Sports
Column: In wake of Kamila Valieva’s disqualification, delayed justice for U.S. figure skaters
Their golden moment is gone, never to be enjoyed as it should have been, on the ice where nine American figure skaters were robbed of a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics team competition because of the doping-fueled performance of Russian teenager Kamila Valieva.
But after nearly two years of plodding investigations and more than a few anxious moments, justice for the U.S. skaters, though delayed, has not been denied. A decision rendered Monday by the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sports confirmed Valieva had committed an anti-doping violation and as a result erased her results at the Olympics and other events from Dec. 25, 2021 onward, suspending her for four years from that date. Based on that ruling, the International Skating Union said Tuesday the U.S. team would be elevated from silver medalists to gold.
No matter where or when their medal ceremony takes place, it won’t have the same immediacy for the Americans as if they had climbed to the top step of the medal stand in Beijing in view of a global audience of millions and were able to proudly wear their medals around the athletes’ village. But it will prove a point beyond affirming the skill of their skating.
It will, ice dancer Evan Bates believes, celebrate a larger principle: that efforts to punish doping are essential to the integrity of sports, no matter the patience, persistence, and vigilance that fight requires.
“Through this entire saga, I think focusing on the positivity that this has been a victory for clean sport, albeit it was a difficult and arduous wait, I think we feel very grateful that this case has had due process and has reached this conclusion here. Maybe not a conclusion, but this finding,” Bates said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters.
“And I think there are so many clean athletes who historically have not had their moment, have not had the recognition they deserved, whether that’s because those doping didn’t get caught or the case didn’t come to trial. Or what have you. There are countless athletes in history, through the decades, that have not had the moment that we have just now had. So we’re extremely happy. We’re extremely pleased. And we’re just really focusing on that and celebrating achievement.”
The decision by CAS can be appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal on procedural grounds. Japan was elevated from third to silver-medal status, but there’s still questions about whether the Russian team, ranked third after the disqualification of Valieva’s scores, will get a bronze medal over fourth-place Canada. The medals were withheld in Beijing, not awarded because of investigations triggered by the disclosure of Valieva’s positive doping test at the Russian championships.
Valieva, then 15, was almost certainly manipulated by the adults around her into taking the prohibited substance trimetazidine, which is used to treat heart conditions and helps the efficiency of blood flow. They wanted the reflected glory of her success but instead turned her into a cautionary tale. Her coaches and federation jeopardized her health and her career. She’s a tragic figure in many ways.
What’s certain after all of this is that the nine Americans will be golden. The team was composed of singles skaters Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, and Karen Chen; pairs skaters Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, and the ice dance duos of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue and Madison Chock and Bates. Of that group, only Chock and Bates are still actively competing, having won their fifth U.S. title last weekend.
“There is no scenario at this point in which Team USA is not the gold-medal winners,” said Sarah Hirshland, chief executive and president of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“We have a high degree of confidence and I have been given very clear direction that we should proceed in awarding gold medals to the United States team, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Hirshland said the new top three teams could be united in one place to be awarded their medals, but she’s not bound by that and is focusing on properly honoring the American skaters. Holding a three-team ceremony would be awkward and unnecessarily bring back memories of Valieva’s joy-sapping cheating.
Chock, who’s from Redondo Beach, acknowledged she had “a small, underlying feeling of maybe a little bit of sadness and disappointment that we didn’t get that Olympic moment,” a weight that vanished when the ruling was announced. Over the last two years, she and her teammates often envisioned their version of the long-delayed ceremony.
“When all of this initially happened, the first thing that came to everyone’s mind was we would love to have a true Olympic medal ceremony, and so for us, that would be a medal ceremony at the Paris Games this summer,” she said. “That would be the dream ceremony. To be able to stand atop a podium at an Olympic event and be there with our families and just to celebrate and be surrounded by the Olympic spirit and the Olympic movement would be our dream scenario.”
Hirshland said she’s “putting champagne on ice” for that occasion in Paris. Bates doesn’t need champagne to celebrate. “I just want to be standing there with all nine of us on the top spot on the podium with the hand over the heart, singing the national anthem,” he said, “and I just can’t wait for that moment to arrive.”
Delayed, but not denied, and that’s what matters.
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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