Connect with us

Sports

Dolphins GM Chris Grier says fans threatened his family in string of vile emails after team’s lackluster year

Published

on

Dolphins GM Chris Grier says fans threatened his family in string of vile emails after team’s lackluster year


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Miami Dolphins finished last season with an 8-9 record and failed to qualify for the NFL playoffs. The disappointing year sparked ire from some of the Dolphins’ faithful. 

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier spoke to the media on Wednesday, the day after trimming the team’s roster to 53 by the league’s deadline. Grier spoke about the general structure of the roster entering the 2025 campaign and also touched on the status of specific players as Week 1 draws closer.

But the media session took a turn when Grier revealed fan angst had resulted in emails targeting his children.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

General manager Chris Grier of the Miami Dolphins looks on prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida.  (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

“If I’m out, people have always been respectful and nice, and they just say ‘Hey, keep going. Appreciate you.’ The guys to my face have been nice. I know there’s people that are upset… (but) that’s any job,” Grier said.

EX-NFL STAR JAY CUTLER GETS 4 DAYS OF JAIL TIME AS PART OF DUI PLEA DEAL IN TENNESSEE COURT

Grier acknowledged the angst that last season’s ending sparked.

“And if I was comfortable and saying I felt what things are, then I’m an a–h—  …because I’m not being realistic about where we are as a team and where things are going …after last season. I’m frustrated like [them] that we didn’t win enough games last year. I understand that, I don’t take things personally. When I’m out, people have generally been very positive and stuff to me.”

Chris Grier walks on the football field

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier walks not the field prior to the game between the Miami Dolphins and the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Sept. 30, 2024. (Jasen Vinlove/Imagn Images)

“I’ve gotten some colorful emails from a couple of people…..[one] hoping my kids die of cancer,” Grier said. “That’s a fun one. That’s why I don’t take things very personal or real because other people have other issues and stuff in life.”

Dolphins helmet

Aug 3, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, US; A general view of a Miami Dolphins helmet on the field during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)

Grier was elevated to the Dolphins’ general manager post in 2016. He joined the franchise as a scout in 2000. 

As it relates to pressing roster matters, Grier confirmed that cornerback Cam Smith will start the regular season on the non-football injury list. Smith appeared in six games during the 2024 season.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Grier gave a positive update on running back De’Von Achane’s availability for the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Achane has recently been contending with a calf injury.

“All indications for us is that Achane will be ready Week 1 to go,” Grier told reporters on Wednesday. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.





Source link

Sports

Liverpool lose 9th of season in ‘same old story,’ Slot says

Published

on

Liverpool lose 9th of season in ‘same old story,’ Slot says


WOLVERHAMPTON, England — Arne Slot said Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday is a case of the “same old story” after his team conceded yet another late winner in the Premier League.

Wolves midfielder Andre secured the victory for the hosts with a deflected strike in the 94th minute at Molineux Stadium. It means Liverpool have now lost five games thanks to goals after the 90th minute this term; the most of any side in a single campaign in the competition’s history.

“How do I sum this up?” Slot said of his team’s ninth Premier League loss of the season. “Same old story. Recently, we are picking up points because we score many times from set-pieces, but what didn’t change in the last five, six seven games is that we struggle and find it very hard to score from open play chances that we do create.

“Not as much as I would like from all the ball possession we have, but enough and far more than the other team. But the end result is we scored one and they scored two and another one in injury time so it sums up our season again.

“We have had far more possession than the other team, we have created more in open play in general than the other team, but have struggled to score from open play. Recently we have scored a lot from set-pieces. Again we had a lot of set-pieces, but in the first half were very poorly taken.

“I don’t think we played a very good first half, the second half was better, still not great, but better. We created more, and the just before injury time we were twice very close from chances to make it 2-1.

“Mo [Salah] was dribbling and had to the left and right two players open, but the ball was intercepted by their defender and there was the Virgil [van Dijk] header, and the one we conceded wasn’t even a chance.

“That has happened to us so many times this season. That it happened in injury time may be a coincidence, although it has happened so many times. We hardly gave away a chance today, we gave away one chance and conceded two.”

Liverpool’s latest defeat leaves them in fifth place, though they could drop to sixth if Chelsea beat Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday.

Reflecting on whether the loss has impacted his team’s chances of Champions League qualification, Slot said: “It’s another setback and we didn’t help ourselves with this result, not at all. But there are still nine games to play. We are coming closer and closer to the end.

“Dropping points in a game where it’s absolutely not necessary. If you look at the run of play, I’m not saying we played great, but if we play this game in this fashion 10 times we don’t lose 10 times.

“It’s far from sure that we win every time, therefore we are not good enough. If we don’t have to rely on a deflected shot, we have to play better and do better. But we’ve had enough chances to win the game.

“But credit to Wolves as well. They fight from first second until the end and got maybe a bit of a luck they deserve when you look at how much they put in throughout the whole game.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: ‘A lot of people just don’t understand’

Published

on

Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: ‘A lot of people just don’t understand’


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Eileen Gu released a statement on social media Monday, reflecting on her controversial decision to compete for Team China despite being born and raised in the U.S. 

