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Kiki Stokes Discusses the Tweet Heard ‘Round the World

Courtesy of This is Us Softball

Kiki Stokes was on the field playing for Scrap Yard Fast Pitch on June 22nd when the team’s GM, Connie May, tweeted at President Donald Trump, bragging that the whole team had stood for the anthem. That night, the entire team quit in protest of having been unwillingly used to make a political statement, cutting short what was supposed to be a summer-long series with the USSSA Pride. Days later, the 18 players announced they were making a new team, called This is Us. Below, Stokes walks us through the events of the last two weeks and what comes next. 

The last two weeks have been crazy. Can you describe what happened from your perspective, starting with what went down after that first game? 

So the game ended and we were all kind of walking into the locker room at different times. I sat down in my seat and I had picked up my phone and I noticed that I got a text message from one of my teammates, Kelsey Stewart. It was a screenshot of the tweet. In that moment, I guess, I didn’t really know how to view the tweet or how to take it. I just had to sit there for a second and comprehend it all. And as more and more of my teammates were coming into the locker room, everybody’s starting to see the same thing. So at that point it became really heated in the locker room, because we knew exactly who had put out the tweet. We were trying to figure out where to go next. I think one of the biggest things was, “Kiki, how do you feel? What do you want to do in this moment?”

And I really couldn’t say a ton. I was just overwhelmed, and I felt betrayed. That’s the best way to put it. And immediately, in that moment, everybody was like, “We’re done. We’re going to walk out. This is it. We’re done.” About 10, 15 minutes after that, our coaches walked in and expressed their apologies. They had just gotten the news as well. And they had told us whatever we wanted to do, they were going to be a hundred percent behind us. And they stuck by that. They chose to walk out of their jobs as well.

When did Connie May address the team? 

About 30 minutes after that, because we asked if the GM could come into the locker room. Because obviously as a team, we wanted to talk about it. And immediately, the first thing that she did was try to justify why she said what she said. In that moment, a bunch of team members started speaking up about why what she did was wrong, and what we were going to do as a team. She kept trying to say her two cents. She kept chiming in. At one point, she started repeating, “All Lives Matter.”

That was my cue. I started to pack up my things as she kept talking, and of course my teammates are still chiming in trying to tell her why she was wrong. And then she says, “Well, this is a really uncomfortable situation for me.” And at the time, I mean, I was the only black person in the locker room.

I realized, she doesn’t understand, she’s not comprehending anything of what we’re saying. She’s just thinking about her own feelings, to be honest. So I just walked out of the locker room. She tried to stop me saying, “Kiki, wait, let me explain.” And at that point again, I’m just a mess. So I walk out. About a minute later, my teammates are right behind me. Everyone’s cleaned out their lockers and they’re leaving.

I’d heard that she was just talking in circles and that players started walking out. I didn’t realize you were the one to really lead that. 

That’s the best way to describe it. She was talking in circles. I mean, I was obviously crying and as were some of my teammates. It was just really, really disheartening to know that she did what she did to fit her own agenda. It’s not even like we had had a discussion prior to the game. Were we going to stand? Were we going to kneel?

That was never a discussion that any of us had had amongst each other or as a team or as an organization. So for her to just do that while we were playing and blindsiding all of us was just so disrespectful and insensitive to everything that’s going on right now in our world and within the Black community. And so I think walking out was a really easy decision for everybody. It wasn’t even a question. I mean, it was like, “What do we do? Okay, we’re done? All right, cool.” Jerseys came off and that was that.

Wow.

Yeah. It was a really quick decision for everybody. I don’t even think anybody thought twice about it. I mean, for myself, I was just like, “Yeah, I’m leaving. I can’t play for an organization that doesn’t stand behind me.” It was powerful, though, because some of these girls I’ve only known for a week or two, and the fact that they would go to bat for me and stand behind me just goes to show the character that we have on our team.

I remember seeing the Tweet live and just thinking, what? And then hearing about what happened in the locker room after was so disheartening. But that’s so powerful to know your teammates were willing to have your back, no discussion needed. 

Mm-hmm [affirmative]. It was a really cool moment looking back. I mean, the fact that I was only outside the locker room for a moment, and then I turned around and saw everybody else was right there with me. That was a really cool moment. But again, it’s gone to show, you do the right thing and you stand up for what you believe in. As women, we have to put our foot down, especially when our voices have been taken, after we’ve fought for so long to have our voices heard. The fact that we did that, it speaks volumes of all of us and who we are.

