newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Stan Van Gundy talks Tom Thibodeau, Knicks and history with Dwight Howard

With the NBA ’ s coronavirus-altered playoffs getting set to tip off , NBA analyst and former coach Stan Van Gundy takes a timeout for some Q & A with Post columnist Steve Serby .
Q : What do you think of Tom Thibodeau as Knicks coach ?
A : I think it ’ s a great hire because they need to bring a real stability to that organization , No .
1 , and a structure , and Tom will bring great structure to that organization .
Everyone will know exactly what ’ s expected on a daily basis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as professionals , because they ’ ll know what ’ s expected .
He ’ ll set high standards , he ’ ll enforce them .
He will show guys what they need to do to become successful NBA players .
And Tom ’ s teams have always played with a toughness about ’ em , with an edge .
Tom has an edge to him , and I think New York teams , at their best , have an edge to them , and Tom will bring that to the Knicks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very successful there .
Now , if we ’ re gon na talk very successful in terms of wins and losses , their roster still has a long way to go .
Tom ’ s a great coach , but their roster ’ s not ready to be highly successful right now .
But Tom will maximize the talent that he ’ s given .
A : Everything I know of Leon Rose is good .
When he was an agent , he was widely respected among general managers and player personnel people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respected among players because he worked hard for them and had their best interests at heart .
He seems to me , from all I know of him , to be a person of high integrity .
A : I ’ ve only met Wes on a couple of occasions .
A very personable guy that knows everyone .
Q : Has Jacque Vaughn done enough to be in consideration for the Nets head coaching job ?
A : Well I hope so , because Jacque ’ s a really good guy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ here in the bubble .
The only thing is , is what he ’ s doing here in the bubble is totally different than what the job description will be there with the Nets next year .
So taking a bunch of young guys and getting them to overachieve , especially for a relatively short period of time , it ’ s not easy , but it ’ s a very different job than coaching star players with high expectations .
So I don ’ t know how [ GM ] Sean Marks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Jacque in terms of those things .
Look , I was shocked , and I think a lot of people were , when Kenny Atkinson was out .
I don ’ t think there were very many people over the last few years in the NBA who had done a better job coaching than Kenny Atkinson .
Totally revived the Nets franchise , and did an unbelievable job developing the young players that they had and making them better .
I would love to see Jacque get a second chance , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team really in flux and didn ’ t have a great roster , and didn ’ t have a great record .
I always pull for those guys to get a second chance .
Q : Could Caris LeVert be the third spoke in the wheel with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving ?
A : Kyrie and Kevin Durant are clearly your stars , and I look at Caris LeVert and probably Spencer Dinwiddie as your second-unit guys , your bench scorers , and then put more shooting around Kyrie and Kevin Durant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me is a really good fit for them in the starting lineup if they bring him back .
Both are certainly good enough not only to be starters but to be good starters in the NBA .
The problem to me , and I ’ m not saying you can ’ t overcome it , but the tough part if Spencer and/or Caris LeVert are in the starting lineup with Kyrie and Kevin Durant is Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie both need the ball in their hands .
They are put-the-ball-in-my-hands , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run pick-and-roll , and in your first unit , the ball ’ s gon na be in Kyrie and Kevin Durant ’ s hands all the time .
Q : What are your thoughts on Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard ?
A : Of all the players in the league that I don ’ t have any personal relationship with and I ’ ve never coached and I ’ m judging from the outside , I don ’ t know if there ’ s anybody in the league I have more respect for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he never tried to get out of Portland .
Never criticized his teammates .
Never publicly comes out and says that he needs more help .
He ’ s extremely supportive of his coach and his general manager .
He ’ s a total team guy and a total organization guy that has an overwhelming desire to get it done right where he is in Portland .
And he concentrates on doing his job .
Any team would be lucky to have a guy like that .
Milwaukee is hoping that Giannis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that guy in Milwaukee .
Q : What is the best piece of advice your brother Jeff gave you about this television gig ?
A : The same advice he gave me in coaching , which is to be yourself .
You can ’ t try to be someone else .
You can learn from a lot of people and should , but your personality ’ s your personality and you should be yourself .
I probably look at the numbers a lot more than he does and I ’ ll give some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I do in that regard is good , but he thinks I should focus more on why things happened on the floor and explain those things and not get to carried away with numbers … to just be quiet at times and let the game speak for itself .
He ’ s the best in the business .
I watch him every chance I get .
Even when I was coaching , I would try to catch replays of his games .
We ’ d fly into a hotel [ at ] 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hop in bed and turn on his game .
He ’ s got a great way of explaining what ’ s going on , and doing it clearly and concisely .
I ’ m better at clear than I am on concise .
Q : What was your immediate reaction when you saw your brother clinging to Alonzo Mourning ’ s leg during that 1998 Knicks-Heat brawl ?
A : I was in the middle of that in the sense that I was [ an assistant ] on the other bench .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was to turn around and make sure all of our guys stayed on the bench .
The next thought I had was , “ We ’ re screwed , ” because Alonzo ’ s gon na get suspended .
I wasn ’ t really thinking , why did Jeff get in the middle of it , why did he do what he did , or anything else .
That ’ s just who he is .
If something ’ s out there , he ’ s gon na hop in and try to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspended and stuff .
He ’ s always been tough and fearless , but I wasn ’ t thinking any of that at the time .
Q : Did you chuckle watching the replays over the years ?
A : No , that ’ s not funny to us .
We ’ re able to laugh at ourselves , and I think you hear it from him a lot on the air — he ’ s very self-deprecating .
He might now be able to chuckle at that situation better than I can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , and I hear people making fun of him and stuff , it hurts me , it ’ s not funny to me , I don ’ t like it at all .
And from a competitive situation , that was a series that we lost .
I probably see it once a year , and quite honestly , if I ’ m in a place with other people , I walk away .
And if I watch TV by myself , I turn it off .
Q : What are your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Just working for [ then-coach ] Nick Macarchuk .
Probably , other than my father and brother , he ’ s the coach I worked under [ first at Canisius in 1987 ] that I learned the most from .
I remember being on a bus after a game coming back from LaSalle , those were the Lionel Simmons days and they had beaten us , and there were some of our guys laughing and joking in the back of the bus , and I was getting pissed off , like we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the most intense guys that I ’ ve ever been around , one of the greatest competitors .
But he looked at me and said : “ What do you want to do now that could help us win that game tonight ?
” His point was players need to bounce back .
… We were at Fordham , we were on a recruiting trip and I asked him , “ What do you look for in an assistant ?
” He said , “ Look , I can look at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ background is .
I can make some calls and find out if they know the game .
But for me to have somebody on my staff in a business like this , I have to be able to ride in a car with him for four hours.
” I ’ ve always thought about that , not only in terms of my staff members , but even in terms of players , we ’ re together so long on a daily basis that part of the reason you have success or don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re liked , but definitely your respect for the people that you ’ re working with .
Yeah , you want to achieve things , but you want to enjoy the journey along the way .
And then the third thing I learned from Nick is I remember Nick saying that all coaching jobs are the same , except on payday .
You ’ re putting a different amount of money in the bank , but once you put that money in the bank , all you care about is winning the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nick Macarchuk at Fordham or an NBA coach or a high school JV coach somewhere .
All coaches are the same .
Q : What was the main thing that impressed you about your father , Bill , as a coach ?
A : I can pick out a lot , but the No .
1 thing , was simply his passion for the game .
He would say to us growing up , and then after we were grown up , that he never felt like he worked a day in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Jeff and I would grow up and want to coach , because when you grow up around someone who loves to go to work every day and has that kind of enthusiasm for it , you say , “ Wow , that looks like a lot of fun .
I would love to do that.
” Well over half , probably , of what I ’ ve picked up in coaching , certainly all of my foundational beliefs on how to go about the job , I learned from my dad .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ideal Stan Van Gundy basketball player ?
A : Tough , mentally and physically .
Somebody who welcomes challenges and won ’ t back down from anything … and the not-backing-down part of it too is , won ’ t back down from the truth , can face up to failures and work to get better .
… Certainly a commitment to his team and his teammates above himself .
So it manifests itself in doing the little things on the court , things that may not show up in a stat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extra pass , cutting to open up space .
… One of the biggest skills that any NBA player can develop is the ability to focus for long periods of time .
A lot of people are smart and can answer all the questions when you ask them , but have a problem staying focused over the length of a 48-minute game and an 82-game season .
… Highly conditioned .
… I think if you ’ re highly-conditioned , tough and can focus , and you ’ re unselfish , whatever your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gon na get as close to it as possible .
Q : If you were starting an NBA franchise , who would you start it with ?
A : I have a tough choice right now between [ Luka ] Doncic and Giannis .
Q : What are coaches in other sports you admire ?
A : [ Orioles bench coach and former MLB manager ] Freddie Gonzalez .
Just sort of his even-keeled demeanor , the emphasis he had on using his entire roster .
… He would attribute a lot from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Braves manager ] Bobby Cox in terms of communicating with each player every day .
Then I would throw Bobby Cox in there , too .
I don ’ t know if you can give players confidence , but Bobby Cox always showed confidence in his players .
He stuck with his guys as long as he felt guys were focused and playing hard .
When I was at the University of Wisconsin , a guy who ended up coaching the Raiders to the Super Bowl , Bill Callahan .
… The importance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of fundamentals .
I admire guys who have success for long periods of time .
… In our sport , Gregg Popovich , Jerry Sloan , guys like that I ’ ve had great respect for .
… Football , Bill Belichick , Nick Saban in the college game .
Q : I read that you admired Joe Maddon , also .
A : What I liked about Joe Maddon was he was willing to do things differently … willing to step outside the box and try something that they think will help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it was some on the field ***** and ***** off of the field .
Most days , even on the road , he would go for a bike ride , which he thought helped his mind and kept him thinking .
It ’ s something that I didn ’ t do well enough , and I became so obsessive .
Q : Who are leaders you admire ?
A : [ Former NBA point guard ] Jameer Nelson was probably , of all the players I ’ ve been around , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He would know what a guy needed on any given day .
… I thought Barack Obama was an unbelievable leader .
A big part of leadership is being able to inspire other people .
He always got to the heart of the issue , and he had a way of raising you and inspiring you to action , probably a lot like John F. Kennedy .
I would certainly say if you look at what ’ s going on now and harken back to the ’ 60s , [ late Congressman ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the great personal sacrifice he made in pursuit of his ideals , which were equality and really manifested in voting rights and things .
Over the last 6-8 years , probably Nancy Pelosi , who tends to be a divisive figure because the people on the right really don ’ t like her , but I think she is smart and practical and understands what can be done , and goes after those things .
… Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her intellect and her courage , which manifests itself more and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knows what ’ s at stake and she just continues to go on and on .
Q : What are your favorite inspirational or motivational sayings ?
A : The one that I ’ ve used is from Aristotle , that excellence is not an act but a habit .
We are what we repeatedly do .
… JJ Redick has continued to get better into his mid-30s because of the approach he takes , he ’ s trying to get better every day .
He is , I think , the best-conditioned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The thing that to me set him apart is he had an extremely strong will .
He would stick to his beliefs and convictions all the time .
He wasn ’ t somebody who was gon na change with the wind .
He was gon na set the standards , he knew what he liked , he knew what he wanted , and you were gon na meet those standards .
A : It was easy to see his greatness right away .
He had great poise , was always under control , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learn .
He just picked things up so quickly it was just incredible .
A : Just an absolute force of nature .
The most underrated thing about Dwight Howard when I coached him was his intelligence .
He knew the strengths and weaknesses of every single other big guy in the league to the point of being able to mimic everybody ’ s moves .
He knew game plans and our system , and you could make adjustments and changes on the fly .
Put that physical ability together with an incredible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s a first-ballot Hall of Famer .
Q : Did you feel betrayed by him toward the end of your Magic tenure ?
A : The whole situation there with the rumors [ that Howard wanted out of Orlando during 2011-12 season ] , I thought it was becoming a distraction to our team , and whether I was right or wrong , I thought the best way to sort of get rid of the rumors and clear up the distraction was just to bring everything out in the open .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he gave his answer on what he wanted , and that ’ s the way it goes .
One of the things I learned from Pat Riley , he would say all the time to our team , that a player-coach relationship is a business relationship designed to get a result .
I ’ ve always thought if you want to know if a player-coach relationship is good , look at what happens on the court .
I don ’ t know that I ’ ve ever had a better player-coach relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I didn ’ t feel betrayed by Dwight , I do think Dwight felt betrayed by me .
And I still regret that because I have great respect for Dwight .
Q : What is your single best basketball moment ?
A : 1985 , I was in my second year as a head coach at Castleton State College , I was 25 years old , and we beat St. Joseph ’ s of Maine to win the NAIA District 5 championship and go to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ career .
My best NBA moment was winning Game 6 against Cleveland in 2009 to go the NBA Finals with a group of people I had great respect for , and that moment was probably just ahead of my first year in the NBA as a head coach , 2003-04 season , Game 7 against New Orleans at home with a bunch of young guys and two great veterans and blowing out New Orleans to win that playoff series .
A : He ’ s absolutely the best .
He has really been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make a great coach , a great teacher because he ’ s patient and he ’ ll be encouraging but he also will tell you things that help you .
We talk about the great ones in basketball make their teammates better , well , that ’ s what Ian does as a broadcaster .
Q : Who are athletes in other sports you admire ?
A : Mike Trout .
My two things are guys who bring a great enthusiasm and passion to the game , and guys who have success for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the game like he ’ s a high school kid having fun .
… Guys like Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera , who hit the ball so well for so long .
… Tom Brady , the success he ’ s had year in and year out .
… Larry Fitzgerald , same way .
… [ Roger ] Federer , [ Rafael ] Nadal , [ Novak ] Djokovic .
… Serena Williams is the best athlete of her generation , male or female .
Q : Would you want to coach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to coach again , I really would .
In my mind I ’ m still young and I ’ ve certainly got the energy for it .
I think I have a lot to offer .
It would have to be a situation , a city , and even just going back to coaching that my wife would feel comfortable about , because my relationship with her is a lot more important to me than coaching is .
It would have to be one where I was aligned with the vision of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were all on the same page .
Q : Describe your coaching legacy as of now ?
A : I think the only legacy we have in life is how we impact people around us and they impact the people around them and so on and so on down through the generations , and we ’ ll never know what that is .
What I would feel best about is people would say about me at the end is he worked really hard , he gave a damn about our team , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like the dude cared and he tried and he was a decent guy .
Q : If you were a player in the bubble , what message would you have on the back of your jersey ?
A : To me , it ’ s the simplest one , but we ’ re so far away from it — I ’ d put “ Equality ” on there .
Until we can get to there , being a true equality of opportunity , to where people have equal rights and equal opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colors , races , genders , sexual orientation … until we truly get to that , then nothing else matters .
We still haven ’ t been able to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment , which is the simplest amendment there ’ s ever been , and something I don ’ t understand how anybody can be against .
… Women have never been equal , what we ’ ve done to Native Americans is beyond belief , and now our answer is put ’ em on the reservation and give ’ em @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crimes of the past … and this isn ’ t a vengeful thing … you can ’ t have equality of opportunity if we disregard our history , because one of the biggest advantages we as white people have is , wealth is generational .
I ’ ve heard a lot people say , “ Well I ’ ve never encountered slavery , why should I pay ?
” Well , it ’ s not you paying directly , it ’ s our country paying .
And I think people are short-sighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the kind of country and the kind of world that they want to live in .
And if you want to get really selfish about it , the demographics of our country are changing fairly rapidly , and some day you might be in the minority .
How do you want to be treated at that point ?

