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Sports

Chicago Bulls call for action while mourning victims of the Highland Park shooting: ‘Our connection with the community is personal’

The Chicago Bulls offered support to victims of the Highland Park shooting and called for change after a gunman killed seven people and wounded more than 30 others during a Fourth of July parade.The Bulls hold close ties to the Highland Park community. They practiced for more than 20 years in Deerfield, less than 10 minutes from the site of the shooting, and Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were among many Bulls players and coaches to live in Highland Park during their tenure with the team.Advertisement“Over the years, Highland Park has been home to many members of Bulls nation, including a number of Bulls players and staff,” a team statement read. “Our connection with the community is personal, and it holds a particularly special place in our hearts. We are grieving with the community and everyone affected, and we support them as we all mourn this tragedy.”News of the shooting broke near the end of Bulls practice at the Advocate Center on Monday, prompting summer league coach John Bryant to cut the training session short.AdvertisementBryant said the team spent the opening minutes of Tuesday’s practice reflecting on the tragedy.“It’s hard because it’s in your backyard,” Bryant said. “I told the team just to reflect on their lives. How fortunate we are to wake up today. How fortunate we are to come in and play a game and get paid and really to think about the people who didn’t get that opportunity.“I think that put in perspective because we play a game, we kind of lose sight of that as young people. We think we’re invincible. And it’s hard because real life happens all the time outside of our bubble of basketball.”In its statement the team called for increased action to combat gun violence. The Bulls previously partnered with other city teams to form the Chicago Sports Alliance, which directs grants to organizations such as the Chicago Crime Lab.“Gun violence inflicts pain on our friends, neighbors, families, businesses and communities,” the statement concluded. “This situation is one that we’ve been in too many times, saying what feels like the same words and expressing the same sentiments. The Chicago Bulls are committed to change and using the resources in our power to make a difference and help solve this epidemic of gun violence.”

Sports

Former NFL receiver Demaryius Thomas’ family says he had CTE

BOSTON — Former NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is the latest in a growing list of football players diagnosed with CTE.His family said Tuesday that researchers found that Thomas, who died in December at age 33, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver was dealing with depression, anxiety and other CTE symptoms at the time of his death.AdvertisementCTE, a degenerative brain disease which can only be diagnosed posthumously, has been found in more than 100 former NFL players as well as semi-pro and high school soccer players. Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau had CTE when he died in 2012 of a gunshot wound to the chest.Hall of Famers Ken Stabler, Frank Gifford and Mike Webster also were diagnosed with CTE.AdvertisementBoston University CTE Center researchers discovered that Thomas was at stage 2 following a brain study through the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Thomas’ family released the findings of the study.“Once I became aware of CTE and began to familiarize myself with the symptoms, I noticed that Demaryius was isolating himself and I saw other changes in him,” Katina Smith, Demaryius’ mother, said in a statement. “He was just so young, and it was horrible to see him struggle. His father and I hope all families learn the risks of playing football. We don’t want other parents to have to lose their children like we did.”Former NFL star Demaryius Thomas, who died last December at age 33, had CTE, his family said Tuesday. (Jack Dempsey/AP)Stage 2 CTE is associated with “progressive behavior, cognitive and mood abnormalities.” Family members say Thomas developed depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and trouble with his memory in the years before his death. Stage 4 is the most severe stage of CTE and is usually associated with dementia.“Like so many that have gone before, we found stage 2 CTE in the brain of Demaryius Thomas. The question I keep asking myself is ‘When will enough be enough?’ When will athletes, parents and the public at large stop ignoring the risks of American football and insist that the game be changed to reduce subconcussive hits?” said Dr. Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System and director of the BU CTE Center and VA-BU-CLF/UNITE Brain Bank.CLF co-founder and CEO Dr. Chris Nowinski arranged the study through Thomas’ family.“The football community would have no idea why so many former players struggle with neurological disorders after their career without the families who say yes to brain donation, so I want to thank Bobby Thomas and Katina Smith — and all families — for their trust in Dr. McKee and this team,” said Nowinski, a former football player at Harvard. “I hope this is a wake-up call to high profile current and former NFL players that CTE is rampant among them, and they need to get involved in creating real solutions. CTE should be their number one off-the-field issue.”Thomas is one of more than 300 former NFL players who have been diagnosed with CTE by McKee and the BU CTE Center research team.Thomas’ cause of death has not yet been identified. In 2021, Thomas began experiencing seizures. McKee told ABC News she believes the seizures were due to severe traumatic injuries off the football field, including a car wreck and a fall on stone stairs.Advertisement“CTE itself does not cause death. You don’t die from CTE. What CTE does is it changes your behavior and your personality,” McKee said.Thomas played 10 seasons in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Houston Texans. He won a Super Bowl with the Broncos and Peyton Manning following the 2015 season.Thomas had 724 catches for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns.

