'The Man in the Arena’ wears red, white, blue — and wins



In his famous “The Man in the Arena” speech, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”

On March 22, Wyatt Hendrickson was that man.

We’ve found our Man in the Arena. Captain America isn’t just a nickname. He’s the embodiment of the American spirit.

He pulled off what many now call the greatest upset in NCAA wrestling history, defeating Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson for the NCAA heavyweight championship. The arena was packed with 18,000 spectators — including former President Donald Trump.

But more impressive than the title was what led up to it. The championship was the culmination of Hendrickson’s entire journey to this point. Known as “Captain America,” Hendrickson represents the best of the American spirit: hard work, devotion to God, commitment to service, and unapologetic patriotism.

The trendy mantra of “work smarter, not harder” doesn’t apply to him.

“I get my work ethic from my dad,” he told me in a phone call last week. “He always said to work harder, not smarter. There’s no substitute for hard work. If you’re looking for shortcuts, you’ve already messed up.”

Wrestlers can’t outsource the brutal task of cutting weight the night before a match. And Siri can’t stop you from getting cauliflower ear (look it up — you’ll wince).

Hendrickson’s work ethic was forged early. He started wrestling at age 5. But it was a decision he made as a teenager that shaped his life.

“I grew up in a Christian household, but in high school I made the decision to make Jesus my Lord and Savior,” he said.

And he doesn’t just serve God.

Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Hendrickson is ready to do just that. He’s a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force — the origin of his nickname, “Captain America.” Before using his final year of eligibility at Oklahoma State, he graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He remains on active duty and has committed to at least 20 years of service.

It was all on display as Hendrickson bolted out of the tunnel for his title match. He carried America on his back and Jesus on his heart — literally. Draped in the American flag and wearing his signature shirt with “JESUS” printed in bold capital letters across the chest, Hendrickson made his values unmistakably clear.

Plenty of athletes either reject patriotic or Christian values — or don’t have the guts to display them. Some even wear the Stars and Stripes while openly expressing disdain for what it represents. Megan Rapinoe, former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team star, once famously said, “Maybe America is great for a few people right now.” Does she count herself among them?

Hendrickson, by contrast, told me, “Living in America is pretty freakin’ sweet.” He said that growing up, respect for the flag just came naturally. So why did he drape it over his shoulders before the biggest match of his life? “That was the most badass thing I could do,” he said.

Patriots don’t ask permission.

The American spirit stretches back to our founding and remains alive nearly 250 years later. Our Founding Fathers set the standard. It’s hard not to draw a parallel between the iconic painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware and Hendrickson stepping onto the mat — both underdogs, both carrying Old Glory into battle. Even the smoke machine Hendrickson ran through felt like a nod to the fog Washington fought through.

After the match, Hendrickson wrapped President Trump in a bear hug. Speaking about that moment with the man he calls “the big boss,” Hendrickson said, “Don’t be afraid to step up and stand for what you believe in.”

After his Olympic run, Hendrickson will turn his full focus to the Air Force. “Wrestling is harder than the military,” he told me. “It’s prepared me for the military. After wrestling, everything is easy.” He says his life revolves around three priorities: wrestling, God, and America. If you could engineer a patriot in a lab, Hendrickson would be the blueprint.

Samuel Adams once said, “For true patriots to be silent is dangerous.” The only thing dangerous about Wyatt Hendrickson is facing him on the mat. We’ve found our Man in the Arena. Captain America isn’t just a nickname. He’s the embodiment of the American spirit.

D.C. Decision Makers Could Kill College Sports By Giving NCAA Big Dogs A Legal Monopoly

The NCAA is broken, but handing the keys to a few fat cats will make it even worse.

Congress’ Sex Abuse Enforcement Body Nailed For Fraud, Pattern Of Misconduct

U.S. Center for SafeSport, created after the Larry Nassar scandal, can expect more scrutiny after a court found it guilty of fraud.

'Absurd from top to bottom': Trans activist tells Riley Gaines the Paralympics should be combined with the regular Olympics



A transgender activist not only declared that men should be able to compete in women's sports at the Olympic level, but also agreed that Paralympians should be made to compete against able-bodied Olympians.

Blossom Brown, a male who believes he is female, appeared on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" to discuss whether or not men who identify as women should be allowed in women's sports.

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines also appeared on the program and cited a well-known story from the tennis world as an example of gender disparity in sports.