With the NBA’s coronavirus-altered playoffs getting set to tip off, NBA analyst and former coach Stan Van Gundy takes a timeout for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What do you think of Tom Thibodeau as Knicks coach?
A: I think it’s a great hire because they need to bring a real stability to that organization, No. 1, and a structure, and Tom will bring great structure to that organization. Everyone will know exactly what’s expected on a daily basis. He will develop their young players as professionals, because they’ll know what’s expected. He’ll set high standards, he’ll enforce them. He will show guys what they need to do to become successful NBA players. And Tom’s teams have always played with a toughness about ’em, with an edge. Tom has an edge to him, and I think New York teams, at their best, have an edge to them, and Tom will bring that to the Knicks, and I think he’ll be very successful there. Now, if we’re gonna talk very successful in terms of wins and losses, their roster still has a long way to go. Tom’s a great coach, but their roster’s not ready to be highly successful right now. But Tom will maximize the talent that he’s given.
Q: Leon Rose?
A: Everything I know of Leon Rose is good. When he was an agent, he was widely respected among general managers and player personnel people as a straight shooter. He was respected among players because he worked hard for them and had their best interests at heart. He seems to me, from all I know of him, to be a person of high integrity.
Q: William Wesley, aka World Wide Wes?
A: I’ve only met Wes on a couple of occasions. A very personable guy that knows everyone.
Q: Has Jacque Vaughn done enough to be in consideration for the Nets head coaching job?
A: Well I hope so, because Jacque’s a really good guy. And they’ve done very well here in the bubble. The only thing is, is what he’s doing here in the bubble is totally different than what the job description will be there with the Nets next year. So taking a bunch of young guys and getting them to overachieve, especially for a relatively short period of time, it’s not easy, but it’s a very different job than coaching star players with high expectations. So I don’t know how [GM] Sean Marks and [owner] Joe Tsai look at Jacque in terms of those things. Look, I was shocked, and I think a lot of people were, when Kenny Atkinson was out. I don’t think there were very many people over the last few years in the NBA who had done a better job coaching than Kenny Atkinson. Totally revived the Nets franchise, and did an unbelievable job developing the young players that they had and making them better. I would love to see Jacque get a second chance, because he came into Orlando and took a team really in flux and didn’t have a great roster, and didn’t have a great record. I always pull for those guys to get a second chance.
Q: Could Caris LeVert be the third spoke in the wheel with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving?
A: Kyrie and Kevin Durant are clearly your stars, and I look at Caris LeVert and probably Spencer Dinwiddie as your second-unit guys, your bench scorers, and then put more shooting around Kyrie and Kevin Durant to space the floor. Joe Harris to me is a really good fit for them in the starting lineup if they bring him back. Both are certainly good enough not only to be starters but to be good starters in the NBA. The problem to me, and I’m not saying you can’t overcome it, but the tough part if Spencer and/or Caris LeVert are in the starting lineup with Kyrie and Kevin Durant is Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie both need the ball in their hands. They are put-the-ball-in-my-hands, let me go one-on-one or let me run pick-and-roll, and in your first unit, the ball’s gonna be in Kyrie and Kevin Durant’s hands all the time.
Q: What are your thoughts on Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard?
A: Of all the players in the league that I don’t have any personal relationship with and I’ve never coached and I’m judging from the outside, I don’t know if there’s anybody in the league I have more respect for than Damian Lillard. No. 1, he never tried to get out of Portland. Never criticized his teammates. Never publicly comes out and says that he needs more help. He’s extremely supportive of his coach and his general manager. He’s a total team guy and a total organization guy that has an overwhelming desire to get it done right where he is in Portland. And he concentrates on doing his job. Any team would be lucky to have a guy like that. Milwaukee is hoping that Giannis [Antetokounmpo] is gonna be that guy in Milwaukee.
Q: What is the best piece of advice your brother Jeff gave you about this television gig?
A: The same advice he gave me in coaching, which is to be yourself. You can’t try to be someone else. You can learn from a lot of people and should, but your personality’s your personality and you should be yourself. I probably look at the numbers a lot more than he does and I’ll give some out. He thinks some of what I do in that regard is good, but he thinks I should focus more on why things happened on the floor and explain those things and not get to carried away with numbers … to just be quiet at times and let the game speak for itself. He’s the best in the business. I watch him every chance I get. Even when I was coaching, I would try to catch replays of his games. We’d fly into a hotel [at] 2 in the morning, I’d hop in bed and turn on his game. He’s got a great way of explaining what’s going on, and doing it clearly and concisely. I’m better at clear than I am on concise.
Q: What was your immediate reaction when you saw your brother clinging to Alonzo Mourning’s leg during that 1998 Knicks-Heat brawl?
A: I was in the middle of that in the sense that I was [an assistant] on the other bench. So at the time, my immediate reaction was to turn around and make sure all of our guys stayed on the bench. The next thought I had was, “We’re screwed,” because Alonzo’s gonna get suspended. I wasn’t really thinking, why did Jeff get in the middle of it, why did he do what he did, or anything else. That’s just who he is. If something’s out there, he’s gonna hop in and try to protect his players, especially from getting suspended and stuff. He’s always been tough and fearless, but I wasn’t thinking any of that at the time.
Q: Did you chuckle watching the replays over the years?
A: No, that’s not funny to us. We’re able to laugh at ourselves, and I think you hear it from him a lot on the air — he’s very self-deprecating. He might now be able to chuckle at that situation better than I can, but when I look at it now, and I hear people making fun of him and stuff, it hurts me, it’s not funny to me, I don’t like it at all. And from a competitive situation, that was a series that we lost. I probably see it once a year, and quite honestly, if I’m in a place with other people, I walk away. And if I watch TV by myself, I turn it off.
Q: What are your favorite Fordham memories from 1988?
A: Just working for [then-coach] Nick Macarchuk. Probably, other than my father and brother, he’s the coach I worked under [first at Canisius in 1987] that I learned the most from.
I remember being on a bus after a game coming back from LaSalle, those were the Lionel Simmons days and they had beaten us, and there were some of our guys laughing and joking in the back of the bus, and I was getting pissed off, like we lost! Nick Macarchuk’s one of the most intense guys that I’ve ever been around, one of the greatest competitors. But he looked at me and said: “What do you want to do now that could help us win that game tonight?” His point was players need to bounce back. … We were at Fordham, we were on a recruiting trip and I asked him, “What do you look for in an assistant?” He said, “Look, I can look at a résumé and tell what somebody’s background is. I can make some calls and find out if they know the game. But for me to have somebody on my staff in a business like this, I have to be able to ride in a car with him for four hours.”
I’ve always thought about that, not only in terms of my staff members, but even in terms of players, we’re together so long on a daily basis that part of the reason you have success or don’t [is], hopefully you’re liked, but definitely your respect for the people that you’re working with. Yeah, you want to achieve things, but you want to enjoy the journey along the way. And then the third thing I learned from Nick is I remember Nick saying that all coaching jobs are the same, except on payday. You’re putting a different amount of money in the bank, but once you put that money in the bank, all you care about is winning the next game — whether you’re Nick Macarchuk at Fordham or an NBA coach or a high school JV coach somewhere. All coaches are the same.
Q: What was the main thing that impressed you about your father, Bill, as a coach?
A: I can pick out a lot, but the No. 1 thing, was simply his passion for the game. He would say to us growing up, and then after we were grown up, that he never felt like he worked a day in his life. I think it was inevitable that Jeff and I would grow up and want to coach, because when you grow up around someone who loves to go to work every day and has that kind of enthusiasm for it, you say, “Wow, that looks like a lot of fun. I would love to do that.” Well over half, probably, of what I’ve picked up in coaching, certainly all of my foundational beliefs on how to go about the job, I learned from my dad.
Q: What are the traits of the ideal Stan Van Gundy basketball player?
A: Tough, mentally and physically. Somebody who welcomes challenges and won’t back down from anything … and the not-backing-down part of it too is, won’t back down from the truth, can face up to failures and work to get better. … Certainly a commitment to his team and his teammates above himself. So it manifests itself in doing the little things on the court, things that may not show up in a stat sheet, setting screens, making the extra pass, cutting to open up space. … One of the biggest skills that any NBA player can develop is the ability to focus for long periods of time. A lot of people are smart and can answer all the questions when you ask them, but have a problem staying focused over the length of a 48-minute game and an 82-game season. … Highly conditioned. … I think if you’re highly-conditioned, tough and can focus, and you’re unselfish, whatever your potential is talent-wise, you’re gonna get as close to it as possible.
Q: If you were starting an NBA franchise, who would you start it with?
A: I have a tough choice right now between [Luka] Doncic and Giannis.
Q: What are coaches in other sports you admire?
A: [Orioles bench coach and former MLB manager] Freddie Gonzalez. Just sort of his even-keeled demeanor, the emphasis he had on using his entire roster. … He would attribute a lot from what he got working for [former Braves manager] Bobby Cox in terms of communicating with each player every day. Then I would throw Bobby Cox in there, too. I don’t know if you can give players confidence, but Bobby Cox always showed confidence in his players. He stuck with his guys as long as he felt guys were focused and playing hard. When I was at the University of Wisconsin, a guy who ended up coaching the Raiders to the Super Bowl, Bill Callahan. … The importance of little things, of details, of fundamentals. I admire guys who have success for long periods of time. … In our sport, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan, guys like that I’ve had great respect for. … Football, Bill Belichick, Nick Saban in the college game.
Q: I read that you admired Joe Maddon, also.
A: What I liked about Joe Maddon was he was willing to do things differently … willing to step outside the box and try something that they think will help their team, and with Joe Maddon, it was some on the field ***** and ***** off of the field. Most days, even on the road, he would go for a bike ride, which he thought helped his mind and kept him thinking. It’s something that I didn’t do well enough, and I became so obsessive.
Q: Who are leaders you admire?
A: [Former NBA point guard] Jameer Nelson was probably, of all the players I’ve been around, the most tuned in to his teammates. He would know what a guy needed on any given day. … I thought Barack Obama was an unbelievable leader. A big part of leadership is being able to inspire other people. He always got to the heart of the issue, and he had a way of raising you and inspiring you to action, probably a lot like John F. Kennedy. I would certainly say if you look at what’s going on now and harken back to the ’60s, [late Congressman] John Lewis is somebody that inspired me because of the great personal sacrifice he made in pursuit of his ideals, which were equality and really manifested in voting rights and things. Over the last 6-8 years, probably Nancy Pelosi, who tends to be a divisive figure because the people on the right really don’t like her, but I think she is smart and practical and understands what can be done, and goes after those things. … Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her intellect and her courage, which manifests itself more and more every single day, because she knows what’s at stake and she just continues to go on and on.
Q: What are your favorite inspirational or motivational sayings?
A: The one that I’ve used is from Aristotle, that excellence is not an act but a habit. We are what we repeatedly do. … JJ Redick has continued to get better into his mid-30s because of the approach he takes, he’s trying to get better every day. He is, I think, the best-conditioned athlete in the NBA.
Q: Describe Pat Riley.
A: The thing that to me set him apart is he had an extremely strong will. He would stick to his beliefs and convictions all the time. He wasn’t somebody who was gonna change with the wind. He was gonna set the standards, he knew what he liked, he knew what he wanted, and you were gonna meet those standards.
Q: The young Dwyane Wade.
A: It was easy to see his greatness right away. He had great poise, was always under control, and he had an incredible ability to learn. He just picked things up so quickly it was just incredible.
Q: Dwight Howard.
A: Just an absolute force of nature. The most underrated thing about Dwight Howard when I coached him was his intelligence. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of every single other big guy in the league to the point of being able to mimic everybody’s moves. He knew game plans and our system, and you could make adjustments and changes on the fly. Put that physical ability together with an incredible intelligence, yeah that’s why he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Q: Did you feel betrayed by him toward the end of your Magic tenure?
A: The whole situation there with the rumors [that Howard wanted out of Orlando during 2011-12 season], I thought it was becoming a distraction to our team, and whether I was right or wrong, I thought the best way to sort of get rid of the rumors and clear up the distraction was just to bring everything out in the open. He was asked a question by ownership, he gave his answer on what he wanted, and that’s the way it goes. One of the things I learned from Pat Riley, he would say all the time to our team, that a player-coach relationship is a business relationship designed to get a result. I’ve always thought if you want to know if a player-coach relationship is good, look at what happens on the court. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a better player-coach relationship than I had with Dwight. … I didn’t feel betrayed by Dwight, I do think Dwight felt betrayed by me. And I still regret that because I have great respect for Dwight.
Q: What is your single best basketball moment?
A: 1985, I was in my second year as a head coach at Castleton State College, I was 25 years old, and we beat St. Joseph’s of Maine to win the NAIA District 5 championship and go to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City. I have never topped that in my career. My best NBA moment was winning Game 6 against Cleveland in 2009 to go the NBA Finals with a group of people I had great respect for, and that moment was probably just ahead of my first year in the NBA as a head coach, 2003-04 season, Game 7 against New Orleans at home with a bunch of young guys and two great veterans and blowing out New Orleans to win that playoff series.
Q: Describe NBA broadcast partner Ian Eagle.
A: He’s absolutely the best. He has really been willing to mentor me. Ian would make a great coach, a great teacher because he’s patient and he’ll be encouraging but he also will tell you things that help you. We talk about the great ones in basketball make their teammates better, well, that’s what Ian does as a broadcaster.
Q: Who are athletes in other sports you admire?
A: Mike Trout. My two things are guys who bring a great enthusiasm and passion to the game, and guys who have success for long periods of time. He plays the game like he’s a high school kid having fun. … Guys like Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, who hit the ball so well for so long. … Tom Brady, the success he’s had year in and year out. … Larry Fitzgerald, same way. … [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic. … Serena Williams is the best athlete of her generation, male or female.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Abraham Lincoln, John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Shawshank Redemption.”
Q: Favorite actors?
A: Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Julia Roberts.
Q: Favorite singers/entertainers?
A: Earth, Wind and Fire, and Aretha Franklin.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Mexican food — enchiladas, refried beans.
Q: Would you want to coach again?
A: I would like to coach again, I really would. In my mind I’m still young and I’ve certainly got the energy for it. I think I have a lot to offer. It would have to be a situation, a city, and even just going back to coaching that my wife would feel comfortable about, because my relationship with her is a lot more important to me than coaching is. It would have to be one where I was aligned with the vision of the front office and ownership, and we were all on the same page.
Q: Describe your coaching legacy as of now?
A: I think the only legacy we have in life is how we impact people around us and they impact the people around them and so on and so on down through the generations, and we’ll never know what that is. What I would feel best about is people would say about me at the end is he worked really hard, he gave a damn about our team, he gave a damn about us as people, like the dude cared and he tried and he was a decent guy.
Q: If you were a player in the bubble, what message would you have on the back of your jersey?
A: To me, it’s the simplest one, but we’re so far away from it — I’d put “Equality” on there. Until we can get to there, being a true equality of opportunity, to where people have equal rights and equal opportunity in this country — people of all colors, races, genders, sexual orientation … until we truly get to that, then nothing else matters.
We still haven’t been able to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which is the simplest amendment there’s ever been, and something I don’t understand how anybody can be against. … Women have never been equal, what we’ve done to Native Americans is beyond belief, and now our answer is put ’em on the reservation and give ’em a casino. Until we pay for the crimes of the past … and this isn’t a vengeful thing … you can’t have equality of opportunity if we disregard our history, because one of the biggest advantages we as white people have is, wealth is generational.
I’ve heard a lot people say, “Well I’ve never encountered slavery, why should I pay?” Well, it’s not you paying directly, it’s our country paying. And I think people are short-sighted and they’re not thinking about the kind of country and the kind of world that they want to live in. And if you want to get really selfish about it, the demographics of our country are changing fairly rapidly, and some day you might be in the minority. How do you want to be treated at that point?


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Baker Mayfield defends decision to kneel during national anthem

Baker Mayfield isn ’ t shying away from his decision to take a knee this fall .
The Browns quarterback previously said he “ absolutely ” planned to kneel during the national anthem this season to support protests of racism , social injustice and police brutality .
Friday , he said he had no regrets about his decision and offered a suggestion to those who may be criticizing him for it .
“ Right is right , and wrong is wrong , ” Mayfield told reporters .
“ There is a human rights issue that has been going on for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in that .
It is nothing against military or anybody who served .
Anybody that knows my history knows that I completely support military and the people that serve our country for the right reasons and do it for justice .
“ The people that do not know that , that is OK – just take your time and take a second to get to know me .
It is a human rights issue .
There is right , and there is wrong.
” Mayfield likely won ’ t be alone in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sports have come back after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor , both at the hands of police , players in the NBA , NHL , MLB and MLS have knelt during the national anthem before games .
Within his own locker room , the 25-year-old Mayfield has gotten support from his teammates , as wide receiver Jarvis Landry texted him “ much respect , ” when he first announced his decision .
“ Hopefully everyone in the world recognizes the problem , ’ ’ Landry told reporters .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the need to raise awareness.
‘ ’

Baker Mayfield isn’t shying away from his decision to take a knee this fall.
The Browns quarterback previously said he “absolutely” planned to kneel during the national anthem this season to support protests of racism, social injustice and police brutality. Friday, he said he had no regrets about his decision and offered a suggestion to those who may be criticizing him for it.
“Right is right, and wrong is wrong,” Mayfield told reporters. “There is a human rights issue that has been going on for a long time, and I believe in that. It is nothing against military or anybody who served. Anybody that knows my history knows that I completely support military and the people that serve our country for the right reasons and do it for justice.
“The people that do not know that, that is OK – just take your time and take a second to get to know me. It is a human rights issue. There is right, and there is wrong.”
Mayfield likely won’t be alone in his decision this fall. Already, as sports have come back after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, both at the hands of police, players in the NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS have knelt during the national anthem before games.
Within his own locker room, the 25-year-old Mayfield has gotten support from his teammates, as wide receiver Jarvis Landry texted him “much respect,” when he first announced his decision.
“Hopefully everyone in the world recognizes the problem,’’ Landry told reporters. “As professional athletes, we recognize our platform and the need to raise awareness.‘’


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--IRS probes Whitney Museum ‘smear campaign’ to oust board member over police device ties

A man was shot in the foot in Far Rockaway ...

The IRS is looking into an allegation that the Whitney Museum launched a “smear campaign” to oust a board member because his company makes tear gas canisters and other law enforcement devices, The Post has learned.
Neal Sher, a former federal prosecutor and famed Nazi hunter, asked the agency to yank the museum’s tax-exemption status after it allegedly bowed to pressure from an anarchist group that wanted Warren Kanders out over his business dealings.
The radical group, Decolonize This Place, is the same outfit that rampaged through the subways in January, causing $100,000 in damages. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea dubbed the group “criminal.”
Kander left the Whitney under pressure last year.
His company, Safariland Group, a police equipment supplier, provided the tear gas used on Mexican immigrants on the US border and in Gaza against civilians, the protesters claimed.
The IRS wrote to Sher on June 11, saying it would “consider” the matter.
Previous 1 of 5 Next Advertisement Neal M. Sher Caitlin Thorne Amin Husain of Decolonize This Place LightRocket via Getty Images Advertisement From left: Richard Ziegelasch, Warren Kanders and Frank Minerva Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Advertisement
“It’s hard to imagine that they are not looking into it,” said Sher told The Post.
“As someone who has dealt with audits and investigations of 501(c)(3)s [non-profits] in the past, it’s pretty clear this is a first step to an investigation.”
Sher fired off two letters of complaint to the IRS in May and June in which he claimed that the museum board and Director Adam Weinberg “knowingly engaged in conduct which was flagrantly at odds with the Whitney’s charitable purpose.”
Specifically, he alleged, they “orchestrated and acquiesced in a concerted smear campaign against longtime board member Warren Kanders,” who served as the museum’s vice-chairman but stepped down after months of protests that targeted him and his family, according to Sher.
Sher griped to the IRS that the Whitney board “pressured” Kanders to resign after Decolonize This Place demanded he be removed over his ownership of Safariland.
Previous 1 of 3 Next Advertisement Political activists gather outside of the Whitney Museum to demand its board dismiss Warren Kanders. Corbis via Getty Images Corbis via Getty Images Advertisement
The anarchists were allowed to protest outside and inside the Whitney — and even showed up at Kanders’ home in Gramercy Park, Sher said.
“Those who support the Whitney have every right to expect, indeed to demand, that their donations be used for legitimate charitable purposes, rather than be hijacked to advance unrelated political causes,” he said.
A spokesman for the Whitney said the museum had no comment.
In January, Decolonize This Place, which was co-founded by NYU professor Amin Husain, organized a rampage through the city’s subways, stranding hundreds of commuters and spray-painting “F–k Cops” on subway walls. Thirteen members were arrested.
Sher headed a Justice Department unit that hunted down Nazi war criminals between 1983 and 1994.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--‘Coach Chaos’ Sean Spencer brings intensity to Giants

Watch me .
This is the way I did it .
This ...

It was not a warning. More like an alert.
Sean Spencer wanted his players to understand this was not a one-time thing. The intensity the new Giants defensive line coach brought to the workday this past Wednesday — the first time the entire 80-man roster was on the field together in training camp — was not merely a display of usual first-day eagerness.
Spencer, embarking on his NFL coaching career, could not hide his excitement. Nor did he want to.
“I can’t change, man,’’ Spencer said. “I’m coming hard every day. Those guys know about my energy, and they have gotten to experience it a little bit. I told them that wasn’t a one-time thing and that it’s going to be like that every day. It’s the way you bring it. You can bring positive energy and be excited without berating somebody. They can feel when you’re upset and feel when you’re happy. I have to coach like that. When I leave the practice field, I have to be completely sweaty or I didn’t do a good job.’’
Completely sweaty could be Spencer’s calling card. What else can be expected from someone who earned the moniker “Coach Chaos?’’
Joe Judge put together an eclectic group for his first Giants coaching staff, with assistants with varying experience in college and the NFL. For Spencer, 49 and a product of Hartford, Conn., this represents his first job in the NFL after a series of positions at an array of eastern schools — Wesleyan, Shippensburg, Trinity, UMass (twice), Holy Cross, Villanova and Hofstra — before stops at Bowling Green and Vanderbilt. He landed at Penn State in 2014, serving as defensive line coach, later adding associate head coach to his résumé.
Along the way — 11 stops and 10 different schools in a 14-year period — Spencer, sometimes simply called “Chaos,’’ has offered colorful descriptions of his players and never goes unnoticed.
“I love working with Coach Spencer so far,’’ veteran defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “I like his energy and the way he coaches his guys. He’s real hands-on. He has that loud, deep voice that as a D-line coach, it’s kind of something that I like. I like it.’’
Spencer helped the Nittany Lions produce three consecutive 40-plus sack seasons and was perfectly happy in Happy Valley. He could not turn down the Giants, though.
“This opportunity — in terms of being a northeast kid, born and raised in the northeast and having worked at Penn State — having the opportunity to work for the New York Giants is like a dream come true,’’ Spencer said. “It’s kind of surreal.’’
Of all the position groups on the team, Spencer’s may be the most stable — with Williams, Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence all returning starters likely to fill those roles again. Though the Giants cannot match the firepower of the defensive lines of the other three teams in the NFC East, it is a more than solid group, meaning Spencer has something to work with.
“Obviously coming into it quote, unquote, we are a talented group,’’ Spencer said. “I just told them I am here to help them reach their potential and beyond. I don’t care if you were a high draft pick or you’re a free agent or a middle-round guy. I’m here to help you reach your potential, and that’s why Coach [Judge] brought me in. I’m going to work with these guys and take them to the next step, whatever that step is. I want to take them to their potential and beyond. I’m truly blessed to have such a great group my first year in the NFL and I’m just excited for it.’’
Last week, as the Giants hit Phase 2 of their gradual camp ramp-up and the practice sessions started actually resembling football, Spencer could barely contain himself.
“It got me excited. I’m walking around pre-practice in a full sweat, bouncing up and down,’’ Spencer said. “I just can’t wait to coach these guys, and then I wanted them to understand this is not something I’m just going to do on occasion, this is how they are going to get coached. That’s kind of all I was letting them know, that it wasn’t going to be a day off. I want them to match my energy every day.’’
How will Coach Chaos handle Monday, when the pads come on for the first time? He might pull a muscle from sheer excitement.
“Yeah,’’ he said. “I will get a stretch out, a roll out and I’m good to go.’’


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Albany’s truly hair-brained requirement for shampoo assistants

Washing hair is about to get a lot more complicated ...

As a child, how long did it take you to learn how to wash your hair? 300 hours? 500 hours? Not even close to that long, we’ll bet.
So why, then, are Democrats in the Assembly and state Senate pushing legislation to require salon workers who wash hair to complete at least half of a 1,000-hour state-certified cosmetology course to earn a new “Shampoo Assistant Certificate?”
It’s madness, especially when the industry, hit hard by lockdowns that keep people at home, is seeing reduced demand — and while there’s 15 percent unemployment in the state and 20 percent in Gotham.
Such nutty requirements exist for many industries in many states, usually pushed by the big boys in the business, who seek to lock out the smaller guys.
In this case, the bill is being pushed by the Salon & Spa Professionals of New York State, which claims it’s meant to make it easier for shampoo assistants — since, it argues, current law requires completing the full 1,000-hour cosmetology course to wash someone’s hair.
Yet if that’s the case, why not just get rid of that ridiculous law altogether? After all, salon owners say they’ve hired non-certified shampooists for decades without a problem.
One possible reason: The S&S folks are going to bat for cosmetology schools, which charge upward of $13,000 for their programs and pay dues to the group.
And, as Betsy McCaughey noted on these pages last week, S&S’s lobbyist has donated thousands to the lawmakers sponsoring the bill.
“That New York is even considering a 500-hour training requirement to shampoo hair shows that . . . certain legislators have been captured by hard-lobbying cosmetology schools,” Institute for Justice senior attorney Dan Alban tells us.
“Licensing shampooists has nothing to do with public health and safety; it only serves to raise barriers to entry and generate more tuition for cosmetology schools,” Alban notes. “Only a handful of states actually issue licenses specific to shampooists. Those licenses . . . don’t protect consumers.”
And none of the states with licenses mandates such onerous requirements. As of 2017, for example, West Virginia required just three hours of training for the position.
Let’s be honest: It doesn’t take a degree to shampoo hair safely. Requiring a 500-hour course, at a cost of thousands, will mean working-class New Yorkers will be out of jobs, just when they need them most.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Man shot in the foot in Far Rockaway, Queens: cops

A man was shot in the foot in Far Rockaway Queens , authorities said .
Cops from the 101st Precinct @ @ @ @ @ outside 21-14 Elk Dr. , shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday , police said .
His @ @ @ @ @ authorities said .
No other information was immediately available .
The Queens incident was reported @ @ @ @ @ man was shot at a Grand Central Terminal subway platform .

A man was shot in the foot in Far Rockaway Queens, authorities said.
Cops from the 101st Precinct found the victim shot once outside 21-14 Elk Dr., shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday, police said. His injuries are not life-threatening, authorities said.
No other information was immediately available.
The Queens incident was reported just hours after a 40-year-old man was shot at a Grand Central Terminal subway platform.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu is raking in same way Derek Jeter did: Sherman

They have lost Giancarlo Stanton for who knows how long ...

Watching DJ LeMahieu for a year-plus as a Yankee and seeing the consistent, hard contact and one unflappable at-bat after another, I simply could not believe he hit .276 in his final season with the Rockies — playing home games in spacious Coors Field.
How could this guy ever hit less than .300?
So I called his manager in 2018, Bud Black, and the Rockies manager told me on Saturday morning that it was largely due to a series of injuries to his oblique, knee and mostly a sprained left thumb. LeMahieu missed 2 ¹/₂ weeks that season due to the thumb injury, but Black said he thought his second baseman played through discomfort.
“No matter how good a hitter you are, when something goes wrong with your hands, it is hard to hit,” the Rockies skipper said.
And LeMahieu is one terrific hitter, going into Saturday night’s game leading the AL in batting, on-base percentage and hits. But now he has hurt that thumb again — manager Aaron Boone would call it a “similar injury.”
In the fourth inning LeMahieu took a large hack at a Nathan Eovaldi cutter and reacted in pain as his left hand came off the bat. He was attended to by a trainer. Boone came out to chat with him before LeMahieu played defense in the fifth. But LeMahieu did not return in the sixth. The Yankees announced he had sprained his left thumb. Boone did not commit to an IL stint, but described LeMahieu as “pretty sore.” The next step feels inevitable.
The Yankees’ three top OPS producers — LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — are out. To date, like last year, it has not mattered who is absent. The Yankees’ lineup remains productive. Clint Frazier has five extra-base hits in three games since his arrival, driving in five runs Saturday in an 11-5 rout of the how-can-they-be-this-bad Red Sox.
Mike Tauchman and Gio Urshela, fill-in heroes from 2019, are proving it was no fluke. Gleyber Torres has awoken. Gary Sanchez is on a power binge. If the Yankees’ trend continues, Thairo Estrada and/or Tyler Wade will probably be brilliant replacing LeMahieu.
Still, James Paxton mentioned, “Obviously, DJ can’t be replaced.” The Yanks have filled in around LeMahieu in his year-plus, but he has been the catalyst and spine, most valuable and durable. He is much like Derek Jeter in these ways — and more. LeMahieu hits in such a way — relentlessly and often to the opposite field — that it was necessary for me to double check that the DJ in his name stood for David John, not Derek Jeter.
Black’s player career ended just as Jeter’s began, but first as an Indians executive and then the Angels’ pitching coach, he saw plenty of Jeter inside-outing the ball to right over the years. And Black managed LeMahieu his last two years before he signed with the Yankees. In our conversation, Black kept referring to LeMahieu as DJ, and I had to remember which guy he was talking about.
“How you defend them and pitch them is similar,” Black said. “Jeter had a great ability on inside fastballs to bring his hands in and lower that barrel and still get to the ball with authority. DJ doesn’t do that as well as Jeter. What he learned to do is pick a moment and turn on that inside fastball. NL West teams tried to pound him in and he started pulling the ball more. And he was able to lay the bat on the ball away from him with authority. If you didn’t get all the way in, like Jeter, he would have a flatter bat path and hit bullets to right field.”
Jeter’s best back-to-back seasons offensively were probably 1998-99 when he hit .337 overall. You know what LeMahieu’s average was as a Yankee going into Saturday’s game against the Red Sox? Yep, .337. Jeter’s OPS-plus was 140 for those two seasons. LeMahieu was 141 in a year-plus as a Yankee.
We are essentially watching another lanky righty-hitting Yankees middle infielder go the other way like a hitting metronome. LeMahieu had 14 more hits to the opposite field since the beginning of last season (82) than anyone else (Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman was second with 68). Jeter had 68 in 1998-99, the fourth most in the majors (data from Baseball Reference with an assist from Eric Nehs from MLB Network’s research department).
LeMahieu finished fourth for the AL MVP in his Yankees debut season, and despite missing almost all of spring training 2.0 after contracting COVID-19, he had a major league-high 15 opposite-field hits and a .429 average before an 0-for-3 and the sprained thumb Saturday.
Now, there is mystery to what the injury will mean — to LeMahieu’s production and that of the Yankees.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--State Assembly candidate arrested for smashing car windshield at BLM protest

Patrick Bobilin calls himself a “ fighter ” — and the NYPD agrees .
The 37-year-old candidate for State Assembly in Manhattan was collard by cops after allegedly smashing the windshield of a driver June 19 during a Black Lives Matter protest on the Upper East Side .
The NYPD identified Bobilin , wearing a black Colin Kaepernick T-shirt , as one of two men in a video pounding on the SUV of a 23-year-old motorist .
In the footage , it appears Bobilin strikes the windshield with a dark object .
“ Two individuals banged on his vehicle while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smashed the front windshield window and caused damage to the hood , ” said police spokeswoman Annette Shelton .
Bobilin and his pal were both charged with criminal mischief , disorderly conduct and harassment , Shelton said .
He declined to get into specifics of how be broke the windshield , noting to The Post that the case was “ still active.
” But he claimed his actions were defensive after the driver attempted to “ ram ” protesters .
“ I saw people at risk and I saw something like what happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ My body drew me to throw myself on top of that car to make sure it did not harm one of my neighbors .
When someone is weaponizing their motor vehicle against someone ’ s body , there is zero justification for that.
” The driver was not charged .
Video of the incident posted to social media shows protesters choking traffic while marching down Lexington Avenue .
The crowd began pummeling a dark SUV after the driver honked at them and began to proceed through an intersection with a green light @ @ @ @ @ @ @ require marshaling and stopping of cars because they do disrupt traffic , ” said an unapologetic Bobilin , who has worn the arrest as a badge of honor .
His campaign announcement video features a potential future constituent , Cybil Victor , praising his actions and noting that “ he saved our lives.
” Bobilin , a Democratic Socialist , had been marching with protesters as part of a wave of demonstrations against alleged police violence after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
A longtime Upper East Side community activist and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic Club , Bobilin said he helped organize protests in the Big Apple , including ones at Gracie Mansion .
Last October Bobilin nearly derailed a Democratic county committee meeting at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park after he accused a state committeeman of “ harassment and stalking.
” “ It gives me no pleasure to talk about this , ” Bobilin said as he came in to a chorus of boos from the audience of nearly 1,000 of the party faithful .
“ You are booing victims , ” he shrieked .

