Boateng mulls keeping his kids away from stadiums due to racism
Former Germany defender Jérôme Boateng is considering not letting his children go to watch him play in stadiums in Austria after receiving racist abuse.
The 36-year-old joined LASK last year but accused his own fans of racist abuse towards him in the 1-0 loss at Grazer AK earlier this month.
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"I've experienced it across my career - even in my youth. It was towards me recently, but it has also been against my team-mates with a different skin colour. It's not acceptable in any way," 2014 World Cup winner Boateng told Sport1 on Wednesday.
"Racism has no place at all. You have to talk about it and not look away. Insults are one thing, but racist abuse is another level. There are children in the stadium - including mine. I have to think about whether I still let my children into the stadium."
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Fox News
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Fox evolved its approach to women's soccer with Euros broadcast. Were the changes enough or too late?
As Euro 2025 comes to a close, all signs point to the tournament finally enjoying its breakout moment in the United States. It culminates on Sunday in a 2023 World Cup final rematch between England and Spain — an ideal clash for attracting an American audience. While the international break still has a few more days to go, there's enough data to assess what's worked, what hasn't and where the growth of women's soccer in America goes from here. Advertisement There's never been any doubt that this country watches the U.S. women's national team. The 2015 Women's World Cup win over Japan remains one of the most-watched soccer games in the country (26.7 million average viewers), only barely edged out by the 2022 men's World Cup final between Argentina and France (26.73 million). 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This towers over the approach from ESPN in 2022, which split the tournament between broadcast and streaming (two matches on ESPN, including the final, 21 on ESPN2 and eight on ESPN+). And is also a different world compared to the 2017 edition in the Netherlands, which entirely utilized ESPN3 and their app. Fox, which said that they would air over 130 hours of live women's soccer coverage this summer between the Euros and Copa America Femenina, has supplemented their Euros coverage with a studio show featuring analysts and former players, including Carli Lloyd, Ari Hingst, Jen Beattie and others. (Copa América, compared to the Euros, has gotten a more basic approach, with the games largely split between FS1 and FS2. The dichotomy in coverage between the two tournaments is notable.) Ahead of the Euros, Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill told Sports Business Journal that the network was targeting 50 percent growth for viewership. They've easily surpassed that number, averaging over 90 percent through the group stage with a 2025 average viewership of 306,000 compared to 2022's 161,000 viewers. France's 2-1 win over England provided the largest spike of the group stage, with 690,000 viewers, thanks to its placement on Fox and a favorable Saturday afternoon timeslot. Advertisement The quarterfinals continued the trend, nearly reaching the one million viewership mark with Germany's thrilling 6-5 penalty shootout win over France (925,000 viewers). In 2022, quarterfinal viewership averaged 283,000 viewers; this summer, it has averaged out at 776,000 viewers. The number one driver is increased accessibility, but Fox has gotten other calls right, too, even as their overall strategy for soccer remains disappointingly on brand. Bringing former German international player Hingst back in as the primary expert voice has been the highlight of their studio work — with her well-researched analysis on all of the teams and her emotional connection to Germany (especially while watching Germany survive and advance into the semifinals). Fox has never gone for the banter the way CBS has leaned in on men's Champions League, but Hingst provided a blueprint that knowledge doesn't preclude fun behind a desk. Former Scotland international Beattie was a strong new addition to Fox's team, both at the desk and in the booth for color commentary alongside regular play-by-play analyst John Strong. The only flaw was her departure from Fox's studio in Los Angeles to watch the tournament in person in Switzerland (and that Fox had her pulling double duty with Copa America). Fox leaned not just on familiar voices but largely turned to established pairs for its match commentary. Jacqui Oatley and Lori Lindsey have been regular fixtures in the NWSL, as have JP Dellacamera and Lianne Sanderson. It's not surprising that Fox didn't fully invest in this area, keeping the teams in Los Angeles rather than having them in the stadium. It did, at points, cause issues, but understandable ones. It also wouldn't be a Fox Soccer broadcast without the heavy rotation of former U.S. players participating. Advertisement Lloyd, who was a divisive presence during the 2023 World Cup broadcast, especially in her approach to covering the USWNT, has settled in following a couple of major tournaments' worth of reps behind the desk. Her trademark bluntness hasn't gone anywhere, but she has gotten better at pointing it in a productive direction. If Fox chose to rely solely on Lloyd for an American lens to these international tournaments, I'd find it a justifiable choice. A famous U.S. player helps bridge the gap to American fans, and using her own experience in major tournaments provides familiar reference points for the every-four-years World Cup viewer. It's not just Lloyd, though. Fox continues to stress these voices far too much, with the greatest example continuing to be former U.S. men's player Alexi Lalas. Lalas has always been the most divisive presence in Fox's coverage — the bombastic approach either works for you or it really, really doesn't. Every major tournament that Fox airs, I wonder what value Lalas adds to a broadcast to engage, entertain and inform new and returning viewers. Maybe there are still some women's soccer die-hards who still hate watch to see what Lalas will say next, but most social media commentary I see states time and time again that the existing women's soccer audience in this country is opting out of watching Fox's studio commentary. Of course, it's not a studio analyst's job to protect players or teams, or rely solely on positive commentary throughout a tournament — the 'toxic positivity' of the women's soccer space has long been an element holding the growth of the sport back. The majority of the former women's players serving Fox's studio analysts — including Lloyd — have largely balanced praising what's worked for teams and pointing out what hasn't, all with halftime or full time film. Women's soccer has, however, long outgrown the need for Lalas to serve as the default Fox perspective, shouting for shouting's sake. He has not been ever-present in this tournament, but he regained a prominent role during the Italy-England semifinal (and, presumably, the final) when viewership will peak. I'd like to think that Fox evaluates itself after every major tournament, but with the viewership increases we've seen, I expect the same strategy will persist. Advertisement At the same time, Fox has lost ground in the rapidly shifting landscape for women's soccer media rights to both traditional competition and new challengers. CBS has been aggressive in signing deals with Concacaf, and most recently, picking up the rights to the women's Champions League to live alongside its men's coverage. But the big loss for Fox was to Netflix, which won the rights to air both the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cup during FIFA's bidding process. Accessibility remains the key to viewership growth, but it is not the only ingredient for sustained growth that benefits the entire sport and media infrastructure. The players and teams of the 2025 Euros have provided exciting matches, plenty of drama and a record amount of soccer to boot, with four knockout stage games going to extra time. That's another crucial piece to keeping new and casual viewers hooked, and looking for more. But so is robust, thoughtful commentary and analysis from the media rights holder. Fox has certainly improved on this front, but has yet to shed its worst impulses.
