🏉 Collingwood's culture comes under question

Thanks for stopping by, it's Tuesday, 10 May

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Martin Gabor are at the mic. 

Today's listen time: 9.20 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺  What we're watching 

🏀 9.30am - NBA Playoffs - Bucks v Celtics - Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee - Foxtel, Kayo

🏉 5.00pm - Test Rugby - Wallaroos v Japan - Bond University, Gold Coast - Stan Sport

⚽ 7.05pm - A-League Men - Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC - Moreton Daily Stadium, Redcliffe - Paramount+

All times are in AEST

🏉 Magpies hit with new allegations by Lumumba 

The relationship between Héritier Lumumba and the Collingwood Magpies continues to worsen after the former player issued new allegations against his old club.

Golden points: Lumumba, whose mum is Brazilian and whose dad is Congolese-Angolan, has spoken out against alleged racism at the club while he was there. That included being called a “chimp”.

• He kept quiet at the time because he didn’t want to lose his place in the team, but the final straw was when former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire compared Adam Goodes to King Kong.

• Lumumba’s story led to the Do Better report in 2021 that revealed systemic racism at the club. Lumumba and other players recently said the club still hadn’t followed the report’s recommendations.

• But there’s now more to the story. Lumumba says that former coach Nathan Buckley knew of the racial slur and that pornographic imagery had been shared at team meetings.

They said it: “There are other versions of the truth that are a long way away from the way he perceives it.” - Buckley doesn’t agree with what’s been said.

Key click: Check out this ABC profile on Lumumba by Russell Jackson which details Lumumba's time at the Pies and his close connection to his heritage. 

Watch it: The 2017 documentary Fair Game tells the story of Lumumba's time at Collingwood and clash with McGuire.  

🏉 Seven sinners fined for costly night out 

Going out after a game is fairly normal behaviour for athletes. But it’s not a great look if your team has just been belted and is struggling to field a team because of COVID. 

Golden points: The West Coast Eagles named and shamed 7 players who broke the club’s COVID guidelines when they went to a Perth nightclub the night after they were beaten by 109 points in Round 7. 

• The AFL club said they were devastated when they saw a photo on social media of players partying after the heavy defeat. 

• Drinks in Perth aren’t cheap, and the night out just got a whole lot more expensive. The players were fined $5000 each, with half of that suspended.

• It could’ve been worse. Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett said they would’ve been suspended for a week if the club wasn’t missing so many players. 

They said it: “... those who transgressed will now need to regain the trust and respect of their teammates as well as everyone else at the club.” - Nisbett knows this won’t help the Eagles who are running last after 8 games.

🏁 Verstappen handles the Miami heat 

It’s been a long time between shoeys for Daniel Ricciardo, whose first race in Maimi didn’t go to plan.

Golden points: The Aussie F1 star started in 14th place on the grid and finished the race in 11th, but that didn’t last long.

• It turns out he drove off the track to gain an advantage. Race stewards didn’t miss it and they hit him with a 5-second penalty to drop him to 13th.

• It was a different story for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. He’s now won 3 of the 5 races this season.

• That’s not good news for Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. They finished 2nd and 3rd.

What’s next: Leclerc shouldn’t be too upset. He leads Verstappen by 19 points ahead of the next race in Spain on 22 May. 

Watch it: Check out the race highlights before the big party in Miami. 

⚽ Victory for City really hurts the Victory 

If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then it kinda makes sense why Melbourne Victory fans rocked up to cheer for the Wellington Phoenix last night. 

The score: Melbourne City 2 defeated Wellington Phoenix 1.

Golden points: There were gonna be celebrations in Melbourne no matter what last night. In the end, it was City fans who cheered loudest after their side won the A-League Men premiers plate.

• It means they’re the 2nd team after Sydney FC to win the minor premiership in back-to-back seasons.

