Wednesday was National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and with the 50th anniversary of Title IX coming up later this year, it was a momentous one.
State of play: Though the investment gap between men's and women's sports remains wide, the past few weeks have provided plenty of reasons for optimism.
Texas A&M ended National Signing Day with the best recruiting class in college football history.
Driving the news: The Aggies added five-star DE Shemar Stewart and four-star S Jacoby Mathews on Wednesday, nudging them past Alabama's 2021 class for the highest-ranked ever, per 247Sports.
Why it matters: The diplomatic boycott marked an escalation of pressure from the U.S. on the Chinese government over allegations of human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, a northwestern province of China.
Here's a look at what the diplomatic boycott means in practice.
The National Football League believes its Washington franchise, now called the Commanders, has solved many of its toxic workplace problems, according to a third-party audit obtained by Axios.
The big picture: The House Oversight Committee will hold a fact-finding hearing today on sexual harassment, intimidation and other misconduct that came to light last year.
Top Olympic sponsors have been tiptoeing around or staying silent on reports of human rights abuses in northwest China.
Why it matters: The companies — 13 of the most influential in the world — are in a lose-lose situation whether they speak out or stay silent. The lack of acknowledgement of the human rights concerns also feeds growing fear that censorship within China is spreading beyond its borders.
Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans was moved late Wednesday Beijing time to the Olympic Village where she would be allowed to continue her COVID-19 isolation, the athlete said via Instagram Stories.
Driving the news: Earlier Wednesday, Meylemans posted a tearful video on her Instagram detailing her treatment in COVID isolation and prompting the International Olympic Committee to step in, per the New York Times.
Tom Brady, the best QB in NFL history and one of the greatest athletes to ever live, officially retired on Tuesday after 22 seasons.
Why it matters: Brady, the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL draft, is 21st century sports. If there was a Mount Rushmore of North American athletes, his face would almost certainly on it.
The National Football League yesterday was rocked by a racial discrimination lawsuit, brought by recently fired Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. It could change the way teams are bought and sold, and even may put a new one in play.
Driving the news: Flores, who hopes his complaint will become a class action, mostly focuses on hiring practices — including alleged "sham" interview processes with the New York Giants and Denver Broncos. But his list of request injunctive reliefs includes:
Brian Flores, who was fired last month as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, said Wednesday that the lawsuit filed against the National Football League and each of its franchises for racial discrimination "is bigger than football."
Driving the news: "It’s hard to speak out. You’re making some sacrifices. But this is again, this is bigger than football. This is bigger than coaching," Flores said in an interview with "CBS Morning" on Wednesday.
The Washington Football Team said on Wednesday that it will change its name to the Washington Commanders.
The big picture: The announcement ends an 18-month wait for the NFL franchise's new name and follows years of complaints from fans, politicians and corporate sponsors that its previous moniker was a racial slur.
Nearly half of American adults say they approve of the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics — although 45% admitted they hadn't heard anything about it, according to new polling by Pew Research Center.
