Ben Simmons acknowledges that part of being Ben Simmons means he is going to hear plenty of criticism via social media.

The Brooklyn Nets swingman, who has often been on the wrong end of tough criticism, also understands that it is just social media and he can’t let it bother him.

The 26-year-old once again received plenty of jibes after a video of him airballing a shot during an event in a Brooklyn park on Sunday went viral.

It was just another instance of insults directed at the former number one overall pick, but he understands he just has to brush it off.

"It finds me all the time," Simmons told ESPN prior to Wednesday night's preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks. "And it doesn't f---ing stop. Sometimes I'm even sick of it, but then I'm like, 'OK, I'm Ben Simmons, you know? It comes with being Ben Simmons right now'.

"Even the other day there was a clip of me airballing a shot at the park. Meanwhile, like 10 guys airballed multiple shots. So it's like people will find one clip and try to make it that everything - like Ben can't do [this or that].

"Like come on man, you think I'm just airballing every shot? It's not true. But it comes with it, and you got to have tough skin and I realize that, but nah, I can't take everything personally. It's social media."

And there has been plenty of hostility aimed his way over social media in the last 16 months - despite him not playing a game in that time.

In the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, he was ridiculed mercilessly for passing up a wide-open dunk late in the Philadelphia 76ers’ Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

That was his final game for the Sixers, as he sat out last season due to mental health concerns while being called soft by his critics. He then never suited up for the Nets after being acquired at the trade deadline due to a lingering back injury.

Simmons, though, tells himself the reason he is on the receiving end of so much mockery is because he can still produce at a high level on the court.

"Because people know what I can do, what I'm capable of," Simmons said. "I believe that's what it is. Like if I was somebody that wasn't capable of doing certain things, I don't think people would be on my ass as much.

"And I don't mind it because it kind of motivates me in a way. Obviously, sometimes it's a lot for anybody to deal with that, but I look at it a little bit like a respect thing, in a way."

The father of the late Formula One driver Jules Bianchi strongly criticised an incident that saw Pierre Gasly nearly collide with a tractor during Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

The race in torrential conditions saw a number of first-lap crashes, with the safety car coming in almost immediately.

And after the race was red-flagged on lap three, Gasly came close to hitting a tractor that was attempting to recover Carlos Sainz's crashed Ferrari just seconds after drivers were notified of the red flag.

Bianchi was the last F1 driver to suffer a fatal crash, having done so in a similar incident when he hit a recovery vehicle, also at the Japanese Grand Prix.

And Sunday's incident provoked widespread criticism, including from Bianchi's father.

"No respect for the life of the driver," Philippe Bianchi said in an Instagram caption. "No respect for Jules' memory. Incredible."

The event also sparked furious reaction from current drivers, with Gasly himself saying "I could have f****** killed myself" while Red Bull's Sergio Perez called it "the lowest point we've seen in the sport for years."

Sergio Perez considered an incident when a tractor appeared on the track ahead of Pierre Gasly at the Japanese Grand Prix "the lowest point" in Formula One "for years".

Dreadful conditions in Suzuka saw a series of crashes on the first lap on Sunday, with the safety car almost immediately introduced.

The race was then red-flagged on lap three, but Gasly passed a tractor – seemingly recovering Carlos Sainz's crashed Ferrari – as he was still driving around the track, with the incident appearing to occur just seconds after drivers had been notified of the red flag.

As the cars returned to the pit lane and waited for the rain to ease, a number of drivers took to social media to angrily point out how dangerous that moment was.

Jules Bianchi was the last F1 driver to suffer a fatal crash, which happened in Japan in 2014 when he hit a recovery vehicle.

"That's the lowest point we've seen in the sport for years," Red Bull's Perez said. "What happened today just makes me so angry.

"I just hope ever in the sport we never get to see this situation ever again. It's putting all the drivers at risk.

"We saw what happened here a few years ago with our friend Jules, and absolutely I don't care about what was the reason for that. It should never happen again, ever in any category."

Gasly was later handed a 20-second penalty by the FIA for speeding under red flag conditions, but he described his fear as he encountered the tractor.

"We lost Jules already," Gasly said. "We all lost an amazing guy, an amazing driver for the reasons that we know – eight years ago, on the same track, in the same conditions, with a crane.

"How? How today can we see a crane not even on the gravel, on the race track while we are still on the track? I don't understand that.

"Obviously, I got scared; obviously, if I would have lost the car in a similar way that Carlos lost it in the lap before, it doesn't matter the speed – 200, 100 – I would have just died. It's as simple as that.

