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Enes Kanter Freedom might have a new challenge ahead of him, and it’s not playing in the WNBA. Kanter appeared as a guest on “Fox News @ Night” on Thursday evening and was shown a clip of former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe calling him out on her podcast, saying “Why are you like this?” — to which he responded by issuing her a challenge. “So, Megan Rapinoe, I’m speaking directly to you. After your washed-up career, you’ve been seeking attention, and I will give you that attention because I’m a nice guy,” Freedom said during his Fox News appearance. “… So here I am, I am offering you $5 million to any charity you want. If you beat me 1-on-1 in soccer, I promise you, any charity you want, I will be donating $5 million.”
Sue Bird is also contemplating the end of her run. “It’s not necessarily the competitive part that I’m going to miss,” she says the next day when Rapinoe has stepped away for a workout. “It’s the purpose part.” She remembers reading that NBA star Dwyane Wade planned to enter into therapy when he retired and says she’ll consider doing the same. “They say athletes die two deaths: when they retire and then when they actually die. That’s a huge void.”
Curry has recently joined several Black Lives Matter protests, including Juan Toscano-Anderson’s march in Oakland, and has come into his own as a voice for social causes, stating in 2017, “Sometimes it’s worse when you don’t say something.” Megan Rapinoe, a two-time World Cup champion and gold medalist, also lauds the way Curry supports women’s equality, noting the way he sprang into action when a 9-year old girl wrote him to ask if Under Armor could put shoes in her size on sale online. She remembers Curry’s Player’s Tribune article on Women’s Equality Day where he called out the pay gap and pledged “to always stay listening to women, to always stay believing in women.”
“People underestimate how impactful ‘just saying it’ can be," Rapinoe explained to Logan Murdock and myself on Runnin’ Plays. "If you have a big platform like Steph, he’s one of the most popular players in one of the most popular sports in our country. Lending your voice and talking about it ... It’s a more holistic conversation with everybody involved than just the oppressed group talking about the same thing.”
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The high school class of 2020 will be sent off with a memorable, albeit virtual, ceremony Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Barack Obama will deliver the commencement speech for the event, which will be broadcast on several networks, and is a tribute to the graduating seniors. The novel coronavirus pandemic has prevented any large gatherings from happening, including graduations. Special guests will include LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai, the Jonas Brothers, Yara Shahidi, Bad Bunny, Lena Waithe, Pharrell Williams, Megan Rapinoe, H.E.R. and Ben Platt. The event is being hosted by XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation and The Entertainment Industry Foundation.
While sipping on a glass of wine during a 30-plus minute discussion on Bird and Rapinoe’s Instagram series called “A Touch More,” the Miami Heat’s All-Star wing spoke about life amid the COVID-19 pandemic and said he has not tuned into the popular “The Last Dance” documentary that chronicles Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. “I haven’t seen this MJ doc. I haven’t seen it,” said Butler, who still hasn’t signed with a new brand after his endorsement deal with the Jordan Brand ended a few months ago. “Everybody around my house puts it on every TV. And I’m just like you know what, everybody is watching it so I’m gonna go outside and work on my true calling and I just kick a soccer ball around.”
The special, which will feature James, Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, and musical acts Bad Bunny, the Jonas Brothers, Pharrell Williams and others will be simulcast across ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC as well as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and other streaming services.
Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird sat next to Bryant and Gigi at the WNBA All-Star Game last July in Las Vegas. The four-time Olympic gold medalist -- at the game with girlfriend and U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe -- was sidelined with a knee injury. They got a chance to chat with Bryant and Gigi while watching many of the best women's basketball players in the world. "He just really wanted to expose Gigi to as much greatness as he could," Bird said. "He wanted her to meet Megan, to meet me. I know he's taken his whole family to Megan's soccer games. He's been very present in the WNBA. He was going on this journey with his daughter, and I think we could all feel that it was going somewhere special. For him as a father, for her as a future basketball player, for them in that father-daughter relationship."
