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Army veteran reaches new heights with Soldiers to Sidelines charity: ‘Puts our veterans at the forefront’

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Army veteran reaches new heights with Soldiers to Sidelines charity: ‘Puts our veterans at the forefront’

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Maurice Allen has worn many different hats in life. He is a U.S. Army veteran, a husband, a father and a football coach. 

He is also a “soldier coach.” 

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Allen, a retired Army communications specialist, is just one of the more than 1,800 “soldier coaches” certified through the veteran charity Soldiers to Sidelines that was able to find a renewed purpose after his military service. 

Maurice Allen enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2012 and served for four years, which included his deployment to Afghanistan in 2014-15. (Maurice Allen)

“I played high school football. I kind of always knew I wanted to be a coach. I was going to go to play college football out of high school and instead went active duty Army and was stationed at Fort Hood,” Allen told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

Allen put his dream of coaching on hold to serve his country and, eventually, to pursue his education. He enlisted in 2012 and served for four years, which included his deployment to Afghanistan in 2014-15. 

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His story is like many others. However, after completing his service, Allen knew he wanted to return to coaching. With that in mind, he earned his Bachelor’s degree and a Masters of Education in Sports Administration at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and later an Education Specialist degree from Valdosta State University. 

During that time, however, Allen was looking for something that was just for veterans. That was when he came across Soldiers to Sidelines. 

He reached out to Harrison Bernstein, the president and founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, a veteran service charity organization whose mission is to provide a renewed sense of purpose to members of the military community through coaching while also serving the youth community. 

They kept in contact and, eventually, Allen was able to attend one of the Soldiers to Sidelines seminars. 

“It’s just an amazing organization that really puts our veterans at the forefront. And it’s something that I strongly believe in, and it’s just been an amazing opportunity.”

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The program is free and is available to veterans, service members, military spouses and gold-star families. (Soldiers to Sidelines)

SOLDIERS TO SIDELINES FOUNDER ON A MISSION TO HELP VETERANS AND GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

Bernstein told Fox News Digital that the idea for a coaching program designed for service members came about in 2010 after his time with the Washington Commanders, where he served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for three years. 

“I was coaching high school football and a colleague of mine was adamant about helping out service members in the area get involved in coaching football, because the news was just riddled with people coming back from the Middle East looking for purpose, looking for a way to reconnect and to find some renewed happiness and purpose,” Bernstein explained. 

“And so it was actually a colleague who suggested that we bring some of the local veterans out to high school football practice and make them part of the team and teach them how to coach football.” 

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Bernstein admitted that he was not initially interested in the idea. He was working on perfecting his own coaching technique with the hopes of returning to the NFL.  But after much persistence, Bernstein obliged and held a seminar that just six people attended. To his surprise, Bernstein’s plans for his future had shifted in that moment and Soldiers to Sidelines was born. 

More than 1,800 soldier coaches have now been certified through the program across eight different sports. Veterans make up 38% of certified coaches, while retired and active duty make up another 25% and 27%. 

The program is free and available to veterans, service members, military spouses, and gold-star families. After completing the certification process, Soldiers to Sidelines offers continued learning with online coursework, webinars, workshops and more. 

Those who have completed the certification process have gone on to coach at all levels. For Bernstein, though, the most impact can be seen in those who coach at the youth level. 

Maurice Allen is the head football coach at South Paulding High School in Georgia. (Maurice Allen)

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Allen currently serves as the head football coach at South Paulding High School in Georgia. He previously coached at different 5A-8A schools across Texas, Florida and Georgia. However, in the spring, Soldiers to Sidelines helped to introduce him to a new opportunity. 

Allen became the first soldier coach to land an internship with an NFL team, the New York Jets. He worked with the team during mandatory minicamp and OTAs. 

“It was just really, really intriguing just to see how they operate and how they practice, the coaching points and how intricate it is coming from high school up to the NFL,” Allen said. “But just to see the level of detail preparation and the ins and outs of the program and how they communicate with each other and the coaching staff communicate. And it was by far one of the best experiences that I’ve been a part of and made some really good connections and got to learn.” 

Maurice Allen was the first “soldier coach” to get an internship with an NFL team this past spring. (Maurice Allen)

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Allen said the experience opened his eyes to the possibility of coaching at the highest level. For now, he is taking all that he learned and repurposing that knowledge within his own community. He is also looking to continue spreading the mission of Soldiers to Sidelines. 

“There’s a team outside of the military that you can join and be a part of, and that’s Soldiers to Sidelines,” Allen said of those service members transitioning out of the military. 

