The teams are randomly placed into eight groups. In each group, teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. Each win earns a team three points, each draw one point, and each loss zero points. After the group stage, the two teams in each group with the most points progress to the second round. In this round of 16 teams, a second draw happens, and the teams are split into two brackets of eight. Up until the finals, the teams play each other twice in each round. Teams move on by either winning two games, by winning one game and drawing the other, or by scoring more goals than their opponents if they split the two games. Ultimately, the final consists of only one game played in a predetermined stadium that does not give either team home advantage.

For many, winning the Champions League is the ultimate goal in their soccer career. When it comes to conversations about who are the greatest players in soccer, people like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and Johan Cruyff come
up — all of whom have won the Champions League. The conversation also extends to teams. The greatest teams in the world have
won the competition multiple times, like Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona. In total, 23 different teams have won the competition, the most recent being Manchester City with its first win.

Real Madrid has won the competition a record 14 times and holds the title of the first team to ever win three in a row, winning in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The closest team to that record is AC Milan, which has seven titles. There are similar competitions in soccer, like the Copa Libertadores for South America, the African Champions League, the Asian Champions League, and
the Concacaf Champions Cup for Central and North America. They all follow the same basis: the top teams form national leagues and play in a continental tournament.

As mentioned, the Champions League is comprised of the European national leagues’ top teams. However, there are two other competitions for teams who were close to finishing in the top spots: the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League. These two competitions have the same structures as the Champions League but consist of teams who have finished below the top spots of their leagues, often in either fifth or sixth place. The winner of the Europa League gets an automatic ticket to the Champions League the following season, while the winner of the Conference League gets one to the Europa League the next season. UEFA also hosts the Super Cup, a match between the Champions League winner and the Europa League winner. This year, it was Manchester City vs. Sevilla FC. Manchester City won, so it won both the Champions League and the Super Cup, an achievement few teams attain.

The Champions League came under threat a few years ago when some of the presidents of Europe’s biggest teams took is-
sue with how UEFA distributed the league’s revenue. Its income is distributed among all the teams, including smaller clubs that don’t regularly appear. In an act of protest, the presidents of these major teams announced the Super League, a competition containing only Europe’s most prominent teams. They aimed to keep all the revenue for themselves, with each elite team expecting a $400 million influx — four times what the winner of the Champions League earns. The backlash was intense: teams, fans, players, politicians, and managers all came together to denounce the Super League’s elitist and money-driven aims. Regardless, Fiorentino Perez, the chairman of the Super League and the president of Real Madrid, still supports its creation as he thinks the sport is “ill.” Perez is one of the many who have shown time and again how their focus is not on the sport itself but the business of it, which angers many fans worldwide. The Super League came to a halt after most of the teams withdrew their applications, since UEFA and FIFA threatened to impose strict sanctions on those who continued in the project.

The Champions League remains the pinnacle of global soccer, with players and teams fighting for top positions every year to get the opportunity to play on Europe’s grandest soccer stage. For fans worldwide, getting to see their favorite team in the Champions League is always an honor and privilege. The Champions League is well underway this year as teams head into their fifth week of group-stage matchups. Current champions Manchester City hope to retain their title but will come under threat from European giants like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.

Stalions was originally a volunteer assistant in 2015, but officially became part of their staff in 2022. A Michigan native, his parents both went to University of Michigan. Stalions played football throughout his childhood and his dad was a football coach for an eighth grade team. He graduated from the Naval academy in 2017, where he worked as a volunteer football assistant during his undergraduate years. He also wrote a 550–600 page document called the Michigan Manifesto that he managed daily, which outlined his 15-year blueprint for taking over the University of Michigan Football program and becoming head coach. Stalions is suspended with pay from his role for the Wolverines due to sign-stealing allegations.

To be clear, sign stealing in collegiate football is allowed to some extent. For example, people can steal signs before the games by watching film. However, scouting opponents in person and recording signs is not allowed, especially when using electronic equipment to relay information during a game. An NCAA bylaw implemented in 1994, rule 11.6, states that “off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.” However, for the same event at the same site, “An institutional staff member may scout future opponents also participating in the same event at the same site.” Another exception is for Conference or NCAA Championships, where “an institutional staff member may attend a contest in the institution’s conference championship or an NCAA championship contest in which a future opponent participates (e.g., an opponent on the institution’s spring non championship-segment schedule participates in a fall conference or NCAA championship).” Under Article 11. H in the NCAA Football 2023 rules book, “any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited.” 

Before Michigan supposedly started sign-stealing in 2021, the program had a streak of losing three or more games for the past couple of seasons. Since 2021, however, they have lost only three games. So, where does Stalions come in?

