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CNN
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
The women surfing 50-foot waves: ‘I've almost died so many times'
Poised on a surfboard and dwarfed by a tower of water some 10 times her size, fear is one of the first emotions that big wave surfer Laura Crane feels before she hurtles down a 60-foot behemoth. 'From the moment you let go of that rope and you see this mountain of water starting to grow behind you, there are instant feelings of fear that are, of course, like a bodily reaction,' Crane told CNN Sports. With waves ranging from 25 feet to, at times, over 70 feet, big wave surfers can reach speeds of up to 100 kph (around 62 mph) as they charge down the biggest walls of water. If they fall or wipeout, any impact that they take could is comparable to that of a car crash. But far from dissuading her from surfing down the crest of the roaring water, British surfer Crane uses her fear to drive her. 'I see fear as more of a catalyst for the fact that something amazing is about to happen and excites me – it prepares me to take on what I'm about to take on. It makes me super alert, super ready, and it also reminds me to calm myself and to prove to myself that I have the ability to calm myself in those fearful moments,' she added. Crane is one of a small number of women who have taken on the waves at Nazaré, a Portuguese fishing village renowned for its 100-foot giants. The threat of those waves is not baseless: big-wave waterman Mark Foo drowned at Hawaii's Mavericks in 1994, while Hawaii local Todd Chesser died surfing a huge swell on an outer reef off the North Shore in 1997. Concussions, broken bones and spinal damage are common in the sport, and jetski drivers need to be on hand to rescue athletes from the water. 'When the waves are really, really, really big, it's almost like you get hit by a train if you fall,' Guatemalan-American big wave surfer Polly Ralda told CNN Sports. 'Sometimes, you fall and nothing happens. Other times, you fall and you get destroyed – dislocated shoulder, dislocated legs – and it happens to everybody.' 'It's ruthless: you get beat up, it's very dangerous, I've blacked out, I've almost died so many times,' Ralda added. Surfing's roots can be traced back to as early as the 12th century in premodern Hawaii and Polynesia, and big wave surfing has steadily made its way into the mainstream, with competitions at world famous surfing spots including Nazaré, Pe'ahi (also known as Jaws) in Maui and Waimea Bay in Oahu garnering significant media attention. But inclusion in prestigious competitions, and the sponsorships and prize money that come as a result, have often not been accessible to women, who have been excluded from contests. It's been less than a decade since, in 2016, women were first allowed to compete in the World Surf League's big wave competition, after years of back and forth between surfers and organizers who, among other reasons, had argued the competitions were too dangerous for women. It was even more recently that in 2018, the WSL announced it would offer equal prize money to male and female athletes in its competitions – becoming the first and only US-based global sports league to do so. In most big wave competitions, men still get more spots than women, based on competition qualification rules. CNN has reached out to the WSL for more information about competition entry requirements and stipulations. Crane told CNN Sports that when she was a teenager, she told a career adviser that she wanted to be a professional surfer. 'She literally laughed at me and was like, 'Oh, Laura, that's so sweet. But you know, you're from the UK, and girls don't really do that,'' she recalled. Crane retired from surfing for a number of years after feeling disillusioned with the industry, where she was made to feel that women were only valued for their appearances. 'There wasn't much space for women to push their physical limits and to do the things that I really felt passionate about doing. We were much more expected to just pose in our bikini and get as many views as possible,' she added. She eventually found her way back to surfing, and this time, she wanted to chase a bigger and better destiny. 'It takes a lot of guts to get out there on the biggest days,' Crane said. 'You definitely have to earn your respect, as everybody does, in the big wave world. I do believe that, on a big day, everyone is equal because if you're out there, you do have the respect of the men.' Still, Crane said there is a disparity between what male and female surfers can earn in their surfing careers. 'It might not be necessarily not paying women the same, but just the opportunities are definitely a lot less,' she explained to CNN Sports, citing fewer competition spots and sponsorship opportunities for women. When competitions don't have equal spots for men and women, 'it then doesn't put us on that same platform,' she explained. Ralda agreed, saying that to her knowledge, there's only two women who have earned a sponsorship 'solely because of big wave surfing.' Filmmaker Sachi Cunningham told CNN Sports that women's surfing has seen 'the most tremendous growth' in the last 15 years. But despite this, she explained, there is still a lack of funding in films focusing on women in big wave surfing, despite documentaries like '100 Foot Wave' which focus on men in the sport. 'It's a birthright for men to do these dangerous things and to break barriers. But for women, it's only recently that that's even been presented as a possibility,' she explained. 