JTA – For Jewish sports fans, 2022 was a year of highs and especially lows.
The fallout was dominated by an anti-Semitic scandal against Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who shared a link to an anti-Semitic film on Twitter and initially refused to apologize. Irving was suspended for eight games and focused more on anti-Semitism, black-Jewish relations, and the Black Hebrew Israelite movement.
Off-court controversy aside, Jewish athletes had an All-Star caliber year in 2022. Jews in sports shone on the international stage at the Maccabiah Games, the Beijing Olympics and the World Cup. And as the sports world honored some of its greatest ever—we’re looking at you, Sandy Koufax and Sue Bird—we also got a glimpse of the next generation of Jewish sports stars.
We also said goodbye to some familiar faces who retired, such as Jewish Super Bowl champions Ali Marpet and Mitchell Schwartz and the duo behind the Jewish Sports Review magazine. And this year we shared memories of the dead, including Jewish Olympic gold medalist “Ike” Berger, and Vin Scully and Franco Harris – two sports legends who are not Jewish but whose careers are cherished by their Jewish fans.
But in the end, here are the Jewish Sport Report’s best Jewish sports moments of the year, plus one to look forward to in 2023.
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8. Jason Brown performed to “Schindler’s List” at the 2022 Beijing Olympics
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The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing kicked off the year with a bang in Jewish sports. This may interest you : Rick and Morty’s strange relationship with video games is explained. More than a dozen Jewish athletes from around the world competed in hockey, skating, snowboarding and more.
Perhaps the best-known Jewish Olympian was Jason Brown, the figure skater who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Games. Brown didn’t medal in 2022 (he finished sixth), but he had the best score while skating to the theme of “Schindler’s List.”
7. Max Fried continued his MLB dominance
Emery Lehman also represented the USA on the ice, winning the team bronze medal in speed skating.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried (54) works against the Tampa Bay Rays during a spring training baseball game March 21, 2021 in Port Charlotte, Florida. This may interest you : Sources: Matisse Thybulle, 76ers started contract extension talks before Monday. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Now four seasons into Major League Baseball, Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves has solidified himself as one of the best pitchers in the sport.
In 2022, Fried earned his first All-Star selection and won his third consecutive Gold Glove as the National League’s top defensive pitcher. He finished as the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award, given to the league’s top pitcher, and was named to the All-MLB Second Team for the second straight year, posting a 14-7 record in 2022 (same as 2021). outing) seventh best in MLB with 2.48 earned run average and 170 strikeouts.
6. Greg Joseph made multiple historic game-winning field goals
The 28-year-old left-hander is a native of Los Angeles, and his childhood hero was Dodger legend and left-hander Sandy Koufax, who got his nod this year – more on that below. Read also : Disney, Turner Sports announce 2022-23 NHL schedule.
Greg Joseph celebrates with teammates after kicking the game-winning 61-yard field goal to beat the New York Giants 27-24 on December 24, 2022 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images via JTA)
The Minnesota Vikings owe much of their success this season to Greg Joseph’s right foot.
The Jewish pitcher — who has engaged Jewish communities in every city he’s played in — has won five games this season, including two in a row that each made history.
In Week 15, Joseph made a 40-yard field goal in the Vikings’ 39–36 win over the Indianapolis Colts, capping the greatest comeback in NFL history. The Colts led 33-0.
HATS OFF @VIKINGS TO THE GREATEST RUN IN NFL HISTORY.
33-0 to 39-36. #INDvsMIN pic.twitter.com/p4vtjhuPY7
— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2022
Then, in Week 16, Joseph kicked a 61-yarder as time expired to defeat the New York Giants 27–24. The streak was the longest of Joseph’s career, the longest in Vikings franchise history and possibly the longest ever by a Jewish player.
