Cathy Freeman, an Australian runner of Aboriginal descent, wins the women’s 400–meter race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Credit: © Tony Feder, Getty Images

On your mark, get set, make history! In 2000, Australian track star Cathy Freeman became the first Aboriginal athlete to win an individual gold medal when she finished first in the 400-meter race at the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. Freeman also was chosen to light the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony. Freeman ran a successful career and then used her platform to work for equality for Aboriginal peoples.

Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman was born in Mackay, Queensland, on Feb. 16, 1973. She began running at a young age, running her first race when she was only 8 years old. In 1990, Freeman became the first Aboriginal athlete to win gold at the Commonwealth Games at the age of 16. Freeman became a controversial figure within Australia when she carried both the Australian and Aboriginal flags as she ran a lap of honor following her victories in the 200-meter and 400-meter finals at the Commonwealth Games in 1994.

The Commonwealth Games are a sports competition for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth of Nations is an association of independent countries and other political units, most of which formerly lived under British law and government. Like the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games are held every four years. Athletes compete in such events as badminton, boxing, cycling, field hockey, lawn bowls, rugby sevens, squash, swimming and diving, track and field, and weightlifting.

The Aboriginal Peoples of Australia are the first people who lived in Australia and their descendants. Australia’s Aboriginal peoples include peoples of mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some other nearby islands. Historically, European colonizers controlled many aspects of life in Australia. As a result, Aboriginal people were denied the right to land, citizenship, and equal opportunities. In the mid and late 1990’s, government policy changes began opening doors for Aboriginal people. When Freeman was running as a national icon, Aboriginal people were still fighting for equal rights in Australia.

She was named Young Australian of the Year in 1990 and Australian of the Year in 1998, the only person to win both titles. Freeman won the silver medal for the 400-meter run at the 1996 Olympic Games, and she won the world title in the event in 1997 and 1999. In 2003, Freeman announced her retirement from athletic competition. In 2007, she founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation, which aims to close the educational gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.

Canadian hockey player Willie O’Ree
Credit: © Len Lahman, Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

February is Black History Month, an annual observance of the achievements and culture of Black Americans. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature Black pioneers in a variety of areas. 

In January 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Willie O’Ree Congressional Gold Medal Act. O’Ree became the first National Hockey League (NHL) player to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. This happened shortly after the Boston Bruins retired his jersey number, 22. The city of Boston also declared January 18 “Willie O’Ree Day.”

O’Ree was the first Black hockey player in the NHL. O’Ree played right wing for the Quebec Aces, a minor league affiliate of the NHL Boston Bruins, before being called up to play for the Bruins in January 1958.

William Eldon O’Ree was born on Oct. 15, 1935, in Fredericton, Canada. He grew up the youngest of 13 children, in an area with few Black families. He began skating at the age of 3. For most of his youth, he played hockey and baseball. In 1955, O’Ree was invited to try out for the Milwaukee (now Atlanta) Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He instead chose to join the Kitchener Canucks of the Ontario Hockey Association. An injury on the rink caused O’Ree to lose sight in his right eye. Despite this, he was invited to play right wing for the Quebec Aces. O’Ree scored 22 goals that season, and the Quebec Aces won the Quebec Senior Hockey League championship.

The following season, the Boston Bruins called up O’Ree as a temporary replacement. On Jan. 18, 1958, O’Ree became the first Black hockey player to play for an NHL team. O’Ree spent the next few seasons playing on a few different teams, before being invited back to play for the Bruins in 1961. That year, he played 43 games for the Bruins, scoring a total of 14 points. O’Ree spent the last 18 years of his career playing on minor league teams, including the Los Angeles Blades and the San Diego Gulls, before retiring in 1979. In 1998, O’Ree became the director of youth development for the NHL’s Diversity Task Force. In 2018, O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. If you want to learn more about O’Ree, the award-winning documentary Willie (2019) tells his life story.

Vancouver Canucks left wing Nils Hoglander (21) passes the puck to center Bo Horvat (53) as Seattle Kraken center Colin Blackwell (43) defends in front of goaltender Philipp Grubauer during the first period of an NHL hockey game, in Seattle
Canucks Kraken Hockey, Seattle, United States – 01 Jan 2022.
Credit: © Ted S Warren, AP Images/Shutterstock

The Seattle Kraken‘s debut season has been impacted by COVID-19 and made somewhat of a belly flop. The Kraken are a professional hockey team that plays in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kraken compete in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Climate Pledge Arena, located near the Space Needle.