Patrick Bobilin calls himself a “fighter” — and the NYPD agrees.
The 37-year-old candidate for State Assembly in Manhattan was collared by cops after allegedly smashing the windshield of a driver June 19 during a Black Lives Matter protest on the Upper East Side.
The NYPD identified Bobilin, wearing a black Colin Kaepernick T-shirt, as one of two men in a video pounding on the SUV of a 23-year-old motorist. In the footage, it appears Bobilin strikes the windshield with a dark object.
“Two individuals banged on his vehicle while he was stopped at the intersection, smashed the front windshield window and caused damage to the hood,” said police spokeswoman Annette Shelton.
Bobilin and his pal were both charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and harassment, Shelton said.
He declined to get into specifics of how be broke the windshield, noting to The Post that the case was “still active.” But he claimed his actions were defensive after the driver attempted to “ram” protesters.
“I saw people at risk and I saw something like what happened in Charlottesville,” he said.
“My body drew me to throw myself on top of that car to make sure it did not harm one of my neighbors. When someone is weaponizing their motor vehicle against someone’s body, there is zero justification for that.”
The driver was not charged.
Video of the incident posted to social media shows protesters choking traffic while marching down Lexington Avenue.
The crowd began pummeling a dark SUV after the driver honked at them and began to proceed through an intersection with a green light.
“Civil disobedience and protests often require marshaling and stopping of cars because they do disrupt traffic,” said an unapologetic Bobilin, who has worn the arrest as a badge of honor.
His campaign announcement video features a potential future constituent, Cybil Victor, praising his actions and noting that “he saved our lives.”
Bobilin, a Democratic Socialist, had been marching with protesters as part of a wave of demonstrations against alleged police violence after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
A longtime Upper East Side community activist and former vice president of the East River Democratic Club, Bobilin said he helped organize protests in the Big Apple, including ones at Gracie Mansion.
Last October Bobilin nearly derailed a Democratic county committee meeting at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park after he accused a state committeeman of “harassment and stalking.”
“It gives me no pleasure to talk about this,” Bobilin said as he came in to a chorus of boos from the audience of nearly 1,000 of the party faithful. “You are booing victims,” he shrieked.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Bronx priest ‘trafficked’ boy to child molester, lawsuit alleges

A convicted pedophile from the Bronx has been tutoring kids ...

A beloved Bronx priest intentionally steered a boy to a known molester in the 1980s, leading to months of sexual abuse, according to a new lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court.
It claims Bishop John Jenik was allegedly abusing children himself when he “trafficked” a then-14-year-old Shawn Ganley to ex-con counselor Paul Gruber, whom Jenik knew was abusing other minor students at Our Lady of Refuge School, Ganley claims in court papers.
Gruber was convicted of sexual abuse charges in the mid 1980s after another victim’s parents complained, sparking a police investigation that Jenik allegedly tried to derail by intimidating kids into silence, Ganley has charged.
“It was terrifying,” Ganley told The Post, adding, “He was really leaning on me, telling me, ‘You don’t want to do this, you don’t want to give a statement.'”
Jenik, who oversaw the Our Lady of Refuge after-school program where Gruber volunteered, allegedly knew exactly what would happen when he suggested Gruber give Ganley an IQ test, claims Ganley.
“Jenik, knowing that Paul Gruber was a sexual assaulter of young boys, trafficked [Ganley] to Gruber when he assigned this predator to act as [his] guidance counselor,” Ganley charged in court papers.
The bishop resigned from Our Lady of Refuge in 2018 after a “credible” allegation of child abuse from the 1980s surfaced against him.
Jenik denied the allegations when reached by The Post.
“No, absolutely not, that’s bizarre,” he said.
The bishop insisted Gruber was not an employee and that he “just hung around a lot. We just didn’t want him around, period.”
“We knew the guy was bad,” said the priest, who also asked of the allegations, “How far does this go back?”
Jenik’s exit from Our Lady of Refuge sparked a community protest on his behalf. The bishop was known for marching in the streets against drugs and crime.
Ganley is suing Gruber, Jenik and the Archdiocese under New York’s Child Victims Act, which opened a legal window to revive old sex-abuse cases.
Gruber, a tutor in Arlington, Virginia, could not be reached for comment.
Additional victims and witnesses have come forward, said Ganley’s lawyer, Craig Vernon, who added the lawsuit “allows Shawn to seek justice not only against the man who sexually assaulted him but also against the Priest who made it all possible.”
Ganley urged other victims to remember, “It is not your shame. I stand with you.”


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Alexis Lafreniere draws rave reviews as likely Rangers pick

First-overall pick to Edmonton in 2010 .
First-overall pick to Edmonton ...

When looking for a read on the winner of the Mike Bossy Trophy that is awarded to the best professional prospect in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, it is not a bad idea to check in with Mike Bossy himself.
And perhaps even more so when the recipient of the award, Alexis Lafreniere, is poised to become the first-overall selection of the October 2020 NHL draft, and the Rangers are the team poised to snap him up.
“I’ve met Alexis, and I can’t say I know him, but I have a couple of friends who do,” the famous No. 22 told The Post after the Blueshirts hit the jackpot in Monday’s lottery. “And from everything I hear, he’s a great kid beyond being a great player.
“He’s one of those career kids who has been preparing for this for a long time. People knew how good he was at a young age. He’s been on this trajectory for a while. He’s one of the faces of hockey in Quebec.
“He’s prepared for this. He’s ready.”
Apparently much has been made of John Davidson’s and Jeff Gorton’s refusal to commit not only to taking Lafreniere, but to keeping the pick — with both the club president and general manager suggesting it would be best to maintain their options.
But unless the Blueshirts are overwhelmed by a trade offer that objectively makes no sense on the other side — specifically, such as the Senators offering 20-year-old center Brady Tkachuk and the third-overall pick in exchange for the Quebecer who was born and raised approximately 100 miles from Ottawa — then this is as slam dunk of a personnel decision as it gets.
The NHL won’t be too big for Lafreniere and neither will New York, whose Original Six team has never had the first-overall pick since the universal draft was inaugurated in 1969.
“ ‘Character’ is the word that I use to describe Alexis,” said Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, who has seen Lafreniere up close and personal the past two years from behind the bench as GM/coach of QMJHL Quebec. “It is one thing to be a top prospect, or maybe the runner-up, but it is different when you are No. 1 and are under the spotlight all year, the way he was.
“I thought he did a super job of handling that. He has quality people around him. He has stayed humble. I’m not sure of the exact word in English, but he always has two feet on the ground. He’s a team player and a team guy. Without a doubt he would fit in with the Rangers and perform very well in New York.”
As Bossy asked rhetorically when asked about the assimilation into New York City, “Who’s not awed at first by New York?”
“He’s going from Rimouski to Manhattan. It’s a big jump,” Bossy said. “But he’s been under the spotlight for a long time and has thrived. I don’t think it’s a worry.”
Craig Button, the former GM of the Flames, is TSN’s director of scouting. He scoffed at any suggestion that Lafreniere would have difficulty adapting to New York.
“He’s a worldly guy,” Button told The Post. “Six years ago, Hockey Canada initiated a program in which they bring together the top 100 16-year-olds to help them assimilate culturally outside their region. As an aside, when Mat Barzal was 17 or 18, he was a conduit to French-speaking kids.
“Alexis grew up speaking French, but his English is excellent. New York might be an adjustment for just about everyone, but I don’t think that is anything the Rangers should concern themselves with.”
If the Rangers were talking, they could tell you how well Lafreniere communicates in English. For after not wanting to “jinx ourselves,” as Gorton phrased it, by interviewing him before the lottery drawing, the hierarchy conducted a Zoom call with the winger following the flight of the ping pong ball, The Post has learned. We are told there were no red flags unearthed, only the vision of many red lights ahead.
OK. Vision. That is certainly one of Lafreniere’s greatest assets. He’s a playmaker and an offense-driver from the wing. But he’s not a cutie. He’s not going to attempt to slice you and dice you from the outside. And, he is not a front-runner.
“When things are going well, he is very, very good. He plays with confidence, he goes to the dirty areas, he makes plays,” Roy said. “But a lot of times you see the character of a person when it is not going so well.
“With Alexis, he is also going to work as hard as he can to get back to his game. He will always try to find the way. He sets a high standard for himself. If he is not at the top of his game, he will get his game back. He is not a complainer.
“He does what it takes. He is committed to winning.”
Lafreniere led the QMJHL with 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists) in 52 games. He was named CHL player of the year for the second consecutive season. Sidney Crosby is the only other pre-draft prospect to accomplish that double. The only players to score more goals in the QMJHL before the age of 17 are Crosby, Mario Lemieux and Jimmy Carson. And there is more than skill to his game.
“He is not flash-and-dash. He has an edge to his game. He could easily have been suspended a couple of times before he actually was suspended,” said Button, referring to the three-game sentence Lafreniere received for delivering a head shot in late January. “Let’s put it this way: He knows how to keep fleas off himself.
“He does not back down. He goes forward. He’s a competitor. That’s his mentality.”
As a youngster, Lafreniere’s favorite player was Patrick Kane, who just happened to be Artemi Panarin’s favorite player before the Russian Rockette made it to the NHL. Then, of course, the two were teammates in Chicago. After the lottery on Monday, Lafreniere said that his favorite player to watch last season was Panarin. Now they, of course, will be teammates unless something crazy happens.
“Artemi makes his teammates better from the wing and so does Alexis,” Button said. “Usually the center makes his wingers better. Alexis is one of those unique left wings — and he is a left wing, he has played there his entire life — who makes his center better.
“My comparable is [Colorado winger] Mikko Rantanen, who is big and powerful and talented. He and [Nathan] MacKinnon make magic, so one-and-one equals three. I believe that Alexis will have that same impact.”
Roy coached MacKinnon in Colorado for the first three years of the winger’s NHL career after he’d been selected first overall in 2013 out of QMJHL Halifax. Lafreniere does not have MacKinnon’s explosiveness — few do — but no one believes skating is an issue.
“Since I got back to the league two years ago, everyone has seen Alexis as the one,” Roy said. “I’m not saying he’s [Sidney] Crosby or MacKinnon, but he is a phenomenal player in his own way.
“He’s a great playmaker. He skates really well. He goes in traffic. His shot is good. He is capable of scoring. He’s smart. He’s been dedicated for a long time to being very, very, very good.”
A Quebecer has not been drafted first overall since Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003. A Quebec-born skater has not gone first-overall since Vincent Lecavalier in 1998.
“Absolutely, there is a great deal of pride in knowing that Quebec has developed the No. 1 prospect in the world,” Bossy said. “From now on, Alexis is representing Quebec in the NHL. From everything I know, he’s going to handle that as well as he’s handled whatever he’s faced.”
The Rangers had Martin St. Louis, of course, but he came to New York late in his hockey life. The Rangers haven’t had a young French-Canadian star since Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle made it to Manhattan almost six decades ago.
“This is definitely good for our young players,” Roy said, alluding to the province’s hockey program. “He will be a role model and the example that it is possible to make it here and then go to the NHL.”
Lafreniere comes from a family of athletes. His sister, Lori-Jane, was an upper-echelon soccer player. His parents, Hugo Lafreniere and Nathalie Bertrand, were big-time softball players. Alexis Lafreniere was an excellent baseball player, too, and for a time weighed a future in that sport, winning a provincial Pee Wee AA championship playing for the Laurentides Red Sox.
Maybe that explains the teenager’s Instagram post last month in which he is relaxing on a boat while wearing a Red Sox uniform top. And maybe a confidant will advise him there shouldn’t be any more of that when — far more likely than, if — he gets to Broadway.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Top educrats’ musical chairs spell more rocky times for NY school kids