“It gives you a purpose, and you can touch so many lives, whether it be youth, middle school, high school, college or the NFL. There’s so many lives and so many people that you can come in contact with and impact. So my message for any veteran out there that is interested or looking to transition, or even if you’re still active duty and you’re coaching a youth or middle school team, Soldiers to Sidelines is for you.” 

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Danish soccer star suffers medical scare during match years after on-field cardiac arrest

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Danish soccer star suffers medical scare during match years after on-field cardiac arrest

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Denmark’s Christian Eriksen collapsed during his team’s international friendly match against Ukraine on Sunday.

Eriksen, who has a history of collapsing on the pitch, did so again as help rushed out to meet him near midfield.

Thankfully, the Danish Football Union said in a statement that he was “conscious and feeling well under the circumstances.” The 34-year-old’s incident led to the game being abandoned.

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Christian Eriksen of Denmark looks on during the UEFA International Friendly match between DR Congo and Denmark at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liege, Belgium, on June 3, 2026. (Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto)

Denmark was up, 2-1, on Ukraine in the 61st minute at the time of Eriksen’s collapse.

Eriksen previously starred for Tottenham and Manchester United in the English Premier League. He currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg in 2. Bundesliga.

SOCCER PLAYER DIES AT 21 AFTER COLLISION WITH OPPONENT DURING MATCH

During the European Championship between Denmark and Finland in June 2021, play was suspended after a terrifying scene where Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch in the first half of the game.

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Play immediately came to a halt at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, where Eriksen was lying on the grass unresponsive. CPR was needed to resuscitate him, as medical staff and teammates made a circle around his body in clear distress, hoping for the best.

Denmark’s and Ukraine’s players accompany Christian Eriksen to an ambulance during a friendly match at Odense Stadium in Denmark on June 7, 2026, after he collapsed on the field. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Eriksen received 10 minutes of medical care and was later taken off the pitch on a stretcher with an oxygen mask around his mouth. Images began to circulate on social media at the time, showing Eriksen awake and having a hand on his forehead.

Eriksen was later transferred to a hospital and was stabilized.

Since that moment, Eriksen was fitted with a heart-starting device called an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

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Denmark’s team doctor Morten Boesen released a statement via multiple outlets, stating Eriksen’s “pacemaker is responding as it should.”

Christian Eriksen of Denmark looks on during a UEFA international friendly between DR Congo and Denmark at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liege, Belgium, on June 3, 2026. (Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto)

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“He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him,” Boesen’s statement read.

“He will not undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital. But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was okay.”

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Commentary: Dodgers show courage by permanently honoring LGBTQ+ pioneers Glenn Burke and Billy Bean

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Commentary: Dodgers show courage by permanently honoring LGBTQ+ pioneers Glenn Burke and Billy Bean

Let’s go Dodgers. High fives all around.

Because this time, with the newest historical exhibit at Dodger Stadium, the team got it right.

Amid all the historical installations and tributes in the open-air museum that is the Centerfield Plaza, and just a few feet from a Fernando Valenzuela mural, a new display honors Glenn Burke and Billy Bean, two former Dodgers outfielders who were the first and second professional baseball players to come out as gay.

It’s not a fleeting mention on Pride night, it’s a permanent record. A static reminder of progress made — and still to be made. And a much-deserved thank-you.

A wall inside Dodger Stadium honors former Dodgers and LGBTQ+ pioneers Billy Bean and Glenn Burke.

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(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“It’ll be here tomorrow, it’ll be here on the weekend and if you come next month, it’ll be here,” said the Dodgers’ team historian Mark Langill, who pointed to a spot just down the hall where in 1976 he was an 11-year-old getting Burke’s autograph.

Baseball is steeped in such history. The personal, the statistical, the societal. And the Dodgers’ is incomplete without their stories — Burke’s and Bean’s.

But the Dodgers have not, of course, always gotten this stuff right.

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In 1978, they did Burke wrong, trading him — he believed — after management learned he was gay.

In his three seasons in L.A., Burke had proved himself a capable reserve outfielder who was popular with his teammates.

As far as we know, in 1977, he was the first guy to initiate a high five — spontaneously reaching above his head to slap hands with Dusty Baker after the home run that made Baker the fourth Dodger, along with Ron Cey, Steve Garvey and Reggie Smith, to hit at least 30 home runs that season, a MLB first.

Glenn Burke, left, goes to give a high-five to teammate Dusty Baker after Baker hit a home run in 1977.

