>> harry fo forsett, al jazeera, seoul. >> if you head over the to our website, aljazeera.com, you can see the lead story, the situation in iraq. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in the stream. with former new orleans punter chris hunter dropped, because of his gay rights stance? why the nfl gives out painkillers to players like candy. just to save the game? and then the nba just appointed its first full time female assistant coach.

why did it take so long? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> my co-hose and digital producer wajahat ali is here. bringing your feedback. chris cluy in the center of the issue. >> i was a husky child always wore husky pants, i wanted to play spors, sports. tackling all of the crises, i think mainstream media wants to use these issues to stir the pot and attract viewers and listeners. however, i don't know how going g they are in constructive conversations. we're going oprove them wrong. >> we're going ohave a constructive conversation.

>> we're going odo it. >> former nfl punter made waves because of his outspoken position on gay rights. cluy is considering suing for internal violations of the vikings into his claims, including mike prefer, made. >> chris cluy joins us and al jazeera sports director neil scarborough. thanks for both of you for being here. chris, you were dismissfrom the minnesota vikings. and you are a gay rights activist. what makes you feel that is the reason for your dismissal? >> they wanted me to keep my punts higher and shorter because

my special teams coaches told me our coverages weren't very good. they wanted to cover up that deficiency by keeping my numbers down. i understood you needed to sacrifice for the team. it would keep my numbers down but it was something to sacrifice for the team. the team takes care of you. and i punted my last year with the vikings pretty much exactly the same as i had punted the previous years, and then all of a sudden, they drafted a punter in the fifth round and got rid of me. which really didn't make sense to me. because i had been doing exactly what they wanted me to do and no one had told me they were displeased with my performance. and so when i looked at it, the only thing that it changed from years 1 through 7 to year 8 is was that i became active in promoting same-sex rights. >> were there things that were said or intimated to you though in that last year when you

became active that made an undeniable connection that this was the reason you were being released? >> looking back they did. again remember with hindsight it's very easy to say you should have done this when this happened, because -- i didn't know i would be released. my special teams coach mike prefer made homophobic remarks, it was like, was he trying to get a rise out of me? something i pointed out in the desmond article. but it was with malice in his voice, he meant them. okay, maybe he was just having a rough year, maybe the season is getting long, whatever, let's put the season behind us. once they drafted a punter and let me go i looked back and said you know what? there is something else here. based on what i know of the nfl

those action he aren't consistent with everything i've alleged with the nfl. >> the vikings said he was an inconsistent performer. scouts in 2012 said he didn't have a very good year in 2012. was it possible that chris wasn't released because he wasn't performing up to par? >> it's hard to say. chris can answer that better what environment he was in not just with mike prefer. chris punted for the vikings for eight years. the average punter's career was five. he was doing something right to have a career that long. at the same time he had a pretty fruitful career. but the real question for chris if he felt like an outsider, in that locker room, or building a cre shen toda crescendo to, you're not welcome here, you have to fight for your job, so the question is whether

the fight was there or whether chris felt he didn't get a fair shot. >> chris is not an outsider on twitter. chris tweeted earlier, things the nfl is cool with, beating women, driving drunk. public money for stadiums, party buses for headrests. and derek spears has push back for chris. if the quote unquote phobia is not brought to work, players should have unfavorable options and opinions. a question for chris from bonnie, why off field offenses drugs, et cetera, baltimore ravens running back ray rice. please are answer bonnie's question, why does the nfl deal dewith off field offenses? >> that's been consistent with the nfl. if you are a star player on your

team then you're allowed to get away with much more than somebody who is a fringe player or backup. case in point with jim mersey, you're allowed to get away with more than a star player is allowed to get away with. that is reality of the nfl, there is a sliding scale of justice. that sliding scale of justice is also when you compare with what the normal people have to deal with, heavily skewed. normally people get locked up three, five, ten years for. but okay, do community service slap on the wrist and you're back to playing games. we have to ask ourselves as a society do we value our entertainment that highly that we're willing to overlook that kind of behavior simply because someone can run faster catch or throw a ball? >> chris, neil touched on this just a minute ago. we're seeing openly gay players, michael