The Kraken began regular-season play in October 2021. The highly anticipated team has met health roadblocks that have hampered their play. With canceled practices and Covid outbreaks, defensive and offensive lines have been unable to make an effective practice.

In 2017, the city of Seattle, Washington, selected the entertainment development company Oak View Group (OVG) to renovate the city’s KeyArena. At that same time, a group of OVG executives and other investors launched a campaign to purchase an NHL expansion team. In December 2018, the NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the bid, awarding the group the 32nd NHL franchise. In June 2020, the online shopping company Amazon.com, Inc., purchased the naming rights to KeyArena and renamed it Climate Pledge Arena, after the company’s initiative to reduce its environmental impact.

In July 2020, the team was named the Seattle Kraken. In 2021, the Kraken selected players from 30 other NHL teams in an expansion draft. The NHL exempted the Vegas Golden Knights because it was a recent expansion team.

Seattle was home to many professional and amateur hockey teams before the Kraken. The Seattle Metropolitans played from 1914 to 1924 in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. In 1917, they became the first team based in the United States to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The Canadiens and three other NHA teams formed the NHL later that year. The Metropolitans faced the Canadiens again for the Stanley Cup in 1919, but an outbreak of the Spanish flu canceled the series.

Seattle continued to host other professional hockey teams not affiliated with the NHL into the 1970’s. Two separate attempts to secure an NHL franchise for the city failed, one in the 1970’s and another in the late 1980’s and early 1990′s.

Vonetta Flowers
Credit: © Everett Collection, Shutterstock

Winter is a time for hockey, ice skating, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding. Have you ever heard of bobsledding? Bobsledding is a fast, dangerous winter sport in which teams of two or four persons ride down a steep, icy course in steel and fiberglass sleds. The sleds may reach speeds up to 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour. The team with the fastest total time after either two or four runs wins the competition.

One famous bobsledder is Vonetta Flowers. Flowers is a former American Olympic bobsledder. In 2002, she became the first Black American to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympic Games. She tried bobsledding on a whim and took the sport quickly.

Vonetta Jeffrey was born on Oct. 29, 1973, in Birmingham, Alabama. She began running as a child. In high school, she was an all-star track and basketball athlete. Flowers was a seven-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in track at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She competed in several events, including the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and relays. She married John Flowers, an American track coach and former track athlete, in 1999.

Vonetta Flowers won a gold medal in the long jump at the 1994 Olympic Festival. The festival was a U.S. national competition held between Olympic Games years. Flowers competed in the long jump at the 2000 Olympic trials but failed to qualify. While at the trials, Flowers’s husband saw a flyer for tryouts as a brakeman for bobsledding. In two-person bobsledding, the team includes a driver and a brakeman. The brakeman helps to push off at the beginning of the run and brakes the sled to a stop at the end of the run. As a trained track athlete, Flowers outperformed many competitors at the bobsled trials.

At the bobsled trials, Flowers met the American bobsledder Bonny Warner. In 2001, Flowers and Warner finished in the top 10 in all 7 World Cup races. However, Warner replaced Flowers with another brakeman. Flowers almost quit the sport before the American bobsledder Jill Bakken recruited her as brakeman.

In 2002, at the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, Flowers and Bakken competed against Warner’s team, which was favored to win. Flowers and Bakken broke the course record on their first run and won the first-ever gold medal in women’s bobsled. Flowers retired from competition after the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. She began working as a track coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Flowers’ story inspires many to try a new sport or hobby. What would you like to try this year?

Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons during the NBA London Game 2018 at the O2 Arena, London.
Credit: © Simon Cooper, PA Wire/Alamy Images

Australia is famous for its unique culture, metropolitan cities, and unusual wildlife, among other things. Each week, this seasonal feature will spotlight one of Australia’s many wonders.

Ben Simmons is an Australian professional basketball player. Though he showed talent in many sports, Simmons came to the United States in high school to excel in basketball. He is now a talented guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Simmons became the second-fastest player in the league to make 1,000 assists, 2,000 points, and 1,000 rebounds. He also ranks among the league’s tallest point guards at 6 feet 10 inches (208 centimeters). That is taller than the average door! Can you imagine ducking every time you walk into a room?

