Unravelling a story of transition from a sheltered life to my name becoming an international brand, Shahnaz Husain rose to fame formulating customised beauty care, with a personalised style, based on individual needs and problems. Husains adoption of the concept of herbal care and cure resonates with the larger Indian populace, making her a household name, withstanding the changes of the modern skincare industry. Excerpts of the interview are as follows

Q: Hello Shahnaz ji. Tell us about you, your story, and how you established your brand name?

SH: My story is one of a lone woman in a fiercely competitive arena. I was married at 15 and became a mother at 16, yet, I braved all the odds and made my dreams come true. I was interested in beauty and in making others beautiful. I trained at leading beauty training institutes of the West. While training in London, I learned about damage caused by chemical treatments and it changed the course of my life and career. I wanted to find a safe alternative and knew that I must have my own enterprise in order to translate my ideas into reality.

So, I opened my first herbal salon in the verandah of my own home after borrowing Rs. 35,000 from my father. I started making my own formulations, using plant products and natural ingredients. I made the products at night, filled them in jars, wrote labels by hand and stuck them on the jars. I adopted the concept of herbal care and cure. It was a totally unique, path-breaking concept. Today, the formulations have become internationally renowned in Ayurvedic beauty care. Today, we are also known for our therapeutic products and treatments for problems like acne, hyper-pigmentation, scars, premature ageing, dandruff, hair damage, and hair loss. I have taken the Ayurvedic beauty movement worldwide through my franchise system is one of unprecedented success, much more than I ever dreamed.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing demand for natural and organic beauty products?

SH: For the last five decades, my efforts have been focussed on the benefits of organic substances and the harm caused by chemical ingredients. We have formulated skin and hair care products containing herbal and plant ingredients, essential oils and natural substances. They are not only safe and without risks, but have powerful healing properties and beauty benefits. With the back to nature and the total well-being trends influencing the beauty world over the past few decades, organic products have become the popular choice.

Formulations made with organic plant products are purer, free from chemicals and richer in nutrients, because they are richer in vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and enzymes. Organic products also have specific curative and beneficial properties that actually enhance the beauty of the skin and hair. They help improve the normal functions of the skin and scalp, including that of cell renewal. Thus, they have the power to revitalise and rejuvenate.

An important advantage is the element of safety. Synthetic preparations and chemical ingredients, on the other hand, can cause allergic and irritative reactions. They can also cause a build-up of toxins in the system, over a period of time. The human body responds extremely well to organic substances, while it has in-built resistance to synthetic ones. We use organic ingredients in our formulations, like herb, flower and fruit extracts, essential oils, minerals, gems and other natural substances that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. We choose the ingredients according to the Ayurvedic system and according to the herbs and their healing properties.

Q: Can you tell us of a beauty routine that you believe is beneficial for overall health?

SH: If you wish to acquire, maintain and preserve beauty, you have to take some common factors into consideration. These are physical fitness, nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress control and regular external care. Consistency is the keyword. Yes, you do not have to be born beautiful. You can acquire it, because beauty is the outcome of good internal health and regular external care. Internal health and external beauty are closely related. For flawless skin and shiny hair, good health must be on top of the list.

The food we eat affects the skin, hair, eyes, teeth and nails. Some form of daily exercise is necessary for fitness and good posture. Exercise, together with a balanced diet, can work wonders. Not only does it build up stamina and strength, but improves blood circulation to the skin and scalp. Adequate sleep is also essential to beauty. Sleep is a way of restoring energy to the body and is natures best cure. It is a beauty treatment in itself.

Along with internal health, it is necessary to give your skin and hair external care by selecting products which are suited to your individual skin and hair type. In fact, regular care has assumed more importance today, due to increased exposure to pollutants. The right kind of daily care reflects on the skin and hair over a period of time. It also helps to delay the signs of aging. A positive mental attitude is also important, because the mind and body are closely related. Indeed, the finest foundation for beauty consists of these common factors, which we often overlook.

Q: With changing times, how do you think the need for a skincare routine has increased?

SH: Pollutants in the air are making our cities increasingly hostile to our good health and well-being. Chemical pollutants also affect beauty, as the skin and scalp bear the brunt of pollutants, which not only attack the skin surface, but also lead to an accumulation of toxins. Chemical pollutants cause oxidation damage, which leads to the manifestation of premature ageing signs on the skin, like wrinkles, loss of elasticity, dark patches and spots. They also disrupt the normal balances of the skin causing dryness, sensitivity, rashes, acne, allergic reactions and related conditions.

All of us who live and work in urban areas need protective beauty care. Cleansing of the skin assumes more importance in order to get rid of the impurities and pollutants that are deposited on the skin. Look out for products according to skin type and containing ingredients like sandalwood, eucalyptus, mint, neem, tulsi, and aloe vera when you buy cleansers. If the skin is prone to eruptive conditions like acne, pimples, rash, it should be protected with specialised creams containing sandalwood, neem and clove. After cleansing, wipe the skin with chilled rose water, to complete the cleansing process and refresh the skin. Green tea also makes a good skin toner. If there is a rash or eruptions, add a little rose water to sandalwood paste and apply on the face. Wash off with plain water after 15 minutes. Anti-pollution cosmetics help to provide protection and reduce the damage caused by environmental effects. These are basically cover creams that form a barrier between the skin and pollutants. We formulated a sandalwood protective cream, for this very purpose, to protect the skin from environmental effects.

Q: Is there any celebrity who has used your products? Are there any success stories you would like to share?

SH: On principle I never divulge the names of my clients. I believe that beauty is a personal matter and it is not ethical to discuss the names of our clients, whether they are celebrities or not. Many celebrities have used our products regularly and still do. The late Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi used my sandalwood protective cream. I have also mentioned that I created Shamoist for her. A few who went on record to mention me, I have spoken of. The most celebrated was Princess Diana, for whom I created a special line. She used our Shaeyes kajal. There was also Dame Barbara Cartland, the famous author. She became a great friend of mine, because we shared our interest in herbs, nature and natural living. She flew down to Paris at my request to launch my Flower Power range at Galeries Lafayette and spoke at the press conference. Goldie Hawn, the famous Hollywood actress, came to India specially, for the Shahnaz experience. She spent an entire day at our salon in Delhi. In India, we have a special line called Shahnaz Star Range for film and television stars and models. It is a specially reinforced line to counteract the demands of heavy make-up and exposure to bright arc lights, the sun and elements.

Q: How important is it for aspiring youngsters to look a certain way, who may be looking for careers in the corporate and non-glamorousprofessions?

SH: Both men and women know that appearance counts in the workplace. Looking ones best imparts self-confidence, very necessary in todays competitive career world. In general, there is the feeling that beauty bias does exist in the career world; that people react more favourably towards a good-looking person; that with good looks, one has more chances of being hired at job interviews! I believe that one of the most important aspects of personal appeal is personal hygiene. You may have attractive features but lack of personal cleanliness can really put people off. As it is a time tested theory, a well groomed person always stands out from the crowd.

Q: What do you think is the future of Ayurveda in the beauty industry?

SH: Ayurveda is both the healing and the beauty systems of the future. The world is looking at Ayurveda with enlightened eyes due to the worldwide interest in holistic healing. Indeed, Ayurveda, our ancient system of herbal healing, is a holistic system and has been flourishing for centuries. Today, modern research has upheld Ayurvedic healing. Ayurveda views good health as total well-being of body, mind and soul. The modern world has woken up to the fact that it needs a holistic system like Ayurveda. In fact, it can be most relevant to our modern lifestyle, in terms of counteracting the degenerative processes, environmental pollution, toxic build up and mental stress. We cannot ignore the fact that the human body responds positively to Ayurvedic remedies, while it has a resistance towards synthetic and chemical ingredients. We also cannot overlook Ayurvedas long history of safe human usage. Today, we are combining Artificial Intelligence and Ayurveda for customized beauty care. In fact, Ayurveda is not only the beauty system of the future. It is also Indias gift to the world.

