Peyton Manning Announces Retirement: "After 18 Years, It’s Time"

Chris Carlson / AP

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning announced his retirement from professional football Monday, telling fans that after 18 years, "it's time."

Between tears, Manning thanked his coaches and teammates on his two NFL teams, the Indiana Colts and the Denver Broncos. He went on to read a long list of things he will miss about a career in football.

"I’ll miss picking out the game balls with my equipment guys. I'll miss checking to see if the Giants won and calling Eli," he said, referring to his brother.

Manning spent a large part of his speech thanking fans for their near decade of support.

Paul Sancya / AP

"Football fans don’t even know how much they meant to me over the years," Manning said. "Fans you are at the core of what makes this game remarkable. The many letters you have sent me over the years that have moved me ... [You have] given me a voice that can echo well beyond the game."

Team executives and coach Gary Kubiak took turns commending Manning on his career, mourning his retirement, and telling celebratory stories about the football great.

"Every athlete out there should look at Peyton Manning and what he’s about," Broncos Executive Vice President John Elway said, growing visibly emotional. "He utilized every aspect to be the best athlete he could be, we got every ounce of ability that he has."

The 39-year-old quarterback is a five-time NFL MVP and was named Super Bowl MVL after Super Bowl XLI. He holds numerous records in passing yards and touchdowns, including for most career passing touchdowns (539) and most career passing yards (71,940).

Toward the end of the speech, Manning said he believes the end of his football career is "the beginning of something I haven't even begun to imagine yet," though he did not address exactly what that might be.

"After 18 years it’s time," Manning concluded to enthusiastic applause. "God bless all of you and God bless football."

Manning at the conference.

Doug Pensinger / Getty Images

During a follow up news conference, one reporter brought up allegations of sexual assault against Manning by female football trainer Jamie Ann Naughright. Asked if the allegations that Manning exposed himself to Naughright in 1996 had any negative affect on the day's celebrations, the quarterback said nothing could take away from the moment.

"It is sad that some people don't understand the truth," Manning said. "This is a happy day and nothing...can take away from this day."

"And as Forrest Gump said, 'That's all I'm gonna' say about that," he added.

The 2015-2016 NFL season was Manning’s 18th. He was drafted first overall in Tennessee in 1998. At the beginning of the 2015 season, Manning was one of three remaining players drafted in 1998 who were still active in the NFL. Among them, only quarterback Matt Hasselbeck remains.

Manning began his career with the Indianapolis Colts, where he spent 14 seasons before joining the Denver Broncos. Ahead of the 2011 season, Manning underwent neck surgery, but later needed spinal fusion surgery. Manning missed the entire 2011 season with the Colts and was cut at the end of the season.

LINK: Denver Broncos Confirm Star Peyton Manning's Retirement

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Here's Why You Should Never Look At Your Phone During A Ballgame

THIS. KID. IS. LUCKY.

Photographer Christopher Horner snapped these incredible pics at a spring training game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves in Florida on Saturday.

Christopher Horner / Via Twitter: @Hornerfoto1

Just look how the hero in the sunglasses bravely deflects the flying bat as it makes it way towards the oblivious kid. WE ARE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR REFLEXES, SIR.

Christopher Horner / Via Twitter: @Hornerfoto1

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Denver Broncos Star Peyton Manning Announces Retirement

After 18 seasons, The Sheriff is done.

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will retire after 18 seasons, the team confirmed Sunday.

The Denver Broncos released a statement early Sunday morning in which they confirmed Manning was retiring.

"When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it's easy to see how fortunate we've been to have him on our team," said Broncos General Manager John Elway said in the statement.

"Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more — not only for the football team but in the community. I'm very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career."

The Denver Post reported Manning had told both Elway and coach Gary Kubiak about his decision to retire Saturday night.

"It was a blessing to coach Peyton Manning. Nobody worked harder at the game and nobody prepared harder than Peyton," Kubiak said in the statement.

"His preparation was the best I've ever seen with how he went about his business. There was nothing like his work habits. Each and every week, he did everything he could to get ready to play not only against the defense but even against the coordinator,"

"Being with him this season, going through what we went through and accomplishing what we accomplished — that was special. He and I battled together and along the way we talked about dreaming that it could end the way it ended. And I'll be damned, it did."

