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ATLANTA – As Anthony Edwards was finishing his pregame warmup Monday with his usual set of halfcourt shots, he got word from his cameraman and content creator Dontre’ McCain to look behind him at the opposite baseline. Edwards glanced and gave a quick smile as he saw his grandfather, Ben Edwards, sitting there watching his grandson warm up. After hoisting a few more shots, Edwards came running over, smiling from ear to ear as he greeted his grandfather, who was attending an NBA game of Anthony’s for the first time, and the first game of any kind Anthony has played in since high school. They chatted for a few minutes before the game and got to hang out near the Wolves locker room afterward. “This is my first NBA game with my granddad,” Anthony said after the Wolves lost to the Hawks 117-104. “Sad I ain’t get the W for him, but I’m just happy he was here. My heart was warm when I seen him. That was great.” Ben is 82, and he still lives in the same house that housed Anthony, his grandmother Shirley, mother Yvette and his three siblings for a while when Anthony was an adolescent and teenager growing up southwest of downtown Atlanta. Monday was the first time Ben had seen his grandson in two years, he said. “Hey man, it’s about time,” Ben said. “I’m 82, I’ll be 83 in February. I have to go see him at least once.” This past summer, Ben reconnected with Dana Watkins, a longtime mentor to Edwards and his former AAU coach, and Watkins put the bug in Ben’s ear that he should get out to see Edwards while he still could. They kept Ben’s arrival a surprise from Anthony until pregame warmups. “This man right here, talked to me like somebody who had some sense,” Ben Edwards said of Watkins. “I believe in him, and he just does what he says he’ll do.” Watkins spent the last several days making arrangements with other Edwards associates, the Hawks and the Wolves to get courtside seats under one of the baskets. He had let Anthony know a few weeks ago that he was trying to get Ben to come to the game, but Edwards didn’t think it would happen. His grandfather didn’t like to leave the house much. “He just like me, man,” Anthony said. “I wanna go to the house, be in my game room, play my [video] game. He wanna go sit on his couch, his little chair and watch his TV shows.” As Edwards grew up, his mother and grandmother attended a lot of his football games and AAU games out of state before they died when he was 13. His grandfather came to games occasionally and he saw Edwards some in high school, but Anthony’s high school games at Holy Spirit, in the Buckhead section of Northern Atlanta, was a long commute with traffic. Monday marked Ben’s first time seeing in person what his grandson has become as a basketball player, the same Anthony who scribbled on the walls of his grandparents’ house that he wanted to be a McDonald’s All-American one day. Ever since they reconnected over the summer, Watkins said Ben was steadfast he was coming. “You’re 82 years old, have a grandkid who’s able to ascend where he’s ascending, if you ain’t going to see it now, when you gonna see it?” Watkins said. “It’s about the now. Life’s about the now, taking advantage of it.” After Anthony greeted him before the game, Ben said, “It feels good, man.” He said he advised Anthony to go “kick that [butt]. It’d make me real happy.” Anthony didn’t quite do that on a night he scored just 16 points on 7-for-20 shooting with five turnovers. He did have a thunderous dunk at the hoop near where Ben was sitting, and Watkins said Ben’s reaction to that was “it’s about time.” When they met before the game, several cameras caught the interaction between Ben, Anthony and Watkins. At one point, Ben turned to Anthony and said he wanted the pictures everyone was taking printed out. After the game, Anthony was still smiling in the locker room even after the loss as he talked about Ben. He joked that Ben “ain’t go no swag,” but he did see an important quality of himself that he took from Ben. “I think I got my being down to Earth. Just being cool under all circumstances,” Anthony said. “I think I got that from him. Like he never let any circumstance get him out of who he is and stuff like that. Just being cool, calm and collected through everything.” Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. ET, American Airlines Center Wolves update: The Wolves have lost three straight and travel to Dallas for the first time since the Western Conference finals last postseason. They previously lost to Dallas 120-114 in Minnesota on Oct. 29. Anthony Edwards is 20-for-56 over his last three games with eight turnovers. Julius Randle is 18-for-45 over his last three games with 16 turnovers. Mavericks update: Dallas has won 10 of its past 12 games and Luka Doncic returned from a two-game absence to score 27 points in Dallas’ win over the Mavericks on Monday. Doncic is averaging 28.