The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Thursday, April 15

Hey, everyone!

That’s midfielder Cho So-hyun at the top today.

Ramble of the Day

On Monday, the New York Yankees’ Aaron Hicks asked not to play, essentially taking a mental health day after the killing of Daunte Wright. Hicks’ manager Aaron Boone granted the request, saying this after the match (per Yahoo Sports):

My consideration is with Aaron and his well-being, and making sure that as best we can we support him and try to be there for him as best we can right now.

I am mainly sharing this because it is very nice to see a manager take his player’s well-being seriously, because it not always the case. (What springs to mind is ex-Washington Spirit player Kaiya McCullough telling the BBC in September that she was asked to “compartmentalise what was going on in the world and just focus on my sport.”) It’s a strong example of a manager taking both a mental health situation seriously, and realizing the impact of current events.

There is another point to be made about Hicks’ decision not to play, and it’s made really well by Shalise Manza Young, who wrote the Yahoo Sports piece:

For one night at least, Hicks protected himself, and his team protected him as well.

If only that were the norm everywhere, for all Black Americans.

If only we didn’t need to take mental health days as a reaction to yet another person that looks like us, reminds us of our son or niece or husband or aunt, extrajudicially killed.

I have very little to add to that, other than the fact that this is worth remembering, and understanding as a sad truth of the world we live in.

Links of the Day

Slavia Prague’s Ondřej Kúdela received a ten match suspension for racially abusing Rangers’ Glen Kamara, while Kamara and Roofe received shorter bans for assaulting Kúdela.

Red Star Belgrade will play a European match behind closed doors after a supporter racially abused AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimović.

DC United hired Lucy Rushton as the club’s new general manager, making her the second GM in MLS history and the first in two decades.

Merseyside Police opened an investigation after Liverpool supporters broke a window on Real Madrid’s bus heading into Anfield.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba signed a deal with Amazon Studios, and the first project will be docuseries The Pogmentary.

A longer read: Julia Poe profiles the Orlando Pride’s Marta on her legacy as one of the game’s most recognizable players and how the pandemic forced her to pause for the Orlando Sentinel