IN BRIEF NFL closer to opening up facilities
No timetable yet for a full return to team complexes
The NFL and the players’ union sent a planner to the 32 teams Monday outlining procedures for the full reopening of their practice facilities, which were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a lengthy four-part memo to the clubs written by Commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the NFL Players Association, the league described protocols focusing on screening, testing, and infection prevention and treatment for COVID-19, including response for new infections. Also included were instructions on proper facility access, cleaning and disinfecting; physical distancing; hygiene, health education and medical services; food preparation; supplies; and team travel.
No timetable has been set for the return of most players to team complexes — only players rehabilitating injuries have been allowed to enter the buildings. But this is the next major step toward allowing all players back in club facilities. Goodell ordered all facilities closed in late March, and the league has taken small steps toward reopening them. Last week, coaching staffs were approved to return, but only if local governmental rules allowed it.
Goodell noted that the protocols for a full return were developed in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Duke’s Infection Control Network and other universities.
“No set of protocols can eliminate the risk of contracting COVID-19, nor ensure that the disease itself will be mild,” Goodell wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “And we should expect that these protocols will change as medical and scientific knowledge of the disease continues to grow. But we believe, along with the NFLPA, that these protocols offer a sound basis for bringing players back into the facilities and moving forward with our planning for the 2020 season.”
Training camps are scheduled to begin in late July, with the first preseason game on Aug. 6. The NFL still plans to kick off the regular season in Kansas City on Sept. 10.
NBA: Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the remainder of the NBA season after having surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced Monday. The procedure happened on April 24.
Aldridge initially injured the shoulder during a game against Utah on Feb. 21. He played in the Spurs’ next game, then went on to miss the next six. The Spurs are one of the 22 teams set to participate in the NBA’s regular-season resumption in Orlando, Florida.
NFL: Saints quarterback Drew Brees has apologized for comments he made in an interview regarding his opposition to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem. Now his wife has apologized as well, saying “we are the problem.” Brittany Brees shared those words in an Instagram post Saturday along with a Bible verse and two quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr., including one that said “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“To say ‘I don’t agree with disrespecting the flag,’ I now understand was also saying I don’t understand what the problem really is, I don’t understand what you’re fighting for, and I’m not willing to hear you because of our preconceived notions of what that flag means to us,” Brittany Brees wrote in a lengthy post shared on the couple’s foundation page.
NHL: The Coyotes have made Xavier Gutierrez the first Latino team president and CEO in NHL history.
Gutierrez’s hiring was announced Monday by Alex Meruelo, who became the NHL’s first Latino controlling owner when he bought a majority stake in the Coyotes last year.
“This is a historic day for the Coyotes and the entire NHL,” Meruelo said in a statement. “I have known Xavier for over a decade, and he is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of business and investment experience. We share the same approach to business and his intellect, leadership skills and strategic mindset made him the clear choice to be our new CEO.”
Gutierrez previously served as managing director at Clearlake Capital Group and was chief investment officer of Meruelo Group, which is owned by Alex Meruelo. Gutierrez replaces Ahron Cohen, who parted ways with the Coyotes last month after serving as CEO and president since 2017.
Soccer: Former Italy striker Mario Balotelli was reportedly fired by his hometown club for failing to report to training as the Italian soccer league prepares to resume from a three-month break amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media reported over the weekend that Brescia owner Massimo Cellino had his legal team deliver a dismissal letter to Balotelli to terminate the player’s multi-year contract “for just cause.”