Gu’s statement tied the decision back to her passion for promoting women’s sports, and encouraging young girls to pursue sports. 

“I gave my first speech on women in sports and title IX when I was 11 years old. I talked about being the only girl on my ski team, and, despite attending an all-girls’ school from Monday through Friday, becoming best friends with my teammates on the weekends through the common language of sport,” Gu wrote on Instagram. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

“At the same time, I was made painfully aware of the lack of representation – at age 9, I felt that I was somehow representing all women every time I stepped in the terrain park. Landing tricks was about more than progression … it was about disproving the derisive implication of what it meant to ‘ski like a girl.'”

Gu went on to express gratitude for the one season in which she did compete for the U.S. 

“When I was 15, I announced my decision to compete for China. At the time, I had spent one season on the US team, and had been lucky enough to meet my heroes in person. I am forever grateful for that season, and continue to maintain a close relationship with the team. I had spent every summer in China since I was 8 setting up summer camps on trampoline and dry slope for kids and adults, ranging from 7 to 47 years old, so I knew the industry was tiny. I felt like I knew everyone,” she added. 

“Skiing for Team China meant the opportunity to uplift others through the universal culture of sport, and to introduce freeskiing to hundreds of millions of people who had never heard of it, especially with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics around the corner.”

Gu’s statement concluded by acknowledging that certain people “don’t understand” her decision to compete for China over the U.S., while insisting the choice maximized the impact she would have. 

“I can look back now, at 22, and tell 12 year old Eileen that there are now terrain parks full of little girls, who will never doubt their place in the sport. I can tell 15 year old me that there are now millions of girls who have started skiing since then, in China and worldwide,” Gu wrote. 

“A lot of people won’t understand or believe that I made a decision to create the greatest amount of positive impact on the world stage that I could, at this age, given my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I can confidently say was once a dream is now a reality.”

Gu has become a target for global criticism this Olympics for her decision to represent China while remaining silent on the country’s alleged human rights abuses.

In an interview with Time magazine, Gu was asked her thoughts on China’s alleged persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. 

“I haven’t done the research. I don’t think it’s my business. I’m not going to make big claims on my social media,” Gu answered.

“I’m just more of a skeptic when it comes to data in general. … So, it’s not like I can read an article and be like, ‘Oh, well, this must be the truth.’ I need to have a ton of evidence. I need to maybe go to the place, maybe talk to 10 primary source people who are in a location and have experienced life there.

“Then I need to go see images. I need to listen to recordings. I need to think about how history affects it. Then I need to read books on how politics affects it. This is a lifelong search. It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda.”

More controversy surrounding Gu erupted after The Wall Street Journal reported that Gu and another American-born athlete who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025.

Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympics athlete in the world, making an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone due to partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China and western companies. 

Her alignment with China prompted criticism from many Americans this Olympics, including Vice President J.D. Vance. 

“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

Later, when Gu was asked if she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment,” she said she does. 

“I do,” she said. “So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So, it’s not really about what they think it’s about.

“And, also, because I win. Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Eileen Gu

Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026.  (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Gu has claimed she was “physically assaulted” for the decision.  

“The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed,” Gu told The Athletic

“I’ve gone through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Related Article

Eileen Gu's interaction with reporter over winning silver instead of gold goes viral: ‘Ridiculous perspective’





Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Iowa State discontinues women’s gymnastics program

Published

on

Iowa State discontinues women’s gymnastics program


AMES, Iowa — Iowa State is ending its women’s gymnastics program.

The decision, announced by athletic director Jamie Pollard on Tuesday, comes not long after the school canceled the remainder of its 2026 season because of what Pollard described as “unresolvable” issues between players, coaches and parents.

Pollard said the school will replace gymnastics with another women’s sport that “provides equal or additional participation opportunities” for female athletes.

The school will honor the scholarships of current or incoming gymnasts who opt to remain at the university, including making sure they will continue to have access to all departmental services available to Iowa State student-athletes. Pollard added that the athletic department will also help any gymnast who chooses to go into the transfer portal.

Members of the coaching staff, including head coach Ashley Miles Greig, will not have their contracts renewed.

Pollard called the move “the right decision for our athletics program and our student athletes,” citing a pattern of issues within the program over the past decade.

Women’s gymnastics underwent a “complete review” in 2018 because of various issues. In 2023, the university hired a Minnesota-based law firm to do an independent evaluation of the program, leading to sweeping changes that included implementing a new coaching staff.

When similar issues cropped up three years later, Iowa State initially opted to cancel the remainder of the season because Pollard said “the student-athletes felt the conflicts were so problematic” they could not continue.

A leadership council within the university spent weeks talking to various stakeholders around the program before recommending women’s gymnastics be discontinued.

“The student-athlete experience is at the core of what our department takes great pride in,” Pollard said. “Our continued inability by our department to provide our women’s gymnastics team members [a positive] experience … is disappointing and very concerning.”

Pollard said finances did not play a role in the decision, adding that whatever sport the Cyclones eventually add could be just as expensive, if not more expensive, to field.

Iowa State won four conference titles in women’s gymnastics, the last in 2006.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending