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Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hiltzik: How Trump could sabotage L.A.'s World Cup and Olympics
Organizers of major sporting events always have a lot to worry about — logistics, transportation, security and weather, to start. The organizers of two major events scheduled to take place in Los Angeles next year and in 2028 would be well advised to worry about one additional factor: Donald Trump. Trump has made public statements endorsing the Olympics and identifying himself with their successful outcome. L.A. won the 2028 games in 2017, during his first term. In a 2020 meeting with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, he claimed to have played a role in securing the games: "From the day I took office," he said, "I've done everything in my power to make sure that L.A. achieved the winning bid." As recently as January, just before his inauguration, he delivered another expression of support. "These are America's Olympics," he told Casey Wasserman, the chair of the local organizing committee, during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago reported by Axios. "These are more important than ever to L.A. and I'm going to be supportive in every way possible and make them the greatest games." The current U.S. administration's abusive immigration policies ... threaten the inclusivity and global nature of the World Cup. Amnesty international But Trump has a habit of withdrawing his favors as abruptly as he bestows them — as onetime associates such as Elon Musk have discovered — and upending his own policies on a whim. Over just the last week, for example, he ordered immigration authorities to cease their raids on agricultural and hospitality sites, evidently on appeals from his own supporters who cited their need for immigrant laborers. But he reversed himself days later, ordering the raids to resume. Two administration initiatives in particular could directly affect the World Cup and Olympics. The first is Trump's crackdown on immigration. Up to now, the policy has been haphazardly applied, through scattershot raids on locations such as Home Depot parking lots. Immigration agents have been acting as though they have carte blanche to detain people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, conducting raids that have sometimes swept up American citizens. Read more: Column: Would L.A. really benefit from another Olympics? Customs and Border Protection and other federal immigration authorities have been accused of detaining foreign visitors and refusing them admission to the U.S., without explanation. Immigration roundups across the U.S. have instilled fear in immigrant communities, prompting many to stay home from work or school. The second initiative is Trump's travel ban, which bars individuals from 12 countries from entering the U.S. Those from seven other countries face restrictions, though not complete bans. According to a widely-reported memo, Trump is contemplating the addition of 36 more countries to the travel ban. Of those countries, 25 are in Africa, but countries in Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific are also named. The memo, according to reports, asserts that the countries on the expanded list lack a credible "government authority to produce reliable identity documents," keep unreliable criminal records or are beset by "widespread government fraud." Countries could "mitigate" the U.S. concerns, the memo says, if they're willing to accept deportees from the U.S. Although the international lineup for the 2028 Olympics has not been established, every country on both lists sent athletes to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. At a news conference last week, Wasserman said the White House understood the need to be "accommodating" on visa issues with those in the Olympic bubble — "It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward through the games." He spoke confidently, but that he felt the need to speak about it at all tells the real story. In 2018, when FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, was judging bids to host the 2026 World Cup, Trump assured FIFA that "all eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination." But concerns remain that family members of participating athletes might face restrictions on entering the U.S. Those concerns could hardly be assuaged by a comment from Vice President JD Vance, chair of a government task force overseeing preparations for the World Cup, at a task force meeting attended by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Vance said the U.S. wants foreign visitors 'to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the games. But when the time is up, we want them to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to Secretary Noem.' Read more: Hiltzik: How DeSantis bullied the Special Olympics into betraying its own athletes He was referring to Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, whose agency has been conducting the immigration raids and border detentions. Just last week, Customs and Border Protection, a subagency of Homeland Security, stated in a social media post that it would be 'suited and booted, ready to provide security for the first round of games' of FIFA's Club World Cup preliminary tournament. The authority of immigration agents to provide security or conduct civil law enforcement activities is legally uncertain. Homeland Security later deleted the post. "U.S. Customs and Border Protection is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the FIFA Club World Cup is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event," a Homeland Security spokesperson told me by email. The White House didn't respond to my request for comment. There already are signs that Trump's immigration crackdown is suppressing ticket sales for international soccer games in the U.S. That appears to be the case with an opening game of Club World Cup, scheduled for Saturday between Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer club featuring Lionel Messi as