MlB susPends POlITICAl dOnATIOns AfTer CAPITOl rIOT UConn guard Bouknight has elbow surgery, out indefinitely. Another 3 NBA games called off amid virus.
NEW YORK» Major League Baseball is suspending all political contributions in the wake of last week’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a mob loyal to President Donald Trump, joining a wave of major corporations rethinking their efforts to lobby Washington.
“In light of the unprecedented events last week at the U.S. Capitol, MLB is suspending contributions from its Political Action Committee pending a review of our political contribution policy going forward,” the league said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them.
Following the insurrection last week by Trump supporters while Congress attempted to certify the results of the presidential election, many companies have said they will avoid making donations to members of the House and Senate who voted to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. Others, like MLB, have postponed political giving to both political parties altogether.
STORRS, CONN.» UConn guard James Bouknight will be out indefinitely after having surgery on his left elbow, the school said Wednesday.
The school had earlier said the sophomore hyperextended his left while diving for a loose ball in the first half of the Huskies’ win at Marquette on Jan. 5. He came back into the game, but has missed UConn’s last two contests, wins over Butler and DePaul.
The surgery was done on Tuesday. Bouknight had been leading the Big East in scoring, averaging 20.3 points, while making 45% of his shots from the field.
Contact tracing issues involving the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards forced the NBA to postpone three more games Wednesday, raising the leaguewide total from this week alone to eight.
The NBA also revealed Wednesday that 16 players — by far the most in a one-week period since training camps started — returned positive COVID-19 tests between Jan. 6 and Tuesday. With 497 players tested, that reflects a positivity rate of 3.2%.
Phoenix’s home game Wednesday against Atlanta was called off, as was the Suns’ home game with Golden State on Friday. Also called: Friday’s game where the Wizards would have gone to Detroit. The reason in all three cases was the same, that the Suns and Wizards wouldn’t have enough players cleared to participate.
Packers put Veldheer on COVID-19 list.
The Green Bay Packers have placed offensive tackle Jared Veldheer on the reserve/COVID-19 list just one day after announcing they had signed him off the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. The list is for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or have close contact with someone who’s infected.
UCLA promotes Jerry Neuheisel to wide receivers coach.
LOS ANGELES» UCLA has promoted Jerry Neuheisel to wide receivers coach.
Neuheisel played for the Bruins from 2012 to 2015 and has been a graduate assistant with the program during Chip Kelly’s three years as head coach.
Neuheisel is the son of former UCLA quarterback and coach Rick Neuheisel.
Fox, Rodman selected with the top picks in the NWSL draft.
North Carolina defender-midfielder Emily Fox was the first player taken in the National Women’s Soccer League draft Wednesday night, going to expansion team Racing Louisville.
With the second pick, the Washington Spirit selected 18-year-old forward Trinity Rodman, daughter of former NBA player Dennis Rodman and a standout on the U.S. youth national teams.