Top sports moments of 2022

Source: Tim Clayton – Corbis / Getty

2022 was quite a year for athletics. We witnessed triumph, tragedy, and everything in between both on and off the field of play. With December coming to a close to allow for a new 365 rotation, we at BOSSIP thought it only right to bring you a brief recap of what all went down over the past 363 days.

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Undoubtedly the biggest sports story of the year had very little to do with competition or athletic prowess. In a shocking turn of events, on December 8, 2022, Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison after being sentenced to 9-years for possession of cannabis oil. Her freedom was attained via a prisoner swap with infamous arms dealer Viktor Bout. Many of us weren’t sure if the Biden administration was truly dedicated to bringing BG home so to call this a pleasant surprise is an understatement.

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One of, if not the, most shocking sports story of the year might be the leak of a video that showed Golden State Warriors lightning rod Draymond Green violently punching his teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a heated argument at practice. Upon first sight, it appeared that Poole had been knocked unconscious and possibly worse. When the dust settled, Poole was ok, and Green was fined an unspecified amount by the team but was not suspended. It appears that all’s well that ends well as Poole and Green have been seen giving each other daps and hugs all season so…

Source: Tim Clayton – Corbis / Getty

Serena Williams showed us exactly why she is the GOAT as she put her warrior spirit on full display during the U.S. Open this summer. Williams called it a career following her tense loss to Ajla Tomljanović that had the viewing public on pins and needles for hours on end this past August. That L could never tarnish what the Compton, California native built with 23 Grand Slam titles and countless other accolades under her belt. We’re sad to see her go but we’ll never forget what she gave millions of us a fans and even more to the little Black girls who were inspired by her tenacity. Long live the queen.

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Numbers are a funny thing in sports and their significance is often the source of awe, debate, and ridicule among fans and athletes. Memphis Grizzlies baller Desmond Bane somehow managed to capture all those things with a performance the likes of which we will never see again…

Crazy, right???

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Dawn Staley’s basketball career as a player and a coach had already been cemented before this past season but her second championship as the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks head basketball coach cranked her legend level up a notch. Staley and her ladies defeated lauded 11-time champion UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma in the National Championship game this year. Up until he ran into Staley, Auriemma was 11-0 in the big game.

Source: The Washington Post / Getty

GOAT gymnast Simone Biles made history in 2022 as she became the youngest person to ever be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the age of 25. Considering all that she’s had to deal with in her career, it makes this achievement that much more special.

Source: Rob Leiter / Getty

Big League slugger Albert Pujols etched his name into the history books this year when he hit homerun number 703 that put him 4th on the all-time homerun leaders list and the 4th player ever to reach 700 homers for his career alongside, Barry Bonds (762), Babe Ruth (714) , and Hank Aaron (755).