Gaines referred to tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams losing to No. 203-ranked male player Karsten Braasch in 1998. Braasch beat the sisters 6-1 (Serena) and 6-2 (Venus) in succession — taking only a cigarette break in between — after they claimed they could beat any male player ranked outside the top 200.

'I don't see anything wrong with it.'

Host Piers Morgan then asked Brown if he would want the upcoming Olympics in Los Angeles to be "gender-neutral," where the sexes compete with one another.

Brown immediately replied, "Absolutely."

"I don't see anything wrong with it as long as you include 'trans women,'" he added.

Morgan called the idea "completely insane" and said that in practice, it would exclude all women from winning medals.

Gaines called the idea "entirely and thoroughly absurd from top to bottom."

Brown then referred to transgender swimmer Lia (William) Thomas, who actually competed against Gaines in college swimming, as a counterpoint. The activist said that since Thomas did not win all of his events in women's swimming, he therefore stands as evidence that it is fair for men to compete against women. However, this is easily refuted by the fact that Thomas was ranked just 554th in men's swimming yet was able to win medals when competing against woman.

The activist also claimed there is collateral damage to keeping men out of women's athletics. He cited boxer Imane Khelif, saying Khelif suffered from "transphobia" abuse due to being a woman who appears more masculine.

Gaines quickly corrected Brown, stating that Khelif has been determined to be a man by three different organizations. This included endocrinologists who revealed a pelvic MRI of Khelif that showed the "absence of a uterus" and the presence of "gonads in inguinal canals," meaning testicles in the abdomen.

Brown added that more women would be subject to unfair "rigorous testing" under President Trump because he signed an executive order to prevent men from competing in women's sports.

Before the end of the segment, Gaines asked, "Do you also believe, Blossom, that we should combine the Paralympics and the Olympics? I would love to to hear an answer to that."

After Morgan reaffirmed the question, Brown replied, "I mean, why not?"

"Yeah, why not," Morgan sarcastically said, as Gaines threw her hands on her head in disbelief. Clips from the episode have already accumulated about 1.5 million views on X.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Imane Khelif says he will fight to remain in women's boxing: 'I am not going anywhere'



Infamous boxer Imane Khelif vowed to continue to fight "in the ring" and "in the courts" in order to continue competing in women's boxing.

Khelif competed at the Paris Olympics in women's 66kg boxing, easily trouncing the competition en route to a gold medal despite at least three different professional analyses saying he is a biological man.

The boxer released a statement on Wednesday via Instagram and declared an intention to fight for the "principles of fair competition" through legal means.

'Silence is no longer an option.'

"For eight years, I have fought for my dream-eight years of sacrifice, discipline, and perseverance to stand on the Olympic stage and represent my country with pride. I have earned my place, and I will continue to stand firm in the face of any challenge," the 25-year-old wrote in a statement.

Khelif continued, "For two years, I have taken the high road while my name and image have been used, unauthorized, to further personal and political agendas through the spreading and dissemenation [sic] of baseless lies and misinformation. But silence is no longer an option."

Of course, Khelif has neither taken the high road nor remained silent since the 2024 Olympics.

In August that year, the fighter filed a complaint over alleged harassment at the online hate unit of the Paris prosecutor’s office, saying multiple celebrities like Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling, and even President Trump had inspired allegedly illegal remarks.

A month later, Khelif also did not remain silent when he accused Musk of being the catalyst of an online hate campaign and said he was "the first to attack me."

In the recent statement, Khelif blamed the International Boxing Association for making "baseless accusations that are false and
offensive" in order to "further their agenda."

The IBF was just one of the organizations that declared Khelif is a man, however. The World Boxing Organization, along with multiple endocrinological experts, also determined that Khelif is man. The latter even revealed a pelvic MRI showing the "absence of a uterus" and the presence of "gonads in inguinal canals," meaning testicles in the abdomen. Additionally, a "blind vagina" and a micro-penis in the form of "clitoral hypertrophy" were identified.

A hormonal analysis also reportedly found testosterone levels similar to those of males.

Still, Khelif claimed to be engaged in a fight for the "principles of fairness and due process in sport."

Khelif went on to say, "I have fought through every setback, every false accusation, every attempt to erase me. And I have won. Each obstacle has only strengthened my resolve. I will continue to compete with honor and integrity."

The Algerian then stated that a legal team is reviewing the situation in order to ensure that the "rights and the principles of fair competition are upheld" and that "justice prevails."

"I am not going anywhere. I will fight in the ring, I will fight in courts, and I will fight in the public eye until the truth is undeniable," Khelif added.

