Volleyball

A high school volleyball team in Telluride, Colorado that requested Selena Gomez come to their game was surprised when the singer took up their invitation this weekend.

"They asked!! Couldn't help it, it's my first time in Telluride!" Gomez wrote when sharing photos of her visit to Telluride High School on Instagram.

Gomez was invited to the event with a sign that requested she sing the national anthem at one of the team's weekend home games.

Selena Gomez surprises fans to sing the national anthem at a volleyball game in Telluride.

pic.twitter.com/Py7LZ2eUtF

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 31, 2024

Gomez was in the city in order to attend the Telluride Film Festival on Friday for the screening of her upcoming film "Emilia Pérez," which is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in November.

The singer's first visit to the Colorado city might last for a few days after her visit to Telluride High School, as the film festival is set to take place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4.

A former Northwestern volleyball player filed suit against the school Monday, alleging university officials failed to properly address a hazing incident in 2021, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy.

The player also alleged head coach Shane Davis "enabled a culture of racism, bullying, harassment, hazing and retaliation" inside the volleyball program.

According to Murphy, the player chose to remain anonymous in the complaint.

She contends Ryan disciplined her for violating the team's COVID-19 guidelines, which she denies breaking, after she tested positive for the virus in February 2021. That March, Ryan decided to have the team captains pick the player's punishment, according to the lawsuit. She had to run suicides as her teammates and coaches watched her, and she said she needed medical attention after she completed the sprints.

In her suit, the player said Northwestern determined after conducting an investigation that hazing had occurred within the program. However, the school decided against punishing any individual players or coaches.

This comes after Wildcats football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired following an inquiry into hazing within that program. Three former football players have already pursued litigation in connection to that.

Northwestern also fired baseball coach Jim Foster due to allegations about a toxic atmosphere around the team.

University president Michael Schill said on July 18 he "will continue to do whatever is necessary to address this situation and ensure that our athletic program remains one you can be proud of and one that is fully aligned with and reflects our values."

Schill added he intends to follow through on a recommendation by the Faculty Senate to have an outside firm "evaluate the sufficiency of our accountability mechanism including the Committee on Athletics and Recreation and our ability to detect threats to the welfare of student-athletes."

The University of Wisconsin police department is investigating after private photos of the women's volleyball team were shared online, the school said in a statement:

Statement from UW Athletics pic.twitter.com/M2lK2OYg8a

— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) October 19, 2022

"UWPD is investigating multiple crimes, including sharing sensitive photos without consent," the statement read.

According to Mark Stewart of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, at least one photo features multiple team members "posing with their sports bras lifted."

The photos were never intended to be shared publicly, but they were posted to websites without the players' consent. Most of the content has since been removed, per Stewart.

Though the photos were originally taken by a member of the team, Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield clarified there would be no disciplinary action against members of her team, per Todd D. Milewski and Colten Bartholomew of the Wisconsin State Journal.

"UWPD is not investigating the volleyball student-athletes for wrongdoing in this matter," the school also said in its statement. "Our top priority is supporting our student-athletes and we are providing them with the appropriate services and resources."

Wisconsin women's volleyball won the national championship last season after reaching the national semifinals for the third year in a row.

Volleyball players from Pike High School in Indianapolis allege they were subjected to racist taunts from an opposing player, according to the Indianapolis Star's Kyle Neddenriep and Brian Haenchen.

"A video from the match Saturday obtained by IndyStar appears to show a New Palestine player scratching or beating her chest after a timeout and on the court with her teammates before play restarted," Neddenriep and Haenchen reported.

Pike athletic director Kendra Champion-McAloon provided a statement.

"I don’t want to go into a lot of details, but one of our players made a report and we’ve been in contact with New Palestine and were told that they are investigating and taking it seriously," she said.

According to the report, a Pike player who was serving as a line judge left the court after seeing the Palestine player's gestures.

