Broken Leg Puts American Soccer Star Out of Games

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

BROKEN LEG PUTS AMERICAN SOCCER STAR OUT OF GAMES

A star forward on America’s Olympic soccer squad, Abby Wambach, is out of the Olympics after breaking her leg during a demonstration match with Brazil Wednesday night. Ms. Wambach, 28, underwent surgery yesterday to have a metal rod inserted in her leg. She broke both her tibia and fibula after colliding with a Brazilian player and will need about three months to recover, the Associated Press reported. “I put my heart and soul into this game every day, but sometimes accidents happen. I’ve gotten so many calls already, and I just want to say how much I appreciate that,” the disappointed athlete said, according to AP. Ms. Wambach will be replaced by an alternate on the team, Lauren Cheney.

TAGLIABUE: KEEP POLITICS OUT OF OLYMPICS

A former commissioner of the National Football League, Paul Tagliabue, told China’s state run news agency, Xinhua, that he does not approve of injecting political concerns into the Olympics. “It is in my view not wise or constructive to tie the Olympics to economic, political, or other subjects that are unrelated to the Olympic Games themselves, that is to the competition among the athletes,” the agency quoted Mr. Tagliabue as saying in an interview. He added that China had to permit officials and journalists to conduct themselves as they have at other Olympics.

“Beijing has demonstrated to the world that it is the right place to host the Olympics,” Mr. Tagliabue said.

JEWISH COURT CALLS FOR OLYMPIC BOYCOTT

A group of Israeli rabbis billing themselves as a reconstituted version of an ancient rabbinical court known as the Sanhedrin is urging a boycott of the Beijing Olympics because of China’s practice of harvesting organs from executed prisoners and its harsh treatment of a spiritual group, Falun Gong. “Participating in these Olympics will be deemed a danger to the well-being of humanity,” the rabbis concluded in a ruling issued Wednesday, according to Ynetnews.com. “The Chinese government is about to host the Olympics — an event which brings people of different nations closer together … disregarding the bloodshed of the innocent may seem as an encouragement similar to Hitler’s during his rule in Berlin.”

In April, about 200 American rabbis and Jewish leaders signed on to a statement arguing that the Beijing Olympics were “not kosher” due to human rights abuses in China. However, six major Jewish organizations quickly repudiated the boycott call, and said comparisons between this Summer’s Games and the so-called Nazi Olympics of 1936 were inappropriate.

PROFESSOR: BEIJING AIR TOUGH TO CLEAR

China’s efforts to stem pollution at the Olympics by closing down factories and limiting driving may not do much to clear the air, according to a retired American professor who has studied five years of Chinese data on air quality. “I sympathize with them. They’re doing all the right things, but unfortunately the right things may not be good enough,” the ex-professor, Kenneth Rahn, said in a statement released by the University of Rhode Island. He said the worst pollution in Beijing blows in from distant regions and that critical factors such as wind direction are beyond China’s control.

“It will be a matter of luck whether the bad air periods correspond with days of outdoor Olympic events,” Mr. Rahn said. “When the winds … bring in clean air from Mongolia, the air can be relatively clean, though that’s not the norm during the summer. But when winds are from the south, where there is a large population and lots of industrial activity, the air can be particularly hazardous.”

BEIJING TO OPEN THREE NEW SUBWAY LINES

The government is planning to open three new subway lines in Beijing on Sunday, Xinhua reported yesterday. The new service is aimed at accommodating some of the estimated 4 million commuters who will be forced out of their cars on Sunday, when Olympic-related alternate-day driving rules take effect. The lines will provide the first rail link between Beijing’s international airport and the city. One subway line that passes near the Olympic stadium will be limited to athletes, officials, journalists and ticketed spectators while the games are under way, according to Xinhua.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use