Sports

Back with Dodgers, Freddie Freeman details son’s 'heartbreaking' fight for life

Published

2 years ago

August 5, 2024

Back with Dodgers, Freddie Freeman details son’s 'heartbreaking' fight for life

Freddie Freeman was equipped with a towel as he walked into a Dodger Stadium interview room Monday afternoon. An emotional sort in the best of times, the veteran first baseman knew he wouldn’t get a minute into recounting the brutal ordeal his 3-year-old son, Maximus, went through over the last two weeks without crying.

He was right … and he didn’t care. The tears flowed, and so did the gratitude of an eight-time All-Star who returned after an eight-game absence, his son home from the hospital and on a long but hopeful road of recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.

“Max is doing all right … but he’s got to relearn how to do pretty much everything,” Freeman said, pausing several times to rub his eyes and collect his thoughts. “Terrible syndrome, Guillain-Barré … but it’s a good thing I’m here, because it means things are trending better. No one should have to go through this, especially with a 3-year-old.”

Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, noticed Max walking with a limp on the morning of July 22, a Monday, and by that night, Max couldn’t walk. The symptoms, according to visits with several doctors, were consistent with transient synovitis, which can cause a pain in the hip after a viral infection.

By that Tuesday, Max couldn’t sit up, and by Wednesday night, July 24, while Freeman was playing a home game against the San Francisco Giants, Max had stopped eating and drinking and was taken to the emergency room. Doctors still suspected transient synovitis and recommended Tylenol. Max was discharged at 3:30 a.m.

Freeman played a day game against the Giants on about an hour of sleep that Thursday and traveled — somewhat reluctantly — with the Dodgers to Houston that night for the start of an eight-game, three-city trip.

“I called Chelsea on Facetime and said, ‘I don’t know if I should be leaving right now,’ ” Freeman said. “Something was off. It just felt wrong to leave. But we did just because [we thought] it would be OK.”

Things were not OK. Freeman had gone through his normal pregame routine in Houston’s Minute Maid Park that Friday before joining Max’s visit to a pediatrician via Facetime.

“And thankfully, that pediatrician said, ‘You need to go to the hospital now — this is not transient synovitis,’ ” Freeman said. “They were ready to call an ambulance for him, because they didn’t think he was going to be able to breathe that long … so I immediately told Scott [Akasaki, traveling secretary] to help get me home.”

With Max having “rapidly declined,” according to an Instagram post from Chelsea, he was rushed to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, “and within 2 ½ hours, he had a ventilator in,” Freddie Freeman said.

A paralysis began to drift upward, from Max’s feet toward his waist and then his shoulders, which was affecting his diaphragm and his breathing. Freddie arrived at the hospital at about 10 p.m., his youngest son hooked up to a ventilator and feeding tube.

“My 3-year-old son needing help to breathe, when five days earlier, he was doing front flips,” Freeman said, when asked to recall the toughest part of the ordeal. “You just wish you could switch. You really do. Like, I’ve been through a lot in my life. I lost my mom when I was 10, but you can’t really compare any of this because both are awful.

“But seeing your kid fighting for his own life when there’s nothing he or anybody else could do. His immune system started attacking his own nerves, and that’s the heartbreaking thing. He can’t breathe on his own, he’s on a ventilator, that was hard.

“I know Dodgers fans wouldn’t like this, but I would gladly strike out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series 300 million times in a row than to see that again.”

There was encouraging news, though, when doctors diagnosed Max with Guillain-Barré and immediately started IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) treatments, which are made from donated plasma that contains healthy antibodies to help stop the harmful antibodies from damaging the nerves. Max responded well to two rounds of IVIG.

“He was starting shoulder-shrug, which was a massive sign for us, because that means, so paralysis starts from your toes up, so now [when it recedes] it goes top to bottom,” Freeman said. “It was starting to move back down, which was huge.”

Max’s condition continued to improve early last week, so much so that within 48 hours of experiencing full-body paralysis, he was excavated from his breathing tube and taken off a ventilator.

“It was [last] Wednesday at 10:46 p.m., I’ll never forget — he had his ventilator pulled, and within six minutes, he was sitting on me,” Freeman said. “I can’t tell you how good that felt, to be able to hold my son again. That was a special time, just knowing how hard he fought in those five days.

“When he was born, we were trying to figure out a name. We had two kids at that time, and Chelsea came upon ‘Maximus.’ I was like, ‘That’s a strong name.’ I said I didn’t know it was gonna have to be proved true within four years of his life, with how strong this little boy is.”

Freeman, who had started every one of the team’s first 104 games, missed the entire trip in which the Dodgers lost five of eight games at Houston, San Diego and Oakland. But when Max came home from the hospital on Saturday, Freeman could breathe a little easier.

“I mean, if you talked to me six days ago, I would never have been able to speak to you guys, I just couldn’t,” Freeman said. “But the reason I’m able to get through this is because of the huge wins we’ve been getting the last few days with him. It’s been a miraculous recovery. That’s what they say to us.”

Freeman went through rigorous workouts at his old high school, El Modena in Orange, on Saturday and Sunday and felt like he was ready to return on Monday. Greeting him were teammates and coaches who wore #MaxStrong shirts with No. 5 Freeman on back during batting practice before the series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I don’t know whose idea it was, but that was the first time I cried today, when I walked in and saw those,” Freeman said of the T-shirts. “It means a lot. The support from this organization has been … there’s no words. I can’t even put it into words, really. Things happen. I’m just so glad that he was able to be at CHOC.

“Dr. [Jason] Knight and his staff in the [pediatric intensive care] unit. The nurses day and night, absolutely incredible. The respiratory therapists, neurology, every department. I mean, I’m here nine days after, and it feels like a miracle, it really does. I can’t thank them enough.”

Freeman was among the team’s hottest hitters when he left the team, and he entered Monday night’s game with a .288 average, .888 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 16 homers, 26 doubles and 67 RBIs on the season.

In his absence, a Dodgers offense that was already playing without the injured Mookie Betts and Max Muncy hit only .213 (65 for 301) on the eight-game trip, the fourth-worst average in baseball in that span.

But Freeman was back in the Dodgers lineup, batting third and playing first base, on Monday night, a little rusty but buoyed by the knowledge that 3-year-old Max would be at home watching Daddy on television.

“My brain is still a little mushy — not much sleep for mom and dad and the rest of the family — but we’re hanging in there,” Freeman said. “We’ve been told [Max] is going to make a full recovery. We just don’t know how long it’s going to be. But the prognosis of recovery is good.”

Sports

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

Published

9 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Deion Sanders mourns loss of Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder: ‘One of my favorites’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”

Ponder was 23 years old.

Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)

Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.

Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.

The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.

Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)

“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”

Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.

Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated

Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away.

“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”

Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.

“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”

Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.

“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”

Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.

“Yes.”

Sports

Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Israeli national gymnastics team suspends all activities after Iranian counter-attack

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.

“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”

A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.

Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.

Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.

Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.

On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.

The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.