A disabled pedestrian jailed for causing the death of a cyclist in the street has been released on unconditional bail after winning the right to challenge her manslaughter conviction.

Auriol Gray is ‘excited’ to be back home and was welcomed with ‘big hugs’ from supportive neighbors and after doing a supermarket shop.

She was jailed for three years in March last year for aggressively waving at a retired midwife who then fell into the path of an oncoming car, killing her.

Polite and well-spoken, Gray confirmed to MailOnline today that she was now back home, but refused to say how she was feeling or answer questions, simply saying: ‘No comment.’

Her good friend Roman Ramsay, who bailed her out, said: “We are so happy that Auriol is back home and it is really nice to see her again. She should never have been in jail in the first place.”

He added: “She is happy to get bail.”

Another friend and neighbor Robert Reed told our website: ‘She was granted bail and left jail last night.

‘I welcomed her home and we had a quick cuddle before she went to the Aldi store to buy some stuff.

“One of our friends got her out of jail and we’re all so happy she’s back. She is in good spirits and happy to be home.”

She had spent a year behind bars at HMP Peterborough.

Gray returned to her adapted flat in a gated complex in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, owned and maintained by the Papworth Trust, which had been ‘sparklingly cleaned’ by her neighbours.

Mr Ramsey said Gray, now 50, was also “pleased and relieved” at the prospect of her name being cleared if her appeal was successful, and had told friends: “I’m not a murderer!”

After three judges at the Court of Appeal this week allowed her to challenge her conviction, he said: ‘Auriol was very angry about being in prison in the first place.’

The retired stonemason, 78, who regularly visited her in prison and last saw her inside on Saturday, said: ‘Her friends, family and neighbors all thought it was completely ridiculous that she had been convicted of manslaughter and given a custodial sentence.

“So did she, and she has always maintained that she is not a murderer.”

A spokesperson for the Criminal Appeal Office told MaiOnline: ‘Auriol Gray has been granted unconditional bail pending her appeal against the conviction.

‘She has been released. It is expected that the appeal will be heard in May 2024.”

Gray, who suffers from cerebral palsy and partial blindness, denied manslaughter but was found guilty after a retrial.

She lost her appeal against her sentence in May last year, but has since hired new lawyers who took her case to the Court of Appeal in London.

Mr Ramsey said: ‘She feared she would lose her flat after receiving a three-year prison sentence, but fortunately she was not deprived of that sentence.

“She has been looking forward to the thought of coming home.

‘We prepared it for her with great anticipation, it has been cleaned and it shines!

“She has many friends and neighbors here who care about her and will care for her, and we will all give her a warm welcome.

“She also has caregivers who help.”

He added: ‘She is pleased with the appeal hearing and the fact that her conviction could be overturned.

‘She just wants to get on with her life.

‘She was not present at the hearing but was allowed to watch the proceedings via video link from the Governor’s office at HMP Peterborough.’

Gray has few surviving relatives – her mother Verna Gray, 87, from Sudbury, Suffolk, is not in the ‘best of health’ and has rarely been able to visit her in prison.

She has a businessman brother-in-law who lives in Chiswick, West London.

Her father and sister are both deceased.

Gray was caught on CCTV gesturing to grandmother Celia Ward, 77, while shouting at her to ‘get off the sidewalk’ in Huntingdon in October 2020.

A spokesman for the Criminal Appeal Office said: ‘This case was heard on Tuesday and the application for leave to appeal against a conviction was granted.

“A new hearing date will be set in due course for the final outcome of the appeal.

“The court has granted the lawyer the liberty to file a bail application.”

Ben Rose, of lawyers at Hickman & Rose, who are representing Gray, said: ‘Auriol Gray is an autistic, disabled person with reduced vision.

“In a case like this, the prosecutor must prove to the jury that she intended to harm, or feared harm, to Ms. Ward.

‘We say this did not happen and will therefore ask the Court of Appeal to quash Ms Grey’s conviction when the case is heard in May.’

Mr Ramsey told how Gray had appeared ‘in good spirits’ whenever he visited her – and before he was released yesterday.

He said: ‘She has been inside for a year and is doing well considering the circumstances. She is well cared for in a special wing because of her needs, keeps her head down and does not cause any problems.

“She is a smart and very literate lady and instead of going crazy inside, she has put her mind to good use.

“She is always reading and taking quizzes, and even learning advanced math from another inmate.

‘She has a lot of knowledge and the people there are amazed at what she knows.

‘But she can’t wait to get out of prison and get on with her life.

“She feels like she has been wronged.”

Shirley Manson is happy to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame giving flowers to her fellow female music icons.

“As I said to the team here at the Hall, it is – unfortunately still – so unusual to see women represented in any national museum,” said Manson, 57, We weekly exclusively about the opening of “Revolutionary women in music: left of center.” The Garbage singer was on hand when the exhibit opened on March 8 at the Rock Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, and was one of the first to see this collection of groundbreaking and rebellious musicians from the 1970s to the present.

