Tag: Ukraine

Ben Anderson: The @Utah Jazz Foundation …

Enes Kanter Freedom calls out NBA over Ukraine flag pins initiative

Enes Kanter Freedom believes his open criticism of the NBA is the reason he is no longer on a roster, but he clearly is not going to let that silence him. Freedom blasted the NBA and the Boston Celtics on Twitter Sunday for picking and choosing …

Enes Kanter Freedom believes his open criticism of the NBA is the reason he is no longer on a roster, but he clearly is not going to let that silence him. Freedom blasted the NBA and the Boston Celtics on Twitter Sunday for picking and choosing which human rights movements to support. The 29-year-old called his former team “hypocrites” for wearing Ukraine pins. Freedom said he also supports Ukraine but noted that the Celtics “begged” him to not wear anti-China sneakers a few months ago. “Who chooses whose lives are more important?” Freedom wrote. “Is there not much profit from Russia?”

Source: Larry Brown Sports

More on this storyline

Enes FREEDOM: Hypocrites! I see @Celtics coaching staff wearing Ukrainian flag pins, which I support What about Syria,Afghanistan,Uyghurs, Hong Kong,Tibet,Taiwan Why is it okay to speak up about human rights violations there but not in other countries? Is there not much profit from Russia? -via Twitter @EnesFreedom / March 7, 2022
Enes FREEDOM: How is it fair when I wore shoes to bring awareness about Human Rights violations around the world, @Celtics begged me to remove them and threatened to ban me, #Celtics now wear Ukrainian flag pins. Who approved this @NBPA / @NBA ? Who chooses whose lives are more important? -via Twitter @EnesFreedom / March 7, 2022

Brittney Griner has reportedly been detained in Russia. Here’s everything we know so far

This is pretty terrifying.

In what can only be defined as some pretty terrifying news, Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner has been detained by Russian authorities at an airport near Moscow, according to a report from the New York Times’ Jonathan Abrams.

The report of Griner’s detainment follows last week’s news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and escalating tensions with other nations around the world because of the invasion.

Griner was detained after the Russian Federal Customs Service reportedly found vape cartridges in her luggage that contained hashish oil. The customs service didn’t originally identify the detainee as Griner — they only said they’d detained an “American basketball player” on Saturday. It was only revealed to be Griner later on by a Russian news agency.

This is a pretty sticky and horrifying situation. Here’s what we know about it so far.

The bigger fight: Ukrainian boxers doing their part to fend off Russians

The bigger fight: Ukrainian boxers are doing their part to fend off the invading Russians.

Four of the most successful Ukrainian boxers are in a more-daunting fight than they’ve ever known.

Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko are among those fighting along side their countrymen in the battle against Russian invaders.

Vitali Klitschko is mayor of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

The Russians began what President Vladimir Putin has called “special military operations” on Feb. 24, which has resulted in massive loss of life and destruction in Ukraine. And no end is in site.

Here is the what the boxers had to say:

VITALI KLITSCHKO

“Thousands, already tens of thousands, are killed in this war against Ukraine. And this number will unfortunately only grow,” Klitschko told Reuters. “We are not going to surrender. We have nowhere to retreat.”

“The situation is tense, people are worried. The city needs peace and peaceful skies. … Kyiv residents have been in their basements nonstop for a week now because of air raid alarm going off all the time.”

He added, speaking directly to Russian citizens: “You are an instrument at the hands of one man (Putin) with one ambition: to resurrect the Soviet Union. … For ambitions of one man, we are paying a very high price.”

Klitschko said in an interview with Sky News, evidently referring to himself and/or those around him: “We killed some people, I guess six people last night.”

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO

“It’s complete madness. … What is happening is terror. It’s happening in 2022. It’s something one’s mind doesn’t comprehend. You don’t know if you’re going to make it through the day tomorrow.

“Those nights, hearing explosions all night long and shooting in the street, that does make you feel worried.

“We’re really counting hours here. We have no time. We need to act now, we need to stop this madness. All the money that Russia is getting is being used to buy lethal weapons that are killing Ukrainians.”

OLEKSANDR USYK

The heavyweight titleholder spoke to CNN through a translator.

“If they will want to take my life, or the lives of my close ones, I will have to do it. But I don’t want that. I don’t want to shoot, I don’t want to kill anybody, but if they will be killing me, I will have no choice.”

“Maybe, it’ll sound sentimental,” he explained, “but my soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honor belong to my country, to my family. So there is no fear, absolutely no fear. There’s just bafflement. How could this be in the 21st century?”

“The bombing around is crazy. They just bombed the city of Mariupol, one of my friends got a rocket in his roof. [The Russians] are not playing games.”

“Russian people don’t really know exactly what’s going on here. They’re not seeing what’s going on. They are victims of their President [Putin].”

“I really don’t know when I’m going to be stepping back in the ring. My country and my honor are more important to me than a championship belt.”

VASILIY LOMACHENKO

The former three-division titleholder hasn’t been quoted but has joined a defense battalion. Images of him in full uniform have been posted on social media (see below).

Mykola Kovalchuk, president of WBC Ukraine, expressed his admiration for the boxers.

Said Kovalchuk: “We are so proud of our boxers, our real champions in boxing and champions in this war. We are proud to be Ukrainians.”

The bigger fight: Ukrainian boxers doing their part to fend off Russians

The bigger fight: Ukrainian boxers are doing their part to fend off the invading Russians.

Four of the most successful Ukrainian boxers are in a more-daunting fight than they’ve ever known.

Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko are among those fighting along side their countrymen in the battle against Russian invaders.

