In recent decades, city and state governments across North America have earmarked huge amounts of public funds for sports infrastructure projects. As part of the legislative session that ended on Mar. 1, Utah’s state lawmakers passed bills approving $900 million in funding for a baseball stadium and $500 million for[Read More…]
Tag: NCAA
It’s high time for change: Athletics organizations must relax marijuana testing rules
On Feb. 25, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that it would be relaxing the rules surrounding positive marijuana tests for its athletes. Effective immediately and extending retroactively to drug tests conducted as early as fall 2021, the threshold levels for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of marijuana, are[Read More…]
Female athletes deserve equal treatment
At the start of the NCAA March Madness tournaments on March 18, Stanford sport performance coach Ali Kerschner released photos comparing the training facilities for the men’s and women’s tournaments. Fans and athletes alike called out the NCAA for the vast differences between the men’s and women’s training facilities and[Read More…]
Proposed restrictions in U.S. sports legislation are openly transphobic
The beginning of 2021 has marked social progress for queer rights in the United States: Democrats have taken steps to pass the Equality Act, a bill that would include sexual orientation and gender identity in civil rights protections, and U.S. President Joe Biden signed two executive orders to combat anti-2SLGBTQIA+[Read More…]
Supporting student athletes through COVID-19
Sporting events around the world have been halted due to the spread of COVID-19. Among North America’s major leagues, the NBA was the first to suspend its season on March 12 when Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. Since then, nearly every professional sports league has[Read More…]
Higher wages lead to change in NWSL draft classes
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) held its annual college draft on Jan. 16 in Chicago, and for the second year in a row, an underclassman was selected first overall. This year’s first pick was 19-year-old Sophia Smith, who, along with being the first teenager drafted into the NWSL, is[Read More…]
Professional sports after McGill
From March Madness to the Frozen Four, sports fans often follow tournaments in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)—the organization in charge of American college sports—as fiercely as they follow professional leagues, keeping track of draft prospects and filling up 100,000–seat stadiums. But U SPORTS, the Canadian university sports governing[Read More…]
NCAA puts right foot forward
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Governors voted unanimously on Oct. 29 to soon allow student-athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness. The vote was in light of a bill recently passed in California that also allows NCAA athletes in the state to be similarly compensated. NCAA[Read More…]
Point-Counterpoint: Paying NCAA student-athletes
On Feb. 20, Duke University basketball star Zion Williamson suffered a knee sprain, reminding the basketball world that one major injury can jeopardize any college athlete’s future earnings. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its member schools, meanwhile, make over a billion dollars a year off of the backs[Read More…]
Know Your Athlete: Sirah Diarra
Basketball wasn’t always in the cards for Martlet basketball centre Sirah Diarra. The 6’1” fourth-year transfer tried her hand at a variety of sports, including soccer, tennis, and figure skating, before joining her high school basketball team. She was not solely focused on sports: Diarra also devoted her time to[Read More…]