Stateside, President Trump signed an executive order to prevent men from competing in women's sports. The order called for "enforcement actions against educational institutions" if they force women to participate in sports or athletic events with men or if women are forced to "appear unclothed before males."

These rules are likely to apply when the summer Olympic Games return to Los Angeles in 2028.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Male boxers top Google's most-searched athletes in the world for 2024



The most-searched athletes in the world on Google in 2024 coincided with some of the biggest events in the year, including the most-viewed boxing comeback of all time.

Although World Series competitors the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers topped Google's list of most-searched sports teams for the year, neither of the teams’ uber-popular stars, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, made the list for individual athletes.

Instead, those spots were reserved for boxers, Olympians, soccer players, and cricket stars.

Topping the list at No.1 worldwide was Olympic gold medal boxer Imane Khelif. Khelif was accused of being a man who pummeled women en route to gold in the women's 66kg weight class.

Khelif peaked in searches between July 28 and August 3, beginning right around the time it was revealed two boxers who failed gender tests would be competing in the Olympics.

Multiple sources have claimed Khelif is a man, including the International Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization. Two researchers also cited medical studies that claimed Khelif has male genitalia and XY chromosomes.

Despite this bounty of evidence, Khelif has denied all accusations and claimed they are simply the product of a hate campaign.

A different boxer who got all the love and almost as many searches was Mike Tyson at No. 2. Tyson made a landmark comeback at 58 years old in a live Netflix boxing special.

Tyson dominated Google between November 10-16, losing a decision to Jake Paul on November 15. Afterward, rumors swirled about the authenticity of the fight, leading to a Saudi Arabian entertainment executive offering Tyson a cool $700 million to take a rematch.

Paul himself was ranked fifth on the worldwide list, peaking in popularity in the same time frame. However, the young boxer was out-ranked by No. 3 worldwide search Lamine Yamal.

Yamal was searched throughout the year, having started for top-tier soccer club Barcelona at just 16 years old. Yamal further entered into living rooms across the globe after appearing in the Euro 2024 international tournament.

Olympic gold medalist gymnast Simone Biles appeared at No. 4 after another successful stint representing the red, white, and blue.

Biles took home three gold and one silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has consistently stayed in headlines due to openly discussing mental issues. She is also married to NFL player Jonathan Owens, which surely provides crossover appeal with football fans.

Simone Biles poses with her four medals at the Paris Olympics; she was the fourth-most Googled athlete of 2024.Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Other soccer players like Nico Williams and Rodrigo Hernández Cascante cracked the top 10 along with multiple popular cricket players. Coming in at No. 8, however, was American golfer Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler had one of the most wild years of any athlete, first getting arrested in May while on his way to compete in a tournament; the charges were later dropped. He again made headlines in August after winning gold at the Summer Olympics.

A month later, Scheffler went viral for mocking a reporter's clueless questions at a press conference.

All's well that ends well for Scheffler, though; he ended the 2024 PGA Tour season with nearly $30 million in earnings.

Additionally, Scheffler ranked fourth on the U.S.-only Google list of most-searched athletes of the year. That list had Tyson at No. 1, Khelif at No. 2, and Biles at No 3.

It also included WNBA star Caitlin Clark at seventh place and popular, anti-woke NFL kicker Harrison Butker at eighth.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'Tonight was my revenge': Female boxer who lost to male at Olympics wins national title



A female Olympic boxer won a national title in her home country months after losing a controversial bout in less than a minute to an opponent accused of being a man.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Italy's Angela Carini retired after just 46 seconds during a match against Algeria's Imane Khelif, a fighter shrouded in controversy over rumors the boxer has male chromosomes. Khelif went on to win the gold medal.

Now, Carini has reportedly won the Italian women's national boxing title and was shown in a photo celebrating with her medal.

"Tonight was my revenge," Carini said, per the Telegraph's Oliver Brown.

Carini's ability to win a national title perhaps showcases that even top female athletes are at a disadvantage when it comes to directly competing against men.

'I'm going out with my head held high.'

After her loss to Khelif at the summer games, Carini broke down in tears as her opponent celebrated.

"I got into the ring to fight," Carini said following the fight. "I didn't give up, but one punch hurt too much, and so I said enough."

"I'm going out with my head held high," she added.

However, the Italian would later apologize for not shaking her opponent's hand and said she accepted the decision by the International Olympic Committee to allow Khelif to compete against women.

"All this controversy makes me sad," Carini said. "I'm sorry for my opponent, too. ... If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision."

