White’s actions after victory draw scrutiny
On the heels of his Olympic gold medal-winning run in South Korea on Wednesday, snowboarder Shaun White was asked to contend with sexual-harassment allegations that were leveled against him in 2016, immediately casting a shadow on the celebration.
White, 31, at first tried to minimize the claims when he was pressed by an ABC News reporter during a news conference after his victory in the halfpipe.
“I’m here to talk about the Olympics, not gossip,” he said.
When asked if the claims could damage his reputation, White said: “I don’t think so. I am who I am, and I’m proud of who I am. My friends, you know, love me and vouch for me, and I think that stands on its own.”
The reporter tried to push the issue, but the event director, Nick Alexakos, put a stop to the questioning.
Shortly after, White made a guest appearance on the “Today” show and apologized for his word choice during the conference.
“I’m truly sorry that I used the word ‘gossip,”’ he said. “It was a poor choice of words to describe such a sensitive subject in the world today. I was so overwhelmed with just wanting to talk about how amazing today was and share my experience.
“I’ve grown as a person over the years,” he went on. “Every experience in my life, I feel like it’s taught me a lesson. And I definitely feel like I am a much more changed person than I was when I was younger.”
White also responded to a social-media debate about an incident immediately after his winning run when someone handed him an American flag and he let it drag along the snow behind him.
“I was trying to put my gloves on and hold the flag and get my board,” he said. “I definitely didn’t mean any disrespect.”
In 2016, Lena Zawaideh, the former drummer of White’s rock band Bad Things, filed a lawsuit against him claiming that he had sexually harassed her and tried for years to “impose a strict regime” over her, asking her to cut her hair and to wear revealing clothing and underwear.
According to the suit, White made vulgar sexual remarks to her, sent her sexually explicit images of “engorged and erect penises” and forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos.
The suit, which refers to White as the “face of modern extreme sports,” also alleged breach of contract and wrongful termination from the band.
The lawsuit was settled in May 2017 for an undisclosed amount.
A person close to White said that White believed at the time the messages that he was exchanging with Zawaideh were consensual, and said that Zawaideh reciprocated.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Kyron Cartwright scored 17 points and Providence withstood several late surges to stun third-ranked Villanova 76-71 on Wednesday night.
Mikal Bridges had 19 points for Villanova (23-3, 10-3), which has lost two of its last three games as it tries to keep pace with Xavier in the Big East.
Cartwright twice hit 1 of 2 free throws in the final 29 seconds to help keep the Wildcats at bay, and Alpha Diallo sealed it for the Friars (17-9, 8-5) with two free throws with 12.8 seconds left.
Villanova missed 17 of 20 three-point attempts and had 19 turnovers.
Phil Cofer scored 17 points and host Florida State (18-8, 7-7) rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half to defeat Clemson (20-5, 9-4) in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Seminoles trailed by 49-31 early in the second half before rallying to force overtime on Trent Forrest's layup with eight seconds to go. Florida State didn't take its first lead until 1:05 remained in OT as coach Leonard Hamilton got his 500th career win and 300th at Florida State. Marcquise Reed scored 23 points for the Tigers, who have dropped three straight against the Seminoles. Duncan Robinson scored 18 points and Michigan (21-7, 10-5) overcame a slow start to beat visiting Iowa (12-16, 3-12) in the Big Ten. The Wolverines trailed 9-2 early, but took the lead for good at 17-14 on a three-pointer by Moritz Wagner 8:37 into the first half. Luka Garza scored 22 points to pace the Hawkeyes.
Nate Axelrod scored 22 points and host Ohio Wesleyan (16-8, 11-6) overcame a 19-point deficit to win a North Coast Athletic Conference game over Wittenberg (22-2, 15-2), the topranked team in Division III. The Tigers led 29-10 with 9:21 left in the first half, but the Battling Bishops rallied to take a 38-37 lead to halftime. The game stayed close throughout the second half before Axelrod iced it with two free throws with four seconds left. Chad Roy had 24 points for Wittenberg. Will Orr, Seth Clark and Grant Gossard added 14 each for OWU.
Garrett Collier had 24 points and nine
Matt Hughes had 20 points and Otterbein (1-23, 1-16) fell to Ohio Northern (17-7, 12-5) in an OAC game after trailing just 37-34 at halftime. Nate Burger made 7 of 14 three-pointers and had 41 points for the Polar Bears. He hit 10 of 13 from the field — including 5 of 8 threepointers — and went 8 of 8 from the line in the second half.
WOMEN
Maria Jespersen scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her 14th double-double and host South Florida (21-5, 10-2) downed SMU (10-16, 4-9) in the American Athletic Conference for its sixth straight victory. Kitija Laksa, who torched Ohio State with a career-high 41 points on Sunday, added 16 points on 4-of-16 shooting for the Bulls, who led 45-31 at halftime. Kiara Perry led SMU, 0-12 on the road this season, with 18 points.