Stalions bought tickets for over 30 games at the Big Ten schools for the past three seasons, with tickets to 12 of the 14 Big Ten. Stalions would pay for people to go to games and sit on the opponent’s side to film opponents signals, specifically to be behind and across the benches around the 45-yard line. This was revealed on his public Venmo transactions, where he was seen paying people with the caption “GA” the day before a Georgia vs. Ohio State game. In other cases, people would charge Stalions with the transaction caption as “Game.” These were games in which Michigan was going to play the opponent or play in that stadium in the future. However, it is unclear whether Stalions himself was funding those tickets. After all, he only makes $55,000 a year, and the Washington Post reported that this operation would cost around $15,000 if Michigan planned to send scouts to 40 games. 

Most recently uncovered is a photo of a man, who appears to be Stalions, dressed as a Central Michigan University Coach when CMU played Michigan State as their season opener on Sept. 1 and was pictured with a “VB” — or Visitor’s Bench — pass. However, the CMU head coach claims that Stalions’ name was not on the list of names associated with the VB pass for that game. The University of Michigan played Michigan State Oct. 21, winning 49–0. 

This isn’t the only Michigan football scandal going on at the moment, however. In January of this year, former Co-offensive Coordinator Matt Weiss was fired after accessing other University of Michigan emails without authorization. Though this isn’t tied to the sign-stealing scandal, the FBI is now involved in looking into Michigan’s football program. On top of that, Head Coach Jim Harbaugh served a university-imposed three-game suspension earlier this season for unrelated recruiting violations. 

Despite off-the-field scandals, the Wolverines have been dominant on the field. Michigan currently sits at 8–0 and is the No. 2 ranked team in the country. They have outscored conference opponents 229–31, with an average margin of victory of 34.8 points per game.

However, they have yet to play any significant competition. On Nov. 11, they will travel to play No. 9 Penn State, and two weeks later they will face off against No. 3 Ohio State in one of college football’s most-anticipated rivalry games. Ultimately, the results of these two games will determine if Michigan can make it back to the College Football Playoffs for the third year in a row, and potentially win the program’s first national championship since 1997. 

If Michigan didn’t already have a target on their backs, they sure do now. As time goes on, so will the investigations, and more details will come about the scandals. Coaches and players will be forced to answer questions in the media and hear about it every time they turn on the TV or check social media.

The Wolverines have become the villains of college football. Will they embrace it, or will it potentially tarnish a record-breaking season for one of college football’s most prestigious and historic programs?

When asked how it felt to be nearing the end of their careers, soccer player Brynn Adams, volleyball player Lauren Sands, and soccer player Nasim Amer all described it as “bittersweet.”

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Adams said. “I think that’s what every senior would’ve said. I mean, Oberlin soccer is the most special team that I have ever been a part of, and I’ve been very lucky to have a great experience with great coaches and great people.”

Sands emphasized the commitment it takes to be a collegiate athlete and how strange it feels for it to be coming to a close.

“I have been playing volleyball for about half my life, so it has been a really big part of my life,” Sands said. “And the fact that it’s coming to an end is sad, but I’m feeling good about it, ready to move on,” Sands said.

Amer highlighted that his first season on the team was a COVID-19 season, so he has had the same amount of playing time as all of the juniors on the team. Nonetheless, he relishes the time that he has spent competing as a Yeoman.

“I think the time that I’ve been here was very enjoyable, even though over the years our record wasn’t the best, or we maybe didn’t get as many wins as we hoped,” Amer said. “It’s a great group of guys and I enjoyed playing with them, every practice and every game.”

The seniors had been a part of Senior Nights in the past, but always as underclassmen. All three athletes mentioned how meaningful it was to be supported and celebrated by their teammates and the student body, but for Amer, his Senior Night was extra special.

“That game, that was the first game my parents ever came to watch me play live at Oberlin, so for me, I was just trying my best to have a good game,” Amer said. “You know, ultimately I just wanted to get the win but maybe score a goal for them. I ended up scoring and we didn’t win the game, but I scored and it was nice. When your parents are watching, you may play a bit harder.”

Although he wishes that the team still had a chance to compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, Amer’s individual career ended on an incredibly high note — winning the NCAC Athlete of the Week Award.

“That was amazing,” Amer said. “I was talking to my mom the other day, saying ‘It sucks not having a freshman season but it kinda feels like everything is wrapping up in a really nice way.’ It’s nice to win the individual achievement but all the guys on the team, they helped me with that.”

Sands admitted that her Senior Night felt completely different to the others that she has been a part of and that she was grateful for the support of her friends and teammates.

“The fact that everyone was there celebrating me and my teammates in my class, all of our accomplishments, it was very meaningful and emotional — definitely more emotional than my other senior nights,” Sands said. “[The emotions] definitely were with me when I stepped on the court, especially because I had my family there watching, it just felt like a really big moment.”