Angela Carini reacts to her loss against Imane Khelif at North Paris Arena on August 1, 2024, in Paris, France.Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP) (Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images

Multiple sources have claimed Khelif is a man, however. This included the International Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization.

The IBA disqualified the boxer at the 2023 world championships with IBA President Umar Kremlev saying at the time that Khelif had "XY chromosomes."

The WBO's István Kovács said, "The result of the gender test ... clearly revealed that the Algerian boxer is biologically male."

After the Olympics, Khelif still denied any possibility of being a man and even filed hate speech complaints in France against names like Elon Musk and author J.K. Rowling over "alleged acts of aggravated cyber harassment."

It wasn't until November when a journalist acquired medical documents that stated Khelif has testicles, a penis, and XY chromosomes. A pelvic MRI also reportedly revealed the "absence of a uterus."

Despite this report, Khelif has still been reported on as a female, telling reporters that "based on unverified information, [critics] attacked a young girl who was just there to realize her dream."

According to the Daily Mail, an endocrinologist involved in the report said his name was being used to disseminate an anti-trans agenda but also did not deny the claims made in his report.

Algeria's Imane Khelif smiles before exiting the ring following a 46-second victory against Italy's Angela Carini.Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Christian Olympic champion in women's wrestling prefers to compete against women only



A female Olympic gold medalist in wrestling has weighed in on men competing in women's sports, saying she prefers wrestling against men only "in practice."

Tamyra Mensah-Stock, 32, recently traveled to the Tilles Center for Performing Arts in Brookville, New York, for the sixth annual FOX Nation Patriot Awards. Wearing glasses, dreadlocks, and a gold cross around her neck, Mensah-Stock stopped to answer whether she had ever competed against so-called transwomen athletes in freestyle wrestling.

"No, thank goodness. But I know a few people that have," she replied.

When pressed about whether she might consider doing so in the future, Mensah-Stock hesitated.

"I'll just say this. I've wrestled plenty of guys in practice, and I will only wrestle them in practice — because wrestling men is very, very difficult even when they are 20 pounds smaller than me," she explained.

The thought of competing against a man in her weight class then seemed to give her further pause. "If they're the same weight as me ..." she said, trailing off. She then came to a firm conclusion: "I just keep it in practice."

'It’s just by the grace of God that I’m just able to even move my feet,' she explained. 'I just leave it in his hands.'

Mensah-Stock first captured the hearts of Americans everywhere with her exuberant demonstration of patriotism immediately after she took the gold medal in women's freestyle wrestling at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

"I love representing the U.S. I freaking love living there," she gushed with a grin on her face and an American flag wrapped around her shoulders. "I love it, and I'm so happy I get to represent U-S-A!"

Overcome with emotion, Mensah-Stock then expressed thanks to God, crediting him with giving her the talent and means to achieve her dreams.

"It’s just by the grace of God that I’m just able to even move my feet," she explained. "I just leave it in his hands. I prayed that all of the training and practice, the hell that my freaking coaches put me through pays off. Every single time it does. I get better and better. It’s so weird that there is no cap to the limit of what I can do."

"I’m excited to see what I have next."

Because of her love of country and her honorable representation of the United States at the Olympics, Fox Nation named Mensah-Stock the Most Valuable Patriot of 2021.

In May 2023, she signed a contract with WWE to become a professional wrestler. She has not ruled out wrestling against men as part of that agreement.

The FOX Nation Patriot Awards aired on the Fox New Channel on Sunday night.

H/T: the Daily Mail

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'We never had any doubt': Olympics president suddenly reverses course on Trump rhetoric after bashing him in 2017



The president of the Olympic committee said he is "very confident" that President-elect Donald Trump will support the 2028 Olympics despite denigrating him in 2017.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach spoke at a press conference following a board meeting and praised Trump despite harsh headlines surrounding their first meeting during Trump's first term.

"We are very confident there with regard to the steps and efforts being undertaken," Bach said in Lausanne, Switzerland, per the Associated Press.

Bach also made the claim to reporters that he has always known Trump supports the Olympics.

"We saw also that President-elect Trump repeatedly declared his support for the games, which we never had any doubt because he has declared this support from the very beginning."

This is a turnaround from June 2017 reports, when Bach met with Trump at the White House. Trump was working with Olympic officials at the time in hopes of bring the games to U.S. soil.

Although Trump took credit for securing the games, Fox News reported that Bach spoke about Trump in a private conversation afterward and was overheard giving dramatic remarks about the president.

"Pray for our world," Bach was allegedly heard saying while in Washington, D.C.