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Soccer Star Brandi Chastain Pledges To Donate Brain To Concussion Research

Michael Buckner / Getty Images

Brandi Chastain told her nine-year-old son, Jaden, on Monday morning that she intends to donate her brain to science to benefit concussion research.

“Mom, that’s weird,” Jaden said. “Don’t you need your brain?”

Chastain — a two-time Olympic Gold medalist who won the World Cup with the 1999 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team — explained to Jaden that her brain donation will happen “long after” she will be using it, and with the intention of helping others.

Chastain announced Wednesday that she will donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation after her death, a non-profit organization that works with brain researchers at Boston University.

Chastain met Concussion Legacy Foundation founder and former professional wrestler Chris Nowinski, along with Boston University researchers Ann McKee and Robert Cantu, in March 2014, when they received an award from Santa Clara University’s Institute of Sports Law and Ethics (ISLE). Chastain is a board member there.

Cantu and McKee at Boston University lead research into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy — also called CTE, the neurodegenerative disease linked to sub-concussive trauma in athletes and military members.

Chastain was inspired by the researchers’ work and told her fellow ISLE board members she’d “like to change the rules of soccer and take heading out of youth soccer to protect our young players.” By June 2014, Chastain teamed up with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to launch an initiative called Safer Soccer that aims to reduce the practice of headers in youth soccer.

“It’s not about taking headers out of soccer forever,” Chastain told BuzzFeed News Tuesday. “It’s about protecting the players when they’re their most vulnerable so they can continue to play well into adulthood.”

“There’s so many skills that our kids will learn in the game if given a chance at longevity,” she said. “I want as many kids playing soccer in their adult lives as possible.”

Chastain was never diagnosed with a concussion during her career, though she recalls at least two instances that today she believes would have been diagnosed as mild concussions. “I’ve definitely headed the ball multiple times after the ball was punted very high. I never shied away from the ball and I definitely had my bell rung a few times.”

Chastain’s 1999 Women’s World Cup teammates Michelle Akers’ and Cindy Parlow’s careers were cut short in part due to concussions, but Chastain said she never discussed them with teammates. “It was absolutely never a conversation,” Chastain said, pointing out the enormous gap in cultural awareness about the effects of concussions on long term cognitive health between the late-1990s and today.

Immediately after Chastain famously made a penalty kick that led to the Women’s World Cup victory, she dropped to her knees and pulled her jersey over her head in victory. The image of her celebration is one of the most famous sports photos of all time.

Hector Mata / AFP / Getty Images

“Now as a parent, coach, and ambassador of the game of soccer — even though I feel like my legacy and our 1999 Women’s World Cup victory are important — leaving soccer in a better place than when we got here would be an even more impactful legacy,” Chastain said.

CTE is a neurodegenerative disease mostly associated with former NFL players and soldiers with symptoms similar to dementia. It can only be diagnosed after death, and it has not been diagnosed in the brain of a female athlete. There are records of CTE being found in two women in the 1990s: One a victim of domestic violence, and the other had a developmental disorder that led her to bang her head repeatedly.

The Concussion Legacy Foundation on Wednesday said that of 307 brains donated to Boston University for research, only 7 were from women. In an interview with BuzzFeed News in 2015, Dr. McKee said she believes there are various factors that account for the disproportionate donation rates between genders.

McKee believes families might be more reluctant to donate their daughters’ and wives’ brains, but she believes the risks to women athletes and ability to have their brains examined post-mortem are just less publicized than with male athletes.

Chastain said her intent to donate her brain to research aims to “raise awareness for the need for brain donation among athletes, especially women.”

“I’m not on a crusade to get other people to donate their brains,” Chastain said Tuesday when asked if she’d discussed donation with other members of the 1999 Women’s World Cup team. “I think it’s a very personal decision. But the brain is such a mysterious part of the human anatomy and we can’t really study it while it’s in its functioning form.”

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Venus Williams Wrote A Touching Essay About Sisterhood And Being A Trailblazer

The tennis champion also addressed her reason for returning to the Indian Wells tournament 15 years after a bitter controversy.

Venus Williams wrote a poignant essay about her return to the Indian Wells tournament 15 years after she and her sister Serena were verbally harassed by spectators.

Kin Cheung / AP

In an essay for The Players' Tribune, Venus wrote about how Serena inspired her to return to Indian Wells in California after their bitter experience in 2001.

Venus recalled the accusations hurled against them and their father after she pulled out of a semi-final match against Serena, citing a knee injury.

