedly banned. The post remained on the site throughout the life of the business, as seen here.
Perry told OutKick that Tucker's wife, Amanda, had recommended several of the salons to her spouse as they frequently scheduled couples' sessions. Amanda called all the allegations against her husband "false" in an exclusive statement to OutKick:
"The false allegations against Justin have caused so much hurt to our family. I believe my husband, and I love and support him fully."
When asked about the details provided by Tucker's attorneys, Michael Belsky and Catherine Dickinson, the SBWD law firm partners representing most of Tucker's accusers, provided us with the following statement:
"We do not represent the spa owners, only the affected therapists. Whether the owners acted appropriately and in protection of their respective employees when faced with complaints is a question better directed to the them."
Justin Tucker's full statement to OutKick:
From the moment I first arrived in Baltimore in 2012, I felt embraced and supported by this amazing community, which I have come to love so much. Both on and off the football field, I have strived to reciprocate that love and support through hard work and dedication to my sport. I have sought to treat everyone with kindness, dignity, and respect, and to set the type of positive example that makes my family proud to call me a father, husband, and friend and encourages members of this community to be proud to call me one of their own.
It is with all of that in mind that the allegations against me are so shocking and heart-breaking. I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider. These claims are simply not true. Throughout the last four weeks, I have spent countless hours replaying every interaction I have had with bodywork professionals over the last thirteen years. I can assure whoever is reading this that I have never intended to disrespect anyone, cross any boundary, or make anyone feel uncomfortable in any way whatsoever. It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry. I want you to know I am committed to ensuring that everyone I interact with continues to feel that I respect them and care about them as a human being.
Since I began working as a professional athlete, I came to recognize the importance of receiving consistent professional bodywork. By investing my time and resources to restorative bodywork — with licensed therapists at respected places of business and at my home — during the times where I’m most active as a football player, I have experienced considerable health and athletic performance benefits. Physical therapy and massage therapy are a large part of why I’ve been consistently healthy and available during the football season. In fact, both my wife and I continue to count so many of those professionals as our friends. I absolutely respect the massage therapy profession and more so the individuals who work as massage therapists.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith seemingly agreed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stance on paying yearly property taxes.
DeSantis proposed the idea of getting rid of property taxes in the state as he talked about establishing a Department of Government Efficiency-like task force to help trim the state’s spending.
"Just for being on your property, you’ve got to write a check to the government every year, so you’re basically paying rent to the government to live on your own property," DeSantis said, via Florida Voice News.
"There’s homestead stuff that helps protect you to a certain extent, but you’re paying more, and a lot of people can’t afford that, so I think that’s a big issue, and I know we’re going to be really looking at ways to bring people relief from that, because I think it’s been really something that’s pinching a lot of homeowners, particularly seniors on fixed incomes," he added.
Smith reacted with one emoji on X, suggesting the Republican governor was on point.
"Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them," he wrote in a social media post.
"We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%. I agree that taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation."
Fox News’ Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Four years prior to representing the United States in the 2024 Summer Olympics, several members of that team - LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo - took part in kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice; Stephen Curry took part in 2021, hours after the Capitol riots.
Upon doing so, there were calls that the two were disrespecting a country that they in fact did not want to be a part of. However, representing the Stars and Stripes on the biggest stage seems to say otherwise.
James and Davis' quest for a gold medal this past summer was featured in a new Netflix documentary, titled "Court of Gold," that followed the American, French, Serbian and Canadian national teams out in Paris.
Director Jake Rogal said he never discussed politics with any of the players, but he was certainly able to tell that they did not take representing their country for granted, despite issues they may have had with it in the past.
"I think you have pride in where you're from, even if you're not happy with how things are," Rogal said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "I think that we're in a polarizing, tumultuous environment. And I think that no matter what, whether you like it or not, this is where you're from, and you want to put your best foot forward in representing that."
It sure seems like most American-born NBA players would prefer the league titles over gold medals, but in the moment, it sure looked hard to tell. In crunch time, especially in the semifinals and finals, anybody could easily see just how important those games were.
However, Rogal said the players find it impossible to compare the two phenomenons.
"I don't know if they compare them, because we asked a question that's similar, and the answer we got back pretty consistently was that they're two different experiences, so you can't compare them," Rogal said. "The NBA championship is a whole season, and you're building up to that, and it's your job. The Olympics are for your country, and it's a quick hit, and it's like, while it's the same sport, it's two different accomplishments … I don't think they're comparable. I think they're both special in their own right for their own reasons."
The Olympics were a far cry from, say, the All-Star break. The closing minutes of the gold medal game, when Stephen Curry lit it up and carried the Americans to the gold, peaked at 22.7 million viewers. It was the most-watched gold medal game since 1996; however, this year's All-Star Game was the second-lowest rated since the turn of the century, with an average of just 4.7 million viewers.
The NBA festivities were trumped by the NHL's 4 Nations tournament, as over 9 million took in the USA-Canada final (although fights and political tensions certainly played roles).
Nonetheless, given the emotions of these past Olympics, Rogal does feel, though, that NBA players would be all for following the NHL's footsteps by introducing an international tournament for the All-Star break.
"I think any time you include country, it raises the stakes. It makes things more appealing. It adds emotion right away. It adds competitiveness," said Rogal. "So, I think getting country competition in the mix at any point is smart. Whether that's at an All-Star Game or at an Olympics, I think that you would get a more competitive response if you do add country into it because it's so personal. I think it could be appealing to them."
