Sports
Why the Women’s Tennis Association rallied for Peng Shuai – Aljazeera.com
A prominent Chinese citizen associated with a major international organisation disappears, then a letter is sent stating all is well. The organisation appears to accept the letter at face value although questions remain before the citizen emerges months later under duress.
The circumstances are different but there is a similar thread to the disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who last month accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual misconduct, and Meng Hongwei, the former head of Interpol, who disappeared on a trip to China in 2018 and 18 months later pleaded guilty to corruption. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Following Meng’s disappearance, Interpol largely appeared to accept his resignation letter and Secretary-General Jurgen Stock told the Associated Press news agency that the international police body was forbidden by internal rules to investigate.
Things could have turned out the same for Peng, a world-class athlete and Olympian, after a social media post about her ordeal with Zhang was deleted, except that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) immediately began to push back. Prominent tennis players also followed suit, including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.
The WTA has also continued to raise questions even after Chinese state broadcaster CGTN shared an email on Twitter – purportedly from Peng – saying that she was “not missing” or “unsafe” and that reports of her allegations were “not true”. She reemerged in public a few days later and spoke to the International Olympic Committee over a now heavily-criticised video call.
“[It] remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said afterwards, stressing that the organisation remained concerned about her wellbeing.
Late on Wednesday, the WTA announced the “immediate suspension” of all tournaments in China and Hong Kong. China hosted nine WTA events in 2019 and a year earlier signed a 10-year deal to host the WTA finals in Shenzhen, according to Reuters news agency.
“It’s really crazy that the Women’s Tennis Association has more credibility right now than Interpol in pushing back on China’s gross human rights abuses, abduction of members of its organisation, and poking holes in what is just thinly-veiled coercive statements and propaganda,” said Michael Caster, co-founder of the human rights watchdog Safeguard Defenders, which monitors disappearances in China.
‘Not acceptable’
China’s foreign ministry has accused critics and media of “malicious hyping” and politicising Peng’s disappearance from public view.
Meanwhile, Zhang, the high-ranking party member at the centre of Peng’s allegations, has not been seen in public in several weeks, according to Caster.
He described Peng’s situation as part of the same “playbook” used by the Chinese government when concerns are raised about the wellbeing of a citizen or foreigner living in China – from human rights lawyer Wang Yu to Swedish human rights activist Peter Dahlin who went on to become one of the founders of Safeguard Defenders.
“These farcical public presentations from Peng Shuai are clearly scripted as part of a propaganda effort and we say that because we’ve seen this movie before,” Caster told Al Jazeera.
In announcing the suspension of tournaments, the WTA’s Simon stressed that China’s handling of Peng’s case was not acceptable and should not be allowed to become acceptable.
“If powerful people can suppress the voices of women and sweep sexual assault under the rug then the basis on which the WTA was founded – equality for women – would suffer an immense setback,” Simon said in a statement. “I will not and cannot let that happen to the WTA and its players.”
Game, set, and match to the @WTA in the grand slam for sports and human rights in #China! Steve Simon announces WTA’s decision to suspend tournaments in China… via @WTA https://t.co/LlZ7yW86BQ @hrw @MinkysHighjinks @hrw
— Sophie Richardson (@SophieHRW) December 1, 2021
I applaud Steve Simon & the @WTA leadership for taking a strong stand on defending human rights in China & around the world. The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players.
This is another reason why women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports. https://t.co/PHiU0S7Prw
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) December 1, 2021
Other international sporting bodies have already been targeted by Beijing over positions taken by their players and officials.
China briefly stopped airing NBA games after Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong’s 2019 democracy protests and erased Premier League football player Mesut Ozil from the Chinese internet after he spoke out against China’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs.
More recently, games involving the NBA’s Boston Celtics have been pulled from broadcast in China as Enes Kanter, their centre, continues to make criticisms about President Xi Jinping and China’s treatment of Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Tibet while also voicing support for Taiwan.
Moment of reckoning
The WTA, however, had political momentum and timing on its side allowing the organisation to take a calculated risk, says Simon Chadwick, a professor of international sports business at Emlyon Business School in France.
