Hall of Famer Ewing has virus
Former New York Knicks star is in a Washington, D.C., hospital after positive COVID-19 test.
Georgetown men’s basketball coach and Hall of Fame player Patrick Ewing announced Friday he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Ewing, 57, is isolated and receiving care at a Washington hospital, according to a Georgetown news release. He chose to announce his diagnosis “to emphasize that this virus can affect anyone,” the school said.
“I want to encourage everyone to stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones,” Ewing said in a statement. “Now more than ever, I want to thank the healthcare workers and everyone on the front lines. I’ll be fine and we will all get through this.”
The school said Ewing is the only member of his team to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Southeastern Conference schools will be able to bring football and basketball players back to campus for voluntary activities starting June 8 at the discretion of each university.
The SEC’s announcement is the latest sign that a college football season will be launched in some form this fall. Other conferences are expected to follow suit, though decisions could be left to individual schools.
The move comes two days after the NCAA Division I Council voted to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts on campus by football and basketball players, effective June 1. The NCAA updated that ruling Friday by saying voluntary athletic activities would be allowed in all sports starting June 1.
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott made clear he believes student-athletes would be “in a safer and healthier position” if they were back on their respective campuses this summer, rather than at home.
In a CNN interview, Scott joined other power brokers across college football in framing a June return to campus as a measure meant to keep athletes safe and healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A June return, Scott noted, would put the Pac-12 on schedule to potentially start training camp as early as late July, with “a nice glide-path to support the start of the college football season at the end of August.”
UCLA is set to open its season Aug. 29 at home against New Mexico State.
USC is scheduled to open Sept. 5 against Alabama in Arlington, Texas, and Trojans athletic director Mike Bohn said Thursday that he believes “the odds are in our favor” to play the game as scheduled. — Ryan Kartje
Mexico’s professional soccer league Liga MX has decided to cancel the season without crowning a champion for the first time in its history because of the uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic . ... The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is eliminating 51 positions and furloughing 33 more as part of a dramatic cut in staffing designed to trim up to 20% of its budget to respond to shortfalls caused by the coronavirus.
Naomi Osaka earned $37.4 million over the last 12 months from endorsements and prize money, eclipsing fellow tennis star Serena
Williams in that span, according to Forbes.com.
Forbes said Osaka’s total is a one-year record for a female athlete, topping the previous mark of $29.7 million set by Maria Sharapova in 2015.
Offensive tackle Saia Mapakaitolo of Mission Hills Bishop Alemany committed to USC. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Mapakaitolo is the 13th recruit in the class of 2021 to commit to the Trojans. — Ryan Kartje
Lawyers for New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson want a federal judge in North Carolina to rule that a marketing firm suing Williamson for $100 million never had a valid contract with the former Duke star.