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Dallas has the fourth-most efficient offense and 11th-rated defense. Kyrie Irving is averaging 23.5 points on 46% 3-point shooting. ©2024 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit startribune.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLCWASHINGTON — Linda McMahon once claimed an unearned education degree from East Carolina University. Now she is nominated to lead President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Education. Trump announced Tuesday that McMahon, best known as a founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, is nominated to be the next education secretary. She is his first nominee to have served in his previous administration. “It is my great honor to announce that Linda McMahon, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration, will be the United States Secretary of Education,” Trump wrote in a news release. McMahon now must wait for the Senate to confirm her nomination. North Carolina roots McMahon grew up in New Bern. Her parents worked 30 minutes away at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and she attended the nearby Havelock High School. It was during high school that she met her now-estranged husband and business partner, Vince McMahon. Together they attended East Carolina University where, in 1969, she earned a degree in French. After college, they moved away from the Tar Heel State. But in 2010, McMahon’s ties to North Carolina would be noted in a story by the Hartford Courant, which reported that she received a position on the Connecticut Board of Education after wrongfully claiming to then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell that she graduated from ECU with an education degree. In response to the allegations, McMahon told the Courant, “she first thought she had been right, because she did a semester of student-teaching, and after state testing, emerged with the certificate to teach — although she never did,” the Courant reported. Education background Her college degree was one of several misleading statements the newspaper reported McMahon had made on her application. McMahon’s opponents had argued her connection to WWE, and its violent, sexual and vulgar content, sent the wrong kind of message. They also criticized her lack of experience in education, though supporters saw that as a win. She still faces that criticism as Trump’s nominee. McMahon’s resume also includes serving on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Despite the opposition, and news of her misidentified degree breaking in the Stamford Advocate a month before her confirmation hearing, the Connecticut legislature approved Rell’s nomination of McMahon. She would serve on the board for around a year. McMahon took to social media Thursday following the news that Rell died suddenly at 78. “Her dedication and approach to public service is the gold standard to which we all should aspire to,” McMahon wrote. “I was honored to have her appoint me to serve on the CT State Board of Education and so enjoyed working with her.” When McMahon resigned from Connecticut’s board in 2010, she told the Courant it didn’t have to do with their pending story. She said it was instead because of the board’s rules wouldn’t allow her to raise money for her Senate campaign while serving. She would go on to lose two separate Senate campaigns. Political work But McMahon never walked away from politics. She became a major donor and fundraiser for Republicans. During Trump’s 2024 campaign, she donated more than $20 million to the former and future president, NBC News reported. McMahon supported Trump from the beginning of his political career and it paid off for her when he nominated her to lead the Small Business Administration. After three years, McMahon resigned to lead America First Action, a Trump super-PAC. She chairs the America First Policy Institute board. Trump’s news release about her most recent nomination credits her for working on parents’ rights and universal school choice policy at the institute. She also serves as co-chair of Trump’s transition team. Education’s future McMahon is one of several of Trump’s nominees who could face a tough nomination process. For McMahon, she’s accused of allowing one of her employees to use his position to sexually abuse five teenagers 15 and under The accusation is part of a lawsuit filed anonymously by former teenage employees. If McMahon clears the Senate nomination, she faces a different hurdle. It’s unclear how long her position might even exist. And once again, that might be left up to Congress to decide. One of Trump’s constant campaign promises was to shutter the Department of Education. However, that’s a promise Trump can’t keep without congressional approval.