Sports

Ivan Fedotov, a top Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect, is at a remote Russian military base, his agent says

Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Ivan Fedotov, who reportedly was picked up by law enforcement in Russia last week ahead of a planned move to the U.S., is now at a remote military base in northern Russia, his agent said Tuesday.The agent, J.P. Barry, spoke with The Associated Press amid speculation about Fedotov’s well-being. The situation raised fresh concerns over whether Russian players will be willing or able to join NHL teams that draft them this week as the war in Ukraine continues.AdvertisementThe 25-year-old Fedotov is considered one the top goaltenders in the world outside the NHL, and the Flyers expected him to compete for a spot on their roster next season. He won a silver medal as the Russians’ starting goalie at the Beijing Olympics in February and led CSKA Moscow to the Gagarin Cup as KHL champion.He was a seventh-round pick by the Flyers in 2015 but has played in Russia since, with CSKA retaining his rights. The NHL and KHL do not have a transfer agreement for players, and Fedotov was eligible to sign with the Flyers in May only because he did not have an existing contract in Russia for next season.AdvertisementCSKA, whose name translates to “Central Sports Club of the Army,” was founded as the Soviet army’s hockey team in 1946 and still has traditional ties to the military.The first sign something had gone wrong for Fedotov came Friday. Russian media said he was picked up by law enforcement outside a hockey rink in his home city of St. Petersburg, where he had been filming a documentary with a TV crew, and was taken to a military enlistment center. Local news site Fontanka reported he was suspected of evading compulsory military service required of Russian men.Alexei Ponomaryov, a lawyer representing Fedotov, told Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday that Fedotov had been taken to a military hospital with apparent stress-induced gastritis. Ponomaryov said he and Fedotov’s relatives had not been allowed to visit.Russian goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov during the Beijing Winter Olympics on Feb. 20. 2022. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)The Russian Defense Ministry hasn’t commented on Fedotov’s location. Russian newspaper Sport Express on Monday published what it said were photographs showing Fedotov at a military base in Severodvinsk, a naval city with shipyards on Russia’s north coast, though there have been conflicting reports about exactly where he is.“We have a draft in line with the law, so any emotional commentaries would be utterly inappropriate,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday when asked about Fedotov’s case. “There are certain reasons for deferments and various ways of undergoing military service for athletes.”Russia was aiming to conscript more than 130,000 men for a year of military service this spring. The law allows for 21-month alternative civil service in facilities such as hospitals for those who object to military service, but requests can often be ignored. In theory, Russian men can be conscripted between the ages of 18 and 27, though some never serve at all.Russians often seek to avoid or delay being drafted with medical or educational exemptions, and athletes are no different. Some arrange to be signed up with universities on years-long programs of distance learning while they continue their sports careers.The military also has special units for elite-level athletes who can keep competing while they serve. The defense ministry boasted of numerous athletes with military ranks competing at recent Olympics in sports ranging from judo to skiing.AdvertisementThe NHL and Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher have said the team is aware and investigating. As recently as last week, Fletcher said he expected Fedotov to compete for a spot on the roster next season.

