CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland Police found a man dead in a car after being shot Saturday night, according to police.

Officers responded to calls for shots fired in the area of East 102nd and Kempton Avenue around 11:30 p.m.

Officers found a 28-year-old man, who the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified Jaqueal Clifton Talley of Cleveland.

Clifton died on the scene, according to the release.

This matter is currently under investigation, police said.

This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.

Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, the media was saturated with contentious arguments about Caitlin Clark’s omission from the U.S. women’s basketball team. The debate devolved into a pointless back-and-forth, exploited for cultural warfare.

The debate centered on the paradox of Clark being both highly qualified and overlooked. While arguments were rooted in both basketball performance and external factors, the discussion spiraled into a full-blown media frenzy. That saw the likes of Stephen A. Smith, Colin Cowherd, and Tony Kornheiser vehemently criticize Team USA for passing on such a significant marketing opportunity, let alone talent.

As other sports media figures suggested, NBC could have capitalized on Clark’s popularity by hiring her as an analyst if ratings/marketing were a primary concern. However, other considerations likely influenced the decision, and it might have proved challenging to justify overlooking established WNBA players who have already cut their teeth in professional basketball and with Team USA.

In any event, the discourse ultimately reached its plateau, as Clark’s going to Paris wasn’t in the cards. But that discourse has come back to life, thanks in part to NBC’s Mike Tirico, who asked South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, a member of the USWNT selection committee, about her read on Clark being left off the team.

“As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together the best team of players — the best talent,” she said.
“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA; she wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now. If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.

“Shooting the ball extremely well; I mean, she is an elite passer. She’s just got a great basketball IQ. And she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game in a couple of months than she was two months ago.”

Dawn Staley, a member of the USWNT selection committee, asked about Caitlin Clark.

“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.” pic.twitter.com/hMYqTsPWzc

— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) July 28, 2024

Advertisement

It shouldn’t be surprising that Staley handled this situation with grace and offered insightful perspective on Clark’s significant growth since the initial snub. Whether her development is directly linked to the Olympic omission is irrelevant, but Staley’s acknowledgment highlights why she has such a high standing in women’s basketball.

[Scott Agness]

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The 27-year-old Cleveland man charged for allegedly causing a deadly car accident this month will face a judge Saturday morning.

Gerrod White is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault.

At his arraignment Saturday morning in Cleveland Municipal Court, White’s bond was set at $250,000.

White was also arraigned for a domestic charge, and his bond was set at $50,000.

“He has an extensive history of violence… He not only punched his girlfriend in that incident, he stomped her as well. In regards to the aggravated vehicular homicide and assault, he indicated to officers that he wasn’t going to jail because he ‘always gets off’ and he repeated that multiple times after striking the vehicle head-on resulting in the death of the passenger where she was engulfed in flames and died in the vehicle and the driver was ejected,” the prosecutor said as White shook his head in court on video.

White can also be seen wearing a neck brace while on the video call.

White will be back in court on Aug. 6.

Cleveland police said White was speeding eastbound on St. Clair Avenue when he ran a red light at East 110th Street around 5:30 a.m. on July 21.

White’s vehicle crashed into a Ford Explorer, which was traveling on East 110th Street and had the green light.

The impact caused the Explorer to roll over and catch fire.

The driver, Krystal Mathis-Aaron, was ejected and seriously injured, according to the police report.

Mathis-Aaron’s front-seat passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. She was identified as Lakeitha Simmons, 50.

Minutes before the deadly crash, White also allegedly passed an ambulance that had its lights and sirens activated.

Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.