ETF Summary

New Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris issued a statement to fans Friday, sharing his unwavering stance on turning the franchise into “a team that can compete with the NFL’s best.”

Harris’ statement coincided with the firings of defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive back coach Brent Vieselmeyer on Friday, one day after the Commanders lost 45-10 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

“I feel exactly how our fans feel today: disappointed and frustrated. It’s how our players and staff feel as well. I knew our first season of ownership would include challenges along the way, and we will not shy away from hard work, nor will we be deterred by adversity,” Harris said in the statement.

“As Coach [Ron] Rivera and I discussed, all of our energy for the remainder of the season will be focused on playing better, more consistent football and developing our players while intently evaluating the areas in which we need to improve this offseason.

“Our fans deserve a team that can compete with the NFL’s best and win sustainably over the long-term. I will not waver from that mission. Thank you to our fans for the ways in which you’ve breathed new life into our franchise. We have not been good enough this season, but our resolve for the future is unbroken.”

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Washington is 4-8, third in the NFC East behind the Eagles (9-1) and Cowboys (8-2), but ahead of the Giants (3-8).

The Commanders have seen quarterback Sam Howell become the NFL’s leading passer, but their offense is in the middle of the pack, ranked 12th with 343.8 yards and 20th with 20.5 points per game.

The Commanders’ defense is easily one of the worst in the NFL, allowing opponents to score an average of 29.2 points per game (highest in the NFL) with 377.7 yards (fourth-worst) this season.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Politics

Team Biden’s war on cigarettes will only end in tears

One of the most enduring lessons of American history is that the banning of liquor sales and consumption (‘the noble experiment’) was a colossal failure. Drinking didn’t go down much, but the profits ended up going not to legitimate businesses but bootleggers and the mob, while the murder rate soared to all-time highs in American history. It was the policy that made America’s most famous gangster, Al Capone, famous — and rich.

I was reminded of this when I saw recently that the Biden administration’s Food and Drug Administration wants to ban menthol cigarettes. Menthol flavorings account for approximately 37% of cigarette sales. That demand will not disappear but it will be driven underground, creating more significant risks to consumers.

Ninety years after the failure of Prohibition, we are going to try it again with smokers. Ironically, many of the same liberals who campaigned for three decades for the legalization of marijuana and other soft drugs (something I generally support) now want to effectively ban smoking.

The FDA’s proposed rule would ‘prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars.’ The government justifies its action because it has ‘the potential to significantly reduce disease and death from combusted tobacco product use.’
That sounds a lot like a reprise of what the temperance league told us about alcohol prohibition: ‘Alcohol prohibition will save lives, reduce crime, cure social ills, and improve the nation’s health.’

But even if all these virtuous results were true, since when is the United States government empowered to regulate the health and riskiness of America’s personal habits? Don’t we have a right as Americans to do things that are bad for us? Or do we slouch toward a nanny state?

There are a lot of dangerous activities that Americans take great pleasure in and choose to do even though they are risky — rock climbing, parachuting out of airplanes, driving a motorcycle and eating too much sugar (a sin that I am definitely guilty of) are prominent examples. Remember when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to stop obesity by banning Big Gulps? Reading the misinformation in The New York Times is bad for you — but I wouldn’t ban the newspaper.

We should have learned from the mostly failed war on drugs that the main impact was to enrich drug dealers. Instead of the government getting funds by taxing pot (as many states do now), the money went to the drug cartels, crime syndicates and street corner drug dealers.

I’m not a smoker; I don’t smoke; and I don’t like it when people smoke around me and I have to inhale and smell the cigar or cigarette smoke. I taught my kids not to smoke or use drugs, and smoking cessation programs in schools make a lot of sense.

I have friends who died far too young because of their chain-smoking habits. On the other hand, I do, on rare occasions, smoke cigarettes, especially when stressed out. It relaxes me, just as I sometimes take chewables at night when I am having trouble falling asleep. I don’t want a government official yanking the cigarette out of my mouth.