Sports

Column: A tragic event in Highland Park became just another day at the ballpark — and in America

About 3½ hours before the Chicago White Sox met the Minnesota Twins Monday to start the biggest series of the season, manager Tony La Russa’s pregame media session in the dugout competed with a singer practicing over the Guaranteed Rate Field sound system.La Russa began by discussing the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that killed six people and injured more than 30 others.AdvertisementThe singer began by belting out a slow version of the “The Star-Spangled Banner.”“At the twilight’s last gleaming,” she sang.Advertisement“Unfortunately it’s almost daily, way too frequently,” La Russa said of the pervasive gun violence in America.[ [Read more] Highland Park shooting: What to know ]“Whose broad stripes and bright stars…”“Did they find him?” La Russa asked reporters. “Did they catch him?”“Through the perilous fight…”“No,” a reporter told La Russa. The suspect was still at large at the time.“Even when there’s an explanation, there’s no explanation,” La Russa said. “It doesn’t make sense.”“O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming…”“Was there any talk of canceling the game,” La Russa was asked.Advertisement“And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air…”“There was a conversation with MLB,” La Russa said.“Gave proof through the night…”“And they decided that we would play. It was considered.”“That our flag was still there…”Did La Russa think the game should be played?Advertisement“O say does that star-spangled…”[ [Read more] Liam Hendriks calls out gun laws after Highland Park shootings. ‘The access to the weaponry … totally needs to change,’ Chicago White Sox closer says. ]The decision-makers were “very aware of the biggest picture,” La Russa replied. “If they say play. I think we should play.”“O’er the land of the free…”“I also know there are probably concerts going on tonight someplace,” La Russa said.“And the home of the brave.”“The whole city isn’t going to stop, so… But I know it was considered.”AdvertisementThe anthem ended. Back in the Sox dugout, the topic of conversation switched to the crucial, upcoming homestand against the first-place Twins and Detroit Tigers.There would be baseball because, well, I’m not really sure what went into the decision made by MLB and the White Sox. Perhaps it was because the Sox had already sold more than 30,000 tickets, and there were Paul Konerko bobbleheads that needed to be handed out. Maybe baseball decided fans needed a diversion after the horrifying news of the day.Either way, a nice crowd of 32,483 showed up despite the pregame rain. After a moment of silence for the victims of the Highland Park massacre, it was game on.The press box TVs were tuned into the game, but many of the reporters followed the news from Highland Park from their devices. The show must go on, and a job is a job. But when gun violence hits so close to home, it’s impossible to focus on the game below, no matter the stakes.As it turned out, it was one of those crazy, crazy nights the Eagles always sang about, and the game itself was fun to watch — albeit maddening — for most Sox fans.After the Sox tied the game at 2 in the seventh inning, the Twins pulled off an improbable 8-5 triple play in which center fielder Byron Buxton made a running grab and fired to third baseman Gio Urshela, who tagged Yoan Moncada and touched second base for the final two outs. Adam Engel and Moncada would be destined to see their blunders replayed the next 24 hours on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”AdvertisementLa Russa’s jaw dropped in a meme-worthy moment caught by the NBC Sports Chicago cameras as he witnessed the outcome. It was a look almost all of us in the press box shared, not to mention thousands of disbelieving Sox fans who thought they had seen it all.“Never seen one like it,” La Russa would later say.Neither had anyone else. Researchers tweeted that it was the first triple play of its kind in baseball history. When old-timers say you can go to a baseball game and see something that never has been seen before, believe them.After the Sox ran themselves out of the inning in the most spectacular way imaginable, the Twins went on to score four runs in the 10th inning to secure a 6-3 win. La Russa would be asked to leave the premises by the home plate umpire after complaining about the strike zone for Joe Kelly, who imploded in an outing he described with an expletive.A section of fans briefly chanted “Fire Tony,” even as La Russa was not in the dugout to hear them. Many fans began to clear out after Kelly, who allowed four runs while retiring two hitters, was pulled by bench coach Miguel Cairo. When Tim Anderson struck out to end the game in the bottom of the 10th, the ballpark quickly emptied.The postgame fireworks show had already been canceled after the Highland Park tragedy. But across the Dan Ryan, departing fans could catch glimpses of smaller fireworks shows. The reporters went downstairs to conduct their postgame interviews, where La Russa, Kelly, Engel, Johnny Cueto and José Abreu gave their assessments on the game and the current state of the Sox.AdvertisementIt was just another day at the park. It was just another day in America.