School kids around the state — already facing a tough year , thanks to the pandemic — got more bad news last week : Rocky leadership at the state ’ s education bureaucracy just got a little rockier .
Betty Rosa will now run the state Education Department on an interim basis .
She ’ ll be moving on from her position as Regents chancellor , thus leaving two essentially temporary bosses at the helm — Rosa at SED and Vice Chancellor T. Andrew Brown as the presiding officer at the Regents board .
The shake-up makes her the fourth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just the past year alone — following resignations by MaryEllen Elia , who left last August ; Beth Berlin , who quit after a few weeks ; and Shannon Tahoe , who retired last week .
Alas , from the perspective of kids , Rosa is as wrong for the new job as she was for the old one .
As we ’ ve noted before , ever since the Regents forced Merryl Tisch to step down as chancellor in 2015 and installed Rosa in her place , the group has been intent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of — school as quickly as possible , whether they ’ re ready or not .
They ’ ve rolled back standards considerably , eased pathways to graduation and weakened teacher evaluations .
Rosa herself is a staunch opponent of testing : She ’ s called the Regents exams “ rigid ” and faulted them for too many students “ leaving high school without a diploma.
” In September , the Regents set up a Blue Ribbon Commission on New York State Diplomas , surely a fig leaf for watering down graduation requirements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rosa will be implementing policies and programs she herself pushed through as chancellor — policies , alas , that haven ’ t moved the needle on student performance one bit .
On the other hand , her new post is surely great news to the teachers ’ unions : Not only do they share her disdain for testing , which too often highlights a failure to adequately educate kids ; they also both oppose charter schools — which are generally non-union-run and which pose stiff competition for regular public schools .
Nor has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ineffective teachers .
The unions are no doubt grateful for that .
And when they ’ re happy , so is Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie , who ’ s always on the lookout to please the union bosses .
Under the state Constitution , Heastie gets to control the Regents and , in effect , pick SED ’ s boss .
Which means Rosa is now in a prime spot for a permanent appointment there — a post that pays a cool $ 324,000 a year .
New York school kids might be @ @ @ @ @ @

School kids around the state — already facing a tough year, thanks to the pandemic — got more bad news last week: Rocky leadership at the state’s education bureaucracy just got a little rockier.
Betty Rosa will now run the state Education Department on an interim basis. She’ll be moving on from her position as Regents chancellor, thus leaving two essentially temporary bosses at the helm — Rosa at SED and Vice Chancellor T. Andrew Brown as the presiding officer at the Regents board.
The shake-up makes her the fourth educrat to take over the department in just the past year alone — following resignations by MaryEllen Elia, who left last August; Beth Berlin, who quit after a few weeks; and Shannon Tahoe, who retired last week. Alas, from the perspective of kids, Rosa is as wrong for the new job as she was for the old one.
As we’ve noted before, ever since the Regents forced Merryl Tisch to step down as chancellor in 2015 and installed Rosa in her place, the group has been intent on getting kids through — and out of — school as quickly as possible, whether they’re ready or not.
They’ve rolled back standards considerably, eased pathways to graduation and weakened teacher evaluations. Rosa herself is a staunch opponent of testing: She’s called the Regents exams “rigid” and faulted them for too many students “leaving high school without a diploma.”
In September, the Regents set up a Blue Ribbon Commission on New York State Diplomas, surely a fig leaf for watering down graduation requirements even more.
As interim commissioner, Rosa will be implementing policies and programs she herself pushed through as chancellor — policies, alas, that haven’t moved the needle on student performance one bit.
On the other hand, her new post is surely great news to the teachers’ unions: Not only do they share her disdain for testing, which too often highlights a failure to adequately educate kids; they also both oppose charter schools — which are generally non-union-run and which pose stiff competition for regular public schools.
Nor has Rosa lifted a finger to weed out ineffective teachers. The unions are no doubt grateful for that. And when they’re happy, so is Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who’s always on the lookout to please the union bosses.
Under the state Constitution, Heastie gets to control the Regents and, in effect, pick SED’s boss. Which means Rosa is now in a prime spot for a permanent appointment there — a post that pays a cool $324,000 a year.
New York school kids might be better off with more turmoil.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Black Lives Matter groups are multiplying — and competing for donations

The Black Lives Matter movement has sparked an outpouring of more than $ 1 billion in corporate giving — and launched a wild scramble for the cash among a dozen BLM groups scattered across the country .
Some are for-profit , some are nonprofit but all are positioned to claim big bucks in corporate pledges from companies such as Bank of America , Walmart and Facebook .
Four are already in trouble with the IRS , according to public records .
They show that BLM charities in New York , Vermont , Florida and South Carolina have had their nonprofit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to file annual returns .
There ’ s also confusion among the groups , along with a lack of transparency , which is alarming watchdogs .
Robert Ray Barnes , a music producer from California , incorporated the Black Lives Matter Foundation in California in May 2015 , more than a year before BLM Global Network — the self-styled leader of the movement — was founded as a for-profit firm in Delaware , records show .
Some donors got the two mixed up .
Barnes , 67 , who started his shoe-string outfit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Los Angeles police in 2011 , runs it from his home Santa Clarita .
He ’ s the only employee .
He paid himself $ 24,000 to run the organization in 2017 , the latest tax filings show .
The charity took in $ 279,109 in 2017 , and spent $ 189,000 on homeless services and producing a rap video to raise awareness of police violence in the black community .
But Barnes , who ended up marrying his friend ’ s widow and raising her two young children , nearly ended up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give thought his organization was the nationally recognized Global Network .
“ What appears to have happened to me is that when people searched for Black Lives Matter , the Global Network didn ’ t return anyone ’ s calls , ” Barnes told The Post .
“ So they thought I was the main group because I return all calls to my charity.
” Workers at Apple , Microsoft , Dropbox and Google halted their plans to give more than $ 4 million to Barnes ’ group through online charity platforms last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not represent the wider Black Lives Matter movement .
Barnes ’ s foundation got a further slap on the wrist weeks ago when New York ’ s Attorney General Letitia James demanded the group “ cease solicitation ” of New York donations because it had not registered as a charity in the state .
Barnes told The Post he had never asked for donations in New York .
He said he now plans to fill out the necessary documents to register here .
Exactly how much BLM Global Network raises or spends — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because for-profits are not required to disclose such data , as nonprofits are .
It ’ s not to be confused with BLM Global Network Foundation , which was incorporated as a charity in 2017 but it does not have a federal tax exemption , records show .
Founded by activists Patrisse Cullors and Kailee Scales , the Oakland , Calif.-based BLM Global Network Foundation claims to have chapters throughout the US , UK and Canada , and a mission “ to eradicate White supremacy and build power to intervene in violence inflicted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ host of merchandise , including T-shirts , masks and mugs , claiming that unspecified proceeds help fund the movement .
Donations go through ActBlue Charities , an online fundraising platform that also collects money for progressive causes linked to the Democratic super PAC ActBlue .
In 2019 , ActBlue raised more than $ 1 billion in online funds for Democratic candidates .
“ What the ActBlue charity does with that [ the Black Lives Matter ] money is not entirely clear , ” said Lloyd Mayer , an expert on nonprofit law at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Law School .
A spokesperson for ActBlue Charities said the group passes along contributions “ directly to the receiving campaign or group.
” Its website says that “ Your contribution will benefit Black Lives Matter Support Fund at Tides Foundation , ” a nonprofit that administers cash for other charities .
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has said that it also works in conjunction with Thousand Currents , another nonprofit that helps grassroots organizations administer their donations .
Neither Thousand Currents nor BLM Global Network returned The Post ’ s calls or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not uncommon for fundraisers to set up for-profit companies that are not limited in what they can do , like charities are .
But in order to raise money , the for-profit company must partner with a nonprofit .

