Gay Olympic Athletes Make History and Change the Game
Adam Rippon made history this weekend, becoming the first openly gay man from the U.S. to medal at the Winter Olympics.
And the founder of Outsports.com says the bronze medal-winner may have opened the door for other LGBT youth to find a place in the world of sports.
“The fact that Adam backed it up with a great performance on Sunday night and America fell in love, that’s the message that kid is receiving: ‘I can be Adam, and I can still be loved by America, too,’” Cyd Zeigler said. “It’s not just the kid watching Adam be his authentic self. It’s then watching his classmates and other people on social media totally embrace it.”
Rippon and fellow out Team USA member Gus Kenworthy, a freestyle skier who races this weekend, have been widely applauded at the Winter Games. But they also sparked controversy with a selfie captioned “Eat your heart out, Pence.”
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who led the U.S. delegation at the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony, has been criticized for his support of “religious freedom” laws and reported advocacy of “conversion therapy.”
The VP tried to ease any tension, tweeting at Rippon, “I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/adam-rippon-and-gus-kenworthy-break-the-rainbow-ceiling-at-the-winter-olympics).
Baseball is as American as — Apple TV+. The National Pasttime has a new media partner this season, as the MLB will be streaming Friday night doubleheaders on the Apple streaming service. Noah Garden, the league's chief revenue officer, spoke to Cheddar News to break down the details of what's being offered in the new package and why Major League Baseball felt the need to make the move this year. "We've been in a situation where we've lost reach, even within the cable bundle. There are situations where people in the local market don't have access to watch their favorite team and their local team on top of that," he said. "You have cord cutters and even probably more importantly, cord nevers. So streaming offers of some ability to gain reach that we've lost over the the last couple of years, and Apple was really the perfect partner for us."
The 2022 Masters Tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, and one of golf's most iconic players is set to return to Augusta National, just 14 months after a devastating car accident. In a press conference, Tiger Woods told reporters that not only is he planning to play in the tournament, but that he also thinks he can win. Cam Rogers, national sports betting and golf analyst, and host of 'Lock It In'
for the Bleav Podcast Network, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company is bolstering the platforms of sports betting and streaming networks, and discusses basketball legend and Sportradar investor Michael Jordan's role in helping the company grow.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 4, 2022, with reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, a weekend shooting in Sacramento killing six and injuring 12, Mexico ending its gas subsidization for U.S. drivers, and the University of South Carolina winning the women's NCAA basketball championship, and more.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
David Salituro, MLB and PGA sportswriter for Fansided.com, joins Cheddar Bets to break down his favorite futures bets in the MLB and at The Masters.
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For the first time in the history of the storied men's college basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina, the two teams will be meeting directly in the NCAA tournament — and in the Final Four! Sean Green, the co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joined Cheddar to give his take on the possible final game of legendary Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski. "Now, if you recall, UNC actually beat Duke in Coach K's final home regular-season game, so revenge is going to be on the mind of Duke in this Final Four game, and I think they have the best of UNC. I like them laying four points," Green said. He also picked Villanova with an upset win over Kansas.
This June marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous 1997 "Bite Fight”, the iconic boxing rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when Tyson shockingly bit a piece of his opponent’s ear off. As a macabre tribute to the incident, the boxing legend’s line of cannabis products, Tyson 2.0, has released “Mike Bites", edibles in the shape of an ear complete with a bite mark. Tyson, the chief brand officer and co-founder, along with CEO Adam Wilks joined Cheddar News to talk about the unique gummies. "I just think this is just me owning what I did. I'm owning my responsibility. I've done that. That was pretty bad at the time, but I turned it over to make it pretty good," the former heavyweight champion said.