'Big wave surfing is just a little microcosm of all halls of power. And I think that until we're equal in all of those arenas, there's work to be done.' It is clear to Cunningham how important it is to showcase women's journeys in big wave surfing. 'You see this tiny person on a 60-foot wave, and you're just gobsmacked: it's like Evel Knievel jumping over a canyon or something. It's not too hard to see what an extraordinary feat this is for any human, they're very obviously pushing the limits of what humans are capable of doing,' she explained. 'Then when you realize it's a woman, I think that just blows open the whole world to a lot of people – it just changes their perspective on what they think women are capable of.' Still, she said there are few films about women in the sport. 'There's obviously interest in big wave surfing, and there still isn't really anything about the women in big wave surfing,' Cunningham added. Crane said to CNN: 'We're out there on the biggest days, like the boys, we're training just as hard as them, we should get that same opportunity.' Ralda explained that beyond competition spots and equal pay, there are even simpler signs that women don't have equal standing to men in the sport. 'We're using men's wetsuits: Patagonia inflations are for men, even the flotation, the one that you pull, have two canisters here that are not meant for people with chests, with breasts. Everything is created for guys, and we're just following along,' she explained. 'We have to be brave enough to create our own, and by creating our own, we have to accept that we don't surf like guys, and that's okay: I'm not a guy. I shouldn't surf like a guy,' she added. Some have campaigned for women's inclusion in established big wave competitions. Cunningham's upcoming film 'SheChange,' which is still a work in progress, follows pro surfers Bianca Valenti, Paige Alms, Keala Kennelly and Andrea Moller as they fight for equal access and equal pay at Mavericks, a big wave surf competition named after a surf break of the same name off the coast south of San Francisco. 'Some of the pioneer girls of the sport, like the ones that came before me, they decided to take an approach of: 'We want to be included in the same events. We surf the same.' And I would disagree. I think it's so much different,' Ralda, who founded women's surfing group 'Big Wave Babes,' said to CNN. Ralda and others, however, would prefer separate competitions. 'What we do as women surfing big waves, we're not like men, our bodies are designed differently. We're more prone to injury, especially on the knees, because we don't have the muscles. I don't want to surf with the guys. I want to surf another competition with the girls. Twenty-five feet is already big (for me). 'I would want to advocate for different opportunities, not the same opportunity. There's no way that you're gonna shine if you're even compared to the best big wave surfers, males, in the world.' Crane said that since she first entered surfing, and then big wave surfing, the industry has changed for the better. 'I think there is a lot of respect, definitely within the industry. I do believe that there's just a little bit of cautiousness about letting the girls have too much of their own show,' she explained. 'I just think there's an element of everyone seeing that we are actually marketable in our own rights. Finally, and I do think that maybe there is a side that is not quite ready for that moment yet – it'll come.'
CNN
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
The women surfing 50-foot waves: ‘I've almost died so many times'
Poised on a surfboard and dwarfed by a tower of water some 10 times her size, fear is one of the first emotions that big wave surfer Laura Crane feels before she hurtles down a 60-foot behemoth. 'From the moment you let go of that rope and you see this mountain of water starting to grow behind you, there are instant feelings of fear that are, of course, like a bodily reaction,' Crane told CNN Sports. With waves ranging from 25 feet to, at times, over 70 feet, big wave surfers can reach speeds of up to 100 kph (around 62 mph) as they charge down the biggest walls of water. If they fall or wipeout, any impact that they take could is comparable to that of a car crash. But far from dissuading her from surfing down the crest of the roaring water, British surfer Crane uses her fear to drive her. 'I see fear as more of a catalyst for the fact that something amazing is about to happen and excites me – it prepares me to take on what I'm about to take on. It makes me super alert, super ready, and it also reminds me to calm myself and to prove to myself that I have the ability to calm myself in those fearful moments,' she added. Crane is one of a small number of women who have taken on the waves at Nazaré, a Portuguese fishing village renowned for its 100-foot giants. The threat of those waves is not baseless: big-wave waterman Mark Foo drowned at Hawaii's Mavericks in 1994, while Hawaii local Todd Chesser died surfing a huge swell on an outer reef off the North Shore in 1997. Concussions, broken bones and spinal damage are common in the sport, and jetski drivers need to be on hand to rescue athletes from the water. 'When the waves are really, really, really big, it's almost like you get hit by a train if you fall,' Guatemalan-American big wave surfer Polly Ralda told CNN Sports. 'Sometimes, you fall and nothing happens. Other times, you fall and you get destroyed – dislocated shoulder, dislocated legs – and it happens to everybody.' 