“It’s really moving to see this exhibition of all these different types of talent, these myriad facets of female artistry,” says Manson. “I didn’t expect it to affect me this much, but when I walked in I was really struck by what an unusual event this is, not only for me, but for the other visiting artists. To be honest, we were all a bit impressed by it.”

Manson said one of the artists she would like to see validated by the exhibition Alice bag, the pioneering punk rocker who led The Bags in the 1970s. ‘Earlier today they showed a video of Alice. Me and Jane [Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s]’, we both shouted because Alice has been overlooked for a long time. Her impact on American punk music is great. And it’s really exciting to see her recognized here.”

“I feel like many of the women I saw at the exhibition yesterday, I expected to see them there,” Manson added. “These are all women who have made a significant mark on the music industry for one reason or another, and again, in countless different ways. But yeah, I was excited to see everyone. To be honest, it’s a bit embarrassing. I went from one artist to another and screamed with excitement.”

Manson admits that she is “a huge fan of female artists” and that she has made it a priority throughout her career to elevate the voices of her fellow women, as she is aware of the challenges they face in the music industry confronted.

“For women who are not the easiest to categorize, or who are not the most willing to smile and pretend that everything is fine – traditionally they like to challenge the status quo, and the status quo holds doesn’t like to be challenged often, Manson says Us. “So that’s all part of this exhibition. And it’s something I feel strongly about. A healthy society depends on discussion, argumentation and the sharing of ideas. So I feel like this exhibition is proof of that.”

Manson once said that performing was “an act of defiance” for her, as she overcame her natural shyness and became a global icon of power and brutality. When asked if she recognized a similar thread among all the artists featured in the “Revolutionary Women in Music” exhibit, she said, “I definitely [do].”
“I can’t really speak for everyone because I don’t know all the individual drivers,” she says. “But for me, [performing is] a way to prove that I exist. As a woman you can sometimes feel invisible in society. And when women’s rights are hindered, it’s so frustrating. I think women suffer from the feeling that they are not listened to, not heard and not seen.”

“So as an artist you can defy that censorship and silence,” she adds. “There is freedom in performance. That is something I cherish immensely.”

While some might appreciate the success of artists like Beyonce And Taylor Swift As evidence of progress, Manson said that it is generally difficult to convince someone fully involved in patriarchy of the struggles women continue to face to this day. “They think: ‘Women dominate the charts. What are you talking about?’ Unfortunately, it is a little more complicated than that,” she says.

“In some ways, things are better for the younger generations of women, who have learned from the generations that came before them,” she continues. “The young artists I meet are so much more focused on the system in which they have to be creative. They are not as naive as we all were. We were very, very naive because there just wasn’t that much evidence for us.

“The ability to actually educate yourself about music and the music industry is so much easier than it was for my generation,” she says, adding that the new crop of rising female stars she has met are “much fiercer than I ever was.”

Manson also cites “the eradication of women’s rights in America” — pointing to the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and several states subsequently banning abortion — as evidence that not as much progress has been made as she would like.

“It’s a very scary time when old men in politics seem to believe that they can make more qualified decisions about women’s health than women themselves,” she says. Us. “That in itself is just a complete sublimation of women, and it must stop. And I think the great thing about an exhibition like this is that it reminds people of the value of women in our culture, which is that we should be treated with the same respect as our male counterparts. It is absolutely essential and necessary for a healthy functioning society.”

The ‘Revolutionary Women in Music: Left of Center’ highlights pioneers across all genres of music. Fans of the White Stripes can see it Meg White‘s iconic ‘Seven Nation Army ‘ look with her kick drum and Christina Aguilera‘s wardrobe of the Stripped tour. Visitors see Alabama Shakes’ electric guitars Brittany Howard and that of Halestorm Lzzy Hale like Natalie Koopman‘s outfits from the ‘Ophelia’ video.

The exhibition also includes pieces celebrating artists including SZA, Lisa Loeb, Malina Moye, Bjork, Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Billie Eilish, Kim Gordon, Tracy Chapman, Sinead O’Connor, Queen Latifah, Chrissie HyndeThe runaways, Liz Phair, Ciara And Pink.

Manson, Weidlin, Loeb and Moye helped christen the exhibition and open it to the public in early March.

This validation from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may be bittersweet for some, as similar institutions have often overlooked or outright rejected female artists. Manson offered a vision as he reflected on the importance of being recognized by these mainstream entities.

“I think all artists, for the most part, feel ignored,” she said. “It’s part of being an artist. You almost always feel like you are not being heard. But there’s something monumental about being inducted into a national museum, [validating] a story about something that has been so important to your entire life.”

“I had to tell my dad that this was happening, and he was so proud,” she continued. “It’s very rare that so many of us, so many different women, are recognized in this way. And I hope we see more of that in all aspects.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s “Revolutionary Women in Music: Left of Center” is now open. Tickets are available on site or at the box office location website.

Mollie King was supported by her fiancé Stuart Broad and their daughter Annabella as she kicked off her 500km solo cycling challenge for Red Nose Day on Monday. 

