olympics
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Exclusive: Olympian Raven Saunders Comes Out of the Dark to Raise Awareness, Destigmatize Mental Health
Content warning: The following article discusses mental illness and SI. With Mental Health Awareness Month officially underway, Well Beings, a major media campaign that works to demystify and de-stigmatize our physical and mental health through storytelling, has partnered with The Root to premiere its new web series, Out of the Dark. This three-part web series…
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She Just Did It: Simone Biles Makes the Leap From Nike to Athleta
Every professional athlete knows brand endorsements are the real butter atop their breadwinning. Similarly, brands know star athletes are big business. In what can only be called a stunning upset, Nike has apparently lost a real one, as it was announced Friday that America’s most decorated gymnast, the phenom known as Simone Biles, has exited…
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IOC Bans Athletes from Kneeling, Protesting During Tokyo Olympics. Good Luck With That
Even though athletes won’t be sanctioned for raising their fists or kneeling during the national anthem at the Olympic trials, once the Olympics actually begin on July 23, they’ll be subject to discipline should they decide to do so, according to The Guardian and NBC Sports. Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter explicitly states: “No…
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Game, Set, Match: Serena Williams Signs First-Look TV Deal With Amazon Studios, Docuseries Announced
Amazon Studios has served a first-look TV deal contract to tennis champ and overall icon Serena Williams and it looks like it’s all “love” on her end! According to an official press release sent to The Root, the 23-time Grand Slam champion and Amazon Studios are partnering to create scripted and unscripted television projects to…
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US Olympic Committee Says It Won't Sanction Athletes for Racial Justice Protests
This year, people from all walks of life used their voices to protest against the injustice they saw around the world. Among those participating in protests in 2020 were athletes in the NBA, WNBA, U.S. women’s soccer, NFL, and other fields, who received comparatively less outrage than professional players have in the past (see: Colin…
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'Breakin' 3: Olympic Boogaloo' Coming to a Summer Olympic Games Near You
Y’all. Listen. The 2024 Summer Olympics are about to be the greatest sporting event in history by virtue of the fact that breaking—competitive breakdancing—is officially an olympic sport. According to CBS News, the sport is set to be among the final list of sports to be announced for the 2024 games. The inclusion is part…
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The Root 100 Honoree Simone Biles’ Fly Fashion Moments
Whether she's stunning on a red carpet or keeping it cute at a football game--Biles' style is just as good as her athleticism. Let's get into it.
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Simone Biles Stands in Solidarity With Olympic Runner Semenya Caster After Controversial Ruling: ‘This Is Wrong on So Many Levels’
Real recognizes real, and greatness knows who it holds company with. It’s no surprise, then, that champion gymnast Simone Biles was among those offering full-throated support to South African track star Caster Semenya, who lost an appeal last week to be able to compete as she was born. A Swiss high court ruled last Tuesday…
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With New Ruling Against Semenya Caster, Track and Field Upholds Restrictive Gender Norms Rooted in Racism
South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya experienced another setback in her years-long struggle to compete on her terms—which is to say, to simply run without having to conform to restrictive, arbitrary and racist perceptions of what a woman’s body ought to be like. On Tuesday, a Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court dismissed her appeal of a…
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Damn, Y'all. Vince Carter Is Really Done
In a past life, I hated Vince Carter. My girlfriend at the time did a horrendous job of hiding her high school crush on the recently drafted, North Carolina product. So as he spent his rookie season defying gravity and performing the type of aerial stunts typically reserved for a trapeze artist, I stewed with…