Chioma Ajunwa Decried The Deplorable State Of Athletics In Nigeria

Olympics gold medalist Chioma Ajunwa (MON) has lamented the deplorable state of grassroots athletics in Nigeria. 

DPO Chioma Ajunwa

The Atlanta ’96 medalist  criticised the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), coaches and retired athletes for not doing enough to unearth young athletes.
She accuse the stakeholders and administrators of ignoring inter-house sports competitions in schools which used to be a spring board for athletes in her generation.
The retired athlete turned policewoman was speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the maiden edition of the Chioma Ajunwa Secondary Schools Athletics Championship due to commence Nov 19-22 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
She told saharareporterssports: “My greatest fear is the future of the Nigeria Athletics. You may ask why I’m worried. It’s because we-the stakeholders-AFN, Coaches and retired athletes are not doing much yearly by combing the nooks and crannies of the various parts of the country to search and groom talents.
 Nigeria’s Legendary Track And Field Athletes
“This is far from what was prevalent during our times when we came across AFN coaches at inter-house sports competitions’, they were the ones who encourage us to pick Athletics over other sports. Let me state that I was a good football player but my inquisitiveness to see what athletics offers made me switch. The rest is the successful career later on.”
Speaking on the need to establish her athletics school, Ajunwa said: “My foundation decided to float and organize this championship having seen the disparity in the level of talent hunt especially football taking the first place. You see we believe that everybody can run and thus athletic should be the first sport of choice amongst our youngsters.
“Football goes beyond running around, and over 1000 youngsters will be in attendance for the three-Day event where the best of them will be given sporting scholarship. Full accommodation and feeding will be provided throughout the championship.”
Ajunwa is Nigeria’s first individual gold medalist at the Olympics. She specialized in the long-jump event and was a police officer before venturing into Olympics. She is still Nigeria’s only individual gold medalist at the Olympics.

Bill Cosby to Give Deposition in Janice Dickinson Defamation Lawsuit

Bill Cosby/Janice Dickinson (Getty Images)

By Tim Kenneally and Pamela Chelin

Bill Cosby and his former attorney Marty Singer will go on the hot seat in a defamation brought by model Janice Dickinson.

In a hearing Monday, a judge granted Dickinson’s request for discovery, including Cosby and Singer, a representative for Dickinson’s lawyer told TheWrap.

Cosby and Singer — who had been representing the scandal-ravaged comedian — parted ways last month.

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Dickinson filed suit against Cosby in May, claiming that the model has suffered defamation and emotional distress resulting from denials by Cosby’s representatives of her claims that the comedian sexually assaulted her. “We are absolutely delighted at this victory today. It is going to be a long fight but this one victory is an important victory,” Dickinson’s attorney, Lisa Bloom, told TheWrap on Monday. “We are up against Mr. Cosby and all his money and power and all his lawyers and so we are very pleased that the judge, reading from the bench, made a very thorough and detailed decision in our favor.”

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Per the judge’s order, Cosby and Singer will be deposed prior to November 25.

Last November, former America’s Next Top Model judge Dickinson came forward to claim that Cosby assaulted her in 1982 in Lake Tahoe, adding that the comedian gave her wine and pills that caused her to pass out.

“The next morning I woke up, and I wasn’t wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man,” Dickinson claimed. “Before I woke up in the morning, the last thing I remember was Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain. The next morning I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs.”

Cosby’s lawyer, Martin Singer, quickly and strongly denied Dickinson’s claims, calling them an “outrageous defamatory lie.”

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In October, Cosby sat for a deposition in relation to a lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, who alleges that Cosby brought her to the Playboy Mansion in 1974, instructing her to pretend that she was 19, even though she was only 15 at the time, and “proceeded to sexually molest her by attempting to put his hand down her pants, and then taking her hand in his hand and performing a sex act on himself without her consent.” The contents of the Huth deposition will remain under seal at least until December 22, when U.S. Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan is expected to review the testimony and consider attorneys’ arguments over whether a protective order should be placed on it. In the past year, Cosby has been accused by dozens of women who claim that Cosby had raped or sexually assaulted then, with many of the women claiming that he drugged them beforehand. Singer has denied the accusations in the past