Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalized, can be an opportunity to change minds.
Seattle, WA
‘Decisive’ Darnold stars with 4 TDs in Seahawks win
LANDOVER, Md. — At halftime of the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium, Sam Darnold had four touchdown passes and zero incompletions, having connected on all 16 of his attempts.
He didn’t know it until someone told him — a no-no in football akin to talking about a no-hitter in baseball.
“Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion,” Darnold said after the 38-14 victory. “It was pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.”
By the time Darnold missed for the first time, the Seahawks were well on their way to a win that improved their record to 6-2 — and boosted their quarterback’s MVP odds in the process.
“Not going to say who it was,” Darnold said with a smile, refusing to give up the culprit.
Darnold finished 21-of-24 for 330 yards, four touchdowns and one interception before he was pulled in favor of Drew Lock with just over seven minutes left. That was good enough for a Total QBR of 97.8, the best in any game of his eight-year NFL career.
According to ESPN Research, there have been four instances of a player recording a QBR of 97 or higher in a game this season, and Darnold has three of them. The others are his performances against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 (97.4) and the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 (97.3). Darnold’s three such games are tied with Tom Brady (2007), Tony Romo (2014) and Lamar Jackson (2019) for the most by a starting quarterback in a season since ESPN began tracking Total QBR in 2006.
“Sam’s execution right now, he’s just ridiculous,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “All the things we’ve talked about that he’s been doing, but decisive, making smart decisions, our receivers are doing a great job, I thought the protection was really good.”
The Seahawks were short-handed at receiver, with Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo and Dareke Young all inactive. It didn’t look like it, though, with Darnold throwing touchdown passes on each of Seattle’s first four possessions. He connected twice with rookie Tory Horton — who assumed Kupp’s role of WR2 — before hitting rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo and veteran receiver Cody White.
Darnold’s 87.5% completion rate was the second-highest in a game in Seahawks history (minimum of 10 attempts), behind only Russel Wilson’s 88.6% in a 2020. By completing his first 17 passes, he tied the franchise record that Warren Moon set in 1998, which was also to begin the game.
“Believe me when I say it, I’m not surprised,” Macdonald said of Darnold’s completion streak. “We watch Sam every day and how he operates, and he’s the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. We’re chasing it. The guys are determined and it’s fun to watch, When the team comes together, that’s the type of stuff you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way. Our coaches deserve a lot of credit. I thought [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak] called a great game.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba extended his NFL lead in receiving with 129 yards on eight catches, marking the sixth time in eight games he’s topped triple digits.
Smith-Njigba was asked about the etiquette observed with a quarterback who’s off to a perfect start.
“We stay away from him a little bit and just let him do his thing,” he said. “I think somebody might’ve broke the news to him, but yeah, honestly, I didn’t know. We were just in such a flow and just out there dealing, so it was great to see that.”
According to ESPN Research, Darnold began the day with 60-1 odds to win MVP, per ESPN Bet. Those odds had improved to 18-1 by the end of the game.
With their win, the Seahawks improved to 4-0 on the road this season and 11-1 since the start of last season.
The Seahawks lost middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV to a knee injury and cornerback Josh Jobe to a concussion in the second quarter. Macdonald said of Jones’ injury, “It’s not season-ending, but we’ll see how it goes.”
SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
Seattle, WA
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post
Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place and Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, ahead of December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organizers designated the June 26 match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.”
Then the draw happened — and the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body FIFA to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural and religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with FIFA.
Some in Seattle have doubts over the teams in the ‘Pride Match’
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned.
“The World Cup is going to come and go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organizing committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration … has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years.
“It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.”
Some in the city’s LGBTQ community had mixed feelings given the participants, said Jon Cairns, 49, manager of local LGBTQ+ club Kremwerk.
Cairns, however, said his own view was that it provided a platform to promote acceptance that only the world’s biggest sporting event could offer.
“My reaction is let’s have them,” he told Reuters. “International sports is one of the biggest brokers historically of social change and individual rights and freedoms worldwide, including in the U.S.”
He cited black U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised-fist protest in 1968 as moments where “only international sports could reach that big of an audience.”
“They’re not going to turn off the World Cup on state television in Iran or Egypt to block out a Pride flag in the audience,” Cairns said.
The Pride Match is “a host city initiative” and separate of FIFA, a spokesperson for soccer’s governing body told Reuters.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community sees an opportunity
Egypt and Iran’s involvement in the Pride Match is not the first time the World Cup has grappled with stark differences in attitudes between hosts and visitors.
In 2022 World Cup host Qatar, the emir said visitors should “respect our culture” when asked about gay people attending the tournament.
FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the “OneLove” armband, citing its rules against political slogans. Teams including England and the Netherlands that had been planning to wear the armbands to protest Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships abandoned the plan.
For Ryan Webster, a 40-year-old lifestyle manager who was at Kremwerk the weekend before Pride, Seattle’s “Pride Match” was an opportunity to show solidarity with people in countries where their sexuality was outlawed.
“I’m choosing to believe that this is our moment to allow the members of the LGBTQ community that come from those countries to have the opportunity to celebrate themselves in totality that they might not have otherwise,” he said outside the club, which will host a watch party for Friday’s game.
Inside, ‘Venus Fengz’ lip-synced to Cher’s “Believe” before introducing fellow drag performers to the stage, clapped and cheered by a raucous crowd.
Fengz, who only wanted to provide their stage name, said Pride coinciding with the World Cup would bring increased visibility, anticipating perhaps some new audience members.
“I think it’s always great for us to be able to share space and share places with people who don’t have the same experiences as us,” they told Reuters.
“Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person and show grace where you can and know that everyone is a human learning (from) different experiences, but also it can get hard — because you’re on the shorter end of the stick, always trying to have to explain yourself around people who don’t grow up with the same worldview.”
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