Glenn Burke, left, goes to give a high-five to teammate Dusty Baker after Baker hit a home run in 1977. It is believed to be the first instance a high five was exchanged.

(Los Angeles Times)

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There’s a fantastic photo of the historic high five included in the tribute to Burke and Bean, which is situated on a hallway wall beneath the left-field bleachers, beside the “Dodger Dugout” augmented reality photo booth.

Burke was also the first guy in that Dodgers clubhouse to crack a joke when the team needed it, his former teammate Rick Monday said.

“When called upon, he could play really well,” Monday said before the Dodgers took the field against the Angels on Friday, when the Dodgers and many of their rainbow-sporting fans celebrated the team’s 13th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night. “And when we needed a moment of levity, Glenn was not afraid to come forward and put a smile on people’s face.”

But shortly before he died of AIDS in 1995 at 42, Burke published an autobiography, “Out at Home,” in which he described the team’s management being “afraid of my sexual orientation, even though I never flaunted it. To this day, the Dodgers deny trading me because I was gay. But it was painfully obvious.”

“Oh, what he had to deal with and keep it hid,” said Joyce Burke-Henderson, one of Glenn’s sisters at Friday’s pregame unveiling, where family members of both players gasped and cried and cheered the installation’s reveal.

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“But as time went on, people did know. And then I think he came to the point where he just didn’t care and he just told it like it was.”

Joyce Henderson, sister of Glenn Burke, speaks about her brother during a ceremony honoring the former Dodger.

Joyce Henderson, sister of Glenn Burke, speaks about her brother during a ceremony honoring the former Dodger and LGBTQ+ pioneer at Dodger Stadium Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Burke came out in 1982, three years after playing his 225th and final big league game, in an Inside Sports article, “The Double Life of a Gay Dodger.”

“We just appreciate that now people are opening their eyes and just trusting in the Lord,” Burke-Henderson said Friday, “that things will go forward and work out and everybody will be loved regardless of their situation.”

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The Dodgers first honored Burke in 2022, at their ninth Pride Night.

The next season, they made a mess of the Pride festivities, inviting and uninviting and then reinviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group known for its work in support of AIDS patients and whose members dress in drag, as nuns.

In 2023, the Dodgers also invited Bean — who was MLB’s senior vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He appeared in a pregame ceremony on the field while protesters gathered outside the stadium.

Bean died the next year, at 60, 11 months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Greg Baker, husband of the late Billy Bean, wipes away tears during a tribute honor Bean as a LGBTQ+ pioneer.

Greg Baker, husband of the late Billy Bean, wipes away tears during a tribute honor Bean as a LGBTQ+ pioneer at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

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Once a Northeast Santa Ana Little Leaguer, Bean became valedictorian at Santa Ana High, played for Loyola Marymount and went on to appear in 272 big-league games — including 51 for the Dodgers in 1989 — before abruptly walking away from baseball in 1995.

It got to be too much, he’d explain later, continuing to hustle to keep his baseball career afloat while keeping his sexuality secret, acutely aware of the blowback he’d get if it got out.

“For nine years,” he told the New York Times, “I felt as though I had one foot in the major leagues and one on a banana peel.”

“When he left baseball suddenly, I knew something was wrong,” Bean’s mother, Linda Kovac, said Friday, pausing to wipe away tears. “He was playing very well, it wasn’t like he was kicked out or anything. And it just didn’t make any sense.”

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When Bean finally told his family he was gay, in 1996 — three years before clueing in an unsuspecting public via a Miami Herald article — none of his loved ones blinked. That included his stepfather, Ed Kovac, the homicide cop and former Marine who’d had a partner on the force who was gay.

“He worked with someone that he respected, side by side, on criminal cases,” Linda said. “We’re still friends with that guy.”

Linda and Ed Kovac, parents of Billy Bean, hold hands in front of a tribute dedicated to their son at Dodger Stadium.

Linda and Ed Kovac, parents of Billy Bean, hold hands in front of a tribute dedicated to their son at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Knowing someone — or of someone — who is gay or lesbian has long tended to dispel falsehoods and quell fears that might exist.

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“One of the most important things any one of us can do in our community is be out, to be proud,” said Greg Baker, Bean’s husband. “The fact that someone can be out in a world that typically doesn’t have a lot of role models of the same ilk, it’s a brave thing to stick your neck out. It’s also very important.”

And it’s not a surprise, Baker said, that more athletes aren’t out in sports like baseball. Not with Gallup polling released last week telling us that with public acceptance of same-sex marriage and relationships in the U.S. has flattened after two-plus decades of growing support — down from 71% to about 65%.