The BBC Radio 1 presenter, 36, take to the saddle for five exhausting days as she cycles from London to her late father’s hometown of Hull, a place close to her heart.

Mollie lost her dad beloved dad Stephen from a brain tumour in November 2022 – just days after she welcomed her baby daughter Annabella with Stuart, 37.

Beginning her challenge at Television Centre in London, the singer hugged her family before setting off on her journey. 

Former English cricketer Stuart and Annabella were seen clutching on to a sign which read ‘Go Mummy.’

The challenge kicked off during the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James. 

Molly said: ‘Today I start my weeklong journey cycling from London to Hull, via Manchester – we wanted to throw in some extra miles! 

‘It’s going to be an almighty challenge, six -weeks ago I had never cycled on a road and today is the day I make my way to Hull. 

‘I’ve been so nervous over the last few days, but I can’t wait to get going and I know that I have the Radio 1 listeners behind me as well as my amazing friends and family. 

Knowing that this journey will make such a difference to so many people will help keep me going to that finish line’.

She added: ‘I unexpectedly lost my dad, just over a year ago, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain tumour and we lost him just three-months later. 

‘So, the reason for me doing this challenge is because I want to support people who are struggling, people who are hurting. Just anything at all, if I can possibly raise money then that is what I am doing this for.’

Matt Edmondson, Radio 1 presenter and Mollie’s co-host said: ‘I’ll be travelling alongside Mollie, encouraging her when times get tough and providing all the latest updates from the road.’

He continued: ‘This week, she’s going to be spreading her magnetic energy throughout the UK, in a way that only Mollie can do.

‘She really wants to help people and her reason for this is so close to her heart. To set off on this challenge a year after losing her dad is extraordinary, she wants to raise money and will need our support and motivation to get her all the way to Hull’.

Greg James added: ‘Mollie will have a love affair with this bike, she’ll want to throw it into a ditch but will guard it with her life at the same time! It’s going to be a life changing experience in the most positive way. 

‘My main advice is to take it all in. There are so many people supporting Mollie and we are all behind her on this epic adventure.’

Mollie was joined by her co-host Matt, friends, and family as she departs from central London and begins her mammoth journey north. 

The week ahead will see Mollie pedal through the streets of Towcester, Burton-upon-Trent, Manchester and Leeds as she battles both physically and mentally to reach the finish line.

For someone who has never ridden a bike on the road, it’s certainly not going to be an easy ride. 

Mollie’s stamina, spirit and strength will be tested like never before as she tackles the unpredictable great British weather while navigating winding country roads, the twists and turns of the Peak District, and busy city centres. 

On her journey, Mollie will pass through villages, towns and cities where Comic Relief funded projects are providing essential support to people who need it most.

Radio 1 will be getting behind Mollie throughout the week, offering lots of support and keeping her motivated with messages of encouragement from listeners. 

She will also be joined along the route by special guests. Radio 1 listeners can also contribute to special surprises to help Mollie keep pushing on when it’s getting tough and raise as much money as possible for Red Nose Day.

Discussing the challenge, Mollie said: ‘I can’t believe I’m going to be taking on this incredible challenge. The closer the start date gets the more daunting it’s becoming.

‘I’ve been training for the last few weeks on an exercise bike and learning how to cycle on the road too, it’s been an incredibly steep learning curve. 

‘I haven’t been able to exercise much since having my daughter, a year ago, so even getting back into the training is pushing me harder than I thought it would!’

She added: ‘I know the wonderful support from our fantastic Radio 1 listeners and my fellow presenters is definitely going to give me a boost when I’m feeling absolutely exhausted. 

‘I know they’ll keep me going and I’ll be constantly thinking of the finish line in Hull, which was such an important place to me and my dad. 

‘I know that he would be immensely proud that I am doing this for such a great cause. I’m going to give it absolutely everything and do my best for Comic Relief and the brilliant projects they support across the UK and around the world.’

Matt Edmondson, Radio 1 presenter and Mollie’s co-host said: ‘Mollie is my best friend in the whole world, and one of the most strong and determined people I’ve ever met. 

‘Nevertheless, this challenge would push absolutely anyone beyond breaking point, so I’m in awe of her courage and ridiculously grateful that she’ll have all of the Radio 1 listeners supporting her through the literal highs and lows of this epic challenge. 

‘I’ll be there too, reporting back on her progress, cheering her on and making bad jokes to try and distract her from the pain.’

Aled Haydn-Jones, Head of BBC Radio 1 added: ‘We’re so excited to follow Mollie on this challenge! We’re right behind her at Radio 1 and support every pedal of the journey. 

‘We know it won’t be easy, but she will smash it as she always does. Good luck Mollie!’

Mollie King’s Pedal Power for Red Nose Day on Radio 1 will be broadcast live on Radio 1, BBC Morning Live and BBC Sounds across the week, with video highlights on Radio 1’s social channels.

The money raised for Mollie King’s Pedal Power for Red Nose Day on Radio 1 could help break the cycle of poverty for people in UK and around the world. 

