WThe welfare of animals in rodeo has been a topic of discussion for the industry, the public, and the law for decades. Protests were first raised in the 1870s, and, in the middle twentieth century, laws were enacted to curb events using animals. The American Humane Association (AHA) has worked with the rodeo industry to establish rules improving animal welfare in rodeo and the treatment of rodeo animals.
WThe Extreme Heat Policy is a rule pertaining to the Australian Open (tennis). It was introduced in 1998 after consultation with a number of tennis players.
WbeoutQ is a pirate pay television broadcaster serving Saudi Arabia. Established in 2017, the service primarily simulcasts the programming of Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports, with beoutQ on-air logos overlaid over the original ones. beoutQ has similarly taken content from other broadcasters, and its set-top boxes also contain access to various IPTV services carrying other forms of live channels and entertainment content. The service launched shortly after beIN was forced to stop selling its services in Saudi Arabia, due to the then-ongoing diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab countries over alleged government support of terrorist groups. beoutQ set-top boxes and subscriptions have since become widely available in Saudi Arabia.
WBoosting is a method of inducing autonomic dysreflexia with the intention of enhancing performance in sport. It can be used by an athlete with a spinal cord injury to increase their blood pressure and is performed by causing a painful stimulus in the lower part of the body. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned the practice in 1994, but many competitors with spinal injuries are still thought to be using it as a performance enhancer.
WChronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated blows to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse over time and can result in dementia. It is unclear if the risk of suicide is altered.
WFoekje Dillema was a Dutch track and field athlete.
WFrederick "Fred" Lorz was an American long distance runner who won the 1905 Boston Marathon. Lorz is also known for his "finish" in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics for not having crossed the "half-way mark" and still winning.
WThe Maccabiah bridge collapse was the catastrophic failure of a pedestrian bridge over the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 14, 1997. The collapse of the temporary metal and wooden structure killed four and injured more than 60 Australian athletes and other team delegates who were visiting Israel to participate in the Maccabiah Games. One athlete died in the collapse and three died afterwards due to infections caused by exposure to the polluted river water. A subsequent investigation found that negligent shortcuts had been taken in the bridge's construction, mandatory permits and oversight had not been obtained, and the bridge's construction did not meet government requirements.
WMotor doping, or mechanical doping, in competitive cycling terminology, is a method of cheating by using a hidden motor to help propel a racing bicycle. The term is an analogy to chemical doping in sport, cheating by using performance-enhancing drugs. As a form of "technological fraud" it is banned by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body of cycling.
WMike Rossi is a disc jockey and former television host who gained national notoriety in 2015 after qualifying for the Boston Marathon with a time that later came under heavy scrutiny, resulting in widespread accusations that he had cheated in his qualifying race.
WLawrence Gerard Nassar is an American convicted serial rapist and sex offender, former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, former osteopathic physician, and former professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Nassar's cumulative sexual assault crimes were the basis of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal that began in 2015, in which he sexually assaulted at least 265 young women and girls dating back to 1992. His victims included numerous Olympic and United States women's national gymnastics team gymnasts. Nassar has admitted to 10 of those accusations.
WThe use of terms and images referring to Native Americans and First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team has been a decades-long topic of public controversy in the United States and Canada. Since the 1960s, as part of the indigenous civil rights movements, there have been a number of protests and other actions by Native Americans and their supporters. The retirement of Native American names and mascots by secondary schools has been a steady trend since the 1970s. Changes accelerated in 2020 with the public actions taken in the context of issues of institutional racism in response to a number of cases of police misconduct. National attention has been focused on the prominent use of names and images by professional franchises including the Washington Football Team. and the Cleveland Indians. Each change at the professional level has been followed by changes of school teams, 29 between August and December 2020. However, according to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) there remain 1,900 schools in 1,025 school districts that still have caricature tribal mascots.
WThe Pacers–Pistons brawl was an altercation that occurred in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons on Friday, November 19, 2004, at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Associated Press (AP) called it "the most infamous brawl in NBA history."
WDorando Pietri, often wrongly spelt Petri was an Italian long-distance runner. He finished first in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but was subsequently disqualified.
WA poseur is someone who poses for effect, or behaves affectedly, who affects a particular attitude, character or manner to impress others, or who pretends to belong to a particular group. A poseur may be a person who pretends to be what they are not or an insincere person; they may have a flair for drama or behave as if they are onstage in daily life.
WThe halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network, is notable for a moment in which Janet Jackson's breast—adorned with a nipple shield—was exposed by Justin Timberlake to the viewing public for approximately half a second. The incident, sometimes referred to as Nipplegate, led to an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting.
WProtests during the playing of the United States national anthem have had many causes, including civil rights, anti-conscription and anti-war, anti-nationalism, and religious reservations. Such protests have occurred since at least the 1890s, well before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted and resolved by Congress as the official national anthem in 1916 and 1931, respectively. Earlier protests typically took place during the performance of various unofficial national anthems, including "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "Hail, Columbia". These demonstrations include refusal to stand or face the American flag during the playing of the Anthem.
WSince August 2016, some American athletes have protested against police brutality and racism by kneeling on one knee during the U.S. national anthem. Beginning in 2017, many players also protested against President Donald Trump's criticisms of those involved in the protest, and some against Trump's policies since taking office. Some observers have described the protests as politically motivated or patriotic and have praised the players' social awareness, while others have criticized the attention given to social issues during sporting events, and called the protests unpatriotic or disrespectful. The act itself has become widely referred to as taking a knee or taking the knee.
WWheelmen: Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever is a non-fiction book about American cycling and Lance Armstrong, as well as his teammates including Floyd Landis. The book was released in the U.S. and Canada by Gotham Books on October 15, 2013, in the UK by Headline Publishing. Wheelmen was co-authored by Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell, American journalists who worked for The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal ran a pre-release excerpt of the book October 8, 2013 with the headline "Lance Armstrong: Downfall of a Champion."
WFrom March to May 1998, a terror plot against the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France was uncovered by European law enforcement. More than 100 people were arrested in seven countries as a result of the plot. Organised by the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and backed by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the plot is thought to have targeted the England–Tunisia match on 15 June 1998, and involved infiltrating the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille in order to attack players and spectators during the game, attack the hotel in Paris hosting the United States national team, and finally hijacking an aircraft and crashing it into the Civaux Nuclear Power Plant near Poitiers.