Friday, April 26th 2024 |
By JACOB GURVIS
(JTA) — Jews looking for a rooting interest in the concluding games of this year’s NBA Finals might have one now, thanks to a head-turning wardrobe choice from Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
No, Curry isn’t Jewish. But during Friday’s Game 4 postgame press conference, following a Warriors victory, he did don a Hebrew sweatshirt for the cameras — one that matches his own Hebrew tattoos.
...
By JACOB GURVIS
(JTA) — Gabe Kapler likes going against the grain.
The 46-year-old Jewish manager of the San Francisco Giants is relatively young for a professional coach. He’s active on social media and writes his own blog. He’s a fitness geek with a unique diet and very Jewish tattoos. ESPN recently deemed him “the most interesting man in baseball.”
And in 2020, amid racial justice protests across sports, Kapler...
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
(JTA) — At first, 24-year-old Shay Asher claimed that a picture of him giving a Nazi salute at a soccer game in England last year was merely a misunderstanding.
Asher, a former fireman, told police who questioned him about the picture that he was merely waving to a friend during the match in Newcastle between Newcastle F.C. and the Tottenham Hot Spurs from London.
But police recommended...
By ROB CHARRY
(JTA) — Some Jewish baseball fans know the name Elie Kligman, even though he’s just a freshman in college. That’s because last year he became one of the first two Orthodox Jewish players ever picked in a Major League Baseball draft.
But virtually no one knows about Kligman’s younger brother — who has the potential to be as good or better than his sibling.
Ari Kligman is...
(JTA) — The Boston Red Sox released a minor league player following an antisemitic and homophobic social media outburst, in which he specifically targeted the organization’s chief baseball officer, Chaim Bloom, who is Jewish.
Brett Netzer called Bloom a “fraud,” “an embarrassment to any torah-following jew” and attacked him for his support of Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community. Netzer also questioned Bloom’s Jewish identity.
In another bizarre tweet,...
By SHIRA HANAU
(JTA) — Jared Armstrong traveled to Israel on Birthright last year. He also spent months studying with an American Conservative rabbi in order to formally convert to Judaism, a step he wanted to take so he could move to Israel to play for the Hapoel Haifa basketball team.
That ambition suffered a serious setback Wednesday after Israeli officials for the second time rejected his application for citizenship.
According...
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
(JTA) — A Pakistan-born former professional cricket player from the United Kingdom who is known for protesting racism in sport has apologized for antisemitic remarks he had made in 2012.
Azeem Rafiq said that he is “deeply ashamed” for using antisemitic language in text messages which only recently surfaced. In the exchange, published Wednesday by The Times of London, Rafiq and a friend called a non-Jewish man...
By JACOB GURVIS
(JTA) — Josh Rawitch’s day-to-day is similar to that of any nonprofit executive: He speaks to stakeholders, supervises senior staff and fundraises.
But in his line of work, stakeholders include people like Jewish baseball legend Sandy Koufax. Since September, Rawitch has served as president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. He is the eighth leader in the institution’s 82-year history.
...
By EMILY BURACK
(JTA) — The Novak Djokovic COVID scandal may be stealing the headlines ahead of the Australian Open, which starts next week, but there are several Jewish players looking to win big at the year’s first Grand Slam.
Here they are:
MEN’S SINGLES TOURNAMENT
Does Diego have a path to victory?
Diego Schwartzman, seeded no. 13, is looking to make it past the fourth round of the Australian...
By PHILISSA CRAMER
(JTA) — Yeshiva University’s history-making, record-breaking basketball winning streak came to an abrupt end Thursday night as the Maccabees suffered a bruising 73-59 loss at home.
The Maccabees entered the game against Illinois Wesleyan University ranked No. 1 in Division III, a position it reached Nov. 30 when it was 44 games into its winning streak.
The streak stood at 50 as the team tipped off against...