Absolutely. Speaking of your collective power, can you talk to me a little bit about This Is Us Softball? Where did the initial idea come from? 

We kind of came up with this right after the game. That first night, our media director helped us come up with a statement. We could each write our own, but the initial statement was “This isn’t us,” in terms of what the tweet said. That wasn’t us. We didn’t have anything to do with it. We were blindsided by that.

I think making a new team was the obvious next stop. Everybody was like, “Okay. As long as we’re not tied to Scrap Yard or the general manager, we’re good. We’re going to keep playing. It’ll be on our terms.” And so then that next day, we were all thinking about names, and we said, “Well, what about This Is Us? Everything that we are doing now, this is us. This isn’t Connie, this isn’t whoever else is involved in the picture. This is us doing everything from here on out. This is us.”

And the USSSA Pride has been very, very supportive in everything that we’re doing. I think it was easy for them to just stand behind us and be like, “Well, we still want to play too. We’ll find a way to do it.” And literally within days, we had shirts and all of it to be able to do it.

How would you describe the new team’s mission? 

The best way to put it is it’s a group of us now that are going to stand on empowerment, unity and awareness, as far as educating the softball community about the things that need to be better. And whether it be in our game or just in life itself, I think that we’re really just striving to show people now that when one person messes up, there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel.

The speed at which you guys brought everything together is incredible. I mean, you already have t-shirts being printed and sold. 

I think this just goes to show all the resources that all of us have as a unit and as a team. When you put all those things together and you have people who were reaching out before we could even ask for a hand, it just goes to show how powerful our movement is and how much it meant to a lot of people that we stood up for what we believed in. Everybody that has donated, those are the people that really are making everything that we want to happen, happen.

How have you been handling all this mentally? I can’t imagine trying to organize all this and stay focused on your sport. 

It has been, honestly. When people ask, “How has it been?” I’m like, “honestly, it’s been overwhelming.” The softball part of it, actually being able to go and play softball, has been the best part because it’s our release. But all the stuff behind the scenes has been so stressful. And it really does suck because none of us are specialized in any of this stuff when it comes to the logistics of how to make something work. And everything costs money. So it’s hard. It’s hard to navigate through it all, but we have so much help, and we’re all on board. So that makes it easier. And when we see that we are inspiring people and that our story is being told all over the place, I think that’s what kind of keeps us motivated and keeps us going.

Do you think this is a temporary phenomenon, or is This is US something you hope will continue well after this summer? 

I think this is the beginning of something that’s going to have longevity. I think all of us want to be a part of making sure that this is something that can change our game and change the way we view professional softball. In the beginning, did we think it was temporary? Absolutely. But as it started growing and becoming more and more inspiring and powerful to people, I think we’ve changed our thinking around completely. Now it’s like, this is something that we have to continue to do and we want to continue to do. It’s become a long-term vision.

PWHL Stars Emerge as Season Revs Up

Montréal captain Marie-Philip Poulin scores a goal during a PWHL game.
Montréal's Marie-Philip Poulin has four goals and two assists on the season. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Behind a string of stellar performances, PWHL standouts Marie-Philip Poulin (Montréal), Corinne Schroeder (New York), and Sidney Morin (Boston) emerged as Monday's Stars of the Week.

After scoring two goals — including the superhero-style game-winner — in Wednesday's sold-out Takeover Tour win, Victoire captain Poulin registered an assist in front a record-breaking Denver crowd on Sunday to claim a three-point week.

Saturday belonged to Fleet defender Morin, who recorded a career-high five shots and notched both goals in Boston's 2-1 overtime win over Ottawa, doubling her single-goal scoring record last season.

New York Sirens goaltender Corinne Schroeder defends the net during a PWHL game.
Corinne Schroeder is the first-ever PWHL goalie with back-to-back shutouts. (Rich Graessle/Getty Images)

The puck stops with Sirens goalie Corinne Schroeder

Sirens goaltender Schroeder made PWHL history on Sunday, becoming the first-ever goalie to record back-to-back regular-season shutouts.

New York's 1-0 victory over Toronto also made a mark, becoming the PWHL's first-ever scoreless game in regulation before New York's Jessie Eldridge found the back of the net in overtime.

Schroeder, who tops the league in average goals against (1.86) while sharing the lead in wins (5) and save percentage (0.935), hasn't conceded a goal in over 156 minutes of play.