At the same time however, 2024 Olympic Games Los Angeles bid chief Casey Wasserman praised the president for his work on the endeavor.

"Every letter, every phone call ... to President Bach ... support of our bid generally. ... In my role, from what we need from the federal government, he's been all I would hope for."

'These Olympic Games met the expectations of the world.'

Bach now says committee officials in Los Angeles and leaders of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee will need to be in "early contact with the incoming team" from the Trump administration ahead of planning for the 2028 games.

The IOC also noted its commissioned research, which reportedly showed an audience of 5 billion viewers tuned in to the Paris Olympics, capitalizing on 84% of the potential global audience.

"These Olympic Games met the expectations of the world," Bach said.

It should be assumed, however, that at least some of the viewership was under a controversial lens. For example, the opening ceremony included drag queens and a mock Last Supper, drawing mass criticism from Christians around the world.

As well, a boxer who was proven by several committees to be male competed and won against females at the Olympics, which drew extreme focus and widespread disdain.

For the 2022 Beijing Winter Games through the 2024 Paris Summer Games, the IOC reported a total revenue of $7.6 billion.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

5 infamous political moments in sports you forgot about



Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest was one of the most talked-about political moments in sports history. For many, it became a symbol of standing against bigotry and racism, and eight years later, the protest is surprisingly still in effect in English soccer leagues.

To others, it represents an unwanted interruption in a medium that should be void of activism, serving as an escape from reality.

With the sports world now using the election of Donald Trump as an inspiration for dances and celebrations, the simple acts signal that politics in sports isn’t going away any time soon.

‘On the war in Vietnam, I sing this song.’

Muhammad Ali’s fight against the Vietnam War

Iconic boxer Muhammad Ali is often portrayed as not only one of the greatest ever in his sport but also one of the greatest activists of all time.

However, many of his polarizing remarks don’t often make it into recollections of some of his most famous protests.

In 1967-1968, Ali was seeking an exemption from the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector on the basis of being an Islamic leader, USA Today reported.

Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for draft-dodging, but he was freed on bail and never served any time.

Your browser does not support the video tag. Footage by Getty Images

Ali’s boxing title was revoked by the New York State Athletic Commission, and he was banned from the sport. At the same time, his opinions and even his poetry about his views on the war were widely publicized.

Keep asking me, no matter how long,
On the war in Vietnam, I sing this song,
I ain't got no quarrel with the Viet Cong.

However, other remarks, specifically about white people, are not often recited.

"You’re talking to me about some drafts, and all of you white boys are breaking your necks to get to Switzerland and Canada and London. I'm not going to help nobody get something my negroes don't have. If I'm gonna die, I'll die right here fighting you."

"You my enemy,” Ali continued. “My enemy is a white people. Not Vietnam, Chinese, or Japanese. [You’re] my opposer when I want freedom."

In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in Ali’s favor, saying his beliefs in his faith were sincere.

Before Kaepernick, there was Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Image via Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Much like Cassius Clay changing his name to Muhammad Ali, Chris Wayne Jackson changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf upon converting to Islam and following black identitarianism.

In 1996, Abdul-Rauf sat during "The Star-Spangled Banner" more than 60 times. When questioned on his decision, he reportedly said Islamism and American nationalism don’t mix.

“Islam is the only way,” he said, according to ESPN.

"It's also a symbol of oppression," Abdul-Rauf said of the American flag. "Of tyranny; it depends on how you look at it. I think that this country has a long history of that."

The player garnered mixed reviews from other NBA players, including Dennis Rodman, who said for the amount of money Abdul-Rauf was being paid, he should be happy to stand for two minutes.

"If you want to do that, why don't you bring your own flag and sing your own national anthem?" Rodman said.

Fellow Muslim player Hakeem Olajuwon said that the flag should be respected, while Magic Johnson simply stated that people shouldn't be mad at others for expressing their beliefs.

Abdul-Rauf eventually agreed to stand, but not until he was suspended two games and started losing money. The trade-off was that the player could stand and say his own private prayer during the anthem.

He was booed during his first appearance after his suspension.

Cold War buzzer-beater

During the 1972 Munich Olympics, with the Cold War in full swing, the Soviet Union and the United States played a heated men’s basketball final in front of a tense audience.

The Americans were poised to win — or face shame upon their return home for losing in the sport they had long dominated.

With just three seconds left in the final, American Doug Collins sank two clutch free throws despite taking a nasty fall just seconds earlier. This gave the American team a 50-49 lead with three seconds remaining.