This includes support for children and young people who are experiencing neglect, abuse, stigma and physical and mental trauma.

Following her father’s death, Mollie revealed he had held on ‘a few extra days’ so he could meet his new granddaughter.

Confirming his passing in November 2022, she wrote: ‘Heartbroken beyond words. In August, my family’s world was shattered when my Dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Last week, we had to face the day we hoped would never come and say goodbye.

‘Dad, we love you with all our hearts and we will miss you every single day. You have been our hero and it’s impossible to think of our lives without you.

‘You have always been there for us with every step we’ve taken and you even held on a few extra days to meet baby Annabella.

‘You gave us your everything. You will be in our hearts and our memories every single day.’

While Virat Kohli has good records against Chennai Super Kings in IPL, the RCB batsman is yet to ignite when it comes to Chepauk.

Chennai: Virat Kohli is way ahead of the rest in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with 7263 runs from 237 matches with seven hundreds at a strike rate of 130. But when it comes to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the former RCB’s average dips captain to 30 and a strike rate of 111. Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh opined that Kohli will have to be at his absolute best when the three-time finalists take on Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 opener on March 22 at Chepauk.

Known as ‘King Kohli’, due to his stellar run with the bat, the former India captain has been a nightmare for every bowler in the league for the past 16 years. The next edition will be no different. At Chepauk, which was difficult for batters, Harbhajan opined, Kohli must be at the top of his game.

“Virat’s greatness has diminished in terms of his overall performance at that venue. It’s a tough venue to bat in, especially as an opening batsman against some strange tennis ball type bounce. They have (CSK) the great (Ravindra) Jadeja bowling stump to stump. He makes the odd one out turn, and then the odd one out stays low. It is really difficult,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.

To the unknown, Kohli was dismissed thrice in the Powerplay in his last five innings against CSK, and Harbhajan said the star batsman will have to find a way to bat for longer. “If he is actually willing to bat around 20 overs, he can put in a match-winning performance because two hundreds at the accessible Chinnaswamy doesn’t necessarily guarantee the same at Chepauk,” he said.

For the record, Kohli is just 15 runs short of 1000 runs against Chennai Super Kings from 30 matches with a high of 90. Harbhajan, a former CSK player himself, believes Kohli needs to revive his 2016 form if RCB is to have a wants to try for the coveted title.

“It is important for him to have a season like 2016 because if Virat continues to score points, the team will progress. I don’t know if they will win the cup or not. But with the brilliant individuals they have in their team – Virat, (Glenn) Maxwell, (Cameron) Green and a few more like Patidar – I believe they have a lot of good hitters. and everyone wants Virat to get a repeat of 2016,” he added.

In 2016, Kohli made 973 runs from 16 matches with four hundreds and seven fifties, still the highest number of runs in an IPL season. RCB lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final that year.

The funeral for Alexei Navalny today proved to be Vladimir Putin’s worst nightmare as thousands of Russian mourners gathered in Moscow to say their final farewell.

Despite a heavy police presence and a warning against dissent from the Kremlin, the huge crowds chanted Navalny’s name as his coffin was carried into the Russian Orthodox church on the outskirts of Moscow at around 11am GMT.

Many carried flowers and shouted support for the 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who galvanised mass protests against Putin – and who died on February 16 behind bars in the Arctic ‘Polar Wolf’ penal colony, 1,200 miles from Moscow.

Some shouted: ‘You weren’t afraid, neither are we!’

His body was displayed in an open casket for less than an hour before it was taken away again by workers to be buried at a cemetery around a mile away.

Shocking footage from inside the church showed the black-clad workers holding mourners back from the coffin as people begged to be allowed to say goodbye. Just minutes earlier, his elderly parents had been seen kneeling by its side.

Video from outside the church appeared to show that – as it became clear Navalny’s coffin was being whisked away – chanting began again, this time in greater defiance of Putin: ‘Russia without Putin’, ‘Putin is a killer’ and ‘We won’t forget’ rang out.

As the coffin was taken away towards the cemetery, aerial shots over the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in the southeast of the capital, showed just how large the crowd had grown.

The vast mass of mourners, many carrying red flowers, began to walk towards a bridge to the south that crosses the Moskva river near the Borisov cemetery.

It appeared in the footage that police were funnelling protests onto the pavement, not allowing them to walk down the middle of the road, slowing the crowd down as it tried to follow the hearse to Navalny’s final resting place.

There, several large wreaths were arranged around the grave. ‘We won’t forget you!’ and ‘Forgive us!’ some mourners shouted as the coffin arrived for burial.

The scenes outside Navalny’s funeral would have been Putin’s worst nightmare, with Russians openly showing support for his staunchest domestic critic. 

Russia is currently building up to a presidential election later this month which Putin is all but guaranteed to win.

Nevertheless, the Kremlin has been at pains to crack down on any dissent – particularly as Moscow continues to wage war in Ukraine.

Some 400 mourners have been detained at Navalny memorials since his death, rights organisation OVD-Info has said – raising fears of mass arrests today.