New Palestine athletic director Al Cooper and principal Jim Voelz told the Indianapolis Star the player in question has been disciplined based on what's outlined in the school's code of conduct.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association confirmed to Neddenriep and Haenchen it was "aware of the incident" and "believe that appropriate disciplinary action and proactive measures to correct unacceptable behavior are underway."

Monkey chants are particularly prominent in world soccer and almost universally considered a form of racist abuse. In March, officials from Buchanan High School in California said a Black player was the target of monkey chants in a state championship soccer match.

BYU has reversed course and unbanned a fan who was accused of using racial slurs toward Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson during an Aug. 26 match.

In a statement released Friday, the school said it never "found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event" after an extensive review.

"As a result of our investigation, we have lifted the ban on the fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match," the statement continued. "We have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity. BYU sincerely apologizes to that fan for any hardship the ban has caused."

Duke athletic director Nina King issued a statement in response to BYU's decision:

"The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity. We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question. Duke Athletics believes in respect, equality and inclusiveness, and we do not tolerate hate and bias."

The incident first became public when Richardson's godmother, Lesa Pamplin, tweeted (h/t ESPN.com) Richardson was called a racial slur "every time she served" the ball.

Marvin Richardson, Rachel's father, corroborated Pamplin's account of what happened in an Aug. 27 interview with Kevin Reynolds of the Salt Lake Tribune.

BYU's athletic department announced that same day the fan, who is not a student at the university, was banned from attending all future athletic events.

Rachel Richardson issued a statement in the wake of BYU's initial decision:

#morethanavolleyballplayer pic.twitter.com/JJsofA6VgI

— rachel ♡ (@rachrich03) August 28, 2022

BYU campus police said on Aug. 30 they didn't find any evidence of a fan yelling racial slurs.

“When we watched the video, we did not observe that behavior from him,” BYU Police Lt. George Besendorfer said, via Courtney Tanner and Reynolds of the Salt Lake Tribune.

In a statement provided to Tanner and Reynolds, BYU associate athletic director Jon McBride said "various" employees in the athletics department "have been reviewing video from BYUtv and other cameras in the facility" and they "have been unable to find any evidence of that person using slurs in the match."

In an interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe, Richardson said she "heard a very strong, negative racial slur" when she was getting ready to serve the ball.

"... So I served the ball," she explained, "got through the play. And then the next time I went back to serve, I heard it extremely clear again, but that was the end of the game."

Richardson is the lone Black starter on Duke's volleyball team. She is in her sophomore year for the Blue Devils and has played in all seven games this season.

Duke played BYU in a four-team round-robin invitational tournament with Rider and Washington State from Aug. 26 to 27 at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.

BYU announced Saturday that a fan who used a racist slur and threats against a Duke volleyball player during a match at Smith Fieldhouse on Friday has been banned.

In a statement from BYU's athletic department, the fan has been banned from "all BYU athletic venues."

Official statement from BYU Athletics. pic.twitter.com/5bIwXNwr7J

— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) August 27, 2022

The school noted the fan was not a BYU student despite sitting in the student section in the arena.

Per Darnell Dickson of the Daily Herald, the racist slurs and threats were directed at Duke sophomore Rachel Richardson.

According to Roland Martin of Nu Vision Media, Marvin Richardson, Rachel's father, said his daughter was supposed to meet with BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe and volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead on Saturday, but Olmstead never showed up.

Lesa Pamplin, who identified herself as Richardson's godmother on Twitter, noted Richardson is the only Black starter for the Blue Devils and was called the N-word by the fan every time she served the ball.

According to Pamplin, a police officer was put by Duke's bench to ensure Richardson's protection.

"Not one freaking adult did anything to protect her. I'm looking at you (BYU)," Pamplin wrote. "You allowed this racist behavior to continue without intervening. Apologizing to her parents after the fact is not enough. She will soon be sharing her story."

Richardson played 21 matches and made three starts as a freshman in 2021. The Maryland native was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll last year.