What followed was a calamity of scoring table errors that transformed the game’s ending from iconic to controversial.

Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images

First, Russian coaches took a time-out, but their team inbounded the ball anyway, and referees blew the whistle with the clock stopped at just one second remaining. Before the clock could be correctly reset to three seconds, the referee handed the ball to the Russians, who then inbounded and threw up a desperate last-second shot that missed.

The elated American squad celebrated for minutes on the court, ecstatic about their victory and relieved of the immense pressure on their shoulders.

However, officials stopped the celebration, reset the clock to three seconds, and gave the USSR yet another chance.

A full-court pass to Alelxander Belov resulted in an easy bucket, giving the Soviets a 51-50 gold medal win.

Due to the apparent controversy, the American team refused their silver medals and did not show up for the medal ceremony.

Team captain Kenny Davis said the Americans felt the Soviets “did something” that was illegal, and they didn’t know any other way to protest.

“You're not about to get us to show up to take that silver medal,” he said.

The team appealed, but Olympic judges voted 3:2 in favor of the official result.

"Everything progressed according to strictly Cold War politics," Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith remarked. "There were three Communist Bloc judges. It's a three-to-two vote. America loses. The Soviet Union wins the gold medal, and at that point the American players are facing a stark reality. Do they accept the silver medal?"

Those silver medals are now kept in a vault. Some of the American team members allegedly wrote into their wills that their beneficiaries cannot claim the medals, either.

World Cup struggle session

In 2010, the North Korean soccer team qualified for its first FIFA World Cup since 1966. Expectations were appropriately low, until the North Korean squad looked impressive in a 2-1 loss to Brazil, which was a juggernaut in the tournament.

Despite the loss, the close score was so unexpected that North Korea decided to run its next game against Portugal live on state-run television, the first time a sporting event had been broadcast live in the country.

This would turn out to be a horrible mistake.

Photo by Alex Livesey - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Unfortunately for the North Korean players, they lost 7-0 to Portugal in that live broadcast and then 3-0 to Ivory Coast in their final game.

The Portugal game had long-lasting consequences on the players, as when they returned home they were reportedly subjected to a six-hour struggle session.

According to the Telegraph, the entire squad was placed on a stage and subjected to criticism from the sport minister as 400 government officials, students, and journalists looked on.

The event was called a “grand debate” because the team had failed their “ideological struggle.”

The team’s manager was allegedly forced to become a builder while being expelled from the ruling political party.

Only two players avoided the communist display, Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak, who were both born in Japan and returned there immediately following the World Cup.

Even stranger, North Korea allegedly pumped out videos to the masses in an attempt to change history. In one video allegedly broadcasted, a state television news host not only claimed North Korea had beaten Brazil but was “denied a rightful victory” against Portugal and that the game ended in draw.

The broadcast also dubbed over star Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo and pretended that he said he would be willing to play in Pyongyang because of the wonderful fan base.

For the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, North Korean television stated that the North Korea team beat Japan 7-0, the United States 4-0, and China 2-0. The broadcast said North Korea would go on to play Portugal in the semifinal.

North Korea was never actually in the 2014 World Cup. Neither was China.

Helmet Pride humiliation

2023 was a year of reckoning in the NHL when it came to gay pride, Pride Nights, and the ever-present specter of woke ideology.

Teams were seemingly falling over themselves to outdo one another’s Pride Night festivities and pregame gay-pride jerseys.

At least seven players eventually took a stand against the practice during the 2022-2023 season, one of whom was Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov.

Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images

Did Samsonov make a public statement? Carry a crucifix across the ice? No, the goalie’s crime was simply not wearing a rainbow decal on the back of his helmet during warm-ups.

Samsonov did not even play in goal that night, and the Leafs organization went above and beyond in its tribute to non-heterosexual lifestyles.

Nonetheless, Samsonov was subjected to a humiliation ritual by the Toronto sports media.

Canada’s TSN specifically singled out Samsonov for not wearing the decal in the few minutes he was on the ice, meaning there was likely someone assigned to check for such ethical violations.

Another since-removed report from MSN claimed the Leafs "hid Samsonov away from the media" and called the Russian's actions a "disappointment," along with "foolish and unnecessary."

Eventually, at least seven NHL players refused to participate in Pride activities, leading the league to announce that teams would no longer wear “Pride”-themed jerseys during warm-ups, which bothered some of the league’s most woke players.

Not to worry, though. It took just a week for the league to announce a new Player Inclusion Coalition to help create a "safe space" and educate about the importance of diversity and inclusion.