Simmons has played for the Philadelphia 76ers since the start of his professional career. He is known for his outstanding passing and defense. Simmons won the Rookie of the Year award for his play in the 2017-2018 NBA season. In 2019, he became the first Australian selected for the NBA’s All-Star game. He was again named an All-Star in 2020 and 2021.

Benjamin David Simmons was born in Melbourne, Australia, on July 20, 1996. His father, Dave Simmons, was an American who starred in Australia’s National Basketball League. As a youth, Ben gained notice for his skill in rugby and Australian Rules football, as well as basketball. In 2012, his Australia team finished second in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Under-17 World Championship. The following year, Simmons moved to Florida to complete high school and play against elite competition. He starred at Louisiana State University during the 2015-2016 college season. The 76ers selected him as the first pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Soon after being drafted, Simmons broke a bone in his foot, forcing him to miss the 2016-2017 NBA season. During his debut 2017-2018 season, he averaged about 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game. Simmons was selected to his first NBA All-Star Team for his play in the 2018-2019 season. He led the league in steals per game during the 2019-2020 season and was named to the All-Defensive First Team.

April 8, 2020

Today, April 8, Behind the Headlines was originally scheduled to cover this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball championships in the United States. However, the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments were canceled in March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The tournaments were not alone: nearly all sports leagues and sporting events have been suspended or canceled because of COVID-19, putting sports on hold in all corners of the globe. COVID-19 is a pneumonia-like disease caused by a coronavirus, a type of virus that also causes the common cold and other diseases of the upper respiratory system. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 80,000 people among nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases.

Dodger Stadium sits empty in Los Angeles, California. Baseball stadiums, usually teeming with people at this time of year, are going unused throughout the world as leagues have been suspended or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: John McCoy/Getty Images

All collegiate and high schools sports in the United States were suspended or canceled because of COVID-19 (the schools were then closed), and Little League Baseball, too, had to put off the start of its season. In professional sports, Major League Baseball, which had begun its annual spring training, canceled all exhibition games on March 12 and indefinitely delayed the start of the regular season. Minor League Baseball shut down, as did baseball leagues in Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and other countries. The National Basketball Association suspended its season on March 11, and basketball leagues in other countries were also shut down. The recently launched XFL football league suspended its first season on March 12, and the fledgling Basketball Africa League also lost its inaugural season, which had been scheduled to start on March 13.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo until 2021. Credit: Pakpoom Phummee/Shutterstock

Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League suspended their seasons in March, and other hockey and soccer leagues around the world were forced to do the same. Rugby and cricket leagues and tournaments were suspended, as were the upcoming Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and British Open golf competitions. In tennis, Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II (1939-1945), and the French Open was postponed. The Kentucky Derby horse race and the Indianapolis 500 auto race were postponed, and the Monaco Gran Prix auto race was canceled. (All three races are usually run in May.) Marathons around the world have been canceled or postponed, and athletes of all types will have to wait for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were postponed a year until July 2021.

This illustration of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows the spikes on the outer surface of the virus that appear as a corona, giving the virus its name. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of sports continued to be played without fans in attendance, but fears for the safety of athletes quickly led to the canceling of the competitions themselves. Suspended and postponed sports leagues and events have issued optimistic timelines about when they will resume or take place. All timelines, however, depend on the containment or continued spread of COVID-19.

The sports cancellations are part of social distancing, also known as physical distancing, an effort to slow or stop the spread of a contagious disease by limiting contact between people. Social distancing is most effective against illnesses that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing, direct or indirect physical contact, or through the air. Typical social distancing measures call for the closing of such public places as sports arenas, schools, restaurants, museums, and many offices and stores. They may also call for people to maintain a distance of around 6 feet (2 meters) between them in public places.

February 5, 2020

On Sunday, February 2, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 to win Super Bowl LIV (54), the championship of the National Football League (NFL), at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a furious fourth-quarter comeback to overcome a 20-10 deficit and give Kansas City its first championship since taking Super Bowl IV 50 years ago in 1970. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid earned a long-awaited first title after 366 games over 21 seasons as an NFL head coach.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes runs the ball during Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Feb. 2, 2020. Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

The Chiefs entered Super Bowl LIV with one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history, and the 49ers countered with the league’s top-ranked defense. After a brief ineffective possession by the Chiefs, the 49ers got on the board first with a 38-yard field goal. Late in the first quarter, Mahomes capped a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Chiefs on top 7-3. Kansas City then intercepted San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and turned the mistake into three points with a 31-yard field goal. Garoppolo recovered with a 15-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to even the game at 10-10 before halftime.

