SPORTS
Saturday, June 18, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3B
RUSSIA: Clean
Fathers know best: Former NFL
athletes may apply
standouts coach daughters toward Rio to compete neutrally
Olympics
“No one can
teach our child
better than we
can because
of knowledge
we had in the
beginning.”
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
The teenage high jump
phenom lives at home and
carpools to practice. Same
with the 30-year-old American
record-holder in the shot put.
These two medal hopefuls
at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics
also have this in common: A
father for a coach whose last
name is certainly recognizable
to most football fans.
Vashti Cunningham’s dad
is longtime NFL quarterback
Randall Cunningham, who
built a track club in Las Vegas
to help his daughter — and
son — soar to new heights
in the high jump. Michelle
Carter’s father is Michael
Carter, a stalwart defensive
lineman who used to routinely
drive 340 miles roundtrip to
offer her shot put tips.
Anything for their kids.
Being down a touchdown
on the football ield isn’t
nearly as pressure-packed as
watching their children from
the stands.
“The heart is invested,”
said Cunningham, a second-
round pick of the Philadel-
phia Eagles in 1985 who
played 16 seasons for four
teams. “Whenever your heart
is invested, you’re going
through all the emotions.”
Randall began coaching his
daughter and his son, Randall
II — now at Southern Cali-
fornia — when they were just
kids. A standout in the high
jump in high school, he turned
his focus to football at UNLV
because the school didn’t have
men’s track and ield.
He’s part mentor, part
instructor but most of all,
dad.
And dad certainly knows
his stuff. Three months ago,
18-year-old Vashti became
the youngest woman to win
the event at world indoor
championships in Portland,
Oregon. Soon after, she
signed a deal with Nike.
Her brother recently won an
NCAA high jump title.
“Good genetics,” said
Randall, who coaches a track
team in Las Vegas called
the Nevada Gazelles. “I put
conidence in her to jump
(high). She trusts her dad. A
lot of people who don’t know
the sport and try to coach
their kid fail because their kid
doesn’t trust them.”
— Michael Carter,
Former NFL defensive
lineman and current coach
to his daughter Michelle,
who is a medal hopeful in
shot put in the upcoming
Olympics
AP Photo/Pat Graham, File
In this March 18, 2016, ile photo, Randall Cunningham
poses with his daughter Vashti, in Portland, Ore. Vashti
Cunningham has a good chance of bringing home a
medal from the Rio de Janeiro Games.
She diligently listens, too.
“We have a good rela-
tionship, because he knows
my limits, as far as my father
and my coach,” Vashti said.
“I can’t go in there and mess
up with the knowledge he’s
transferred to me.”
Growing up, Michelle
never really knew her father
as Michael Carter the shot
putter, only Michael Carter
the San Francisco 49ers
defensive lineman.
It’s not like the silver
medal he captured at the
1984 Summer Olympics was
hanging around the house or
anything.
In seventh grade, Michelle
expressed a desire to try the
shot put. At irst, dad was
a little hesitant, thinking
maybe she was enticed by
someone who informed her
that he was once a thrower.
Not the case, she insisted.
“He just wanted us to pick
it for ourselves,” Michelle
explained. “When I picked it
up, he said, ‘Well, if you’re
going to do this, I’m going to
teach you how to do this and
you’re going to do it right.”’
Michael worked with her
through a record-breaking
high school career, and
thought his coaching days
were done once she went to
the University of Texas. But
he was asked to help out and
so he drove from Dallas to
Austin every two weeks to
offer some guidance.
Dad certainly knew
his shot put, too. Michelle
has blossomed into one of
the world’s top throwers,
winning six U.S. outdoor
titles. She also set the Amer-
ican outdoor record of 66
feet, 5 inches (20.24 meters)
in 2013 and broke the nation’s
indoor mark with a throw of
66-3 3/4 (20.21) to capture a
world title in March.
Usually not one to show
much emotion, Michael
bubbled over when he
hugged her back stage after
her record-setting win.
“My daddy is a big, old
teddy bear,” Michelle said.
“I’m glad we’re able to share
those moments together.”
These days, he’s dad,
coach and roommate.
Not too long ago, Michelle
tried to buy a house. When it
fell through, she moved in
with her parents until after
the Olympics.
Michelle and her dad
carpool to practice most
days, along with their
dog named Ryder. While
Michelle throws the shot at
practice, Michael tosses the
ball to Ryder.
And when they get home,
they talk shot. They’re
always talking about the
shot put, even when they say
they’re not going to.
Occupational hazard.
“It’s hard for my dad to
leave it out of the conver-
sation,” Michelle said. “It
consumes your whole life.”
Just like football once did
— for Michael and Randall.
The two gridiron greats
hadn’t seen each other in
decades before crossing
paths last March at the world
indoor. At irst, Randall
didn’t recognize Micheal
until he scrambled to put on
his glasses and read the name
on the credential of the big
man standing in front of him.
Oh yeah, Michael Carter,
the San Francisco 49ers Pro
Bowler who used to chase
Cunningham around the
football ield.
“I was like, ‘I see now
that you’re old,”’ Michael
chucked.
Honest
mistake,
Cunningham asserted.
“Of course I remember
him — a great player,”
Randall said.
Now
they’re
both
coaching their daughters,
who are both strong
contenders for Olympic
medals.
FINALS: Golden State is 3-0 in elimination games
Continued from 1B
is at best a shaky proposition
now. Game 7 of the inals is
on Sunday against the Cleve-
land Cavaliers, and Golden
State is hoping being at home
helps deliver a champion-
ship-saving elixir.
“Things haven’t gone our
way despite how the regular
season went,” Warriors guard
Stephen Curry said. “The
playoffs haven’t been easy.
Hasn’t been a breeze. Hasn’t
been anything perfect about
it. So, yeah, it’s frustrating,
but the work we’ve put in
and the opportunity we’ve
given ourselves with a Game
7 to win the inals at home,
you’ve got to be excited
about that.”
The Warriors got ques-
tions for months — starting
around December, believe it
or not — about whether they
were concerned that the strain
of chasing Chicago’s 72-win
mark that stood as the NBA’s
gold standard for 20 years
would leave them ailing or
fatigued at playoff time.
Questions like those seem
a bit more valid now.
To be clear, Andrew
Bogut’s left knee didn’t
become
susceptible
to
season-ending bone bruises
because of how dificult
becoming the league’s irst
73-win regular-season team
was; J.R. Smith crashing into
him in Game 5 of this series
took care of that. Curry’s
combination of fouling out,
mouthpiece-throwing and
getting ejected in Game 6
on Thursday night wasn’t
because the irst 82 games
left him tired and cranky.
And the Warriors’ inability to
corral LeBron James in this
series can be best explained
by acknowledging again that
when James is at his best he’s
the most unstoppable force in
the game.
The grind of March and
April has nothing to do with
any of that.
But it can certainly be
argued that even though the
Warriors spent about half the
season without head coach
Steve Kerr while he recov-
ered from back surgeries and
got every opponent’s best
shot in every game — such
is life for reigning cham-
pions — the playoffs have
delivered more challenges
in 20something games
(including a 3-1 deicit in the
Western Conference inals
against Oklahoma City) than
the irst 82 offered combined.
“I think if you start out
every season and you say
‘We get a Game 7, we get
one game at home to win
the NBA championship,’ I’ll
take it every time,” Kerr said.
“So I can’t wait for Sunday.
I think we’ll be ine. Obvi-
ously Cleveland has played
well the last two games, and
we’ve got to play better. But
I’m conident we will. We’re
in a spot that 29 other teams
would love to be in.”
Kerr got ined $25,000 on
Friday for being critical of
referees after Golden State’s
loss in Game 6, and Curry
got ined another $25,000 for
throwing his mouthpiece into
the stands after fouling out of
that game.
If the Warriors — who are
still steamed that Draymond
Green was suspended for
Game 5 because he accrued
one too many lagrant fouls
in this postseason — ind
calls more to their liking in
Game 7, that’ll be money
extremely well spent.
“We’re going to need
some emotion and some grit
and toughness,” said Curry,
who noted the Warriors are
already 3-0 in elimination
games this season.
Their problems go deeper
than
oficiating
issues,
though. The Warriors don’t
have a single starter shooting
50 percent in this series, are
clearly a different defensive
team with Bogut sidelined,
have 2015 Finals MVP
Andre Iguodala playing with
wince-inducing lower back
soreness, have yielded two
straight 41-point games to
James and are in their irst
extended slide of the season
— losing three times in a
four-game span.
If shots fall at their usual
clip on Sunday, the Warriors
will probably win.
Otherwise, a team that
looks like it’s limping to the
inish could see its reign end.
“We all realize if you told
us at the beginning of the
season it would be one game
to win the championship in
Oakland, we’ll take that any
day of the week,” shooting
guard Klay Thompson said.
“We’ve just got to come
Sunday with the mindset of
leave it all out there, every
man on this team. No hero
ball, just do it as a team like
we’ve been doing it all year.”
FINES: Game 6 ejection was irst of Curry’s career
Continued from 1B
Curry was ined for
throwing his mouthpiece into
the stands after fouling out of
the game with 4:22 left.
Kerr took issue with three
of the six fouls that were
called on Curry in the game,
even calling referee Jason
Phillips out by name for the
one that ended the night for
the two-time reigning NBA
MVP.
“Three of the six fouls
were incredibly inappropriate
calls for anybody, much less
the MVP of the league,” Kerr
said in his postgame news
conference, surely knowing
that the league would be
sending a bill for those
remarks.
Curry didn’t like many of
the calls either, and let some
words — and his mouthpiece
— ly after fouling out. Phil-
lips also tacked on a technical
and ejected Curry, who apol-
ogized almost immediately
to the fan he hit inadvertently
with the mouthpiece.
“I’m happy he threw
his mouthpiece,” Kerr said
postgame . “He should be
upset. Look, it’s the inals
and everybody’s competing
out there. There are fouls on
every play. It’s a physical
game. ... If they’re going to
let Cleveland grab and hold
these guys constantly on their
cuts and then you’re going to
call these ticky-tack fouls on
the MVP of the league to foul
him out, I don’t agree with
that.”
Game 7 is Sunday on
the Warriors’ home loor in
Oakland, California. Neither
decision by the NBA was a
surprise; the league precedent
for throwing a mouthpiece is
a ine in most cases, and the
Warriors weren’t worried
about the MVP being
suspended for the last game
of the season.
It was Curry’s irst ejec-
tion, and his time fouling out
since Dec. 13, 2013.
“It got the best of me,”
Curry said, “but I’ll be all
right for next game.”
Continued from 1B
“Russian athletes could
not credibly return to
international competition
without undermining the
conidence of their compet-
itors and the public,” IAAF
President Sebastian Coe
said.
President Vladimir Putin
condemned the decision,
saying he still hopes for
“some solution” that will
allow the Russians to
compete in Rio.
“Clean
athletes
shouldn’t suffer,” he told a
meeting of leaders of major
international news agencies
in St. Petersburg.
Russia does not accept
“collective
punishment”
for all athletes, Putin added,
comparing the ban for
the entire team to a prison
sentence that “an entire
family” could get if one of
its relatives has committed
a crime.
Russia’s Sports Ministry
also said Rio Games will
be “diminished” by the
absence of its athletes, and
the Russian track federation
said it was considering
an appeal to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport —
the sports world’s highest
court.
The IAAF, track’s
world governing body, left
open a “tiny crack” that
would allow any individual
Russian athletes who have
been untainted by doping
and have been subjected
to effective testing outside
Russia to apply to compete
in the games.
However, the IAAF said
those athletes would be few
and would be eligible to
compete only as “individ-
uals” — and not under the
Russian lag.
“The crack in the
door is quite narrow and
there won’t be many who
manage to get through that
crack in the door,” said
Rune Andersen, the Norwe-
gian anti-doping expert
who headed the IAAF task
force that determined that
Russia’s reforms were not
enough.
The IAAF said it was
necessary to ban the entire
track and ield team because
there was no way to verify
which athletes could be
considered clean.
“The system in Russia
has been tainted by doping
from the top level down,”
Andersen said. “We cannot
trust that what people might
call clean athletes are really
clean. If you have one or two
or ive with negative tests, it
does not mean the athletes
are clean. History has shown
that is not the case.”
