Kritik und Lob » be able to resume training in about a week. He

In November, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on giving.The September leaves had just begun to transition from chlorophyll-filled green to translucent yellow. I was sitting in my Brooklyn apartment in 2014 chatting with my dad, a die-hard Ravens fan.The conversation took an awkward turn to the topic of running back Ray Rice, who had been caught on video dragging his unconscious then-fiancé Janay Palmer out of a Las Vegas hotel elevator.The NFL had done a poor job of handling the domestic abuse from the jump, but once the video was made public for the world to see, the league decided to part ways with Rice.This felt wrong to my father.It was the first time Id yelled at him for what I considered victim blaming. He did not condone the act, but the language he used certainly would make any feminists head spin.In that moment I thought: If seemingly kind and good and smart men like my father didnt understand domestic abuse or misogyny, we were at a loss of ever reaching the men who arent good.Almost two years after the Rice incident, former NFL star Darren Sharper was sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping half a dozen women. No bold statements from the NFL. No condemnation from his colleagues. It was just quiet.He was even nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, only to receive not a single vote from the selection committee.Still.I was done with the NFL.NFL players wives and girlfriends were suffering at the hands of its men. Physical and sexual assault was handled abysmally by the league, with no sign of an organization that was moving toward actually caring about women.Then along came Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy.Levy stands at 6-foot-1. His smooth, latte-colored face is adorned by a thick beard that looks like it holds the keys to black boy magic. By all measures, he is a unicorn in an industry that has a lot of reckoning to do with how it supports and rewards violent men.Only 29 years young, he is wise. He has done the work to unlearn misogyny and become aware of its perils. This is a man who uses the term hyper-masculinity in interviews. For a football player, this makes you wonder if the Mayans prediction of the world ending is lurking around the corner.Levy has charged his fellow athletes with the task of speaking up on the dehumanization of women. His Man Up piece for The Players Tribune in April makes it clear what consent is and what its not. He thinks the NFL should do more about domestic violence awareness.In one of his most remarkable acts of human decency, Levy is donating money to have 11,000 rape kits that were found in a warehouse, abandoned by prosecutors, tested.His stance is clear: Dismissing a description of sexual assault as locker-room talk is a mistake.Wherever the NFL found this man, the league is lucky to have him.Im not in the business of handing out fresh-baked cookies to men for being decent human beings. But acknowledgement is due. Few professional athletes have this level of understanding about misogyny, so this feels magical. It feels like a win for all the work we black feminists have been doing.To preserve my sanity, Ive given up the idea of educating men who dont get it. More than changing minds, as wed hope educating men would do, it brings harassment.Ive been called everything from a Negro bed wench to a b---- for calling men out on their sexism. Discussing rape culture, consent and violence against women has been mostly futile.Remember, I yelled at my own dad over sexism. Levy restored a tiny piece of optimism in me about men -- athletes too -- being able to unlearn the toxicity of patriarchy. His commitment to issues that are typically cast to the side for women to fix alone is a reminder that the work we do is not in vain.Ill remind myself of Levys awakening when I grow weary and think, Whats the point? Because slow change is still change.Being a black feminist deeply committed to the black community and womens rights has been discouraging. Enraging. Even hopeless. Like I said, sometimes I think men will never get it.Levy is proof that they can, though. And while my willingness to teach men is reserved only for the men I care about, I now have a little more faith that they will in turn teach other men. Levy gave me hope that all who wander are not lost. And being lost doesnt mean one has to stay there.Bené Viera is a Brooklyn-based journalist who writes about culture, race and gender. Her work has appeared in GQ, Vulture, ESSENCE, Cosmopolitan, VIBE, Glamour and ELLE. When shes not writing shes stanning for Nas. Follow her on Twitter at @beneviera. Raptors Jerseys 2019 . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Oshae Brissett Jersey . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. https://www.cheapraptors.com/603a-terence-davis-jersey-raptors.html . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Toronto Raptors Gear . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals.VANCOUVER -- Canadian cyclist Ryder Hesjedal is recovering from a respiratory tract infection that forced him to pull out of the Giro dItalia. Hesjedals Garmin-Sharp team revealed Tuesday that the Victoria native developed an upper respiratory tract infection during the race, which he won in 2012. He has returned to his home in Girona, Spain since pulling out on Friday. The team said Hesjedal entered the race in very good physical form, but was still vulnerable to illness. His effort in the Stage-8 time trial, combined with further efforts in rainy and cold conditions, stressed his immune system and made him susceptible to contracting the infection. He completed the ninth and 10th stages, but his suffering continued and he pulled out before the 11th stage. At the time, he sat in 38th place overall, more than 32 minutes behind the leader. The team said it was virtually impossible for him to continue competing, because the condition would have worsened. "It appears that Ryder had been exposed to the virus affecting many in the peloton during the first week of racing," said team physician Phil Stawski in a news release. "Secondary to his outstanding form and conditioning, the more typical symptoms did not manifest until later. However, the effect on hiis body and performance was already occurring.dddddddddddd "His effort during the (time trial) and in the cold and wet conditions continued to impact his bodys ability to fight the infection, and he ultimately succumbed. The only option to prevent the worsening of his condition was to stop racing and allow him to recover." Hesjedal is expected to be able to resume training in about a week. He plans to compete in Switzerlands Tour de Suisse, to be held June 8-16. "Its hard to watch the Giro from home and not be there with my team. ... (But) The teams been great with helping me," said Hesjedal in the news release. "I appreciate all the support. I look forward to getting back on the road and racing again at Suisse, and will take it day by day from there." Jonathan Vaughters, the Garmin-Sharp teams CEO, said the crew is looking forward to getting Hesjedal recovered, healthy and back on the road racing again. "He was in great condition before the Giro, and while its a shame that he got so sick, were glad he is starting to come around," said Vaughters. "Our team staff will continue to work closely with him to get him healthy again. Thats priority number one, but well all be glad to get him back to racing." ' ' '