Pictured from outside the church suggested at least one person was arrested. It was not immediately clear what repercussions those who attended the funeral – or those who chanted against Putin – could face.

Putin ordered his secret services to prevent the funeral turning into a full-scale revolt over his leadership, according to reports.

It is claimed that Putin was fearful of a rerun of Novel-prize winning physicist Andrei Sakharov’s farewell in 1989, which helped bring down the Soviet Union. 

The state and loyalist media were ordered not to cover the funeral – and most Russians have not heard the claims by Navalny’s family and Western leaders that Putin ordered his death.

Tens of thousands stayed after the burial to pay homage to the ‘murdered’ Russian opposition leader, and chant slogans backing Ukraine, opposing the war, and hostile to Putin.

The Russian special services were ordered by the worried Kremlin to carry out an ‘operation’ to ‘protect the constitutional order from threats’, reported the independent Moscow Times.

An official told the media outlet: ‘The task was set to prevent a picture similar to the farewell to Sakharov.’

Hundreds of thousands had attended the funeral of Sakharov, winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize, in Moscow.

‘Putin demanded that the FSB prevent a rebellion over Navalny’s death,’ said the outlet, citing insider sources.

The Kremlin ‘held a series of meetings with senior generals of the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a colony above the Arctic Circle’

Two senior sources said Navalny’s send-off ’caused unrest among the country’s top leadership, despite the ostentatious self-confidence demonstrated by President Vladimir Putin’.

An official said: ‘Navalny’s funeral is a stress test for the Russian authorities.

‘This topic was one of the most important at meetings involving Kremlin officials, FSB generals and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.’

Russian police detained at least 45 people across the country today – the day of the funeral – according to rights monitoring group OVO-Info. It is not known how many of these are linked to Navalny’s death.

The organisation reported: ‘OVD-Info is aware of more than 45 detentions. Most people – 18 of them – were detained in Novosibirsk,’, adding six had been detained in Moscow, where large crowds came out to pay their respects.

Navalny’s mother Lyudmila remained at the grave for three hours after her son was lowered into the ground.

People were permitted to lay flowers at the grave, yet the atmosphere was tense, with the authorities blocking mobile phone signals.

Mourners used flashlights to signal their support for Navalny, and some chanted ‘Ukrainians are good people’ – normally unthinkable defiance against brutal dictator Putin.

They called out: ‘Bring the soldiers home.’

Earlier Navalny was buried to the music of Frank Sinatra’s My Way, and Terminator 2.

In the build up to Friday’s service, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible,’ according to TASS news agency.

‘What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?’ one mourner, Anna Stepanova, told AFP news agency outside the church as people waited for Navalny’s coffin to arrive.

‘They are so afraid themselves. The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn’t either. ‘People like him shouldn’t be dying: honest and principled, willing to sacrifice themselves,’ she added.

Another said: ‘I feel this is a funeral for the Russia that might have been.’ 

One woman, who flew 900 miles from Perm to Moscow said: ‘I had high hopes for this man, he was very strong, very brave.

‘I would like to see people today who also support him. The pain in my heart is such that I cannot describe it – so hard,’ she added.

Another woman added: ‘For us it was hope for a brighter future, not for North Korea. This is the only thing we can do now is to pay tribute to the memory, keep it.

‘A person lives as long as we remember him. We need to remember why he got there. For us, for everyone. And of course continue, don’t give up, as he asked.’

The French, German and US ambassadors were seen among mourners outside the church, as were some of Russia’s last free independent politicians.

The dissident’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, earlier said she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests.

‘I’m not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,’ Navalnaya told the European Parliament this week.

Navalnaya has blamed Putin for her husband’s death.

Putin’s spokesman Peskov has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as ‘vulgar’.

On the day of the funeral, Peskov said he had ‘nothing to say’ to the family of the deceased. Putin himself has not publicly commented on Navalny’s death.

Navalny shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin’s administration.

Some mourners mentioned the huge influence Navalny had on their own political activism.

‘Because of him I began to get involved in politics… He was the first public person that I listened to,’ said 26-year-old Denis, a volunteer at a charity.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack likely carried out by the Kremlin.

‘Alexei was tortured for three years,’ Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.

‘He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters.’

‘And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body,’ she said.

His body was held in a morgue for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny’s team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.

His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Navalny’s team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a ‘secret’ funeral.

Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place that would agree to hold a funeral ceremony, as well as hearse drivers.

And a civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body – common in Russia – has not been allowed.

Navalnaya has vowed to continue his life’s work and urged to ‘fight more desperately, more fiercely than before.’

In the crowd near the church, some seemed to agree.

‘A person has died, but his ideas will live on thanks to those who have gathered here,’ said Alyona, a 22-year-old archaeologist who came to pay her respects.

By Brendan Marks, Dana O’Neil and Nicole Auerbach

The floodgates burst before the final buzzer sounded.