GREG JOSEPH 61 FIELD OF MIRACLE WINNING! @VIKINGS #NYGvsMIN pic.twitter.com/a7JwsbirRX
5. Sue Bird brought her remarkable career to an end
— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2022
Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird places her hands over her heart as fans chant her name after her team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 of a WNBA basketball playoff semifinal, the final game of her career, Sept. 6. , 2022, in Seattle. The Aces beat the Storm 97-92 to advance to the WNBA Finals. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
From her first college days to her last professional game in the WNBA, Sue Bird has been among the best in any sport: a two-time NCAA champion, a four-time WNBA champion, a five-time Olympic gold medalist. medalist and four-time FIBA World Champion. She is the all-time WNBA leader in assists, games played, minutes played, All-Star appearances and seasons played.
Bird announced in June that she would retire after the season, and her Seattle Storm lost in the playoff finals to the Las Vegas Aces, ending her 19-year career in the WNBA.
4. The sports world marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich massacre
Bird, who obtained Israeli citizenship in 2006 in part so he could play for European teams, became a respected entrepreneur, activist and basketball executive before his playing career ended, setting him up for a successful next chapter.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L) and President Isaac Herzog lay a wreath during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics at Fuerstenfeldbruck air base, southern Germany, September 5, 2022. . (Thomas KIENZLE/AFP)
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich Olympics massacre, the terrorist attack at the 1972 Games that claimed the lives of 11 Israelis after a one-hour hostage standoff.
3. Sandy Koufax was immortalized at Dodger Stadium
After a tense negotiation process, the Israeli families of the victims reached a reparations agreement with Germany in time for the official 50th anniversary ceremony. Meanwhile, Israel’s marathon team won gold at the European Championships in Munich, and ESPN produced a documentary about Shaul Ladany, an Olympic race walker who survived both the Holocaust and the Munich bombings. Narrated and narrated by Jewish Emmy winner Jeremy Schaap, the episode told the story of the massacre to a primetime audience on the network’s “E:60” series.
Sandy Koufax, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, March 18, 1964 during spring training. (AP Photo)
Sandy Koufax’s legacy as the greatest Jewish athlete of all time has never been questioned. But this past summer, nearly 60 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat in a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, Koufax, now 86, was given one of his most meaningful tributes: a permanent statue at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers unveiled the statue of Koufax — next to one of his former teammates, Jackie Robinson — with a pregame ceremony on June 18, three years after the statue was originally announced. The opening was postponed due to the pandemic.
2. Ryan Turell began his professional basketball career, with a kippah
Koufax’s Jewish identity — and his famous Yom Kippur sit-out — were highlighted at the ceremony along with his many career awards, including three Cy Young Awards and three seasons each with more than 300 strikeouts and a two-under earned run average.
NBA G League player Ryan Turell signs a fan yarmulke after a game against the Motor City Cruisers in Detroit, Nov. 17, 2022. The Yeshiva University graduate is the first Orthodox Jew to play for an NBA franchise. (Andrew Lapin/JTA)
Ryan Turell, a former Yeshiva University basketball phenom, took a big step toward his goal of becoming the NBA’s first Orthodox player.
Turell was selected by the Motor City Cruiser in October’s G League draft, joining minor league affiliate Detroit Pistons. He became the league’s first known Orthodox player.
For Detroit’s Jewish fans, Turell’s ascension has brought excitement and excitement. And for the NBA organization, it created an opportunity to engage with the local Jewish community. The Pistons are offering kosher concessions at Cruise Arena and have celebrated Jewish Heritage Night and Hanukkah this month.
1. The Maccabiah Games returned to Israel — with a special guest
In the regular season opener at Cruise on Dec. 27, Turell dropped 21 points in 17 minutes.
US President Joe Biden (R) hugs President Isaac Herzog (L) during the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem on July 14, 2022. (RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP)
The 21st Maccabiah Games, also known as the “Jewish Olympics”, took center stage in Israel in July.
Originally scheduled for 2021, the quadrennial international Jewish sports competition began at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium on July 14 with an opening ceremony in which US President Joe Biden made an appearance, becoming the first American president.
And here’s something to look forward to in 2023
With 10,000 Jewish athletes from around the world coming together for two weeks, there were plenty of stories to follow. Here are some highlights:
Finally, as the calendar turns to a new year, there is (at least) one major Jewish sports story behind us: the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which will be held in Miami in March.
