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Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins enjoyed the win over his former side the Washington Commanders by delivering his now famous catchphrase.
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WWE Crown Jewel 2022 Results: Logan Paul Steals The Show Despite Loss To Roman Reigns
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Roman Reigns remains WWE Champion heading into Survivor Series. (Credit: Amer HILABI / AFP)
Roman Reigns has carried WWE as its Universal Champion for more than two years, and despite a hard-fought instant classic against social media celebrity Logan Paul at Crown Jewel, that didn’t change in Saudi Arabia.
“The Head of the Table” defeated Paul via spear to continue his incredible reign with the most coveted prize in pro wrestling. Reigns has now been WWE’s top champion for well over 700 days, and there is no end in sight to his historic run as the unquestioned face of WWE.
A possible dream match with The Rock at WrestleMania 39—likely the biggest drawing match WWE could do right now—would be the ultimate goal for WWE while Reigns eventually battling with the merchandise-moving machine Bray Wyatt seems to be a long-term goal for WWE as well.
Paul’s future isn’t as clear, but what is more than apparent is this: He was built for the world of sports entertainment and has a future in the industry for however long he wants it.
A massive social media star as well as an accomplished boxer, Paul is signed to WWE under a contract that will see him work for the company into 2023. While the exact terms of his deal aren’t known, he’s slated to stick around for “multiple premium WWE live events” and is poised to become a prominent part-time performer for WWE for years to come.
At Crown Jewel, Paul once again demonstrated why WWE brought him in to begin with, delivering a show-stopping performance in Saudi Arabia. Keep in mind that this was just Paul’s third-ever televised match and only his second singles match. His first bout came in a tag team match alongside The Miz at WrestleMania 38, a spectacle that was better than it had any right to be, with Paul displaying one of the most spectacular WWE in-ring debuts in company history—celebrity or not.
A handful of months later, Paul battled The Miz at SummerSlam in yet another stellar performance. His crispness, agility and athleticism in the ring have been nothing short of incredible for someone with next-to-no experience, and despite being awkwardly positioned as a babyface, that hasn’t prevented him from delivering in the ring like virtually no celebrity ever has.
Crown Jewel was no different. It was there that Paul went toe-to-toe with Reigns in an epic match more reminiscent of someone with three decades of experience than three matches.
Paul, who has been training with arguably the greatest in-ring performer ever in Shawn Michaels, is tightening his in-ring game and perfecting his craft at a lightning quick pace never seen before. He’s clearly committed to developing his skill set and becoming the type of part-time performer WWE needs after the recent retirements of stars like Triple H and The Undertaker.
As the majority of WWE’s go-to part-timers have hung up their boots or moved on to something else, Paul has stepped up and filled a much-needed role—and then some. Paul is young, has a massive social media following that no one in WWE even comes close to rivaling, and even believes that he’s “found his calling” in WWE. The fans at Crown Jewel loved him, too.
Even though many of WWE’s hard fans—as well as stars like Drew McIntyre—haven’t exactly echoed that sentiment and have expressed their disagreement with Paul being positioned to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship so early on into his WWE career, the reality is that Paul’s placement into such a high-profile feud has been harmless, if not full-on helpful.
Reigns isn’t losing that Undisputed Universal Championship just yet, so Paul was the perfect candidate to face him at Crown Jewel. Given has lack of experience, Paul could afford to take the loss, which would allow Reigns’ championship reign to continue while also helping Paul continue develop into a strong performer who WWE can rely on as a special attraction.
Crown Jewel accomplished both of those things, and Paul put up an unbelievable effort that made everyone involved look good, kept the momentum going for Reigns and The Bloodline, and also avoided WWE having to give one of its top full-timers an inevitable loss to “The Tribal Chief.”
That’s a win-win for all involved, and for Paul, it’s a great way to help solidify him as an elite talent who WWE can rely on as an occasional boost when needed.
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Blake Oestriecher, Contributor
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WWE Crown Jewel 2022 Results: Brock Lesnar Must Avoid Title Picture After Defeating Bobby Lashley
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Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley are two of WWE’s best booked stars. (Credit: Amer HILABI / AFP)
Brock Lesnar defeated Bobby Lashley in fluke fashion at WWE Crown Jewel in a booking decision that kept Lashley looking strong and likely sets up a rubber match but could also serve as a way for “The Beast” to reenter the world title picture.
That, however, shouldn’t happen.
Since returning to WWE in 2012, Lesnar has been synonymous with WWE’s top titles, whether it’s the WWE or Universal Championship. Over the course of that decade, Lesnar has won seven world titles despite coming and going on a regular basis and re-signing with WWE under different contracts for varying lengths of times.
