NFL coaches are allowed to return to facilities; employee limit raised
Coaches will be allowed to return beginning Friday to NFL team facilities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic as the league continues preparation for training camps and its season.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told the 32 clubs on Thursday in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that coaching staffs may work from team complexes starting Friday. Previously, only up to 75 people per day could be at the facilities, with coaches and players not seeking treatment for injuries barred.
All coaches will count toward the maximum number of club employees in the facility, but that number will be increased to 100.
Colleges
South Carolina coach Frank Martin will chair a new committee formed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to address issues of race and discrimination not only within intercollegiate athletics but society at large.
• Dozens of University of Texas football players marched with Austin police officers from campus to the state Capitol to honor the memory of George Floyd.
Many of the players locked arms on the 2-mile walk that stopped on the north side of the Capitol, the opposite side of the building from where protesters have gathered for several days.
• Seven Arkansas State athletes tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating for 14 days, chancellor Kelly Damphousse said. The seven athletes are from three sports, and all were asymptomatic.
• Florida State’s Mike Norvell apologized after a star player accused the coach of lying about personally connecting with every football player to discuss the police killing of George Floyd and ensuing protests against racial injustice.
Auto racing
Indianapolis Motor Speedway will stage the IndyCarNASCAR doubleheader on the July 4 weekend without fans. Track officials had been optimistic IMS could be the first major sporting venue to have fans back in the stands this summer.
Soccer
The USL Championship Board of Governors voted in favor of returning to play for the 2020 season, with a provisional start date set for July 11. The Riverhounds SC compete in the USL.
• During a conference call, Premier League clubs agreed to adopt the temporary change in world football laws and raise the number of substitutes allowed in games from three to five, with the bench increasing from seven to nine players.
• The president of soccer club Lyon asked a court to reverse a decision to cancel the rest of the French league season, saying it was “absurd” to halt the competition so early. Lyon took the case to the Council of State in a bid to force the league to play the remaining 10 matches of the aborted season.