The strangest and most illogical thing of all about this call to ban menthol is that it comes at a time when smoking is rarer today than at any time in at least 100 years and probably since the founding of our country. In the last 60 years, smoking has fallen by more than 60% in virtually all age groups, especially among the young. Anti-smoking education campaigns are working. Don’t change a winning strategy.

An FDA prohibition could backfire by making smoking ‘cool’ and ‘sexy’ again. When I was in high school and my friends and I would occasionally head to the beach and puff on marijuana joints, part of the thrill was precisely that it was verboten. We were teenage rebels without a cause, and we were acting like James Dean.

We should also consider that the government is also collecting billions of dollars of tax revenues from smokers. Driving cigarette sales underground puts the money into the hands of the criminals.

Yes, keep cigarettes out of the hands of kids. But let adults, not the government regulators, make their own decisions about the risks of smoking.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Politics

Hamas releases 13 Israeli hostages, 11 others as cease-fire holds

The terrorist group Hamas released their first wave of hostages, beginning a four-day exchange that has paused the violence in Gaza.

Twenty-four hostages were transported out of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Friday, according to the Times of Israel, citing Israeli officials.

At least 10 Thai nationals and 13 Israelis were released into the care of Red Cross personnel, who were seen carrying those rescued via ambulance from Gaza into Egypt. The Israeli hostages were then expected to be transported to Israel to receive care at various hospitals.

Qatar, a key player in the cease-fire deal negotiations, said 24 hostages had been released in total, including 10 Thai citizens and a Filipino citizen. Earlier, the Thai Foreign Ministry had said that 12 Thai citizens had been released by Hamas.

Israel’s government confirmed the names and ages of the Israeli hostages released:

– Doron Katz-Asher, 34

– Raz Asher, 4

– Aviv Asher, 2

– Daniel Aloni, 45

– Amelia Aloni, 5

– Ruth Munder, 78

– Keren Munder, 54

– Ohad Munder, 9

– Adina Moshe, 72

– Hannah Katzir, 76

– Margalit Moses, 77

– Hanna Perry, 79

– Yaffa Adar, 85

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day cease-fire, during which the terrorist group will release 50 women and children taken in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The hostages will be released over a four-day period, beginning Friday, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Israeli leaders have vowed to resume the war once the cease-fire lifts.

‘Israel will continue its war on Hamas and we will not stop until we achieve our two main goals, overthrowing the rule of Hamas and returning all the abductees back to us, safe and sound,’ Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Friday as he toured Israel’s ravaged border areas with his counterparts from Portugal and Slovenia.

Officials have floated the idea that the cease-fire can be extended another day for each additional group of 10 hostages released.

Hamas terrorists are believed to have taken some 240 people captive in the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel and are holding them in Gaza.

To date, there have been more than 1,200 Israelis reported killed by Hamas, while the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health is claiming nearly 13,000 civilians have been killed by Israeli military activity in Gaza.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Lawrence Richard, Elizabeth Pritchett and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Politics

Biden unsure when American hostages will be freed by Hamas: ‘We don’t know’

President Biden said on Friday that he was unsure when any American hostages being held by Hamas terrorists would be released after none was included in the group freed on the first day of the group’s cease-fire with Israel.

‘We don’t know when that will occur, but we’re going to expect it to occur,’ Biden said while addressing the release of hostages from his vacation in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

‘We don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they will be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released, So, it’s my hope and expectation it will be soon,’ he added.

He went on to say that he didn’t know the condition of the Americans still in captivity or whether they were still alive.

The release of hostages comes after Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day cease-fire during which the terrorist group agreed to release 50 women and children taken in the October 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Two dozen hostages were released on Friday, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen. The group was released into the care of Red Cross personnel, who were seen carrying those rescued via ambulance from Gaza into Egypt.

The Israeli hostages were transported to Israel to receive care at various hospitals and are now accompanied by Israeli Defense Forces Special Forces.

