WThe Baylor University sexual assault scandal was the result of numerous allegations of and convictions for sexual and non-sexual assaults committed by Baylor University students, mostly players in the Baylor Bears football team, during the early-to-mid 2010s. In 2016, Baylor's football team came under fire when it was revealed university officials had failed to take action regarding the alleged rapes and assaults. The scandal led to the ouster of head football coach Art Briles, the demotion and eventual resignation of Baylor president Ken Starr, the resignation of athletic director Ian McCaw, and the firing of two others connected with the football program. It also led to the resignation of Baylor's Title IX Coordinator, Patty Crawford. Plaintiff's attorney Jim Dunnam accused Baylor of implementing a ″concerted strategy to get the public to believe this is entirely and only a football-related problem"
WThe 2016 Belmont Stakes was the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. The 1 1⁄2-mile (2,400 m) race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final jewel in Thoroughbred horse racing's American Triple Crown series, and was held on June 11, 2016, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby. The race, which had no Triple Crown at stake, was broadcast by NBC beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT, with pre-race coverage on NBCSN starting at 3:00 p.m. The race was won by Creator by a nose over Destin. 2016 Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator finished eleventh.
WThe 2016 Boston Marathon was the 120th running of the Boston Athletic Association's mass-participation marathon. It took place on Monday, April 18. Both of the winners were from Ethiopia: the men's race was won by Lemi Berhanu Hayle in a time of 2:12:45. Atsede Baysa won the women's race with a time of 2:29:19.
WThe 2016 United States Women's Curling Championship was held from February 6 to 13 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. It was held in conjunction with the 2016 United States Men's Curling Championship.
WThe International 2016 (TI6) was the sixth iteration of The International, an annual Dota 2 esports world championship tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament began with the qualifier phase in June 2016, and ended after the main event at the KeyArena in Seattle in August.
WThe 2016 Invictus Games was the second edition of the Invictus Games. On 14 July 2015, Prince Harry, Patron of Invictus Games Foundation, announced the 2016 Invictus Games would take place from 8–12 May 2016 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
WThe 3rd Annual Kids' Choice Sports was held on July 14, 2016, at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast three days later on July 17. Seattle Seahawks quarterback and Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson returned as host.
WThe 2016 League of Legends World Championship was the sixth world championship for League of Legends, a video game developed by Riot Games. It was held from September 29 – October 29, 2016, in cities across the United States. Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in North America, Europe, South Korea, and China. The tournament's group stage was held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the quarterfinals at The Chicago Theater in Chicago, and the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The final was held in front of a crowd of nearly 20,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Russian-German DJ Zedd made an exclusive song for the tournament titled "Ignite" which became available for streaming viewing on the game's official YouTube channel.
WThe 2016 Masters Tournament was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Danny Willett won his first major championship, three strokes ahead of runners-up Lee Westwood and defending champion Jordan Spieth. Spieth suffered one of the biggest collapses in Masters history. Spieth led the tournament from the first round and built a five-shot lead going to the back nine on Sunday, but lost six shots to par over the next three holes culminating in a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole where he hit two balls into Rae's Creek. Willett shot a bogey-free 67 to overtake Spieth when the leader faltered on the back nine. Willett became the first European to win the Masters since 1999, and the first Englishman to do so since Nick Faldo in 1996.
WMLG Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship: Columbus, also referred to as MLG Columbus 2016 was the eighth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship held by Major League Gaming (MLG) throughout March 29 to April 3, 2016 in the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, US. It was the first CS:GO Major in North America as well as the first run by Major League Gaming, who previously ran an exhibition CS:GO tournament at X Games Aspen 2015. It was also the very first CS:GO major in which ESL or DreamHack was not the organizer. It was announced on February 23, 2016 that MLG Columbus 2016 would be the first Counter-Strike tournament with a $1,000,000 prize pool.
WThe 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships took place from March 17 to March 19 in New York City, New York at the Madison Square Garden. The tournament was the 86th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and featured seventy two teams across that level.
WThe 2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was the first annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate beach volleyball in the United States. The tournament was played on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama, hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, from May 6–8, 2016. The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) had previously sponsored a beach volleyball championship prior to the NCAA's sanctioning of the sport in 2015.
WThe 2016 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament was the 47th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I and Division II men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania from May 3–7, 2016.
