If it’s your lucky day, you could spot a celebrity walking on the street, sipping coffee, or sitting at the table next to you in a café you visit every other day. Something similar happened with a woman named Jony who was walking on the street, looking forward to having a regular day, when she met someone unexpected. The advertising agency The Attention Seeker — which goes by the username @theattnseeker — posted a video on their Instagram page where Jony goes up to a stranger and randomly asks him out for a cup of coffee. She didn’t quite realize in that moment just how famous he was.

Jony, who is shooting on the camera, spots a stranger, asks him out for coffee, and informs him that he’s being recorded, to which he doesn’t resist. After exchanging names, she proceeds with her next question, “Lewis, what do you do?” He replies after a brief pause, “I like to swim… I try to make a living [of it].” Jony wonders if he is a teacher, but Lewis quickly replies, “I jump in the pool and try to race other people and beat them.” She is taken aback when he reveals that he is an Olympic athlete representing New Zealand. Surprised, she says, “Oh, so you are a swimmer swimmer” — the double emphasis meant to denote his high league.

When Jony asks him about his favourite swimming style, he replies that he can’t choose one. Usually, he goes for a “medley,” cycling through all four of them. He also talks to her about his work week, how he wakes up in the morning, goes for a swim, takes a nap, then goes for a swim again in the evening. She further asks him about his coffee order — a flat white with beef milk — and places it for him, following up with a request of her own: If he talked to her boss, Stanley, she could get a pay raise on account of him being famous. Said in jest, it cracked the moment of tension between the two, further propelled by him agreeing with her under pressure.

According to the Olympics New Zealand team’s website, Lewis Clareburt is a “swimming World Champion, Olympic finalist and four-time Commonwealth Games medalist.” He has been a member of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth teams since his first competition at the Bahamas Commonwealth Youth Games in 2017, where he bagged seven medals.

He first competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, where he reached the finals of the 400m IM and 200m IM — he was placed seventh and eighth, respectively. He also competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After watching the video, here’s what people have to say: @radishhgirl wrote, “I like how he didn’t want to come right out and say it but let you get there yourself,” and @oriental.sweet expressed, “Love how he’s so humble about this, like most guys would be bragging from the start lol but he gives off such green flag energy.” @yourpalhenry2007 guessed, “He probably loved that. A lot of famous people like it when they aren’t recognized and they get to be human,” while @reneeschaefer jokingly commented, “Beef… milk? Not just regular milk? I have never in my life heard it called beef milk, that makes it sound so disgusting, but I am lactose intolerant, so there’s that.”

This article originally appeared 2 months ago.

A New York high school girls’ basketball championship game has led to a lawsuit that’s making headlines across the state.

What should have been the proudest night of the season for one upstate New York girls’ basketball team is now at the center of a lawsuit. A player says her coach turned a championship game into a public scene of aggression, one she says was caught on video and shared across social media.

The Allegations Against Coach James Zullo

According to court filings, former Northville Central School District girls’ basketball coach James Zullo is accused of assaulting one of his players, Hailey Monroe, during the New York State Class D championship game on March 21, 2025, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.

Read More: Coach Fired After Hair-Pulling at Upstate New York Final 

Monroe’s attorneys claim the confrontation happened at the end of the game, when Zullo allegedly became enraged, yelling and screaming at her in front of teammates and spectators. The lawsuit says he then grabbed Monroe by the hair and yanked it,  an incident caught on video and later shared on social media, going viral.

A Pattern of Behavior?

The complaint also alleges that Zullo has a history of “inappropriate, aggressive, and dangerous conduct” toward his players, including Monroe. It further claims the Northville Central School District knew about Zullo’s behavior but failed to take action to protect its student-athletes from physical and emotional harm.

What the Lawsuit Seeks

The lawsuit demands damages for injuries and expenses Monroe says she’s suffered since the incident. It accuses both Zullo and the school district of negligence and asks the court for a judgment against them.

Read More: Former Northville Coach Has Been Arrested After Hair-pulling Incident

The district and Zullo have 20 days from the date they were served to respond. If they fail to do so, the court could issue a default judgment in Monroe’s favor.

A recent photo of Australian basketball star Liz Cambage and NBA icon Kevin Durant has gone viral, sparking widespread speculation about a possible relationship between the athletes. Cambage shared the image on her Instagram Story, showing herself and Durant standing close together in a VIP area during a recent Drake concert in the United States. The photo quickly grabbed the attention of fans, sports blogs, and entertainment outlets.

The viral Instagram story that started it all

In the Instagram Story, Cambage and Durant appeared relaxed and smiling. Cambage, known for her 6-foot-8 frame, wore a sleek black outfit, while Durant opted for casual streetwear. The simple post sparked excitement across social media, with followers taking screenshots and sharing them widely.