'It's ruthless: you get beat up, it's very dangerous, I've blacked out, I've almost died so many times,' Ralda added. Surfing's roots can be traced back to as early as the 12th century in premodern Hawaii and Polynesia, and big wave surfing has steadily made its way into the mainstream, with competitions at world famous surfing spots including Nazaré, Pe'ahi (also known as Jaws) in Maui and Waimea Bay in Oahu garnering significant media attention. But inclusion in prestigious competitions, and the sponsorships and prize money that come as a result, have often not been accessible to women, who have been excluded from contests. It's been less than a decade since, in 2016, women were first allowed to compete in the World Surf League's big wave competition, after years of back and forth between surfers and organizers who, among other reasons, had argued the competitions were too dangerous for women. It was even more recently that in 2018, the WSL announced it would offer equal prize money to male and female athletes in its competitions – becoming the first and only US-based global sports league to do so. In most big wave competitions, men still get more spots than women, based on competition qualification rules. CNN has reached out to the WSL for more information about competition entry requirements and stipulations. Crane told CNN Sports that when she was a teenager, she told a career adviser that she wanted to be a professional surfer. 'She literally laughed at me and was like, 'Oh, Laura, that's so sweet. But you know, you're from the UK, and girls don't really do that,'' she recalled. Crane retired from surfing for a number of years after feeling disillusioned with the industry, where she was made to feel that women were only valued for their appearances. 'There wasn't much space for women to push their physical limits and to do the things that I really felt passionate about doing. We were much more expected to just pose in our bikini and get as many views as possible,' she added. She eventually found her way back to surfing, and this time, she wanted to chase a bigger and better destiny. 'It takes a lot of guts to get out there on the biggest days,' Crane said. 'You definitely have to earn your respect, as everybody does, in the big wave world. I do believe that, on a big day, everyone is equal because if you're out there, you do have the respect of the men.' Still, Crane said there is a disparity between what male and female surfers can earn in their surfing careers. 'It might not be necessarily not paying women the same, but just the opportunities are definitely a lot less,' she explained to CNN Sports, citing fewer competition spots and sponsorship opportunities for women. When competitions don't have equal spots for men and women, 'it then doesn't put us on that same platform,' she explained. Ralda agreed, saying that to her knowledge, there's only two women who have earned a sponsorship 'solely because of big wave surfing.' Filmmaker Sachi Cunningham told CNN Sports that women's surfing has seen 'the most tremendous growth' in the last 15 years. But despite this, she explained, there is still a lack of funding in films focusing on women in big wave surfing, despite documentaries like '100 Foot Wave' which focus on men in the sport. 'It's a birthright for men to do these dangerous things and to break barriers. But for women, it's only recently that that's even been presented as a possibility,' she explained. 'Big wave surfing is just a little microcosm of all halls of power. And I think that until we're equal in all of those arenas, there's work to be done.' It is clear to Cunningham how important it is to showcase women's journeys in big wave surfing. 'You see this tiny person on a 60-foot wave, and you're just gobsmacked: it's like Evel Knievel jumping over a canyon or something. It's not too hard to see what an extraordinary feat this is for any human, they're very obviously pushing the limits of what humans are capable of doing,' she explained. 'Then when you realize it's a woman, I think that just blows open the whole world to a lot of people – it just changes their perspective on what they think women are capable of.' Still, she said there are few films about women in the sport. 'There's obviously interest in big wave surfing, and there still isn't really anything about the women in big wave surfing,' Cunningham added. Crane said to CNN: 'We're out there on the biggest days, like the boys, we're training just as hard as them, we should get that same opportunity.' Ralda explained that beyond competition spots and equal pay, there are even simpler signs that women don't have equal standing to men in the sport. 'We're using men's wetsuits: Patagonia inflations are for men, even the flotation, the one that you pull, have two canisters here that are not meant for people with chests, with breasts. Everything is created for guys, and we're just following along,' she explained. 'We have to be brave enough to create our own, and by creating our own, we have to accept that we don't surf like guys, and that's okay: I'm not a guy. I shouldn't surf like a guy,' she added. Some have campaigned for women's inclusion in established big wave competitions. Cunningham's upcoming film 'SheChange,' which is still a work in progress, follows pro surfers Bianca Valenti, Paige Alms, Keala Kennelly and Andrea Moller as they fight for equal access and equal pay at Mavericks, a big wave surf competition named after a surf break of the same name off the coast south of San Francisco. 