Wooley and Cottle each score 32, Kennesaw State knocks off Brewton-Parker 112-77Ralph-Beyer puts up 20, Sacred Heart defeats Manhattanville 100-60
First Quarter RICE_Connors 5 run (Horn kick), 10:28. UAB_Holt-Bennett 5 pass from Kitna (Delange kick), 10:10. UAB_L.Beebe 48 run (Delange kick), 5:29. RICE_Giffen 5 pass from Warner (Horn kick), 3:07. Second Quarter UAB_FG Delange 31, 12:50. UAB_FG Delange 43, 1:40. UAB_Maddox 99 interception return (Delange kick), :00. Fourth Quarter UAB_L.Beebe 7 run (pass failed), 11:06. UAB_Milliner 45 pass from Kitna (Delange kick), 7:41. INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING_Rice, Connors 16-67, Francisco 3-22, Jackson 3-18, Warner 3-13. UAB, L.Beebe 16-161, Witherspoon 5-29, Barker 2-24, Shanks 1-4, McDonald 1-0, S.Beebe 5-(minus 2), Kitna 4-(minus 28). PASSING_Rice, Warner 27-48-3-218. UAB, Kitna 18-23-0-174. RECEIVING_Rice, Connors 3-43, K.Campbell 3-24, Sykes 3-19, G.Walker 3-16, Jackson 3-13, Mojarro 3-9, B.Walker 2-54, Chiaokhiao-Bowman 2-26, Barnett 2-6, Francisco 2-3, Giffen 1-5. UAB, Shanks 7-51, Milliner 6-90, Payne 2-24, Witherspoon 2-4, Holt-Bennett 1-5. MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.AP News Summary at 5:58 p.m. EST
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Drew Lock is likely going to start at quarterback for the New York Giants against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday when they try to end a franchise-record 10-game losing streak. Lock started against Atlanta last weekend and his status became an issue after the 34-7 loss when coach Brian Daboll said the 28-year-old was having an issue with his right shoulder. An MRI was done Monday and Daboll announced Tuesday that Lock would be his starter if he stayed healthy. “It came back good so rocking and rolling,” Lock said, noting he was hurt on a third down pass to Daniel Bellinger in the first quarter when Falcons linebacker Matthew Judon pulled his arm on the play. He finished the game. There were questions whether Daboll would switch back to Tommy DeVito after Lock threw two pick-6s and lost a fumble on a strip-sack against the Falcons. Lock has had three interceptions returned for scores in three starts this season, including two on tipped passes. Daboll said it was important to give Lock a couple of starts in which he was able to get all the reps in practice. “Knowing what we did the week before, take the things we need to get better at into this week and actually be able to go out there and do it is something I’m looking forward to,” Lock said. “Similar cadences with the guys, being in the huddle together. I think it can only be a positive for such a roller coaster out of that spot.” The one thing that might change this week is the Giants center. John Michael Schmitz has an ankle injury and he did not practice Tuesday. He left the locker room with a boot on his right foot. New York has moved veteran guard Greg Van Roten to center when Schmitz was hurt and Lock also worked with guard Austin Schlottmann as his center while playing in Denver. “I’m pretty familiar with all the guys that are rotating in there,” Lock said. The Giants have the NFL's worst scoring offense, averaging 14.3 points. They benched Daniel Jones coming out of their bye week and days later released him after he requested it. DeVito has started two games and Lock three since Jones was released. New York has scored 59 points in those games, with 20 coming against Dallas in a seven-point loss on Thanksgiving. Running back Tyrone Tracy (ankle), wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee-foot), cornerback Greg Stroman (shoulder-shin), defensive tackle Cory Durden (shoulder), inside linebacker Micah McFadden (neck) and cornerback Dru Phillips (shoulder) also did not practice on Tuesday, which is usually a day off. The team will have off on Christmas Day and return to practice on Thursday. The Giants opened practice on Tuesday with the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” blaring on the loudspeakers in their indoor practice facility. Jones, who is on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, sent the Giants offensive linemen Christmas gifts. “DJ comes in, saves me and Tommy once again, and then takes care of the guys,” Lock said. “I expected nothing less from the guy. That’s just who he is, and cares about these guys still.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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Musk isn't helping Trump out of the goodness of his own heart. Brandon Bell/Pool/AP A news clip making the rounds Sunday morning had CNN’s Dana Bash talking with Chris Sununu, New Hampshire’s Republican governor, about Elon Musk’s potential conflicts of interest. Here, after all, we have a hecto-billionaire with massive federal contracts via SpaceX—and whose carmaker, Tesla, likely wouldn’t have survived without generous state and federal subsidies—serving as an advisor to an incoming president on how the government should be spending its money , or not. Sununu told Bash he liked that Musk is an “outsider”—an interesting choice of words—who is “not looking for anything.” When she challenged that notion, he responded, “The guy is worth $450 billion” and therefore is “so rich he’s removed from the potential financial influence.” “I don’t think he’s doing it for the money,” Sununu said. “He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America.” The exchange is worth a listen: BASH: One of the concerns is that Elon Musk has billions tied up in govt contracts. You don't see a conflict of interest?CHRIS SUNUNU: Everyone has a conflict of interestBASH: But that's a pretty big oneSUNUNU: He's so rich he's removed from the potential financial influence What this tells me is that Sununu doesn’t understand the mentality of excessive wealth and he probably shouldn’t be on the air talking about it. He’s correct, in one sense, that Musk is not doing it for the money. I mean, the guy could probably afford to buy Greenland. But “the greater project and the bigger vision”? That’s the sort of nonsense Col. Potter from the old TV series M.A.S.H. would have called “horse hockey”— among other things . Musk is doing this for the power —the opportunity to dominate his peers. Let’s not forget that joining forces with Trump put Musk’s wealth, at least on paper, on a very steep upward trajectory. I haven’t done the math, but I’m pretty sure he’s now the richest person who has ever lived on our planet. He doesn’t need money to buy stuff. He needs it to nourish his narcissism. I interviewed quite a few super-rich folks, and people in their close orbits, while researching my 2021 book , Jackpot , and we talked a lot about these kinds of matters. It