Brittney Griner has played in her first WNBA preseason game after returning to the US from her detainment in Russia.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Kevin Durant and Nike have come together for a lifetime endorsement contract, making Durant just the third NBA player to receive a deal of this size; Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the other two players with deals.
The Phoenix Suns’ 13-time All-Star player has had an ongoing relationship with Nike since around 2007; the two have released 15 different sets of shoes with a 16th set on the way.
“When I first signed with Nike, I couldn’t have dreamed of how far we’d go in this partnership,” Durant said in a statement.
“We’ve done amazing work creatively and philanthropically. We’ve traveled the world together and built a business that will now last forever. I’m excited for the future and honored to be in rare company with this deal.”
According to both parties, the lifetime deal will include apparel such as shoes, along with other “community and philanthropic collaboration focused on grassroots basketball.”
According to Durant, “It means a lot man, it’s a dream come true. It’s something that I’ve been working towards since I was a kid and having a partnership with Nike. To be in that company is a blessing. Looking forward to what we can do in the future.”
Durant’s time in the NBA has been multifaceted, playing for Seattle, to Oklahoma City, to Golden State, to Brooklyn, and now to Phoenix. As a 19-year-old entering into the NBA in 2007, Durant claims he always knew he would find success thanks to his hard work and dedication.
“I did think that if I stay focused and stay locked in to what I know I can do, I could do some big things and I can have a huge partner like Nike,” Durant said.
“It’s just a matter of staying focused and having that endurance to keep getting up and doing this every day. So yeah, I had confidence that I could do so. But I had to put in a lot of work to get here.”
Durant joined the Phoenix Suns in a midseason trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
John Slusher, the Nike executive vice president of global marketing, stated that “as one of the best basketball players in the world, Kevin Durant has been an important part of the Nike family for the past 16 years.”
“We look forward to continuing to serve the next generation of athletes together,” Slusher concluded.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
The Sacramento Kings are currently investigating allegations of “racial bias” from rapper E-40 after he was kicked out of his seat from a playoff game against the Golden State Warriors.
E-40 said in a statement that he was consistently heckled throughout the game on Saturday, as well as one individual in particular who he “addressed in an assertive but polite manner” before security guards intervened and ordered him to leave the arena.
“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that – despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur – racial bias remains prevalent. Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
The Kings have stated that they are currently investigating the circumstances that led to the ejection of E-40.
“The Sacramento Kings take these claims seriously and are investigating the facts and circumstances regarding the situation, as we do anytime an accusation like this is made,” the team said in a statement.
According to the Associated Press, E-40 was allegedly standing and blocking the view of fans behind him and received a warning after several complaints. E-40 then allegedly refused to comply, leading to security officials escorting him out of his seat.
An individual familiar with the situation who spoke to AP but chose to remain anonymous, alleged that E-40 was actually never given a warning by security regarding “excessive standing.”
“It’s unfortunate. I love 40. He’s been our biggest supporter for years. I hope they right that ship because he deserves to be there by our bench. In my time knowing him, he’s always been respectful. He’s always been considerate of those around him. Very weird to see, and I hope it’s resolved,” Warriors Klay Thompson said.
E-40 is known publicly as a major Warriors fan, and was a part of the delegation that visited the White House in the beginning of the current season.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Last week, World Athletics announced new regulations that would prohibit athletes who have gone through what they refer to as “male puberty” from participating in female world ranking competitions. CeCé Telfar, who became the first out transgender athlete to win an NCAA title in 2019 has responded, claiming her own questioning of whether her “years of blood, sweat, and tears” were worth it.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
According to reports, the Paris Olympics is currently trying to plan a way to keep the athletes of the 2024 Games cool without the use of air conditioning.
According to organizers, as reported by AP, the current plan is to use a water-cooling system under the Athletes Village. They compared it to the current system used for the Louvre Museum, which helped keep the space cool during record-breaking heat waves last year.
Organizers are working to make an air conditioner-less cooling system work as a means of cutting the carbon footprint of the Paris Games overall. The current goal is to cut the carbon footprint by half and put on the most sustainable Olympic Games in history.
By installing special technology that utilizes natural resources to keep everyone cool, even if a heat wave occurs, is how organizers plan to accomplish this goal.
“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
Outside of the Olympics, Mayor Hidalgo has had the plan to tackle climate change through multiple action plans that will, ideally, reduce Paris’ greenhouse gas emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050.
“Compared to a conventional project, the carbon impact will be reduced by 45% for the Athletes Village during the construction phase and over the entire Olympic cycle,” she said.
Between July to September 2024, the Athletes Village in Paris will host around 15,600 athletes and sports officials, as well as 9,000 athletes and teams during the Paralympics.
Organizers have been studying heatwave patterns block by block in the Athletes Village to prepare for next years Games. Their methods include simulations where heatwave conditions are recreated to see how successful their cooling system will be at combating high levels of heat.
“The geothermal energy system will ensure that the temperature in the athlete apartments in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb does not rise above 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit) at night, including during a potential a heat wave,” said Laurent Michaud, the director of the Olympic and Paralympic Villages.
He continued to explain that “organizers have conducted tests in rooms that are located on the highest floors of the residences and are facing south and exposed to direct sun on two sides. [We’ve] also considered directions of winds in the region and the water temperature in the Seine. [We also] have worked closely with France’s national weather agency to develop temperature forecasts.”
