Category: Новини

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) board of directors has fired commissioner Lisa Baird and general counsel Lisa Levine in the wake of a report detailing allegations of misconduct against former North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley, The Athletic reported Friday. 

NWSL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The Athletic on Thursday outlined allegations of sexual coercion and misconduct by Riley, who led the Courage to back-to-back NWSL championships in 2018 and 2019, after speaking to more than a dozen players he coached since 2010. 

Riley was terminated by the Courage and the league. 

“I am so sorry for the pain so many are feeling. Recognizing that trauma, we have decided not to take the field this weekend to give everyone some space to reflect,” Baird said in a written statement hours earlier while announcing that the league was canceling its weekend slate of games. 

“Business as usual isn’t our concern right now. Our entire league has a great deal of healing to do, and our players deserve so much better.” 

The report sent shock waves through the sport, and the players’ association demanded sweeping changes across the league, as some of soccer’s most prominent figures — including two-time World Cup winners and NWSL players Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan — voiced their outrage. 

The Athletic report came days after another head coach in the league, Richie Burke of the Washington Spirit, was terminated with cause. He had previously been suspended following allegations of abuse detailed by The Washington Post.
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When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold early last year, artists such as Patricia Boyer of Charlotte, North Carolina, were panic-stricken. Who would see — not to mention purchase — her creations when much of America was on lockdown? 

 

“It was really bad, because here you are with all this art, and you’re like ‘what am I going to do with it?’,” the 65-year-old painter told VOA. “And the anxiety level was through the roof.” 

 

Amid a severe economic downturn and restricted in-person interactions, artists were forced to get creative. Boyer, who specializes in acrylic on canvas, said she was able to display some of her art with the help of friends and colleagues. 

 

“I now have my inventory in three different spaces — one of my friends got me in her gallery. So, it’s a way for me to get my name out,” Boyer said.  

 

Artists have faced unprecedented challenges triggered by the pandemic. Data published by the National Endowment for the Arts show, from 2019 to 2020, unemployment rates more than tripled for fine artists like Boyer and surpassed 50% for many types of performing artists. 

 

Among major U.S. economic sectors, creative industries were among the hardest hit by the pandemic, second only to the hospitality sector. 

Arts scene reemerges in Charlotte 

After more than a year of gloom, artists recently had cause to rejoice. Last weekend saw the resumption of Festival in the Park, a showcase of artisans and artwork Charlotte has held every year since 1964 — except last year.

 

The event draws a wide variety of artists and entrepreneurs, including photographers, ceramists, jewelers, bakers, carpenters, tattoo artists and puppeteers. 

 

“I love coming out here and meeting so many people,” Boyer said between conversations with clients. “This is the best thing that’s happened in a long time for me. I look at all these people and I am just in awe that people are coming out to support us artists during COVID.” 

 

Signs remain of the toll the pandemic has taken on artists. VOA spoke with Haydar Serezli, a jeweler based in Atlanta. He pointed to a drop in vendor attendance compared with pre-pandemic festivals. 

 

“It’s a little different this year,” said Serezli, who has been displaying work at Festival in the Park since 2011.“The amount of people coming, that’s stayed the same. But the vendors, many artists, we’ve known them for years, didn’t come.” 

 

The event drew 130 vendors this year, down from an average of 180 in previous years. 

 

“For us (Serezli and his wife), the pandemic didn’t affect us as badly. But for many artists around here, it wasn’t as easy for them. So, I hope some of them can come back around next year,” Haydari told VOA. 

Renewal after 2020 

“The biggest challenge was scaling it back,” said David Dalton, who has served on the festival’s board of directors for 30 years.

 

Even so, Dalton pointed to a sense of jubilation at the event. 

 

“Look at this crowd here,” Dalton remarked, gesturing at festivalgoers. “You can tell everyone’s been penned up.” 

Dalton added, “It’s an entirely outdoor event, but we’re still doing what we can for COVID (precautions).” 

 

Hand sanitizer stands dotted the grounds, and the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department staffed a booth to distribute pamphlets with tips for preventing coronavirus transmission. 

 

Signs were placed throughout the park urging mask-wearing, although relatively few attendees were seen with face coverings. 

Charlotte resident Jason Norvell said he has attended the past six festivals. 

 

“Personally, I’m vaccinated so I’m not really worried about being out in public. It’s great weather, so we thought, ‘hey let’s come out and have a nice evening,’” Norvell told VOA. “I think, frankly, so many people are kind of fed up with being cooped up, and so they want excuses to go to activities.” 

“It felt so nice to attend this year,” said Hayley Schnackenberg, who grew up in Charlotte and works remotely as a technology consultant.

 

“Some of the best memories I have as a kid” were from going to the festival, she added. “There’d be dancers from local schools or local theaters and those were some of the things that I felt were missing [this year].” 

 
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Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is officially hanging up his gloves.

The eight-division world champion and Philippine senator on Wednesday announced his retirement from the ring.

“I would like to thank the whole world, especially the Filipino people, for supporting Manny Pacquiao. Goodbye boxing,” the 42-year-old said in a video posted on his Facebook page. “It is difficult for me to accept that my time as a boxer is over. Today I am announcing my retirement.”

Pacquiao finished his 26-year, 72-fight career with 62 wins, eight losses and two draws. Of those 62 wins, 39 were by knockout and 23 by decision. He won 12 world titles and is the only fighter in history to win titles in eight different weight classes.

His retirement from boxing followed a disheartening defeat to Yordenis Ugas in Paradise, Nevada, on Aug. 21. The younger Cuban boxer beat Pacquiao by unanimous decision, retaining his WBA welterweight title. It was Pacquiao’s first fight in more than two years.

“Thank you for changing my life. When my family was desperate, you gave us hope, you gave me the chance to fight my way out of poverty,” Pacquiao said in the video. “Because of you, I was able to inspire people all over the world. Because of you I have been given the courage to change more lives.”

Pacquaio had hinted at retirement recently. It had also been expected because he is setting his sights on a bigger political battlefield. Earlier this month, he accepted his political party’s nomination and declared he will run for Philippines president in elections next May.

He has accused the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, his former ally, of making corruption worse in the Philippines. He promised to fight poverty and warned corrupt politicians they will soon end up in jail.

Pacquiao’s rags-to-riches life story and legendary career brought honor to his Southeast Asian nation, where he is known by the monikers Pacman, People’s Champ and National Fist.

He left his impoverished home in the southern Philippines as a teenager and stowed away on a ship bound for Manila. He made his professional boxing debut as a junior flyweight in 1995 at the age of 16, fighting his way out of abject poverty to become one of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

Eddie Banaag, a 79-year-old retiree, said Pacquiao was his idol as a boxer and he watched almost all of his fights. But he believes the boxing icon should have retired earlier.

“He should have done that right after his victory over (Keith) Thurman,” Banaag said of Pacquiao’s win over Thurman on July 20, 2019, in Las Vegas, Pacquiao’s second-to-last fight. “It would have been better if he ended his boxing career with a win rather than a loss.”

Still, Pacquiao believes he will always be remembered as a winner. Hundreds of millions of dollars in career earnings and his record in the ring leave no doubt.

“I will never forget what I have done and accomplished in my life,” Pacquiao said Wednesday. “I just heard the final bell. The boxing is over.”
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