Lesnar, of course, has long ranked among WWE’s highest paid stars, and given his popularity and his consistently strong in-ring performances, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Lesnar is still raking in massive paydays roughly two decades after making his WWE debut. As other WWE stars, like Bray Wyatt, have demonstrated, these top-tier performers are worth spending big money on when they’re bringing in that big money themselves through merchandise sales, ticket sales or other revenue streams.
What Lesnar has proven over the past year or two, though, is that being a world title contender or the actual world champion isn’t a necessity for a star of his caliber.
At Crown Jewel, Lesnar faced Lashley, a fellow colossal main eventer and uber-popular star who’s also at the height of his career, and it was disappointing short match that never truly got going. This marked the second time that the two behemoths clashed in 2022 alone, and their second encounter even fell short of their highly-criticized first match at the 2022 Royal Rumble in January.
That bout featured the typical Vince McMahon-booked shenanigans WWE fans had grown accustomed to, and even with Triple H now running WWE’s creative process, Lashley vs. Lesnar at Crown Jewel felt like a match that was a booker’s conundrum, with neither star in the position to suffer a loss. In an ideal world, Lashley—who is certainly around more often and has been an integral performer for WWE for the past few years—would have defeated Lesnar to pick up arguably the biggest and most important win of his career.
But Lesnar, after suffering some big losses as of late, emerged with the victory, which shows that he isn’t going to simply fall off the map under Triple H. The build to Lesnar’s match against Lashley, however, was a promising sign of things to come.
This, after all, was a rare non-title match for Lesnar, who has spent most of the past decade either holding a world title or challenging for it. That has been the biggest knock on Lesnar during that span. As a heel champion, he was booked to be so dominant that he lost his appeal, relying too much on suplex-heavy matches and overpowering performances so that every match and feud he had felt like more of the same.
Times have changed, though.
McMahon is gone, Lesnar is working as a babyface, and WWE isn’t in a position where Lesnar has to be a world champion anymore. The company just reported $305 million in revenue for Q3 2022, a 19% increase from the third quarter of 2021 and a sign that the company, from a financial perspective, is doing just fine.
The guaranteed money coming in from its deal with Peacock has completely altered WWE’s pay-per-view model—with even more changes coming soon—and negated the need for Lesnar to be anywhere near the world title picture. WWE’s roster has been completely overhauled in recent months with the additions of Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Karrion Kross, Gunther and other top stars, who’ve bolstered a slate of top-tier performers that already features the likes of main event mainstays like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
The continued greatness of Rollins and Reigns, combined with a roster that feels deeper and more talented than it has in years, significantly disminishes the need for Lesnar, much less a Lesnar that runs roughshod over all other world title contenders. As Lesnar has demonstrated during his surprisingly effective babyface run as well as his feud with Lashley, he absolutely does not need to be chasing or holding world titles, especially with his longtime nemesis Roman Reigns still holding the strap.
Lesnar has entered that same stratosphere as stars like John Cena and The Undertaker, who generate substantial fan buzz when they come around regardless of what type of storyline they’re involved in. That’s a fantastic situation for WWE because it allows the company to provide temporary boosts to its programming on the occasions that Lesnar is around but without Lesnar overshadowing WWE’s full-time stars.
As we saw at Crown Jewel, Lesnar is a beloved star, and virtually anything involving “The Beast” is a spectacle. That was true of Lesnar vs. Lashley and will remain true of any Lesnar matches for the foreseeable future.
And after years of Lesnar’s championship dominance having a negative domino effect across the roster, it’s a welcome change to live in a world where Lesnar has entertaining matches and feuds without decimating his opponents. Let’s just hope it stays that way.
For the sake of WWE and the quality of its programming, it certainly should.
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Blake Oestriecher, Contributor
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Kilmarnock 2-3 Livingston | Scottish Premiership highlights
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership as Kilmarnock took on Livingston at Rugby Park.
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You’re no James Milner! | Jurgen Klopp x Joe Thomlinson FIFA rating
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Jurgen Klopp puts Joe Thomlinson through some physicality drills in order to give him a FIFA rating.
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Scores & Schedule
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Catch up on all the scores from the Paris Masters with Brits Cameron Norrie and Andy Murray in action from Bercy.
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Mexico City Grand Prix | Race highlights
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Highlights of the Mexico City Grand Prix from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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Skysports (Sky Sports)
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Why was Harry Kane’s goal disallowed by VAR?
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Sky Sports News presenter Pete Graves explains why Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner against Sporting Lisbon was ruled out by VAR.