Although, given the record crowd inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, maybe that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Nearly 15,000 Wake Forest fans had crammed into the building to watch their team take on No. 8 Duke — and, hopefully, to bear witness to a resume-affirming win, one that would solidify the Demon Deacons as an NCAA Tournament team. Imagine their excitement then, during the game’s final timeout with 1.8 seconds left, when they were on the precipice of an 83-79 home win.

That … and one cathartic, chaotic celebration.

When Duke’s subsequent inbounds pass was intercepted, it was all the signal students needed. Wake Forest fans immediately flooded the floor, sprinting to join the mosh pit forming at midcourt. One issue, though: Duke star Kyle Filipowski hadn’t gotten off the court before the celebration broke out — and multiple fans made contact with him while running at full speed. Filipowski appeared to get turned around, then injured, before a Duke manager reached him in the frenzy, forming a human barrier against the raging court storm. Soon other Duke staffers and players joined in, all protecting Filipowski as he limped off the floor.

By the time Duke coach Jon Scheyer made it to his postgame press conference, he was fuming.

“When are we going to ban court-storming?” Scheyer asked. “Like, how many times does a player have to get into something, where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? It’s a dangerous thing.”

In the wake of a second high-profile athlete-fan collision in about a month — Iowa star Caitlin Clark was knocked down on Jan. 21, after Ohio State upset Clark’s Hawkeyes — Scheyer’s question is being asked at every level of college athletics. Court storms have long been some of the most iconic visuals in college basketball, but they’ve increasingly come under fire for potential player safety concerns. “Who in their right mind,” Scheyer added, “can see that and say, yeah, that’s smart?” He isn’t alone in that sentiment. Which is why those in the basketball industry, from coaches to administrators to conference executives, now must answer the following:

Can a time-honored tradition be preserved with tweaks … or is it time to ban court storms once and for all?

“There’s a difference between trying to stop court-storming and trying to prevent injury,” Butler athletic director Barry Collier said. “I’d prefer we chase the latter of those two, and then I think we’d be in a better place.”

---

This is not the first time there’s been public — or private — backlash to court-storming. It’s been an ongoing discussion amongst college basketball’s shareholders for decades.

In 2004, the debate ignited after Arizona high schooler Joe Kay was accidentally trampled during a court storm; Kay suffered a stroke and torn carotid artery, which partially paralyzed his right side. In 2013, NC State’s C.J. Leslie had to lift a wheelchair-bound fan (who had fallen out of his chair during a court storm) away from the crowd to protect him. Then in 2015, Kansas State fans nearly trampled Kansas coach Bill Self after an upset home win over the Jayhawks. (In that same incident, a student threw an elbow at Kansas forward Jamari Taylor, and a KU assistant coach put another fan in a headlock.)

The court storming after Nebraska beats Purdue pic.twitter.com/wkxdX6Sex2

— Sam McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) January 10, 2024

After No. 1 Purdue lost at Nebraska on Jan. 9 — and endured a now-common court storm — Boilermakers coach Matt Painter sounded off. “Someone’s gonna get hurt,” Painter said, almost prophetically. “Could be a student. Could be one of (the opponent’s) guys. Could be one of our guys. Could be someone working the scorer’s bench. Could be anybody — but I don’t know why people don’t get ahead of it. It’s happened a lot, and I just don’t understand that.” Now after incidents to Clark and Filipowski — two of the higher-profile players in their respective games — there’s a renewed push for change.

But will anything come of this?

Regardless of which side of the court-storming argument you fall on — whether you think they deserve to be protected as part of the student/fan experience, or if you think they’re too dangerous and should be banned — the logistical questions surrounding them are tough entry points to change. For example: How do you enforce a ban on court storms, if such a thing were to ever pass? “It’s very difficult to stop mass stampede,” Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said. “Some of the security experts may even tell you in some cases, it’s safer to get out of the way than to create a worse situation.”

Many leagues mandate that their schools provide safety plans before sporting events, as a precautionary measure, but effectively enforcing those is hit-or-miss. (What good, in some cases, is a thin rope going to do in quelling a mob of young adults?) Certain conferences also enforce disciplinary measures, like fines, to disincentivize the practice. Beginning with the 2023-24 athletic calendar, for instance, the SEC moved to a multi-tiered fine system: $100,000 for first-time offenses, $250,000 for the second time, and $500,000 for any subsequent incidents.

Thus far, though, those haven’t been effective deterrents; the league just fined LSU $100,000 for its court storm following last week’s buzzer-beating win over Kentucky. (The ACC is the only high-major league that does not fine teams for court storming.) Boosters or fans starting GoFundMe accounts have paid many of those fines; the actual court-stormers — mostly students — face no real penalties, unlike those unruly fans who are tackled and often arrested when they run onto the field during pro games.

“They’re almost a badge of honor for those who rush the court,” Collier said of the fines.

More serious punishments have also been considered, but failed to gain serious traction.

