NEW YORK — A visit by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to New York’s Rikers Island jail facility has drawn criticism from the union representing city correction officers.
Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem last season to raise awareness to issues affecting minorities in the United States, leading to similar actions by other NFL players and repeated criticism from President Donald Trump.
The head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association said in a statement that Kaepernick’s presence at Rikers on Tuesday will encourage inmates to attack jail guards. The statement also noted that Kaepernick once wore socks depicting police as cartoon pigs.
The union was critical of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Cynthia Brann for extending an invitation to Kaepernick.
Department of Correction spokesman Peter Thorne said in a statement that the purpose of Kaepernick’s visit was to “share a message of hope and inspiration.”
At the prison, Kaepernick held two 45-minute sessions with small groups of inmates at the jail’s George Motchan Detention Center. He spoke about social justice issues and talked about his decision to kneel during the national anthem.
“No cameras. No promotion. He’s just helping turn around lives many people have given up on,” a spokesperson for the mayor said. “He’s the real deal.”
AC Milan would do well to follow Manchester United’s example and treat the Europa League with utmost priority, explained club general manager Marco Fassone.
The Red Devils switched gears late in the 2016-17 season, choosing to focus on qualifying for the next Champions League by winning the Europa League instead of trying to fight for a top-four spot in the Premier League. Even though United finished fifth last season, Jose Mourinho’s side qualified for the next edition of Europe’s elite club tournament, and remain still in contention.
Milan sits seventh in Serie A, 14 points behind leader Internazionale, and Fassone figures the club would be wise to try to follow United’s path, too.
“Obviously Manchester United are an example that we want to bear in mind,” Fassone told RAI Radio, as quoted by ESPN FC. “(The Europa League is) the only trophy that we’re lacking in the cabinet, and then if you consider where we are in the league, we want to give it a try.
“We know there are teams who are better equipped than we are, but let’s not forget also that when the Europa League restarts in February, (new head coach Gennaro) Gattuso’s ideas will have had time to bed in.”
Milan have a round of 32 date with Ludogorets set for Feb. 15 before hosting the Bulgarian outfit at the San Siro on Feb. 22. It begins a long and trying path to the final, which could see the Italian outfit square off against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Villarreal, Arsenal, OGC Nice, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, or Napoli by the end.
But if the Rossoneri fail to procure a Champions League spot and instead settle for the Europa League again, the club might have to sell next summer.
“Qualifying for the Europa League would mean a deficit of €30 million on our financial plans and this would mean having €30 million less in the transfer market,” Fassone explained. “As a result, we would maybe also have to think about selling a player to increase our budget.”
Covered Vikings for Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1999-2008
The NFL warned its teams Monday that it will begin levying “significant discipline” to anyone engaging in offensive conduct or contact against game officials, responding to a series of incidents that had grown increasingly worrisome to the NFL Referees Association.
The message was delivered Monday via a memo written by NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent. In the letter, Vincent wrote: “We want to keep our players on the field. No one wants a penalty or an ejection to determine the outcome of the game. In recent weeks, however, there have been several suspensions and ejections because of contact with, and conduct toward, our game officials. This is not who we are — as players, as clubs, as the NFL.”
In a statement, NFLRA executive vice president Scott Green said: “We appreciate the league expressing its concerns to all clubs about abusive actions, both verbal and physical, toward officials. We would expect that any future actions will be met with appropriate and severe punishment.”
Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was suspended one game for making contact with an official this season. AP Photo/Ben Margot
Most recently, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in Week 14 after charging onto the field at field judge Joe Larrew to call timeout. Payton later said that the game, which the Atlanta Falcons won 20-17, was officiated “extremely poor.”
The memo said the league will “continue to emphasize enforcement of unsportsmanlike conduct rules with our officiating crews, and they will be encouraged to disqualify players for any offenses directed at them. Such offenses may also result in fines, and/or suspensions.”
It is not yet clear whether Payton will be disciplined beyond the in-game penalty. Asked Monday about Payton’s criticism, NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said: “I think everyone is aware of the rules that are in place of public criticism of our officials, and those who need to be reminded occasionally are reminded.”
Ten days after a remarkably drab World Cup draw, football fans got a more significant dose of excitement when Monday’s Champions League last-16 matchups were revealed.
It wasn’t a fun afternoon for every party involved, however, and Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery stands out among those unenthused by the draw, since defeat by Real Madrid could swiftly lead to his sacking.
