San Jose State football meets SJPD for bridge building

SAN JOSE — Before the entire San Jose State University football team made its way to the Simpkins Stadium Center Monday morning to meet with San Jose police, some players said they were expecting a routine talk about staying safe and out of trouble.

What they got was a police chief and a crew of officers — many of them former college athletes themselves — looking to hear from them.

"We wanted to have a real discussion about people's perception of law enforcement," head coach Brent Brennan said. "Our football team is a really unique group of people that is so diverse, and comes from different parts of California. It's just a really healthy conversation to have."

For a couple of hours, the Spartans heard from Chief Eddie Garcia and participated in an anonymous text-based survey of the players' attitudes toward police, and their thoughts of their own roles as student-athletes in driving the public discourse.

Of the 100-plus players who participated, more than three-quarters indicated that athletes should have a prominent role in discussions about policing issues, and several acknowledged how the football field has become a centerpiece of the national conversation about police and communities of color, catalyzed largely by the protests of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

"Athletes have a platform that can help them go in the direction they want, and change the dynamic of people's perspective of police," said Owen "Boogie" Roberts, a graduate student and defensive tackle from Los Angeles. "But we have to find a balanced way to do it, and conversation is the best way to open up someone's eyes to what's going on."

Garcia said he and his officers relished the face-to-face contact and deeper talks with the players, many of whom either had infrequent encounters with police in the past, or adverse ones.

"A great majority said they had trust in police, but I'm more interested in the percentage that didn't. That's why we're here," he said. "We want to let these young men vent negative situations that occurred to them, and have a dialogue about that. For coach Brennan to open up his football team to allow us to have that dialogue, that's teaching way beyond X's and O's."

Roberts counted himself among those, recalling growing up in what was commonly known as South Central Los Angeles amid a mutual wariness between residents and police.

"People tied into it and already had an attitude, which makes the situation worse," he said.

Dakari Monroe, a senior cornerback who attended Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, described having mixed emotions about police based on his reading of news and social media. But sitting down with officers, he said, put him and his teammates more at ease.

"After the presentation, I can see SJPD is trying to get more involved in the community," he said. "I saw their point of view, which is something people lack. If all police departments did this, we would get along much smoother."

Freshman wide receiver Steven Houston, from Dublin, said being exposed to police officers in the casual setting was helpful to him, particularly as a friend of a current SJPD academy cadet.

"It turned out to be a better conversation," he said. "When we're out there, we can have a relationship with authorities and can communicate with them, since now they know us personally."

Garcia said he was impressed, and somewhat surprised, by how receptive the players were to his officers, regardless of their past experiences.

"One of the things I discovered is that with these young men, their heels weren't dug in. They were willing to listen," he said. "They were willing to hear us out, and that's all I've been asking for."

Brennan said he was encouraged by the positive response from his players, and said this kind of exposure is key to his goal of preparing them for life outside of football.

"Every (football) program has police come talk to the team, but this was different," he said. "This was about education and communication and understanding, and finding a way to understand where everyone is coming from. We want to do everything we can to help these young men grow to become future leaders, and this was a really great day for that."

Usain Bolt admits he's struggling in chasing his football dream

SPRINT superstar Usain Bolt admitted Tuesday he was struggling with the tempo of professional football but is working hard to raise his fitness levels ahead of his first trial match this week.

The eight-time Olympic champion has been given an opportunity by Australia's Central Coast Mariners to fulfil his dream ofa soccer career and has stepped up his training regimen since hooking up with the A-League club last week.

He was put through his paces with the rest of the squad at a more intensive session at the team's base in the town of Gosford, 75 kilometres north of Sydney, on Tuesday.

After some warming up and a jog around the pitch, he took part in ball drills and while his passing was fine, he was slowto get the hang of the movement required.

The 32-year-old's lack of football fitness was also evident and he appeared to tire quickly, resting more than his teammates.

Bolt admitted to struggling with the constant stop-start of football, more used to a quick fire sprint on the athletics trackbefore winding down.

"The most challenging thing for me is the stop and go because I'm not used to picking up speed, going back down, then backagain," he said.

"It's all about practising and getting used to the system. I have time so will just learn the ways and keep pushing."

The Mariners hope to turn Bolt into A-League material in time for the start of the 2018/19 season in late October, with the club saying he can stay indefinitely to prove his credentials and earn a playing contract.