In the second half, 49ers kicker Robbie Gould nailed a 42-yard field goal for a 13-10 San Francisco lead. The ‘Niners then turned an interception off Patrick Mahomes into a touchdown and a 20-10 advantage. Mahomes threw another interception and the 10-point lead began to look secure for San Francisco. With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, however, Mahomes regained his normally excellent form. The young quarterback connected on a 44-yard heave to wide receiver Tyreek Hill and then drilled a short touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce to make it a 20-17 game.

The Chiefs defense quickly stopped the 49ers, and the Kansas City offense went back to work. Mahomes connected on a series of short passes before hitting receiver Sammy Watkins on a 38-yard completion. Running back Damien Williams then caught a 5-yard touchdown pass to put Kansas City in front 24-20. A desperate 49ers offense turned the ball over on downs at midfield, and the Chief’s Williams then sealed the win with a quick 38-yard touchdown run and a 31-20 lead with just 1:12 left in the game. After the clock ran down to zero, Patrick Mahomes was named the youngest Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl history–he had turned 24 in September 2019. He completed 26 of 42 passing attempts for 286 yards. The Niners’ Garoppolo connected on 20 of 31 passes for 219 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Williams ran for 104 yards on 17 carries for the Chiefs, and running back Raheem Mostert ground out 58 yards on 12 runs to lead the ‘Niners.

San Francisco’s Super Bowl loss ended an otherwise brilliant season that saw the team turn around a 4-12 record in 2018 to go 13-3 in 2019 and claim the National Football Conference’s top playoff spot. It was the 49ers’ seventh trip to the Super Bowl. The team last won it all in Super Bowl XXIX in early 1995. For Kansas City, it was the team’s third trip to the title game. The Chiefs lost the first Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers in January 1967. They beat the Minnesota Vikings to win Super Bowl IV in 1970.

February 3, 2020

Today, February 3, marks 100 years since the 1920 formation of the Negro National League (NNL), the first of the official professional baseball Negro leagues. The Negro leagues were for black players, who were barred from playing alongside white players because of racial segregation. The Negro leagues operated until 1962.

The 1919 Chicago American Giants pose for the official team photo. In 1920, the manager Rube Foster (top row without uniform) led the team to the inaugural Negro National League title. Credit: Public Domain

An all-black professional baseball team existed as early as 1885. For many years, black teams played one another as independent teams. They also played all-white teams in exhibition games. Rube Foster, a former pitcher and the owner and manager of a black team, the Chicago American Giants, met with seven other team owners in Kansas City to form the Negro National League in 1920. The first season, the league included Foster’s American Giants and a second Chicago team known simply as the Giants as well as the Cincinnati Cuban Stars, Dayton Marcos, Detroit Stars, Indianapolis ABC’s, Kansas City Monarchs, and—somewhat confusingly—another Giants ball club in St. Louis. The teams did not play the same amount of games, and opponents often included independent black ball clubs in other cities, but the Chicago American Giants won the first title with a 43-17-2 record against NNL opponents.

Jackie Robinson, shown here sliding into home plate, was the first African American player in modern Major League Baseball. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Credit: UPI/Corbis-Bettmann

The NNL operated successfully until 1931. After that, the two dominant leagues were a new Negro National League (1933-1948) and the Negro American League (1937-1962). The best players were featured in an annual all-star exhibition called the East-West Game, and from 1942 to 1948, the league champions met in the Negro World Series.

Satchel Paige pitched 18 seasons in the Negro leagues before entering Major League Baseball in 1948 at age 42. Credit: AP/Wide World

In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black player in modern Major League Baseball (MLB). After Robinson’s success with the Brooklyn Dodgers, MLB teams quickly signed star players from the Negro leagues, leading to the decline and eventual end of those leagues.

Larry Doby played for the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League before making his MLB debut with the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947. Credit: AP Photo

Baseball historians agree that many Negro league players would have succeeded in Major League Baseball. Such Negro league players as Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, and Satchel Paige later starred in MLB and were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Other Hall of Famers who spent their entire careers in the Negro leagues included Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, and Buck Leonard.