“What if you make the home team forfeit the game, because their fans rushed the field or court? We certainly talked about that,” said Jeremy Hammond, the associate SEC commissioner who headed the league’s working group on event security. “But I don’t think there was an appetite, at our office or amongst our membership and their leadership, to punish the student-athletes in that manner for something they weren’t involved in and have no control over … That’s where that sort of died on the vine.”

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What options are realistically available, then, to prevent these situations from recurring?

One common-sense starting point is better communication with the people involved: the fans. When Kansas State coach Jerome Tang took over before last season, he told the Wildcats’ fan base they got one court storm for the season. “If you want to build a championship culture and expectation, you’ve got to do the actions before the championships come,” Tang said. “So I told them, hey, you got the one court storming — but from here on out, let’s expect to win.” Earlier this season, the Wildcats were on the verge of beating top-10 rival Kansas, and Tang was uncertain if fans still planned to rush the floor. So he and his staff waved them down before the final buzzer and asked that students not do it.

Their response?

They … actually listened. Instead, Tang sent his players up into the stands to celebrate with their peers.

“I just feel like it’s better for us to go celebrate with them in the stands,” Tang added, “than for them to go running out on the court.”

There’s no reason that sort of communication can’t happen everywhere. Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said Saturday night, in the wake of his team’s victory, that he anticipates the school and its fans will handle the next such situation better. “I don’t like court-stormings – never have been a part of those before,” Forbes said. “As a coach, they just don’t feel safe.”

That brings up another popular talking point, especially following the Filipowski incident: What is a coach’s role in all this? When Kansas was about to lose at Kansas State, for instance, Self pulled his players off the court with several seconds left, as a way to preemptively avoid any problems. “I said, OK, guys, game’s over,” Self said. “Throw it in bounds, everybody run to the sideline.” Scheyer said after Saturday’s game that down with his team down by four points, he still had hope of salvaging a win. “In retrospect,” he said, “I wish I would’ve gotten those guys off the court. So I let them down in that respect.”

Tang said that just as he has one assistant coach monitor a team’s fouls, in the future, you might need another assistant monitoring a potential court storm. But it’s a fine line between competition and safety.

Plus, that sort of preparation also isn’t applicable in every situation. True buzzer-beaters, for instance, don’t have any build-up time. They happen spontaneously, the raw joy of one triumphant moment washing over a crowd at once. “While you probably can mark your schedule when things are likely to happen, you don’t know when it’s going to happen,” Collier said. “You have to have a backup plan.” And that’s why, as much as communication is key, it does come back to a school’s specific game plan.

The standard at most high-major schools is for security guards or other safety personnel to string a rope around the court (or a portion of it) postgame to deter would-be stormers. The most-prepared schools, like Kansas State, even practice their postgame procedure the day before, according to Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor. “Before the big games,” Taylor added, “that might be a court storming.” Sometimes, those security folks move in conjunction with a public announcement, or a relayed message to those leading a student section. But at the same time, multiple people in the industry lament the unreasonable financial and personnel costs associated with protecting against court storms for every single game — not to mention the potential problems of overzealous security guards or students rushing right at them.

“It’s really complicated to have enough people to hold back a crowd like that,” Collier said. “We’ve had enough people before, but the general policy has been don’t create another physical altercation between security guards and the students. We’re talking about students here.”

Wake Forest, for example, entered Saturday as the betting favorite over Duke, and had its first sellout in seven seasons. It’s easier to predict court storms in situations like that, but should schools bear the financial burden of additional staffing for every single game?

“I think schools should be prepared, regardless of whether or not they know,” Self said. “You don’t hire less people because you think it might not happen. You should hire the same amount of people all the time.”

That’s also easier to say at high-major schools with more resources. For mid-major leagues, the ones reliant on auto-bids to make the NCAA Tournament, it’s less feasible to make that financial commitment for every big-time opponent that comes to town.

Storming the court has developed into a tradition, a way for fans to mark big upsets or special occasions. They get shown all over “SportsCenter” and on social media. It happens in football, too, though there’s much more real estate on a football field — where players are already wearing protective gear — than on the confines of a 94-foot basketball court. In some ways, these scenes are what differentiate college sports from the pros.

“People are trying to strike a balance between how do we not remove some of the fanfare and some of the great things about collegiate sports, what comes with an underdog taking down a team that they weren’t supposed to be — and balancing that against making sure everybody’s safe,” Hammond said. “It’s a tough challenge.”

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Filipowski, his right leg wrapped in plastic and an ice pack on his knee, told reporters that he sprained his knee in the commotion. Duke doesn’t play again until Wednesday, when it hosts ACC cellar-dweller Louisville. Scheyer declined to comment on Sunday about his star player’s status.

But the sophomore forward, who leads Duke in scoring and rebounding, made clear his feelings on how things played out.

“I absolutely feel like it was personal,” Filipowski told reporters. “They didn’t do anything to stop it. That’s just ridiculous.”

Ultimately, it is the home school’s responsibility to protect not only its players, but opposing ones and officials. Wake Forest athletic director John Currie — who was also Kansas State’s AD in 2015, for the aforementioned incident with Kansas — said in a statement that while the program had a plan in place for any postgame celebration, “we clearly must do better.”