“Despite outdoor temperatures reaching 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit), we had temperatures at 28 degrees (82 degrees Fahrenheit) in most of these rooms. In other rooms, we clearly had lower temperatures,” Michaud told The Associated Press.
“In addition to the underfloor cooling, the insulation built into the buildings will enable residents to keep the cold obtained during the night throughout the day,” Michaud said.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Conor Benn has some “serious concerns” over boxing’s drug testing after he was cleared of a failed test due to a “highly-elevated consumption of eggs.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr has won the Daytona 500 in a record breaking, nail biting race on Sunday. The race went into double overtime with 212 laps, in what’s now being referred to as the longest running of “The Great American Race.”
Stenhouse won with JTG Daugherty Racing, marking the third win in his career, and the first win for a single-car team in the Daytona 500 since Wood Brothers Racing and Trevor Bayne in 2011, according to reports.
JTG Daugherty Racing is owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter, as well as former NBA player Brad Daugherty; who’s the first Black car owner to win the race. Jodi Geschickter is also one of the first women car owners to win the Daytona 500.
Mike Kelley, the crew chief working with Stenhouse for the race, discussed how he motivated Stenhouse to compete and win the race.
“I just wrote him a note that only he would see. It was on top of the roll bar in front of him, and it just said, ‘We believe.’ That’s been our motto the whole offseason — that we believe. We’re trying to get people to believe in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. again.”
According to ESPN and their Stats & Information research, “Stenhouse’s only other victories came in 2017, at Talladega and the summer race at Daytona. His 199-race winless streak was the fourth-longest span between wins in Cup Series history.”
“I think this whole offseason, Mike just preached how much we all believed in each other. They left me a note in the car that said they believe in me and to go get the job done,” Stenhouse said.
“Man, this is unbelievable. This was the site of my last win, back in 2017. We’ve worked really hard. We had a couple shots last year to get a win and fell short. It was a tough season, but man, we got it done, Daytona 500.”
Kyle Larson congratulated his friend Stenhouse after jumping out of line too early in his own attempt to win:
“Happy that Ricky won. I’m super happy. That’s all I could think about after I crashed, waiting to hear that he won. He’s one of my best friends, so I was like yelling into my helmet when I helped push him to the lead there. I was hoping it was going to stay green so it would have been me or him win,” Larson said.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Rihanna revealed to fans that she is pregnant with her second baby in an unexpected way. The Grammy award-winning singer performed at the 2023 Superbowl half-time show in Phoenix, where she danced on platforms dressed in a fiery red jumpsuit that accentuated a baby bump.
In the first few moments of her set, the singer rubbed her belly and performed with the zipper of her jumpsuit open. Because of the snugness of the red bodysuit she was wearing underneath, it was visible that she was expecting a child.
People were quick to take to the internet to speculate whether the singer was pregnant again. Shortly after Rihanna’s 13-minute set concluded, her representatives confirmed the news to the media.
Rihanna and her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, had their first child, a son, in May 2022.
Onlookers saw the rapper filming Rihanna’s performance and dancing enthusiastically throughout the half-time show as he cheered her on from the sidelines.
This is not the first time the couple has shared such a momentous announcement with dramatic flair.
During Rihanna’s first pregnancy, the pair shared photographs of the singer’s growing baby bump to announce that she was pregnant.
Photographer Miles Diggs took the series of photos as part of a pregnancy photo shoot for the couple. With the buttons of her long pink coat undone, Rihanna flaunted her expanding tummy, and lengthy body chains ornamented her outfit.
Before their first baby was born, Rihanna was interviewed by Vogue magazine, where she revealed how she and Rocky became more than friends after a lot of reluctance. The two had known each other for many years.
“People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me, and I certainly took a while to get over how much I know him and how much he knows me because we also know how much trouble we can land each other in.”
Their relationship became more serious when the pandemic took hold and quarantines were implemented. Rihanna said Rocky became her “family in that time.”
The two went on a road trip from Los Angeles to New York in the summer of 2020.
“I cooked our food on this little janky grill I bought from Walmart. I still have it, too. It works like nobody’s business. I love the simple things but also the grand adventures. There’s no pretentious my-brand-your-brand bullshit; it’s just us living. I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”
She shared that her first pregnancy was not something the pair had planned, but they were both receptive to the idea of carrying it to term.
“It was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time. I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning, and our journey began.”
Rihanna told British Vogue in March 2020 that she wants to have three to four kids within the next 10 years.
After her son was born, she told Entertainment Tonight that he was a “happy baby” and that she had affectionately taken to freestyling songs to sing to him.
“Oh my god, the mornings, like, seeing his morning face! Seeing a baby with, like, little bags and waking up, and they’re just, like, startled. They’re trying to figure out where they’re at. It’s the cutest. It’s my favorite part of the day,”
Rihanna was elated but reluctant to take on new projects so soon after becoming a new mom. She told Entertainment Tonight, “If I’m going to leave my baby, I’m going to leave my baby for something special.”
Recognizing the gravity of performing at the Superbowl half-time show, she said, “It was now or never for me.”
“It was a challenge that I welcomed. It was a stage bigger than anything I’ve ever done.”
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
This past Sunday, The Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks made the major trade of Kyrie Irving, who’s now heading to Dallas.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Formula One world champion, recently appeared in the On Purpose podcast where he discussed the racist abuse he suffered in school.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.