A group of elite players has filed a lawsuit in Canada challenging plans to play the 2015 Womens World Cup on artificial turf.
Seth Roberts Raiders Jersey .The players, led by U.S. womens national team forward Abby Wambach, filed Wednesday in the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in Toronto, lawyer Hampton Dellinger told The Associated Press.The women claim that playing the sports premier tournament on fake grass amounts to gender discrimination under Canadian law. Their male counterparts have always played the World Cup on natural grass surfaces, and will for the foreseeable future.The players say they believe there is a greater risk of injury on turf and that an artificial surface impacts both how the game is played and how the ball behaves.Among the athletes joining Wambach are U.S. teammate Alex Morgan, Germanys Nadine Angerer, Brazils Fabiana Da Silva Simoes and Spains Veronica Boquete.The gifted athletes we represent are determined not to have the sport they love be belittled on their watch. Getting an equal playing field at the World Cup is a fight female players should not have to wage but one from which they do not shrink. In the end, we trust that fairness and equality will prevail over sexism and stubbornness, Dellinger said in a statement.On Tuesday, a FIFA official visiting Canada in advance of the tournament next year said there were no plans to reconsider using artificial turf.We play on artificial turf and theres no Plan B, said Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs head of womens competitions.FIFA has appointed an independent examiner to make sure the turf at the six venues meets its strict guidelines for top-tier tournaments. The consultant is travelling with a FIFA delegation currently inspecting the sites.FIFA rules stipulate that matches can be played on artificial turf if special dispensation is granted, as it was in Canadas case. The regulations also state that all matches in a tournament must be played on the same surface.Canadas bid for the event specified that the final match be played at Vancouvers BC Place, which seats 55,000 and has an artificial turf.But many players, including Wambach, have been voicing their objections since the bid was accepted. They sent a letter to FIFA and the CSA in July, saying they were prepared to take the legal action.Since then, there has been growing support for the women on social media, with celebrities including actor Tom Hanks and NBA player Kobe Bryant joining the cause. Tim Howard, the goalkeeper for the U.S. mens team, also voiced his support on Twitter.Theres so many different debates around this. But the reality is, the men would never play (the World Cup) on field turf, Wambach told the AP. So for me its a womens rights issue, its an equality issue.The players have said they will not boycott the World Cup matches, which will be played in six Canadian cities.Many players believe that FIFA and the Canadian federation could cover the six fields that will be used with sod. The real stuff was rolled onto the artificial surface at Michigans Big House this summer for a match between Manchester United and Real Madrid.Its not ideal, they say, but better than the alternative.Is it going to cost them a little bit of money? Yeah. Maybe a drop in the bucket for FIFA for the amount of money that they have, U.S. player Megan Rapinoe said last month. It just seems like theyre kind of like, Oh, yeah, whatever, this is just what youre going to have. When theres an alternative option, thats frustrating.Wednesdays legal action, known as an application, names the Canadian Soccer Association and FIFA. Lawyers filed a brief detailing the facts and law in support of the discrimination claim, and also filed a motion to expedite the proceedings.The brief suggests that tournament venues in Vancouver (B.C. Place Stadium), Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium), Ottawa (TD Place Stadium) and Winnipeg (Investors Group Field) replace their turf with permanent or temporary grass pitches.Games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal should be moved to Saputo Stadium, which has real grass, or a temporary grass surface could be installed. The brief also calls for a temporary grass surface at Moncton Stadium. It also suggests that games could be moved to Torontos BMO Field, which has a natural grass surface.The U.S. womens team is about to take part in the championships for soccers North and Central American and Caribbean region, which serves as qualifying for the World Cup next year. The tournament will be played in four U.S. cities starting on Oct. 15 with the final scheduled for Oct. 26 at PPL Park in Pennsylvania.
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Trent Richardson Raiders Jersey . Toronto announced the deal with the restricted free agent on Saturday. The terms were not disclosed.NEW YORK -- After three long games on the road, the Brooklyn Nets made quick work of Cleveland back at home. Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 22 points in a flawless first quarter, and the Nets pulled away in the second on the way to their 12th straight home victory, 108-97 over the Cavaliers on Friday night. "It was great for him to come out and get us started and get us going, and then that second group kind of finished it off," Nets guard Deron Williams said. Joe Johnson added 14 points for the Nets, who played three straight overtime games on their road trip, losing the last two of them. But things were much easier inside Barclays Center, where they won for the 19th time in their last 21 games. "It sure beats us getting booed earlier in the year," Pierce said. "So were playing well here. We feel comfortable on our home turf." The Nets are hoping to open the playoffs here, but still have work to do to catch either Toronto or Chicago for home-court advantage in the first round. They are 2 1/2 games behind the Raptors for first place in the Atlantic Division and 1 1/2 behind the Bulls for the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Nets were without Kevin Garnett for a 15th straight game because of back spasms and Andrei Kirilenko for a third in a row because of a sprained left ankle, but had six players score in double figures and shot 55 per cent from the field. They scored the first 12 points of the second quarter to break away from a 29-all tie, and Cleveland never put much of a dent in the lead. Brooklyn had a 48-18 advantage in bench points in improving to 28-12 since Jan. 1, best in the East. "Thats who we are. If were going to go anywhere in this playoffs, were a team full of depth. Weve got a number of guys that can beat you on any given night, its not really surrounded around one particular guy," Pierce said. "Tonight I was our leading scorer, but then it can be somebody else tomorrow, the next game and thats what makes us so dangerous." Luol Deng and Dion Waiters each scored 20 points for the Cavaliers, who had won three in a row.
Michael Crabtree Raiders Jersey. They had pulled off a pair of big fourth-quarter comebacks during the win streak, beating Detroit on Wednesday on Waiters jumper as time expired, but there was no run in this one. "Ive come to the conclusion of expecting more from us. Thats whats disappointing," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "Its disappointing to play the way we did tonight. Its tough to swallow." Williams and Alan Anderson each scored 13 points for Brooklyn, which improved to 11-4 this month and can tie the franchise record for most victories in March by beating Minnesota here Sunday night. Williams made a 3-pointer and Pierce hit two straight for a 9-0 Brooklyn lead, and Pierce was 4 for 4 before the first was half over. But Spencer Hawes and Deng led a solid finish to the quarter that allowed Cleveland to tie it at 29. The Nets were even better to open the second, scoring 12 straight to make it 41-29 on Andersons 3-pointer. The lead reached 17 on a 3-pointer by Pierce with 2:05 remaining, and Brooklyn took a 61-50 lead into halftime. Six players had at least four points in the quarter. Cleveland cut Brooklyns 16-point lead in the third in half by the end of the quarter, but the Nets quickly regained control by opening the fourth with an 8-1 spurt for a 15-point cushion. "Weve got to do a better job coming out in the first quarter," Waiters said, "not always falling down by a big margin." NOTES: Brooklyns Jorge Gutierrez made some money and lost some Friday. Shortly after the Nets signed him to a multiyear deal after the expiration of his second 10-day contract, the rookie point guard was fined $15,000 by the NBA for making excessive contact above the shoulders when he fouled Charlottes Cody Zeller on Wednesday. ... After opening the season against each other with the Cavs win in Cleveland on Oct. 30, they will finish things off in the same spot on April 16.
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