Three most precocious professionals
prevalent along racial lines.
While acknowledging their polling was far from scientific, Bleacher Report found that 21 of 21 white NFL players planned to vote for Trump while 20 of 22 black players planned to vote for Hillary Clinton.
The NFL is predominantly AfricanAmerican and usually experiences very few instances of race becoming a serious problem inside locker rooms. But that has changed with Trump.
Bleacher Report wrote that, as the Republican clinched his party’s nomination, two teammates of different races re- examined their friendship.
They had known each other for four years and their families had become acquainted but, when one revealed his political allegiance, the other had a simple response: “I can’t be friends with anyone who would vote for Donald Trump. I’m sorry.”
Pretty heavy stuff. So let’s look at a lighter Trump- related story from the world of sport. After the thin- skinned narcissist was last week embarrassed during the first debate, Trump’s supporter’s were none too pleased with moderator Lester Holt.
The journalist and registered Republican voter was biased towards Clinton, of course, so Trump’s acolytes took to Twitter to vent at, apparently, the first person named Lester they could find. And so Chicago Cubs ace John Lester, busy preparing for the post- season, faced a barrage of abuse, helpfully pointing out the error to his new fans.
So, yeah. These are the people voting for Trump: white, bearded linemen in the NFL and Twitter users who can’t tell a professional athlete from a news anchor. At least in the NBA, with the preseason under way, we can find refuge from such weighty issues, right? Well, I have bad news: it gets even worse.
The gang- rape civil trial involving New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose began this week and, on its second day, lawyers for the three defendants objected to the alleged victim’s crying and asked the judge to order her to stop.
“I'm not going to order the witness not to cry any more than I'm going to order her not to breathe,” said US District Judge Michael WFitzgerald, in a display of humanity.
Such a request tied into the defence’s strategy of painting the alleged victim as a liar looking for money from a “fake” lawsuit. The case is a civil trial — neither Rose nor his two friends have been charged with a crime — and personal attacks on the woman at the centre of the trial were always expected.
Nothing good can come from such a case but, in one small mercy, it has already created greater discourse in the sporting world on violence against women. While Rose was playing his first pre- season game for the Chicago Bulls, the conversation among the commentary team turned to the trial and, eventually, led to Jeff Van Gundy delivering some salient thoughts about a problem far too common in society and sport.
The former Knicks coach, now working as a broadcaster on ESPN, highlighted the recent suspension of Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison, who was banned for eight games after last week pleading guilty to misdemeanour domestic battery. Van Gundy pointed out that was insufficient and that the NBA should be at the forefront on social issues.
“My one suggestion is any felony committed against a women should be a full- season suspension,” Van Gundy said. “And on the second one, you’re gone. Because one thing I learned, it’s not a mistake. It’s a choice. It’s a choice to commit a violent act. I just think we’ve got to do more.” Even by wunderkind standards, the story of Karamoko Dembele is hard to fathom. The Celtic prodigy this week stormed on to the football scene with a nine- minute cameo off the bench for his club’s under- 20 side — at the age of 13. Already involved in a tug- of- war between Scotland, England and the Ivory Coast, the London- born Dembele, perhaps unsurprisingly, looked rather like a kid as he completed Celtic’s 3- 1 win over Hearts. And the attacker’s lore already features tales of doing 100 juggles aged five while Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, who made his own professional debut at 16, is an admirer: “I saw Dembele playing on YouTube. What a player. He is exceptionally good.” But Dembele is hardly the first teenager to turn heads in professional sport . . .
The cautionary tale for becoming too excited about Dembele’s potential. Adu was in 2004 anointed the saviour of American soccer after making his MLS debut for DC United at the age of 14. But after only three seasons in the capital, Adu left the club and transitioned into a career journeyman, since playing for 13 teams in eight countries.
The daughter of two professional tennis players, Hingis wasted no time in following in her parents’ footsteps, making her WTA debut two weeks after her 14th birthday. She ended 1994 ranked No 87 in the world and, early the following year, became the youngest player to win a grand slam match with a first- round victory at the Australian Open.
Not even Lydia Ko can compare with how early Li found herself competing against the best in her sport. The American was 11 when she became the youngest player to qualify for the US Women’s Open, winning her entry tournament by seven strokes. Her appearance at the 2014 event was less successful, though, opening with an eight- over 78 and matching it in her second round to miss the cut by seven strokes.