“I am in complete agreement that something more must be done about the national phenomenon of court and field storming,” the statement continued, “and Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations.”

We’ll see if those conversations ever actually lead to action.

It’s hard to stop the floodgates when they’re already open.

— The Athletic’s CJ Moore contributed to this story.

(Top photo of Wake Forest fans storming the court after Saturday’s win over Duke: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)

LEGENDS are in short supply at Chelsea at the moment, but they have a solid vice-captain and leader in Ben Chilwell.

So much so that at 27 he is one of their oldest players – and with that comes the task of leaving his young teammates in no doubt about the job requirements at Stamford Bridge.

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‘Captain, Leader, Legend’ is a phrase synonymous with Chelsea’s iconic former skipper John Terry. And a banner with that simple message hangs permanently on the ground.

Terry was the epitome of what was once a football factory for trophies, now finding silverware harder to come by.

It says so much about the modern Chelsea that Chilwell signed less than four years ago but is now regarded as an elder statesman and one of the few players with a trophy to his name.

And even with almost three years until his 30th birthday and not a gray sideburn in his well-trimmed beard, the left-back admits he is starting to feel like a father figure.

Chilwell said: ‘There are times when I feel really old. Even in the gym before we start the sessions, all the younger guys are messing around.

“I used to be there messing around and sometimes I sit there and feel a little too tired to get involved. I would like to, but I don’t have the energy for it.

“Those are the moments when I might feel: yes, maybe I’m a bit more mature than I was a few years ago. I would still love to be one of the kids, but I just don’t have the energy to participate 24/7.

“When I joined Chelsea I came in as one of the younger players and in recent years that has changed to one of the older players.

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“I still like to see myself as a young player, still trying to grow and learn. But I’ve taken on the role as one of the more experienced players and as one of the few players here to have won trophies, it’s important for me to try and emphasize how important it is at the club to all new players why silverware is so important. so important.

“I think it’s such a young team now that I’m one of the more experienced players. It’s definitely something that I’ve welcomed and try to incorporate as much as possible.

“When you come to the club there is a lot of noise from outside that Chelsea are winning and have won a lot of trophies in the past.

‘That’s not something we should push into the boys. It is more the levels and the standards that are required. Once we do that, with the talent we have, the trophies will follow.”

Only Raheem Sterling, 29, and 39-year-old Thiago Silva are older than Chilwell in Chelsea’s squad.

Slowly and unsteadily, Chelsea’s young team is finding its feet. Two steps forward and one step back.

But there is tangible progress under boss Mauricio Pochettino. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t be playing in their first cup final for almost two years tomorrow.

They have not had more than three wins on the trot this season.

Just over three weeks ago they were beaten 4-1 by tomorrow’s opponent, Liverpool.

But earlier this month they beat Aston Villa – one of the best teams of the season – 3-1.

Pochettino is in the process of putting things in order, but his predecessor Frank Lampard last season, Chelsea’s record goalscorer who won trophies there for 13 years, noted that the ferocious competitive streak in the dressing room since his time had evaporated.

I would still love to be one of the kids, but I just don’t have the energy to participate 24/7.

Ben Chillwell

Chilwell said: “I understand why he said that but it wasn’t intentional or something we wanted to happen but a lot of circumstances contributed to that last season.

“When I joined, we had a lot of leaders here. We knew the standards. As a new player I knew what was expected in training or in a match.

As a senior player I have to take on the role of setting the standards every day. There are no easy matches in the Premier League now. 38 tough matches and the cups.

“You can’t have training weeks where you get through the week and show up on the weekend. You can’t get away with that in this country.

“It is important that myself and the other leaders, young or old, take the lead. We’ve seen a lot of young guys step up this year. Maintaining the expected level at Chelsea. This is important.”

In his own way, Pochettino is reviving the silenced sense of competition within the camp – with a recent example from last weekend to underline it.

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Chilwell said: “Um, the game against Man City when I didn’t play the ball over the top against Raheem Sterling. The ground was full and I could still hear him from the sidelines.

“He is a very demanding manager, and that is of course what you want. There will be training and competitions where you personally think you have done well and then he pulls you in and tells you what you could have done better.

“Then there will be other games where maybe you thought you weren’t doing so well, and he was. It’s actually a balance.

“No one is ahead when they have a few good games, and when things don’t go our way he keeps the spirits high.

“There is a responsibility. It’s not just about dressing it up and making it look better than it is. He keeps spirits high and lets you know if you’re not meeting the standard.

“He knows the players he can get out and he knows the ones he needs to put an arm around. That is the mark of a good manager.

“Not everyone has the same personality – some need to dig out and some need an arm around the shoulder

“If I’m not good in training or not at the level I expect the manager to talk to me, whether it’s just him and me or in front of someone. I am fine

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“I don’t get excited about it, I only expect it when I’m not at my level in training or in competitions.

“I wouldn’t want to get away with it. I’m not happy about it, but I accept it.”