Even before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed down its ruling on Friday, disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladislav Heraskevych appeared to concede defeat.

“It looks like this train has left,” the 27-year-old, draped in the Ukrainian flag, told reporters after emerging from a two-and-a-half-hour hearing in Milan.

“I cannot do another race so it is done.”

He said he had no plans to return to the sliding venue during these Winter Olympic Games but still felt he had done the right thing by trying to compete with a helmet adorned with portraits of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia’s war on their country.

‘I hope truth will prevail’

“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to speak and we were treated equally at the hearing room and arguments were heard.

“We are waiting for the decisions, but as you see I look pretty happy so I’m pretty positive about how it went. I hope truth will prevail and still I know that I was innocent.”

The appeal was heard on Friday morning by an ad hoc division of the Swiss-based court, which was moved by his story but ruled against him anyway.

The arbitrator, CAS said, “is fully sympathetic to Mr. Heraskevych’s commemoration and to his attempt to raise awareness for the grief and devastation suffered by the Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian athletes because of the war.”

Olympic Charter Rule 50

Heraskevych was prevented from competing in the men’s skeleton, which began on Thursday, due to a ruling by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the helmet he had intended to wear violated Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter. It states that: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

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The medals in men’s skeleton were to be awarded later on Friday.

The helmet in question bears the portraits of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes who have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

He had worn the helmet in his five training runs – each time placing among the top six.

The IOC interpreted the depictions of the killed Ukrainian athletes as a political statement, something that the skeleton racer disputes.

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“I am convinced that we are not breaking any rules. I also believe that we have had and continue to have this attention all these days because people understand that we are on the right side and have not broken any rules,” he said.

Solidarity from Ukrainian lugers, President Zelenskyy

The Ukrainian luge relay team expressed solidarity with Heraskevych during their competition on Thursday. In the finish area, the six athletes knelt together, held up their helmets, and shouted: “Vlad, we are with you, Ukraine, we stand with you.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he will award Heraskevych a medal of merit.

On the X platform, he sharply criticized the IOC, writing that “Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, ​and ‌the Olympic movement should help stop wars, ‌not play into the ‌hands ​of aggressors.”

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A group of around 40 members of the European Parliament have also sent an open letter to the IOC, calling on it to reconsider its decision.

IOC ‘open to everything’

Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, who had personally delivered the news of Heraskevych’s ban to the athlete on Thursday, said there were no immediate plans to review the rules governing political expression.

“I have had a number of conversations with ‌athletes ​over the last couple of days. They still feel strongly that we should be able to keep part of our Olympic movement, and their Olympic experience, safe,” Coventry ‌told a Friday press conference.

“If our athletes ​would like us to look at it (the rules), we are open to everything. But the rules are the rules as of today, and I believe they are good rules.

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Newly minted FBS school North Dakota State found itself in a position similar to Alabama fans during the heyday of Nick Saban’s dynasty: It simply won too much. The school has captured 10 national championships in 15 years. Within the fan base, the expectation is not just success, but success at the highest level.

Attendance for early-round home playoff games that NDSU is expected to win handily has suffered. This year’s loss to Illinois State drew an official attendance of 10,464 to the 19,000-seat Fargodome, roughly half full. Despite five interceptions from Redbirds quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, the No. 1 Bison lost. It marked the first time NDSU had fallen before the quarterfinal round since 2009 and the first time a No. 1 seed lost its playoff opener since 2004.

Few knew it at the time, but it was NDSU’s final game at the FCS level. A process that began ramping up in late fall accelerated in January, when athletic director Matt Larsen began to believe the program was moving up from the division it had dominated since 2004. For a segment of the Bison fan base, the move to FBS will provide a new challenge.

“I do think there’s an element of our fan base of what’s next we’ve had great success, is there a next iteration at a higher level for Bison football?” NDSU AD Matt Larsen told CBS Sports. “And so I think that’s where, if you would ask me, six or seven years ago, where the fan base was, they probably weren’t there yet, right? But four national championships later, and I think the majority of Bison nation would tell you that this is the right next step, and it’s the right time to do it.”

To compete in the FBS, North Dakota State has to be up to par not only on the field, but also financially. NDSU will pay $5 million to the NCAA to transition and a $12.5 million entry fee to the Mountain West over six years.

Consider the Fargodome. the longtime home to the Bison is owned by the city of Fargo and requires voter approval for renovations. A referendum has failed twice in recent years. Larsen said the Fargodome has a reserve fund earmarked for renovations, but the 32-year-old building needs updates, particularly for more premium seating. A pending convention center project — which may or may not be located at the Fargodome site — also factors into the decision-making.

North Dakota State opened a 117,000-square-foot, $54 million football facility in 2022. Its total athletic department budget is about $30 million annually, and Sportico reported the school spent $8.4 million on football in the last fiscal year. Larsen expects that figure to double within two years, accounting for staffing, scholarships, revenue sharing and coaching compensation.

The school’s primary athletics fundraising arm said it has “tentatively raised” $25 million for the move. NDSU does not expect to add sports to offset the increase in football scholarships from 65 to 85 upon moving to FBS.