The Black Lives Matter movement has sparked an outpouring of more than $1 billion in corporate giving — and launched a wild scramble for the cash among a dozen BLM groups scattered across the country.
Some are for-profit, some are nonprofit but all are positioned to claim big bucks in corporate pledges from companies such as Bank of America, Walmart and Facebook.
Four are already in trouble with the IRS, according to public records.
They show that BLM charities in New York, Vermont, Florida and South Carolina have had their nonprofit status revoked by the IRS for failing to file annual returns.
There’s also confusion among the groups, along with a lack of transparency, which is alarming watchdogs.
Robert Ray Barnes, a music producer from California, incorporated the Black Lives Matter Foundation in California in May 2015, more than a year before BLM Global Network — the self-styled leader of the movement — was founded as a for-profit firm in Delaware, records show.
Some donors got the two mixed up.
Barnes, 67, who started his shoe-string outfit after a friend was gunned down by Los Angeles police in 2011, runs it from his home Santa Clarita. He’s the only employee.
He paid himself $24,000 to run the organization in 2017, the latest tax filings show. The charity took in $279,109 in 2017, and spent $189,000 on homeless services and producing a rap video to raise awareness of police violence in the black community.
But Barnes, who ended up marrying his friend’s widow and raising her two young children, nearly ended up with millions because some who wanted to give thought his organization was the nationally recognized Global Network.
“What appears to have happened to me is that when people searched for Black Lives Matter, the Global Network didn’t return anyone’s calls,” Barnes told The Post.
“So they thought I was the main group because I return all calls to my charity.”
Workers at Apple, Microsoft, Dropbox and Google halted their plans to give more than $4 million to Barnes’ group through online charity platforms last month after BuzzFeed reported the nonprofit did not represent the wider Black Lives Matter movement.
Barnes’s foundation got a further slap on the wrist weeks ago when New York’s Attorney General Letitia James demanded the group “cease solicitation” of New York donations because it had not registered as a charity in the state.
Barnes told The Post he had never asked for donations in New York. He said he now plans to fill out the necessary documents to register here.
Exactly how much BLM Global Network raises or spends — or pays its executives — is unknown because for-profits are not required to disclose such data, as nonprofits are.
It’s not to be confused with BLM Global Network Foundation, which was incorporated as a charity in 2017 but it does not have a federal tax exemption, records show.
Founded by activists Patrisse Cullors and Kailee Scales, the Oakland, Calif.-based BLM Global Network Foundation claims to have chapters throughout the US, UK and Canada, and a mission “to eradicate White supremacy and build power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities.”
It sells a host of merchandise, including T-shirts, masks and mugs, claiming that unspecified proceeds help fund the movement.
Donations go through ActBlue Charities, an online fundraising platform that also collects money for progressive causes linked to the Democratic super PAC ActBlue.
In 2019, ActBlue raised more than $1 billion in online funds for Democratic candidates.
“What the ActBlue charity does with that [the Black Lives Matter] money is not entirely clear,” said Lloyd Mayer, an expert on nonprofit law at the University of Notre Dame’s Law School.
“The arrangement is not transparent.”
A spokesperson for ActBlue Charities said the group passes along contributions “directly to the receiving campaign or group.” Its website says that “Your contribution will benefit Black Lives Matter Support Fund at Tides Foundation,” a nonprofit that administers cash for other charities.
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has said that it also works in conjunction with Thousand Currents, another nonprofit that helps grassroots organizations administer their donations.
Neither Thousand Currents nor BLM Global Network returned The Post’s calls or emails.
Experts say it’s not uncommon for fundraisers to set up for-profit companies that are not limited in what they can do, like charities are. But in order to raise money, the for-profit company must partner with a nonprofit.


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Yankees may be on brink of positive Aaron Judge injury news

He is 28 years old , and suddenly troubling questions , chilling ...

A day after Aaron Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, manager Aaron Boone said he could begin baseball activities as soon as Monday, which would be good news for the Yankees and their right fielder.
Judge was removed from Tuesday night’s game against the Braves in the sixth inning and wasn’t in the lineup Wednesday evening because of what the team called lower body tightness.
On Thursday, he was diagnosed with a grade 1 right calf strain.
Boone said Saturday that Judge would spend the weekend getting treatment and “some lower body workouts in the weight room, as well as other rehab drills.”
If that goes well, baseball activities could be introduced Monday.
“He’s feeling pretty good,’’ Boone said. “We’re hoping this goes well and [he’s out] a short amount of time.”
Clint Frazier started in right field Saturday against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, with Mike Tauchman in left, as the Yankees continue without Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
Tauchman’s stellar performance has helped the Yankees make up for the loss of both sluggers.
“He was such a good, important player for us last year and he’s taking advantage of his opportunities this year, as well,’’ Boone said. “He’s gotten a lot of big hits for us. He knows the strike zone. The defensive element and baserunning [are also important]. He’s a really well-rounded player we’ve seen come into his own the last 12 months.”
Tauchman drove in four runs Friday and over his previous 11 games, heading into Saturday, was 12-for-20 with six runs, four doubles, seven RBIs, three walks and four stolen bases.
Aroldis Chapman threw a simulated game at the Yankees’ alternate site in Scranton on Friday, and Boone said “it went well. He looked good.”
Good enough that the Yankees will discuss when to bring back their closer — and it shouldn’t be far off.
“We feel like he’s ready to go or at least close, so we’ll have those conversations now over the next day or two [to see] what the next step is. We feel like he’s about ready.”
Zack Britton has filled in for Chapman, who is coming back from COVID-19.
Chapman has been on the COVID-19 IL since the season began. He tested negative for the coronavirus during the intake program but positive afterward.
Miguel Andujar is at the Yankees’ alternate site, but he’s not an afterthought to those in The Bronx. Hitting coach Marcus Thames said Saturday that he spoke to the third baseman on Friday and told him to keep his spirits up despite being disappointed about being sent down.
“Miggy basically missed the whole year last year and this year just didn’t get enough at-bats,’’ Thames said. “He’s still a really good hitter. We believe that, he’s shown that. He’s just got to get the chance to play.”
And Thames thinks that’s more a product of the talent on the roster than an indictment of Andujar’s ability.
“We’ve got a really good team and got a lot of good players,’’ Thames said. “He’s gonna help us at some point this year.”
Thames added Andujar’s work has been good.
“When you get sent down, it’s a hard thing,’’ Thames said. “You can take it two ways: You can go down there and work or you can go down there and pout and stay in a rut. He’s working on both sides of the ball.”
Boone said though he paid attention to the Reds being the latest team to be impacted by COVID-19, having a third team affected won’t change anything the Yankees are doing to stay on the field.
“Of course I notice it and am aware of it and understand the fragility of all of this, but as far as changing anything or putting any type of fear [in us] no, our job is clear,’’ Boone said. “We understand the way we live and exist in this season in this world and how to go about it and continue to do all we can to avoid those things and put ourselves in the safest situations we possibly can. Hopefully that will be good enough to complete the season.”


newyorkpost--2020-08-15--Khloe Kardashian’s Facetune fail exposed on Twitter

Click to email this to a friend ( Opens in new window ) Click to share on Twitter ( Opens in new window ) Click to share on Facebook ( Opens in new window ) No wonder Khloe Kardashian didn ’ t look like herself in a glamorous Instagram shot posted in May — she purposefully digitally altered it herself beyond recognition .
Eagle eyed “ Keeping Up With the Kardashians ” fans called out Khloe this week after a clip from the show exposed her actual look the day she posted the pic that had people worried if she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rest of her family .
Apps like Facetune are used by many celebrities to digitally photoshop their appearance .
Twitter user @ dcagiunta posted pics of Khloe — before and after digital alteration on the same day — noting “ Khloe…girl.. ” While TikTok user Ray James Harrison did a shtick to audio of Kim Kardashian calling her sister and asking if she got plastic surgery in front of a background of the Twitter comparison .
“ Who is khloe kardashian trying to fool ?
” one fan tweeted at the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while another added , “ Idk if Khloe Kardashian used a surgeon or an app for this new face but either way I want in .
”

No wonder Khloé Kardashian didn’t look like herself in a glamorous Instagram shot posted in May — she purposefully digitally altered it herself beyond recognition.
Eagle-eyed “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” fans called out Khloe this week after a clip from the show exposed her actual look the day she posted the pic that had people worried if she’d undergone major reconstructive surgery like the rest of her family.
Apps like Facetune are used by many celebrities to digitally photoshop their appearance.
Twitter user @dcagiunta posted pics of Khloe — before and after digital alteration on the same day — noting “Khloe…girl..”
While TikTok user Ray James Harrison did a shtick to audio of Kim Kardashian calling her sister and asking if she got plastic surgery in front of a background of the Twitter comparison.
“Who is khloe kardashian trying to fool?” one fan tweeted at the time of Khloe’s original posting, while another added, “Idk if Khloe Kardashian used a surgeon or an app for this new face but either way I want in.”


newyorkpost--2020-08-16--Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko rejects calls for new election

MINSK – Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko , speaking at a rally of his supporters in Minsk on Sunday , rejected calls to hold a new presidential election and accused NATO of massing on his country ’ s western border .
Belarus has been rocked by a week of street protests after protesters accused Lukashenko of rigging a presidential election last Sunday , something he denies .
Lukashenko earlier spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin who told the Belarusian leader that Moscow stood ready to provide help in accordance with a collective military pact if necessary , the Kremlin said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters waited for his expected appearance at the Sunday rally , many chanted Lukashenko ’ s nickname of “ Batka , ” or father , and “ Maidan won ’ t take place , ” referring to the months of protest in Ukraine in 2013-14 that drove then-President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country .
“ Now everybody is against Lukashenko and the president needs our support .
Everybody suddenly has forgotten the good things he has done — there ’ s order in the country , we don ’ t have war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yurshevich , a 35-year-old lawyer .
Belarus ’ declining economy and Lukashenko ’ s dismissal of the coronavirus pandemic as “ psychosis ” are among the factors that galvanized the largest and most sustained protests the country has seen .

MINSK – Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, speaking at a rally of his supporters in Minsk on Sunday, rejected calls to hold a new presidential election and accused NATO of massing on his country’s western border.
Belarus has been rocked by a week of street protests after protesters accused Lukashenko of rigging a presidential election last Sunday, something he denies.
Lukashenko earlier spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin who told the Belarusian leader that Moscow stood ready to provide help in accordance with a collective military pact if necessary, the Kremlin said in a statement.
As Lukashenko’s supporters waited for his expected appearance at the Sunday rally, many chanted Lukashenko’s nickname of “Batka,” or father, and “Maidan won’t take place,” referring to the months of protest in Ukraine in 2013-14 that drove then-President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country.
“Now everybody is against Lukashenko and the president needs our support. Everybody suddenly has forgotten the good things he has done — there’s order in the country, we don’t have war of hunger,” said supporter Tamara Yurshevich, a 35-year-old lawyer.
Belarus’ declining economy and Lukashenko’s dismissal of the coronavirus pandemic as “psychosis” are among the factors that galvanized the largest and most sustained protests the country has seen.
-With AP