'Some of the pioneer girls of the sport, like the ones that came before me, they decided to take an approach of: 'We want to be included in the same events. We surf the same.' And I would disagree. I think it's so much different,' Ralda, who founded women's surfing group 'Big Wave Babes,' said to CNN. Ralda and others, however, would prefer separate competitions. 'What we do as women surfing big waves, we're not like men, our bodies are designed differently. We're more prone to injury, especially on the knees, because we don't have the muscles. I don't want to surf with the guys. I want to surf another competition with the girls. Twenty-five feet is already big (for me). 'I would want to advocate for different opportunities, not the same opportunity. There's no way that you're gonna shine if you're even compared to the best big wave surfers, males, in the world.' Crane said that since she first entered surfing, and then big wave surfing, the industry has changed for the better. 'I think there is a lot of respect, definitely within the industry. I do believe that there's just a little bit of cautiousness about letting the girls have too much of their own show,' she explained. 'I just think there's an element of everyone seeing that we are actually marketable in our own rights. Finally, and I do think that maybe there is a side that is not quite ready for that moment yet – it'll come.'
CNN
11-06-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Sarina Wiegman and England women starting from ‘zero' heading into Euro 2025
Less than a month away from the start of the Women's Euros in Switzerland, England heads into the tournament as defending champion, ranked No. 4 in the world and with memories of success lingering. Sitting in the Wembley Stadium dressing room where those Euro 2022 celebrations took place, Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman remembered seeing a group of players and a nation that were not only ready to win, but desperate to lift some silverware. However, she recalled being keen to extinguish that sentiment pre-Euros. 'I've talked to many people before the tournament even started then, and many players said they were desperate to win a tournament. So, I asked them to take off the word 'desperate' and just do everything to get prepared and be at your best,' Wiegman recently told CNN Sports. That mentality change got them over the long-awaited finish line at Wembley in 2022, but the 2025 tournament in Switzerland brings with it a new cycle and fresh challenges. The landscape of women's and girls' football has changed dramatically in England, and globally, since the Lionesses' landmark victory. The FA reports a 56% increase in women and girls playing the Beautiful Game since 2020. After meeting the goal of 75% of schools offering equal access to soccer in England a year ahead of schedule, the governing body has set a new goal of 90% of schools that offer boys' football to offer girls' football by 2028. Additionally, investment and revenues continue to grow at the professional level, according to Deloitte. With rapid growth come challenges, however. Chelsea defender Millie Bright talked openly about the sport's impact on mental health, posting about fan abuse in February on her Instagram Stories saying, 'Please may I remind you that as players we are not collectables, we are not robots, we are humans the same as you.' Wiegman touched on a similar point in her interview, emphasizing the importance of helping players adapt to changes in competitive demands on and off the pitch. Demanding better facilities, improving scheduling and access are all part of the growing pains. 'So many good things happened. Also, lots of challenges with the growth of the game. You know, we talk about the calendar, we talk about the outside world that has changed too, players are now household names. Which is great but also brings challenges because their life has changed,' the Dutch-born coach said. 'There's still a connection between players from different countries and in different environments and trying to support each other to make facilities better, or to make structures better, and to address things. And I think that goes beyond football. 'I think that helps women in football, women in sports, and women in society, and that's, I think, a deeper purpose,' Wiegman added. Wiegman's teams – formerly Netherlands and now England – have won the last two editions of the Women's European Championship with two consecutive trips to World Cup finals on either side of those victories. No other manager has won the Women's Euros since 2013. Yet, she's not thinking about the upcoming tournament as a chance at a personal three-peat, nor does she feel her team is the outright favorite because of its win three years ago. 'There are lots of countries I think that are favorite to win it (the Euros),' Wiegman admitted. 'This is a new situation. Of course, I cherish the moments. I'll never forget it. It was incredible, but we're in a new situation now, going into a new Euros. Everything starts again. I would say at zero,' the Lionesses head coach said. 'We're moving on, so we cherish the moment, we never forget it, but you have to move on. If you stand still, people will just pass you and then you're done.' The build-up, though, to the title defense has been far from plain sailing. On the pitch, England has won three, drawn one, and lost two matches in 2025. Off it, unexpected news kept dropping in the lead-up to Wiegman's squad announcement earlier this month as both former number one goalkeeper Mary Earps and veteran midfielder Fran Kirby announced their retirements from international duty. Additionally, 2023 World Cup captain Bright made herself unavailable for selection. The Chelsea defender posted on Instagram saying, 'Right now I'm not able to give 100% mentally or physically' and has since undergone knee surgery. Adding to that potential headache for Wiegman, a handful of key players are only just coming back from lengthy injury spells. Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood both returned for the final three games of the WSL season. Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway has only played 60 minutes since December after an operation on a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) tear in her right knee. And forward Lauren James hasn't played a minute for club or country since sustaining a hamstring injury in England's 5-0 victory over Belgium in early April. Despite a chaotic week in the lead-up to the team announcement, 13 players from that 2022 victory are in the squad. The chosen group has an average of 40 caps per player, only two less than the average for the previous edition's roster. The team has a lot of experience at its core, while seven players are heading to their first major tournament. 'I think we have a new England team now and we have been in transition, new players coming in. Some very experienced players still. That's where we stand right now,' the two-time Euros-winning coach told CNN Sports. 'I think we have a lot of quality. But bringing individuals together and let them collaborate in the best possible way, that brings us to the highest level.' England did reach new heights in 2023 by reaching its first ever World Cup final. The Lionesses, though, lost 1-0 to Spain with some seeing it as power shift in momentum in the women's European game. La Roja continues to compete at the highest level in spite of larger on-the-pitch and societal issues tainting the successes and will likely be the team to beat this summer. 'I think, in the World Cup, they had a deeper purpose, a higher purpose. They have a very specific style of play which is really good, which is attractive to watch,' Wiegman lauded. 'But we also showed that they have some vulnerabilities too, and that's what you see in the game too. The level's going up, and countries are developing, teams are developing and trying to figure out and taking up super strengths and trying to find weaknesses.' The Lionesses begin their UEFA Women's Euro 2025 campaign against world No. 11 France. And it doesn't get any easier as their next Group D opponent is 2017 European champion the Netherlands. The 55-year-old England coach knows anyone can win on any given day; the competition has never been stiffer. 'We have to be on it on the Fifth of July. We play France. They're a very good team, and that's the same for them. Our group is really tough, but we also know if you want to win a tournament, you have to be at your best. And we need every single player to contribute to the team performance.' England Euro 2025 squad: Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse; Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy; Grace Clinton, Jess Park, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh; Michelle Agyemang, Aggie Beever-Jones, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo
CNN
09-06-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Sports betting is legal and growing more popular. Harassment of athletes by angry gamblers is rising too
Gabby Thomas being harassed at last weekend's Grand Slam Track meet was shocking – except, actually, it wasn't, given how often it seems to be happening. Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said she was verbally abused at the meet, reporting on X that a 'grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults.' Thomas' statement was in reply to another post on X – which has since been deleted – showing a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting, 'You're a choke artist; you're going down, Gabby.' The social media user bragged about how his actions had benefitted his bet, writing: 'I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,' alongside a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. FanDuel said it had banned the person responsible for the abuse from its platform, explaining it 'condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes.' 'Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel,' the statement shared with CNN Sports added. It was in 2018 that the US Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law, which had prohibited most states from allowing sports betting. Gambling on sports is now legal in 39 states, which experts warn has opened the floodgates for a torrent of abuse towards professional and collegiate leagues from bettors who blame them for their financial losses. In March, the NCAA launched a campaign aimed at tackling what it described as 'the alarming prevalence of abuse and harassment student-athletes face from angry fans who lost a bet.' According to an analysis of abusive messages sent via social media to college athletes, coaches and officials during the Division I championships, 12% – some 740 messages – were related to sports betting, according to the NCAA. Instances of such messages included one user who threatened a college athlete with the message, 'Yo no big deal but if you don't get 22 points and 12 boards everyone you know and love will Be dead,' according to the analysis, which was produced with Signify Group. Meanwhile, over 