According to U.S. intelligence, approximately 10 Americans are being held hostage by Hamas.

Israeli leaders have vowed to resume the war once the cease-fire lifts.

‘Israel will continue its war on Hamas, and we will not stop until we achieve our two main goals, overthrowing the rule of Hamas and returning all the abductees back to us, safe and sound,’ Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Friday as he toured Israel’s ravaged border areas with his counterparts from Portugal and Slovenia.

To date, there have been more than 1,200 Israelis reported killed by Hamas, while the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health is claiming that nearly 13,000 civilians have been killed from Israeli military activity in Gaza.

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Stocks

How RRG Helps To Find Two Pair Trading Opportunities

The Dow Jones Industrial Index is reaching overhead resistance between 35.5k and 35.7k. This means that upside potential is now limited. And even when the market manages to break that area, the next resistance level is already around 37k.

However, the relative rotation graph showing the rotation for all 30 members of the DJ Industrials Index shows some potentially very interesting pair trade setups.

DJ Industrials

On the weekly chart above, that overhead resistance area is clearly visible. The previous highs, which define the resistance zone, date back to late 2021 and early 2022, almost two years ago. This makes it a very important resistance zone.

An upward break of that resistance will obviously be a very bullish signal. But the recent rally, coming out of the late October low, has been very steep, and it would not be strange to see some form of consolidation against the aforementioned resistance zone.

With overhead resistance nearby, the near-term risk is now to the downside. Looking at the chart a setback after a peak against resistance could take the Dow as low as 32.3k. This would still keep $INDU within the boundaries of this year’s trading range.

Opposite Tails On Weekly RRG

The weekly relative rotation graph above shows the rotations for all thirty stocks inside the Dow Jones Industrial Index. With the benchmark index still inside a trading range, some of the opposite rotations that are visible on the graph suggest that a few interesting pair trading opportunities are present.

In order to clean up the RRG and put emphasis on the more interesting rotations, I have taken out the tails with less favorable characteristics.

In order to see if I could get confirmation, I have run the same RRG on the daily time frame.

Given the current rotational patterns, many different pair trading opportunities can be found. I encourage you to do your own research and find out whether you have a particularly strong view of specific stocks or combinations of stocks, positive or negative.

I will pick two examples of potential pair trades from the RRGs above and look at the individual charts.

NKE vs CAT

On the weekly RRG, Nike and Caterpillar’s tails rotate in opposite directions. NKE is inside the improving quadrant and rapidly heading toward leading. CAT is inside the weakening quadrant and rapidly heading toward lagging. Both tails are at the extremes of the RRG and far away from the benchmark. This indicates a big potential for alpha.

NKE

NKE is nearing resistance between 110 and 115, suggesting that there is limited upside potential left, unless NKE can clear this barrier in the coming weeks.

However, as we are looking for pair trades, we need to focus more on the relative strength conditions. And these are clearly picking up for NKE.

The JdK RS-Momentum line is already well above 100 and is dragging the JdK RS-Ratio line higher. When both RRG-Lines are moving up at the same time, this causes an RRG-heading between 0-90 degrees which we know is an indication of strength.

CAT

On the price chart, CAT has just bounced off its rising support line. The relative performance, however, is not looking that good.

The JDK RS-momentum line already dropped below 100 a few weeks ago and is now rapidly dragging the RS-Ratio line lower.

This rapid decline in relative strength suggests a further underperformance for CAT in the next few weeks.

Off-setting the relative strength of NKE against the relative weakness of CAT makes for a potentially interesting pair-trading opportunity.

MSFT vs MRK

The weekly RG details for Microsoft and Merck show opposite rotational patterns. MSFT has just completed a rotation from leading through weakening and is now back into leading, making it one of the strongest stocks, if not the strongest, in this universe.

The opposite goes for the tale of MRK. This one rotated from lagging into improving and is now crossing back into the lagging quadrant.

We know that rotations that complete on one side of the graph indicate a new Up- or Down-leg in an already established up or down trend.