player-captain, and the Egyptian team Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium outside Miami. The cheapest seats for the contest, which are priced according to demand, have fallen from $349 in December to less than $80 last week, the Associated Press reported. Notwithstanding his statements of support for the Los Angeles Olympics, since taking office in January, Trump's feelings for L.A. have turned distinctly negative. On June 7, he called in the California National Guard and subsequently mobilized the Marines to quell street protests in downtown L.A. against immigration raids. Trump stepped up his battle with local authorities on Sunday, when he posted a statement on his Truth Social platform pledging to "expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside." What Amnesty International labels "escalating attacks on human rights and civil freedoms" prompted the organization to urge FIFA to "exert its leverage and demand concrete, legally binding guarantees that human rights won't be further sacrificed for the sake of the game.' The organization said "the current U.S. administration's abusive immigration policies, including enforced disappearances under the Alien Enemies Act, travel bans, increased detention, and visa restrictions, threaten the inclusivity and global nature of the World Cup." Read more: Sochi isn't a disastrous Olympics (yet), just a farce Los Angeles has a lot hanging on successful World Cup events and the Olympics, though it's hard to pinpoint how much, financially speaking. Projections of economic gains from major sporting events are typically optimistic, euphoric, chimerical or conjectural. The standing estimate for the economic impact for L.A. County from next year's Cup events is $594 million. That's based on expectations of 180,000 out-of-town visitors arriving for the eight matches, which include the opening match for the U.S. men's team. That estimate, however, comes from the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which is responsible for attracting major sporting events to the county and might not be inclined to minimize the potential take. The Olympic gains are even tougher to estimate. My colleagues Thuc Nhi Nguyen and Dakota Smith reported recently that local Olympics organizers have expressed confidence that they'll reach their goal of $2.5 billion in sponsorship revenue and about as much coming from ticket sales and other commercial income. All told, the organizers say they'll be able to cover the estimated $7.1 billion in Olympic costs. The organizers also waved away concerns that foreign fans might be discouraged from coming to the U.S. for the games, since they expect most ticket sales to be domestic. As my colleague Steve Henson reported in March, Wasserman has assured the International Olympic Committee that 'irrespective of politics today, America will be open and accepting to all 209 countries for the Olympics. L.A. is the most diverse city in the history of humanity and we will welcome the people from around the world and give them all a great time.' He said he had made 'significant strides' in getting assurances from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that obtaining visas shouldn't be a problem. Are those assurances reliable? Trump's policymaking record is inauspicious. Whether the product of deliberate policymaking or whim, Trump's capacity for sabotaging the World Cup and Olympics is vast. Promoters of major international sporting events always maintain that the games are "nonpartisan" and nonpolitical. That's true up until the point that they're not, as was demonstrated when former President Jimmy Carter ordered a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics to protest Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. Russia retaliated by boycotting the 1984 games (in Los Angeles). Will Trump's politics poison the upcoming soccer and Olympic events? It's not clear at this moment, but the organizers are undoubtedly crossing their fingers. Get the latest from Michael HiltzikCommentary on economics and more from a Pulitzer Prize me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
New York Post
30-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump v. California on women's sports, a risky mortgage retread, and other commentary
Olympics beat: Trump v. Cali on Women's Sports The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will become 'a slow-motion car crash' over the issue of transgender athletes in women's sports, Jennifer Sey warns at The Spectator, with President Trump facing off against California and the US Olympic Committee. 'For the first time in history,' the LA Games will see 'more women's events than men's' — but if biological men can fight for those medals, 'it's women who will lose. And some will get hurt.' Gavin Newsom doesn't toe the line on his executive order 'aimed at protecting women's sports' — yet 'taxpayer dollars earmarked for Los Angeles 2028' are already flowing. 'Compelled participation against biological men isn't inclusion,' but 'institutionalized abuse.' Eye on Wall St.: A Risky Mortgage Retread 'The American public doesn't need a sequel to 'The Big Short,' ' Veronique de Rugy snarks at Reason. The 2008 financial crisis traced in that film, was sparked by Washington, 'specifically through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,' government-sponsored lenders that (under pressure from Congress) backed 'risky home loans by effectively making taxpayers cosign the mortgages.' Those 'significantly loosened lending standards' wound up 'inflating the housing bubble.' Now, President Trump is floating plans to 're-privatize' Fannie and Freddie without taking taxpayers off the hook for bad loans. Aargh! 