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Auckland City FC draws with Boca Juniors

Auckland City FC draws with Boca Juniors

RNZ News25-06-2025
sport world 42 minutes ago
Sports reporter Coen Lammers joins Jesse Mulligan from Nashville, TN, to discuss Auckland FC's draw with Boca Junior; labelled as a 'historic embarrassment' by Argentine media.
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US Supreme Court agrees to review bans on transgender athletes
US Supreme Court agrees to review bans on transgender athletes

RNZ News

time2 days ago

  • RNZ News

US Supreme Court agrees to review bans on transgender athletes

By John Fritze and Devan Cole , CNN The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to decide whether states may ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Photo:via CNN Newsource The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether states may ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity, revisiting the issue of LGBTQ rights in a blockbuster case just days after upholding a ban on some health care for trans youth. The decision puts the issue of transgender rights on the Supreme Court's docket for the second year in a row and is by far the most significant matter the justices have agreed to hear in the term that will begin in October. The cases, one from West Virginia and the other from Idaho, involve transgender athletes who at least initially competed in track and field and cross country. The West Virginia case was filed by a then-middle school student who told the Supreme Court she was "devastated at the prospect" of not being able to compete after the state passed a law banning trans women athletes' participation in public school sports. The court's decision landed as transgender advocates are still reeling from the 6-3 ruling in US v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee's ban on trans youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Though the state law also bars surgeries, they were not at issue in the high court's case. But that decision was limited to questions of whether the state had the power to regulate medical treatments for minors, leaving unresolved challenges to other anti-trans laws. The justices agreed to review two cases challenging sports bans in Idaho and West Virginia. The court didn't act on a third appeal over a similar ban in Arizona and will likely hold that case until it decides the other two, probably by early next summer. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is part of the legal team representing the athletes in the cases, said school athletic programs should be accessible to everyone regardless of a student's sex or transgender status. "Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth," said Joshua Block, senior counsel for the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project. "We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws, and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play." West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, a Republican, said that the state is "confident the Supreme Court will uphold the Save Women's Sports Act because it complies with the US Constitution and complies with Title IX." The Supreme Court will review the case at a time when Republican-led states and President Donald Trump have pushed for policies to curtail transgender rights. Trump ran for reelection in part on a campaign to push "transgender insanity" out of public schools, mocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in advertising for supporting "they/them," the pronouns used by some transgender and nonbinary people. But even before that, states had passed laws banning transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams. Roughly half of US states have enacted such laws. The Trump administration has actively supported policies that bar transgender athletes from competing on teams that match their gender identity. On Wednesday, the federal government released US$175 million in previously frozen federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania after the school agreed to block transgender athletes from female sports teams and erase the records set by swimmer Lia Thomas. In West Virginia, former Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, signed the "Save Women's Sports Act" in 2021, banning transgender women and girls from participating on public school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a rising sixth grader at the time, who was "looking forward to trying out for the girls' cross-country team," filed a lawsuit alleging that the ban violated federal law and the Constitution. The Richmond-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that West Virginia's ban violated Pepper-Jackson's rights under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at schools that receive federal aid. The court also revived her constitutional challenge of the law. "Her family, teachers, and classmates have all known B.P.J. as a girl for several years, and - beginning in elementary school - she has participated only on girls athletic teams," US Circuit Judge Toby Heytens, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, wrote for the court. "Given these facts, offering B.P.J. a 'choice' between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all." Most of the appeals on the issue of transgender athletes question whether such bans are permitted under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The West Virginia case was different in that it also raised the question of whether such bans violated Title IX. The Supreme Court often prefers to settle a dispute under a law, rather than the Constitution, if it has the option because such a ruling technically allows Congress to change the law in response to the decision. West Virginia appealed to the Supreme Court last year, arguing that the appeal court decision "renders sex-separated sports an illusion." "Schools will need to separate sports teams based on self-identification and personal choices that have nothing to do with athletic performance," the state said. West Virginia initially brought the case to the Supreme Court last year on an emergency basis, seeking to enforce the law against Pepper-Jackson while the underlying legal challenge played out. In an unsigned order, the court declined that request. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said they would have granted it. In Idaho, Republican Gov. Brad Little signed the state's sports ban in 2020, the first of its kind in the nation. Lindsay Hecox, then a freshman at Boise State University, sued days later, saying that she intended to try out for the women's track and cross-country teams and alleging that the law violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. A federal district court blocked the law's enforcement against Hecox months later and the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision last year. Idaho appealed to the Supreme Court in July. "Idaho's women and girls deserve an equal playing field," said Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican. "For too long, activists have worked to sideline women and girls in their own sports." But Sasha Buchert, senior attorney and director of the Non-Binary and Transgender Rights Project at Lambda Legal, stressed the importance of team sports for all students. Lambda Legal is part of the team representing Pepper-Jackson in the West Virginia case. "Our client just wants to play sports with her friends and peers," Buchert said. "Everyone understands the value of participating in team athletics, for fitness, leadership, socialization, and myriad other benefits." - CNN