540 abusive betting-related messages – including death threats – were leveled at men's and women's basketball student-athletes and game officials during March Madness, a preliminary set of data trends found. Clint Hangebrauck, managing director of enterprise risk management at the NCAA told CNN: 'I think athletes are under attack right now, frankly, on social media and in person, and a lot of the people slinging the biggest bullets are sports bettors.' Hangebrauck, who has worked at the NCAA for 15 years, said that there has been a surge of athletes receiving abuse since the federal ban on sports betting was struck down, adding that in certain states – including Ohio and North Carolina – a barrage of abuse towards student athletes was 'almost immediate.' The NCAA is now seeking a ban on proposition bets, colloquially known as prop bets, on college athletes, calling the phenomenon 'a mental health nightmare.' Prop bets are made on outcomes not associated with the final score and are often based on individual performances. 'You could even perform well, and you're receiving all this negative feedback from betters because you didn't hit specific betting lines,' Hangebrauck added, noting that about half of the states that do allow gambling in the US have banned prop bets on student athletes. Jason Lopez, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin told CNN Sports: 'The way that the newly legalized sports betting universe works is that it's very common to make prop bets where, even though it's a team sport, you can actually bet on the performance of individual players.' 'It turns what could be a team game into an individual performance, too. And so it's easy to then focus whatever anger you have on the bet at individual players,' Lopez, whose research focuses on sports media and betting, explained. The issue of bettors harassing athletes is widespread across sporting disciplines, with tennis and NBA players reporting instances of abuse. For a few professional athletes, it's an opportunity to punch back. In reply to a social media user who gave him grief about his seeming nonchalance over a bad performance in a game, NBA superstar Kevin Durant posted on X in November 2024, 'Stop blaming me for losing money because you have a gambling problem.' Great dub suns, and for my parlayers, better luck next time lol For others, however, social media comments made cross any acceptable line. In the past few weeks, MLB players Lance McCullers Jr. and Liam Hendriks have both reported that their families have been on the receiving end of death threats. Houston Astros pitcher McCullers Jr. revealed he received threats from a man who took to social media and threatened to find his kids and 'murder them.' The Houston Police Department later traced these threats to an intoxicated sports bettor from overseas who had lost money betting on the Astros' May 10 game against the Cincinnati Reds, per Reuters. Boston Red Sox pitcher Hendriks reported similar abuse, telling that 'with the rise of sports gambling, it's gotten a lot worse.' 'Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and cruel,' Hendriks wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories, according to 'You need help. Comments telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile. Maybe you should take a step back and re-evaluate your life's purpose before hiding behind a screen attacking players and their families. He added: 'Whether it be Venmo requests, whether it be people telling you in their comments, 'Hey, you blew my parlay. Go f*ck yourself,' kind of stuff. And then it's, 'Go hang yourself. You should kill yourself. I wish you died from cancer.' 'That one kind of hit a little too close to home for me with everything I've gone through,' Hendriks, who in 2023 announced he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, added. Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, told CNN Sports in a statement: 'The outcome of a bet is never an invitation to harass or threaten athletes, coaches, or officials. Abuse of any kind has no place in sports.' 'The legal, regulated industry offers the transparency and accountability needed to identify bad actors and collaborate with leagues, regulators, and law enforcement to deter misconduct and enforce consequences. Unlike illegal and unregulated market apps or bookies, legal operators work every day to uphold the integrity of competition and ensure a responsible wagering environment,' Maloney added. Lopez pointed out that, while sports betting has only recently been legalized and commercialized across the United States, most sports have been associated with wagering since their beginnings, albeit in a more underground capacity up until recently. 'There's just a basic fact about (sports) companies and organizations that run these games for entertainment which is that gambling helps increase interest – it drives interest. So they like all the betting that's happening around them; it builds interest in their sport. 'Their athletes being abused, especially if they're collegiate athletes, could harm their entertainment product. So they have to take very public stances about this in order to try to mitigate the idea that you know this entertainment product is putting people at risk,' he added. Hangebrauck added to CNN: 'I think there's a responsible way to engage in sports betting, and a lot of fans and people do so. Ninety-six percent of people overall generally lose in sports betting in the long run, so just be responsible about how you react to that – own it yourself.'