They have a pre-season friendly on Friday against an amateur side and Bolt is expected to get his first taste of a competitive game, but only as a substitute.

"I imagine he'll get some minutes on Friday," said club coach Mike Mulvey, conscious that thousands of fans are set to turn up and with the match due to be broadcast live on pay-TV.

He said the Jamaican was "doing OK".

"The things we are asking him to do are things that he hasn't done for quite some years," he added.

"He has played football as an athlete in between athletic meets so he has rudimentary skills. There's no problem about that. It's about being able to do it at the speed that we do it. It takes time to adjust." Bolt dominated sprinting since takingdouble individual gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

He went on to win a further six Olympic golds and pick up 11 world titles before retiring last year and pursing his real passion — football. He remains the world record holder for 100 metres.

Bolt said he was seeing slow improvements in his game.

"For me it's about just getting fit and as many touches of the ball that I can. The more I play the more comfortable I get," he said.

"It's all about being focused, taking my time and being smart and pushing myself to get to the level I need to be at to be in the starting XI."

Mesut Özil quits international football citing racism

Mesut Özil has announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect, the midfielder hitting out at what he perceived to be unfair discrimination surrounding his meeting with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in May.

Özil was a member of the Germany squad that went out of the World Cup finals in Russia at the group stage and was the target of criticism for his performances as well as his meeting with Erdogan, who has been accused of human rights abuses.

The Arsenal midfielder has Turkish ancestry and defended his actions in a lengthy statement and one in which he launched a scathing attack on the German football federation (DFB). "For me, having a picture with President Erdogan wasn't about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family's country," Özil wrote on Twitter.

"My job is a football player and not a politician, and our meeting was not an endorsement of any policies. The treatment I have received from the DFB and many others makes me no longer want to wear the German national team shirt. I feel unwanted and think what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten."

Making direct reference to Reinhard Grindel, president of the DFB, Özil added: "People with racially discriminative backgrounds should not be allowed to work in the largest football federation in the world that has players from dual-heritage families. Attitudes like theirs simply do not reflect the players they supposedly represent. In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win but I am an immigrant when we lose.

"It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect. I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don't. I feel unwanted and think that what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten."

In a three-part statement posted on Sunday evening, Özil was scathing in his criticism of Grindel. "I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his incompetence and inability to do his job properly," Özil wrote.

"I am disappointed but not surprised by [Grindel's]actions," the 29-year-old added. "But when high-ranking DFB officials disrespect my Turkish roots and selfishly turn me into political propaganda, then enough is enough."

The 29-year-old added that he had received abuse online, and claimed he was racially abused by a supporter after the match against Sweden.

"A German fan told me after the game, ‘Özil, fuck off you Turkish shit, piss off you Turkish pig.' I don't want to even discuss the hate mail, threatening phone calls and comments on social media that my family and I have received.

"They all represent a Germany of the past, a Germany that I am not proud of. I am confident that many proud Germans who embrace an open society would agree with me." – Guardian service

World Cup teams support FIFA's integrity initiative

The best way to safeguard the integrity of football is for all stakeholders to work together. In recent weeks, FIFA has been impressed with the level of support shown by the participating member associations (MAs) in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ to help raise awareness about potential threats to the game.

Leading up to the tournament, FIFA, in collaboration with the respective confederations, organised regional integrity workshops with the individuals who have been appointed by each MA to be their single point of contact for integrity matters, which includes match manipulation.

The objective of the workshops was to provide information about FIFA’s specific preventive measures for protecting the integrity of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The MA representatives were also given tips, tools and templates for running their own briefings with their respective teams, while at the same time being encouraged to tailor these briefings based on the specificities of their region.

The MA-led integrity briefings that followed served to remind all players and officials that they might be potential targets of match fixers during the World Cup, and that they are required to report any potential breaches that may jeopardise the integrity of a match directly to FIFA. The briefings also provided an opportunity to raise awareness about FIFA’s zero tolerance approach as well as the relevant FIFA regulations.

Real world impact
FIFA provides a dedicated confidential reporting platform, BKMS, where individuals can report any form or knowledge of potential match manipulation or corruption. Reports can be submitted anonymously and the mechanism is administered by an external provider specialising in secure and confidential handling of sensitive information.