MSFT

The recent break to new all-time highs is holding up well. It has also caused the raw RS-line to push to new highs where it is also holding. This is a strong combination of facts.

After a brief dip below 100, the JdK RS-Momentum line has now crossed back above that level again, dragging the RS-ratio out of its low just above 100. This causes the tail on the RRG to push back into the leading quadrant at a strong RRG-heading.

The combination of strong relative strength and a break to new highs on the price chart makes Microsoft the best chart in this universe for the time being.

MRK

MRK reached its all-time high in May of this year but has been in a steady downtrend since then. The Price Of Merck reached support just above 100 a few weeks ago and is still hovering slightly above that area at the moment. A break lower will very likely accelerate the decline, very likely, toward the next level of support between 92.50 and 95.

The raw rs line is breaking an important horizontal support level completing a topish formation. The RRG lines already picked up on the new downtrend in July. The recent hiccup of the RS-Momentum line above 100 is the result of the sideways consolidation of relative strength above support.

With raw RS, breaking support, and the RS momentum line dropping below 100, both RRG-Lines are now once again moving lower while below 100. This causes the tail on the RRG to move deeper into the lagging quadrant while traveling at a negative heading.

Both tails completing a rotation at the same side of the RRG suggests a continuation of the ongoing outperformance of MSFT over MRK.

Enjoy your ThanksGiving weekend but #StayAlert, –Julius

Stocks

Seasonality Points To Higher Prices NOW

I know we’re in the midst of a powerful rally that began EXACTLY when seasonality suggested it would – at the close on October 27th. I discussed the very bearish seasonality leading up to that October 27th close in my article, “Odds Favor Further Selling This Week (Maybe a LOT of it)”. Check it out if you haven’t already. At the end of this article, I pointed out that bullish historical tendencies would soon overpower the bears and we’ve seen history repeat itself once again as the bulls have dominated the bears during the latter part of October and throughout November.

Technical Price Action

Before I provide more bullish historical tendencies ahead, let’s look at the S&P 500 over multiple time frames:

S&P 500 – 1 Year Daily:

Pretty simple. We had a correction. The downtrend was broken. We’re now trending higher with approaching price resistance near 4600. To the downside, a gap support zone resides from 4411-4559 and the rising 20-day EMA is conveniently located in the middle of it at 4437.

S&P 500 – 5 Years Weekly:

Sure looks like a bullish inverse head & shoulders continuation pattern to me. The pattern is almost perfectly symmetrical and it follows a very clear uptrend. The beauty here is that the pattern measurement is from the 4600 neckline down to the inverse head just below 3500. That’s 1100 points. A breakout above 4600 would measure up 1100 points to 5700. Good luck bears! During uptrends, the RSI tends to hold the 40-50 range. Note the October low was squarely on 40. Now the RSI is back above 60. This is how the RSI unfolds during bull market advances. I also love the PPO reset at the zero line. We’re now moving straight up off of that test, and that’s indicative of accelerating bullish momentum.

S&P 500 – 40 Years Monthly:

Do you see anything other than an uptrend? The red-shaded areas highlight what we typically see during secular (long-term) bear markets. From 2000 to 2013, we saw ZERO meaningful breakouts. It wasn’t until April 10th, 2013 that the secular bull market began, making a definitive breakout above the 1550-1575 area. Since then, we’ve seen cyclical bear markets and corrections, but nothing more. Yet permabears try to call every downturn the beginning of the next collapse. And they’re always wrong. We’ll have scary times again, but it ain’t now – at least not in my opinion. The 2030s could be a much different story, but I see the current trend higher continuing for a number of years. Note that our monthly PPO typically remains above zero and our monthly RSI remains above 40 throughout secular bull markets. Selling doesn’t last long enough to take these indicators below the required zero and 40 levels, respectively. But we have to deal with the “sky is falling!” media and permabears throughout. If you need a “default”, default as a bull. You’ll be right much more often.