"I don't understand. It's disrespectful to Jules, disrespectful to his family."

The AlphaTauri man added: "I'm just extremely grateful that I'm here. Tonight, I'm going to call my family and all my loved ones.

"The outcome is the way that it is because I passed two metres from that crane. If I would have been two metres to the left, I would have been dead."

Pierre Gasly was furious as he suggested he was put in danger by a recovery tractor at the rain-disrupted Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

The race at Suzuka lasted less than a lap under a downpour before a safety car was brought out, with a red flag soon following after a number of early incidents.

Among them, AlphaTauri's Gasly – who has just agreed a move to Alpine – made contact with an advertising board, which then became lodged in his front wing, further impacting his already reduced visibility.

But Gasly was still driving behind the safety car when he passed a tractor on the track recovering Carlos Sainz's car.

"I could have f***ing killed myself," Gasly fumed.

The most recent fatal accident in Formula One occurred at Suzuka in 2014 when Jules Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle in wet conditions.

A widely reported FIA response sought to explain the incident with Gasly, saying the race had been red-flagged by the time he encountered the tractor.

"The safety car had been deployed and the race neutralised," the FIA said. "Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the safety car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field.

"As conditions were deteriorating, the red flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap."

The incident was set to be reviewed again after the race, which still had not restarted an hour after the red flag.

Tim Paine failed with the bat on his return to first-class cricket as the former Australia captain made just six for Tasmania on Thursday in a Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland.

The 37-year-old wicketkeeper was playing in his first such match for 20 months, resuming a playing career that ground to a halt following a sexting scandal.

Paine stepped away from playing duties when details came to light of a historic investigation into a 2017 text message exchange between Paine and a female employee at Cricket Tasmania.

It meant he missed out on leading Australia into the 2021-22 Ashes series, resigning just weeks before the battle with England began. Paine's last first-class match had seen him represent Tasmania against Western Australia in April 2021.

A cheap dismissal on his comeback, caught by Matt Renshaw off paceman Gurinder Sandhu's bowling, saw Tasmania slip to 74-6 in their first innings, before recovering slightly to post 147 all out.

Paine took a catch in Queensland's reply, holding on to remove Renshaw and give Riley Meredith a wicket, as the home team at Allan Border Field reached 70-1 at stumps.

The breakdown of an all-British heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury is down to the former's promoter Eddie Hearn, claims Bob Arum.

A bout between the two - both world champions at varying points in their career - looked to be on the rocks last week after Fury repeatedly issued deadlines to sign a contract for a December 3 date.

Earlier this week, Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn admitted the fight looked dead in the water for now after negotiations collapsed.

And Fury's promoter Arum claims it was his opposite number who is to blame for the turn of events, claiming he "sabotaged" any potential deal.

"He wanted to kill it because even as late as [Monday], if he'd have said let's all get together and sit in a room and get everything finalised, it could have been done in a couple of hours," Arum told Sky Sports.

"He didn't want the fight to happen from the get-go, so he slow-played it.

"I've been in this business almost 60 years, so I can tell when somebody doesn't want something to happen and then slow-plays a negotiation.

"I knew that Eddie would find a way to sabotage the fight. He has nothing left really in his stable and he is clinging to AJ as his only potential attraction."

Fury's consistent public demands for an agreement have seen him criticised for apparently attempting to backtrack out of any fight, but Arum refutes any suggestion he is to blame.

"Tyson Fury is Tyson Fury," Arum added. 

"He hasn't been trained in law school so he wants a fight, if he's imposing deadlines which aren't really deadlines because he's sending a message, get off your asses and get this thing done.

"It was clear that was the case. So, nobody should be blamed for this fight not happening, not Tyson, not AJ, not anybody else other than Eddie Hearn."

Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine will return to first-class cricket this week after 20 months away, resuming a playing career that ground to a halt following a sexting scandal.

The 37-year-old wicketkeeper will feature for Tasmania against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield on Thursday, despite missing out on a state contract for the season.

Paine stepped away from playing duties when details came to light of a historic investigation into a 2017 text message exchange between Paine and a female employee at Cricket Tasmania.

It meant he missed out on leading Australia into the 2021-22 Ashes series, resigning just weeks before the battle with England began. Paine's last first-class match saw him represent Tasmania against Western Australia in April 2021.

Ahead of his return at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, Paine said: "I'm pretty fresh, that's for sure."

Quoted by ABC, he added: "I've obviously been training for five, six weeks. I'm ready to go, excited, obviously a bit nervous, but looking forward to it."