Their father, Richard Williams, was accused of orchestrating Venus's withdrawal from the match to let Serena win, which he refuted. He said his family was also subjected to boos, threats, and racial slurs from the crowd, including people who called him the N word.

"I think Indian Wells disgraced America," he told reporters at the time.

Venus wrote about how she never felt welcome at Indian Wells after the tournament.

I remember the pain of my knee injury, and how badly I wanted to play in the semis against Serena — before finally accepting that I wouldn't be able to. I remember the accusations toward me and my sister and our father.

I remember the crowd's reaction, as I walked to my seat, during Serena's match in the final. And I remember how I couldn't understand why thousands of people would be acting this way — to a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old, trying their best.

She also wrote about what it was like being the older sister in the family and the fame and responsibilities that come with it.

Matt Rourke / AP

"Being the big sister meant that, when I became world No. 1 in 2002, I wasn't just world No. 1. I was also the first black American woman to reach No. 1. And it meant that I had to carry with me the importance of what I had accomplished. And I was honored to do that.

Being the big sister meant that, when my little sister made her professional debut, I became a lot of new things to her — her colleague, her competitor, her business partner, her doubles partner. But I was still, first and foremost, the one thing I had always been: her family. I was her protector — her first line of defense against outside forces. And I cherished that."

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24 Painfully Real Struggles Only Dancers Will Relate To

How am I sore right now?!

When you stretch just a little, every bone in your body cracks so damn loudly.

—Anna Kopsky

Via instagram.com

There is no pain like putting on your tights and leotard and tying up your pointe shoes — and then having to pee.

—caitlino4

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You have to dodge hundreds of stares when you go to a restaurant with your family after a recital.

—marinac4

Via instagram.com

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MLB Issues First-Ever Suspension For Domestic Violence Allegations

Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman was suspended for 30 games by MLB.

Chapman with the Reds, his former team, in 2015.

Jamie Sabau / Getty Images

Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 30 games following a league investigation into domestic violence allegations against him.

It was announced in January that Chapman would not face criminal charges for an alleged October 2015 incident in which his girlfriend told police the pitcher had "pushed her up against the wall" and "choked" her — but Chapman still faced discipline from the league.

Chapman's suspension is the first issued by MLB under the league's new domestic violence policy.

Under MLB's new domestic violence policy, a suspension is not dependent on a criminal conviction. League investigators present their findings to Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has the authority to issue a punishment "with no minimum or maximum penalty under the policy."

The 30-game suspension issued Tuesday is significant because it is potentially precedent-setting.

Players have the right to appeal suspensions to an arbitration panel. Chapman has declined appeal.

MLB is also currently investigating an incident involving Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, who is currently on paid leave until the conclusion of a criminal trial in Hawaii for alleged domestic violence against his wife. The league has also said it is investigating Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig after he was reportedly involved in a fight in a Florida bar.

Chapman was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Yankees in December 2015. Earlier that month, it appeared Chapman would be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that trade fell through when a police report from the Florida incident was released to reporters.

Chapman has reported to Spring Training with the Yankees, who begin playing games Wednesday.

Shortly after the suspension was released, Chapman released a statement to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

Today, I accepted a 30 game suspension from Major League Baseball resulting from my actions on October 30, 2015. I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to my actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family. I have learned from this matter, and I look forward to being part of the Yankees' quest for a 28th World Series title. Out of respect for my teammates and my family, I will have no further comment.

MLB Commissioner Manfred released a statement on the suspension:

I asked my staff to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident involving Aroldis Chapman on October 30, 2015. Much of the information regarding the incident has been made public through documents released by law enforcement. Mr. Chapman submitted to an in-person interview with counsel present. After reviewing the staff report, I found Mr. Chapman's acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate under the negotiated Policy, particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner. I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has taken responsibility for his conduct, that he has agreed not to appeal the 30-game suspension, and that he has agreed to comply with the confidential directives of the Joint Policy Board established under the parties' Policy to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future.

The MLB Players Association, which negotiated the new domestic violence policy with the league, released a statement on the suspension:

The Major League Baseball Players Association and its members do not condone the mistreatment of others by playing or non-playing personnel. At the same time, the MLBPA remains committed to protecting and ensuring the rights granted to Players under the applicable provisions of the sport's new Joint Policy on Domestic Violence. As such, the MLBPA supports Mr. Chapman's decision to forgo his right to an appeal.

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