Free Republic

It’s safe to say the WNBA is the most toxic and dysfunctional professional sports league in US history. And the league is incapable of learning from its mistakes. As Joe Hoft reported earlier this year, Caitlin Clark was injurted in the 2026 pre-season opener for the Indianapolis Fever. They had their golden goose, and they ran it over. To date, rather than provide officiating that was fair and protected Clark, the league allowed women in the league to pull, push, hit, poke, hammer, and totally abuse Clark. The beatings and abuse took their toll. No one could have put up...

'm all about respect and sportsmanship, but I also love a healthy dose of gamesmanship, and that seems to be what we're getting from the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is still in the playoffs and currently tied with the Anaheim Ducks 2-2. However, they were the talk of hockey at the end of the regular season when they fired then-head coach Bruce Cassidy with just eight games left in the season and the team on track to make the playoffs. It was a shocker — especially after Cassidy led the team to a Stanley Cup in 2023 — and the...

Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in the NBA, died following a “valiant” battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, his family announced Tuesday. Collins was 47. The ex-Nets player and 13-year NBA veteran had revealed his diagnosis in December in a piece published by ESPN. Stage 4 glioblastoma is one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.

Longtime NFL quarterback Craig Morton, who led the Denver Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearance, died on Saturday. He was 83. Morton spent the end of his career with the Broncos, and he helped lead them to their first playoff appearance and Super Bowl berth during the 1977 season. The team went 12-2 that year in the regular season before losing to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII. Morton spent 18 years in the league in total, first with the Cowboys after the franchise selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft. He...

I'm not sure what's more of a clown show: The boy being allowed to take 1st in all these girls' track events, or a Fox News host calling him a "she." Host Brian Kilmeade referred correctly to the transgender high school athlete, AB Hernandez, as a male. But host Ainsley Earhardt then immediately and repeatedly referred to Hernandez as "she." The segment talked about the importance of saving girls' sports ... while accepting the delusion that boys can be called "she." Pick a lane, Fox News!

Soccer fans are not happy after Katy Perry was announced as the headliner for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony. The 41-year-old singer was announced as the headliner on Friday, May 8, and many in the soccer community had strong opinions on the choice. Pop Crave shared the announcement on their X account and the comments section featured a mixed bag of reactions. Many were against the organization's decision to sign her as the headliner, with one commenter writing, "I honestly think they could've picked someone better." "On behalf of the football community we don’t know Katy Perry," another...

A California postseason track meet on Saturday opened with a "Save Girls’ Sports" rally outside the gates and ended in familiar fashion, as one athlete again separated from the field in the jumping events, highlighting growing concerns over competitive fairness in girls’ sports. Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division 3 preliminaries in Yorba Linda drew attention before competition began, with demonstrators protesting California’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Inside, the focus turned to the jumping events, where biological male AB Hernandez, a senior from Jurupa Valley, competed against women and finished first across all three competitions with...

“Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe failure’ pales in comparison”. One person in Bremerton, Washington, took a tally of the objectionable words, including “(6) F words, a reference to f**king chicks, a reference to the artists d*ck on fire, and doing coke and rolling blunts.” A Las Vegas resident bemoaned he had to “make all of my children go into the next room”, calling it “the most disturbing thing I’ve witnessed on live TV in a long time.”

The University of Washington's women's soccer team were humiliated last week after losing to a group of 14-year-old boys. Last season the Washington Huskies finished as the sixth-ranked team in women's college soccer following an impressive run to the Elite Eight stage of the playoffs, with their 15-3-7 record going down as the best in program history. Yet despite their incredible year in 2025, the Huskies were brought crashing down to earth after suffering an embarrassing defeat to Crossfire under-14 boys last Thursday. The scrimmage took place in Seattle on April 30, and ended in a 2-1 victory for Crossfire...

