The league published their “domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault webinar” on Friday.

The NFL on Friday published its presentation on domestic violence and sexual assault that officials said was shown to everyone on league and team payrolls.

NFL

In Fall of 2014, nearly everyone in the NFL, including some family members, participated in broad-based domestic violence (DV), child abuse (CA), and sexual assault (SA) education. Mandatory for all league and club office personnel, owners, coaches, and players and available to and highly encouraged for friends, family members, and loved ones, the education sessions were conducted at all 32 clubs, all US based league offices and the NFL's offices in Canada and the United Kingdom. The following webinar was created for those who could not attend in person and is the same presentation in a digital format.

The 26-minute presentation attempts to convey the seriousness of domestic, sexual, and child abuse through education, clarification of misperceptions, and personal anecdotes.

The presentation, by NFL Director of Player Engagement and Education Deana Garner and Director of Transition and Clinical Services (and former Miami Dolphins linebacker) Dwight Hollier, is thorough and the league's decision to release it stands in sharp contrast to the scrambling and shortsightedness the league has displayed in its handling of these same issues in the past.

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The former San Francisco 49er reportedly claims evidence recorded on his home surveillance system helps his case.

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Former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald plans to sue a woman who accused him of sexual assault, his attorney told the San Jose Mercury News.

The 49ers terminated McDonald's contract when the San Jose Police Department announced they were investigating him for sexual assault.

McDonald was previously accused of assaulting his then-fiancée, but charges were dropped as a result of conflicting accounts and the victim's refusal to cooperate with the investigation.

Now, the San Jose Mercury News says the Santa Clara District Attorney's office is unlikely to file charges against McDonald after their sexual assault investigation.

McDonald claims that the woman's accusations are a defamation of his character, and the lawsuit is an attempt to send a signal to NFL teams who might be reluctant to sign him. He told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he "know[s] some teams don't even want to talk to [him] because of this past accusation."

In a statement, McDonald's attorney Steve M. DeFilippis said, "in the eyes of the NFL teams, the unresolved threat of charges being filed against him, even though factually unfounded, continues to present a roadblock to this remarkable athlete being able to move forward in his career."

The lawsuit, filed today, reportedly claims that footage captured on McDonald's surveillance camera shows the accuser participating in consensual sex throughout the night.

According to the search warrant issued at the beginning of the investigation, the woman told police she left a local bar with McDonald but slipped and hit her head while walking near his pool — and therefore doesn't remember the rest of the night. She told police she woke up naked next to McDonald, who denied they had sex, then later admitted they had spent the day together.

McDonald claims the woman's sexual assault accusation should be discredited because she allegedly had consensual sex with him later that day.

When news that McDonald would likely not be charged broke earlier this month, his agent sent a letter announcing the news to all 32 NFL teams.

School board members on Monday announced that Lancaster High School will have a new nickname. Earlier this month, three local school districts boycotted the school over the term.

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On Monday night, school board members announced that Lancaster High School in New York will no longer use "Redskins" as a nickname and mascot. The school's new nickname has not yet been decided, but "Red Hawk" is rumored to be a favored replacement.

When the decision was announced, parents in support of the name began chanting "Let's go Redskins," and told the school board that its action will be temporary. One supporter of the name asked, "Why are we being bullied?"

The debate over the school nickname, which it has held for 68 years, heated up when three nearby districts with large numbers of Native American students — Akron, Niagara Wheatfield, and Lake Shore — boycotted the school over the mascot name. Akron and Lake Shore also cancelled lacrosse games between the Buffalo-area teams.

Lancaster School District created a website dedicated to the debate, offering a place for interested parties to hear arguments for both sides. On a page called "Pros and Cons Websites," the school listed two Change.org petitions: One in support of the name with 2,802 supporters, and one opposed to the name, with 1,684 supporters. Another link on the page is RedskinsFacts.com, a PR firm–backed propaganda website that attempts to defuse criticism of the Washington football team.