Adams acknowledged that her Senior Night was a bit of an out-of-body experience, since it truly signaled that her time as a Yeowoman was quickly coming to a close.

“It was surreal, it kinda felt fake,” Adams said. “It was weird until the moment I realized they were going to be calling my name and be talking about me. We have our locker room decorated every Senior Night and then I realized my locker would be decorated and so when I walked in there I was like, ‘Oh crap, it’s about me and it’s real.’”

The women’s soccer team has a motto that represents what their team stands for and the bonds that have been formed and strengthened within the team. Adams was happy to use the same motto as a way to sum up her career at Oberlin.

“We say this saying on our team, we say, ‘OC Love’ all the time,” Adams said. “We’ve defined the letters, we’ve picked words to define the ‘L-O-V-E’ that we use as our core values as a team. But we always say ‘OC Love,’ we’ll sign things ‘OC Love,’ and I think that’s a good definition of my career. Just OC Love.”

This meet will not be the first time that track and field athletes have hit the road to lend support to the cross country team. Because most cross country athletes are also part of the track and field team in the spring, the two teams are very closely tied. According to Reese Hyatt, a third-year sprinter on the track team, athletes who compete exclusively in track frequently take time out of their weekends to travel to cross country meets to support their teammates. 

“If there is a meet that is close enough, we try to gather some track folks to go and watch,” Hyatt said. “I try to travel to support as much as possible.”

Kambi Obioha, another third-year sprinter on the track team, added that attending cross country meets can be important for team spirit. 

“We go to cross country meets to just run around and support and just to get the whole team hyped for competition,” Obioha said. 

Obioha also mentioned that, when the cross country team competed in Granville earlier in the season, he was able to attend. 

“It was very competitive, and they’ll be doing the same race,” Obioha said. “I’m excited to come out and support again.”

Amber Borofsky, a second-year on the cross country and track and field teams, said that cross country athletes appreciate the support and energy that the track athletes bring.

“I love being able to hear our Oberlin cheers, like the ‘Yeo Baby,’” Borofsky said. “It’s also really exciting when you’re looking around and seeing teammates or other people from Oberlin to know that you have that broad support.” 

While the two teams are separated during the fall, athletes mentioned that, when cross country athletes compete alongside track and field in the spring, the separation doesn’t affect them or the team’s chemistry. 

“I think that the track and cross country team could be described as a big family,” Hyatt said. “Towards the beginning of the year, it may feel a bit separated or disconnected due to us practicing and meeting separately. … Once we join together for indoor season, the team becomes much more connected and feels a lot more like a family.” 

Obioha mentioned that, despite the differences in their individual events, the athletes who compete exclusively on the cross country or track and field teams never waver in their support for one another. 

“We operate like one big family, so regardless of whether somebody runs longer than another person or not, or we’re not in the same events, we stick together as one unit,” Obioha said. “We mainly do it for the purpose of supporting each others’ goals and getting them through challenges together.” 

According to Borofsky, part of the unity that the teams feel is due to the continued support of the cross country team from the track and field athletes who don’t compete in the fall.

“We come together on track and bring the energy for each other, and likewise, they bring the energy for us,” Borofsky said. 

Hyatt added that supporting the cross country team in the fall is essential for creating a healthy team environment once the two teams merge together in the spring. 

“I think it’s really important to have a good relationship with the cross country team because, at the end of the day, we are all the same team,” Hyatt said. “Making good connections with the team in the beginning of the year will ensure success towards the end of the year once we are all competing together and cheering each other on.” 

Obioha echoed the sentiment and added that the cross country athletes also add a lot of energy and support to the track team during the spring season. 

“Regardless of whether you’re alone or not in your event, you’re always going to have people from the cross country team, or really good friends who are in your same events, come out and support you,” Obioha said. “You’re never alone when it comes to competing.”

Both Smith and Cornwell played football growing up, despite the lack of women’s teams available to them. 

“Starting in middle school, I told everyone I could how much I loved football and wanted to play,” Smith wrote in an email to the Review. “Every time I did, everyone would give me a weird look or shoot down the idea. My parents were passively supportive … no one in our family had ever played football …  At first, I was just testing myself — was I strong enough to do it? And then I wanted to be good.” 

Smith ended up becoming the first woman to ever achieve a varsity letter in football at her high school. In college, she played with the Iowa Courage, a women’s club team. She eventually moved to Atlanta where she played with the Atlanta Xplosion for five years as part of the Independent Women’s Football Team, during which she collected two national championships. In 2010, Smith was called up for the very first United States National Women’s Tackle team. There, she played center and earned second-team All-World All-Star accolades during their gold-medal performance at the first-ever International Federation of American Football Women’s World Championship. 

Cornwell also played football, although as she got older and her fellow players got larger, she realized her size would make it difficult for her to continue in the sport. 

