IN BRIEF LeBron eyes mega-sites for election
Laker’s voting rights group wants polls at sports venues
If Lakers star LeBron James gets his way, NBA arenas and other sports venues around the country will be mega polling sites for the November general election.
James and his voting rights group, formed this spring with other Black athletes and entertainers, are joining with other professional basketball leaders and Michigan’s top elections official to push for mega voting sites to accommodate in-person balloting amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
More Than A Vote, the James organization dedicated to maximizing Black turnout in November, shared its plans with The Associated Press on Wednesday after the Pistons became the second NBA franchise to announce plans to use its arena for voting later this year. In Georgia, Fulton County elections officials this week approved the Hawks’ proposal to use State Farm Arena as a polling site. Plans call for the arena to serve as a countywide early voting site ahead of Election Day.
The idea, which comes after Kentucky used large facilities in its June 23 primary, is to use large spaces that allow for in-person voting while still enforcing social distancing guidelines.
The Bucks also confirmed they are willing to use their home arena as a voting site in the most populous city in the key battleground of Wisconsin.
■ 76ers coach Brett Brown said AllStar guard Ben Simmons is “good to go” for the NBA restart later this month in Orlando, Florida, after sitting out the final games before the shutdown with a back injury. Brown also said All-Star center Joel Embiid is fully healthy. Embiid was recovering from surgery on his left hand and had just returned after missing five games with a sprained left shoulder at the time of the shutdown . ... Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he expects AllStar center Nikola Jokic to return to the U.S. in time to join the team flight from Denver to Orlando for the restart. Jokic, who’s still in his home country of Serbia, reportedly had tested positive for COVID-19. Malone said Jokic now is feeling “great.” ... As expected, signed veteran guard J.R. Smith to join the team in Orlando. Smith, 34, hasn’t played in the NBA since November 2018, but the 2013 sixth man of the year is a longtime trusted teammate of James.
College basketball: The NCAA’s infractions case against Kansas was accepted into a newly created independent investigation process that was created to handle especially complex cases. The Infractions Referral Committee announced that the case against the Jayhawks and coach Bill Self would go through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Kansas has been accused by the NCAA of committing five Level I violations, which are considered the most egregious, as part of the fallout of an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption.
NFL: Former Steelers coach and Hall of Famers Bill Cowher told The Athletics that he and his wife, singer Veronica Stigeler, tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in April. They both had experienced symptoms in March but since recovered.
NHL: The NHL plans to choose Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, as its hub cities for a potential season restart later this summer, according to reports. The league had hoped to select one U.S. city and one Canadian city before the recent surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S.
Soccer: Six players with FC Dallas have tested positive for COVID-19 and the entire team has been quarantined ahead of the MLS Is Back tournament. The club announced that the players tested positive upon arrival in Florida for the month-long tournament starting next week. It also said all players and staff tested negative for coronavirus before leaving for the tournament Saturday. Upon arrival, two players tested positive. Four more positive tests were uncovered in subsequent testing. The names of the players were not released.