Vitali Klitschko is mayor of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

The Russians began what President Vladimir Putin has called “special military operations” on Feb. 24, which has resulted in massive loss of life and destruction in Ukraine. And no end is in site.

Here is the what the boxers had to say:

VITALI KLITSCHKO

“Thousands, already tens of thousands, are killed in this war against Ukraine. And this number will unfortunately only grow,” Klitschko told Reuters. “We are not going to surrender. We have nowhere to retreat.”

“The situation is tense, people are worried. The city needs peace and peaceful skies. … Kyiv residents have been in their basements nonstop for a week now because of air raid alarm going off all the time.”

He added, speaking directly to Russian citizens: “You are an instrument at the hands of one man (Putin) with one ambition: to resurrect the Soviet Union. … For ambitions of one man, we are paying a very high price.”

Klitschko said in an interview with Sky News, evidently referring to himself and/or those around him: “We killed some people, I guess six people last night.”

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO

“It’s complete madness. … What is happening is terror. It’s happening in 2022. It’s something one’s mind doesn’t comprehend. You don’t know if you’re going to make it through the day tomorrow.

“Those nights, hearing explosions all night long and shooting in the street, that does make you feel worried.

“We’re really counting hours here. We have no time. We need to act now, we need to stop this madness. All the money that Russia is getting is being used to buy lethal weapons that are killing Ukrainians.”

OLEKSANDR USYK

The heavyweight titleholder spoke to CNN through a translator.

“If they will want to take my life, or the lives of my close ones, I will have to do it. But I don’t want that. I don’t want to shoot, I don’t want to kill anybody, but if they will be killing me, I will have no choice.”

“Maybe, it’ll sound sentimental,” he explained, “but my soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honor belong to my country, to my family. So there is no fear, absolutely no fear. There’s just bafflement. How could this be in the 21st century?”

“The bombing around is crazy. They just bombed the city of Mariupol, one of my friends got a rocket in his roof. [The Russians] are not playing games.”

“Russian people don’t really know exactly what’s going on here. They’re not seeing what’s going on. They are victims of their President [Putin].”

“I really don’t know when I’m going to be stepping back in the ring. My country and my honor are more important to me than a championship belt.”

VASILIY LOMACHENKO

The former three-division titleholder hasn’t been quoted but has joined a defense battalion. Images of him in full uniform have been posted on social media (see below).

Mykola Kovalchuk, president of WBC Ukraine, expressed his admiration for the boxers.

Said Kovalchuk: “We are so proud of our boxers, our real champions in boxing and champions in this war. We are proud to be Ukrainians.”

R&A takes stance against Russian invasion of Ukraine, bans entries from Russia and Belarus

The R&A expected no entries from Russia or Belarus this year, yet announced none would be allowed.

The R&A is the latest international sports governing body to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine, with the Scotland-based golf organization announcing it would decline entry to any golfer from Russia or Belarus, which has supported the war that broke out last week.

The R&A – which operates the British Open and several other professional and amateur events – also plans to contribute to a humanitarian aid fund and offer support for the Ukrainian Golf Federation, which on its site lists five golf clubs inside Ukraine.

The R&A acknowledged that it expected to have had no entries this year in its championships from Russia or Belarus, making it largely a symbolic gesture of support, but it joins the International Olympic Committee and the International Golf Federation in banning athletes from Russia and Belarus.

From the R&A’s site:

“We have considered the situation in the context of our direct responsibilities for governance, for staging golf events and for developing and investing in the sport around the world.

  • The R&A fully supports the recommendations of the IOC and the International Golf Federation in excluding Russia and Belarus from international team championships.
  • The R&A is not currently expecting entries from Russian or Belarusian golfers in scheduled R&A-qualifying events, championships or international matches in the upcoming season, professional or amateur.  In the event that we were to receive entries, we would decline.
  • We are reviewing the implications for matters such as international rankings and the World Handicap System.
  • The R&A will contribute to a humanitarian aid fund and we will offer direct support to the Ukrainian Golf Federation.”

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Microsoft suspends new sales in Russia, including Xbox and Windows games and services

All new Xbox and Windows software and services sales are now halted in Russia and Belarus following governmental sanctions.

In a new blog from Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith it has been confirmed that all new sales of Microsoft software and hardware will be suspended in Russia following the invasion of and ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

In the blog, Brad Smith states the following: “We are announcing today that we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.

“In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions.”

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This follows other businesses that have also ceased sales of products in the region, including game distribution platform GOG, owned by CD Projekt RED, creators of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The gaming industry has near-universally condemned Russia’s actions, with some creators going a step further to show support. One of the minds behind the original Doom and Wolfenstein games, John Romero, released a new Doom 2 level, with money made from purchases going towards Ukrainian humanitarian causes. Similarly, The Pokémon Company has donated $200,000 USD to GlobalGiving for humanitarian relief in the region. EA Sports has even removed Russian teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22.

All of this follows a plea from Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov earlier this week, which saw the politician appealing to Sony and Microsoft on Twitter to stop supporting the Russian and Belarusian markets until peace is restored.

In addition to halting sales in Russia, Microsoft’s blog states that a key area in which they are providing support is cybersecurity, stating: “Our single most impactful area of work almost certainly is the protection of Ukraine’s cybersecurity. We continue to work proactively to help cybersecurity officials in Ukraine defend against Russian attacks, including most recently a cyberattack against a major Ukrainian broadcaster.”

As the war in Ukraine continues, so will pressure from companies and nations globally to stop the invasion.

Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.

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