A new FIFA Integrity App is also available via the Apple and Google Play stores. The mobile app provides another confidential reporting platform to help fight against match manipulation and corruption.

FIFA’s integrity initiative focusses on five main areas: prevention, detection, intelligence-gathering, investigation and sanctions. The focus in 2018 and beyond is on further strengthening a global integrity initiative helping confederations and member associations to gain the necessary knowledge and capabilities to fight match manipulation at national level and to support the implementation of a range of preventive measures as well as to adopt long-term, sustainable approaches on ethics and integrity matters.

Recognise, resist, report is the anti-match manipulation protocol that FIFA promotes worldwide, with the continued support of football stakeholders.

Football opens hearts

Every month, as part of its EqualGame campaign, UEFA is focusing on a person from one of its 55 member associations. This person will be an example of how football promotes inclusion, accessibility and diversity; his or her story will exemplify how disability, religion, sexuality, ethnicity and social background are no barriers to playing and enjoying football.

"I am a coach, but football has become more than a game to me," says Oleksandr Fomichov, who is using "the power of football" to improve the lives of people in his community. "It's an education, a philosophy and a phenomenon."

A lawyer and businessman by profession, the 32-year-old, who is originally from Donetsk, moved from the eastern Ukrainian city following the outbreak of unrest in 2014. He left behind his business, while some family members were unable to follow him. However, he has succeeded in creating a new life for himself in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

He now works for the League of Tolerance charity, whose goal is to teach people about common values and the importance of inclusion, enabling them to look at life from a different perspective, which ultimately leads to positive change.

In a compelling analogy, Oleksandr explains: "Football pitches mirror society as a whole. We use football to show that we all should be involved in the game, and that in the same way we should all be involved in society.

"I see how people change when they start working together, they forget about stereotypes and prejudices," he reflects. "They simply meet and want to find out a lot more about each other. They become friends and then change their own lives and include others in their hobbies."

In 2016, Oleksandr noticed there were a number of different organisations in Ukraine helping those who were internally displaced. He decided to try something similar, and so the League of Tolerance was born.

"We are always looking for ideas," he says. "We are always ready to improve our projects, and we want to try and spark a response in the hearts of other people." Aside from promoting the need for inclusion, the programme is having a wider footballing benefit by helping to give quality training sessions to those involved.

"In the first year we held eight training sessions around Ukraine and produced 97 coaches," he said. "They are the graduates of our programmes, and each one has contributed to the communities in which they live."

Oleksandr has also realised that football is "a phenomenon" which can be used as a tool to draw children into education. He believes any subject at school can be related to the game, thus making it more interesting for youngsters to learn.

The same criteria apply on the football field. For him, it is vitally important that "everybody is included and nobody is excluded", with these rules relevant not just to football but to society in general.

"In life, if we show that we are all equal and that we are all included, then social life becomes brighter and helps us to all open up," he explains.

This ethos is shared by one of Ukraine's greatest-ever sportsmen – former multiple world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who insists that everyone has the right to achieve the goals they set in life.

"Every person can play football. We must deliver the message to every person that nothing is impossible. Everything is possible if you have the will, the fire and an understanding that you can achieve new goals," says Klitschko, now the mayor of Kyiv.

"The most interesting and important thing is that everybody has a dream. It's important to dream, but it's more important to do everything to make this dream come true."

Oleksandr's love of the game shines through in all he does. A decent footballer in his youth, he is now showing through his role as a coach that the sport has the unique power to foster inclusion.

"We invite people from the whole of Ukraine, irrespective of their background: some may have disabilities, some may be from ethnic minorities and some might be internally displaced," he says. "Thanks to our work, we can get all these groups together and show that, on the training ground, people communicate with each other and realise there is actually no difference between us at all."

Andriy Shevchenko, one of Ukraine's best-ever footballers, is also of the opinion that everyone should have the right to play football, adding that it is of paramount importance to have "respect for everyone".

"Football is an international game. It has nothing to do with politics or religion. It's a game that's accessible to all and it should be pure, not only in the top competitions but also among children," says Shevchenko, currently the head coach of Ukraine's national team.

A modest and articulate man, Oleksandr Fomichov pours his heart into what he fiercely believes will result in a better future for his community and country.

"Keeping faith in people is the most important factor for the development of every country and the world as a whole. We can build a sustainable society and use football as one of the tools that brings us together."