Finding yourself after you lose it
NASCAR’s Kyle Larson to AP on slur: ‘I was just ignorant’
COLOGNE, Germany — Romelu Lukaku played a part in both teams’ goals as Sevilla beat Inter Milan 3-2 on Friday to win the Europa League for a record-extending sixth time.
The Inter forward deflected Diego Carlos’ overhead kick into his own net for Sevilla’s winning goal in the 74th minute, after a game-long duel with the Brazilian defender. Diego Carlos had fouled Lukaku in the third minute, conceding a penalty for the third game in a row, and was perhaps fortunate to avoid a red card.
The loss extended Inter’s wait for a first European trophy since Jose Mourinho led the Italian club to the Champions League title in 2010. Sevilla has won the Europa League in four of the last seven seasons.
Kentucky Derby will run
without fans after all
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Next month’s Kentucky Derby will run without fans at Churchill Downs. The historic track cited rises in COVID-19 cases in the Louisville area.
It will mark the second Triple Crown race this year without spectators, following the Belmont Stakes in June. Churchill Downs recently announced an attendance limit of 23,000 for the 146th Derby as part of a 62-page health and safety plan for horse racing’s marquee event.
Churchill Downs said its decision comes with support from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who said the virus continues to spread in the state. He also cited a White House announcement that Louisville and surrounding Jefferson County are in a “red zone.”
Beshear added that the county had 2,300 new cases this week alone and applauded Churchill Downs for monitoring the virus and “making the right and responsible decision.”
Subway Series delayed after Mets test positive
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball postponed this weekend’s Subway Series to allow time for more testing and contact tracing after two members of the New York Mets tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Mets had their game Thursday night at Miami as well as Friday’s opener against the Yankees postponed on Thursday after the results were reported.
MLB postponed the rest of the weekend series between the New York teams on Friday “out of an abundance of caution and to allow for additional testing and contact tracing.”
The league has now postponed 36 games this season because of positive tests with the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and the Mets. The Yankees have twice had their schedule interrupted despite reporting no positive tests since opening day.
Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg was diagnosed with carpal tunnel neuritis on his throwing hand after seeing a nerve specialist, manager Dave Martinez said Friday.
Martinez said surgery could be an option but he has yet to talk with the 2019 World Series MVP. Strasburg was put on the injured list on Aug. 15, a day after he recorded just two outs at Baltimore. It was the 32-year-old’s first appearance on the IL since 2018.
After going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA in 33 starts in 2019, the right-hander is 0-1 this season with a 10.80 ERA in two starts.
“I’m going to talk to him to see what his options are and what he wants to do,” Martinez said before Friday’s game against the Marlins. “I think it’s something that’s going to have to be fixed, so we’ll see.”
Strasburg signed a $245 million, sevenyear contract with Washington in the offseason after his impressive post-season. Strasburg became the first pitcher in baseball history to go 5-0 in the post-season as the Nationals won the franchise’s first championship.
INDIANAPOLIS — What do you do when the entire world believes you are a racist? When your career has collapsed because you uttered the N-word while playing a late night video game?
Kyle Larson packed his things and left North Carolina, returning to his native California too embarrassed to show his face in public.
The facts were plain and he doesn’t deny them: He was racing a computer game in April, couldn’t hear his spotter on his headset and used the racist slur to get his colleagues’ attention. His downfall was swift: The 28-year-old Larson lost his sponsors, his job and any shot at a multimillion-dollar contract in NASCAR free agency.
Depressed and devastated, Larson began a journey to understand both why he had said the word and how to grow from the experience. What he discovered was that he’d been living in a bubble most of his life in which winning races was the only thing that mattered.
“I was just ignorant. And immature. I didn’t understand the negativity and hurt that comes with that word,” Larson told The Associated Press. “That’s not a word that I had ever used. I grew up in Northern California, all I ever did was race and that’s all I was focused on. There’s probably a lot of real-life experiences I didn’t get to have and I was just ignorant to how hurtful that word is.”
Larson sat down with the AP this week for his first interview since he was fired on April 15 by Chip Ganassi Racing after every sponsor cut ties. He had also been suspended by NASCAR and needed to complete a sensitivity training course for reinstatement.
Larson took the course. Then he decided he needed to do more.
He connected with retired soccer star
Tony Sanneh, whose foundation works on youth development and empowerment in the Minneapolis area. Larson went to visit Sanneh and volunteer at the foundation in the weeks before the city — and the nation — were rocked by the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Floyd died a few weeks after that first visit and Larson again returned to Minneapolis. Sanneh took him to the site where Floyd died and they toured parts of the city heavily damaged in protests over racial injustice.
This was new ground for Larson. His family — father Mike and mother Janet, both devout
in raising their son to make proper life decisions, be a good person and treat people equally — made racing a hobby. When Larson began go-karting at 7 they used all discretionary income on furthering his racing career.
“I never really realized how privileged I was in the way I grew up,” Larson said. “I never had to really worry about anything and I guess I was naive. I didn’t have a full understanding that there are people struggling with different things on a daily basis. It was very impactful, very moving.”
Sanneh connected Larson with former Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Larson visited her foundation in East St. Louis. He got on the phone with Max Siegel, the CEO of USA Track & Field who also runs a NASCAR-sanctioned team that is part of the stock car series’ diversity program. Larson, who is half Japanese, came through that very program on his way to NASCAR.
Larson also continued work with the Urban Youth Racing School in Philadelphia. The non-profit helps minorities advance in motorsports and Jysir Fisher, one of its students, had celebrated with Larson in victory lane following an October win in Delaware.
Fisher was deeply disappointed by Larson’s use of the N-word and discussed it with founder Anthony Martin. The two also talked when Larson said he wanted to visit the school.
“Kyle made it his business to come here to this school and apologize. He didn’t want to do it by telephone. He wanted to do it faceto-face,” Martin told AP. “That had a strong effect on Jysir. His favourite driver is still Kyle Larson.”
Larson has also hired a personal diversity coach from The Kaleidoscope Group, which specializes in diversity and inclusion consulting.
Martin understands celebrities often go through the motions to repair their image after a fall. He insists that’s not what Larson has been doing.
“Kids make mistake,” Martin said. “Do I think that Kyle was ever a racist?
Absolutely not.”
Larson said he isn’t doing what he’s doing in a bid to get his job back. Larson, whose maternal grandparents spent time in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, is adamant he wants to educate himself.
“I just felt like there was more that I needed to do — and I wanted to show through actions that I am a better person than I was before,” Larson said.
Larson has spent his time in NASCAR exile back at the starting point of his career, racing sprint cars across the country and piling up 31 wins.; this weekend, he will be at the Indy Mile Race at the Fairgrounds at nearly the same time the Indianapolis 500 is running across town.
Larson still hopes to get back to NASCAR. He doesn’t know if a team or sponsors will be willing to give him a second chance. He has met NASCAR’s requirements for reinstatement. He said Wednesday he has not yet requested reinstatement.
“I made a mistake and I’m paying for it and I accept that,” Larson said. “I’d like to get back there and we’ll see if there’s a way. All I can do is continue to improve myself and let my actions show who I truly am.”