Peng’s case and allegations of sexual misconduct also come at a moment of reckoning in the sports world over #MeToo allegations and mental health following the public struggles of athletes like Osaka and American gymnast Simone Biles.
“Number one for the WTA is that women and girls are their core business. It’s what the organisation is founded upon and to not be seen as supporting someone who apparently has gone missing would undermine what the WTA does,” Chadwick said.
“My feeling is that the WTA probably made a calculation and decided that it stood to lose more globally by not saying anything, then it stood to lose by essentially standing up to China.”
Chadwick says that despite considerable investments in the Chinese tennis industry, women’s tennis has not taken off there as quickly as the WTA initially anticipated.
Its deal with China has also struggled as a result of the pandemic. So far, Shenzhen has hosted only one WTA finals event in 2019. The 2020 final was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus, and the 2021 event was moved to Mexico following another Covid-19 outbreak in China.
That may give the WTA the kind of latitude unavailable to groups like the IOC, which is due to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in February. That organisation has also suffered as a result of the pandemic with the Tokyo Olympics, pushed back a year and not attended by the usual number of spectators.
Following Peng’s disappearance, the IOC has said it would “continue our open dialogue on all levels with the Olympic movement in China” following questions about Peng, according to the Associated Press.
Emma Terho, the IOC Athletes Commission Chair, said on Twitter that the organisation prefers a policy of “quiet diplomacy”.
Based in the Republican state of Florida, the WTA may have also felt some political pressure beyond Beijing.
Washington is mulling a boycott of the Winter Games protest against human rights abuses in places like Xinjiang and Hong Kong, notes Chadwick.
“I wonder to what extent there may have been some political pressure from within the United States put on the WTA to respond in the way that it did. I think from the perspective of the WTA, they reacted very, very quickly… unusually quickly, within a matter of two or three days, he said. “And that is extremely unusual.”
On Wednesday, Simon expressed regret at having to suspend events in China, but he said he was “greatly concerned” at the risks players and staff could face if events were held in the country in 2022.
He once again urged Beijing to prove Peng was free, and able to speak “without interference or intimidation” and to fully investigate the allegations of assault.
“I remain hopeful that our pleas will be heard and the Chinese authorities will take steps to legitimately address this issue.”
Sports
Utah NHL owner Smith says season ticket deposits now top 20,000 – TSN
Owner Ryan Smith told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun Friday that Utah’s NHL team has received just over 20,000 season-ticket deposits.
The news comes less than 24 hours after the NHL’s Board of Governors unanimously approved sale of the Arizona Coyotes from Alex Meruelo to Smith and subsequent relocation to Salt Lake City for the 2024-25 season.
<twitter-embed blockquotehtml="
Just got off the phone after doing an interview with Utah NHL owner Ryan Smith and he said the updated total is now at just over 20,000 season-ticket deposits.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun)
April 19, 2024“>
The team is expected play out of the Delta Center in the city’s downtown core, the home of the Utah Jazz, which currently has about 12,000 unobstructed seats for hockey. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday Smith and his ownership group will raise the seating capacity to about 17,000 after renovations.
“As everyone knows, Utah is a vibrant and thriving state, and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” Bettman said in a statement. “We are also delighted to welcome Ashley and Ryan Smith to the NHL family and know they will be great stewards of the game in Utah. We thank them for working so collaboratively with the League to resolve a complex situation in this unprecedented and beneficial way.
“The NHL’s belief in Arizona has never wavered. We thank Alex Meruelo for his commitment to the franchise and Arizona, and we fully support his ongoing efforts to secure a new home in the desert for the Coyotes. We also want to acknowledge the loyal hockey fans of Arizona, who have supported their team with dedication for nearly three decades while growing the game.”
The move ends years of uncertainty surrounding the Coyotes franchise and wraps up a nearly three-decade existence of mostly poor on-ice results and chronic mismanagement over the course of multiple owners.
Utah’s team will not carry over the Coyotes moniker and will instead develop a new brand identity. LeBrun reported on Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading the franchise may take until beyond the start of next season to pick a team name and Smith has hired a firm to look into branding for the NHL’s newest franchise.