End of Interview

After completing five decades in the beauty and wellness industry, the Shahnaz Husain Group is the largest organisation of its kind in the world, with franchise ventures worldwide and 380 Ayurvedic formulations for skin, hair and body care. Husain has been recognised and honoured with prestigious international and national awards, including the Padma Shri Award. Based on the notion that beauty is not just about how you look, but also how you feel, Husain elevated the beauty industry many notches higher and gave the average Indian aspiration, dream and belief, by redefining beauty standards.

(Interviewed by Dr. G L Mahajan)

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In conversation with the flag bearer of beauty secrets, Shahnaz Husain - The Shillong Times

Most studies on willingness to PDS are limited to health professionals or students [43,44,45,46], although some reports have focused on other populations, such as blood donors [47], registered body donors [30], ethnicities [48], patients, and relatives [49]. With respect to Mexico, as far as we know, there is only one PDS willingness study, which was limited to the staff and students of an anatomy department [37]. The hypothesis that a small proportion of the northern Mexican population is willing to donate their post-mortem body to science and that non-health-related persons might be more willing than health-related professionals seemed accurate for a cohort recruited online from a private university community.

A promising result was that 70.7% of the responder cohort was willing to PDS. Another Mexican study on PDS willingness reported a similar proportion [37]. This latter cohort differed from ours in population and recruitment strategy. Rather than a study population limited to students and staff of an anatomy department, our population included students and personnel from an entire university community. With respect to recruitment strategy, rather than an invitation in a working or study environment, our online convenience strategy presented limited control and less social pressure for the study population. The convenience recruitment strategy seemed to yield a self-selected cohort with a double bias, altruism, and interest in the topic, which is discussed further in the profile section.

The proportion of our cohort willing to PDS represented 0.78% of the target population. A relatively high number in comparison to 0.17% of the Mexican population registered as organ donors at the federal transplant registry [20, 50]. It is also high in comparison to a progressive society, such as the Dutch, where 0.1% of the population was registered as a body donor in 2013 [51]. The comparison of survey with registry data is awkward because of the well-known discrepancy between willingness and behavior [21]. Two relevant aspects of these low proportions are the following: 1. The proportions tend to below the significance threshold, indicating that PDS willing people are significantly different from the general population. Most countries and cultures have a small, distinctive cohort willing to PDS [51]; 2. Low proportions tend to be sufficient; high proportions may generate an undesirable surplus of bodies [51]. Thus, a willingness rate of 0.78% for the university population may seem small but may be sufficient for successful PDS programs, especially if it also occurs at a national level.

With respect to the profile of respondents willing to PDS, age had the strongest impact in our well-educated cohort at a private university. Mature adults were more willing toward PDS than younger adults. A similar age effect was reported from a PDS survey among staff and students from an anatomy department at a public university in northern Mexico [37] and is consistent with most international data [52, 53]. In contrast, a POD survey among the general population in central Mexico found that older participants had a less favorable attitude [54]. In the latter study, lower levels of education among older people may have been a confounding factor. Indeed, less education has been associated with more misconceptions, more psychological barriers, and less willingness [22]. Education at high school level or beyond is an important factor for a positive attitude toward PDS [31, 52]. The importance of age and education has been reported repeatedly in a variety of cultures [29, 31, 52,53,54,55], including Mexico [54]. As the education level of our cohort was relatively high, the impact of lower education was not evident. Hence, in our cohort, mature age was the most distinctive sociodemographic trait among people willing to PDS.

Among the young adult respondents (up to 40years old), academic interest had a strong correlation with PDS willingness. Those with an academic interest in the humanities and social sciences were the most willing, while those interested in technology and business were the least willing to PDS. In contrast, a survey among Indian registered body donors found that engineers and businesspeople were more abundant than donors from the humanities and social sciences [31]. These contrasting findings may in part be due to cultural differences. The relatively low rate of PD behavior among medical physicians across different countries and cultures is notable [31, 52, 56]. Willingness to self-donate tends to decline after dissection experiences, while a positive attitude toward PDS by strangers remains intact [57,58,59]. This phenomenon was not found in the single study on PDS willingness among Mexican anatomy students [37]. However, an aversion due to dissection experience could explain why our respondents from the health sciences did not have the highest PDS willingness rate. In our cohort, all respondents from health sciences were in favor of POD, but only 50% reported being registered as such. Respondents from the social sciences had the highest consistency rate, with 70% reporting being registered as POD. The relationship between career choice, PD willingness, and consistent behavior is complex and beyond the scope of this study. To summarize, our university cohort showed a higher willingness to PDS among respondents from the humanities and social sciences, who also had the highest rate of self-reported consistent behavior toward PD.

Socioaffective characteristics, such as social responsibility, benevolence, altruism, empathy, social responsibility, and trust have been reported worldwide as motivators for blood donation, POD, and PDS [60,61,62], including for a Mexican POD study [38]. Our cohort appeared to have an altruistic bias. An unexpectedly large proportion of respondents had previously donated blood (49.0%) and/or self-reported being a registered POD (44.8%). Although there are no reference data available for the target population, there is circumstantial evidence. Mexico is known for low rates of altruistic blood donation [63], and this also applies to Nuevo Len [64], the state where most of the respondents came from. Although this study did not distinguish between altruistic and family-motivated blood donation, the relatively high proportion of blood donors in the respondent cohort suggests an altruistic bias. The proportion of registered organ donors in our study (44.8%) was higher than that reported in a Mexican POD survey among nursing and medical students (1135%) from public and private universities in central Mexico [65]. In contrast to this latter study, where the POD registry was supported by physical evidence, our anonymous online study relied on self-reports. Although there was no social pressure in our study, over-reporting of actions considered socially desirable cannot be ruled out. Our recruitment method may have favored the self-selection of a cohort with an interest in the topic and an altruistic bias. The POD registry proportions are much higher than data from the federal POD registry (0.17%) [20, 50], probably due to their higher accessibility as they are linked to the issuance of a drivers license. Altogether, our self-selected cohort seems to present an altruistic bias, which may explain the high proportion willing to PDS.

In our cohort, the proportion with willingness to POD (90.9%) was higher than that with willingness to PDS (70.7%). This is a common finding [58, 59, 66]. What determines these differences? People may imagine a greater disfigurement of the post-mortem body when it is destined for PDS than for POD. Mutilation of the post-mortem body, fear, and family considerations are strong contributors to POD and PDS aversion [57,58,59, 66], also in Mexico [38]. People may think that saving a life-saving POD is a better cause than PDS. Indeed, the utilitarian motive has been recognized for general PD willingness, including in Mexico [21, 38, 67]. In the free comments section of our survey, post-mortem usefulness was mentioned in a positive sense. However, for one POD-positive respondent, the uselessness of science was an argument against PDS, which still underscores the importance of the utilitarian motive. The most common positive terms in the comments were interesting and social awareness. Social awareness and interest are helpful first steps toward body donation as they motivate a search for information [21]. Importantly, the willingness rate tends to be higher than the rate of compliant behavior, as we noticed in the compliance of POD donors. The willingness-behavior discrepancy is not limited to PD but has been observed in many areas [68, 69]. A profound sociopsychological analysis of this phenomenon, although interesting, goes beyond the aims of this study.

With respect to cultural aspects, Mexico is portrayed for its idiosyncratic, ludic feelings toward death as an entity. The stereotype of Mexican death cults is accurate as an identity marker, but inaccurate because it is a one-sided exaggeration that fails to describe the full range of emotions that every human being experiences when confronted by death. Indeed, few Mexicans display ludic stoicism toward their own death and illness [70]. As in most countries and cultures, Mexicans vary not only individually but also by class, ethnicity, and region. As in most countries, in Mexico there is a minority willing to PD. A worldwide profile can be summarized as follows: PDS-willing people are a minority characterized by the following motivators: altruism and usefulness which seem to increase with age and education. On the other hand, fear, mutilation, and family considerations are demotivators. In general, Western world cultures have a higher prevalence of PDS willing people, but willingness to PDS exists in a minority in almost all cultures.