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Should West Ham’s goal have stood? Dermot Gallagher explains all…
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher gives his insight as to why West Ham’s controversial first goal against Bournemouth was given.
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Islam Makhachev wins lightweight title at UFC 280 with a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira
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Islam Makhachev capped his ascent to the lightweight throne with a win by arm triangle choke against Brazilian Charles Oliveira; TJ Dillashaw suffered a dislocated shoulder against Aljamain Sterling and continued until referee Mark Goddard called a halt
Last Updated: 23/10/22 9:30am
Islam Makhachev pulled off a submission win over Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title and Aljamain Sterling beat TJ Dillashaw by TKO to claim the bantamweight belt at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Makhachev capped his ascent to the lightweight throne with a win by arm triangle choke against Brazilian Oliveira, the holder of the UFC record for submission wins with 16.
Oliveira was stripped of the lightweight belt in May when he missed the weight for his title clash with Justin Gaethje and though he beat the American the title remained vacant, setting up the showdown with Russian Makhachev.
After spending much of the first round defending and trying to threaten with submissions off his back, Oliveira tried to keep the fight on the feet in the second round.
That tactic looked like it was paying off until he was decked by a punch from Makhachev, who wasted no time jumping on his opponent, locking in the choke and forcing the tap for Oliveira.
Makhachev dedicated the win to his late coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died in 2020, saying: “Many years ago he told me just train hard and I will be champion”,
He then handed the belt to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who took over from his father as the Russian’s coach and is himself a former UFC lightweight champion.
Makhachev’s 11th submission win moves the 31-year-old to a record of 23 wins and one loss as a pro.
In the co-main event TJ Dillashaw, who had to give up the belt and serve a two-year suspension after testing positive for EPO in 2019, suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the first round but somehow made it through the first frame.
Reigning champion Aljamain Sterling did not let up and Dillashaw’s shoulder popped out again in the second round, allowing the 33-year-old Jamaican-American to take him down and dominate him until referee Mark Goddard called a halt.
“I probably popped it out about 20 times in training camp… I told the ref in the back that my shoulder is probably going to pop out, we’ll put it back so if it does don’t stop [the fight],” American Dillashaw said in his post-fight interview.
In the main card’s other big fight, American Sean O’Malley won a close split decision over Russian Petr Yan after a three-round brawl to put himself in pole position for a shot at the bantamweight title.
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WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 Results: Winners, News And Notes
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WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2022.
WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 advertised three championship matches. The NXT North American Championship was on the line in a five-man Ladder Match, while Alba Fyre challenged Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship. In the night’s main event, Bron Breakker defended the NXT Championship against Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh.
Last week’s broadcast of WWE NXT garnered 676,000 viewers against stiff competition from the MLB playoffs, NBA opening mic and, of course, Tuesday Night Dynamite, which garnered a 2022-low 752,000 viewers.
WWE NXT Ratings
- October 18, 2022 | 676,000
- October 11, 2022 | 737,000
- October 4, 2022 | 625,000
- September 27, 2022 | 660,000
- September 20, 2022 | 688,000
WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Results | October 22, 2022
- Wes Lee wins WWE NXT North American Title Ladder Match
- Apollo Crews def. Grayson Waller | Casket Match
- Roxanne Perez def. Cora Jade | Weapons Wild Match
- Julius Creed def. Damon Kemp | Ambulance Match
- Mandy Rose def. Alba Fyre | WWE NXT Women’s Championship
- Bron Breakker def. Ilja Dragonuv and JD McDonagh | NXT Championship
WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 Results
Wes Lee Wins NXT North American Title Ladder Match
You can tell there was an ongoing battle between all stars involved as to who would steal this match. Carmelo Hayes and Nathan Frazer were in a stiff competition for the top spot, but not without furious competition from the rest of the field.
The spot of the match (one of many) saw Nathan Frazer hit a modified springboard Spanish Fly from the second rope. It resulted in the second holy [expletive] chant in less than a minute.
Poor Von Wagner was met with “no” chants anytime he came near a ladder.
Watching Booker T try to keep up with this extremely fast-paced match was a treat in and of itself.
If it weren’t for Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricochet from Worlds Collide, this would be the best NXT PLE opener of the year. Some may even still argue it was.
Apollo Crews def. Grayson Waller
Prior to this match, Toxic Attraction was involved in a very cliched, uninspiring and overacted horror sketch where they searched for Alba Fyre. At one point, Gigi Dolin laughed off Jacy Jayne’s bloodcurdling screams after Fyre attacked Jane.
There was roughly 15 minutes between matches, and it felt like an eternity.
It was suggested that the winner of this match would be next in line for the WWE NXT Championship, and either of these guys has potential to be Bron Breakker’s best NXT feud to date.
