Sports & Politics Intersect: Cheerleader scandal exposes growing employee issues in NFL

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• Reid joins Kaepernick in collusion case - Free agent safety Eric Reid has joined his former teammate Colin Kaepernick in the collusion grievance against the NFL. Reid, one of the league’s better safeties, believes he remains unsigned because he knelt during the national anthem alongside Kaepernick in 2016 and continued his political activism the following season. (For what it’s worth, the 49ers said they would consider bringing Reid back.) Both cases could be looking at the role President Donald Trump played in their unemployment. Trump reportedly would like to host a “race summit” including Kaepernick and the artist Kanye West in the future. 

• Trump calls Belichick about Brady - For reasons only he knows, the President said he had a lengthy call with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick about the future of their friend Tom Brady. 

• Adidas sticks by Kanye West - The apparel company, which recently claimed that it would sign Colin Kaepernick to an endorsement contract if he was signed by a NFL team, will stick by the rapper/producer/designer. In a TMZ interview in response to multiple controversial tweets, West stated that “when you hear about (American) slavery for 400 years — 400 years? That sounds like a choice.” 

• White House hosts Army football, not Lynx - The White House hosted the Army football team, which won its first Commander-in-Chief Trophy since 1996. President Trump once quipped that a “space force” will join the military. That nonexistent “space force” will have more of a chance to visit a Trump White House than the Minnesota Lynx, who have yet to receive an invitation in celebration of its WNBA championship last fall, breaking a tradition that goes back to early league champions, the Houston Comets.

• FIFA responds to Trump tweets on World Cup bid - In an irony of ironies, FIFA called out President Trump’s recent tweets regarding the North American bid for the 2026 men’s World Cup, referring to ethics bylines about governments trying to influence the bidding process. Of course, Trump proceeded to solicit Nigeria’s favor for the bid during a joint press conference with Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.

• Famed gymnastic trainers sue USA Gymnastics - Bela and Martha Karolyi filed a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee for damages, stating that they should not be responsible for crimes Larry Nassar may have perpetrated at their ranch. Back in East Lansing, Michigan State University told the NCAA that at least 25 student-athletes were harmed by Nassar, but somehow those actions did not violate any NCAA sanctions. In addition, interim school president John Engler said he had “different memories” of an encounter with one of Nassar’s victims, a woman who alleged that he offered her a check to drop her lawsuit related to Nassar.

• Aftermath of WWE’s trip to Saudi Arabia - While the female wrestlers were expectedly left off the ‘Greatest Royal Rumble’ in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a curious absence from the card was that of Sami Zayn, one of the promotion’s top stars. Previously stated reasons were debunked, but there’s still confusion on why Zayn did not appear. On a larger scale, the special event sparked controversy for belief that it was pushing anti-Iran propaganda — one that compelled death threats towards Iranian-American WWE wrestler Shawn Daivari.

• Sports media still lacking in diversity - In a report that surprises few people, Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports found that sports news departments are still struggling with diversity despite marginal improvements in some major publications around the U.S.

• Nets owner being sued by whistleblower - Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia’s former anti-doping lab chief, is counter-suing Brooklyn Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. When several Olympic athletes were banned from competition, Prokhorov financially supported a libel lawsuit against Rodchenkov, who is living in exile in the U.S.

• Sabres, Bills executive resigns after investigation - Russ Brandon, who served as president of Pegula Sports and Entertainment (which owns the Buffalo Sabres and Bills), resigned after an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior with two female staffers. Kim Pegula, who owns the teams with her husband Terry, takes over for Brandon, becoming the first female team president in NFL history in the process.

• Gubernatorial candidate wants to halt Raiders stadium deal - Nevada’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Schwartz wants to force a better financing deal for the Oakland Raiders’ future stadium in Las Vegas. The current state treasurer said that if elected governor, he’d withhold funding of roads leading to the venue until a new deal was ironed out.

• South Africa challenging IAAF’s controversial ruling - In hoping to keep Caster Semenya’s records as one of the best middle distance runners in the world, South Africa will challenge the IAAF’s new rules that will keep women with hyperandrogenism from running middle distance events.

• MMA star questioned by FBI about Trump, Cohen and Putin - Fedor Emelianenko was interviewed by the FBI about his possible connections with President Trump, the president’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen and Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

• Olympians talk climate change to Congress - Several Winter Olympic athletes came to the nation’s capital to talk with Congress about the impact of climate change to snowboarding, skiing and many other sports and outdoor recreation.

This week in sports and politics history: The first female jockey at the Kentucky Derby gets racing fans' shorts in a bunch 

“If she were riding a good horse, I wouldn't mind betting on her. But her horse isn't much good." - Jean Wolfe, attendant at the 1970 Kentucky Derby

It's Derby weekend, the greatest sports weekend of the year, so of course today's throwback is all about the big race. On this weekend 48 years ago, Diane Crump became the first female jockey to ever race in the Kentucky Derby. Though she didn't win — her horse, Fathom, finished 15th out of a field of 17.

Racing fans were not happy with the inclusion of women in the Triple Crown event. In fact, this New York Times piece the day after the race has some choice quotes from appalled spectators. Of note is one exchange in which a man named Jeff Lehman complained to the reporter that Diane Crump jockeying a horse "took a lot of tradition out of the Derby." Instead of letting the comment stand, his wife clapped back.

"Should there be women tennis players?" she asked. "Are there female horses?" 

But instead of addressing her valid point, the husband simply deflected. "Don't get bitter now," Lehman told his bride.

That audiences at Churchill Downs couldn't handle Diane Crump's presence at the racetrack shouldn't have come as a surprise; the teenaged jockey had to be escorted by police at the Hialeah Race Park Track in Florida on February 7, 1969, the day she became the first female jockey to ever ride in a professional race. 

Despite the vitriol she endured, Crump reflected positively on her historic moment when she was interviewed in 2011 by espnW.

"Going to post and warming up, them playing 'My Old Kentucky Home,' just all the thoughts and feelings that go through your head at that time," she recounted. "At that point, you're thinking, 'Hey, there's always a chance.' That's what life gives us every single day. It was a chance."

Since 1970, there have been six female jockeys to race in the Kentucky Derby.