WThe 2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 48th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Spieker Aquatics Complex at the University of California in Berkeley, California from December 3–4, 2016. The five conferences receiving automatic qualification were: the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). California defeated USC 11-8 to win the national title in double overtime.
WThe 2016 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was the 16th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California from May 13–15, 2016. The USC Trojans defeated the 2015 champions, the Stanford Cardinal, 8-7 to win their fifth national title, while finishing the season 26-0.
WThe 2016 Overwatch World Cup was the inaugural Overwatch World Cup, an annual Overwatch esports tournament, organized by Blizzard Entertainment, the game's developer. It was the first of the series, and the final tournament took place at BlizzCon at the Anaheim Convention Center from November 4–5, 2016.
WThe 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships is the fifteenth edition of the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships. The competition was held April 8–10, 2016 at the Xfinity Arena and the Everett Community College – both of which are in Everett, Washington. The 2016 event marks the fifth time that the Championships have been held in the United States, and the second time in Everett.
WThe 2016 PGA Championship was the 98th PGA Championship which took place from July 28–31 at Baltusrol Golf Club on the Lower Course in Springfield Township, New Jersey, west of New York City. This was the ninth major and second PGA Championship at Baltusrol, which last hosted in 2005. Jimmy Walker won his first major championship title with a score of 14 under par, one shot ahead of 2015 champion Jason Day.
WThe 2016 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held May 12–15 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 43rd Players Championship.
WThe 2016 Preakness Stakes was the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes. The race was held on May 21, 2016, and was scheduled to be run at 6:45 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and was televised on NBC. Exaggerator won the race, while 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist finished third. The Maryland Jockey Club reported a track record total attendance of 135,256, the second highest attendance for American thoroughbred racing events in North America during 2016.
WThe 2016 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2015 season, which was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 31, 2016.
WThe 41st Ryder Cup Matches were held in the United States from September 30 to October 2, 2016, at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Europe entered the competition as the cup holders, having won in 2014 in Scotland for their third consecutive win.
WThe United States, represented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from August 5 to 21, 2016. U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympics of the modern era, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which they boycotted in protest of the Soviet–Afghan War. For the second consecutive time in the Summer Olympics, the United States was represented by more female than male athletes.
WThe 2016 USA Swimming Olympic Trials was held for the third straight quadrennial at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska from June 26 to July 3, 2016. Those qualifying will compete for the United States in Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
WThe 2016 United States Olympic Trials for track and field were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the ten-day competition lasted from July 1 to July 10 and served as the national championships in track and field for the United States.
WThe 2016 season for the Trek-Segafredo cycling team began in January at the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
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.
WThe 2016 United States Open Championship was the 116th U.S. Open, held June 16–19 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont and Plum, Pennsylvania, suburbs northeast of Pittsburgh. Dustin Johnson won his first major championship.
WThe United States competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The first places the team qualified were for three athletes in sailing events. They also qualified athletes in archery, goalball, shooting, swimming, and wheelchair basketball.
WThe United States competed at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016.
WThe US Quidditch Cup 9 was the 2016 edition of the US Quidditch Cup, a quidditch club tournament organized by US Quidditch. The tournament was held in Columbia, South Carolina from April 16–17, 2016.
WThe 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a professional golf tournament played June 30 – July 3 on the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the 18th WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the third of the World Golf Championships events in 2016.
WThe 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship was a golf tournament which was played March 3–6 on the TPC Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Doral, Florida, a suburb west of Miami. It was the 17th WGC-Cadillac Championship tournament, the first of the World Golf Championships events in 2016, and the final edition of the tournament played in Doral. The tournament was won by Adam Scott.
WThe 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play was the 18th WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, played March 23–27 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2016. The Championship was won by Jason Day, it was his second WGC-Match Play win in three years.
WThe World Chess Championship 2016 was a chess match between reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Sergey Karjakin to determine the World Chess Champion. Carlsen has been world champion since 2013, while Karjakin qualified as challenger by winning the 2016 Candidates Tournament. The best-of-12 match, organized by FIDE and its commercial partner Agon, was played in New York City between 10 and 30 November 2016.
WThe 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships took place March 28 – April 3, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. Figure skaters competed for the title of World champion in men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs and ice dancing. This marked the first time Boston was host to the World Figure Skating Championships. The competition determined the number of athlete slots for each federation at the 2017 World Championships.
WThe 16th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held between March 17 and 20, 2016 in Portland, Oregon, United States.