Apollo Crews going from Nigerian warrior to a spooky Undertaker archetype was not a turn I saw coming in 2022.
Apollo Crews took a nasty bump through the coffin, yet the referee hesitated to ring the bell as Booker T called for the finish. Crews promptly disappeared, only to return with several druids.
The druids brought another casket to the ring, suggesting Apollo Crews has an extra life in this match.
In a backstage segment, the answer to a Halloween Havoc trivia question about whom the Outsiders beat to win the WCW Tag Team Championships in 1995. The answer was Harlem Heat, and the crowd could be heard audibly gasping with Booker T in the building.
Roxanne Perez def. Cora Jade
Roxanne Perez looked way too cheerful waking out to the ring considering she was carrying a cart full of weapons in a grudge match.
Perez is doing the same “killer instinct” storyline as Liv Morgan, right down to the kendo stick.
While promoting Reality of Wrestling, where Roxanne Perez trained, Booker T called Cora Jade’s training “freelance wrestling.”
Stretches of this match came off like a sloppy impression of a hardcore match.
Fans finally got into this one after a spot where both women dive from the elevated stage through a table.
WWE NXT’s “final” Premium Live Event of 2022 will e called “Deadline.” It will air the same night as ROH Final Battle.
Halloween Havoc host Shotzi showed up an hour and a half into the show. Good work if you can get it.
Julius Creed def. Damon Kemp
Having a Casket Match and an Ambulance match on the same show is an interesting choice. Having said that, the crowd was into this match. Julius Creed and Damon Kemp knocked this feud out of the park.
These festive fans became restless and eventually started chanting “use the pumpkin.”
This was a highly physical match that, much like the promos, mimicked a real fight.
Mandy Rose def. Alba Fyre
Alba Fyre kidnapped Mandy Rose and drove her to the vaunted NXT parking lot. There were no entrances, just Rose and Fyre brawling into the CWC to start the match.
Booker T was tremendous in the “Wade Barrett” role of putting over Mandy Rose on commentary.
Mandy Rose won this match with outside interference from Toxic Attraction, and I don’t think a single soul was surprised.
Bron Breakker def. Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh
Bron Breakker’s big entrance featured the headstones of both Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh.
There was an incredible spot where Bron Breakker hit a Frankensteiner into a sitout power bomb from JD McDonagh.
Booker T, who was having the time of his life calling this match, salivated over JD McDonagh. McDonagh even made it into Booker T’s elusive Fave Five list.
In another creative spot, JD McDonagh grabbed the referee’s hand just as he was about to hit the mat a third time. This received even more “this is awesome” chants.
As much as fans were into this match, many in the building didn’t seem too thrilled to see Bron Breakker retain. He might be the most underappreciated NXT champion in recent memory.
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Alfred Konuwa, Contributor
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Christian Horner: Dietrich Mateschitz was a remarkable man
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner pays his respects to Dietrich Mateschitz.
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Rangers 1-1 Livingston | Scottish Premiership highlights
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Livingston.
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AEW, CM Punk Reportedly Discussing Contract Buyout
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CM Punk’s last AEW appearance took place at September’s All Out.
CM Punk, as expected, may be done with AEW for good.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Punk and AEW are discussing a contract buyout that would end Punk’s brief tenure with the company: “Those with close knowledge of the situation said they are in talks with Punk about a buy-out of the remaining years of his contract, which tells you that they are not looking to bring him back.”
Punk, of course, hasn’t been seen in AEW since his infamous backstage brawl involving The Young Bucks at September’s All Out pay-per-view. AEW and its President Tony Khan have been tight-lipped regarding the incident because of the potential legal ramifications of revealing information about the investigation, which has sent shockwaves through all of pro wrestling.
It’s long been reported that Punk isn’t expected back in AEW and is likely going to end his tenure with pro wrestling’s No. 2 promotion barely a year after making his triumphant return to the squared circle. Punk’s rant at the post-All Out media scrum was the driving force behind that premature AEW exit, and his short stint with the company shockingly came to a screeching halt on the very same night that he became the AEW World Heavyweight Champion.
Aside from some indefinite suspensions, however, the only confirmed deperature since the AEW “Brawl Out” was that of Ace Steel, who has reportedly been let go by AEW. Steel, a long-time friend of Punk and backstage producer for AEW, is no longer with the company, but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise after Steel given that his involvement in the Punk-Bucks melee came shortly after he was fined for swearing on TV.
AEW getting rid of a seldom seen producer is one thing. But AEW moving on from a star the caliber of Punk, Omega, Nick or Matt Jackson? That’s a whole different ballgame.