"I think Schroeder has been our number one goalie for a long time," said Sirens coach Greg Fargo after the game. "She's been demonstrating the level of her play since day one, but there's a calmness to her game and a competitiveness that we really like right now."

How to watch PWHL games this week

While teams jockey for points one-third of the way through the PWHL's second season, individual athletes are separating themselves from the pack by tearing up the stat sheet.

The PWHL's stars are back on the ice in midweek action. First, the Toronto Sceptres visit the Ottawa Charge on Tuesday at 7 PM ET.

Then, Schroeder will try to add a third shutout to her record-setting goaltending streak when the New York Sirens host the league-leading Minnesota Frost at 7 PM ET on Wednesday.

Both games will stream live on YouTube.

Big Win Keeps No. 2 South Carolina Atop NCAA Basketball AP Poll Ranks

South Carolina's Raven Johnson dribbles against Texas's Rori Harmon during Sunday's NCAA basketball game.
South Carolina held Texas to 27.8% from the field on Sunday. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

An unfazed No. 2 South Carolina isn't letting injury​ slow them down, earning their season's first Top 5 NCAA basketball win with a dominant 67-50 victory over No. 5 Texas on Sunday.

The Gamecocks' trademark lock-down defense was in full force, holding the Longhorns to a field goal percentage of 27.8 despite Texas's 22 forced turnovers.

"I would say with our team, they seem to really focus in when there's a number beside our opponent, they practice a little better," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said of her squad's tough ranked schedule. "They’re more focused, they talk less. They knew the intangibles of this game would play a huge role in us winning or losing."

Coming off an undefeated championship season, South Carolina has taken their knocks while also proving just how capable they are of a repeat win.

The Gamecocks saw their 43-game winning streak snapped by No. 1 UCLA in November before losing key contributor Ashlyn Watkins to an ACL tear earlier this month.

At the same time, South Carolina has now tallied five ranked wins on the season — four of them over Top 10 teams. The Gamecocks are looking comfortable as they enter a particularly grueling stretch of conference play, with No. 19 Alabama and No. 13 Oklahoma waiting to try and topple the current champs later this week.

Michigan's Jordan Hobbs dribbles around Minnesota's Amaya Battle during a 2024 NCAA basketball game.
While Michigan fell from Monday's NCAA basketball rankings, Minnesota made its first poll since 2019. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Ranked losses fuel AP basketball poll movement

Today's AP poll update saw significant shifts throughout Division I basketball's Top 25, with elite teams cooling off as the NCAA season heats up.

While No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 3 Notre Dame, and No. 4 USC held steady, the Longhorns' loss to the Gamecocks earned them a two-spot dip to No. 7.

Elsewhere in the Top 10, LSU's still-undefeated campaign saw the Tigers rise one notch into the No. 5 position, as UConn also capitalized on Texas's misfortune, coming in one spot higher than last week at No. 6.

Deeper into the Top 25, Georgia Tech and Iowa suffered some of the week's biggest tumbles. After adding Sunday defeats to their Thursday losses, the once-unbeaten Yellow Jackets fell four spots to No. 17, while Iowa joined fellow Big Ten member Michigan in being ousted from Monday's rankings entirely.

Snagging the largest leaps in Monday's poll were No. 14 UNC and No. 18 Cal, whose ranked upset wins boosted them five and six spots, respectively.

Two teams also joined the AP party, as two-loss Oklahoma State and one-loss Minnesota enter tied at No. 24. Both teams are making their poll debuts for the first time in years: The last time the Cowgirls were ranked was in 2018, and the Golden Gophers's last Top 25 appearance was in 2019.

Week 11 AP college basketball poll

1. UCLA (16-0, Big Ten)
2. South Carolina (16-1, SEC)
3. Notre Dame (14-2, ACC)
4. USC (16-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (19-0, SEC)
6. UConn (15-2, Big East)
7. Texas (16-2, SEC)
8. Maryland (15-1, Big Ten)
9. Ohio State (16-0, Big Ten)
10. TCU (17-1, Big 12)
11. Kansas State (17-1, Big 12)
12. Kentucky (15-1, SEC)
13. Oklahoma (14-3, SEC)
14. UNC (15-3, ACC)
15. Tennessee (14-2, SEC)
16. Duke (13-4, ACC)
17. Georgia Tech (15-2, ACC)
18. Cal (16-2, ACC)
19. Alabama (16-2, SEC)
20. West Virginia (13-3, Big 12)
21. NC State (12-4, ACC)
22. Michigan State (13-3, Big Ten)
23. Utah (13-3, Big 12)
T24. Minnesota (16-1, Big Ten)
T24. Oklahoma State (14-2, Big 12)

