Aktuelles » changed since Jordans quote about sneakers. (Jorda

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- As night fell over Happy Valley on Friday, hundreds of Joe Paternos former players gathered outside the schools baseball stadium to celebrate their accomplishments and the coach who inspired them before he left a polarizing legacy.About 50 yards from where a statue of Paterno was removed by the university after the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, and Paternos possible role in it, rocked the small Central Pennsylvania town in 2011, former players hugged, laughed and told stories about Paterno as they filed into the private ceremony.Jimmy Cefalo, who played for Paterno from 1974-77 before embarking on a broadcasting career, called the late coach the most influential man in my life other than my father.He said his opinion of Paterno, who coached at Penn State for 46 years, remains unchanged.Joe will always be someone who took me out of a very small town and gave me a wonderful opportunity, Cefalo said. I dont know how many people would say he was my mentor and someone who gave me a great deal of my life and then change your opinion about him. It doesnt happen very often and it shouldnt happen to any of us.Its a sentiment shared by many of the men gathered there but not by a large group who view Paterno as a villain in the Sandusky scandal. For them, Paterno didnt do enough to stop Sandusky, an assistant on Paternos staff for three decades and believe honoring Paterno in any way is is insensitive to Sanduskys victims and the severity of the scandal.Paterno said hed wished he had done more before he died from lung cancer in 2012,Robert Hoatson was the only protestor who showed up. He said he drove in from New Jersey, identified himself as a victim of sexual abuse with no ties to Penn State and said he was outraged the university would honor Paternos head coaching debut. Penn State plans to do that during Saturdays game against Temple.Hoatson stood across the street from the stadiums entrance with two large signs -- one reading You already forgot the other sexual abuse of little boys and girls is soul murder. He gave several interviews to multiple reporters, said he hoped others would join him in protest and only smiled as a young heckler paced back and forth with him, questioning his motive. There were no other confrontations, however.Im just outraged that Penn State, even in the midst of so much still going on with the trials coming up of administrators, with the recent information that Joe Paterno did know in the 70s at the latest that kids were being sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky, said Hoatson, who founded and operates a sexual abuse support network called Road 2 Recovery. Its just outrageous that they have a celebration of Joe Paterno. Its as if these poor little kids who were sexually abuse here dont matter.Hoatson was referring to court documents unsealed in May that said an alleged Sandusky victim complained to Paterno about Sandusky in 1976 and was rebuffed. The universitys president, Eric Barron, has said the allegation was not substantiated in court or tested by any other process. Paterno was never charged with a crime related to the scandal.Sandusky was convicted on 45 of 48 charges in June 2012 and is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence.Former Penn State standout and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris has long been a supporter of Paterno and has insisted college footballs winningest coach did nothing wrong.Earlier this year, Harris encouraged fans to leave a brick near the small tree where the Paterno statue once stood. One blue brick with 409 -- the number of Paternos wins and his initials, JVP, stood at the foot of the tree on Friday night. Harris hoped it would send a message to Penn State administrators to make amends with the Paternos.Penn State will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Paternos coaching debut in addition to his commitment to student-athletes and academics during the Temple game on Saturday. Harris said hes happy with Penn States first step to do right by the Paterno family with the gesture.Its a good first step and one that is good and I know they received a lot of heat for it but so what, Harris said. Thats part of it. We know the truth so people can think whatever they want. We feel very comfortable where were at and we want Penn State to start to feel comfortable where theyre at. And so we hope that this grows and grows.Harris said hed like to hear a formal apology from the universitys board of trustees who fired Paterno over the phone in 2011.I think they handled it wrong and I think they got bad advice from the lawyers and the lawyers got it wrong and they handled it wrong, Harris said. And it caused a lot of damage to Penn State football and to a lot of individuals and that blame shouldve never been focused on Penn State football and a lot of these individuals.Members of the Paterno family would not comment during the event that was closed to reporters. Ron Jaworski Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Fletcher Cox Eagles Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Randall-Cunningham-Inverted-Jersey/ . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Carson Wentz Eagles Jersey . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Chuck Bednarik Womens Jersey . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Republicans buy sneakers, too.With the exception of Im back, it might be the most famous of all quotes attributed to Michael Jordan (even if he didnt use those exact words). The Bulls superstar reportedly made the quip to a friend back in 1990, explaining why he wouldnt publicly endorse black Democratic candidate Harvey Gantt over notorious race-baiter Jesse Helms in the North Carolina Senate race. The quote seems to resurface any time an athlete avoids hot-button issues -- political or otherwise -- with a canned response or careful sidestep.Jordan earned some criticism over the years for his politics (or lack thereof), but most folks back in the day just seemed to accept that he wanted to protect endorsements, that anything beyond basketball was outside his purview. The days of Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown, among others, had passed, and we seemed to want our athletes to stick to sports. But the pendulum has swung again.Today, after physical talent, authenticity is valued over pretty much anything else in sports. So many readers and viewers are so used to media and advertising spin, they push back against anything or anyone that seems contrived. And with the instant connection of social media, fans dont just want to watch a pro athlete compete or hawk a product, they want to get to know them.That includes their opinions. Many people now expect athletes to speak about controversial topics, the politics of shoe buyers be damned. Over the last few years weve seen a number of high-profile pros making statements, like Miami Heat players donning hoodies after the death of Trayvon Martin and other NBA players wearing I cant breathe shirts after the death of Eric Garner.This past week, after two black men were fatally shot by police and five policemen were killed by a sniper in Dallas, many athletes were back making headlines for joining the national conversation -- and offering more than just thoughts and prayers.On Sunday, players from the New York Liberty wore warmup shirts that read #BlackLivesMatter and #Dallas5 on the front, with #_______ on the back where their names would be. A few days earlier, new Knicks big man Joakim Noah told the New York Post if he were president he would make it illegal to buy guns.Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, who last year marched in a Baltimore protest following the death of Freddie Gray, challenged his silent peers.Theres NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore, wrote Anthony in an Instagram post Friday. Those days are long gone. We have to step up and take charge. We cant worry about what endorsements we gonna lose or whose going to look at us crazy. I need your voices to be heard. We can demand change. We just have to be willing to.Dwyane Wade supported Anthonys take, telling the AP, As an athlete and as a person who has this platform, we like to sell things, we like to be on commercials, we like to do all these things. But when things come up in life I think you have a responsibility as a face of this world, if you believe in something to get behind that.Former NBA player and current TNT analyst Kenny Smiith went one step further on Monday.dddddddddddd Speaking directly to black NBA players via Facebook Live, Smith urged NBA players to allocate 10 percent of their salaries toward programming in the communities in which they live. He also committed to working with the NBA to develop such programs and requested that athletes with sponsorship deals ask the companies they represent to match their contributions.According to Smiths plan, companies should not only accept their athlete endorsers speaking out, they should, in fact, support them in doing so.There are plenty who will defend big-name athletes who use their platform to enact change, but there are also those who dont like the sports waters muddied. Back in 2014, Eli Manning spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the aforementioned I cant breathe shirts, saying You know theres a time and place to make your statements. I dont know if its always during a game.So far the NBA hasnt deterred players from wearing statement shirts over their warmups, but will the league eventually face pushback from the companies who paid big money for logos that cant be seen? What will commissioner Adam Silver do if players decide to take a stance on a hot-button issue that isnt aligned with the politics of the majority of the league?The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Monday that four police officers working Saturdays Lynx game walked off their jobs after players wore T-shirts seeking change. Fans may be seeking more and more authenticity and transparency from athletes, but will they eventually resent the insertion of major social issues into their sports time? Will companies push back against athlete activism, fearing their endorsers may alienate large swaths of our very divided country?Thats a lot of what-ifs. But as weve seen, a lot of athletes arent waiting around for the answers.The expectations we have for our favorite players have changed since Jordans quote about sneakers. (Jordan himself even participated in a fundraiser for President Obama in 2012.) Social media has compelled that shift, making it easier to speak out in the moment, but that can be a limited kind of activism. The most fascinating, inspiring change has been watching athletes express their beliefs in real life - out in their communities, accepting the power their voices and actions carry.***This weeks Thats What She Said podcast features espnW and ESPN The Magazine Editor-in-Chief Alison Overholt. She talks about recently taking over the magazine and what its like to have her husband, ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham, on her staff. Ready to give birth to her second child any day now, she talks about the challenges of balancing two children and two full-time jobs. We also talk about the latest edition of the annual Body Issue, including the first-ever inclusion of a transgender athlete.I also offer up some thoughts on athletes speaking up in the wake of recent violence. Thanks as always for listening and check back every week for a new edition of Thats What She Said. ' ' '