became clear that, once a person attains a certain level of wealth, any further accumulation of assets is like a game. It’s all about score-keeping and social comparisons—and also maintaining one’s dynastic position by creating trusts to circumvent gift and estate taxes and pushing to maintain stupid loopholes like the discounted tax rate on carried interest, which even one private equity guy admitted to me was “bullshit,” though he was part of a group that made an annual pilgrimage to DC to lobby for it. Here’s a abridged snippet from one of my interviews with Richard Watts, an attorney in Southern California who serves as a consigliere for some of America’s wealthiest families. Here he was talking about a conference he’d just spoken at—an annual shindig hosted by Mitt Romney and attended by loads of Fortune 500 CEOs and billionaires with names you’d know, in addition to former presidents and senators and other power players. “I’m very well off, so I certainly don’t need to be working and doing all that stuff, and I’ve got a beautiful home down by the ocean. But when I spend the weekend with people that probably have a minimum net worth of $500 million, at some point I just have to leave, because you can feel in the discussion the measure is how big you are... In those situations it’s always about what spectacular thing have you done, invented, created: What do you do? “Well, I own 35 mobile home parks free and clear, and we built them, and we’re going green with all of them. And it’s really been a great, wonderful thing.” And the guy’s 40 years old, and that’s a true story... Now, if you’re Jamie Dimon, everybody kind of wants to see what you’re thinking and you know, “Hey, that’s a good guy. I want to be around him.” And then if it’s the governor of Maine, or let’s say it’s Mitt or it’s Paul Ryan, these are really interesting people. And the interesting thing is they kind of don’t want to have that discussion, but everyone has it with them. So, it’s like, “Hey Paul, since you’ve been out of the Speaker of the House, what is it you’re doing this year?” “Oh my god, I’m on the board of Fox News.” (And of course Murdoch was there lecturing as well.) And it’s just this feeling that the only measure in the room—I don’t mean that they always stay this way, I’m just saying when they group together—it’s about who’s got the biggest boat, and I can say that in a lot of different ways that are nasty, but the biggest boat is pretty quickly identified. One month prior to the election, Elon Musk’s estimated net worth was about $263 billion . Now, at year’s end, it is $437 billion . The “biggest boat” has been identified. It’s Elon and it ain’t even close and Musk would like to keep it that way and his relationship with Trump helps him do that. So Sununu can spare us the “greater project” nonsense. This is a dick-measuring contest, no more, no less.A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women's volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender. The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women's championship opening this week in Las Vegas. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league's policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player's name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player. Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an "alleged transgender" player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player. San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. "We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week." The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses. The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo. The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season's awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year. Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing. The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals. San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. Boise State associate athletic director Chris Kutz declined to comment on whether the Broncos would play SJSU if they won their first-round tournament game. Utah State officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting "messages of hate" and that has taken a toll on his players. Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year. Nevada's players stated they "refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes," without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament. The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. The teammate Slusser says is transgender hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, the complaint says. The Independent Council on Women's Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women's sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits. Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the "likelihood of success" needed to grant an injunction. An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State. The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado's U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Taoiseach Simon Harris said he also wanted to tell Nikita Hand, a hair colourist from Drimnagh, that her case had prompted an increase in women coming forward to ask for support. Ms Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euro (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor said in a post on social media on Friday that he intends to appeal against the decision. That post has since been deleted. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mr Harris said he told Ms Hand of the support she has from people across Ireland. “I spoke with Nikita today and I wanted to thank her for her incredible bravery and her courage,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that she knew how much solidarity and support there was across this country for her bravery. “I also wanted to make sure she knew of what the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had said yesterday – that so many other women have now come forward in relation to their own experiences of sexual abuse as a result of Nikita’s bravery.” The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said the case has had a “profound effect” on the people the charity supports, and that over the first 10 days of the High Court case, calls to its national helpline increased by almost 20%. It said that first-time callers increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, and were largely from people who had experienced sexual violence who were distressed and anxious from the details of case and the views people had to it. Mr Harris said: “I wanted to speak with her and I wanted to wish her and her daughter, Freya, all the very best night, and I was very grateful to talk with Nikita today. “Her bravery, her courage, her voice has made a real difference in a country in which we must continue to work to get to zero tolerance when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. “I don’t want to say too much more, because conscious there could be further legal processes, but I absolutely want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her courage, for using her voice.” Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms Hand’s bravery and said she had shown “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. She said: “I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family. She added: “Because of wonderful people like Nikita, I hope that it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there are supports available to people, and that there is justice at the end of the day.” Ms Hand said in a statement outside court on Friday that she hoped her case would remind victims of assault to keep “pushing forward for justice”. Describing the past six years as “a nightmare”, she said: “I want to show (my daughter) Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” During the case, Ms Hand said she was “disappointed and upset” when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the case after she made a complaint to the Irish police. In a letter to her in August 2020, the DPP said there was “insufficient evidence” and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous. Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, Mr Harris and Ms McEntee stressed the importance of the DPP’s independence on whether to prosecute. “There are obviously structures in place where the DPP can meet a victim and can outline to them their reasons for not taking the case,” Mr Harris said. “But there’s also always an opportunity for the DPP in any situation – and I speak broadly in relation to this – to review a decision, to consider any new information that may come to light, and I don’t want to say anything that may ever cut across the ongoing work of the DPP.” Ms McEntee stressed that there should “never be any political interference” in the independence of the DPP’s decisions. “I have, since becoming minister, given priority to and enabled a new office within the DPP to open specifically focused on sexual offences, so that this issue can be given the focus and the priority that it needs,” she said.Ireland’s premier has spoken to the Dublin woman who won a civil case against mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor to praise her courage. Taoiseach Simon Harris said he also wanted to tell Nikita Hand, a hair colourist from Drimnagh, that her case had prompted an increase in women coming forward to ask for support. Ms Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euro (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor said in a post on social media on Friday that he intends to appeal against the decision. That post has since been deleted. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mr Harris said he told Ms Hand of the support she has from people across Ireland. “I spoke with Nikita today and I wanted to thank her for her incredible bravery and her courage,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that she knew how much solidarity and support there was across this country for her bravery. “I also wanted to make sure she knew of what the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had said yesterday – that so many other women have now come forward in relation to their own experiences of sexual abuse as a result of Nikita’s bravery.” The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said the case has had a “profound effect” on the people the charity supports, and that over the first 10 days of the High Court case, calls to its national helpline increased by almost 20%. It said that first-time callers increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, and were largely from people who had experienced sexual violence who were distressed and anxious from the details of case and the views people had to it. Mr Harris said: “I wanted to speak with her and I wanted to wish her and her daughter, Freya, all the very best night, and I was very grateful to talk with Nikita today. “Her bravery, her courage, her voice has made a real difference in a country in which we must continue to work to get to zero tolerance when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. “I don’t want to say too much more, because conscious there could be further legal processes, but I absolutely want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her courage, for using her voice.” Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms Hand’s bravery and said she had shown “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. She said: “I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family. She added: “Because of wonderful people like Nikita, I hope that it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there are supports available to people, and that there is justice at the end of the day.” Ms Hand said in a statement outside court on Friday that she hoped her case would remind victims of assault to keep “pushing forward for justice”. Describing the past six years as “a nightmare”, she said: “I want to show (my daughter) Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” During the case, Ms Hand said she was “disappointed and upset” when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the case after she made a complaint to the Irish police. In a letter to her in August 2020, the DPP said there was “insufficient evidence” and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous. Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, Mr Harris and Ms McEntee stressed the importance of the DPP’s independence on whether to prosecute. “There are obviously structures in place where the DPP can meet a victim and can outline to them their reasons for not taking the case,” Mr Harris said. “But there’s also always an opportunity for the DPP in any situation – and I speak broadly in relation to this – to review a decision, to consider any new information that may come to light, and I don’t want to say anything that may ever cut across the ongoing work of the DPP.” Ms McEntee stressed that there should “never be any political interference” in the independence of the DPP’s decisions. “I have, since becoming minister, given priority to and enabled a new office within the DPP to open specifically focused on sexual offences, so that this issue can be given the focus and the priority that it needs,” she said.
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