'Financial entities — particularly those shielded by government guarantees — inevitably revert to risky behavior when market pressures and profit incentives align.' The only safe way to privatize Fannie and Freddie is 'without any implicit government guarantees.' From the right: A Win Over Climate Hysteria 'The right to express an opinion contrary to the 'settled science' was vindicated last week in the District of Columbia Superior Court,' cheers The Washington Times' editorial board. Penn State University researcher Michael Mann's 'hockey stick' chart 'stoked climate panic around the world, then he sued critics who implied his 'findings were erroneous.' A DC jury last year awarded Mann '$1 million in punitive damages,' but that 'victory was based in part on a chart containing numbers that couldn't be replicated' — so it seems he 'will now end up paying the individuals he sued a total of around $1.4 million.' Conservative: Mamdani's Hateful Lies Progressive mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, already 'a post-Oct. 7 vessel for the de-stigmatized tidal wave of anti-Semitism in the West,' this week 'crossed a line that was staggeringly militant even in our current age of say-anything shock-jock politics,' thunders Commentary's Seth Mandel. In a campaign stop at a mosque, he denounced 'Israel's pager operation, likely the most carefully targeted such operation in the history of warfare, in which the pagers only of Hezbollah exploded, maiming thousands of terrorists after the group had waged months of war on Israeli civilians.' He claimed it killed 'scores of Lebanese civilians,' marvels Mandel, when 'not even Lebanese authorities claimed as much. The only way that number is accurate is if Mamdani considers Hezbollah terrorists to be civilians, which is possible, because he does not mention Hezbollah at all in his remarks.' Civil-rights watch: Whistleblowers vs. DEI The Justice Department's 'Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act, encourages whistleblowers to come forward with evidence of illegal' discrimination, applauding Edward Blum & Adam Mortara at The Wall Street Journal. 'Universities, corporations, and nonprofit organizations have established 'diversity, equity and inclusion' policies that violate the plain language of civil-rights laws,' yet 'receive billions in federal funding by falsely certifying that they are in compliance with those laws.' For instance, 'a university can't accept taxpayer dollars while condoning antisemitism on campus or treating applicants differently based on race.' The Justice initiative gives whistleblowers 'an incentive to come forward and expose unlawful discrimination' by letting them collect a share of potential multimillion-dollar damages. — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-Big Brother star seeks backing for Deaflympics journey
LOUISIANA (KTAL/KMSS) — Matt Klotz, a USA Nationals' deaf swimming athlete and LSU Tiger alumni, is seeking public support to fund his trip to the Deaflympics in Tokyo this November. According to GoFundMe, Matt Klotz was the first-ever deaf contestant featured on Big Brother 25, where he shared his struggles growing up; people told him he would never succeed. Organizer Linda Klotz says the 2023 deaf world record holder has his eyes set on the 4th Deaflympic meet. However, according to the American Deaf Swim Team, 'deaf sports do not receive any financial support from the US Olympic Committee or Federal Government.' Louisiana teen overcomes train wreck, spinal injuries to graduate 'Swimming became his focus and motivation in a world where he did not believe in himself because others didn't.' Linda Klotz says, 'He never gave up and earned his BS in Kinesiology from LSU, where he swam as a D1 athlete. He has competed many times in USA Nationals, USA Olympic Trials, and the Deaflympics representing Team USA.' She details that the trip will cost approximately $10,000 in fees, training, equipment, and travel expenses. The GoFundMe is set at $4,000. Linda says if individuals prefer to donate for a tax-deductible expense, they can make a donation to the United States Deaf Swimming Team and add 'IN HONOR OF MATT KLOTZ' in the notes so he receives the funding support. The Deaflympics, taking place from November 15 to 26, 2025, in Tokyo. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
20-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Sunday Sitdown: Dr. Karissa Niehoff on her educational path from Marblehead to executive director of the NFHS
Advertisement 'She said, 'Hey Niehoff, grab a [field hockey] stick,'' as I was running by the field." Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Niehoff's extracurriculars had centered on equestrian, but with the family's move from Wellsville, N.Y. — prompted by the appointment of her father, Randall, as minister at Old North Church in town — the focus outside of the classroom became athletics (field hockey/basketball/track) and music (violin). She was a Globe All-Scholastic in field hockey as a senior (′83), and starred in the classroom too, earning entry to Brown University for one year before a financially-driven transfer to UMass to complete her degree and play field hockey. The teaching/coaching component began in 1989 at Greenwich (Conn.) High, with stops at Litchfield High and Joel Barlow, followed by administrative roles before running the state's athletic association (CIAC) for eight years. Advertisement Along the way, there was work with the US Olympic Committee's education committee and USA field hockey. In August 2018, Niehoff was hired as CEO of the national federation, the first female to hold the post. Before the arrival of state executive directors and legal counsel for the annual national summit this past week in Indianapolis, Niehoff chatted — equal parts enthusiasm and conviction — with the Globe about her journey, the current climate of high school athletics, and its future. Karissa Niehoff on the importance of high school athletics: "Sports is part of the overall growth puzzle, along with the arts, clubs, family, job, [the kids] are just growing up. And within the wins, and losses, are teachable moments." Images 2024 How important were your formative years, and early involvement in athletics? The strongest place that I was impacted was at Marblehead High. I had great influences. Deb Caulkins, my English teacher [who pointed her toward Brown] . . . Mike Thibodeau (basketball), and Susan Redfield (track) and Arthur