Canada Soccer Hires Casey Stoney as Women’s National Team Head Coach

Casey Stoney enters the field before a San Diego Wave match.
Stoney coached the Wave to the 2023 NWSL Shield. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Ex-San Diego Wave boss Casey Stoney is taking over head coaching duties for the Canadian women's national soccer team, Canada Soccer confirmed on Monday morning.

Stoney replaces longtime coach Bev Priestman, who is currently serving a one-year suspension from FIFA for her role in the 2024 Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal.

Canada Soccer officially fired Priestman in November 2024, after an independent investigation into a drone spotted hovering over New Zealand's Olympic training session found Canada's coaching staff liable.

Immediately following the incident, Canada saw six points deducted from their Olympic group stage standing. The 2021 gold medalists eventually lost to Germany in the quarterfinals.

Stoney jumps from club to country

This will be Stoney's first time leading a national team, making the professional leap after San Diego abruptly fired the decorated former England defender and captain in June 2024.

Prior to her NWSL tenure, Stoney made her head coaching debut with Manchester United. She led the club to an FA Championship trophy in the team's inaugural 2018/19 season, earning the team promotion into the WSL.

After joining the NWSL's California expansion side in 2021, Stoney led the Wave to two playoff appearances and a career regular-season record of 24-15-18. San Diego's 2022 semifinals run made the club the first-ever franchise to make the NWSL Playoffs in their inaugural season. The campaign eventually earned Stoney the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year award.

Stoney also helped the Wave snag the 2023 NWSL Shield and the 2024 Challenge Cup trophy — all behind Canadian starting goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

With an eye on developing a strong Canadian roster to contend for the 2027 World Cup, Stoney's first task on the team's sideline is set for February, when Canada will compete in the annual Pinatar Cup in Spain.

"Casey's track record of successful leadership, her values and strength of character, and her lifelong dedication to the advancement of women's football make her the right person to lead our national team into its next chapter," said Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue in today's statement.

Tennis Stars Kick Off Grand Slam Season at 2025 Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka looks at the Australian Open trophy after she won the 2024 Grand Slam.
Aryna Sabalenka will aim to become the first three-peat Australian Open women's champion this century. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Tennis's first Grand Slam of 2025 kicks off on Saturday, with the sport's heaviest hitters convening in Melbourne for the Australian Open.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — the reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion — enters as the tournament's first overall seed for the first time. However, she'll see stiff competition by way of No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 4 Jasmine Paolini.

"For me being the one to chase... I like that feeling," Sabalenka told reporters this morning. "That's what drives me and helps me to stay motivated because I know that I have a target on my back."

No. 3 Coco Gauff sets up a forehand during her United Cup match against No. 2 Iga Świątek.
Coco Gauff's 2025 Australia Open path includes Naomi Osaka and Jessica Pegula. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Tough roads to the trophy litter Australian Open draw

Each top contender faces a tricky tournament draw, with upset potential lurking in every quadrant.

Sabalenka could meet 2024 Olympic gold medalist and WTA Finals runner-up No. 5 Zheng Qinwen as early as the quarterfinals, as long as she survives a first-round matchup against 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens.

Reigning WTA Finals champion Gauff's quadrant is in Sabalenka's half of the field, setting up a possible rematch of last year's semifinal. As for the 20-year-old US star's path, earlier rounds could see Gauff contending with tough competitors like 2021 Australian Open champ Naomi Osaka, 2024 US Open semifinalist Karolína Muchová, and 2024 US Open finalist No. 7 Jessica Pegula.

Świątek and Paolini could also meet in a semifinal, though fellow top competitors No. 8 Emma Navarro and 2020 Australian Open winner Ons Jabeur stand in Świątek's way while No. 10 Danielle Collins and 2022 Wimbledon champion No. 6 Elena Rybakina have been drawn into Paolini's quadrant.

How to watch the 2025 Australian Open

The 2025 Australian Open's first round starts on Saturday at 7 PM ET, with Sabalenka's first-round match set for 3 AM ET on Sunday.

Live coverage for the tournament will air across ESPN platforms.

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