CNN
05-06-2025
- General
- CNN
Representing nation is one of the ‘greatest honors,' says history-making Palestinian soccer star Oday Dabbagh
Not many players could take a more perfect penalty: the ball confidently drilled into the top-left corner, a near-impossible save for any goalkeeper. That was how Palestinian forward Oday Dabbagh executed one of the most high-pressure scenarios of his career to date, helping his Aberdeen side to a shootout victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup final. This was the first time in 35 years that Aberdeen had lifted the Scottish Cup, and for Dabbagh the victory was a moment of instant, undiluted joy. The sight of his penalty flying into the back of the goal, he says, is one that will 'stay with me forever.' A month earlier, Dabbagh had played an even more crucial role in Aberdeen's Scottish Cup campaign, prodding in a goal against Hearts during the final minutes of extra-time. Despite only being at the club for a four-month period, on loan from Belgian side Charleroi, the 26-year-old had quickly earned legendary status. 'It's a big one for me,' Dabbagh told CNN Sports, 'and the excitement and atmosphere here in Scotland is an unforgettable feeling. It means a lot … and at the same time, it motivates me even more for what's next.' As for what comes next in Dabbagh's club career – after his loan spell with Aberdeen ended on a spectacular high, he is set to return to Charleroi, with his current contract reportedly running until 2026. But at the forefront of his mind right now will be the Palestinian national team's attempt to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico. Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 75% of all United Nations members, but it is a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly as the United States has consistently blocked full UN membership. As a soccer team though, Palestine has been recognized by the sport's world governing body FIFA since 1998. Despite three Asian Cup appearances since then, the national team is yet to qualify for a World Cup, but the current players, including top-scorer Dabbagh, now have a chance to make history. Up next for the Palestinian national team are two crunch World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Kuwait. Currently fifth in its qualifying group, the team needs to finish third or fourth to enter the fourth round of qualifying. The odds of leapfrogging above Oman in the group are long, but the team will be well supported by those back home. For the people of Gaza, seeing its soccer team qualify for the World Cup would be a beacon of light in an otherwise harrowing period of war and bloodshed. In March, the Palestine Football Association told CNN Sports that 408 athletes have been killed in the conflict with Israel – players, officials and the majority children, including 270 soccer players. Susan Shalabi, vice president of the Palestine FA, said at the time that the organization's offices in Gaza have been either destroyed or severely damaged, and what remains is now being used to accommodate families who have lost their homes. As for home games, they have been switched to locations all over the world – Jordan, Qatar, and even Malaysia. 'In spite of the genocide our people are subjected to in Gaza,' Shalabi told CNN Sports in March, 'the will to live as a nation remains. The national team has become a symbol of our national aspirations, of the longing to live in peace like other nations under the sun.' Dabbagh is a crucial player in the Palestinian national team's bid to qualify for the World Cup. The all-time top scorer with 16 goals, including a hat-trick against Bangladesh in the first round of qualifying last year, he embraces every opportunity to represent the Lions of Canaan, long dreaming of doing so on the biggest stage. 'It's one of the greatest honors in my life,' he says to CNN. 'To wear the Palestine shirt, knowing what it means to so many people, my family, my team, and myself … it is powerful.' Dabbagh is reluctant to see himself as a trailblazer, despite being the first home-grown Palestinian player to appear in a major European league – first with Arouca in Portugal before moving to Charleroi in 2023. 'I do hope what I can achieve helps make the path a little clearer for others,' he says. 'I know how much football means to everyone back home, and I don't take that lightly. Everyone has a dream. If a kid back home sees me and starts to believe it's possible, that means everything. And I do carry that with me every time I play.' Dabbagh made his professional debut for Hilal Al-Quds in the West Bank Premier League, aged only 16. He went on to win three league titles before representing a series of teams in Kuwait, winning another title with Al-Arabi in 2021. Moves to Portugal, Belgium, and then Scotland followed – an unprecedented career arc for a player who grew up kicking a ball on the streets of Jerusalem. He hopes to send a clear message to other young boys and girls now in the same situation he once was. 'Never stop believing,' says Dabbagh. 'Work hard, stay focused, and never lose your passion. You belong on the world stage.' Dabbagh and his teammates could be on the biggest stage of them all should the Palestinian national team qualify for the World Cup. For the forward, that would surely be the high point in an unlikely and trophy-laden career. CNN's Don Riddell contributed to reporting.