Paine was backed by Tasmania coach Jeff Vaughan, who said team selectors were "quite unanimous" he should be welcomed back, describing him as "one of the world's best wicketkeepers".

"We have absolute faith and trust in Tim and his preparation," Vaughan said, quoted on cricket.com.au. "Physically he is probably in the greatest spot of his physical career, emotionally he is sound."

The return of Paine has also been backed in the Australia ranks, with T20 captain Aaron Finch saying: "I think Australian cricket is better for having Tim involved in a playing capacity."

Reports in Australia on Tuesday claimed Paine is set to give his side of the sexting story in a new book.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been urged to expel Iran from the World Cup because of the country's treatment of female football supporters.

The Open Stadiums campaign group claimed previous commitments by FIFA to encourage Iran to change its ways amounted to "empty words and promises".

The group said Iran has systemically kept women away from football stadiums "for over four decades", calling it a "gross human rights violation".

Pointing to "shameful scenes" of women being tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed when attempting to attend a World Cup qualifier against Lebanon in March, Open Stadiums said: "All this was happening, Mr Infantino, under your watch and, seemingly, with FIFA's protection and approval, judging by your organisation's inaction."

It labelled a commitment to allow women into the Azadi Stadium as "a short-term PR stunt" to boost the Iranian Football Association's image before the World Cup begins in November.

Iran are due to play England, Wales and the United States in the group stage, facing England in their opening Group B game on November 21.

The death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in custody in September after she allegedly refused to comply with hijab rules sparked outrage among Iranian women, followed by what Open Stadiums describes as a "brutal clampdown by the regime".

In its open letter to FIFA, the group also pointed to Sahar Khodayari, the woman known as 'Blue Girl', who attempted to attend a football game dressed as a man in 2019 but was spotted and arrested for flouting hijab rules. She died by suicide, reportedly because she expected to be sent to prison.

Open Stadiums said there was a clear ongoing case of "government interference", with a number of sports journalists and photographers "arrested and left in solitary confinement with no charges brought against them", and a footballer and fan group leader killed by Iranian authorities.

FIFA rules do not allow governments to wade into sporting matters. Open Stadiums claims the Iranian FA "remains untouched and seemingly beyond reproach by FIFA", and described the country's football authority as both "an accomplice of the crimes of the regime" and "a direct threat to the security of female fans in Iran and wherever our national team plays in the world".

The group fears Iranian women who travel to the Qatar 2022 finals will be kept "in check" by travelling undercover state agents, warning of possible revenge on women's rights activists and female football fans following the tournament.

"That is why, as Iranian football fans, it is with an extremely heavy heart that we have to raise our deepest concern about Iran's participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup," the group said in its letter to Infantino.

"Why would FIFA give the Iranian state and its representatives a global stage, while it not only refuses to respect basic human rights and dignities, but is currently torturing and killing its own people? Where are the principles of FIFA's statutes in this regard?

"Therefore, we ask FIFA ... to immediately expel Iran from the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

"The Islamic Republic's authorities and its football federation must not be given the honour of participating in football's finest tournament while it is killing its citizens on our streets.

"Mr Infantino, FIFA needs to act now to protect Iran's dedicated and passionate female football fans."

Brazil's Richarlison has urged for strong punishments to be issued to those found guilty of racial abuse, after having a banana thrown at him while on international duty.

The Tottenham forward scored the second of the game in Brazil's 5-1 victory over Tunisia in Paris but a comfortable win, the last international game before Brazil's World Cup campaign commences, was marred by the incident.

A banana was thrown as Richarlison celebrated his goal, his ninth in 20 appearances for the national side, which became the latest racist incident to impact Brazilian footballers.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr had suffered abuse from Atletico Madrid fans in his side's recent derby triumph, following on from quotes from a Spanish agent who told him to 'stop playing the monkey' in reference to his dancing celebration.

Both players received a flood of support following the jarring incidents but Richarlison has warned that things will not improve unless the widespread condemnation is followed up with punishments.

"As long as they say "blah blah blah" and don't punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and everywhere. No time bro!" he posted on Twitter.

Brazil's squad had lined-up ahead of the match to display an anti-racism banner which read: "Without our black players, we wouldn't have stars on our shirts".

Tyson Fury says December's proposed bout with Anthony Joshua is "officially over" due to the contract not being signed by Monday's self-imposed deadline.

WBC champion Fury opened the door for a 'Battle of Britain' with Joshua after it became clear a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk would not occur this year.