During the contentious meeting, school board member Wendy Buchert said that "although the decision is not popular, we must make an immediate decision to change the mascot" to benefit the students. Buchert argued that the debate itself had the potential to cause harm to the educational and athletic opportunities of Lancaster students.

School board President Kenneth Graber explained that the nickname was chosen by football coaches in the 1950s and was meant to honor the bravery and courage of the Native American community.

"That was then, this is now," he said. "People, ethics, and standards evolve. What was acceptable 70 years ago is not acceptable now. Native Americans do not feel honored."

The school board showed unanimous support for changing the name. Patrick Uhteg told the crowd the school has an obligation to set a good example and protect the emotional and academic interests of the school.

"Let's be clear: This debate is over a school mascot," he said. "We are a school institution and not a billionaire-run football team."

Chris Borland, who had a standout rookie season, told ESPN he doesn’t think playing football is “worth the risk.”

Chris Borland, a 24-year-old linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, has decided to retire from football after only one season over concerns about the effects of head trauma, ESPN reports.

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From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk.

I feel largely the same, as sharp as I've ever been, for me it's wanting to be proactive. I'm concerned that if you wait till you have symptoms, it's too late. ... There are a lot of unknowns. I can't claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long healthy life, and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise.

Borland told ESPN that he suffered a concussion during training camp, and told his parents that "his career in the NFL would be brief because of his concerns about the potential long-term effects of the head injuries."

Borland recalled wondering, "Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and knew about the dangers?'

According to ESPN, Borland met with a team of experts, and considered the lives of former players who were diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that causes dementia-like symptoms and is strongly linked to repetitive brain trauma.

After thinking through the potential repercussions, Borland said the decision was ultimately "simple."

The decision comes after a standout rookie season for Borland, who recorded two interceptions, one fumble, and 84 tackles. He also looked to be a promising replacement for linebacker Patrick Willis, who retired last week at the age of 30.

Borland, who earned a bachelors degree in history at the University of Wisconsin, earned around $1 million for his rookie season, including a signing bonus worth over $600,000.

His decision, and the plain language he used to describe his concerns over the effects of repetitive brain trauma, represent the NFL's worst fears. Due to his young age and ability, Borland's decision signifies somewhat of a turning point in the social awareness of the risks to players. Though it is tough to imagine a reality in which the NFL will not have an endless pipeline of talent who would do anything to make it on a roster, Borland's decision will undoubtedly send a signal to players, parents, and possibly, the league.

While unexpected, we certainly respect Chris' decision. From speaking with Chris, it was evident that he had put a great deal of thought into this decision. He was a consummate professional from day one and a very well respected member of our team and community. Chris is a determined young man that overcame long odds in his journey to the NFL and we are confident he will use the same approach to become very successful in his future endeavors. We will always consider him a 49er and wish him all the best.

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“How To Lose A Playoff Spot In 10 Days.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs are having a bit of an embarrassing season — if that can even begin to cover it.

Last night, they trailed the the Edmonton Oilers 1-4 in the opening period. Thankfully, no further goals, and humiliation, were amassed by the end of the game.

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Here's a fun stat: They only have one win in their last 21 road games.

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Here are some of the best ones.

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It’s a tough sport, but it’s also graceful.

This is Brown University's women's rugby club.

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Photographer Alejandra Carles-Tolra shadowed the team to explore what it's like being women in a male-dominated field.

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This week’s testimony in the murder trial for the former New England Patriots player has included a lot of talk about shoes.

This week's testimony in the Aaron Hernandez trial has revolved around a pair of Air Jordan Retro 11s he was wearing the night Odin Lloyd was killed.

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On Wednesday, jurors were shown photos of footprints found at the industrial park where Lloyd's body was found. A photo of size 13 Air Jordan Retro 11 Lows — the style of shoe Hernandez was seen wearing the night Lloyd was killed — was compared to a photo of a footprint found at the scene.

