Who Had the Worse Week?

• The Human Rights Campaign fired its president Alphonso David following an investigation into his efforts to help former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo fight sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo is the third rail of politics – Roberta Kaplan, the co-founder and board member of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund also recently resigned under pressure after helping Cuomo.
• Ex-Denver Broncos running back Clinton Portis pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges this week. Portis, who earned more than $42 million during his career, submitted fraudulent medical claims totaling $99,264 to a healthcare program for retired NFL players.
• After failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the US Men’s National Soccer Team has little margin for error if it hopes to make it to the 2022 World Cup. The team hasn’t impressed much so far – it started with two draws – and it lost one of its best players, Weston McKennie, when he broke team COVID rules and spent the night with an “unauthorized guest.” He was suspended and sent back to Italy, where he plays for Juventus, a team that suspended him in April for … wait for it …breaking COVID protocols. The good news is the team beat Honduras 4-1 in a must-win game this week. Take that, Honduras.
• Women have outnumbered men on college campuses since the 1970s, but the pandemic has significantly accelerated the gender imbalance as men have dropped out at three times the rate of women. In fact, the latest data show that colleges now skew more than 57-43 female. One of the consequences: colleges are now lowering their admissions standards for men in an effort to keep parity. The patriarchy, amiright?
• It’s been a tough couple for weeks for philosophical CEOs. Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of the salad maker Sweetgreen, attempted to “start a conversation” by blaming fat people for the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now-former Tripwire CEO John Gibson proved again that the worst PR crises are self-inflicted when he decided that as the CEO of a video game maker he should weigh in on Texas’ new controversial abortion law. How did it end? You read the “now-former” part, right?
• And, finally, an oldie but goodie. Underperforming Confederate General Robert E. Lee continues to be a modern-day punching bag. This week, it was Richmond, Va., that chose to remove a statue of Lee. The event was celebratory, with workers counting down the moment that Lee was removed via crane as onlookers cheered.

So, who won the week?

• The Colorado Sun turned three this week. It took a lot of courage for the group of former Denver Postians to launch their own newspaper, and it is gratifying to see it succeed.
• Original Blues Clues host Steve Burns this week comforted a generation of millennials who apparently suffered abandonment issues when he unexpectedly and suddenly left the show two decades ago. Appearing via a video dressed as Blues Clues Steve, he apologized to viewers and then dropped a little positive reinforcement about how terrific they are all doing.