IOC issues its rights policy after Beijing
The IOC approved its human rights strategy on Friday, completing a years-long process months after the Beijing Olympics brought scrutiny on how sports engage with a host nation's record on discrimination and civil liberties.
The 50-page Olympic document guided by United Nations principles was also published one week after the outgoing U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet released a report that said China's detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups may be a crime against humanity.
The International Olympic Committee's rights framework comes more than two years after taking recommendations in a report co-written by Bachelet's predecessor, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein of Jordan.
“The framework will fundamentally shape the working practices of the IOC, the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement, ensuring that human rights are respected within their respective remits,” the Olympic body said Friday after a board meeting.
Those remits have typically limited the IOC's ability or willingness to tackle host nations beyond specific sports issues like organizing events and preparing venues.
IOC president Thomas Bach insisted it was a sports body and not a “world government” ahead of the Beijing Olympics — amid scrutiny of China's treatment of its Uyghur people, suppression of democratic rights in Hong Kong, and the c ase of tennis player Peng Shuai.
Asked on Friday about Bachelet's report, Bach said the IOC worked with sports officials in China to “ensure all obligations within the host city contract were met.”
Bach also declined to speculate when asked what impact the rights strategy could have on picking hosts for an Olympics in 2034 or later. Sports officials in Saudi Arabia have said Olympic hosting is an “ultimate goal” for the kingdom.
“About which countries are we talking? What will be the conditions in these countries by then?” Bach replied. “This is mere speculation therefore we cannot enter into this.”
Jackson, Ravens halt contract talks
Get ready for at least a few more months of uncertainty about Lamar Jackson and his contract.
Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement that the Ravens and Jackson still haven't agreed on an extension for the star quarterback and will keep working on it after the season. Jackson had said Friday was his deadline for a new deal, and he'd be pausing talks after that with the season about to start.
“Despite best efforts on both sides, we were unable to reach a contract extension with Lamar Jackson,” DeCosta said. “We greatly appreciate how he has handled this process and we are excited about our team with Lamar leading the way. We will continue to work towards a long-term contract after the season, but for now we are looking forward to a successful 2022 campaign.”
Jackson is entering his fifth-year option season.
• New York Jets left tackle Duane Brown will miss the season opener against Baltimore with a shoulder injury that could sideline him for at least a few weeks.
• Green Bay Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard (ankle) didn't practice this week and is unlikely to play in their season opener Sunday at Minnesota.
• The Tennessee Titans and safety Amani Hooker agreed to terms on a multiyear contract extension.
Terms were not announced.
Lee6 leads LPGA event
Jeongeun Lee6 posted her best score in nearly a year with a 9-under 63 that gave her a one-shot lead in the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.
Lee6 has gone three years since her lone win on the LPGA Tour at the 2019 U.S. Women's Open, and the 26-year-old South Korean hasn't contended since Singapore at the HSBC Women's World Championship. She was at 13-under 131, one ahead of Janet Lin of China, who had a 68.
• Bernhard Langer holed out for eagle from 76 yards on the opening hole and shot his age for the second time this year with a 6-under 65 for a share of the lead with Padraig Harrington in the PGA Tour Champions' Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis.
• The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European tour, was paused near the end of the first round on Thursday following the announcement of the queen's death — there were still 30 players out on the course — and there was no play Friday.
Play will resume today, the tour said, for what will become a 54-hole event “with the intention to finish on Sunday as scheduled.”
NBA: Jump in salary cap, tax level in plans
The NBA told its teams that it still expects to see a significant jump in the salary cap and tax level in the 2023-24 season.
Based on current projections, the cap will rise 8.4%, and the tax level will rise 7.8% over this season.
Both figures — $134 million for the salary cap in 2023-24, $162 million as the tax level — would set records, and both are $1 million higher than the league's most recent projections made in June. The looming 2022-23 season has a cap of $123.655 million, a tax level of $150.267 million.
The league also told teams that total luxury tax payments for the coming season would be around $660 million, half of which would fund revenue sharing and the other half distributed in equal shares — about $17 million each — to the teams not currently projected to have to pay the tax.
EPL put off following queen's death
The English Premier League postponed its round of matches as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, adding to the cancellation of high-profile golf, cricket and horse racing across a mourning Britain.
• Max Verstappen's five-place grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday will hamper his chances of taking a first ever Formula One podium at Monza. Verstappen was handed the penalty for exceeding his allocation of internal combustion engines.
• John Hunter Nemechek chased down Carson Hocevar over the final laps at Kansas Speedway, passing him as the white flag flew and Hocevar ran out of fuel in his last-gasp chance at advancing in the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs.
Hocevar coasted across in second place but needed the win to advance. Nemechek's late pass allowed Christian Eckes to sneak into the final playoff spot, while three-time series champion Matt Crafton also was eliminated.
• An investigation by Brigham Young University into allegations that fans engaged in racial heckling and uttered racial slurs at a Duke volleyball player last month found no evidence to support the claim.