FedEx asks Redskins to change their name
FedEx, which has the naming rights to the stadium in which the Redskins play, made a request that the team change its nickname.
“We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” FedEx said in a statement obtained by ESPN.
FedEx paid $205 million to the Redskins for naming rights to the stadium in 1998 in a deal that runs through 2025. Frederick Smith, the chairman, CEO and president of FedEx Corp., also owns a minority stake in the Redskins.
Team owner Dan Snyder has been under renewed pressure to change the nickname, with protestors reportedly targeting the team’s sponsors.
“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” will be performed live or played before “The Star-Spangled Banner” before each NFL game during Week 1, and the league is considering putting names of victims of police brutality on helmet decals or jersey patches.
NFL teams are likely to bring fewer than the regular 90 players they ordinarily bring to training camp to combat the spread of the coronavirus, according to ESPN.
Nine more players test positive
Nine more NBA players tested positive for the coronavirus last week, bringing the overall total to 25 players out of a pool of 351 who have been tested since June 23.
The Clippers shut down their practice facility after a member of their traveling party headed to Orlando tested positive for the coronavirus, sources told ESPN.
Blue Jays allowed to train in Toronto
All 30 Major League Baseball teams will train at their regular-season ballparks for the pandemic-shortened season after the Blue Jays received a Canadian federal government exemption to work out at Rogers Centre.
Right-hander Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft, agreed to a $6.7 million signing bonus as part of a minorleague contract to join the Marlins. He’ll take part in training camp.
The MLBPA nearly doubled its liquid investments over two years as the sport heads toward collective bargaining that could lead to a spring-training lockout in 2022.
Texas A&M, Fisher hit with NCAA violations
Texas A&M’s football program was put on probation and coach Jimbo Fisher got a sixmonth show cause order by the NCAA after the Aggies were found to have violated recruiting and other rules beginning in January 2018.
† Doc Redman opened with a 7-under 65 to share a one-shot lead with Scott Stallings and Kevin Kisner in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
† Boise State is cutting its baseball and women’s swimming and diving programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.