sam, openly gay athletes they're endorsing we get the impression that things are changing, getting better. what's happening in the locker room continuum? because you still hear stories coaches encouraging homosexual players not to be open, what's social injustice like behind closed doors in the locker rooms? >> it's actually getting better in the locker rooms from a player's perspective. i don't think people realize that the neville and sports games are a young person's game, young people cycling in and older people cycling out. these generational things are, this is very clear in the poablg polling data. where the problems arise in the coaching ranks or management ranks those are people who tend to be older white men and they

have a very specific view on the world and until they either change their minds or cycle out of those position he then you're going to see the same -- positions then you're going to see the same sort of thing, until the older generation moves on then it's tough to make changes. but we are making changes. >> all right so you know michael sam of st. louis rams openly gay player got drafted. we asked the community does this show ashift of mainstream sensibility. neil. >> we've had a few things play over the last few months where the nba had the donald sterling issue and becky hammond was assistant coach in the league. good news story. >> we'll be talking about that later.

>> n nfl, october's issue, michael sam, no no not on my team, and tony dunge, pumping up their success and being concerned with them, coming out to say, i don't know if i would have a gay guy in my routine, taking him out of camp. roger goodell is trying to be judge and jury, when you look at some of the other leagues it still seems like it's the nee neanderthal view, be like the nba and willing to take a chance and back up the right causes. >> we're going to talk a little bit more the nba able to take up the cause.

up next pushing pills on the field. why nfl athletes have filed a class action, against owners. pushing a culture of pills. and the nba's first full time

>> i'm dr. mitch abrams, i'm in the stream. >> welcome back. a group of retired nfl players is suing the league for allegedly supplying players with painkillers. joining us now to discuss this out of chicago, illinois is keith van horn, a former chicago bears player, he's a plaintiff in the prescription abuse lawsuit against the owners. what are former nflers alleging, exactly? >> basically the lawsuit we're suing the nfl and you know one of the questions is why aren't you suing individual teams? but the purpose of that is, the

nfl, they're the ones who have fostered this environment. and encouraged this environment. you know, get your players out on the field. get the best product out on the field. so we can maximize our profit. that's what the nfl's all about. maximizing profits and that's coming from the head office, you know, so that's why we're suing the nfl. siegenthaler in new york. breaking news from suburban st. louis. police are clark with protesters in the town of ferguson after a white police officer shot an unarmed black teenager to death. patricia vines a democratic committee woman for ferguson township. patricia what can you tell us about what's going on right now? >> hi john. right now i don't know if you can hear the are heading, comes in and goes out. a helicopter going around the area with a search light.

a few minutes ago it was filled with smoke bottoms flares, people running, throwing canisters back at the police, throwing rocks and really tense situation. >> the associated press is reporting that molotov cocktails were thrown at police and police responded with tear gas. we're told by reporter on the scene rubber bullets were being fired. has the situation called since then or is it still going on right now? >> well, i haven't heard any explosions or anything like that. and i haven't -- i was not able to see all of what happened. but around it's a lot quieter right now. i haven't heard anything but it's been crazy. safety first, and it's not like the police didn't -- you know tell people what we were doing. we saw the armored trucks advance and the snipers and president

of the united states. thank you. [applause] and he said to me a number of things not the least of which is to send he and the first lady's wishes of piece and justice to this community and to our country. and he and i appreciate greatly his leadership and his tone to assist us anyway to ensure the path that we have the safe and peaceful path at least to justice and growth. i appreciate greatly the president taking some time to find some time on the phone with me this morning. he wanted specifically, last thing i will say he wanted me to specifically thank the faith leaders and other community leaders who are leading with vigor and with peace, demanding answers but respecting others, who understand and know that these transitionary moments these difficult moments sometimes define us and he

wanted us to be defined a better more peaceful society in the end and i appreciate his leadership. when i sneak out it's not because i'm scared to hear somebody criticize me. i can deal with that all day long but other meetings before we make these announcements at 3:00 this afternoon. thank you and god bless. >> you've been listening to missouri governor jay nixon. addressing a group there, what's after a third night of violence in ferguson, missouri, sake they have a right to peaceful assembly and he hopes the world will see a more dignified image out of ferguson, missouri, you also heard him say that the president is going to address the situation shortly and when he does we will bring you his comments live. but we have diane eastabrook outside the church she is in ferguson, missouri for us.

