By ALYCE BROWN

Venus Williams’ recent singles win at the D.C. Open showcased her longevity and brought attention to health coverage for aging athletes following a joking comment she made in an on-court interview.

“I had to come back for the insurance,” the five-time Wimbledon champion said after Tuesday’s match, her first in 16 months. “They informed me this year that I’m on COBRA, so it’s like, I got to get my benefits on.”
The 45-year-old Williams, who has won seven major singles titles, became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis with Tuesday’s victory. After losing on Thursday, she acknowledged that her comment on health insurance was a “fun and funny moment.”
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, more commonly referred to as COBRA, allows Americans to stay on their employer’s insurance plan for a limited amount of time after leaving their job. It comes with high costs.
Williams’ comment led to questions about health insurance in the sports world.
For most active professional athletes, partially or fully subsidized health insurance is provided by their league or governing body and guaranteed in their collective bargaining agreement. A CBA is an agreement reached between a league and its players that guarantees certain levels of player compensation and benefits, and can be renegotiated every few years.
So when athletes are playing, they’re usually covered. But Williams, coming back to the sport after a 16-month hiatus, brought to light how long that insurance lasts — or doesn’t last — for athletes when they’re not playing.
Women’s tennis
In the WTA, the governing body of the women’s tour, players are eligible to enroll in the health insurance plan if they are ranked in the top 500 in singles or top 175 in doubles and have played a minimum of three WTA 250 level or above tournaments that year. If players are in the top 150 in singles or top 50 in doubles, the WTA will pay a portion of the premiums.
If a player is no longer eligible under those requirements, they can enroll in COBRA for up to 18 months, which is likely the situation that Williams was referencing. That is also the WTA’s only option for retiring players.
Venus Williams returns the ball against Magdalena Frech, of Poland, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
“Nobody wants to be on COBRA, right?” Williams said after her second-round loss on Thursday night. “That remains an issue in my life. … Obviously (the interview was) a fun and funny moment, but it’s an issue that people are dealing with, so it is serious.”
Men’s tennis
The ATP provides health insurance to men’s tennis players who rank in the top 250 in singles or top 50 in doubles. All other players with a ranking point are given the opportunity to purchase health insurance through the ATP’s provider.
For retired players, the only option is COBRA for up to three years.
Golf
As an individual sport without a CBA, golf tours vary. They do have a group insurance plan that is available to active members of the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions (the tour for golfers over 50) and the Korn Ferry Tour (the feeder circuit for the PGA Tour). For players who meet certain “performance criteria,” including how many tournaments they played and how often they won, the PGA Tour will partially subsidize the plan.
In retirement, players are responsible for their own insurance. Some players join the PGA Tour Champions after the PGA Tour and play into their mid-60s, during which they maintain coverage. Top players can receive a subsidy from the PGA Tour in retirement.
The LPGA Tour, the women’s professional golf tour, started offering its players fully funded health insurance for the first time this year. Before this year, players were given a $4,000 stipend.
NBA
NBA players have access to one of the most inclusive insurance plans in retirement. If they played at least three years in the league, retired NBA players are eligible for fully funded health insurance in retirement, and if they played at least 10 years, they will have health care covered for their entire family.
WNBA
WNBA players are fighting for retirement health care as part of their new CBA, which they are currently negotiating with the league. Those negotiations have been heated, and the most recent meeting between the two sides last weekend did not result in an agreement.
One unique facet of the WNBA’s healthcare is that athletes who have spent more than eight years in the league can be reimbursed up to $20,000 a year for costs related to adoption, surrogacy, egg freezing or additional fertility treatments.
NFL
The NFL has less long-term coverage for retirees than most other leagues — athletes who played in the league for at least three years can remain on the NFL health insurance plan, but only for five years into retirement.
NHL
NHL players who have played more than 160 games with the league, which is about two seasons, are eligible to buy NHL health insurance for their retirement. The retirement insurance plan is eligible for partial subsidization from the league.
MLB
Baseball players who spent at least four years in the majors have the option to pay premiums to stay on the MLB’s health care plan indefinitely.
Minor league baseball has its own separate CBA, which also guarantees health insurance for active players. In the minors, however, players who get cut or leave the league lose coverage at the end of that month.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Originally Published: July 25, 2025 at 6:58 PM EDT

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Former Seattle Mariners superstar and Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is going viral for his role in a now-famous Tik-Tok trend.