Duke, BYU, Rider and Washington State are at Smith Fieldhouse this weekend for the doTERRA Classic. The Blue Devils played Washington State and BYU on Day 1 of the event. Their final match is against Rider on Saturday.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings described a recent shopping trip she made in which she didn't wear a face mask despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walsh Jennings claimed on Instagram that guidelines advising or mandating the usage of face masks equated to an erosion of one's liberty to an extent, though she did not point to any evidence of actual "manipulation" or constitutional violations:

"This statement woke me up & the truth of it has had me obsessing on the matter of how I can mindfully & compassionately stand up for my rights & for the freedoms our constitution has granted us all WITHOUT being reckless or putting anyone else in danger.

"We are all endlessly complaining about the restrictive & arbitrarily selective rules that we are being strongly 'suggested' to follow & yet we are all consenting; Not much of a fight, just a lot of complaining & strongly disagreeing with this manipulation, but we keep consenting. It's maddening. It has crushed our society, people's livelihoods, our children's spirits, & the fabric of our world. We have become a country & a world estranged from each other & it is more deeply unhealthy than any virus could ever be."

Health officials have said for months the use of cloth or medical-grade face masks helps limit the spread of the disease by helping "keep respiratory droplets contained and from reaching other people."

The Bay Area News Group's Michael Nowels wrote that Olympic silver medalist Jennifer Kessy criticized Walsh Jennings in the comments, writing she "can't believe how selfish this entire post is." Kelli Mezzetti, Walsh Jennings' sister, was similarly critical.

The volleyball star wrote a follow-up post Monday to say she was "not advocating for people to stop wearing masks" and that she "wear(s) a mask most often."

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins drew similar criticism when he appeared to downplay the risk posed by the pandemic on 10 Questions With Kyle Brandt, adding he's "gonna ride it out" and "gonna let nature do its course."

Cousins followed up to say he doesn't personally fear the pandemic but that he follows any necessary guidelines to the benefit of others.

According to CNN, the United States has confirmed more than 6.3 million cases of COVID-19, the most of any country in the world. The U.S. is also the leader in total deaths (189,972).

Volleyball coach Rick Butler has been "permanently disqualified" from participating in Amateur Athletic Union events and had his membership in the organization revoked following "a multiyear investigation into sexual abuse allegations," according to ESPN.

Per that report, "Butler allegedly had sexual contact with five underage girls, including two accusations that were made as part of a Chicago Sun-Times investigation published in November. He has also been accused of abusive coaching methods."

Sarah Powers-Barnhard, a former player under Butler, described to Jon Seidel and Michael O'Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times the first time Butler kissed her, during a road trip when she was only 16.

"He said come here, and I went into the middle of the gym and he’s holding a volleyball...and he goes 'Jesus f---king Christ,' and he threw the ball as hard as he could against the wall. So I went upstairs scared to death and he's sitting there and he said to me, 'You have to know you have to follow me blindly, if you have goals and you want to be great.'

"And of course, what am I going to say? Yes, I said 'OK,' and then he leaned over and kissed me. I mean, I was 16, I was a dork. I mean, I was a virgin. I hadn’t had a boyfriend."

Powers-Barnard said he sexually abused her for two years, with the kiss eventually leading to intercourse. Butler, meanwhile, conceded he had sex with Powers-Barnhard and two other accusers, though only after they were 18 years old and had consented.

Powers-Barnhard has since sued the AAU for failing to address the issue and not cutting ties with Butler. The former AAU coach—who headed the Sports Performance Volleyball program in Chicago and was well-known as a strict disciplinarian and as one of the most powerful coaches in youth volleyball—has never been charged with a crime.

Per ESPN, the AAU began investigating Butler in 2015 due to the reports of his abuse from 20 years ago. According to that report, he was banned by USA Volleyball in 1995 " after an ethics panel found he had sexual relationships with three underage girls, though the ban was partially lifted in 2000."

Think a vertical is only useful in basketball? Check out the damage Daenan Gyimah does in volleyball. 

Along with his extreme hops, you can check out his song—which is playing in the video—on his SoundCloud.