diane describe the scene in the town right now after we have seen so much violence over so many nights, are things calm now? >> they're calm right now del but there's still a lot of frustration here on the streetle streetle -- streets of ferguson. i'm standing at the police station, there's probably 2 or 300 people assembled here. the president is scheduled to have a press conference in about ten cam, 15 minutes. the department was supposed to meet with the department of justice and with michael brown's parents, talking to some people in the crowd earlier and they said they feel like the city is at war with them. there's a lot of frustration, there's a lot of fear. they say they have a right to be out on the streets and a right to protest and they feel like they're being treated like criminals. >> diane there are bones of

contention. let's address them earlier, one of the areas is the name of the police officer has not been released. what are police saying about that and might we see his name released soon? >> reporter: del, it doesn't sound like it. what we're hearing is that the prosecutor wants to complete his investigation, and the name will be released at that point. what they've been saying is they don't want to release the officer's name because there have been death threats releaseagainst him. >> okay i'm going to have to cut you off because we're going to go live now to massachusetts. this is the president of the united states. >> monitoring closely these last several days. first of all we continue to make progress in carrying out our targeted military operations in iraq. last week i authorized two limited missions, protecting our people, and facilitates inside of iraq and a humanitarian operation to help save thousands

of iraqi civilians stranded on a mountain. a week ago we assessed that many thousands of yazidi men, women and children had abandoned their positions to take refuge on mt. sinjar in a desperate statement to avoid slaughter. we also know that i.s.i.l. terrorists were killing and enslaving yazidis and laying siege to the mountain. without food or water they faced a terrible choice: starve on the mountain or be slaughtered on the ground. that's when america came to help. over the last week, the u.s. military conducted humanitarian air drops every night, delivering more than 114,000 meals and 35,000 gallons of fresh water. we were joined in that effort by the united kingdom and other allies pledged their support. our military was able to successfully strike i.s.i.l. targets around the the mountain

which improved conditions for civilians to evacuate the mountain safely. yesterday a small team of americans military and civilian completed their review of the conditions on the mountain. they found that food and water had been reaching those in need. and that thousands of people have been evacuating safely each and every night. the civilians who remain continue to leave, aided by kurdish forces and yazidis who are helping to facilitate the safe passage of their families. so the bottom line is: is that the situation on the mountain has greatly improved and americans should be very proud of our efforts. because the skill and professionalism of our military and the generosity of our people we broke the i.s.i.l. siege of mt. sinjar, we helped vulnerable people reach safety and we helped save many innocent lives. because of these efforts we do not expect there to be an additional effort to evacuate people off the mountain and it's unlikely that we are going to

need to continue humanitarian efforts on the mountain. the military personnel who conducted the assessment will be leaving iraq in the coming days. i just want to say as commander in chief i could not be prouder of our men and women of the military who carried out this humanitarian mission almost flawlessly. i'm very grateful othem and i know those who are -- to them and i know those are who trapped on the mountain are extraordinarily grateful as well. the situation remains dire for iraqis subject to i.s.i.l.'s terror, yazidis and iraqi christians, many sunnies, shia and kurds. we're going to be working with our international partners to provide humanitarian assistance to those who are suffering in northern iraq wherever we have capabilities, and we can carry out effective missions like the one we carried out on mt. sinjar without committing combat troops on the ground.