To be honest, we don’t quite get the whole thing either, but the trend involves people asking those in their lives if they wish they were athletic. Johnson was asked the question by his daughter, and the bit went on for 90 seconds, and you can watch the whole thing unfold:

Johnson spent parts of 10 seasons with the Mariners, going 130-74 in that time. He had been acquired in 1989 via a trade with the Montreal Expos and stayed until he was traded in 1998. He had a 3.42 lifetime ERA in Seattle, tossing 19 shutouts and 51 complete games. The most intimidating pitcher of his era, he had 2,162 strikeouts with Seattle in 1838.1 innings. He helped lead the M’s to their first playoff appearance in 1995, going 18-2 and winning the American League Cy Young. He also went 20-4 in 1997.

He was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2012. He’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he’ll have his No. 51 retired by the Mariners in a ceremony in 2026.

And yes, we think he was plenty athletic.

As for the current Mariners, they are 55-48 and in second place in the American League West. They are taking on the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night with first pitch coming at 6:38 p.m. PT.

Bryan Woo will pitch against Jose Soriano.

NEW PODCAST IS HERE: Brady is back on a Friday, reacting to a win over the Angels and the M’s acquisition of Josh Naylor. Furthermore, he talks about Julio Rodriguez’s history-making day at the plate and he’s joined by Japanese baseball insider @GaijinBaseball, who talks about Ichiro in advance of the Hall of Fame induction. CLICK HERE:

PRIORITIES STRAIGHT: As the trade deadline nears, the Mariners are reportedly zeroing in on a specific target. CLICK HERE:

LEGENDS UNITE: The Mariners will have a full contingent at the Baseball Hall of Fame next weekend, as Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez will be in attendance for Ichiro’s Hall of Fame induction. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.

It’s human nature to laugh when you see another human being eat s***. Something primal unlocks in you. You don’t want them to be hurt, of course. But you can’t help but chuckle a little if someone, say, flips over their handlebars and lands on their butt. It can also be funnier if the thing they screw up involves them trying to show off. You’re watching a person attempt something super cool, and they just blow it in the most brutal way possible. But, like, if they nailed it, you would have cheered just as easily as you laughed. I’m talking about the dude from the Savannah Bananas who botched a backflip on CNN.

His name is Robert Anthony Cruz, and he is known as Coach Rac on the Savannah Bananas. The Bananas are a traveling baseball team that is more like the Harlem Globetrotters than the New York Yankees. They play baseball filled with dancing, acrobatics, stilts, and some impressive social media stunts. Retired MLB players and celebrities, such as John Cena, will make surprise appearances. It’s a good time and brings more attention to a game that I love. As does attempting a backflip and landing right on your face.

I was rushing up the main stairs in my Freshman year of high school and fell right at the top, as classes were getting out, and “everyone” saw. There were laughs, but I immediately pumped my fists in the air, as if I had done it on purpose, and was able to control that laughter. People were ready to be on my side because I had owned my mistake. That’s what’s going on with Coach Rac as well. Below, you can watch the video, which he has posted to his own Instagram like a boss.

Ouch! Like, that’s a brutal fail! Still, telling everyone that they “have [his] permission to laugh” is the way to roll with it. Coach Rac even took it a step further by releasing a second video where he discussed the incident, showed off his wounds, and noted that he felt bad for the anchors. “I was pretty confused. My mic pack fell out of my pocket, my shoe flew off of my foot. I don’t even know how that happened. I feel bad for the news anchors because they just sat there like, Ok, we’re not supposed to laugh, but oh my gosh, that was funny,” Cruz told his fans in the video. “They just had to carry on.”

I was familiar with the Savannah Bananas, but Coach Rac has turned me into a fan. He could have easily tried to pretend this whole thing didn’t happen! Instead, he’s leaning in and making the most of his moment. May every backflip he hits going forward get the recognition it deserves.