Memes and jokes also began circulating, including one claiming, “That kid is gonna be a 7′5 Michael Jordan.” Fans speculated about a romantic connection, while others suggested the post could have been playful or promotional.

Within hours, the image spread across platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok, earning millions of impressions. Popular hashtags such as #LizaCambage, #KevinDurant, and #CambageDurant trended online. Some posts paired the screenshot with clips from the Drake concert, showing both athletes among a crowd of celebrities.

Here’s what we know about their relationship

As of now, neither Cambage nor Durant has commented on the speculation. No credible media outlets have confirmed that the two are romantically involved. While the image fueled fan curiosity, there is no verified evidence to suggest a romantic link between them.

About Liz Cambage and Kevin Durant

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Cambage is a prominent figure in women’s basketball. She tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points in 2018 and has won multiple medals with the Australian Opals, including bronze at the 2012 Olympics and silver at the 2018 FIBA World Cup, as per IBT.

Currently playing for Sichuan Yuanda in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA), Cambage led the team to a championship in 2024 and re-signed for the 2024–25 season. Earlier this year, she made headlines for launching an OnlyFans account, earning more in her first week than during her basketball career.

According to IBT, Durant, a two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, is known for his scoring prowess and low-key personal life. While he has been linked to public figures before, he rarely comments on his dating history. His appearance in Cambage’s Instagram Story is a rare public post featuring him alongside a non-NBA basketball star.

ALSO READ: Did you know Cristiano Ronaldo wore a wig and dodged paparazzi to secretly meet GF Georgina Rodriguez at Disney Park?

Aug. 9—NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” is at the tail end of its 17th season, and two local athletes have enjoyed the journey of competing in the unique sport.

Longmont resident Anabella Heinrichs said she’s been competing in ninja warrior competitions for over a decade, most recently competing in the 17th season of “American Ninja Warrior.”

“Ninja is a super unique sport — there’s not really anything like it,” she said. “There’s endless possibilities. There’s always something new and different to work on and push yourself.”

Heinrichs described the sport as having to traverse a series of obstacle courses, with each obstacle designed to test a different strength.

“There’s lower-body obstacles that involve balance and agility, like running across things that fall over or roll, and some that are a ton of upper-body strength and endurance that use grip strength, like swinging between small ledges,” Heinrichs said.

At the end of a course lies a buzzer, and if an athlete can make it through the course and hit it, they’ll advance to the next round of the competition.

Heinrichs said she’s competed in multiple ninja competitions, including “American Ninja Warrior Junior” — but season 17 was her first time hitting the buzzer.

“This season was definitely my best season by far — I had been working harder than ever, training day in and day out … I worked so many years to get to that point, and I’d always come up just a little bit short of that buzzer,” Heinrichs said. “It all finally came together this year, like all my hard work and training finally paid off to hit that buzzer. It felt like I was finally where I belonged.”

That buzzer hit placed Heinrichs first among the women in her episode, after which she advanced to the semifinals and placed second for the women. Although she didn’t make it through to the next round of finals, she said she’s already gearing up to try again.

“It was truly such an honor to compete in the finals alongside some of the top athletes in the sport. Even though some of my runs didn’t go as planned, I still had my best season to date, and I had so much fun,” Heinrichs said. “I walked away inspired to come back stronger than ever for the next season and hopefully to hit more buzzers.”

Taylor Greene, a Broomfield resident who recently graduated from Broomfield High School, said she got her athletic start in gymnastics but fell in love with ninja at 9 years old.

“A friend from school had a birthday party at a small ninja gym, and I just absolutely fell in love with it — I thought it was so cool and had so much fun,” Greene said. “I really loved it and started doing well in my classes and moving up really quickly. So me and my mom realized that this was something I could actually get into.”

Greene said she has competed in three seasons of “American Ninja Warrior,” making it to the finals all three times. She loves the sport for its versatility and enjoys exploring new obstacles each competition, she said.

“I love gymnastics, but there’s only so many things you can do — there’s only four events. With ninja, there’s an endless opportunity of things you can do and create,” she said. “Every time you go to competition, there’s going to be something new, which I think is so exciting and keeps people coming back.”

In addition to ninja’s dynamic obstacles, Greene said the community keeps her motivated.

“The community is growing a ton, which is awesome, but it still feels like a close, very tight-knit community because everyone is so friendly with each other,” she said. “I feel like it’s different than in some other sports, where you’re competing against somebody else and you don’t cheer for them or hope they do well. But in ninja, there’s genuine camaraderie between everybody.”

Greene hit the buzzer in her semifinals competition earlier this year, and her episode of the finals match is slated to run Monday on NBC.

© 2025 Colorado Hometown Weekly. Visit www.coloradohometownweekly.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer went viral earlier this week for the wrong reasons as screenshots of questionable Venmo payments to a friend appeared on social media. 