we obviously feel a great urge to provide some humanitarian relief to the situation and i've been very encouraged by the interest of our international partners in helping on these kinds of efforts as well. we will continue air strikes to help our people and facilities in iraq, we have increased the delivery of military assistance to iraqi and kurdish forces fighting i.s.i.l. on the front lines and perhaps most importantly we are urging iraqis to come together to turn the tide against i.s.i.l. above all by seizing the enormous opportunity of forming a new inclusive government under the leadership of prime minister designate abadi. i had a chance to speak to prime minister designate abadi a few days ago, and he spoke about the need for the kind of inclusive government, a government that speaks to all the people of iraq that is needed right now. he still has a challenging task in putting a government

together. but we are modestly hopeful that the iraqi government situation is moving in the right direction. now, second, i want to address something that's been in the news in the last couple of days and that's the situation in ferguson, missouri, i know americans have been deeply disturbed about the scenes we have witnessed in the heart land of the country. i want us to step back and think about how we are going to be moving forward. this morning i received a thorough update on the situation from attorney general irk ah -- eric holder. i've already tasked the department to investigate the death of michael brown. the department of justice is consulting with local authorities ways they can maintain public safety without restricting the right of

peaceful protest and avoiding unnecessary escalation. i made clear to the attorney general that we should do what's necessary to help determine exactly what happened and to see that justice is done. i also just spoke with governor jay nixon of missouri. i expressed my concern over the violent turn that events have taken ton ground and underscored that now's the time for all of us to reflect what's happened and to find a way to come together going forward. he is going to be traveling to ferguson, he is a good man, and a fine governor, and i'm confident that working together, he's going to be able to communicate his desire to make sure that justice is done, and his desire to make sure that public safety is maintained in an appropriate way. of course it's important to remember how this started. we lost a young man, michael brown, in heartbreaking and tragic circumstances. he was 18 years old.

his family will never hold michael in their arms again. and when something like this happens, the local authorities, including the police have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating that death and how they are protecting the people in their communities. there is never an excuse for violence against police, or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. there's also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercise of their first amendment rights. here in the united states of america police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are trying to do their jobs and report to american people on what they see on the ground. put simply, we all need to hold ourselves to a high standard, particular those of us in positions of authority. i know emotion are raw right now

in ferguson and there are certainly passionate differences about what has hatched. there are going to be -- happened. there are going to be different accounts of how this tragedy occurred and differences of opinion what needs to happen going forward. that's part of our democracy. but let's remember we are part of one american family, we are united in common values and that includes belief in equality under the law, a basic respect for public order and the right to peaceful public protest. a reverence for every man woman and child among us and accountability in government. now is the time for healing, now is the time for peace and calm on the streets of ferguson. now is a time for open and transparent process the see that justice is done and i've asked that the attorney general and the u.s. attorney on the scene continue to work with local

officials to move that process forward. they will be reporting to me in the coming days about what's being done to make sure that happens. thanks very much everybody. >> you've been listening to the president of the united states addressing two topics, first of all the issue of the iraqi situation with the yazidis that were trapped on mt. sinjar in iraq. there were concerns earlier in the week there might be tens if not hundreds of thousands of yazidis who might need evacuation. the bottom line is u.s. forces assessed the situation on the ground and determined as president obama said, that may not be the case. libby casey, what i felt fascinating about what the president said he had maintained there would be no boots on the ground in iraq and he announced the boots that were on the ground that those special forces

that assessed the situation have been pulled back. >> reporter: that's right, del. we heard from the spokesman of the white house just yesterday that there might be more forces needed to help with an evacuation down from the mountain but as we heard from defense department officials, the president reiterating it today, that will not be necessary. but it did look like for a moment there might be a stepped up operation to bring the yazidis down off the mountain. the president crediting the use of u.s. forces, and the peshmerga dealing with the situation on the ground at the base of the mountain but also the humanitarian drops that have come from the u.s. the president talked numbers, 114,000 meals, 35,000 gallons of water many dropped every night. he says that the humanitarian need is no longer there. they won't have to be doing more drops. because there are less yazidi on the mountain than initially thought. many have been able to come down

and those that are left there are in better condition. they're not starving, not going to die of thirst the president said in large part because of what they've been given by the drops del. >> the president didn't say the air strikes would stop, that they would continue, but that he had a conversation with the new prime minister of iraq, the prime minister designate, haider al-abadi, and that political will in iraq. >> the prime minister says it wants to reform over the next couple of weeks to take leadership and that's in part to give leaders of iraq the signal that they need to be activating and working. we're not going in it's not our big problem that we're taking on so it was interesting to hear him talk about the conversation he had with the prime minister designate. there are a few weeks left where