Sports

ESPN reports: The NFL has launched a series of initiatives associated with LGBTQ History Month, which includes National Coming Out Day on Sunday and Spirit Day on Thursday. Included are a dedicated website (NFL.com/PRIDE ); a PSA celebrating former NFL players who have come out and voicing support; expanded partnerships with GLAAD and The Trevor Project; a pride-themed NFL shield; …

ESPN reports: The Tennessee Titans have closed their facilities until Saturday after three players and five team personnel members tested positive for the coronavirus, the NFL announced Tuesday. The eight new positive tests have been confirmed after additional testing, a source told ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. Those who tested positive have been asymptomatic as of Tuesday morning, a source told ESPN’s …

The New York Daily News reports: Thom Brennaman won’t be back next year with the Reds, as the longtime play-by-play announcer said Friday he was quitting. He was suspended for booming “one of the f– capitals of the world” into a hot mic during a Reds-Royals doubleheader last month. Brennaman never really copped to being the type of person who …

The Associated Press reports: NFL coaches thumbed their collective — and exposed — noses at the NFL’s mask mandate in Week 2. The league responded with hefty fines of $100,000 per coach and $250,000 per club. The first three to get fined were Denver’s Vic Fangio, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and Seattle’s Pete Carroll, according to a person with knowledge …

The Guardian reports: The NFL season on Thursday night got off to a dismal start, and exposed the pernicious sentiments of many in America, when some fans jeered what the league described as “a moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country.” The incident was particularly striking because it was meant as a show of …

ESPN reports: Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, who led the New York Mets to an improbable World Series victory in 1969, has died at age 75. The Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Seaver died Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. The hard-throwing right-hander known as “Tom Terrific” won an MLB-best 25 games in the 1969 …

NBC Sports reports: The NFL will join other sports leagues in putting social justice messages on the playing field this season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on a conference call this afternoon that the league will stencil “End racism” and “It takes all of us” in the end zones at each stadium this fall. “The NFL stands with the black …

The Washington Post reports: Iowa State announced Monday that it will allow approximately 25,000 fans into Jack Trice Stadium for the Cyclones’ season-opening football game against Louisiana on Sept. 12, even though the state of Iowa has seen its number of coronavirus cases skyrocket in recent weeks. According to The Washington Post’s state-by-state database, Iowa has seen a 92 percent …

The NBA has issued a three-point plan: 1. The NBA and its players have agreed to immediately establish a social justice coalition, with representatives from players, coaches and governors, that will be focused on a broad range of issues, including increasing access to voting, promoting civic engagement, and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform. 2. In every city …

Yahoo Sports reports: As team after team announced they would refuse to play games in protest of Jacob Blake’s shooting, the New York Mets and Miami Marlins still decided to take the field on Thursday night. And then they walked off. After rumblings of a potential player protest, the Mets took their places on the field as scheduled. However, starting …

ESPN reports: NBA players have decided to resume the playoffs, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Thursday’s three playoff games are postponed, the league announced. Demanding societal change and ending racial injustice has been a major part of the NBA’s restart at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is painted on the arena courts, …

The Washington Post reports: Days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., the Milwaukee Bucks did not take the court as scheduled for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Bucks guard George Hill was among multiple NBA players to question whether games should continue in light of ongoing social justice …

UPI reports: Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was caught using a homophobic slur during Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. In a clip that has circulated around social media, Brennaman was heard saying the slur moments after the Fox Sports Ohio broadcast returned from a commercial break before the top of the seventh inning. The 56-year-old sportscaster didn’t appear …

The Associated Press reports: Dodger Stadium will serve as a vote center for the presidential election in November, making the Dodgers the first Major League Baseball team to make their venue available for voting. Any registered voter in Los Angeles County can visit the stadium over a five-day period. Parking will be free. Further details will be announced later. The …

EPSN reports: Big Ten Conference presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday to postpone all fall sports seasons, including football, with the hopes of playing in the spring, it announced Tuesday. “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin …

ESPN reports: Eagles coach Doug Pederson has tested positive for the coronavirus, the team announced Sunday night. Pederson convened an unscheduled team meeting Sunday to share the news with his players, sources said, before the team made the announcement. He told the team after receiving a second positive test result, confirming the diagnosis. The 52-year-old Pederson is asymptomatic and doing …

Yahoo Sports reports: Oklahoma City Thunder players did not heed a lawmaker’s threat about kneeling during the national anthem. All the Thunder players knelt on Saturday alongside Utah Jazz players during their NBA bubble debut. The social justice protest arrived a day after an Oklahoma state lawmaker attempted to pressure Thunder players to his will. Rep. Sean Roberts (R-Hominy) issued …

“New York state could host any Major League Baseball game that any teams want to play and they could play those games in our stadiums. New York state has one of the lowest infection rates in the United States. “New York state has a full Department of Health protocol system in place. We have a testing system in place. I …

USA Today reports: It was on sale for only 24 hours, but it broke company records. The Topps NOW limited edition baseball trading card featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, set an all-time print record run for the franchise, selling 51,512 cards, the company said. “We’re excited by the popularity of Dr. …

The New York Daily News reports: The Yankees woke up here Monday morning to the news that their game against the Phillies had been postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak, a league source confirmed. The Marlins had eight players and two coaches test positive during their weekend road trip hare, according to an ESPN report. The Yankees obviously expressed their …