The Coyotes finished the 2023-24 campaign 36-41-5, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth time in a row and 11th time in the past 12 seasons.
Sports
Marchand says Maple Leafs are Bruins’ ‘biggest rival’ ahead of 1st-round series – NHL.com
BOSTON – Forget Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens.
For Brad Marchand, right now, it’s all about Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You see the excitement they have all throughout Canada when they’re in playoffs,” Marchand said Thursday. “Makes it a lot of fun to play them. And I think, just with the history we’ve had with them recently, they’re probably our biggest rival right now over the last decade.
“They’ve probably surpassed Montreal and any other team with kind of where our rivalry’s gone, just because we’ve both been so competitive with each other, and we’ve had a few playoff series. It definitely brings the emotion, the intensity, up in the games and the excitement for the fans.
“It’s a lot of fun to play them.”
The Bruins and Maple Leafs will renew their rivalry in their first round series, which starts Saturday at TD Garden (8 p.m. ET; TBS, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS). They’ll be familiar opponents.
Over the past 11 seasons, the Bruins have faced the Maple Leafs four times in the postseason, starting with the epic 2013 matchup in the first round. That resulted in an all-time instant classic, the Game 7 in which the Bruins were down 4-1 in the third period and came roaring back for an overtime win that helped propel them to the Stanely Cup Final.
That would prove to be the model and, in the intervening years, the Bruins have beaten them in each of the three subsequent series, including going to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2018 and 2019.
Which could easily be where this series is going.
“Offensively they’re a gifted hockey club,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Thursday. “They present a lot of challenges down around the netfront area. We’re going to have to be really sharp there. We’re a pretty good team defensively when we stick to what our principles are. So I expect it to be a tight series overall.”
But if anyone knows the Maple Leafs — and what to expect — it’s Marchand. In his career, he’s played 146 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 11th most of any active player. Twenty-one of those games have come against the Maple Leafs, games in which Marchand has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists).
“They’re always extremely competitive,” Marchand said. “You never know which way the series is going to go. But that’s what you want. That’s what you love about hockey is the competition aspect. They’re real competitors over there, especially the way they’re built right now. So it’s going to be a lot of fun, and that’s what playoffs is about. It’s about the best teams going head-to-head.”
But even though the history favors the Bruins — including having won each of the past six playoff matchups, dating back to the NHL’s expansion era in 1967-68 and each of the four regular-season games in 2023-24 — Marchand is throwing that out the window.
“That means nothing,” he said.
The Maple Leafs bring the No. 2 offense in the NHL into their series, having scored 3.63 goals per game. They were led by Auston Matthews and his 69 goals this season, a new record for him and for the franchise.
“You have to be hard on a guy like that and limit his time and space with the puck,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “He’s really good at getting in position to receive the puck and he’s got linemates who can put it right on his tape for him. You’ve just got to know where he is, especially in our D zone. He likes to loop away after cycling it and kind of find that sweet spot coming down Broadway there in the middle. It’s not just a one-person job.”
Nor is Matthews their only threat.
“They have a lot of great players, skill players, who play hard and can be very dangerous around the net and create scoring opportunities,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “You’ve just got to be aware of who’s out there and who you’re against, who you’re matched up against, and play hard. Also, too, we’ve got to focus on our game and what we do well and when we do that, we trust each other and have that belief in each other, we’re a pretty good hockey team.”
Especially against the Maple Leafs.
Marchand, who grew up in Halifax loving the Maple Leafs, still gets a thrill to see their alumni walking around Scotiabank Arena in the playoffs. And it’s even more special to be on the ice with them, to be competing against them — even more so when the Bruins keep winning.
But that certainly doesn’t mean this series will be easy.
“They’ll be a [heck] of a challenge,” Marchand said.
Sports
NHL sets Round 1 schedule for 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Daily Faceoff
The chase for Lord Stanley’s silver chalice will begin on Saturday.
After what could be described as the most exciting season in NHL history that saw heartbreaks and last-ditch efforts to clinch playoff spots, players and staff now get ready as 16 teams go to battle.