Steven Bennett, who works for Massachusetts State Police's crime scene services department, testified that he had matched the footprint to the standard pattern of the soles of a pair of size 13 Air Jordan Retro 11 Lows. He said he obtained a new pair of the shoes and made a transparency of the soles, then compared it to a foam cast he'd made of the shoe print at the scene.

Much of the afternoon testimony focused on debating the consistency and likelihood of counterfeit use of the distinct herringbone pattern found on both the Air Jordans and in the shoe print found at the scene.

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Sole pattern of new Nike Air Jordan Retro 11 Lows.

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There are concerns about player health, European club league schedules, and temperatures – to start. The tournament is traditionally held in June and July.

FIFA has announced the 2022 World Cup Final will be held on Dec. 18 in Qatar.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter

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Dec. 18, is Qatar National Day, which celebrates the country's independence.

The world soccer governing body is also shortening the length of the tournament to 28-days from the standard 32. FIFA says this is intended to reduce further impact on club leagues whose seasons run through December.

Hosting the tournament during the winter doesn't really fix the issue of high temperatures.

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Some supporters of the “Redskins” name told the board president that they want to oppose the high school’s budget in retaliation.

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The public outcry that drove an upstate New York high school to drop the nickname "Redskins" on Monday has roiled the town of 40,000 people near the Canadian border, current and former students told BuzzFeed News.

The Lancaster High School board voted unanimously to drop the moniker after three nearby school districts canceled lacrosse games against Lancaster earlier this month. Lake Shore District Superintendent James Przepasniak, who participated in the boycott, told BuzzFeed News that at the beginning of March, students on the "predominantly Native American" lacrosse teams organized and elected a spokeswoman to ask the district to scrap the upcoming match.

"We recognize traditions are often hard to leave behind," Lancaster school board Superintendent Michael J. Vallely said at the meeting. "However, we need to rethink traditions when they become hurtful and perceived as disrespectful toward others, even unintentionally."

But that didn't sit with supporters of tradition. Adults at the meeting chanted, "Let's go Redskins!" at board members — while others in the room, many Native Americans, sat quietly — and shouted that the board would regret their decision. School board president Kenneth Graber said the board received threats that they would be kicked out of office and "Redskins" supporters would even organize a way to vote down next month's school budget.

On Twitter, students and alumni said they were frustrated and confused about why the nickname was "suddenly" offensive. Students on Instagram posted photos in their "Redskins" gear, hashtagging it "#OnceARedskinAlwaysARedskin."

Through that hashtag, students from Lancaster Middle School and Lancaster High School organized a rally in support of the name for Thursday morning. More than 100 attended, and some left class to march to the school administration building, returning to school around 10 a.m., several participants said. One student carried a sign with the school logo and a quote from Elie Wiesel's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Other signs were more simple: "Redskins forever," and, of course: "Once a Redskin, always a Redskin."

Gary Wiepert / AP

One Lancaster High School alumnus, Keith Stoerr, told BuzzFeed News that he feels a strong connection to the "Redskins" nickname because of its association with sports teams. He learned the nickname was "mildly offensive" during a conversation with a Native American student at another school, but sees it as no different than the "Hillbillies" nickname used by nearby Fredonia High School.

Valerie Bello, who attended another high school in Lancaster, and whose eldest son also attends kindergarten in the school district, said she believes the school board did the right thing. "Racism deserves no institutional support or passive endorsement, and by letting the name stand, that's exactly what the Lancaster School District would have been doing," she told BuzzFeed News.

"I don't think my neighbors who supported keeping the name are racists. I don't think they view the term 'Redskin' with any more depth than it serving as just a nickname — which is really ironic when you consider the ire the name change has drawn from residents," she added.

Some think that people on both sides of the argument just aren't explaining their point very well, causing the tension. "There was lack of success on both sides to articulate what Redskin pride means to us, and the victimization felt by American Indians that we as Lancasterians may not be privy to first hand," said another Lancaster alumnus, who asked to go by TJ.