Auckland City FC Seek Silver Lining In Nashville
Auckland City FC Seek Silver Lining In Nashville

Scoop

time27-06-2025

  • Scoop

Auckland City FC Seek Silver Lining In Nashville

24 June 2025 NASHVILLE, Tennessee - For Auckland City FC, Tuesday's clash with Boca Juniors is more than a final fixture, it's a final stand. After two humbling defeats in Group C, the Navy Blues are out of the FIFA Club World Cup™, but not out of fight. Against the backdrop of a raucous, blue-and-gold-drenched Geodis Park, they'll look to sign off with pride against one of South America's most storied clubs. Spanish midfielder Gerard Garrig24 June 2025a embodies the spirit and determination of the team from Auckland. 'We're gutted after the two losses,' he admitted in the build-up, 'but we know we can do better. We showed that for 60 minutes against Benfica. Now we want to compete for the full 90.' Garriga's words are more than pre-match platitudes. Against Benfica, Auckland held their shape, kept the ball, and even carved out chances. 'We were more confident with the ball,' he said. 'We're a team that's used to playing with the ball in New Zealand and Oceania. Against Bayern, we couldn't get it. But against Benfica, we grew into the game.' Boca Juniors arrive in Nashville with a mountain to climb. They must win, and win big, to have any hope of progressing. With Benfica likely to face a stern test from Bayern Munich, Boca's path to the knockouts hinges on goal difference. Expect Miguel Ángel Russo's side to come out swinging. Garriga knows what's coming. 'They're going to go with everything,' he said. 'They need goals. The challenge is to keep a clean sheet as long as we can, frustrate them with the ball, defend well, help each other. If we do that, we have a lot of possibilities to have a good performance.' Advertisement - scroll to continue reading The atmosphere will be electric. Boca's fans have lit up the tournament with their passion, and Tuesday promises more of the same. Garriga, far from being daunted, is relishing it. 'It's going to be amazing. Thousands of Argentinians, so loud. We have to enjoy it. It might be once in a lifetime.' He believes the occasion could even lift his side. 'It's going to be an extra motivation. We're not used to playing in front of that many people. But it's going to be positive. We're buzzing to be in that game.' For Boca, it's a must-win. For Auckland City FC, it's a must-remember. Garriga summed it up best: 'Compete 90 minutes. That's the goal. If we do that, anything can happen. A draw, maybe even a win. That would be a great way to finish this tournament.' MATCH DETAILS FIFA Club World Cup USA 2025™ Auckland City FC vs Boca Juniors Geodis Park, Nashville, Tennessee KO: Tuesday, 24 June 2025, 4:00PM (Local Time) -Wednesday, 25 June 2025,7:00 AM (NZT) AC SQUAD: 1. Conor TRACEY (GK) 2. Mario ILICH (C) 3. Adam MITCHELL 4. Christian GRAY 5. Nikko BOXALL, 6. Jackson MANUEL 7. Myer BEVAN 8. Gerard GARRIGA 9. Angus KILKOLLY 10. Dylan MANICKUM 11. Ryan DE VRIES 12. Regont MURATI 13. Nathan LOBO 14. Jordan VALE, 15. Jeremy FOO, 16. Joe LEE 17. Jerson LAGOS 18. Sebastian CIGANDA (GK) 19. Dylan CONNOLLY, 20. Matt ELLIS, 21. Adam KANUI BELL 22. Tong ZHOU 23. Alfie ROGERS, 24. Nathan GARROW (GK) 25. Michael DEN HEIJER, 26. David YOO, 27. Haris ZEB.

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