NBA players union hires mental health director
The National Basketball Players Assn. has hired its first director of mental health and wellness.
Dr. William D. Parham will oversee the union’s new program designed to help members with mental health issues. The program will be headquartered in Los Angeles.
NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts said Thursday the union has “heard our players’ stories and are making mental health a priority now.”
Earlier this season, NBA stars Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors revealed issues they’ve struggle with on and off the court.
The NBA will hold its Africa exhibition game in the South African capital of Pretoria on Aug. 4, with DeRozan and Joel Embiid lined up to play . ... The Detroit Pistons plan to interview TNT analyst Kenny Smith for their head coaching job, the Detroit Free Press reported . ... The Philadelphia 76ers announced a three-year contract extension for Brett Brown.
Loyola Marymount has hired Craig Pintens as its next athletic director, replacing the retiring William Husak. Pintens, 42, has been senior associate athletic director at Oregon the last seven years.
Andrew Tornetta, a Philadelphia Eagles fan accused of punching a police horse and a mounted officer before the Eagles’ NFC championship victory, is suing the team and police, claiming he didn’t strike the horse and he was beaten for no reason.
Former USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny is scheduled to appear before a Senate subcommittee Tuesday to face questioning about the sex-abuse scandal involving former team doctor Larry Nassar.
Delaware will begin full-scale sports betting next week, wasting no time after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for states to implement wagering schemes.
Full-scale sports betting will begin Tuesday at Delaware’s three casinos, officials said.
Abderrahman Samba of Qatar ran the fastest 400-meter hurdles in nearly a decade, finishing in 47.48 seconds to set a Diamond League record at the Golden Gala meet in Rome. U.S. sprinter Ronnie Baker won the 100 in a personal-best 9.93 seconds.
A year after retiring as the greatest sprinter in history, Usain Bolt has seen his career total for Olympic gold medals drop from nine to eight when an international court upheld the disqualification of one of his teammates on the victorious Jamaican 400-meter relay squad at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned substance eight years after the race when the International Olympic Committee ordered that past samples be reexamined using new scientific methods.