Other former students who said the name should be changed criticized supporters, saying they are stuck in their high school years. TJ feels this overlooks a large constituency of people who support the name, like teachers and coaches, who are "making thousands of high school experiences positive and memorable. They are not clinging to high school. This is their career. This is their life."

Peter Cimino, whose three children are in the Lancaster school district, said that while he doesn't disagree with the decision, he think the school board's process was disappointing. "They never came to the people who live in the district nor did they take a vote either from the kids or families," he said. "There are families that have sports equipment that has the Redskin logos they just paid for. Now what do they do? Spend another $120 to get new gear without the logo?"

Cimino says he "certainly doesn't want anyone ever to feel bad if a name is negative or derogatory," but "never thought [of the term] as a degrading, demeaning, or negative, nor did anyone in my family. We were proud to display that we are as tough as the Native Americans who were named Redskins."

Popular or not, the Lancaster school board said it's sticking by its decision. "People, ethics, and standards evolve," Graber said at the meeting. "What was acceptable 70 years ago is not acceptable now. Native Americans do not feel honored."

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Sharper has reached plea deals in cases filed in Los Angeles and New Orleans. Earlier today, prosecutors in Las Vegas filed rape charges against Sharper.

Former NFL safety Darren Sharper, who has been charged with rape in four cities, has received plea deals in two of them: Los Angeles and New Orleans, the New Orleans Advocate reports.

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Sharper, who has been in jail since January 2014, is accused of drugging and then raping women in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Tempe, Arizona.

The alleged drugging and rapes in the four states took place over the course of less than five months, according to the charges against Sharper.

In 2011, Sharper was accused of raping two women in Miami, but the case was dropped, citing a lack of evidence.

His preliminary hearing in Los Angeles was scheduled for Friday.

Sharper was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1997. He played for the Saints on their 2009 Super Bowl winning team, and retired shortly after due to injuries.

He was working as an analyst for NFL Network at the time of his initial arrest.

What’s in a name?

Guilherme Carbagiale Fuck, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward for the Canadian Medicine Hat Rattlers, says he's tired of not being allowed to use his real last name.

Back row: Guilherme Carbagiale Fuck, #14.

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"When they asked my opinion I said I want to have my last-last name, I'm not ashamed of it," said Fuck. "I would rather always use my last-last name. Back in Brazil that's what I use, I don't use my first-last name."

His coach, Craig Price, says he support's Fuck's decision to be known as such.

Fuck says his name is the German word for fox. Google Translate says the direct translation is "Fuchs," but language is weird, right!?

He's been pretty fucking good for the Medicine Hat Rattlers, averaging 18.35 points per game, and recording a 52% field goal percentage and a 42.5% in threes.

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The 35-year-old wrestler was pronounced dead early Saturday at a Tijuana hospital after a match involving former WWE superstar Rey Mysterio.

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After a 19-year-career on the court, that was hindered by injuries in the last three years, Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash announced Saturday that he is ready to retire. The 41-year-old Canadian wrote about his decision on The Players’ Tribune website.

"When you're a teenager with outsized dreams and a growing obsession, and someone tells you this ain't gonna last forever, it's scary," Nash wrote in The Player's Tribune, a website for which he is the senior producer. "I never forgot it."

But the 41-year-old guard for the Los Angeles Lakers wrote he was "excited to learn to do something else."

"At the heart of this letter, I'm speaking to kids everywhere who have no idea what the future holds or how to take charge of their place in it," Nash wrote. "When I think of my career, I can't help but think of the kid with his ball, falling in love. That's still what I identify with and did so throughout my entire story."

Nash was a sharp shooter on the court known for his speed, but also leaves the NBA with 10,335 assists -- the third highest figure in the league's history.

With an accuracy of 90.4%, he also retires as as the best free-throw shooter in NBA history.

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Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania said Joey Casselberry has been dismissed from the team over his comments about the 13-year-old Little League World Series star.