January 28, 2020

Two days ago, on Sunday, January 26, the former National Basketball Association (NBA) star Kobe Bryant was killed along with his 13-year old daughter and seven other people in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, near Los Angeles. The helicopter had been carrying the passengers to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in nearby Newbury Park. The United States Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, but the helicopter went down in foggy conditions that had grounded some other air traffic in the area. Bryant, who starred for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2016, was 41 years old.

Kobe Bryant (with the ball) eludes a Phoenix Suns defender during the NBA playoffs on May 4, 2006, in Los Angeles. Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020. credit: © NBAE/Getty Images

Bryant, a 6 foot 6 inch- (198 centimeter-) tall shooting guard, is considered one of the best players in NBA history. During his career, he helped lead the Lakers to five NBA championships, made 18 All-Star teams, was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team 12 times, and earned the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the 2007-2008 season. Bryant led the league in scoring twice (2005-2006 and 2006-2007) and retired with 33,643 points–the fourth most in NBA history. On Jan. 22, 2006, Bryant scored 81 points in one game, the second highest total in NBA history behind the 100 points scored in a game by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Bryant also starred on U.S. national basketball teams that won the gold medal at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

Bryant was born in Philadelphia on Aug. 23, 1978. His father, Joe Bryant, played in the NBA from 1975 through 1983. Kobe was drafted directly out of high school by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. At 17, he was the youngest player ever drafted into the NBA. Charlotte selected Bryant as the 13th pick and then traded his rights to Los Angeles.

Bryant was in his first year of eligibility for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, and he is sure to be part of the new class when it is announced in early April.

October 14, 2019

On Thursday, October 10, the Washington (D.C.) Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun 89-78 to win the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) finals presented by YouTube TV. The Mystics won their first title by taking down the Sun three games to two in the best-of-five series. The Mystics made the 2018 finals, but were swept by the Seattle Storm. The Sun were also trying for their first WNBA championship. A capacity crowd of 4,200 fans packed the Entertainment and Sports Arena on the St. Elizabeths East Campus in Washington, D.C., for the deciding game five.

Emma Meesseman of the Washington Mystics shoots over a Connecticut Sun defender in game five of the WNBA finals on Oct. 10, 2019, in Washington, DC. Credit: © Rob Carr, Getty Images

The Mystics had the WNBA’s best record during the regular season (26-8), and the Sun had the second-best record (23-11). In the WNBA, the eight best teams make the playoffs and are seeded according to record, regardless of conference. This system allowed the Mystics and Sun—two Eastern Conference teams—to be seeded no. 1 and no. 2 and eventually meet in the WNBA finals. The Mystics and Sun also received automatic bids to the semifinals as the six lower-seeded teams duked it out in two playoff rounds. The no. 4 seed Las Vegas Aces emerged in one semifinal, which they lost three games to one to Washington. The no. 3 seed Los Angeles Sparks survived the other bracket, but were swept by Connecticut in that semifinal.

In the finals opener on September 29 in D.C., the Mystics jumped out early and held off the Sun for a 95-86 victory. The 2019 WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Elena Delle Donne powered the Mystics with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Washington forward Ariel Atkins scored 21 points and guard Kristi Toliver added 18. Connecticut guard Courtney Williams sank six three-pointers and led the Sun with 26 points.

In game two in D.C. on October 1, the visiting Suns stole a tough road victory, 99-87. Back spasms sidelined Washington power forward Delle Donne in the first quarter, clearing the way for the Suns to dominate inside. Connecticut center Jonquel Jones scored 32 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and Sun forward Alyssa Thomas added 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Courtney Williams enjoyed another fine performance with 22 points and 6 assists. Washington forward Emma Meesseman filled in more than ably for Delle Donne, scoring 23 points and pulling down 8 rebounds.

The series moved to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, for game three on October 6. The road Mystics spoiled the Sun homecoming, however, with an impressive 94-81 win. Meesseman came off the bench again to lead a balanced Washington attack with 21 points. Mystics guards Toliver (20 points) and Natasha Cloud (19 points) had strong games, and a hobbled Della Donne added 13 points.

In game four in Connecticut on October 8, the Sun evened the series at 2-2 with a 90-86 victory. Sun center Jones again was a force inside, scoring 18 points with 13 rebounds. Sun forward Thomas had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists. Mystics forward Aerial Powers came off the bench to lead the team with 15 points, while four other Mystics scored in double figures—including Meesseman, who had earned a new nickname: “Playoff Emma.”