“As everyone started getting really big, and I was 5’4’’ and going against a 6’2’’ [defensive back], that wasn’t fun anymore,” Cornwell said. “But coaching was a way for me to stay in the game because I loved how it pushed me mentally and physically.” 

Cornwell began coaching in high school and continued through college. In 2022, she was selected for the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship, where she was able to work with the Tennessee Titans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She was also selected for the NFL International Player Pathway Program where she coached four international players, two of whom were selected to NFL teams for the 2023 season. 

Cornwell and Smith have both managed to have successful careers in professional football, even though it is still a largely male-dominated field. In the 2022–23 NFL season, there were 15 female coaches out of the roughly 400 total NFL coaches, which is the highest number achieved in the league for any season. In general, the number of female coaches has been on the rise in the NFL, partly in response to the League’s diversity initiatives, such as the Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowships and initiatives requiring teams to have a woman or a member of an ethnic or racial minority on their offensive coaching staff.

Smith noted that the increase in opportunities for women in professional coaching roles has been impactful. 

“Over my lifetime, I went from being one of the few girls to play high school football to seeing girls represented in Super Bowl Commercials to working at a school where there are two female position coaches,” Smith wrote. “Every woman in those roles has continued the legacy required when you are the first to accomplish a milestone: not to be the last. I love that each woman has a different story of making their own path.”

Cornwell also mentioned the benefits of the NFL’s diversity initiatives. 

“I think the accelerator programs are awesome,” Cornwell said, in reference to programs from the NFL which bring together existing head coaches and new coaches of marginalized identities. “It’s doing a good job getting people who are qualified and who are a minority in an area where they can be seen, and it’s just continuing the whole mindset of, ‘Don’t hire them because they’re a minority. Hire them because they are also qualified.’” 

Both Cornwell and Smith agreed that the new opportunities which allowed them to build their careers and end up coaching at a college level exceeded what they had ever imagined was possible at a young age. 

“It was once unusual or uncommon for girls and women to be involved in football — that has changed dramatically,” Smith wrote. “Becoming a college football coach was beyond any dream I had growing up, but I love that it can be for girls now.” 

Despite the opportunities and success she’s had, however, Cornwell also noted that her gender, particularly in combination with her age, caused some people to initially write her off. 

“There’s always some hesitancy from some coaches because I’m so young. I’m 22, and I’m a female, so they’re always like, ‘Why are you doing an NFL internship?’” Cornwell said. “That part is hard, but how I overcome it is I know my stuff. I’m on my game. I impress people by my work ethic and my knowledge of the game, especially for my age.” 

Cornwell also noted that despite some of the initial hesitancy, once people and players started to work with her, they realized that her gender doesn’t impact her ability to coach. 

“Good leadership and great leadership qualities don’t really differ by gender,” Cornwell said. “I think at the end of the day, almost every single player that I’ve ever worked with, … if they did have any worry about having a girl coach them, at the end of the day, I’ve realized as long as you’re getting them better and you know what you’re talking about and you show up and you show that you care, they do not care that they’re being coached by a female. They just care that they have a good coach.” 

Smith agreed, mentioning that the most important aspect of coaching is building relationships with the players. 

“I was some of my players’ first female coach,” Smith wrote. “I take my role seriously to first make sure they know I care about them as people … and next, to make them as prepared as I can for anything they might encounter.”

My favorite part of the game was getting free boom sticks that I could cheer with and then, later, annoy my brother with. I have a dozen or so packs of them lying around my room that still haven’t been inflated. Sometimes, when the Blazers won, Taco Bell would hand out coupons just for the night. If that was ever the case, after the game, my dad would drive us to the Taco Bell near our house, and I’d get a chicken quesadilla and a frozen Baja Blast for my 10 p.m. meal. 

I liked watching basketball because it was fast paced. Though I disliked the fluorescent lighting, squeaks, and loud buzzers in the Moda, I always enjoyed the anticipation of the game and the talent the players put on the court.  Even nowadays, Oberlin’s basketball team is one of my favorite teams to watch.

Though I haven’t been to a Blazers game in a while, Damian Lillard leaving to play for the Milwaukee Bucks feels like I’m saying goodbye to a part of my childhood. Even when LaMarcus Alridge and C.J. McCollum left, I was sad, but this somehow feels worse. Maybe because he was the last star player remaining, or because he’s been a part of the Blazers for more than half of my life. Lillard is considered one of the NBA’s best guards, and perhaps the best Trail Blazer of all time. In his career, he’s been named All Star for 11 seasons. This season, he’s averaged 32.2 points per game. Chances are, if you own a numbered Blazers jersey, it says “Lillard” on the back.

College third-year Braden Wells, who went to one of my rival high schools, also grew up going to Blazers games. 