Valid responses represented only 1.1% of the target population. Web-based recruitment may not have reached the target population completely. Additionally, the tendency to not participate when holding a negative attitude towards PDS may explain the low participation rate. Due to the low response rate, the results are not representative of the target population and only describe the responder cohort. Recruitment difficulties for a PD survey have been reported previously [71]. Additionally, there is probably a nonresponse error, as 76.7% of visitors to the survey site did not proceed beyond the informed consent. This group was likely interested in the topic but discouraged for unknown reasons at the first step. Reasons for discouragement could be: i) the length or content of the informed consent, and ii) the time investment required, among others. Furthermore, 17.3% dropped out before completing the questionnaire. These dropouts may have been due to technical reasons, the length of the questionnaire, being disgraced by certain items, or other reasons. In the study design and during the pilot study, it was determined and verified that the questionnaire could be completed within 15minutes. This is important, as it is known that data quality declines with longer surveys [72]. Furthermore, it is probable that the responder cohort had a sampling bias, with community members who were less attentive to the institutional sites and news board being underrepresented. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, an altruistic bias was perceived in the responder cohort. An incentive might have diminished this sampling bias. The altruistic bias may be smaller than it seems in case blood donation and POD registry were over-reported, as they may have been perceived as desirable answers. Overall, convenience recruitment and online surveys generate several reliability issues that are common in online surveys [73]. Because of recruitment issues, the 70.2% PDS willingness cannot be extrapolated to the target population, and can be extrapolated even less to the Mexican population. However, the existence of this nonrepresentative, small (0.78%), altruism-biased, PDS-willing group is relevant and promising as it may be extrapolatable to the Mexican population. Future studies will verify that.

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Willingness toward post-mortem body donation to science at a ... - BMC Medical Ethics

Lawyers told CNA that Muslim women who may have been mistreated in polygamous marriages may decide that a divorce would be the best course of action.

In Malaysia, polygamy is allowed for Muslims and permission must be granted by the Shariah courts.

Some men (in a polygamous marriage) may not really invest time, energy and effort into the first or second wife when there is a third and fourth to look after.

In those kind of scenarios, the older wives may not want to tolerate it anymore (and seek) other options such as being independent. They know their rights and they seek a share of the assets or maintenance, Ms Goh told CNA.

She added that she has handled cases where the second wife is made to be the wealth generator while the husband does not not contribute to the marriage.

I see sometimes the husband goyang kaki (idles) and the wives are the ones looking after the house and working because they have to put food on the table and put the kids through school. And these wives are sometimes abused physically, sexually and emotionally, said Ms Goh.

So these women (decide that) this is not acceptable and say I would rather be independent and be free of all this abuse than to be in an unhappy and abusive marriage.

Sisters In Islam - a local civil organisation which promotes womens rights within the framework of Islam - noted in its 2021 findings that the top concern raised by women in a polygamous marriage was that their husbands did not provide them any maintenance.

Data gathered from the organisations legal clinic also found that the second most recurring issue was that their husbands had entered a polygamous marriage without their permission, followed by unregistered polygamy.

Mr Gomez noted that in civil marriages, couples can only seek a divorce after two years of marriage. Meanwhile, Muslim men are allowed to declare the talak three times for an immediate divorce.

The utterance of the word "talak", which means to release or untie in Arabic, is a method of divorce recognised by the Shariah court, though Islamic law varies from state to state. In the east coast state of Terengganu, for example, the declaration of the "talak" must be made thrice in court for the divorce to be recognised.

Ms Jazzmine Khoo, a managing partner at Jazzmine Khoo & Associates, also noted the quick process for a Muslim divorce.

A Muslim (couple) can get a divorce done within a short amount of time - a few hours only or less than that. (Meanwhile), a non-Muslim divorce would still need a few months to get done, she said.

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43% spike in Malaysia's divorce cases last year due to effects of ... - CNA

Remember when children were seen and not heard? This medieval proverb applied to young women until it stuck to children, designed to silence them or admonish them for making a scene. Its interesting then, that 500 years later, children are still struggling to get their voices heard, or their rights acknowledged. While we might not say that phrase much anymore, the action is very much still alive.

This week marked World Childrens Day, the theme of which is For every child, every right. Around the world, communities are working to raise the voices of children, calling for adults to listen to children on major issues like climate change, mental health and education. The recent atrocities in Israel and Gaza, which have resulted in more than 6000 Palestinian and Israeli child deaths highlights the very critical need to value the rights of children.

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Ditch medieval attitude that kids should be seen, not heard - The West Australian

The British gymnast Nile Wilson steps on stage and introduces himself.

In a broad Leeds accent, the 27-year-old describes himself as an Olympic medallist, the owner of several successful businesses, and the face of a YouTube channel with more than 1.5million subscribers.

Then he pauses and, as if hes slipped off the pommel horse, he begins again.

Im self-destructive, he says. Competing at the highest level of sport, I spent four to five nights a week at the casino alone. Once I drink alcohol, I struggle to stop for days or even weeks at a time.

I believe both introductions are true for the same reason. What can be our strength quickly turns into our weaknesses.

This is the dichotomy of sporting excellence.

By starting young, athletes are malleable.

Like gymnastics, football asks its participants to adopt an elite performance mindset from an early age. In general, those who turn professional in both sports have generally begun to participate before they are six years old, and are in systematic coaching before they turn 11. And at the end of that, there is no guarantee of a pro career.

There are consequences to this model.

Increasingly, this type of coaching means children are pushed into developing an addictive personality; a single-minded focus in which nothing is done in moderation.

Wilson describes this reality, flitting from the sporting (endless hours of training) to the innocent (watching The Lion King movie every night as a small child) to the more sinister (trying to drink more than his friends when out socialising).

Elite athletes, often driven by the rush of competition and desire to win, certainly display behaviours resembling addiction, explain sport psychologist Marc Sagal and addiction expert Ned DeWitt. Their focus, discipline, and pursuit of excellence can border on obsession. These qualities can contribute meaningfully to success but can also create problems like life imbalance or relationship challenges.

I brought the same intensity to a night out as I did to gymnastics, Wilson said. It was a competition, I wanted to win.

In this context, Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer James Maddisons eye-raising comment that he likes to be the main man at a roast dinner begins to make sense.

But as Wilson foreshadows, this mentality can have serious and even traumatic consequences.

Im obsessive, Im competitive, Im a risk-taker, and Im a show-off, Wilson summarises. You can see where Im going with this. It sounds like a pretty good concoction to create a champion and maybe an addict.

When it comes to footballs relationship with addiction, the crumbs are peeking out from under the carpet.

Brentfords Ivan Toney and Newcastle Uniteds Sandro Tonali are both serving lengthy suspensions for betting (eight and 10 months respectively) with the legal process revealing that both players were gambling addicts.

The biggest game has started against an illness, Tonalis agent, Beppe Riso, said after the news broke. Sandro is used to big games and usually he wins them. Sandros experience will save the lives of other kids.

Nottingham Forests Harry Toffolo was also handed a suspended five-month ban in September, with the FA Commission stating the bets were the result, at least in large part, of significant mental health challenges.

Their experiences are not unique in football players including Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Paul Merson, Peter Shilton, Andros Townsend and Dietmar Hamann have all spoken about struggles with gambling.

Other addictions are prevalent across the game. This month, The Athleticreported on the scale of tramadol use within the sport, a strong, prescription only painkiller which former Liverpool and England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland said left him suicidal. Earlier in November, Rooney spoke about his reliance on alcohol during his early twenties, while Dele Allis emotional interview with Gary Neville in July saw the pair discuss Allis dependence on sleeping pills. Gambling, however, is seen as particularly dangerous because it has no direct physiological impact on performance.

Besides the horrific guilt, the next day I could perform to the best of my ability, Wilson explained.

The game has changed, adds Michael Bennett, head of player welfare at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) players trade union in England. Its very much more data-driven. Gone are the days when you could go out drinking at the weekend, then play on a Tuesday. All the data is checked, from training and in matches. So its very difficult to do what you used to, back in the day. That leads itself to the possibility of other vices.

Football is at the sharp end of wider problems. Research released this month by Ipsos and GambeAware shows that, amongst the general population, nearly two-thirds of problem gamblers (64 per cent), had never spoken to anyone about their issues. Though the overall number of gamblers between 18 and 24 has fallen, those remaining are far more likely to bet more than they can afford (42 per cent).

The Sporting Chance clinic, set up by former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams in 2000 to support players with various mental, emotional and addiction issues, had more than 35 players require residential rehabilitation last season, with over 50 per cent related to gambling.

In 2014, research from the Professional Players Federation, an organisation of athletes associations across UK sport, stated footballers and cricketers were three times more likely to become problem gamblers than other men in their age group. Eight years on, EPIC, a consultancy group specialising in problem gambling, said professional athletes were now four times more likely than others to develop issues.

The modern footballer has no shortage of stress, pressure to perform, access to certain substances, and a culture that sometimes normalises risky behaviours, all of which might contribute to addiction and other mental health problems, say Sagal and DeWitt.

These numbers are startling and beg the question of why.

There is an increasing belief that the increasing pervasiveness of addictive personalities is a contributing factor.

When Kobe Bryant, one of the most influential athletes in history, wrote an article for The Players Tribune, he titled it Obsession is natural.

For Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Bryant, and his legendary work ethic, maybe. Later on in that piece, he expanded on that intensity: I swore to approach every matchup as a matter of life and death. The mindset he coined as mamba mentality is not so different at all from an obsessive personality.

Three years after his untimely death, Bryants legacy continues.

Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon, then at Everton, paid tribute to the 41-year-old when he died in a helicopter crash, posting on Twitter: RIP to the greatest competitor the sports world has seen. A true definition of hard work and dedication. A Kobe video or quote has gotten me through some tough times during my career. Thank you for inspiring me CHAMP.

Gordon, in turn, has displayed elements of that mentality. Speaking to the Newcastle matchday programme last month, he revealed: I get really obsessed with things. Whatever is on my mind for those couple of weeks, Ill buy all the gear, research every detail of it; its just my personality.

I think thats a good thing because I dont settle for just being average at something I want to be the best at everything I do. Its a good mindset to have, but I think it stresses the people around me out.

While the latter part of that statement hints at some minor repercussions of an obsessive personality, this is not to pick out Gordon, or even to say he is at risk but to highlight how widespread this attitude is within sport. The England Under-21 international is not an extreme example.

During the 2017 Womens European Championship, Sarina Wiegman, then coaching her native Netherlands national team, found herself so consumed by the job that she left a planned family day halfway through the tournament, telling her loved ones: Im sorry, I cant relax. I cant do this.

In other sports, legendary England rugby union international Jonny Wilkinson was famous for his obsessive preparation something that he revealed post-retirement had left him with acute anxiety.

Wilkinson, who refused to leave training sessions until he had completed six consecutive successful kicks from the touchline, maintained a stratospheric success rate of 95.7 per cent during the final five years of his career at French club Toulon. He also taught himself how to kick drop goals with both feet then unprecedented in case of such an opportunity as that which arose for him in the last minute of Englands 2003 World Cup final win.

I spent my career surviving the pressure I put on myself, Wilkinson recounted.

With football getting faster, more intense, and with more games in the schedule than ever, players are forced to wring themselves dry with increasingly less rest. To reach the top and to stay there players almost have to be addicted to the fitness, training, and development part of the process.

NFL player Maxx Crosby is a recovering alcoholic. The Las Vegas Raiders defensive end has openly spoken about how he has an addictive personality, but sees the positives of it, in that it allowed him to refocus on his American football career once he went sober in 2020.

Yeah, Im an addict, Crosby told ESPN this year. I went through what I went through, but this is way bigger than that. For me, it helps that I have that addictive personality, but Ive always loved football.

In an interview this month, Nile Ranger, another footballer to reveal a gambling addiction, told The Athletic: Im an addictive personality. I got addicted to it, that feeling of winning would be outrageous, that adrenaline was crazy. It was a major contribution to the unravelling of his career.

GO DEEPER

Nile Ranger: 'Im Haaland if Id eaten and behaved better. I didnt. I thought I knew it all

In research carried out in 2017 by the University of Bradford, several footballers who had spent time at the Sporting Chance clinic were anonymously interviewed.

One of those, given the pseudonym of Tony, had made more than 300 professional appearances and played in the Premier League. He now suffered from depression and alcohol misuse and outlined the connection with the obsession he developed during his playing career.

The report states: After being rejected as a player at 18, he had worked on a building site and then at 21 was signed to a team; he was determined that he would not be rejected a second time. He described himself as having been very focused on his game, training exceptionally hard. It meant everything to him: I lived and breathed it, I even ate it

As his level of play gradually dropped with age, Tony described it as a slippery slope in terms of self-worth. He developed an alcohol dependency, and made attempts to take his own life.

Of course, players can have an obsessive personality and be intensely driven without it leading to addiction in other areas of their lives.

I was addicted, I know I was; I was addicted to football and addicted to scoring goals and addicted to trying to be the best, says former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer, now a colleague at The Athletic. Those things pushed me.

Goals were the biggest rush Ive ever experienced. You score one and you crave another. But all I can do here is talk about myself and that obsession never really filtered into other areas of my life. I liked going out and having a drink and a laugh with the lads, for example, but it never became more than that.

Everything else was in moderation. I loved winning and still do, but not to the point where it took over my life. My obsession, if thats what it was, was very channelled.

What I do understand is how difficult it can be for footballers and other elite athletes to cope with losing that addiction, that focus. When youve had those incredible adrenaline spikes, when youve enjoyed adulation, you can see why people might look for compensation elsewhere. I was very lucky; I went from one dressing room to another with my television work. I know Ill never have that feeling of scoring again, but at least Ive got something else.

But when talking about psychology, it is more useful to think of risk factors rather than causal effect. This is a field which operates through predisposition rather than guarantees.

Addiction is a compelling urge to act or use a substance despite negative consequences, explain Sagal and DeWitt. Its driven by the brains reward system and operates on a continuum with varying degrees of severity.

This begins to explain why an addictive personality can lead to off-pitch difficulties the brains reward system has been conditioned throughout a career.

For a long time, sporting development was based on the 10,000 hours theory now considered to hold flimsy relevance as the original study was based specifically on violin students which encouraged early specialisation and constant pushing.

With players being picked up by academies at earlier ages, and the dedication required to make it at an elite level ever higher, the brain is encouraged to become even more obsessive. When that obsession becomes focused on off-field issues, the risk of addiction grows ever greater with other implicit parts of football accentuating that danger.

Footballers face extended periods of boredom and elevated levels of pressure. There is also the potential of isolation with players, often on short-term contracts, competing with team-mates for places. This is the nature of the profession hours of travelling for matches and sitting in hotels, before the burst of activity for 90 minutes in front of thousands of passionate people.

Footballers have a lot of time on their hands and are earning a lot of money, explains former Stoke City and Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis, who has been involved in professional football for just under 50 years as a player and then coach. The game is a real drug and a real high. Sometimes players need to fill it if theyre not getting that high, and look for other things. Gambling is an avenue to get that.

Frank, another player in the University of Bradfords research, spoke about the difficulties he had adapting to all the free time. He called the hours after training finished for the day a lonely place to be and described an aimlessness that led to depression and gambling.

You need to rest as a footballer, says Charlie Daniels, who made more than 450 professional appearances, and played in the Premier League for Bournemouth. He currently works as manager of Championship club Watfords under-18s side. And so that means youre sitting down a lot, and need some sort of stimulus. It might start as a social thing but it gets the better of some people, and they become addicted. Maybe its a release.

A release from the pressure with large sums of money, long stretches of down-time, and with the same obsessive personality that has driven their sporting success.

As a professional athlete, you might well have thoughts about persevering and pushing through a determination to never stop seeking that victory, even though its difficult, sports psychiatrist Dr Tim Rogers told The Athletic in February 2021.

Those are great attributes if youre 1-0 down in the 87th minute of a football match, but not great if youve already lost 500 and youve only got 100 left.

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson, who presented the documentary Football, Gambling and Me about his own addiction, spoke of a similar mentality.

Maybe you were a sensation seeker, maybe you tried to do unusual things, an academic put to him, after testing revealed his betting tactics were far less conservative than an average gambler.

I tried to play football like that, yeah, Merson replied. My teammates at Arsenal would always say, Stop hitting the glory ball, the killer ball. But thats what made me the player I was. Other people would play safe football. But I didnt play like that, it was all or nothing.

Looking back at it now, thinking about it, thats exactly the same as my gambling. That impulsivity which made me so effective on the pitch almost killed me off it.

Research has implied that sportspeople are also more likely to display traits of psychopathy, with several of those characteristics such as a desperation to win, being committed, and a lack of empathy suggestive of a negative link with problem gambling.

Jeremy Snape is a sports psychologist and former international cricketer who has worked with clients including Crystal Palace, the England rugby union team, and the South African cricket side. The Athletic asked him about the difficulties of his job whether he felt the need to find a balance between creating an elite performance mindset versus a healthy mindset for everyday life.

The path to mastery is steep, alluring and slippery, Snape said. For elite performers, the same obsessive drive for continual improvement and gratification can spill over. What does success and failure really mean? It needs a more broad and balanced appraisal across our sport, mental health, relationships and life.

While medals and records are great achievements, winning at all costs may be too high a price to pay for some.

His answer gets to the heart of the dual-purpose role psychologists play. On one hand, they were hired to produce the winning machines of elite-level competition. On the other, they are often the employee responsible for looking after players mental health even if that intervention comes with a sporting cost.

The older members of footballs current generation of players did not necessarily have that support. In 2011, Englands Football Association produced a 117-page document on academy restructuring as part of its Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). Just half a page and seven bullet points was devoted to player welfare.

Within that half-page, there was little guidance or structure on how that welfare should be administered just that clubs should do something. As a comparison, the sections frameworking performance analysis how many games should be filmed, how many analysts should be employed et cetera were extensively detailed over several pages.

As of two years ago, one Premier League club had just one player care officer across the entirety of the academy age groups on the boys side. That is not thought to be atypical, with clubs employing more analysts than player-care staff. The responsibility of that job is to create close relationships with players but the workload is spread far too thinly.

Clubs can educate players from a young age about addiction risks and promote a culture of openness, say DeWitt and Sagal. (This can mean) Encouraging early help-seeking and providing psychological support can act as a strong defence against addiction. Normalising talk in and around mental health and wellness is important, while finding ways for pros who have experienced and overcome addiction to connect with and relay their experiences to academy players is another smart approach. When physical testing is already done on under-nines players, following up with the mental side seems a no-brainer to implement.

Strides are being made at the older ages.

Completing a wellness assessment on a tablet device each morning is now typical practice, as well as the rise of wearable trackers such as sleep bands. However, these do not pick up every issue while players do not always have the incentive to self-report when they want to start games every week.

To Pulis, its about seeking distraction over obsession. Youngsters coming into the game who havent been indoctrinated fully need to find another avenue, perhaps a dual-career, which they can enjoy as well as their football, he says. There should be a real force of direction that pushes clubs to guide players into something that can take the strain away, to address the free time.

Finding solutions is difficult. Footballs encouragement of addictive personalities is not done out of vindictiveness or apathy. But it is a by-product of the pursuit of elite performance and an industry that is only just starting to recognise the strength of the mind as well as the body. As mentality is weaponised from ever-younger ages, those traits can spill out in unforeseen and extreme directions.

Footballs relationship with addiction is extensive the money, the escapism, the rampant gambling advertising. Dozens of tales lie in its wake and not all will end as happily as Toney and Tonali, who are anticipated to return to playing next year after serving their bans.

But before all those risk factors comes the brain. And without further player care, existing pathways are predisposing athletes to vulnerability too.

(Top image: Sam Richardson for The Athletic, images: Getty Images)

Link:
An addictive personality can facilitate sporting greatness but what are the consequences? - The Athletic

India had a "mental issue" in their Cricket World Cup final defeat to Australia, according to their former captain Madan Lal.

Travis Head's 137 propelled Australia to a six-wicket victory in Sunday's final atNarendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Head's knock is the second-highest score by an opener in a men's World Cup final.

And Madan Lal, who played for India between 1974 and 1987, believes the tournament hosts had a mental slip at the most inopportune moment.

"It is a little bit of a mental issue, you can say that," he told Stats Perform.

"In a final, if you make mistakes, then you have no chance of winning.You have to make less mistakes [than the opposition] as that isthe only way you aregoing to win.

"You can say [India are having] mental issuesbecause in the last 10 ICC tournamentswe've played in the finals [knockout rounds], but we didn't win any. That can be addressed.

Definitely [this was their best chance]because of the way the team was playing andthe way their bowling attack was performing.

"I was thinking that India would go through and win, but at the end of the day, when Australia came into the final, then I said it was a 50-50 game. It's not a game that can be easily won.

"I think it's a bit sad. India had done very well. They won all their ten matches, butinthe last one, they couldnt cross the line."

Virat Kohli starred for India in the World Cup, scoring 765 runs.

He tallied a half-century in the final, having plundered a ton in the semi-final, whichtook him above India legend Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time rankings for ODI centuries.

"Hes fantastic, a world champion, a superb player," Madan Lal said of Kohli.

"The good thing about him is the way he looks after himself, the way he approaches the game, his attitude.

"Plus, if you see when he's batting, we always know that if he bats for 15 minutes, he will get 100 runs.

"And another good thing about him is that he looks at the scoreboard. He plays according to the situation of the game, like Head did [in the final]."

Read more:
India's World Cup capitulation caused by 'mental issue', suggests ... - sportsmax.tv

Insufficient support against a backdrop of rising levels of stress and mental health in the workplace is costing UK employers billions of pounds, according to a new study commissioned by a Blackpool businessman.

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It is estimated that around 15% of people experience mental health problems in the workplace while more than 15% have a neurodiverse condition such as ADHD or autism.

The results of the report, which was recently conducted by Lancaster University for Joe Best of Perfect Support, come, he says, as no surprise.

Perfect Support, based in the town, works to improve workplace wellbeing at companies across the UK.

Changing corporate attitudes around awareness has become a personal mission for the 51-year-old, whose own story also continues to inspire those he helps.

Despite leaving school with no qualifications and being diagnosed with dyslexia while at university, Joe went on to pass his Law degree at the age of 35 followed by a Masters - and now plans to go on and do a PhD in Occupational Health and Wellbeing.

If you give me a chapter to read, I know it's going to take me three or four times longer than someone else. And my university tutors kept saying to me have you bothered checking your spelling? and they eventually advised me to go and get tested. Thats when I got the diagnosis. All this time it seems I had just hidden it really well. I became good at just verbalising.

One of the best workplace comments I can remember, was when my manager said: You don't look dyslexic! That sort of summed it up.

He added: With any neurodiverse condition you can take two routes - You can wear it as a label and let it tie you down or you can adopt the attitude of so what, Im dyslexic.

I think, the reason I went in for my solicitor's exams and my Masters degree, is because of that. My mentality is such that no one tells me I can't do it. I like to prove them wrong. I feel really proud of what Ive achieved.

I have real empathy. When people say to me I can't do this because I'm dyslexic, I say but look, Ive got a Masters degree. I had to work my backside off to get it, but I did it!

If the managers take the time to figure out why a person is struggling in the workplace and give them the support, they can do their job. And it does frustrate me that managers sometimes just don't take that time and effort. Im very passionate about that.

It's this passion that tempted Joe out of semi-retirement five years ago to establish Perfect Support, growing his network of 14 coaches. Each of them brings qualifications and experience across of wealth of specialisms including ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, autism, Bipolar Disorder, Tourettes, stress, anxiety, depression and grief.

He said: The majority of people don't want the coach coming into their workplace and sitting next to them. Or them having to find a spare room somewhere or having to leave their desk. With virtual support no one has to know except them and their line manager. And they dont even have to do it in work hours. We're really flexible with our clients.

With more than 15% of people in the UK neurodivergent, any organisation of a fair size is likely to have neurodiversity within their workforce. It is estimated that around 50% of those dont even know they are neurodiverse.

Lancaster Universitys report states: Ensuring neurodiversity among a workforce can bring significant benefits for organisations. Dyslexic individuals, for example, are inherently creative, think outside the box and are great at seeing patterns in big data, all valuable skills for any workplace. For this reason, people with dyslexia are increasingly being sought by employers. Companies are having recruitment drives aimed specifically at people with dyslexia.

In 2020, the number of people living with anxiety and depressive disorders rose significantly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting an increase of 26% and 28% respectively in just one year. It is estimated that 15% of working-age adults live with a mental disorder.

The report continues: Without effective support, mental disorders and other mental health conditions can affect a persons confidence and identity at work, capacity to work productively, absences and the ease to retain or gain work.

Workplace stress can result in demoralised workforces, low morale, more absence, and higher staff turnover.

After exploring career paths in Law and IT, Joe has never felt more rewarded than in his current role.

People are struggling in the workplace, and it's not their fault, he said. If they've got a neurodiverse condition, they can still do that job, they just need a bit of guidance. Its the same with mental health.

Some companies embrace it, and other companies just don't want to know. Theres still that stigma and mentality among employers. Even if the company is really good at putting the support in place, sometimes the managers just don't understand it.

Everyone always dumbs you down - Oh, you're dyslexic, you can't read or youre autistic so you won't talk to someone or socialise. Rather than looking at all the negatives, why arent they spinning that and saying what's the positives? What does it mean to our workforce?

By turning the focus to mental wellbeing, employers can do their part to make the world a better place to work. The report showed that only 39% of UK employees said their workplace provided good mental wellbeing support, suggesting that, sadly, more work needs to be done.

Read this article:
Empathy and passion drive Joe's mission to increase mental health ... - Blackpool Gazette

In the high-stress world of collegiate athletics where young athletes can become celebrities overnight, media speculation has become a significant problem for stars like LSUs Angel Reese. On November 17, Reese sat out LSUs game against Southeastern Louisiana following a second half against Kent State on November 14th where Reese was also benched. That was a shocking absence, considering Reese is a walking double-double, a defending national champion, and the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 NCAA national tournament.

To say that Reeses absence has ignited a storm of conjecture is an understatement. The medias speculation has become so severe that Reese tweeted please dont believe everything you read on November 19th before sitting out once again on November 21st when LSU defeated Texas Southern 106-47.

In many ways, the buzz makes sense. Theres an air of mystery surrounding Reeses absence and in the face of uncertainty, its human nature to fill in the blanks. And given all thats at stake in a wild womens basketball season that feels like anyones game at this point, it can be argued that some level of curiosity surrounding high-profile players like Angel Reese is a good thing.

After all, gaining eyes in womens sports is almost always beneficial as increased attention to the sport at large fuels growth in a historically underrepresented and under-resourced industry. People are paying attention to womens college hoops like never before and female athletes should be the topic of everyday conversation, just as their male counterparts so often are. But its the nature, not the presence, of the speculation surrounding Reese thats unsettling.

Over the past few weeks, Reeses absence has been attributed to everything from her grades to her attitude. And these reports are fueled in large part by rumors and cryptic social media posts rather than credible sources. Its wrong, said Kevin Robbins, a professor of practice at the University of Texas School of Journalism and Media on such speculation. Robbins adds that in the quest for attention and relevance, sports media, much like the media at large, often succumbs to the temptation of speculation.

The rush to be the first to report on a story can overshadow the need for accurate and verified information. But according to Robbins, this impulse to speculate has sunk so many stories of people over the years. It leaves athletes vulnerable to the harmful consequences of baseless rumors.

Its also impossible to ignore the racial undertones of implying that a young, Black athlete like Angel Reese has an attitude problem and/or a low GPA. Reese certainly faced criticism for how the former was perceived when she mimicked Iowa star Caitlin Clarks You cant see me gesture and pointed to her ring finger en route to dominating Iowa in last years championship. Although Clark had engaged in similar displays of confidence throughout the season, Reese was so heavily criticized that the word classless trended on the website formally known as Twitter following LSUs historic win.

This season, its also entirely possible that Reese isnt playing for personal reasons that have nothing to do with her attitude and grades. But the default assumptions place the onus of responsibility on Reese, rather than giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Although disingenuous, its somewhat unsurprising that sports media is making such assumptions. In fact, its become a fairly common practice within the industry to assume the worst about college athletes who frequently face criticism for sitting out games or taking time off for unique, individual circumstances. For instance, at the end of every college football season, star players sit out bowl games to avoid injury and maintain their draft status, and, like clockwork, are branded as selfish, disloyal, or, in the words of Kirk Herbstreit, are seen as contributing to an era of player [that] just doesnt love football.

In reality, these athletes are, more often than not, sitting out to preserve their health and future livelihood. There are perfectly understandable reasons to say no to a risky, non-playoff bowl game that will only pad their coachs resume and offer few professional benefits to the athletes themselves.

This disdain isnt reserved only for college football players. Although transfers often receive similar criticism for leaving their teams mid-career (never mind that coaches frequently do the same without critique), across sports, mental health is the most common reason college athletes have considered transferring in recent years.

According to the NCAA, 61 percent of women and 40 percent of male athletes who contemplated transferring in 2021-2022 considered doing so for mental health reasons, followed by conflicts with coaches or teammates, and concerns over playing timeall of which are legitimate reasons to change programs. But blame, buzzwords and fiery speculation, rather than pausing to listen to the athletes and look at the facts, generate significant press year after year.

Is it legal and acceptable for sports media to fill in the blanks and promote polarizing commentary surrounding college athletes? Sure. Is it ethical? Thats where things get dicey.

Robbins underscores the ethical concerns surrounding media speculation, emphasizing two codes of ethics that sports journalists adhere tothe Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics and the Associated Press Sports Editorsin addition to codes of ethics provided by their outlets. The SPJ code, similar to the Hippocratic Oath, emphasizes the principle of do no harm. However, Robbins raises questions about whether speculation adheres to this ethical guideline, considering the potential harm it can inflict on athletes like Angel Reese who are often victims of narratives beyond their influence or control.

At the moment, we do not know officially why [Reese] was pulled from that game and then didnt play in the second half, Robbins says of LSUs games against Kent State and Southeastern Louisiana. And although speculation surrounding her absence has boiled down to aforementioned grade and attitude related issues are largely unverified, there is vast potential for speculation and misinformation to cause actual harm to young athletes in the process.

So lets take those two examples, Robbins says. One implies shes not making the grades, the other implies that shes got a bad attitude. Those things are alive and theyre going to live now forever because theyve been out there. You cant take that away. Youve planted a suggestion and so that follows her even if its untrue. I dont see how thats not harmful to someone.

Although it can be tempting to brush off such speculation as just thatsupposition and shallow rumors, college athletes have become even higher-profile celebrities with the advent of NIL so their reputations matter more now than ever. Reeses NIL valuation, for example, currently sits at $1.3 million, fueled by her unique Bayou Barbie branding, which has landed her six-figure deals with lucrative companies like Mercedes and Coach. Reeses celebrity status has reached such a significant level that she revealed in August that shes taking online classes at LSU to maintain a low profile.

College athletes are also uniquely susceptible to mental health issues, burnout, and threats to identity when they physically cannot play, whether thats due to injury or any litany of other reasons that can limit their productivity and threaten their personal health. College athletes earning potential is also under threat when they dont play because NIL deals and even scholarships have the potential to be rescinded due to a lack of productivity.

In other words, the unique pressures that have always existed for college athletes are still here. And in addition, theres a lot more monetarily at stake now than, say ten years ago, when the character of college athletes are called into question. And although Reese has masterfully turned bad press into millions of dollars in the past, the discourse surrounding her now could hurt her, as ambiguity is rarely on the side of college athletes.

Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey has cleared up some uncertainty surrounding Reese, but not much. Its very obvious Angel was not in uniform, Mulkey said during the postgame press conference following LSUs dominance against Southeastern Louisiana. Angel is a part of this basketball team and we hope to see her sooner rather than laterIm not going to answer anymore. Thats it. Thats all yall need to know, OK?

With so much happening all at once, there could be many reasons Mulkey has chosen to be vague surrounding Reeses absence. Its worth asking: could Mulkeys non-response be her way of guaranteeing Reese a sense of anonymity and privacy amid a hostile news cycle? Mulkey confirmed as much following LSUs victory over Texas Southern, addressing the media in the postgame press conference: Sometimes you want to know more than youre entitled to know. Im trying to protect my players. Robbins believes that Mulkey could be sincere in her desire to protect her players by pleading the fifth. It could be [the case], but thats the problem. We dont know because the language shes using is so general. And if thats the case, wouldnt you feel like its the coachs responsibility to contain these rumors and protect her player and protect her program?

Speculation, fueled by cryptic social media messages and ambiguous circumstances, can have lasting repercussions on an athletes reputation. Reflecting on the evolving landscape of journalism, Robbins acknowledges the challenges posed by the rise of social media. Before just anyone could weigh in on their digital platform of choice, the dynamics were different, but in todays fast-paced digital era, rumors can multiply exponentially, making it crucial for coaches and institutions to control the narrative.

[Mulkey] doesnt have to be specific about it, Robbins says. But at least she can eliminate some of the possibilities at this point. And she can come out and say This has nothing to do with attitude and this has nothing to do with grades and so you can forget that. And then its on the record, its attributed to her, and thats what needs to happen.

According to Robbins, maintaining the integrity of truth in such situations is on the coach and [Kim Mulkey] needs to be forthright. Angel Reese is one of the biggest names in womens college basketballso Kim Mulkey is responsible to attend to this, to control rumors and speculation now because its harming her player, its potentially harming her program, her reputation.

As the womens basketball college season unfolds, the ethical considerations surrounding media speculation have thus far taken center stage amid an otherwise positive and exciting news cycle. The potential harm to athletes, already navigating a demanding and stressful work environment, raises questions about the responsibility of sports media and the institutions they cover. The need for responsible reporting, adherence to ethical guidelines, and the protection of athletes from unwarranted speculation become paramount when the human cost is so high.

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Please dont believe everything you read The ethics of speculation in sports media - Awful Announcing

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The royal family is riven with ambition, suspicion and competition with the Prince and Princess of Wales at the heart of it all, according to an explosive new book about The Firm.

In Endgame, royal reporter and author Omid Scobie moves beyond Prince Harry to detail an alleged power struggle between King Charles and Prince William.

He explores the new kings relationship with his disgraced brother Prince Andrew and examines why Kate is perfect in the mould of Britains future queen.

Scobie examines the UK medias coverage of past controversies surrounding William and Kate, and makes sensational claims about the heirs attitude towards his brother Harry.

Ahead of the books release on 28 November, here are some of the biggest royal revelations from Endgame:

One of the key themes of Scobies book is the alleged rift between King Charles and Prince William

(Getty)

Scobie highlights an alleged rift between King Charles and his son, the Prince of Wales. In Endgame, William is painted as an ambitious, hot-headed prince, determined to lead the royal family into the future, with Scobie claiming that he wants to rip up the rulebook and do things the Cambridge way.

He adds that, while William respects his father, the difference in their views might become an issue over the years ahead. Scobie writes that William and Charles are united in their frustration towards Prince Harry but do not see eye to eye about how the institution should be run.

He describes Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, the offices of Charles and William respectively, as hives of competing agendas and different ideas about how to modernise the monarchy. Scobie also claims William is not giving his father the same space Charles did with the late Queen, as the 41-year-old eyes the throne. Theres no time for that, the author writes.

The book looks at favourable coverage in the media of William and Kate

(PA Wire)

Through the lens of a number of incidents in 2019, Scobie provides an analysis of the UK medias relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince Harry has previously claimed stories about his wife were leaked to the British press. Calling it a dirty game in the couples 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry said negative news coverage about Meghan helped steer unwanted media attention away from other members of the royal family.

Scobie brands William and Kates 2019 holiday to Balmoral Castle a showy publicity stunt. That year, the prince and princess were praised for booking a 73 a head Flybe flight from Norwich to Aberdeen amid reports that Harry and Meghan had chartered four private flights in 11 days. What wasnt included in the PR gamesmanship, Scobie writes, was that the Cambridges scheduled flight did not have the Flybe logo on its side.

Since airline bosses were keen for them to use a properly branded plane, an empty one was sent from the headquarters in Humberside, around 123 miles north of Norwich. The same plane also returned empty to Humberside after the family landed in Aberdeen.

In total, the two flights released over four and a half tons of carbon emissions. Their perfect family trip was exposed for what it really was; a showy publicity stunt, Scobie says. A source close to William and Kate reportedly said they were unaware Flybe had switched the flights and did not seek any special treatment, in a statement to MailOnline.

Prince Harry has been very open about his mental health struggles

(Apple TV+)

Scobie believes the relationship between William and Harry is unlikely to be mended, as the rift between the brothers continues to push them apart.

The heir and the spare have grown apart in the aftermath of Harrys bombshell allegations against the royal family since resigning as a senior member and relocating to the US with Meghan.

In Endgame, the British journalist claims William believes Harry blindsided the family with their public complaints and oh so California self-importance. A source reportedly told Scobie William is convinced his younger brother is being brainwashed by an army of therapists and that he no longer recognises who Harry has become.

He feels he has lost Harry and doesnt want to know this version of him, a source close to William told Scobie. Harry is reportedly ready to move on from the whole saga, whether he and Meghan receive an apology or not over their alleged treatment by the royal family since their wedding.

Meghan was regarded more difficult than Kate because she had opinions

(PA)

Scobie gives Endgame readers his take on the reportedly frosty relationship between Kate and Meghan, writing that they were never close.

Citing multiple sources, he claims Kate was never a fan of the former actress. One person reportedly told Scobie the Princess of Wales has spent more time talking about Meghan than talking to her. He also reveals that Kate has jokingly shivered when Meghans name has come up on recent occasions.

Describing Kate as an institutional dream come true, Scobie suggests the future queen has successfully sublimated her authentic self, becoming an enigma to the public and perhaps even herself. He claims Kate, who was born in Reading and attended St Andrews, where she met Prince William, has had several rounds of elocution lessons and now sounds posher than her husband.

In contrast, one former palace aide told Scobie Meghan was regarded as being difficult because she had opinions.

They wanted Meghan to just go with everything that was suggested and not create any additional work, he writes. It was a combination of her not conforming with how women marrying into the family are expected to behave and certain individuals just being lazy.

Prince Harry has become increasingly distanced from his family in the UK

(Getty Images for2022 Robert F. Kennedy Gala)

Queen Elizabeths reign ended last year, as the long-serving monarch died on 8 September 2022. Scobie writes that the Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was preparing for her final few hours, when Charles rang Harry and asked him to make his way to Balmoral Castle immediately.

When Harry reached out to William to check whether they could travel to Scotland together, he was said to have been met with radio silence.

Harry was reportedly informed William had secured a flight for himself and his uncles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Meanwhile, the duke received no details about joining that flight.

A source told Scobie: It was upsetting to witness. [Harry] was completely by himself on this.

Harry sent his brother a follow-up text message but he still didnt hear back from William despite the fact that seats were available on the Dassault Falcon private jet the prince had chartered.

William ignored him, said a family source. He clearly didnt want to see his brother.

In the end, Harry flew out by himself in a private plane, costing $37,000, from Luton airport.

A source claimed William completely ignored Harry in the time surrounding the Queens death

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Harry had no idea his grandmother had died at 3.10pm on 8 September, over two hours before his own flight took off. While the duke was still racing against time to make it to Her Majestys bedside, Buckingham Palace was preparing to break the news of her death to the world, Scobie writes.

[Harrys] team literally had to beg for them to wait for his plane to land and they reluctantly agreed to hold the statement back for a little bit, Scobie shares a statement from a close family friend. But, when Harrys plane was delayed by bad weather over Aberdeen International airport, they could wait no longer and the announcement went live at 6.30pm, he writes.

When the plane landed at around 6.50pm, Harry received a text message from Meghan, urging him to call her after she received a BBC breaking news alert that the queen had died.

Harry was crushed, a friend of the duke told Scobie. His relationship with the queen was everything to him. She would have wanted him to know before it went out to the world. They could have waited just a little longer, it would have been nothing in the grand scheme of things, but no one respected that at all.

Prince Andrew with his brother Charles

(Getty Images)

Scobie says that Charles, like his late mother, has a soft spot for Prince Andrew, who stepped back from royal life over intense scrutiny of his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Stonewalling and expelling his son came easy enough, he writes, referring to Charles approach in dealing with Harry, although its a different story with his own brother.

Amid Andrews fall from grace, Scobie writes, Charles was tearful over fears for the shamed dukes mental health.

The Duke of York was stripped of his military titles by his mother after one of Epsteins victims Virginia Giuffre accused him of sexually abusing her at his apartment in Belgravia when she was 17. Andrew strongly and repeatedly denied the allegations, and later paid a multimillion-pound amount to settle the lawsuit.

According to r Scobie, it was William who set the wheels in motion in distancing the royal family from Andrew, although the Queen was the official face of Andrews reckoning. Charles, he claims, didnt want any part of it.

Harry is apparently now in a great place and focusing on his physical and mental fitness

(Getty)

In the two years since the royal family became embroiled in a race row over Harry and Meghans son, no one except Charles is said to have addressed the alleged conversation about Prince Archies skin colour.

After they relocated to Montecito, California, Harry and Meghan sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. During their hour-long conversation about their treatment by the royals, Meghan claimed that a senior member had speculated about the colour of Archies skin while she was pregnant.

While the issue has reportedly been privately addressed in letters between Meghan and Charles, neither Kate nor William have reached out to the Sussexes about the matter.

The silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset, says a source close to the family.

With the long rift between him and his family showing no sign of healing, Prince Harry is focussing on his role as a father to Archie and Princess Lilibet.

According to Scobies account, Harrys also prioritising his physical and mental fitness, adding that the duke works out regularly with his personal trainer. His routine also includes regular hikes, bike rides, and ice baths.

Endgame will be released in the UK on 28 November. You can read The Independents review of the book here.

Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, and the Sussexes were all contacted for comment.

More here:
Nine royal revelations from Omid Scobie's scathing new book ... - The Independent

Stories about ceasefire deals and hostage releases are dominating the news agenda, as Israel and Hamas finalise an agreement to see some of the dozens of captives held since 7 October freed.

Up to 50 women and children look likely to leave Gaza over the coming days. Yet almost nothing has been said about the fate of scores of men, many of whom would have served with the Israel Defence Forces, the sworn enemy of Hamas.

Their families know nothing about how they are being treated, or if they are being subjected to abuse or torture. At the very least, they will be suffering psychologically, in the knowledge that previous Israeli captives taken by Hamas were held for years on end.

Theo Padnos is an American journalist who spent 22 months as a hostage after being kidnapped by Islamist extremists before being passed to a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Syria in 2012.

To give an insight into what it's like to be detained by an armed group, and the mental toll of life in captivity, he told 'Upfront: The Podcast what he went through during his time as a hostage.

"These people are undergoing horrific experiences. And if they emerge without emotional scars for the rest of their lives, with their lives intact, I'm not sure that their psychology will be intact," Mr Padnos told host Katie Hannon.

"I wasn't allowed to speak. I had my handcuffs behind my back. I was blindfolded. I had to lie in a corner. If I moved, then I had punishment."

"I felt that they were in the process of killing me over a period of days. My psychological experience of this - I didn't think I was going to survive."

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Mr Padnos, an Arabic speaker, was a freelance reporter seeking to cover the Syrian civil war when he was captured.

During his time in captivity, he was shuffled between tiny cells and dark rooms with different prison guards, while being regularly tortured and interrogated by senior members of a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

"In my case, they were just so violent with me that I assumed that their process was to subject me to a certain degree of punishment over a period of time and then when the emir - or whatever sheikh was in charge of my destiny - he was going to say, 'this person, we've punished him enough and now let's just kill him."

While Hamas and Al-Qaeda are both Sunni Islamist armed groups, there are key and significant differences between them. Hamas is an armed group with religious but also political and nationalistic objectives. It has participated in elections, and seeks the creation of a Palestinian state within the borders of modern Israel.

It is not known whether captives currently held by Hamas are being subjected to physical torture. One of the two elderly female hostages released since 7 October said she had been beaten when she was abducted and taken to Gaza, but was then treated well during her two-week captivity in the enclave.

Men with a military background may or may not be receiving the same treatment. Regardless, the psychological stress of captivity will be unavoidable, says Mr Padnos.

He says over time he was allowed to communicate with his captors. To gain their trust and protect himself psychologically, he says he developed a 'second self.'

"A terrorist organisation is a cult, and I developed a cult personality, a cult self, a second self, that could easily get along with the people in the cult."

"And I accepted my second self, just as they do. We've got to kill the Jews, when they said that I would say we've got to." Mr Padnos explained.

"[When they said] we've got to show the world that we're not really terrorists. We're actually freedom fighters. When you go home, you will do this? I told them, of course."

"And then as soon as I left, I retrieved my first self: Theo."

To the surprise of many at the time, Mr Padnos was released in 2014, one week after another American journalist who was abducted in Syria, James Foley, was beheaded by Islamic State.

Qatari diplomats brokered Mr Padnoss release with his captors, after being directly contacted by his family.

The United States unequivocally denied paying any ransom money to secure his freedom.

He was released to United Nations officials in the Golan Heights, the disputed territory between Syria and Israel.

It was initially difficult to mentally readjust to life outside captivity, he says.

"For the first 24 hours, it was not real. I kept thinking that I was going to wake up and go back. And oftentimes I did, when I was sleeping. In the first days after my release, I woke up and I was like, okay, I'm back in prison. And the whole freedom thing was a dream."

"Every person I saw on the street, I'm like, he's probably a terrorist." he said of the days after his release.

"I was looking at all these Israeli guys like, that guy, he's not a real Israeli. He's an al-Qaeda guy. I didn't trust anybody."

He told Katie Hannon he has been thinking often about what the captives in Gaza have been going through since 7 October. He believes that the only hope of seeing all of them released is a longer-term ceasefire.

"The way to begin those negotiations is to stop the violence. In my view, there's just no incentive for the captors to let their captives go if all they're going to get is a respite of a day or two."

"You know, the thing where they say we're indifferent to death, that's true. They're not kidding about that. That's really true. Like when they're underground and the bombs are coming from above, those people have an insouciant and indifferent attitude towards death, and it's very dangerous for the captives."

"My personal view is that... the hostage-takers, they're going to let the women and children go because [they perceive their] God has told them to... They're not going to let anybody else go, unless they advance their own war aims, which are significant."

Listen to Theo Padnos speaking to Katie Hannon on Upfront: The Podcast here, on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

Read more:
Life as a hostage: A former captive on the psychological impact - RTE.ie