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.

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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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John Mateer (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has made headlines after screenshots of transactions from a Venmo account supposedly belonging to the athlete went viral. Things took a turn on Monday, August 11, 2025, when X user Bryan Aguada (@Bryan_Aguada) shared a post claiming Mateer had “engaged in sports betting,” citing the alleged screenshots as proof.

The post went viral with over 2.9 million views. The pictures alleged the quarterback paid Richard Roaten money for “sports gambling” in November 2022. Per Aguada, who claims to be a journalist and an insider for Deadspin, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) prohibits its players from betting on any “NCAA-sanctioned events.”

🚨BREAKING🚨

Oklahoma QB John Mateer has allegedly engaged in sports betting, including on NCAA football games such as UCLA vs USC, according to Venmo transactions.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from wagering on any NCAA-sanctioned events pic.twitter.com/UZTt8g4iDR

— Bryan Aguada (@Bryan_Aguada) August 11, 2025

Notably, the alleged Venmo transaction showed John Mateer wagered on a UCLA vs. USC football game. Roaten might be Mateer’s former Washington State teammate Landon Roaten.

A profile picture on the account (reportedly under the name @john-mateer-5) shows a photo of the athlete’s back in his notable Cougars jersey with No. 10 on display. Roaten’s profile showed a Cougars jersey with No. 59 on display (Landon’s number).

John Mateer’s Venmo account made payments with similar labels in line with juvenile humor

John Mateer hails from Texas. He joined Washington State in 2022, playing for the Cougars in one game that season. He was a backup player next year. It wasn’t until 2024 that he became a starter. That was his breakout year, boasting throws for 3,139 yards with 29 touchdowns. He transferred to the University of Oklahoma this winter and will be playing for the Sooners starting this season, per Stormin in Norman.

According to Fansided, since reports of the Venmo account went viral, all of the transactions linked to the account have been taken down. Bryan Aguada, too, confirmed the same in a follow-up post.

Citing screenshots circulating online, the outlet reported another payment made to Richard Roaten, which was labelled “ultra sports gambling FIFA world cup.”

It is worth noting that several other transactions seen on the account showed instances of juvenile humor. As shared by X user Kyle Reese (@JerkStoreManagr), in April 2023, John Mateer paid Hudson Cedarland for “Turning Gay.” Meanwhile, another transaction with Quinn McCarthy was labelled “Slapping some b*lls.”

Thank you for admitting you’re a nerd who has never put funny Venmo captions to friends https://t.co/bkCEW4HusC

— Barstool Sooners (@OUBarstool) August 12, 2025

In light of the controversy, some netizens, including X user Barstool Sooners (@OUBarstool), came to John Mateer’s defense. Resharing a post alerting the NCAA of the screenshots, they wrote:

“Thank you for admitting you’re a nerd who has never put funny Venmo captions to friends.”

Mateer, for his part, has not publicly reacted to the development. However, it is worth noting that in June the athlete told On3 he focused his energies on being Oklahoma’s starting quarterback. He elaborated that he removed X from his phone and did not check his account more than a few times each week. He also limited his screen time.

According to Fansided, it doesn’t seem John Mateer will face much heat from authorities even if he made the alleged transactions. While the athlete was a Washington State player when the payments were made (coming under the purview of the NCAA), they seem to stem from internal jokes rather than any nefarious activity. Notably, other transactions back up the idea that Mateer did not label his payments literally.

Serena Williams’ Weight-Loss Photos Go Viral and Spark Debate

In the world of sports and pop culture, Serena Williams is more than just an athlete — she’s an icon. Known for her powerful build, unmatched dominance in tennis, and unshakable confidence, Serena has spent decades challenging stereotypes about women’s bodies in sports.

But her latest social media post has sparked a wave of discussion for a different reason. In a recent photo shared to her official Instagram account, the 23-time Grand Slam champion appeared noticeably slimmer than fans are accustomed to seeing. The image quickly went viral, with many followers leaving comments ranging from shock to concern.

Some praised the tennis legend’s transformation, calling her “glowing” and “more beautiful than ever.” Others admitted they were alarmed, questioning if the weight-loss was intentional and healthy. In just hours, the post had amassed hundreds of thousands of likes and thousands of comments — proof that Serena still knows how to capture the internet’s attention, even off the court.

