Washington hires NFL’S first Black team president
The Washington Football Team on Monday hired Jason Wright as team president, making him the first Black person to hold that position in NFL history.
At 38, he becomes the NFL’S youngest team president and will run the organization’s business operations with coach Ron Rivera maintaining control over football decisions.
Wright, a running back for seven years with Atlanta, Cleveland and Arizona, was a captain for the Cardinals and their NFLPA representative during labor negotiations in 2010-11.
Wright is the fourth former player to become a team president and does so after several years in business. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s business school and joins the organization after working at a strategy and management consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
Wimbledon champion Halep won’t play at U.S. Open
Wimbledon champion Simona Halep will skip the U.S. Open, saying Monday she is putting her health first and prefers to stay in Europe amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Halep, a former top-ranked player who is currently No. 2, won the title in Prague on Sunday.
Six of the top eight women in the WTA rankings won’t play in New York.
Bengals cornerback has surgery for torn pectoral muscle
Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes had surgery Monday for a torn pectoral muscle, a significant setback to a defense in transition.
The Bengals signed Waynes to a threeyear deal as a free agent from Minnesota, a key part of their defensive overhaul. Waynes was expected to start along with William Jackson III. The team did not say when he would be ready to play again.
CFL can’t solve coronavirus issues, cancels season
The CFL has canceled its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It marks the first year the Grey Cup won’t be presented since 1919.
The nine-team league announced the move Monday, dashing hopes of a shortened season in the hub city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The decision comes after the CFL couldn’t solve a number of issues in an effort to try to salvage a season.
Unlike other major leagues in North America, the CFL does not have the luxury of a billion-dollar television contract. While its deal with TSN has become more lucrative over the years, the CFL remains a gate-driven league — a major problem when fans aren’t allowed in the stands.
Barcelona fires coach three days after 8-2 loss to Bayern
Barcelona fired coach Quique Setien on Monday, three days after the team’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The decision was announced by the club after an urgent board meeting summoned by president Josep Bartomeu in Barcelona.
Elliott wins at Daytona for third straight road victory
Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup Series’ first road course race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin following a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals.
Elliott had a 10-second lead with 10 laps to go and was pulling away when Kyle Busch blew a tire and brought out a caution that gave his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., a chance.
But Elliott stayed out front on the final restart. Hamlin got to his rear bumper on the last lap, but couldn’t do enough to mount any significant pressure.
Hamlin finished second, followed by Truex and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson.
Soccer’s U.S. Open Cup canceled because of pandemic
Soccer’s U.S. Open Cup was canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 tournament was suspended in early March shortly before it was supposed to kick off. The final was to be held Sept. 22 or 23.
Officially called the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, it is the longest-running soccer tournament in the United States and gives amateur teams a chance to take on the pros.
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Monday that the Open Cup couldn’t be staged this year because the pandemic affected teams’ ability to travel, limited or eliminated fans at games and necessitated strict testing protocols.
FIU assistant Aubrey Hill, 48, dies after cancer fight
Florida International said Sunday night that wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill, a standout player at Florida before becoming a longtime coach at Miami and other places, has died after a lengthy bout with cancer. He was 48.
Hill was entering his fourth season on FIU’S staff under coach Butch Davis. He starred at Florida in coach Steve Spurrier’s “Fun ‘N Gun” offense with 18 touchdown catches as a member of the Gators, where he served as a captain as a senior in 1994.
Former Colorado State basketball coach Grant dies
Boyd “Tiny” Grant, the basketball coach who led Colorado State and Fresno State to the NCAA Tournament, died Monday on his 87th birthday.
Colorado State announced Grant suffered a stroke over the weekend and didn’t recover.
Jaguars’ Gunter stepping away because of enlarged aorta
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Rodney Gunter is stepping away from football because of an enlarged aorta.
Gunter, who had been placed on the team’s non-football injury list at the start of training camp, could possibly rupture or tear the aorta.
“There is a 50/50 chance that surgery will fix my current health condition,“Gunther said in a statement Sunday. ”But at the moment, I do not meet the criteria to undergo the operation.”
Gunter said his aorta measures 5 centimeters, half a centimeter shy of meeting the criteria for surgery.
Gunter signed a three-year, $18 million contract with Jacksonville in free agency in March, giving the team a potential replacement for give-time Pro Bowler Calais Campbell.
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