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
Seattle Seahawks Legends Marshawn Lynch and Earl Thomas Debut on 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot
The 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions concluded on Saturday with Devin Hester, Patrick Willis, Julius Peppers, Andre Johnson, Randy Gradishar, Steve McMichael, and Dwight Freeney getting their busts in Canton.
Now that the Hall of Fame festivities are behind us, the question now becomes, who is next?
Eligible for the 2025 Hall of Fame ballot are Aqib Talib, Cameron Wake, Joe Staley, Clay Matthews, Marshal Yanda, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri, Luke Kuechly, and Eli Manning.
Plus, two Seahawks will make their debuts on the ballot. Earl Thomas and Marshawn Lynch were both instrumental in bringing Seattle their first Super Bowl trophy. Now, they are eligible for the Hall of Fame. What are their chances for enshrinement? Let’s dive in.
With the 14th overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Seahawks picked the standout safety from Texas, Earl Thomas. He became an instant starter and was a staple in the Seattle secondary for the next eight-plus seasons. Between 2011 and 2015, he earned five straight Pro Bowl nods and three consecutive First Team All-Pro selections. Through his nine seasons in Seattle, he earned at least Second Team All-Pro honors in five of them.
During Seattle’s Super Bowl run in 2013, he put together a season worthy of player of the year consideration. In 16 games, he tallied 105 tackles and pulled in five interceptions. Eventually, that earned him third place in Defensive Player of the Year Award voting. He put together three separate seasons of five interceptions.
He assembled a similar Hall of Fame resume to current Hall of Famer John Lynch. The former Bucs and Broncos safety earned nine Pro Bowl nods with four All-Pro seasons. Thomas has seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro seasons. Lynch had 26 interceptions and Thomas had 30. Both of them notched one Super Bowl title. Thomas even played in one more playoff game than John Lynch, both with two interceptions in the postseason. Thomas has a compelling argument for Canton.
Unfortunately, his playing career in Seattle ended on a sour note, with him being carted off the field due to injury and making an inappropriate gesture towards the Seahawks sidelines. He signed a deal with the Ravens ahead of the 2019 season and put together another Pro Bowl-caliber year.
During the 2020 preseason, the Ravens abrutptly released Thomas due to “personal conduct that has adversely affected the Baltimore Ravens.” Between 2020 and 2022, several troubling incidents occurred, including his wife being arrested after holding him at gunpoint and him being arrested after he violated a court protective order by sending messages to a woman about her and her children. He never saw the field in the NFL again after 2019.
Given how his career ended and some of the off-field issues he’s had, some may hold that against him in voting. However, no one can deny Thomas was clearly one of the best football players of the 2010s decade. In fact, he was voted part of the coveted Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2010 Team. That bodes well for induction someday.
“Beast Mode” is one of the most interesting football players to ever play in the NFL. On one hand, he was constantly aloof with the media. On the other, he was one of the most captivating running backs of this generation. A product of Oakland, California and a standout at Cal, Lynch took a less direct journey to Seahawks stardom compared to Thomas.
The Buffalo Bills drafted Lynch 12th overall in 2007 and he became a Pro Bowler in 2008. Before even slipping on the Seahawks uniform for the first time, Lynch had already put together two 1,000-yard seasons in Buffalo. The Seahawks traded for Lynch in the middle of Pete Carroll’s first year of 2010.
Fans remember the run to the playoffs that year, with Lynch punctuating it with one of the most memorable individual runs in NFL history. How many players have a play with an iconic nickname? The Immaculate Reception. The Helmet Catch in Super Bowl XLIII. The Catch by Clark from Montana.
Then there’s “Beast Quake.” Lynch helped the Seahawks seal a playoff win against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints with a 67-yard touchdown run where he broke nine different tackles. The score sent then-Qwest Field into such a frenzy, that it registered on the local seismograph charts that usually measure earthquakes.
But to be a Hall of Famer, you need more than just one big play. Lynch has big moments in spades. He helped lead one of the most physical running games in recent memory as Seattle bullied their way to back-to-back Super Bowls, with one championship.
As a running back, he needs career totals to measure up to the all-time greats. He has that. While he is just 29th in career rushing yards (still higher than Earl Campbell, Shaun Alexander, and Terrell Davis), he ranks 17th in touchdowns, ahead of Hall of Famers Edgerrin James, Tony Dorsett, and Earl Campbell. Plus, he did serious damage in the postseason and currently sits fourth all-time in postseason rushing touchdowns.
He adds five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro seasons to his resume. His run between 2011 and 2014 will be tough to match for any modern running back, averaging over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns from scrimmage in that four-season window. He also holds more than 15 Seahawks franchise records.
Off the field, Lynch has had a a few driving-related incidents with police, most recently a DUI charge in August of 2022. But he’s also done a lot of good, raising money for local charities and starting his own business. He remains a captivating character in pop culture, making appearances in shows like Brooklyn 99, The Great American Baking Show, and more.
Lynch has a strong case for the Hall of Fame. Indeed, his coldness to the media as a player might turn off some. But the numbers are tough to ignore and his peak years are unmatched in the 2010s decade. Which, like Thomas, earned him a spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2010 Team. He may not be a first ballot Hall of Famer, with plenty of legends of the game on the ballot, including rollovers that just missed the cut in 2024, but he makes a compelling argument to have a bust in Canton in the coming few years.
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.”
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Las Vegas could be years away from landing an NBA expansion team, but the league’s commissioner is now offering a clearer sense of the timeline.
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told “The Dan Patrick Show” that Seattle and Las Vegas remain the cities the NBA is focused on if it expands. “If we expand, at least we’re thinking ’28-29 season,” Silver said.
Silver had previously signaled before that March meeting that Seattle and Las Vegas were at the center of the expansion discussion, while cautioning that no decision had been made.
“We will make decisions in 2026,” Silver said in February.
At the time, Silver said the league was not expected to vote in March but could emerge from those meetings ready to take the next step and begin discussions with potential ownership groups.
Las Vegas has long been viewed as Seattle’s most likely expansion partner if the NBA grows from 30 to 32 teams. Silver, however, has repeatedly said the league could expand by two teams, one team, or not at all.
The potential of an NBA Las Vegas expansion team has already drawn interest. This week, majority owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, Bill Foley, announced he is putting together a bid for the expansion team in Las Vegas.
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