The delay in Dick Advocaat becoming Curaçao’s head coach might have been ominous but instead it was the foundation for glory. Frustrated by the national federation’s financial problems, he deferred starting until January 2024, when the problems were resolved and players paid, paving the way for a historic World Cup qualifying campaign. Curaçao will be the smallest nation – by land area and population – to play at the World Cup after their 0-0 draw in Jamaica on Wednesday. The Caribbean island has a population of 156,000, sinking the previous record holders, Iceland, which has about 400,000 inhabitants. Last month...

FIFA president Gianni Infantino affirmed on Thursday that Iran will take part in this summer’s World Cup despite the country’s current conflict with the United States. "Of course, Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026, and of course Iran will play in the United States of America," Infantino said during his opening remarks of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver. "The reason for that is very simple, dear friends, is because we have to unite. We have to bring people together. It is my responsibility." Among the 211-member FIFA congress, Iran was the only absentee. DOOCY: The president...

Adria (Force) Hight, 56, of Terre Haute, Indiana, passed away peacefully on April 28, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana, surrounded by her loving family. She was born on June 4, 1969, in Huntington Park, California and grew up along the west coast in different beach cities. As a child she loved skating, swimming, playing restaurant and collecting matchbox cars. After graduating from Huntington Beach High School, she joined the family drag racing business working for her father John Force as one of the first employees of John Force Racing. Adria helped build the company from the ground up; everything from answering...

Vermont Principals’ Association to pay $566K to Christian school in transgender athlete dispute

Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has repeated his belief that Iran will take part in the World Cup this summer despite the federation failing to attend congress in Vancouver. A three-man delegation representing the Iranian Football Federation flew to Toronto on Tuesday, but one of their number was denied entry to Canada, with the two others declining to attend congress in an apparent act of protest. Iranian media reported earlier this week that the IFF president, Mehdi Taj, was turned away at Toronto’s Pearson airport despite having been given permission to travel. Fifa sources described the matter as a “regrettable situation”...

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has dramatically walked back his disparaging comments about Donald Trump, admitting he was wrong to call the President a 'buffoon'. The polarizing NBA coach dabbled in his political views while also discussing his past, the modern NBA and where his future may lie in a wide-ranging interview with The New Yorker. Kerr, rumored to be on the brink of leaving the Warriors this season, was asked about a no-holds-barred 'rant' he went on during a press conference the day after Trump was elected in 2016. The coach, who has never been shy about...

LIV Golf plans to tell players and staff ​by Thursday that ⁠Saudi Arabia's ​Public Investment Fund ⁠will stop funding the circuit ​after this season, the Wall Street Journal reported on ⁠Wednesday, citing ⁠people familiar ⁠with ⁠the matter.

A Christian school banned from athletic competition in Vermont because its girls' basketball team refused to play another with a male has settled its lawsuit with one defendant while broader litigation continues against others. The Vermont Principals' Association, which oversees all state-sponsored extracurriculars in the Green Mountain State, agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and attorney's fees to resolve Mid Vermont Christian School's claims, the latter's lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom said Wednesday. The notice of dismissal against VPA Executive Director Jay Nichols in his official and individual capacities says it only covers him but doesn't provide settlement terms,...

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe have broken up after nearly a decade together, the two announced Friday in a statement. The announcement was posted to the social media page of their joint podcast, “A Touch More.”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow wrote “John 3:16” under his eyes during the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. That night, 94 million people searched the verse. Three years later to the exact day, Tebow played his first NFL playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 316 yards. His yards per completion were 31.6. The TV rating peaked at 31.6. The opponent’s time of possession was 31:06. The only interception in the game...

Thank you, Robert. How many of you here are old friends of Robert Knievel? Stand up, stand up. I want to see you. You recognize some of these fellows? Yes, I sure do. I sure do. Thank you for coming. Some of them I've known for 45 years, raced motorcycles with them at Ascot in California. Some are recent friends, but I see my friend Bert Bachman here. I just, uh, I called them all, told them I was going to be here today and asked them to come, so they're here. Thank you so much for coming. Are you...