However, following drawn-out talks between the fighters' camps, Fury declared last week that Joshua had until 17:00 BST on Monday to put pen to paper on the terms.

That deadline came and went without any official confirmation, and Fury once again took to social media shortly after to declare the heavyweight fight will not be taking place.

"It's official. D-Day has come and gone," he said in a video message on his Instagram account. "It's gone past 5 o'clock Monday, no contract has been signed. It's officially over. 

"Joshua is now out in the cold with the wolfpack. Forget about it. Idiot, coward, s***house, bodybuilder. Always knew you didn't have the minerals to fight the Gypsy King. 

"Regardless of what you say now, I don't really care. Good luck with your career and your life, end of."

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said last week an initial contract offer sent by Fury's camp was not acceptable, but the parties were "working positively" to reach an agreement.

That led to Fury making his ultimatum to Joshua to sign the contract by Monday or forget about a fight that has been years in the making.

In response, two-time world champion Joshua – who has lost three of his past five fights – said he fully intended to sign the deal, but it was currently with his legal team.

Should Fury be true to his word, the 34-year-old could look to arrange a title defence against Mahmoud Charr in the same December slot ahead of facing Usyk next year.

Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard has opened up on how he experienced depression during the coronavirus lockdown.

The France international explained in an interview with newspaper Le Parisien that isolation became a heavy burden and he sorely missed normal social contact.

Pavard, now 26, was in his first season with Bayern when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, having joined from Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart.

When players went into isolation in late March of 2020, Pavard said it became a challenge to stay positive.

He said: "It was difficult for everyone, for me too. To be alone, in a country other than mine, I was really not well. In my head, something was wrong.

"At the beginning, you tell yourself that it's nothing, that it will pass, but when you see that it persists, that you go to training and that you don't have a smile on your face, you have to react."

The Bundesliga became the first major league in Europe to resume, as it started up again in mid-May 2020, albeit behind closed doors.

Pavard sought and found support to help him through the trying times.

He said: "I am human like everyone else, and even if I have a super nice house with a weight room, I needed contact with others.

"I got up, I had no appetite. I tried to keep busy, to cook, to watch series. But Netflix is ​​fine for two minutes… I don't like the word depressive, but that was the case."

The former Lille player explained that he turned a corner and now feels "much better".

“I came out of all this as a man, it changed me," he said. "I was on my own like many football players and I had to surround myself well to raise my head. I managed to bounce back from difficult times."

Mathieu van der Poel abandoned the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday after he was left "mentally broken" from being arrested in Sydney.

The Dutchman was charged with two counts of common assault at Kogarah Police Station following an alleged incident involving two teenage girls at a hotel on Saturday evening.

Van der Poel was granted conditional bail by New South Wales Police and will appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old had been among the favourites to be crowned world champion in Wollongong, but withdrew with 230 kilometres to go after revealing he only got back to his hotel from the police station at 4am.

Christoph Roodhooft, boss of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team Van der Poul rides for, said: "It was really unexpected. Obviously there were children bouncing at his door [in the hotel] and after the third he was p***** off with them. He went out and it seemed like it was children, teenagers, and someone called the police and they asked him to go to give an explanation.

"He was asked by the police to tell them what happened, then he could sign [papers] and then he could go. There were children in the corridor playing and he went out to ask them to stop but obviously not in the right way."

Roodhooft added of Van der Poel's withdrawal from the race: "We didn't talk about the situation, but sporting wise he was really disappointed. He didn't sleep all night and mentally he was a bit broken. He was expecting a lot from today and he did everything he could in the last two months after his bad Tour de France. He found joy and happiness again in cycling and was hoping for a nice race again."

Prior to the start of the race, Van der Poel explained what had occurred the night before.

He told Sporza: "It's true, yes. There was a small dispute. It was about noisy neighbours and they are quite strict here. I went to bed early and many children in the hallway of my room found it necessary to knock on the door continuously.

"After a few times, I was done with it. I didn't ask so nicely to stop. Then the police were called, and I was taken. I wasn't back in my room until four o'clock."

NSW Police said in a statement: "About 10.40pm (Saturday 24 September 2022), a 27-year-old man was at a hotel on The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands, when he was allegedly involved in a verbal altercation with two teenage girls – aged 13 and 14.

"It's further alleged the man then pushed both teenagers, with one falling to the ground and the other being pushed into a wall causing a minor graze to her elbow.

"Officers from St George Police Area Command attended and arrested a 27-year-old man shortly after. He was taken to Kogarah Police Station and charged with two counts of common assault.

"He was granted conditional bail to appear at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday 27 September 2022."