A college baseball player has been cut from his team after he made vulgar comments about 13-year-old Little League World Series star Mo'ne Davis on Twitter.

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He also mocked her team's loss in the 2014 series.

Casselberry has since deleted the tweet and his account, but it was soon captured by many on social media.

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The 24-year-old linebacker who retired due to brain trauma concerns told Face the Nation on Sunday he will return 75% of his signing bonus.

Chris Borland said on Sunday's Face the Nation that he will pay back 75% of his $617,436 signing bonus the San Francisco 49ers.

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Borland signed a four-year rookie contract with the 49ers last year. The value of his lump-sum signing bonus was meant to cover playing time for the entire contract. For the three years he did not play, Borland said will pay back $436,077.

Host Bob Schieffer asked Borland about the NFL's statement, released after his retirement announcement, saying "football has never been safer. [...] We are seeing a growing culture of safety."

Borland replied, "Football is inherently dangerous, and that will never change. When I hit a fullback on a run play, talking about the culture of safety is irrelevant."

When asked about concussions, Borland said he is more concerned about cumulative sub-concussive brain trauma than the number of physician-diagnosed concussions, which he says have "20 different definitions."

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Sharper was charged with multiple counts of drugging and raping women in four states.

Former NFL player Darren Sharper on Monday pleaded guilty to rape charges in Las Vegas, Arizona, and New Orleans, and no contest to charges in Los Angeles in a plea deal to resolve accusations against him in all four states.

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Prosecutors have called him a "serial rapist" due to the formulaic nature of the allegations against him: In each state, he is accused of drugging women he met at bars then sexually assaulting them later that night.

Sharper reportedly pleaded guilty to "two counts of forcible rape and a count of simple rape" in New Orleans, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Sharper faced state and federal charges accusing him of drugging and raping women in Louisiana.

Earlier on Monday, Sharper reportedly pleaded no contest to similar charges in Los Angeles. TMZ reported that he was sentenced to 20 years on charges of drugging and raping women, but will only have to serve 10 years of that with credit for time served since January 2014. Ultimately, he will be responsible for nine years that can be served concurrently with his other sentences.

In Arizona, he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual assault and one sexual assault charge. He was sentenced to nine years in prison with credit for time served. This sentence can also be served concurrently.

Sharper's plea deal to resolve the charges in Las Vegas reportedly will have him pleading guilty to two counts of attempted sexual assault with a punishment of up to 8 years in prison. This time can reportedly be served concurrently as well.

If Sharper's sentence in New Orleans is not reduced (federal charges carry stricter mandatory minimums), Sharper will be incarcerated for 20 years.

Sharper's NFL career began in 1997 when he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He retired in 2011, having most recently played with the New Orleans Saints, with whom he won a Super Bowl.

He was working for the NFL Network as an analyst at the time of his arrest.

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Raiders and Bills fans, rejoice!

The NFL announced Monday the league will repeal its archaic television blackout rule in 2015.

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The local broadcast restriction was originally intended to encourage local fans to get themselves to games (and therefore spend money on tickets and other sources of revenue).

However, some teams, including the Raiders and Bills, were disproportionately affected by the rule because of smaller markets, weather, or underperformance.

In 2013, the Raiders went as far as to tarp off the highest section of their stadium to reduce recorded capacity and fare a better chance of reaching the 75% sellout threshold.

In 2014, the FCC voted to do away with a rule that allowed cable and satellite broadcasters to blackout games nationally based on local blackout decisions.

At the end of the 2015 season, the NFL "will evaluate how the rule change played out during the season and then discuss what they will do next off-season," according to the Wall Street Journal.

In recent years, the NFL in-stadium game experience has failed to keep up with the information and replay detail provided by the television broadcast.

Earlier today, the league announced that the Jaguars–Bills game that will take place in London in October will be digitally broadcast worldwide in what will be the league's first attempt at streaming a game online; however, cable providers already allow subscribers to watch some games online.