Historical Tendencies

We remain in the strongest and most bullish time of the calendar year, which I define as October 27th close through January 18th close. That’s based on my 73 years of research on the S&P 500, dating back to 1950. We still have some not-so-bullish periods during November, December, and January, but the overwhelming bias is to the upside. For instance, the November 21st through December 6th period yields an annualized return of +32.97% over the past 7 decades, nearly quadrupling the average annual S&P 500 return of +9.00%. Don’t misunderstand me. This doesn’t guarantee us higher prices for the next couple weeks. Instead, it’s simply providing us a seasonal tendency for stock prices to move higher. I use seasonality as a secondary indicator, much like PPO and RSI. The primary indicator is always price action.

I’m still offering my FREE PDF, “Bowley Trend Part 1: Long-Term Trends Since 1950”. I use it to help guide me in my trading. You probably don’t realize it, but there’s an 11-day period of EVERY calendar month (THE SAME DAYS EVERY SINGLE MONTH), or roughly 33% of all calendar days, that has provided more than 80% of the S&P 500 gains since 1950. As a stock trader, and especially if you trade options, you MUST know these days to get a leg up on everyone else. CLICK HERE to download your FREE COPY immediately!

Happy trading!

Tom

Stocks

Economic Modern Family — Home for the Holidays

Traders World Fintech Awards

In the 1995 film, Home for the Holidays, family reunions are explored using both drama and comedy. The film illustrates how we outsiders looking in never really know the love and the madness that goes on inside any one family’s home during Thanksgiving.

Happily, our Economic Modern Family tends to be transparent.

Beginning with our patriarch and matriarch, we see 2 different phases, similarities in leadership and divergent momentum. The Russell 2000 (IWM) is in a recovery or recuperation phase, trailing behind the SPY. Its momentum matches the price movement; both momo and price are struggling to clear key resistance. Furthermore, Granddad remains under the July 6-month calendar range low, certainly not a bullish sign. Gramps’ holiday leans more to underscoring the market madness we see in NASDAQ.

Granny Retail (XRT), has fared better since October 2023. Granny is in an accumulation phase, slightly outperforming the SPY, her momentum gaining traction. Granny is well beneath the July 6-month calendar range high, but has managed to clear back above the July 6-month calendar range low.

The consumers’ holiday mindset is one of cautious optimism.

In Home for the Holidays, it is up to the mom and dad to hold the family together. Hence, if we look to Granddad and Grandma to hold our economic modern family together, we must also examine the impact, or lack thereof, that relationship has on some of the other key family members or their grandkids.

Conveniently, Tommy in the film is a good representative for our Transportation (IYT) brother. Side note: the dad in the film is a retired airport maintenance man.

Tommy is complicated. His cracked sense of humor disguises a softer heart. IYT, our “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” (speaking of movies), is also complicated. Through strikes, inflation, higher rates, and economic slowdowns, IYT is looking for love.

In an accumulation phase, IYT has a way better performance relative to the SPY. Yet IYT remains in a downtrend, under the July 6-month calendar range low. Momentum is in a bearish divergence to price, as it has yet to clear its 200-DMA while price has. Is IYT more inclined to lead or follow from here? That is a big question and one that we should watch for the answer to so we can assess if this rally is sustainable.

Sister Semiconductors SMH can be compared to the Holly Hunter character in Home for the Holidays. In the film, Holly Hunter supplies the point of view, and, like SMH, she tells us that the mania we see is not anything new. SMH is rallying beyond the rest of her Family, clearly NOT for the first time. The question is, can SMH continue holding up, given her grandparents and sibs remain mixed up?

SMH is in a bullish phase. It is trading in an uptrend above its July 6-month calendar range high. SMH is outperforming SPY, but momentum shows us a bearish divergence.

On Real Motion, the phase is recuperation, as opposed to bullish in price. Furthermore, the red dots which exhibit momentum, are below the 200-DMA and having a sell side mean reversion.