• Hang on, so why were there so many Victory supporters there? Ah, that’s simple. Victory would’ve finished first if the Phoenix had won. Imagine that. They would’ve gone from last to first in 12 months. 

• But 2 goals in 10 minutes made that really hard. Jame Maclaren scored his 15th goal of the season to win the golden boot.

Key click: The 2 leading Melbourne teams can chill. They’ve got the weekend off and can watch the finals in peace. Check out this weekend’s fixtures, broadcast details and exactly how the new-look finals system works.

Watch it: Here are the highlights from last night's game.

🏉 Noah's career on the right arc 

Sorry Japan, but this is one young rugby star that you can’t have.

Golden points: It’s hard to turn down huge offers from overseas comps, but 22yo Noah Lolesio has rejected close to $1 million a season to re-sign with Rugby Australia.

• The deal keeps him at the Brumbies until the end of the 2024 season, and that means he can focus on next year’s World Cup.

• That was one of the main reasons he wanted to stay so he could fight his way back into the Aussie side.

• Japanese rugby offers a lot more money than what players can get here. Just look at fullback Tom Banks who recently signed a deal worth $1.4 million.

They said it: “Achieving some of my goals, like representing the Wallabies, has been a dream come true, but I’ve still got a lot of things I want to achieve in both a Brumbies and a Wallabies jersey.” - Things are just starting for Lolesio, who has scored more points than anyone else in this season’s Super Rugby Pacific comp. 

👀 Quick singles

🏀 It turns out there are no secrets in sport. Nikola Jokić looks set to be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2nd year in a row according to a report, but we won't know for sure until it's officially announced later in the week. 

🎾 Ash Barty may have retired but our Aussies are still winning big tennis events. Over the weekend, Australia’s junior wheelchair team beat Great Britain to win the World Team Cup for the 2nd time. 

🏉 The Sharks could be without 2 key outside backs for their game against the Raiders at Magic Round. Jesse Ramien and Will Kennedy are both facing lengthy bans for their high tackles against the Warriors. 

⚽ Real Madrid may be champions of Spain, but main rivals Atletico Madrid got some revenge after they won a spicy derby 1-0. It was a big result for Atletico because it means they should qualify for next season’s Champions League.

🎾 Former Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka showed why he’s a champion to claim his first win on tour in 15 months. He beat American Reilly Opelka at the Italian Open in what’s been an injury-interrupted year on tour.

🏇 Laura Collett has galloped into the record books with a flawless performance at the Badminton Horse Trials in England. The Olympic gold medalist and her horse London 52 had a score of 21.4 penalties, which is the lowest ever score in 73 years at the event. 

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🙃 Left of field...

The scoreboard doesn’t look pretty, but the Wahgunyah Football Club has won plenty of respect for what they did on the weekend.

Golden points: The small Victorian club that plays Aussie Rules lost 432-1, but they had plenty of excuses. About 25, to be precise.

• Wahgunyah did well to field a team because they had about 25 players missing because of COVID.

• That meant they had to rely on reserves and volunteers to help field a team to make sure the club didn’t forfeit a game for the first time in 145 years.

• It didn’t help that they were also playing the best team in the league. At least they scored a point, although their president said it should’ve been a goal. That guy could be cut this week.

They said it: “The players have turned me into an emotional wreck this year. Just when I think they haven’t got any more to give, they step up and go a little bit more.” - Darryl Hore is ultra proud of the community because a forfeit would’ve hurt them financially.

📽 The highlight reel

Baseball games can go for a while, but it's worth waiting until the very end. If you missed it yesterday, there were 4 walk-off games won by the batting team who came up with clutch hits when it mattered most. 

📸 Photo finish

What's the collective noun for a group of GOATs? It doesn't really matter, but sheesh, there are some seriously talented fellas in this pic at the Miami GP. A dinner party with Lewis Hamilton, Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Tom Brady would be pretty cool.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

The Eagles beat Collingwood by 13 points in Round 4.