Leavitt (track), who was also my Latin teacher. Coaches and teachers were everything to me. I owe everything to Marblehead High. That's my home. Related : In high school, and college was there ever a vision for this [kind of role]? I saw examples of kids not connected through club or sport. I wanted to give back to all the kids, not just the kids who have their path laid out for them, or that were lucky like me. I got the leadership bug, and then started saying 'yes' to opportunities. There is a simple person inside of me that will always be simple, and always focused on someone else's experience, whether they are a kid, a teacher, a coach, or a colleague. Related : What are the biggest challenges today? People have lost perspective of the high school experience, sports and the arts. Sports and the arts save lives. For some kids, it is their shot . . . The [Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association] and the associations in the other 49 states, are being challenged by people that are not trained in education-based experience. Upset people go to their [state] legislatures. We have to serve kids with equity in mind, and when academics are the priority. When people challenge state associations because of sports, we are losing the complete picture. Athletics are a privilege, not a right. If you are a good student, you get to try out for a team. Related : Advertisement At the college level, there are now NIL deals, and the transfer portal. What does it mean for high school and youth sports? Youth sports used to be formative in nature. They have become performative. And we have lost the mission of what high school sports should be about . . . 96 percent-plus of our kids in high school will not play in college, at Division 1, 2, or 3. So when we look at the high school experience, it's about going to the Friday night football game, or the basketball game in February when it is snowing outside, and the roads are being plowed. So why are we saying high school sports should be modeled after college sports? The schools that are the academies and the private schools, that pull out the elite athletes? Good. There are a handful of kids that are elite, and deserve that tract. But the great majority of our high school kids are kids. Sports is part of the overall growth puzzle, along with the arts, clubs, family, job. They are just growing up. And within the wins, and losses, are teachable moments . . . In college, those moments are professional now. Related : Advertisement With the challenges daily, are you still excited about the future? What gives you hope? The hope is that every year there is a new freshman class, and every year, there is a graduating class, and this is their year, their homecoming, their senior year, and the freshmen are watching that . . . Teachers and coaches choose to work with kids. There is fresh turnover every year, you congratulate seniors, and welcome wide-eyed freshman. We promise them an experience that is going to matter. That's what the MIAA owns. That's why they fight for regulations and bylaws, because of that 14-year-old. Because for the majority, it is probably the last competitive jersey they will wear.' Craig Larson can be reached at
Express Tribune
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Trump's executive order blocks transgender women from female sports
Listen to article US President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order banning transgender women from competing in female sports categories. The executive order, which went into effect immediately, aims to enforce stricter rules on transgender athletes, particularly in high school, university, and grassroots sports. The order directs the Department of Education to investigate how schools implement Title IX, a US law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs. Under the new guidance, schools that allow transgender women to compete in women's sports and use female locker rooms could lose federal funding. Trump, addressing the new order, argued that the move is necessary to preserve fairness in women's sports. He said, 'If you let men take over women's sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding.' The order is a significant departure from the previous administration's stance on the issue. Last year, President Biden's administration declared that LGBT students would be protected by federal law, though it did not specify regulations for transgender athletes. Trump's executive order now reverses that position, imposing restrictions on transgender women in various sporting categories. The executive order also aims to address participation in major international competitions, including the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Trump stated that he would direct the US Department of Homeland Security to deny visas to transgender women athletes who seek to compete in Olympic events on US soil. "The war on women's sports is over," Trump declared, emphasizing that his administration would not allow men to compete against female athletes. Several sporting bodies, such as World Athletics, have already implemented bans on transgender women competing in female categories if they have undergone male puberty. The US Olympic Committee has yet to comment on Trump's latest move, but his administration has made it clear that they intend to enforce this policy at the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics. The executive order has sparked considerable backlash from human rights groups, including the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Kelley Robinson, HRC's president, condemned the order, stating, 'This exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don't fit a narrow view of how they're supposed to dress or look.' Transgender athletes, who make up a small percentage of the US population, have become a key point of contention in the debate over fairness in women's sports. According to a study by UCLA's Williams Institute, less than 1% of the US population over the age of 13 is transgender, and an even smaller number participate in sports.