Tyson Fury claimed Anthony Joshua does not want to fight him as he unleashed a barrage of abuse on his fellow Brit.

Negotiations are ongoing over a mouthwatering world heavyweight title bout between WBC champion Fury and Joshua on December 3.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, stated this week that an initial contract offer sent by Fury's camp was not acceptable, but the parties are "working positively" to try and reach an agreement.

Fury on Friday made it clear he does not believe two-time world champion Joshua has any intention of stepping into the ring with him.

He stated in a video posted on social media: "He's had the contract for I don’t know how long and ain’t signing it. You little sausage, you do not want a fight.

"However, I will be fighting on December 3, if this sausage does not sign this contract, which I don't think he is because I don't think he’s got the b******s to."

The unbeaten Fury also took aim at WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk, who stated his intention to "outbox" the Englishman if they meet in a unification fight.

Fury added: "Usyk, you little s***house, I'm afraid of you? I'll put my fist right through the side of you, you little sausage.

"Joshua is a s***house, Usyk a s***house. You are all s***houses."

Oleksandr Usyk plans to have "three more fights at the very most" before retiring, including a heavyweight unification bout with Tyson Fury.

The 35-year-old holds the WBA Super, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight belts after defeating Anthony Joshua for a second time in last month's rematch.

Usyk's split-decision victory over Joshua in Saudi Arabia was supposed to clear the way for a unification bout with Fury for all the belts in the sport’s blue-riband division.

However, with Usyk ruling out a return to the ring this year, Fury is now in advanced talks with Joshua over a 'Battle of Britain' showdown in December.

Usyk is hopeful of facing Fury down the line, with super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez also on his list of targets before ending his career on home soil in Kyiv.

"I can have three more fights at the very most," Usyk said in an interview posted on his YouTube page. 

"It is the most realistic to be in my top form. With Fury, Canelo and a farewell fight at Olympiyskiy.

"With Canelo he said that he wanted to fight me. It would be a freak fight just for the sake of earning money.

"I only need to beat Fury and then it is time to retire for me. The unification of all the belts is much more important than just a fight or another defence.

"I want to outbox Fury and I don't want to work that much just for another defence. There is much more that I can achieve."

Canelo is the undisputed super-middleweight champion after claiming victory in the final fight in his trilogy with Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas last weekend.

The weight disparity between Usyk and Canelo makes any bout difficult to arrange, but the latter confirmed last month he is interested in facing the Ukrainian.

"It's difficult but I don't care," he said. "I like that type of challenge. I don't care. It's going to be difficult I know, but I love boxing. I love being in that type of situation."

Ben Simmons has criticised the Philadelphia 76ers for not giving him the mental health help he required.

The point guard sat out the entirety of last season while dealing with mental health struggles and his time with the Sixers, who drafted him as the first overall pick in 2016, came to an end in February.

A trade with the Brooklyn Nets was completed at the February trade deadline, with James Harden moving in the opposite direction.

Simmons has now claimed he did not get the support he needed from his former team when speaking on JJ Redick's 'Old Man and the Three' podcast.

"I was in such a bad place where I was like, f***, I'm trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you're not helping. And that's all I wanted, was help," he said.

"I didn't feel like I got (help) from coaches, team-mates, I won't say all team-mates, because there are great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends. But I didn't feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me."

Simmons also believes the team did not handle things correctly, though he admits he must shoulder some responsibility, and cited Doc Rivers' approach that ultimately led to Simmons' suspension.

"I actually spoke to Doc before practice. I was like, 'Doc, I'm not ready. Mentally, I'm not ready. Please just understand that,'" he added.

"I tried to let him know prior, and he was like, 'Well, I'm going to put you in anyway.' I'm like, 'All right.' He told me to get in. I looked at him. It was like one minute into practice, like, 'Ben, get in.'

"I'm like, first of all, no one's doing that. You're doing this on purpose. And that's how I felt, too. It seems like everyone's trying to f*** with me now. I'm getting fined for not lifting weights, but physically I'm one of the strongest guys on the team.

"So now they're fining me for little things. It was just a build-up. Obviously, I didn't handle things the right way, but, also, the team didn't either, and the people who had that power."

Currently carrying an injury, Simmons is expected to be ready for the start of training camp and is excited to join his new team-mates, sharing his belief they can go all the way.

"It's going to be sick. I can't wait. I'm so excited. Got a new number, new jersey. I'm just looking forward to it," he declared.

"I think we have a special team. I think if we get it all together, we're going to be the champions. That's the end goal."