“[Lillard] was sort of the only good player for as long as I can remember,” Wells said. “I’m a little bit mixed about it because, obviously, they’ve been terrible for the past four or five years now. So, I understand wanting to leave and get a trophy, but also he’s running from the grind.”’

College third-year Jake Davis, who went to high school about 15 minutes from me, also saw Blazers games growing up. His dad was a graphic designer that got Blazers tickets every once in a while, so Davis would go see them play with his family. As an eight-year-old watching the games, his highlight was the T-shirt cannon that would launch free shirts into the large crowd. In middle school, kids would show up the next day with boom sticks to show off that they had attended the Blazers game. He also expressed enthusiasm about the local food scene in the Moda, as he enjoyed grabbing a burger from Killer Burger or a gourmet s’more. In contrast to Wells, Davis is melancholy about Lillard’s departure. 

“I’m sad about it,” Davis said. “I mean, it’s not like I want the Portland Trail Blazers to only ever be defined by the fact that Damian Lillard was on the team, but it still does feel sad. He was a really amazing player, and he was kind of like a symbol for Portland, like the ‘L train.’. I feel like the Trail Blazers are definitely gonna come back, have new great players, have a new great generation, but it’s definitely sad to see the end of an era for that team.”

Davis’ favorite past Blazers player, Robin Lopez, also just signed to the Milwaukee Bucks — where he will be joined by Lillard. 

“I liked him the most because his hair was always just crazy and it would bounce as he was running down the court,” Davis said. “And then also he just had such style. … It just always looked good.”

College third-year Isaac Cotlar started going to Trail Blazers games when he was in first grade. He would go to two or three games a year with his dad, and when the Trail Blazers made it to the playoffs, they tried to go to those games as well. Cotlar has watched Lillard since his rookie season and has been a fan ever since. Like me, he valued watching Lillard play because it was time spent with his dad during his childhood. After games, they would walk across the Willamette River to Chinatown. 

Cotlar recalled how, in one of the first Blazers games he watched, Lillard hit a buzzer beater against the Houston Rockets in the 2014 Western Conference Playoffs, leading the Blazers to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time in 14 years. The final score was 99-98. 

“It was definitely a formative memory for me in terms of going to Blazers games,” Cotlar said. “I feel like Blazers fans are pretty enthusiastic compared to a lot of other NBA fans.”

Cotlar has mixed feelings about Lillard leaving. 

“I’m sad, but I’m also happy — he’s doing what he has to do,” Cotlar said. “Obviously it’s bittersweet, and I wish the Blazers had put themselves in a position to keep him, but I think it was probably time, you know? It definitely does suck though.”

When asked who his favorite Blazers player was, Cotlar immediately answered Lillard.

“I started wearing the number zero when I played basketball in middle school — I would wear zero because of him,” Cotlar said. “But beforehand, there was Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. I mean, at this point, people are kind of saying he’s maybe …  one of the best players ever. Or … at the very least, [he’s] up there with the older guys from the nineties, like Drexel and stuff.”

So, what lies next for Rip City? To be honest, I’m not sure. Lillard’s departure means saying goodbye to a symbol that has defined Portland.

Having people like Rapinoe in the sports world is vital. She is outspoken, unafraid, and unapologetic in a system that was created by men and for men. Seeing her as an out, proud lesbian who doesn’t hide who she is or what she believes in the sports industry is beyond inspirational. 

Jennifer Doyle, a queer theorist and sports writer, wrote in her book Introduction: Dirt off Her Shoulders, “… mainstream sports culture theatricalizes the exile and abjection of the feminine, the effeminate, the queer.” 

The heteronormative state of this industry hates women being included in it, and it may hate queer people included in it even more. Nevertheless, we are still here. We still exist, compete,  inspire, and support each other. Rapinoe has been such a prominent voice, and I cannot imagine a USWNT without her. I have read and reread her memoir, One Life, and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. She acknowledges her privilege and uses the fact that she knows people will read her book to spread important messages and educate people. The book contains many tangents related to reforming the prison system, systemic racism, and how white athletes need to do better regarding activism and supporting Black Lives Matter. Rapinoe has amassed such a platform and a reputation that her retirement feels as though we are losing a driving force, both on and off the field. However, I am so excited to follow her journey after retirement. Who knows what she will accomplish with more time on her hands? 

Seeing her being happy and able to embrace who she is has been really amazing. As a lesbian athlete who struggled with my sexuality in high school and a current collegiate athlete, consistently having her as a role model throughout my childhood undeniably has changed how I view myself and my confidence. I am now a part of Oberlin’s Queer Student Athlete Group and am hoping to do research on queer athlete mental health in our current social climate — basically, I’ve been able to unlock a huge part of who I am and what I am passionate about in terms of my relationship with myself, my queerness, and athletics.