If you put these four charts all together, we get a reunion that is filled with the makings of a family breakdown. While Granny XRT and Sister Semiconductors SMH give us investors reasons to feel good about gorging ourselves, the rest of the Family (IWM & IYT) remind us not to eat what we cannot digest.

This is for educational purposes only. Trading comes with risk.

If you find it difficult to execute the MarketGauge strategies or would like to explore how we can do it for you, please email Ben Scheibe at Benny@MGAMLLC.com, our Head of Institutional Sales. Cell: 612-518-2482.

For more detailed trading information about our blended models, tools and trader education courses, contact Rob Quinn, our Chief Strategy Consultant, to learn more.

Get your copy of Plant Your Money Tree: A Guide to Growing Your Wealth.

Grow your wealth today and plant your money tree!

“I grew my money tree and so can you!” – Mish Schneider

Follow Mish on Twitter @marketminute for stock picks and more. Follow Mish on Instagram (mishschneider) for daily morning videos. To see updated media clips, click here.

Mish in the Media

Mish and Maggie Lake cover inflation, technology, commodities and stock picks in this interview with Real Vision.

Mish talks trading range, fundamentals, and how to think about commodities right now on Yahoo! Finance.

In this appearance on BNN Bloomberg, Mish covers the emotional state of oil and gold, plus talks why small caps are the key right now. She also presents a couple of picks!

Learn how to trade commodities better with Mish in this interview with CNBC Asia!

Mish and Charles Payne discuss why the small caps, now in mid range still have a chance to rally in this appearance on Fox Business’ Making Money with Charles Payne.

Mish talks about Tencent Music Entertainment on Business First AM.

Mish talks bonds with Charles Payne in this clip from October 27, recorded live in-studio at Fox Business.

Coming Up:

November 28: Your Daily Five, StockCharts TV

November 30: Live Coaching

December 3-December 13: Money Show Webinar-at-Sea

Weekly: Business First AM, CMC Markets

ETF Summary

S&P 500 (SPY): 450 support, 465 resistance.Russell 2000 (IWM): 181 resistance, 174 support.Dow (DIA): 360 resistance, 346 support.Nasdaq (QQQ): 388 now pivotal support.Regional banks (KRE): 45 big resistance.Semiconductors (SMH): 160-161 pivotal support.Transportation (IYT): 235 support.Biotechnology (IBB): 120 pivotal.Retail (XRT): 65 resistance and 60 pivotal support.

Mish Schneider

MarketGauge.com

Director of Trading Research and Education

Business

Popeyes is adding wings to its menu permanently

Popeyes is expanding its menu beyond chicken sandwiches — and it’s a permanent change this time.

The fast-food chain announced Wednesday it’s adding five chicken wing flavors to its menu nationwide, with three debuting at Popeyes for the first time, beginning Wednesday. The flavors include Honey BBQ, Roasted Garlic Parmesan, Signature Hot, Ghost Pepper and Sweet ’N Spicy.

“At Popeyes, we like to challenge the status quo and are consistently redefining what’s expected from fast food brands,” said Sami Siddiqui, president of Popeyes North America, in a statement. “We know our guests want even more bold Louisiana-inspired wing flavors to choose from and are excited to see our new wings line-up take flight.”

Siddiqui added that the Ghost Pepper wings were an “overnight success” when tested at locations earlier this year, and the Sweet ’N Spicy wings have been the chain’s best-performing product since its chicken sandwich.

Popeyes said it has been working on perfecting the wings recipes for three years. The new wings will be available starting at $5.99 for a six-piece.

Last month, Popeyes overtook KFC to secure its spot as the No. 2 chicken chain in the U.S., behind Chick-fil-A.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Sports

Irsay’s unhinged rant is wrong and a big problem for NFL

Congratulations, Jim Irsay.

