Sports

North Haven High School Football "Kicks off" a Season of Spirit and Revelry for Many!

By Alivia Renna

In 2019, the North Haven football team prepared for another football season at the start of another school year. That was until 2020 came around and the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 hit, changing life as we all knew it. Much like every other school around the world, COVID-19 has affected all annual events here at NHHS, including the yearly football season that many look forward to.

Specifically, last school year, both students and teachers faced many challenges throughout the entire year, whether it was online learning, schools unexpectedly shutting down, quarantining, contact tracing, and one of the biggest challenges of all: missing out on memories and school-wide events such as the Friday night football games here at NHHS, which were canceled in September for the 20-21 school year.

The CIAC had announced the cancellation of all high school football seasons in Connecticut in September of last school year. Not only was the football team disappointed, but so were the students, teachers, and the many other football fans who have attended past games on Friday nights.

According to the CDC, this decision was made in arrangement with the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s recommendation that football was considered a sport of “high risk”, which would increase the spread of COVID-19 at the time. According to CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini in a news release, “CIAC made every effort to weigh all factors in this decision, including the passionate voices of students, parents, and school personnel, and ultimately made the determination to align its decision with the recommendations of the Governor’s office and DPH to not hold high-risk sports at this time." Low-risk football activities were also considered, but unfortunately, nothing took place at all.

As a result of this unfortunate cancellation, hundreds of athletes, parents, and coaches held a rally at the state capitol in Hartford in hopes to earn permission to have a football season. Although the rally was unsuccessful, the CIAC was still considering a spring season for the athletes, if it would not conflict with any other sports at the time.

Even though there was no football season at all, one thing was for certain: this “break” was only more time to prepare for the next season to come- whenever that may be. Flash forward to this September; a brand new school year brought brand new beginnings, and under the category of brand new beginnings, the North Haven football team found the start of a new football season. With 10 games in total, many new and returning players, and the one and only Coach Anthony Sagnella, the team was ready to begin the season.

All football seasons are exciting, but this year it has been extra special to watch our team play after one whole season off. Despite the many challenges of getting back on the field after the COVID-19 pandemic and a year without playing, Coach Sagnella and his team have been working hard to prepare for the season, and have already played 5 games so far. Despite losing the first few games of the season, that didn't stop the team from winning their away game against Hamden's Green Dragons with a final score of 28-7. It was clear that hard work and dedication was a big part of the team's first win of the season, along with the support and encouragement from the coaches and the NH Tribe who were there cheering them on.

Despite the many changes and challenges that everyone had to face since the last football season, the NHHS Band, student section, and many other bystanders did not fail to be at the very first home game of the season, which took place on Friday, September 17th. The band set the tone for the night with their annual cheers and football tunes, as well as the cheerleaders with their annual routines. Many students from NHHS also showed up to be there, as the NH Tribe, led by students here at NHHS, made an entrance with matching outfits and much support for the team.

The football season has not come to an end just yet here at NHHS, which means that there are still more games to come, including the Thanksgiving Day game, which is right here at Mike Vanacore Field this season. The team has put in a tremendous amount of effort, time, and diligence into their practices so far, and all football fans here in North Haven are excited to watch as the season continues. Although the year off was quite a challenging one, the new and improved North Haven football team managed to come back with strength, hard work, and most importantly, unity.

Biles during happier times: (Left) Enjoying her celebrity status at the 2021 InStyle Awards. (Right) Displaying one of many gold medals earned during the Rio Olympics, before mental health issues began to affect her athletic performance.

Biles Opens up Conversations About the Mental Health of Athletes

By Eliza O'Connor

Simone Biles has quickly become known as the best gymnast in the world. She has a combined 32 world and Olympic medals which ties her as the most decorated gymnast of all time. Upon entering the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she was expected to win multiple gold medals in specific events and the clear front runner to win the all-around title. However, her second Olympics did not go as planned.

During the team all-around finals Biles had an uncharacteristic performance on vault which was followed by her pulling out of the team final. Biles then decided not to compete in the rest of her events, except for the individual balance beam event. Simone Biles told the world that she had the “twisties." This gymnastics term is used to describe when you lose yourself in the air. Gymnasts with the twisties say that it can be terrifying and can be very dangerous. Not knowing where you are in the air can cause you to land on your head or neck, often resulting in injury. When Simone Biles withdrew from certain events, many people were against it. Simone Biles was arguably the most hyped athlete during this Olympics, and for her not to compete, made people very upset. People called her “lazy” and “a quitter”. When talking about withdrawing from events Biles said, “We also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day, we’re human, too. So, we have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.” The twisties can be caused by stress, something Simone Biles was familiar with before this year's Olympics.

Simone Biles is one of the most famous athletes in the world. Going into this year's Olympic games she said it felt like “the weight of the world” was on her shoulders. She was expected not only to win, but beat everyone by large margins. Simone also discussed the effects that COVID-19 had on her. She talked about how not having her family there was incredibly difficult and having empty stands created an environment she was not used to. Biles suffered a loss while she was at the Olympics as well. “Two days ago, I woke up and my aunt unexpectedly passed, and it wasn't any easier being here at the Olympic Games. At the end of the day, people don't understand what we are going through."

Simone Biles was also one of the many victims of Larry Nassar, the ex-doctor for the United States gymnastics team who sexually abused over one hundred women. Being back at the Olympics and representing an organization that did not protect her and other women could be incredibly triggering. The United States Olympic Committee protected Larry Nassar for years, allowing him to sexually abuse more people. Simone Biles was the only gymnast competing who is a victim and has been vocal about blaming not only Larry Nassar, but also the organizations that allowed for him to continue his abuse. “USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge.”

Simone Biles used her platform and experience to create a conversation on mental health. When people think of Simone Biles they think of strength, and she shows that a focus on mental health and still being strong can go hand in hand. She has talked candidly about her experience with therapy saying, “I thought I could figure it out on my own, but that’s sometimes not the case. And that’s not something you should feel guilty or ashamed of, once I got over that fact, I actually enjoyed it and looked forward to going to therapy. It’s a safe space.” She adds,“At one point I slept so much because, for me, it was the closest thing to death without harming myself. It was an escape from all of my thoughts, from the world, from what I was dealing with. It was a really dark time.”

Simone Biles may not have won the most medals during this Olympics, but she opened up a new conversation surrounding the stigma around mental health. An elite athlete like Simone Biles talking openly about therapy and depression may have a larger effect than any medal ever would.

Larry Nassar Investigation Reveals FBI Failure to do Their Job

By Lily Coish

On September 15, 2021, four American gymnasts, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, and Maggie Nicols, testified about the abuse they had suffered by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and their “feelings of betrayal” by investigators, including the FBI. Larry Nassar was the team doctor of the United States women’s gymnastics team for 18 years. He is currently serving decades in prison for sexually assaulting hundreds of young female athletes.

During this testimony, the four athletes claimed they were ignored and dismissed by the country’s justice system for years before Larry Nassar was sentenced to prison. The gymnasts told lawmakers in detail about their abuse by Nassar and how he had been able to continue working as doctor for the team after the FBI “botched” the first complaints made by McKayla Maroney in 2015. Since the FBI did not follow up or take action, Nassar’s molestation of gymnasts continued, even after more accusations were made.

The Senate hearing panel also heard from the Justice Department Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, who in a recent report discovered that the bureau failed to adequately investigate the abuse charges against Nassar. An inspector general report this year found that senior officials in the FBI Indianapolis field office failed to respond to allegations of sexual abuse of atheltes by Nassar, “...with the urgency that the allegations required.” The inspector general also said that the Indianapolis field office, “...made fundamental errors when it did respond to the allegations,” by failing to notify the appropriate FBI field office in Lansing, Michigan where Nassar was employed by Michigan State University. According to an article by NPR, they, “...failed to take other steps to mitigate the ongoing threat posed by Nassar.”

According to McKayla Maroney, who had detailed her abuse to the FBI, “After telling my entire story of abuse to the FBI in the summer of 2015, not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented the report, 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said." Simone Biles, who also spoke at the hearing, blames Nassar and also “an entire system that allowed his abuse.” “The scars of this horrific abuse continue,” Biles testified, saying that “the impact of this man’s abuse will never be over." A third gymnast, Aly Raisman, said that the FBI made her feel as if her abuse didn’t count or matter. She recalled sitting with an FBI agent who attempted to mitigate her experiences.

Fortunately, Jay Abbott, the agent who was in charge of the Indianapolis office at the time, has since retired and Michael Langemen, the agent who failed to pursue McKayla Maroney’s accusations, was fired before the gymnasts testified. However, lawmakers and the gymnasts are set on criminal prosecutions/charges. FBI Director, Christopher Wray, apologized for the agency’s failure, stating, “I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed, and that is inexcusable. It never should have happened, and we’re doing everything in our power to make sure that it never happens again”.

Aly Raisman spoke about her own feelings of guilt, stating, “So many survivors suffer with guilt and shame and so it takes everything I have to work on not taking the blame for that, because it’s horrific to know that over 100 victims could have been spared the abuse. All we needed was one adult to do the right thing”.