BuzzFeed News interviewed Ashima Shiraishi, who just broke two world rock climbing records. She’s only 13, so of course we used Snapchat.

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This is Ashima Shiraishi. She's one of the top female rock climbers in the world — and she's only 13.

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At 13, she is also the youngest person — male or female — to climb something so hard.

The climb is expected to be rated "5.15a," a difficulty grade that only a handful of the world's best male climbers have ever completed. The rating is awaiting consensus that will cement Ashima's climb as a world record: A handhold on the route recently broke off, making Ashima the first person to climb the more difficult route.

Only two women in history have ever even climbed the difficulty below, 5.14d.

It was such a hard climb that at some points, Ashima had to be upside down.

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A memo filed Monday contends that the team can still use the name — but so can everyone else.

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

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In 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled the team's registered trademark, saying the name is "disparaging" to Native Americans. The team filed a lawsuit against the Native American activists who filed the original complaint, claiming a violation of their First Amendment rights.

The team retains their rights while the decision is under appeal, and the Department of Justice's filing is not a decision on the matter, but rather an endorsement of the patent office's move.

(Throughout the memo, the team is referred to as "Pro-Football, Inc.," or "PFI," which is the name the team uses for business purposes.)

The DOJ says that the Redskins are still allowed to use the name if they'd like, but that because the process of registering a trademark through the federal government uses public funds, they are not protected by trademark law.

In the Lanham Act, because operation of the federal trademark registration program entails the expenditure of public funds in evaluating and approving marks and the exercise of legal authority in conferring procedural advantages, Congress is under no obligation to subsidize "a more convenient method" of trademark enforcement for applicants. Here, PFI remains "free to engage in such speech as [it] see[s] fit," including using pre-existing state law remedies to enforce its trademark. PFI is "simply . . . barred from enlisting the [Patent & Trademark Office] in support" of its speech.

The Redskins (and the ACLU) have argued that the Lanham Act, which prohibits the government from registering trademarks for, among other things, language that disparages a group's racial identity, is a flimsy and inconsistently applied facet of trademark law. In the memo, the DOJ ardently defends the Lanham Act, and says the argument is unfairly taken out of context.

The effort by Pro-Football, Inc. ("PFI") to attack Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act in isolation ignores its context as part of the federal trademark registration scheme, structured to provide protections to trademark owners and the public without disrupting a parallel system of state law.

The team argues that saying their name "may disparage" Native Americans is too vague, but the DOJ lists a handful of examples of equally "vague" language that have been deemed suitable by the Supreme Court.

As the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has explained, a disparaging trademark is one that may "dishonor by comparison with what is inferior, slight, deprecate, degrade, or affect or injure by unjust comparison." [...] This definition, based on dictionaries published at the time of passage of the Lanham Act, constitutes a "comprehensible normative standard" in which a "standard of conduct is specified.

The Redskins have been insistent that their team name is meant to "honor" Native Americans, but the DOJ argues that the intent matters less than the impact.

It is not the "alleged honorable intent and manner of use of the term" at issue, but the objective question of "whether a substantial composite" of Native Americans found "Redskins" to be "a disparaging term in the context of [PFI's] services." [...] PFI's tortured effort to claim as-applied "viewpoint" discrimination by alleging that cancellation of registration restricts "[w]hat PFI says in [] debate," PFI's brands is equally baseless: PFI may continue to say whatever it likes about its brands or Native Americans without any limit at all

In layman's terms, the DOJ is telling the team that it can retain the name and image, but without the guarantee of exclusive rights.

A hearing between the parties has been scheduled for June 24.

Read the full memo here:

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I know you care.

Tennis legend and superqueen Serena Williams recorded a super fun version of Beyoncé legendary "7/11" video for Vogue.

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Legs movin' side to side...

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Spinnin', spinnin', spinnin'...

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Can Serena keep up with Queen Bey?

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