As someone who wants to go into sports but never wants to hide part of who I am to do so, she has shown me that I can still be successful and respected for my identity. You should never change who you are to get people to “like you” or to fit the mold of a specific industry. Seeing her thrive in every walk of life gives me hope for the future of women, and specifically lesbians, in sports. 

My favorite quote from her, which is also one of my favorite quotes ever, is, “You can’t win a championship without gays on your team — it’s never been done before, ever. That’s science, right there! I’m motivated by people who like me, who are fighting for the same things. I take more energy from that than from trying to prove anyone wrong.” 

There is such a positive energy at Oberlin around being openly queer and competing as such. Being on a team that not only accepts me, but also where I am surrounded by people who are like me and are supportive of me, has fundamentally changed me as a person and also, I think, made me a much better athlete. I never thought I would find a community like this, but I am so grateful that I have. I will always hold the queer athlete community close to my heart, even after I leave Oberlin. 

Obviously, the whole world is not like Oberlin, especially not the sports industry, but I know I will always carry that community with me. I will never hide who I am. I will always thank Megan Rapinoe for being a role model. And, though she may not be on the pitch anymore, the fact that she was out there at all was life-changing. She has inspired a whole generation of queer athletes, and I will never be able to put into words how much she’s inspired me.

“[QSAG] means that queer student athletes have a space for their identities, not only within the college but within their sports as well,” fourth-year track and field thrower Abby Cannon wrote in an email to the Review. “Obviously Oberlin is generally considered an accepting place for all identities, but I haven’t always felt like pride was something that could be celebrated in athletic spaces. It means a lot to me to be able to connect with other queer athletes and to make Oberlin athletics a more inclusive environment. I felt that in full effect at Pride Night. That was such a special event. It made my heart very happy to be able to combine my celebration of pride and my love for sports.”

Fourth-year Maggie Balderstone is one of the members of QSAG’s board, along with third-year swimmers John Roberts and Nora Holder and second-year tennis player James Foster. Their initiative, along with the drive of other student athletes, culminated in the creation of QSAG.

“I wanted to create a space and group of folks that felt safe and comfortable,” Balderstone wrote in an email to the Review. “It’s hard to find queer representation in sports, and the goal of creating this group was to allow other queer athletes to know they weren’t alone in their existence. It’s extremely meaningful to me to know that I will leave Oberlin Athletics with a group that emphasizes the importance of queer spaces and identity in a typically cisheteronormative field. We usually see athletics as a binary, hetero space, especially at Oberlin, but this group ensures that queer athletes don’t have to feel alone in their existence here.”

Roberts recalled how Balderstone connected with him to create QSAG. 

“Last semester Maggie, then on the women’s basketball team, reached out and asked if I was interested in creating a space for queer athletes,” Roberts said. “It was a super broad idea, but I told them I was definitely interested. We met as a board towards the end of the semester and started to narrow down what we wanted to do. We decided our goal was to celebrate queer athletes and queer joy. After that, we sent out an interest form and listened to what other queer athletes wanted in an organization.”

Since the group is still very new, they are still brainstorming what the future holds for them, what projects they are going to undertake, the responsibilities members will have, and what events they will have on campus. A lot of these responsibilities will be picked up by the board members of the group.

“Right now, we’re still figuring out projects and events we want to hold, so my responsibility has been to come up with ideas and listening to what other people want to see,” Roberts said. “We just had our first Pride Night on Wednesday. That was really fun and successful, which I helped brainstorm and plan. We’re hoping to hold more of those and host more events as well.”

In the recent women’s soccer game against Heidelberg University, QSAG held its first Pride Night, with people joining them for poster making prior to the game with the possibility of winning prizes. The group will also have regular meetings in which they discuss what they can achieve in the near future.

“The meetings are super laid back and informal. We sit in a circle and introduce ourselves with names, sports, and pronouns,” Roberts said. “After that, the board breaks down what events we have coming up or our ideas for plans, then we open the floor to what ideas other people have. Once we start to host more things, we’ll ask people to volunteer for events, but right now we’re really coming up with ideas and making QSAG what queer athletes want it to be.” 

QSAG is a very important addition to student-led groups, and all student athletes who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are encouraged to join the group. Students can find their Instagram at @oberlin_qsag where they will be able to join the mailing list and keep up to date with the latest news about the group.

On March 20, 2022, former Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Kim Russell reposted on her Instagram story a post that read, “Congratulations to Emma Weyant, the real woman who won the NCAA 500-yard freestyle event,” in response to Lia Thomas winning the 500-yard freestyle in the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships. She captioned the repost, “What do you believe? I can’t be quiet on this… I’ve spent my life playing sports, starting & coaching sports programs for girls & women…”

Russell joined the Oberlin Athletics Department in 2018 as head coach of women’s lacrosse. She played Division I lacrosse at the College of William and Mary and previously coached at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, OH; Baldwin Wallace University; and IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. 