Coe dismissed sugges-
tions there were any polit-
ical motivations behind the
decision.
“There were members
from all four corners of
the world, and the decision
was unanimous,” he said.
“Politics did not play a part
today.”
The ruling came four
days before a sports
summit called by the IOC
to address “the dificult
decision between collective
responsibility and indi-
vidual justice.”
The IOC said it had
“taken note” of the IAAF
ruling and that its exec-
utive board will meet by
teleconference
Saturday
to “discuss the appropriate
next steps.”
There has been specula-
tion the IOC could overrule
the IAAF or impose a
compromise that would
allow “clean” Russian
athletes
to
compete.
However, Coe made clear
that the IAAF runs the
sport and determines which
athletes are eligible, not the
IOC.
“I don’t have a message
for the IOC,” said Coe,
who will attend Tuesday’s
meeting in Lausanne,
Switzerland. “Eligibility is
a matter for the IAAF.”
The suspension of the
Russian federation, known
as RusAF, was imposed
in November following
a report by a World
Anti-Doping
Agency
commission that alleged
state-sponsored cheating,
corruption and cover-ups.
On Wednesday, WADA
issued a new report citing
continuing obstruction and
violations of drug-testing in
Russia.
“The
deep-seated
culture of tolerance, or
worse, for doping that led
RusAF being suspended
in the irst appears not to
have changed materially to
date,” the IAAF said.
Coe said the unanimous
decision by the 25 members
of the IAAF council to
maintain the ban sends “a
very clear signal to athletes
and the public about our
intention to reform our
sport.”
The decision was hailed
by many sports oficials
and athletes’ groups outside
Russia who have been
pushing the IAAF to take
a hard line to restore some
credibility to the much-ma-
ligned global anti-doping
system.
“It gives a measure of
hope to clean athletes that
there are consequences not
only for athletes who dope,
but for countries which do
not engage seriously in
the ight against doping,”
U.S. Olympic Committee
CEO Scott Blackmun said.
“That is a much-needed
message.”
Added U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency chief executive
Travis Tygart: “Obviously,
banning Russian track and
ield from the Olympics
is the right outcome. The
world’s clean athletes came
together and demanded that
their voices were heard.”
In expressing its disap-
pointment, the Russian
Sports Ministry appealed to
IOC members to “consider
the impact that our athletes’
exclusion will have on the
dreams and the people of
Russia.”
“Clean athletes’ dreams
are being destroyed because
of
the
reprehensible
behavior of other athletes
and oficials,” the ministry
said. “They have sacriiced
years of their lives striving
to compete at the Olympics
and now that sacriice looks
likely to be wasted.”
It added that the Olym-
pics “are supposed to be
a source of unity, and we
hope that they remain as
a way of bringing people
together.”
The IAAF rejected a
last-minute plea by Russian
Sports Minister Vitaly
Mutko, who claimed the
country had cleaned up its
anti-doping system and
met all the requirements for
readmission.
“We irmly believe that
clean athletes should not be
punished for the actions of
others,” he said in an open
letter to Coe.
Two-time Olympic pole
vault champion Yelena
Isinbayeva was among the
Russian athletes hoping to
compete in Rio. She has
threatened to go to court on
human rights grounds if she
is excluded from the games.
Other cases could end up
in CAS, the Swiss-based
appeals court.
The IAAF did change its
rules to make way for “any
individual athletes who can
clearly and convincingly
show that they are not
tainted” by doping and who
have been outside Russia
and subject to effective
drug-testing systems.
Those individuals can
apply to a special IAAF
committee for permission
to compete as a “neutral
athlete,” not for Russia.
The IAAF also recom-
mended that Russian
whistleblower
Yulia
Stepanova be allowed to
compete at the Olympics
as an independent athlete.
The 800-meter runner who
served a doping ban gave
information along with her
husband that led to a broad
investigation of doping
inside Russia.
The IAAF task force
recommended she be
allowed to compete because
of the “extraordinary
contribution” she made to
the anti-doping effort.
———
Wilson reported from
London. AP National
Writer Eddie Pells and AP
Sports Writer James Elling-
worth also contributed.