The school will receive a full share of Mountain West television revenue by 2032, but as CBS Sports previously reported, it will collect 50% of College Football Playoff and bowl revenue distributed to full members this year and 100% after its second postseason appearance. The school plans to challenge the NCAA’s two-year probationary period that bars it from postseason play.

As with many realignment cases, the loss of tradition is part of the cost. South Dakota State and North Dakota State have met 118 times and have played for the Dakota Marker trophy since 2004. The rivalry has often determined FCS supremacy, with one or both teams ranked in the top five when they meet. After the 2022 season, they faced each other in the national championship game.

“I would say for the foreseeable future, it’s probably on hold,” Larsen said. “I think our rivalry was one out of really great respect between programs that did it the right way. And so I think there’s so many positives to this move, I think the one thing you could say that our fans are going to miss it’s playing for the Dakota Marker, because there were some epic games over the course of the last 10-15, years that have created great memories and great opportunities for our fans.”

As one FCS administrator cautioned to CBS Sports, there is a “careful what you wish for” element to moving up — trading double-digit win seasons and championship runs for years that could end in a lower-tier bowl game in a far-flung locale that is difficult to reach. The novelty can be appealing at first, but it fades without winning.

Still, there is reason for optimism about the Bison’s ability to compete quickly. Programs with less FCS pedigree have made successful transitions in recent years.

The newest FCS-to-FBS members, Delaware and Missouri State, both finished 7-5 and reached bowl games in their debut seasons. After struggling in its 2024 debut, Kennesaw State went 10-2 under new coach Jerry Mack and won a conference championship over Jacksonville State, which moved up in 2023 and has won at least eight games in each of its first three FBS seasons under two different coaches. Sam Houston also moved up in 2023 and, in its second year, narrowly missed a Conference USA title while winning 10 games. James Madison transitioned in 2022 under Curt Cignetti and has won at least eight games every year since. The 2025 season under Bob Chesney culminated in a College Football Playoff berth.

The relative ease of those transitions raises questions about the gap between the top half of the FCS and the Group of Five conferences.

In many respects, North Dakota State accomplished all it could at the FCS level. Now, the FBS journey begins.

After Dplus’ recent victory over DRX, Gen.G has chosen the former as its next opponent for the League of Legends LCK Cup 2026 Playoffs. Since this best-of-five series is not an elimination match, the loser will fall to the lower bracket. On the other hand, the winning team will proceed to the next stage and face the victor of the T1-FEARX series.

Here are the details about the Gen.G vs Dplus clash in the League of Legends LCK Cup 2026 Playoffs taking place on February 14, 2026.

Gen.G vs Dplus in League of Legends LCK Cup 2026 Playoffs: Can Dplus stop Gen.G’s impeccable winning streak?

Prediction

With the same roster as last year, Gen.G is yet to lose a game and has shown exceptional dominance in the LCK Cup 2026 so far. Furthermore, it already defeated Dplus 2-0 earlier in the tournament, with top laner Kiin outclassing the opponent with the Gwen and Rumble picks.

That said, all five of Gen.G’s players are performing admirably and have a vast champion pool. Ryu, the team’s head coach, is also doing an excellent job during the draft phase. Overall, the team excels at capitalizing on opponents’ mistakes while making few early-game misplays themselves.

Dplus, on the other hand, finished second in the group and then beat DRX twice to reach this stage. Despite the team being a force to be reckoned with, there’s a major problem regarding its consistency.

Dplus usually dominates the early game and secures a gold lead, but fails to snowball in the later stages and occasionally makes schoolboy errors. So, if the team’s laning phases go well and the players mitigate the mistakes, the series against Gen.G can certainly be competitive.

But the probability of that is too low, as Gen.G is clinical at securing neutral objectives and winning crucial team fights. On paper, the series should be a quick 3-0 for Chovy and co.

Prediction: Gen.G 3 – 0 Dplus

Head-to-head record

Gen.G has won 15 of the 16 games between these two teams, while Dplus has only won once.

Previous results

Gen.G won its earlier series 3-0 against Hanwha Life. On the other hand, Dplus won 3-2 against DRX.

Rosters

Gen.G

• Top: Kiin
• Jungle: Canyon
• Mid: Chovy
• ADC: Ruler
• Support: Duro
• Head coach: Ryu

Dplus

• Top: Siwoo
• Jungle: Lucid
• Mid: ShowMaker
• ADC: Smash
• Support: Career
• Head coach: cvMax

Also read: What are the new and returning items in LoL Season 16?

Gen.G vs Dplus in League of Legends LCK Cup 2026 Playoffs: Starting time countdown and how to watch

The matchup of Gen.G vs Dplus in the LCK Cup 2026 Playoffs is scheduled to start at the following times:

• PT: February 14, 2026, at 12 am
• CET: February 14, 2026, at 9 am
• IST: February 14, 2026, at 1:30 pm
• Beijing CST: February 14, 2026, at 4 pm
• KST: February 14, 2026, at 5 pm

To watch the LCK Cup 2026 match live, visit the following websites:

Match result

TBD

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