Ranking among AEW’s highest paid stars, Punk had been lauded by Khan as a significant TV ratings draw for AEW and one of its cornerstones, despite Punk’s lengthy absence from the ring and the fact that he wasn’t an AEW original. As fans have seen with Cody Rhodes, losing a top star can have a huge effect on a pro wrestling company’s backstage environment, and in the case of Rhodes, it sure feels like he was the glue that was holding AEW’s locker room together.
On the other hand, Punk had been well known as a “divisive personality” in AEW and in pro wrestling in general, which is both part of the reason why he was able to reach the pinnacle of the business and a contributing factor to why he so unceremoniously left WWE in 2014 and then stayed out of pro wrestling for the next several years. It’s also why there’s a lot of “anti-Punk sentiment” in AEW right now. With a big personality and a main event-level push comes a lot of attention, pressure and envy, and Punk entered AEW in 2021 and was instantly pushed as one of the comnpany’s biggest stars.
His brief AEW stint, though enjoyable and certainly memorable, will down as one of the most significant events in AEW’s four-year history. That’s because Punk’s expected AEW deperature represents a major turning point for AEW after Punk became a polarizing and divisive locker room figure. Since Punk has been gone, veteran stars like Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson have stepped up as locker room leaders, resulting in substantial improvements to AEW’s locker room morale.
Even if Punk’s contract is bought out, however, the damage has already been done.
Numerous AEW stars are looking to exit the company and go or return to WWE, a reality that was likely expedited by morale issues that, at least in part, stemmed from Punk’s involvement in creating a divided locker room. But Punk appears to be as good as gone, and in reality, the negative effects that would be created by bringing him back far outweight any potential positives.
AEW has enough homegrown stars and established names to right the ship and do so without Punk, so if he’s bought out? Expect those WWE return rumors to heat up, but don’t be surprised a contract buyout marks the end of Punk’s career altogether.
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Blake Oestriecher, Contributor
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Rashid Khan anticipates ‘great contest’ against England batters in T20 World Cup
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Rashid Khan talks to Eoin Morgan about Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup opener against England, expectations from their fans and taking on Jos Buttler.
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British Gymnastics to name coaches banned after Whyte Review and announces new action plan
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Names of banned coaches will be found online but removed when a punishment has been served; the “Reform ’25” action plan comes as a result of complaints and findings published in June’s Whyte Review into misconduct within gymnastics
By Rob Harris, Sky News sports correspondent
Last Updated: 18/10/22 3:06pm
British Gymnastic has launched an action plan to create “safe, positive and fair experiences” for gymnasts
British Gymnastics will name coaches who have been banned as part of a response to an investigation exposing the sport’s abusive culture.
A 40-point “Reform ’25” action plan is intended by the governing body to create “safe, positive and fair experiences” for gymnasts.
It follows more than 400 complaints to the Whyte Review that was published in June and found young gymnasts in Britain had been left humiliated, shamed and permanently psychologically or physically damaged.
A challenge for gymnastics officials is determining the proportionality of sanctions based on the scale of misconduct – from sexual and physical abuse to bullying and malnutrition.
While British Gymnastics will publish lists of banned coaches online, their names will be removed once a punishment has been served.
It leaves open the possibility of coaches returning to the sport with athletes and any guardians never knowing about past misconduct.
British Gymnastics CEO Sarah Powell told Sky News: “I think we would have to be really convinced about why somebody had been banned, and then will come back into the sport. I don’t know until I look at the determinations of those outcomes.”
British Gymnastics will publish lists of banned coaches online, although names will be removed once a punishment has been served
Coaches who are suspended pending the outcome of an investigation will also not be named – opening up the possibility of them working in other countries in another sport.
The aspiration to improve welfare, safeguarding and complaints is for “zero tolerance of abuse – whether that be emotional, physical or sexual” and more specialist staff to handle complaints.
On the education priorities, Reform ’25 highlights the need for “a cultural understanding that creating a fear of coaches has no place in gymnastics”.
There are concerns that British sport has developed a medals over morals culture, but the action plan states there should be a “recognition that striving for and achieving success is not the same thing as wellbeing”.
British Gymnastics wants the reforms implemented by 2025 – a year after the next Olympics in Paris – but with regular progress updates on the progress in improving the environment that is focused on high-performance while eradicating risks.
Powell said: “The key for us is to make sure that those who’ve been affected, we acknowledge the failings of the past, and we make sure we set out a new direction for the future.
“The reforms that we’re putting in place today will ensure that this sport can be a safe, positive experience for all involved.”
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Aberdeen 2-0 Hearts | Scottish Premiership highlights
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Highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Hearts.
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