“I want to thank the Dodgers organization,” Baker said. “It’s brave of them in this day and age to spotlight someone in our community when other organizations are trying to erase us.”

The Dodgers have done the opposite, putting up a permanent marker. A long time coming, a tribute to last.

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Golden Knights beat Hurricanes in double OT Game 3, one of the wildest Stanley Cup Final games of all-time

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Golden Knights beat Hurricanes in double OT Game 3, one of the wildest Stanley Cup Final games of all-time

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The Stanley Cup Final shifted to Las Vegas for Game 3 with the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes knotted at 1-1 after splitting the opening two games in Raleigh.

And, as you’d expect from the Golden Knights, this one got started with some theatrics, plus a little help from the city’s latest hope at quarterback, who was getting in on the festivities.

That’s right. Who better to put on siren duty than Raiders draft pick and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza?

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

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There was a big surprise when the game got underway: Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb — who took a slapshot straight to the face on Thursday in Game 2 — was in the Vegas lineup, albeit with a full cage.

It goes without saying, but hockey players are just built different.

The first period was physical but ultimately scoreless, with Carolina getting more offensive opportunities, leading Vegas in shots 7-2.

Vegas captain Mark Stone found the back of the net just 36 seconds into the second period; however, it was ruled offside after a Carolina challenge.

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A few minutes later, Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel found the back of the net, but Carolina challenged this goal as well after Vegas’ Ivan Barbashev made contact with Canes goalie Frederik Andersen’s head.

It was another cut-and-dried review that kept a Golden Knights tally off the board.

The first penalty of the night was a self-inflicted one, when the Hurricanes were called for too many men, and it didn’t take long for Tomas Hertl to make them pay.

Then, just moments later — 16 seconds to be exact — Mitch Marner was credited with a goal after Carolina defenseman Sean Walker tipped his shot into the back of his own net.

But, hey, those own goals are no fun; Marner wanted to get one the old-fashioned way, which he did.

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What’s that, you want more?

Well, Mitch Marner — who is having the playoffs of his life — had more for you.

That’s right, Marner potted a hat trick in just six minutes and 10 seconds. That’s an NHL record.

Although, I bet The Rocket’s first goal of his lightning-quick hatty wasn’t an own goal, but hey, they count the same.

Vegas star Mitch Marner took over in the second period of Game 3 with a natural hat trick in just six minutes and ten seconds. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)

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What a performance. Maybe he was just doing that so that the next time the team puts him on a rally towel it actually looks like him.

After the second intermission, Andersen was pulled in favor of Brand Bussi, who made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.

Carolina was in a state of disarray in the third, and after going on a power play, Sebastian Aho slashed Marner, who was headed to the net on a short-handed breakaway.

Marner was awarded a penalty shot, but Bussi didn’t give him much to shoot at, and Marner missed his attempt on the backhand.

While it may have looked bleak after a dominant second for Vegas, in the third, Carolina dropped the fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Final history to make it a game. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images))

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Carolina’s Jordan Martinook got the Hurricanes on the board a little under halfway through the third period to make it 4-1.

Just moments later, Taylor Hall tacked on another one to cut Vegas’ lead to 4-2.

And, while they’re doing goals, how about you just throw a Jordan Staal tally in there?

Carolina scored those three goals in 39 seconds, the fastest three goals by a single team in Stanley Cup Final history, making what looked like a no-doubt Vegas win into a game once again.

Carolina killed off a delay-of-game penalty, which was crucial for staying in the game.

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Then, Vegas’ Shea Theodore airmailed a puck into the stands for delay of game, giving Carolina a late power play.

Then — as if it couldn’t get wilder — Andrei Svechnikov tied the game on the power play and with the goalie pulled.

And with that, it was off to overtime for the second game in a row.

In the extra frame, both teams got their share of chances and opportunities to put a pin in this one and hit the craps tables, but the first overtime period didn’t yield a winner.

In the second overtime, we finally got a winner, and as wild as this game was, it was only fitting that the game-winner would be unbelievable.

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That’s the same Shea Theodore, by the way, who skied the puck into the stands to set up the tying goal, and he did it after 39 minutes of ice time.

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Vegas players Brett Howden (21), Shea Theodore (center), and Mitch Marner (93) celebrate the game-winning goal in double overtime. (Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images)

What. A. Game.

I think after this one, Game 4 — which will be on Tuesday in Las Vegas — is officially appointment viewing.

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