The pressure’s on Emery
On the heels of three Europa League titles on the trot with Sevilla, the Basque manager moved to PSG to do what his predecessor Laurent Blanc could not: Guide the club to continental success.
Bounced from the tournament at the quarter-final stage in four successive seasons, PSG’s first campaign under Emery’s tutelage saw the capital club draw Barcelona in the last-16. After a 4-0 first-leg victory, Les Parisiens suffered one of the most memorable shock defeats in Champions League history, a 6-1 loss at the Camp Nou. PSG’s fluid attack and smothering press from the first leg mysteriously disappeared. Emery’s charges already faced a nearly insurmountable deficit in the latter stages, then conceded twice more in injury time.
Emery bore the brunt of the responsibility, and rightly so, though club chairman and chief executive Nasser Al-Khelaifi was quick to support his manager. “Everyone was saying he is the best coach in the world after the first leg. He has not become the worst after the second,” Al-Khelaifi offered.
“I have already had lengthy conversations with (Emery). He has qualities that we believe in. He has my full support. We are going to speak with him about the changes that will be needed during the offseason.”
A penchant for expeditious change
While those words may have snuffed out reports of a search for Emery’s successor, Al-Khelaifi has proved to be reactionary in his decisions since taking over the club in 2011. The Qatari businessman then introduced a five-year plan for success that included appointing former PSG attacker Leonardo as director of football.
However, Montpellier pipped PSG for a shock Ligue 1 title in the 2011-12 season as the capital club slumped to a Europa League group stage dismissal and bowed out of both domestic cups. In the following transfer window, the club lured the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marco Verratti, Thiago Silva, and Lucas Moura to the Parc des Princes, and success was immediate. PSG won four Ligue 1 titles on the bounce and both the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France in three consecutive campaigns, giving France’s top flight an unenviable reputation as a one-club league.
Though domestically assertive, the one crown that continued to escape PSG was the Champions League, and with the influx of resources from Al-Khelaifi’s cash-rich Qatar Sports Investments group, there were no excuses.
Al-Khelaifi displayed his knee-jerk instincts a year later when the club stumbled without Ibrahimovic, losing out on a fifth successive league title to Monaco. Patrick Kluivert’s tenure as Olivier Letang’s replacement ended in less than a year, and the club appointed Antero Henrique. The Portuguese director’s decade-plus at FC Porto yielded success both domestically and in the Champions League, and Al-Khelaifi brought the backroom savant to the capital to replicate it at PSG.
No excuses for Emery
In the Champions League, fate and fortune can have as much of a bearing as quality. A fortuitous round of 16 draw can help a team’s odds, but eventually, as the adage goes, “you have to beat the best to be the best.”
For Emery, a two-legged defeat to twice-defending Champions League winner Real Madrid could result in an unceremonious pink slip, especially in light of the way PSG bowed out of the competition last year.
With the additions of the two most expensive footballers of all time, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and after capturing Group B honours ahead of perennial continental power Bayern Munich by virtue of a staggering plus-21 goal differential, Emery is out of excuses.
If Emery was dubbed a European specialist while with Sevilla, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has snatched the title from his Spanish counterpart. Zidane’s first two seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu resulted in two continental crowns, and although bookmakers have pegged PSG as second favourites to capture a maiden Champions League, few would be surprised if Emery’s charges again slumped to defeat against a La Liga behemoth. It doesn’t help that Emery has never won at Real’s famed ground, with nine defeats and a draw to show for his efforts.
A desire to become a part of footballing aristocracy
Considering football’s tradition of managerial sackings following votes of confidence from a club’s brass, Al-Khelaifi’s words of support for Emery take on a less reassuring tone.
Reports suggest the club has already short-listed former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique as Emery’s successor. Max Allegri, Antonio Conte, Diego Simeone, and Jose Mourinho have all been linked with the post as well, and despite Al-Khelaifi’s assurances, another Champions League flop would likely end in Emery’s dismissal.
“We are determined to push forward. As I have always said, our project is a long-term one. We know the path to the Champions League is long for those clubs trying to challenge the established hierarchy,” Al-Khelaifi said.
For Paris Saint-Germain, completing that long-term project has become an immediate need. The Valentine’s Day first-leg clash at the Bernabeu marks a meeting between football royalty and its nouveau riche – the kind of club Al-Khelaifi wants PSG to become, and the one it is now. If Emery can’t fulfill those demands, and quickly, it’s likely that Al-Khelaifi will look elsewhere.
