USOC chief backs athlete protests

PARK CITY, Utah - Athletes should feel free to express their political opinions during next February's Winter Games in Pyeongchang despite strict Olympic rules barring such demonstrations, the head of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) said on Monday.

Referring to Sunday's protest by over 100 NFL players, who went down on one knee during the national anthem to protest against racial inequality, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said athletes had a right to air their opinions.

"The athletes you see protesting are protesting because they love their country, not because they don't," he said.

"So we fully support that our athletes and everybody else to express themselves."

Blackmun acknowledged that the situation is trickier given the International Olympic Committee charter, which specifically bans "demonstrations of political, religious or racial propaganda" at Olympic venues.

"We have a little bit of a different state of play when it comes to the Olympic Games."

Blackmun praised the 1968 Olympic protest by American track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave a black power salute from the podium in Mexico City, sparking controversy. Smith later stated that the gesture was a "human rights salute".

"That was a seminal moment not only for the Olympic movement but the U.S. Olympic team and we recognized them last year by bringing them to the White House," he said.

Several Olympic hopefuls backed the protesting NFL players but said on Monday that it was too soon to say what they may do if they find themselves in a similar position.

"I respect what those guys did and I do believe there is a lot of room for social change. As a person of color I do think it's something that we need to address," said Elana Meyers, an American bobsled pilot and two-time Winter Olympic medalist.

"But at the Olympics, the only time you get to hear your national anthem is if you win a gold medal.

"So it is going to come down to a game time decision."

Julia Mancuso, an alpine skier and four-time Olympic medalist, also supports the NFL players but said the dynamics are different for Olympic athletes.

"When it comes to the Olympics, I like to think that it's a special event not just like the NFL or pro sports teams that compete every weekend. For us it's every four years," she said.

"I'm proud of athletes that stand up for what they believe in... but I also like to think of us all as very patriotic athletes."

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NFL players in Ferguson show of support

ST. LOUIS -- Five NFL players for the St Louis Rams entered the field Sunday with their arms raised in the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture of protesters demanding justice for black teenager Michael Brown.

The pose has been the signature of demonstrators in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson, where a white policeman shot Brown dead in August, and by protesters who hit the streets in major US cities in recent days after a grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the killing.

A spokesman for the St Louis Rams told US media that the team had been unaware of the players' plan, which was quickly condemned by the St Louis Police Officers Association, saying it was "profoundly disappointed."

Jared Cook, one of the players, said: "We kind of came collectively together and decided we wanted to do something."

"We haven't been able to go down to Ferguson to do anything because we have been busy. Secondly, it's kind of dangerous down there and none of us want to get caught up in anything," ESPN quoted him as saying.

"So we wanted to come out and show our respect to the protests and the people who have been doing a heck of a job around the world."

The other players were Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt and Chris Givens.

After the Rams scored a touchdown in the 52-0 home thumping of Oakland, Britt and another player, Tre Mason, again raised their arms in apparent solidarity with protesters who are demanding justice for Brown, 18, and reform of police forces in the US.

Tensions were also high in the streets of St Louis, where dozens of demonstrators protested outside the Edward Jones Dome, home of the Rams.

There were sporadic clashes between the protesters and riot police, with some football fans also getting involved.

The jury decision last week has revived long-standing questions about how police, especially white officers, interact with African Americans -- questions raised again after the recent fatal shooting in Cleveland of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Looting erupted and businesses were set ablaze in Ferguson, a predominantly black St Louis suburb policed by a mostly white force, after the grand jury decision on November 24.

- 'Rebuild the city' -

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles pledged Sunday to get the troubled area back on its feet.

"We are recommitted to rebuilding the city and to once again becoming a thriving community for economic development and residential stability," he told a news conference.

"We are working hard with local and regional partners to reestablish resources available."

Protesters in Ferguson have shot at police, robbed locally owned stores and set cars and buildings ablaze. A church attended by Brown's family -- who had appealed for calm -- was burned down.

There were also demonstrations -- some violent -- in the weeks after Wilson shot Brown dead.

Protests have been dying down in Ferguson and elsewhere in the United States.

However in Washington, DC, demonstrators briefly shut down a downtown highway Sunday, local media reported, with pictures showing protesters holding hands blocking several lanes of traffic.

On Saturday, Wilson, who has been in hiding since the fatal shooting, resigned from the Ferguson police department, citing fears for the safety of local residents and fellow police officers.

He will not get any severance pay, said the mayor, who also unveiled plans and incentives to increase the racial mix of the Ferguson police department.

Despite that and Wilson's decision to quit with immediate effect, some Ferguson protesters also want the local police chief Thomas Jackson to step down.

"It's impossible for this community to move forward with him still in that role," local St Louis politician Antonio French told ABC News.

In a brief statement, Jackson again reiterated that he had no intention of resigning.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

NFL players union funds $100M Harvard study on injury

BOSTON - The union that represents U.S. professional football players has given Harvard University a $100 million grant for a study of the range of health problems, from brain damage to heart conditions, that affect current and former players.

Researchers with Harvard Medical School plan to spend a decade studying hundreds of former players who are members of the National Football League Players Association, university officials said on Tuesday. The aim is to develop strategies to limit the long-term damage that players suffer from years of hits on the field.

The recent suicides of a spate of former NFL players, including 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau, have raised concerns about the toll that blows to the head take on the brains of current and former players.

Scientists have found that years of steady, small hits can lead to a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which at its start can cause victims to have a hard time concentrating on small tasks and eventually can lead to aggression and dementia.

The worries are not limited to the pros, who are part of a $9 billion U.S. industry. Parents of players, from peewee leagues to college, have raised concerns about the game and leagues have changed rules to limit hits to the head.

Those concerns reach all the way to the White House.

"I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football," President Barack Obama said in an interview with the New Republic magazine published on Sunday, a week before the Super Bowl championship will be played in New Orleans.

Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey Flier said the research would aim to address health concerns at all levels of play.

"Millions of kids and college athletes play football, formally and informally," Flier said in a statement on the school's website. "We cannot afford to ignore the health risks associated with this sport."

Harvard researchers plan to identify a group of at least 1,000 retired NFL players from around the country and focus their study on 100 healthy and 100 unhealthy former players.

The NFL lauded the move.

"We look forward to learning more about the Harvard study and hope that it will play an important role in advancing medical science," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

The league faces lawsuits from more than 2,000 former players who say NFL management concealed information about the risk of chronic brain injury to players. It has begun to change the rules of the game to lower the risks, including sharply penalizing the most dangerous helmet-on-helmet hits.

Seau's family sued the NFL this month, saying brain damage he suffered during his 20 years in the league led to his suicide. A study by independent researchers found that Seau, 43, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy - the same debilitating brain disease diagnosed in at least two other former NFL players who committed suicide.

The NFL has said the findings about Seau's brain underscored "the recognized need for additional research to accelerate a fuller understanding of CTE." League teams have donated $30 million to the National Institutes of Health for research.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Dan Grebler)

source: abs-cbnnews.com