A student reported Russell’s comments to Associate Vice President of Athletics Natalie Winkelfoos. The next day, Russell met with both Winkelfoos and Senior Associate Director of Athletics Creg Jantz to discuss her comments, which Russell recorded on her phone. Ohio is known as a one-party consent state, which means that recording an in-person or phone conversation is legal with the consent of only one party, barring criminal intent. Russell also met with the women’s lacrosse team and was asked to apologize. After meeting with the lacrosse players, Russell met again with Winkelfoos and was asked to write a letter of apology, and Winkelfoos held another meeting with Russell, the women’s lacrosse team, and several other administrative officials. 

She continued to coach the season and the 2022 team ended with a 6–9 record. Shortly after the end of the season, Russell said that she received a letter from Winkelfoos, which would be placed in her file in the Human Resources department, stating she needed to change her behavior. 

Since then, Russell has said that she refuses to apologize for the post and for her beliefs about transgender women on women’s athletic teams. 

The Story Breaks

On Aug. 29, USA Today released a piece on Russell by columnist Ingrid Jacques detailing what occurred. The same day, the International Women’s Forum also published an eight-minute documentary called “Burned at the Stake: One NCAA Coach’s Battle to Protect Women’s Sports,” which documented the events of the previous year and included a screenshot of Russell’s Instagram story, as well as audio recordings of Winkelfoos, Jantz, and various lacrosse players that Russell recorded during the meetings.  

“I was burned at the stake,” Russell said about her experience in the IWF documentary. “I was stoned. I was basically told I was a horrible person, and it was heartbreaking, really.”

Within a week, news outlets such as the Daily Mail and Washington Times picked up Russell’s story. Russell was also praised by members of the Independent Women’s Forum such as former competitive college swimmer Riley Gaines. 

On Sept. 5, Russell was featured on Fox News for a four-minute segment on Laura Ingraham’s The Ingraham Angle. She was joined by her attorney May Mailman, a senior legal fellow for the Independent Women’s Law Center. During their time on air, Russell and Mailman discussed the statement Oberlin provided to Fox News and claimed that Russell broke no rules. Russell indicated that her contact with her players is limited and stated that “everything was still on the table” regarding legal action against the College. 

Three days later, The New York Post published an editorial from Russell. Much like the documentary, Russell’s editorial was a first-person account of her experience during this situation, defending her viewpoint and offering sympathy toward the players who disagreed with her.

“Oberlin — like many higher-level institutions these days — only seems to support the First Amendment if your values align with theirs,” she wrote. “Disagree, and you will be verbally and emotionally attacked, bullied, shunned, and vilified. Perhaps even ultimately forced out.”

On Sept. 11, Russell was reassigned as Employee Wellness Project Manager. Assistant Women’s Lacrosse Coach Erin Mitchell now serves as interim head women’s lacrosse coach. A day later, IWF released an article about her termination. Russell broke this announcement on Fox News’  America’s Newsroom and said that her new position would be one where she had no contact with the women’s lacrosse team. In another statement, the College wrote that Russell was only reassigned because she recorded students without their consent. 

“The decision to reassign Kim Russell to a new role in the Athletics department pertains to her breach of trust rather than any views she has expressed,” the College wrote. “Russell posted about trans athletes on social media 18 months ago, in March 2022. She coached an entire season after that. But when she recorded her student-athletes without their knowledge or consent, then shared those recordings with the media, she violated their trust in an irreparable way. This breach of trust — not her posts, feelings, or beliefs about trans athletes — is why she has been removed from her coaching duties. Russell is our new Employee Wellness Project Manager, which fits well with her skills, experience, and interests.”

Game prediction: Football vs. DePauw? After the Yeomen’s win against Concordia University of Chicago, we were told to not get too excited about the next couple of weeks. DePauw currently stands at 4–0, and we think that with Oberlin’s last two blowouts, it will most likely be a loss. 

Game prediction: Men’s soccer vs Wooster? The Yeomen currently stand at 2–3–3. Wooster stands at a close 3–4–2. We think this might be a draw.  

Favorite fall sport to watch?

Andrea: I love volleyball. I am also obligated to watch volleyball because my housemate is one of the hitters. My favorite thing to watch during a volleyball game is what all the players on the sidelines are doing. You might see the Yeowomen waving around their pom poms for support, pretending to snipe whenever someone makes a kill shot, or cheering on fourth-year Andréa Jones by singing “Dre” instead of “Damn” in their version of “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert. (Much love to field hockey as well, I wish there were more home games earlier this season.) 