We saw the Vancouver Canucks have a massive year and finish first in the Pacific Division with captain Quinn Hughes leading all defensemen in points. The Winnipeg Jets set a franchise record for most points. The Nashville Predators went on a franchise-record winning streak in order to lock themselves into a Wild Card spot, and the Washington Capitals clinched the last Wild Card spot in the East after a wild finish that saw the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers see their playoff hopes crumble in front of them.
While Auston Matthews missed out on scoring 70 goals, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning standout Nikita Kucherov became the first players since 1990-91 to record 100 assists in a single season. They joined Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr as the only players to do so.
With the bracket set, it’s time to expect the unexpected.
Here is the schedule for Round 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Eastern Conference
#A1 Florida Panthers vs. #WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Tampa at Florida | 12:30 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Tampa at Florida | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Thursday, April 25 | 3. Florida at Tampa | 7 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 4. Florida at Tampa | 5 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 29 | 5. Tampa at Florida | TBD |
Wednesday, May 1 | 6. Florida at Tampa | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. Tampa at Florida | TBD |
#A2 Boston Bruins vs. #A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
Date | Game | Time |
Saturday, April 20 | 1. Toronto at Boston | 8 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 22 | 2. Toronto at Boston | 7 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, April 24 | 3. Boston at Toronto | 7 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 4. Boston at Toronto | 8 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. Toronto at Boston | TBD |
Thursday, May 2 | 6. Boston at Toronto | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. Toronto at Boston | TBD |
#M1 New York Rangers vs. #WC2 Washington Capitals
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Washington at New York | 3 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Washington at New York | 7 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 2. New York at Washington | 7 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 2. New York at Washington | 8 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, May 1 | 2. Washington at New York | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 2. New York at Washington | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 2. Washington at New York | TBD |
#M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #M3 New York Islanders
Date | Game | Time |
Saturday, April 20 | 1. New York at Carolina | 5 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 22 | 2. New York at Carolina | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Thursday, April 25 | 3. Carolina at New York | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 4. Carolina at New York | 2 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. New York at Carolina | TBD |
Thursday, May 2 | 6. Carolina at New York | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. New York at Carolina | TBD |
Western Conference
#C1 Dallas Stars vs. #WC2 Vegas Golden Knights
Date | Game | Time |
Monday, April 22 | 1. Vegas at Dallas | 9:30 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, April 24 | 2. Vegas at Dallas | 9:30 p.m. ET |
Saturday, April 27 | 3. Dallas at Vegas | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Monday, April 29 | 4. Dallas at Vegas | TBD |
Wednesday, May 1 | 5. Vegas at Dallas | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 6. Dallas at Vegas | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 7. Vegas at Dallas | TBD |
#C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. #C3 Colorado Avalanche
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Colorado at Winnipeg | 7 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Colorado at Winnipeg | 9:30 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 3. Winnipeg at Colorado | 10 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 4. Winnipeg at Colorado | 2:30 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. Colorado at Winnipeg | TBD |
Thursday, May 2 | 6. Winnipeg at Colorado | TBD |
Saturday, May 4 | 7. Colorado at Winnipeg | TBD |
#P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #WC1 Nashville Predators
Date | Game | Time |
Sunday, April 21 | 1. Nashville at Vancouver | 10 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 23 | 2. Nashville at Vancouver | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 3. Vancouver at Nashville | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 4. Vancouver at Nashville | 5 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, April 30 | 5. Nashville at Vancouver | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 6. Vancouver at Nashville | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 7. Nashville at Vancouver | TBD |
#P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. #P3 Los Angeles Kings
Date | Game | Time |
Monday, April 22 | 1. Los Angeles at Edmonton | 10 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, April 24 | 2. Los Angeles at Edmonton | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, April 26 | 3. Edmonton at Los Angeles | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Sunday, April 28 | 4. Edmonton at Los Angeles | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Wednesday, May 1 | 5. Los Angeles at Edmonton | TBD |
Friday, May 3 | 6. Edmonton at Los Angeles | TBD |
Sunday, May 5 | 7. Los Angeles at Edmonton | TBD |
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