The pictures, initially circulated by a burner account, showed Mateer sending money twice to another account with the caption “Sports gambling.” One identified UCLA vs. USC as a game that was bet on, and was sent days after the Trojans outlasted UCLA in a 48-45 thriller. Ironically, former Sooners star Caleb Williams was the quarterback for USC in that game. 

NCAA rules ban active college athletes from gambling on any sport they sponsor at any level. If found to gamble on their own sport being played at another school, they could face a six-game suspension. The alleged incidents took place while Mateer was a redshirt freshman at Washington State, and the game was between two fellow Pac-12 schools. 

Oklahoma’s John Mateer denies college football gambling amid suspicious screenshots, calls them ‘inside jokes’

Jordan Dajani

In a statement, Mateer denied that he gambled on sports and claimed the posts were an inside joke between friends. 

“The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false,” Mateer said in a statement. “My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends. I have never bet on sports. I understand the seriousness of the matter, but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.” 

Oklahoma reaffirmed in a statement that it has no reason to believe that he engaged in sports gambling. With that said, here are the answers to some of the key questions of this complicated situation. 

Who is Mateer?

Mateer was one of the top overall transfers of the offseason after a breakout season at Washington State. The Little Elm, Texas, native threw for 3,139 yards, rushed for 826 yards and scored 44 total touchdowns. After earning only one FBS offer out of high school, he was rated the No. 6 overall transfer and No. 3 quarterback in the transfer portal by 247Sports. 

The junior was courted by many programs, but ultimately enrolled at Oklahoma alongside his former Wazzu offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle. He has quickly emerged as a potential breakout star in the SEC with his dual-threat ability. 

Mateer and Arbuckle are tasked with repairing an offense that ranked among the worst in college football last season. The Sooners sat No. 119 nationally in passing offense, ahead of only Iowa, Michigan and Houston among Power Four schools. Washington State ranked No. 16 in the stat. 

He was recruited out of high school to Washington State by Eric Morris, the same quarterback guru that discovered Cameron Ward. Morris is now the head coach at North Texas. 

John Mateer recaps ‘crazy’ transfer journey, turning down Miami to become Oklahoma’s solution at QB

Chris Hummer

What is the NCAA’s policy on sports gambling?

NCAA athletes are prohibited from gambling on any sports that the NCAA sponsors at any level, even professionals. The organization adjusted its guidelines in 2023, after a wave of eligibility cases that involved Iowa and Iowa State players. 

As part of the new guidelines, gambling on your own team will result in permanent eligibility loss. However, gambling on other teams in your own sport, like what Mateer was alleged to do, would lead to a loss of 50% of a season or six games. There are lesser punishments for gambling at different levels, and there has been chatter that the NCAA could allow players to gamble on professional sports in the future. 

The rules technically apply for all types of gambling, even casual bets between friends. However, those kinds of bets can be nearly impossible to enforce compared to betting on a formal platform because of lack of evidence. 

Will Mateer face an investigation? 

Gambling cases are administered and enforced differently based on how they are discovered. With a case like this, the first line of investigation will typically come from the on-campus compliance office. Then, if there’s reason for concern, they push the issue upwards to the NCAA level to be adjudicated. 

Oklahoma reportedly looked into the screenshots after they went viral, but did not find sufficient evidence to open any kind of investigation. 

“OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern,” Oklahoma said in a statement. “OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.” 

Investigations can also come from the conference level, where most leagues — including the SEC — partner with watchdog U.S. Integrity to monitor wrongdoing. A source told CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello that Mateer was never flagged for gambling by U.S. Integrity, either at Oklahoma or Washington State. 

Is it normal to post jokes in Venmo captions? 

Venmo is a money-sending app, but it also has a social feed that defaults to publicly available. It’s not unusual for wrongdoing to be caught by unsuspecting people not realizing that their payments would be public information, even in public office. 

However, it’s common for teenagers to use the subject category on Venmo to make jokes at their friends’ expense. Screenshots of posts from other athletes went viral in short order, and many used inside jokes or sexual innuendo for routine payments between friends. 

What does it mean for OU?

The Sooners are entering one of the most important seasons in program history as coach Brent Venables tries to improve after two losing seasons in three years. Oklahoma had previously not recorded a losing season since 1998. 

Mateer was the crown jewel of the revamped Oklahoma roster, along with California RB transfer Jaydn Ott. The Sooners face one of the toughest schedules in college football, featuring games against five teams that start in the year within the top 15 of the preseason AP Top 25. A home game against No. 14 Michigan on Sept. 6 is one of the most anticipated matchups of the year. 

Ultimately, this incident will likely fade into the background. However, the last thing Oklahoma needs are new complications entering the picture. 

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