Your unhinged rant has earned you a commemorative dog whistle. Given the lawyers handling the racial discrimination case against the NFL some serious heartburn, too, even before they sat down for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Indianapolis Colts owner melted down on social media Wednesday night, attacking ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin because she dared criticize Irsay’s absurd claim that his 2014 DWI arrest was because he was a “rich, white billionaire.” Irsay called Martin ‘mean and ugly’ and ‘a nothing burger,’ and referred to her as ‘the Woman that preceded Stephen A. (Smith)’ during the segment on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ rather than calling the longtime NFL reporter by her name.

Irsay, who is white, also claimed to have a ‘Black Mom.’ And since everyone knows having Black friends means you can’t be racist, having a Black ‘mom’ must make you super immune to bigotry.

‘If my Black Mother Dorthy was still alive .. you’d be in some big Hot Water!’ Irsay fumed to Martin.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Martin took the insult in stride, changing the name on her X profile to ‘Woman that preceded Stephen A’ and responding to Irsay’s attack with a simple ‘You’re*’.

But the problem with Irsay’s screed, aside from the bad spelling and overuse of capital letters, is it echoes the tropes that have been used to dehumanize Black women for centuries.

Irsay might not have called Martin an ‘angry Black woman,’ but he might as well have. Dorthy Bloodsaw might have had a profound impact on Irsay’s life, but in describing her role in raising him, and his children, he reduces her to a quintessential mammy caricature.

‘The trope painted a picture of a domestic worker who had undying loyalty to their slaveholders, as caregivers and counsel,’ according to an article on the ‘Popular and Pervasive Stereotypes of African Americans’ on the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s website.

‘Considered a trusted figure in white imaginations, mammies represented contentment and served as nostalgia for whites concerned about racial equality.’

It was also notable that out of all the people who criticized Irsay’s privileged ignorance, and there were many, the only person Irsay went after personally was Martin.

Even when Andrea Kremer asked Irsay if he realized what it sounded like for him, a wealthy and privileged white man, to cry discrimination, he got defensive and even a little angry. But he didn’t berate Kremer. When the interview aired Tuesday night on HBO’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,’ Irsay didn’t get on social media and savage Kremer and question her credentials.

No, he saved that for Martin. A Black woman.

Which brings us to the biggest problem with Irsay’s rant. The NFL is currently the subject of two racial discrimination lawsuits. One is by coach Brian Flores, who said the league and several of its teams are ‘rife with racism,’ pointing to their shameful record of hiring Black and brown head coaches. The other is by veteran sports journalist Jim Trotter, who said he was fired from the NFL Network for repeatedly challenging commissioner Roger Goodell on the league’s shortcomings on diversity.

As part of his lawsuit, Trotter named two owners, Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, whom he said made racially charged statements. This after current Houston Texans owner Cal McNair had to issue an apology for using a racial slur during the team’s charity golf tournament in 2021. Which is not to be confused with his late father, who made the ‘inmates running the prison’ comment about players protesting for social justice.

And, of course, who can forget former Washington owner Dan Snyder defiantly clinging to a racist nickname for years until sponsors forced his hand.

Now add to this Irsay’s tirade, which, if it isn’t an obvious display of racism, it’s uncomfortably close.

The NFL has tried to downplay or distance itself from all of these examples, insisting it is not discriminatory or racist. But when things like this occur with the frequency they do in the NFL, it makes it harder and harder to deny.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Sports

Simone Biles celebrates big play by her Packers husband in Green Bay win

Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles was certainly in the holiday spirit watching her husband, Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens, play against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving in Detroit.

On a second-and-12 from their own 24-yard line, Lions quarterback Jared Goff stepped up in the pocket to pass and was hit by linebacker Rashan Gary, forcing a fumble. Owens scooped up the ball and returned it 27 yards for a score for his first NFL touchdown.

Biles took to social media to celebrate, writing ‘THATS MY HUSBAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY MANS MY MANS MY MANSSSSS’

Biles and Owens were married in April after dating for more than two years.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Biles also posted after the Packers upset the Lions — ‘A PACKERS WIN BABY!!!!!!!!!’ — before wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY