But certainly not tennis
Professional tennis player Tennys Sandgren, a native of Gallatin, Tenn., couldn't enjoy his first trip to the Australian Open quarterfinals last week without being bugged about his possible right-wing views.
A sports reporter asked the former University of Tennessee standout, whose quarterfinals appearance was the real story, about his "social media output, which includes some political figures who might be considered out of the mainstream."
Gallatin, Tenn., native Tennys Sandgren, shown playing in Chattanooga in 2003 in the finals of the National 12 and under boys tennis tournament, made it to the Australian Open quarterfinals last week, but reporters wanted to know about his conservative views.Sandgren laughed at the reporter's question, then replied, "Look - who you follow on Twitter, I feel like doesn't matter even a little bit," he said, as transcribed by Deadspin. "What information you see doesn't dictate what you think or believe, and I think it's crazy to think that, I think it's crazy to assume that.
"If you watch a news channel, you wouldn't then say that that person who's watching a news channel thinks everything that that news channel puts out," he continued. "I mean, you can ask me about my beliefs on things, that's cool. But I think to lump in, just say, 'Well you follow this person,' so then, wow who are you? It's like, ask me, you can ask me who I am, and I'm perfectly fine answering those kinds of questions."
The reporter pressed on, asking if he supported some of the alt-right movement.
Sandgren said, "No, as a firm Christian, I don't support things like that. I support Christ and following him, and that's what I support."
At a pre-match press event the next day, he read a prepared statement which put his tormentors in their place.
"You dehumanize with pen and paper and turn neighbor against neighbor," the statement read in part. "In so doing, you may actually find you're hastening the hell you wish to avoid, the hell we all wish to avoid," he said.
Finally, a culprit
A new study has pinpointed the cause of global warming - sandwiches.
Sandwiches, according to scientists at the University of Manchester in England, are responsible for carbon emissions equal to 8.6 million cars in Britain alone.
While the environmental impact of homemade sandwiches is two times as low as that of ready-made sandwiches sold in convenience stores, both sandwiches must be seen in the carbon footprint made by the cultivation of ingredients, food waste, recipes used, and various packaging options, the study says. Indeed, it suggests, the sandwich's carbon footprint should be added to its nutritional label in hopes of changing behavior.
The worst culprit, equal to carbon emissions created by driving a car for 12 miles, is the "all-day breakfast sandwich," one filled with egg, bacon and sausage.
"Given that sandwiches are a staple of the British diet as well as [a] significant market share in the food sector," professor Adisa Azapagic, one of the authors of the study, told The Guardian, "it is important to understand the contribution from this sector to the emissions of greenhouse gases."
Alas, they didn't think about that in the Paris Agreement.
Straw police coming?
California Democratic House Majority Leader Ian Calderon is serious about straws. He recently introduced a bill requiring dine-in restaurant workers not to issue plastic straws to customers unless they ask for them - or it could be the pokey for them.
A worker who issues an unrequested straw could be found guilty of a misdemeanor, subject to up to six months in jail and fines as much as $1,000.
But that's not enough for some Californians, who think a ban on the straws should be in order.
"Really, what's at stake here is a few moments of convenience creating a yearslong environmental threat," said David Lewis, executive director of Save the Bay.
Gwyneth Borden, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, wondered why voluntary efforts wouldn't be more effective and why "everything [has] to be legislated."
After all, she wondered, "will there be secret straw investigators?"
Oh, no, they have a different view
Conservative pundit and Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro spoke at ultra-liberal University of Connecticut without incident last week, but, thoughtfully, a school official had sent a letter to students offering counseling services to students who may have been distressed by his visit.
Although the public school closed his speech to the public, the 500-seat venue was filled and, he said, as many or more were turned away.
"Something has to be done about a system where a few crazed leftists decide they don't want to hear someone speak," Shapiro said, "and therefore people from the outside who pay taxes to universities like this one can't get in."
Although there were protesters, he said, his foes were few because they didn't want to brave the 30-degree weather.
Those who couldn't stomach conservative views were told they could "talk through your feelings about this issue" with the Cultural Centers, the Dean of Students Office, Counseling and Mental Health Services, and office of the associate vice president and chief diversity officer.
"We understand that even the thought of an individual coming to campus with the views that Mr. Shapiro expresses can be concerning and even hurtful," the official wrote students, "and that's why we wanted to make you aware as soon as we were informed."
Not surprisingly, a liberal speaker, Anita Hill, had recently been invited to speak at the school - and the public invited - but students weren't given similar warnings.