James: I’m a little biased towards volleyball because I love watching second-year Jill Jendsen make insane digs on the court and dance like crazy on the sideline, but I also really like watching soccer. Seeing the players hustle after the ball and make crazy shots on offense and unreal saves on defense is incredibly exhilarating, and I don’t think there’s ever a dull moment during a game. 

Who will have the best season this fall? 

Andrea: I mean, volleyball is 10–1 at the moment, the best in program history. Also, cross country has its members placing high at races, so they should finish off their season strong. 

James: I also have to go with volleyball. They’re killing it so far this year and have been so dominant in every game they’ve played. Here’s to hoping they can keep it up and win it all this year.

Obie-specific flags?

#1. Red flags: If they’re from New York City or Los Angeles, Jazz majors, anyone who regularly participates in friendcest, guitarists who play you “Blackbird” on your first date, people who eat in Stevie for every single meal, and anyone who buys the canned boba from DeCafé. 

#2. Beige flags: Being in OSCA, any men’s sports team, spending the night at yours your first night out together, exclusively studying on the first floor of Mudd Center, and taking all their classes in King Building. 

#3. Green flags: Missing Biggs GoYeo, actually being quiet on the third and fourth floors of Mudd, getting drinks from Azariah’s Cafe instead of Slow Train Cafe to save money, and making conversation with AVI workers.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift?

Andrea: To be honest, I had no clue who he was before the dating rumors. My all-time NFL crush is Joe Burrow without a doubt. After seeing the videos of Travis dancing when he does a touchdown or making friendship bracelets for his tight end campers, I too might have a crush on Travis Kelce. I’m still all for Kaylor, though. 

James: Travis Kelce has been my NFL crush for quite a while now (sorry, Jimmy G and Joe Burrow lovers). The eyes, the smile, the muscles, the humor, the dances, the bracelets, the podcast with his brother… ANYWAY, Taylor Swift is stunning and arguably the greatest pop star of our generation, so what can go wrong? Best-case scenario, they get married and Taylor only writes happy love songs from now on. Worst case, they break up and we get another banger album to scream in the car. It’s a win-win for me!

Sports Editors Alumni Feature: what was your favorite part about working for the Review?

Since it’s Homecoming Weekend and we miss them so much, we decided to ask our previous Sports Editors a question. 

“The thing I miss most about being at the College is definitely working at the Review. My favorite thing about the Review was just working with the other staff members. I’ve always been a very independent worker and person in general. I think just learning to work with people who have all different kinds of personalities and creative skills made me a better person. I ended up meeting and becoming friends with people who I might not have ever talked to if I wasn’t a part of the staff, and I think that will be more meaningful long term than any article I wrote about men’s lacrosse or whatever.” –John Elrod, OC ’23.

“My favorite thing about being in the Review were the late nights in the office with my friends when we all would become delirious. It seemed horrible at the time, being in that basement for seven hours straight, but some of the funniest moments from my college experience happened down there at 1 a.m. during Thursday night production. Whether it was running to DeCafé for Fourth Meal in the pouring rain, drawing on the walls, taking random photo booth pictures, or blasting Christmas music, the office culture was always a nice escape with my friends from the real world above ground.” –Zoe Kuzbari, OC ’22.

“My favorite thing about being a part of the Review was spending countless hours with my best friends to create a weekly newspaper that brought attention to important stories in the Oberlin community. I loved writing about the athletic community and highlighting multifaceted student-athletes. There was nothing like the feeling of publishing a story that I had worked hard on, and I am grateful for the trust that people put in me to tell their stories.” –Zoë Martin del Campo, OC ’22.

“My favorite thing about being in the Review were my coworkers! We all worked so hard each week and it always came together in the end, even when it didn’t feel like it would.” –Khalid McCalla, OC ’21.

“Through working for the Review, I formed wonderful friendships with people whom I otherwise would have never gotten to interact with. My colleagues, especially my Editors-In-Chief, were so warm and encouraging, and they taught me how to perfect the craft of writing — and empowered me to enjoy the process. My experience at the Review unequivocally launched my career in public relations.” –Alexis Dill, OC ’20.

“The community. Those long Thursday nights were some of the most fun times I’ve ever had. Even though we were stuck in the Review basement for six hours straight, I couldn’t have asked for better people to spend it with: work friends, but also friend friends. They were people you can definitely rely on, given you were brothers-in-arms against the Oxford comma together.” –Jane Agler, OC ’20.

“My favorite thing about being in the Review: being on the staff changed the way I lived on a daily basis. The Review helped me see the campus and the town as a place full of answers to my questions and curiosity. Once you start interrogating and asking questions about the obvious and implicit things around you, you realize how many stories are waiting to be told. The Review helped me see that stories of all kinds were all around me.” –Julie Schreiber, OC ’19.