Activist, champion: Osaka named AP Female Athlete of Year
With tennis, like so much of the world, shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Naomi Osaka found herself with time to read and think.
And while she won the U.S. Open for her third Grand Slam title, she also stood out for speaking out about racial injustice and police brutality.
As noteworthy in 2020 for her activism away from the tennis court as her success on it, Osaka was selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Year in results revealed Sunday after a vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers.
“It was difficult to be isolated from my family for large parts of the year, but that’s nothing compared to others. It was sad to watch and read the news of people suffering from COVID-19, and the economic and social effect on so many — losing jobs, mental health. It was such a tough year for so many people,” Osaka wrote in an email interview. “And then watching the police injustices like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake (to name just a few) in the summer broke my heart. I am proud of my U.S. Open victory, but more so that I got people talking about the real issues.”
Osaka collected 18 of 35 first-place votes and a total of 71 points.
Syracuse women’s hoops on pause after positive COVID-19 test
Syracuse University has paused all women’s basketball-related activities Sunday and contact tracing is underway after a positive COVID-19 test was confirmed within the program.
The 22nd-ranked Orange women have also canceled a game against Morgan State scheduled for Monday night. The team is adhering to all public health guidelines. Syracuse’s next scheduled game is Thursday at home against North Carolina.
Syracuse men also has been on pause since Monday. The Orange men halted team activities after a home game a week ago against Buffalo. One of the Bulls tested positive after the game.
The Orange women weren’t the only ones to go on pause. Mississippi also has coronavirus issues within the Rebels’ women’s basketball program.
Authorities: Utah’s Jordan died in accidental shooting
DALLAS » Ty Jordan, a star freshman running back for the University of Utah, died at a Dallas-area hospital after accidently shooting himself, authorities said Sunday.
University officials announced Jordan’s death Saturday, a day after he was named Pac-12’s newcomer of the year, but did not release details.
Jordan, 19, died in an emergency room at a hospital in Denton around 10:45 p.m. on Christmas Day, according to medical examiner’s records.
Police officers had responded about an hour earlier to reports of a shooting at a home in Denton, a city 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of downtown Dallas. The officers found a man had accidently shot himself in the hip and began giving first aid, Denton police spokeswoman Allison Beckwith told The Associated Press Saturday. She said the man later died at a hospital and that investigators did not know how he came to shoot himself.