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The Evolution of Serena’s Public Image

From the beginning of her career, Serena Williams has defied conventional expectations. Bursting onto the tennis scene in the late 1990s alongside her sister Venus, she redefined what dominance looked like. Her muscular frame, explosive athleticism, and fearless style of play were unlike anything the sport had seen before.

For years, Serena faced criticism from commentators and even fellow athletes who questioned whether her physique fit the traditional image of a female tennis player. Rather than conform, Serena embraced her power and inspired millions of women to feel confident in their own skin.

Her unapologetic confidence became part of her legacy. Making this recent slimmer appearance even more surprising to longtime fans who have admired her signature strength.

Unmatched Achievements in Tennis

Born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena Jameka Williams has etched her name into sports history. With 23 Grand Slam singles titles, she stands as the most decorated player in the Open Era, trailing only Margaret Court in all-time wins. She also holds 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, all won alongside Venus Williams.

Serena’s aggressive baseline play, mental toughness, and ability to come back from injuries and setbacks made her a household name. She has four Olympic gold medals, multiple WTA Player of the Year awards, and has spent over 300 weeks as the world’s No. 1-ranked player.

Cultural Impact and Influence

Serena’s influence extends far beyond tennis. She’s become a businesswoman, fashion designer, and advocate for gender and racial equality. Her endorsements with brands like Nike, Gatorade, and Wilson have made her one of the most marketable athletes in the world.

She’s also been transparent about her health struggles, including life-threatening complications after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia, in 2017. That openness has built a unique bond between Serena and her fans. Making moments like her current weight-loss reveal even more personal to those who follow her journey.

Fan Reactions to Serena’s Slimmer Look

When Serena’s new photos surfaced, social media erupted. Comments on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) reflected a mix of admiration and worry:

• “She looks amazing! Clearly taking care of herself.”
• “I just hope she’s healthy. We love the strong Serena.”
• “Transformation goals!”
• “Not sure how I feel about this — she’s always been perfect.”

This split reaction reflects a broader societal tension around women’s bodies. In an era where weight-loss is often celebrated, there’s also heightened awareness about health. In addition to self-image, and the pressure to meet unrealistic beauty standards.

The Conversation Around Body Image in Sports

Serena Williams has long been a figurehead in the conversation about body diversity in athletics. Her journey has mirrored the struggles of many female athletes who face double scrutiny. Especially, those expected to perform at the highest level while also being judged for their appearance.

This viral moment is a reminder that even icons like Serena aren’t immune to public commentary about their bodies. While it’s unclear if her recent weight-loss was driven by personal health goals, post-retirement lifestyle changes, or other factors, the discourse reveals how invested fans remain in her image.

Post-Retirement Life and New Priorities

Since officially stepping away from professional tennis in 2022, Serena has focused on her business ventures, family life, and personal growth. She runs Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies, many led by women and people of color.

Her fashion brand, S by Serena, continues to expand, and she has become a regular presence at high-profile events like the Met Gala and Paris Fashion Week. She’s also embraced motherhood, often sharing moments with Olympia that show a softer, more relatable side to the fierce competitor fans knew on the court.

It’s possible that her slimmer appearance reflects a new chapter. One where her training regimen is no longer dictated by the demands of professional competition, but by personal wellness goals.

Why This Moment Resonates

Serena Williams’ weight-loss reveal isn’t just about the physical change — it’s about what she represents. For over two decades, she’s been a symbol of strength, resilience, and authenticity. In the past, she has struggled with finding a proper beauty team. Her latest transformation invites fans to rethink what it means for a woman, especially a retired athlete, to evolve on her own terms.

Whether this is a temporary change or part of a long-term lifestyle shift, Serena’s ability to spark conversation shows that her cultural influence remains just as strong as her serve once was.

Conclusion: The Lasting Power of Serena Williams

In the end, Serena Williams’ slimmer new look is only one chapter in a story still being written. She’s redefined greatness in sports, broken barriers in business, and inspired millions worldwide. This latest viral moment reinforces that the world still cares deeply about her — not just as a champion, but as a woman navigating life in the public eye.

As fans continue to speculate about the reasons behind her weight-loss, one thing is certain. Serena remains one of the most captivating figures in modern sports history. Whether she’s winning Grand Slams, investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs, or simply posting a selfie, she commands attention. Proving she is a true legend and that’s the mark of a true legend.

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