Statue of ex-Panthers owner moved
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » A statue of former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who was accused in 2017 of making sexually suggestive comments to women and a racial slur directed at a black team scout, was lifted from its pedestal outside the team’s stadium and taken away Wednesday.
“We were aware of the most recent conversation surrounding the Jerry Richardson statue and are concerned there may be attempts to take it down,” a team statement said. “We are moving the statue in the interest of public safety.”
The statement did not elaborate on the information that prompted the removal of the 13-foot (nearly 4-meter) statue, which was originally placed outside the north gate of Bank of America Stadium in 2016 as a gift from team minority partners honoring Richardson’s 80th birthday.
A team spokesman would not say if the statue was coming down for good.
Richardson’s spokesman, Jim Gray, said in a email to The Associated Press that Richardson has made no public comments about the Panthers or the NFL since the sale of the team and “doesn’t plan to do so now as a private citizen.”
“He has worked to treat all people fairly in his business and personal lives and, like many other Americans, is troubled by recent events in Minneapolis, Charlotte, and around the country,” Gray said.
NFL QB COACHING SUMMIT WILL HOLD VIRTUAL VERSION » The NFL and the Black College Football Hall of Fame will hold a virtual version of their quarterback coaching summit, a third-year project aimed at improving the league’s diversity.
Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn is among the pro and college coaches planning to participate in the June 2223 event. Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II, chairman of the NFL’s workplace diversity committee, is among the panelists.
Topics will include building a coaching staff, the fundamentals of playing quarterback and best practices for career advancement. Past participants of the league’s diversity coaching fellowship program have been invited.
College basketball
RIGHTS GROUPS, ATHLETES ASK FOR TOURNEY TO BE MOVED » Groups that advocate for civil rights and women’s rights have joined notable athletes in asking the NCAA to move 2021 men’s basketball tournament games out of Idaho after the state passed a law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
A letter sent and signed by athletes including Megan Rapinoe, Billie Jean King, Jason Collins and Sue Bird calls for the NCAA to take all championship events out of Idaho. The first and second rounds of the men’s tournament are scheduled for next March at Boise State University.
The NCAA issued a statement opposing the Idaho law and had previously banned events in North Carolina in 2016 after passage of a law there that excluded gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide anti-discrimination
protections. The North Carolina law also required transgender people to use restrooms in schools and state government buildings that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate.
The North Carolina law was repealed a year later and the NCAA lifted its ban on events in the state. WILLIAMSON ATTORNEY: ALLEGATIONS OF INELIGIBILITY BASELESS » Attorneys for Zion Williamson’s former marketing agent are continuing their legal push to examine whether the former Duke All-American accepted improper benefits before playing for the Blue Devils, allegations the NBA rookie’s attorney said are “baseless.”
Prime Sports Marketing and company president Gina Ford filed a lawsuit last summer in Florida,
accusing Williamson and the agency now representing him of breach of contract. That came after Williamson had filed his own lawsuit a week earlier in North Carolina to terminate a five-year contract with Prime Sports after moving to Creative Artists Agency LLC.
In a court filing Tuesday in the North Carolina case, Prime Sports-Ford attorneys continued to argue that last summer’s No. 1 overall NBA draft pick didn’t meet the definition of a student-athlete because he was “ineligible/ permanently ineligible” to play college sports. The filing references housing for Williamson’s family during his time with the Blue Devils as well as three luxury SUVs registered by his mother and stepfather between December 2017 and
April 2019 — the latter being the same month Williamson announced he would go pro before ultimately being picked by the New Orleans Pelicans.
College football
USC WELCOMES BACK BUSH » Reggie Bush was the centerpiece of Southern California’s last football dynasty. He inspired players to become Trojans and continued to be adored by USC fans while spending a decade in NCAA-mandated exile from the college.
USC welcomed back Bush, 10 years to the day the NCAA slammed the program with sanctions that included cutting off official ties to the only Heisman Trophy winner to have his victory vacated.
“I’ve dreamed of this day for 10-plus years, and I’m excited to come home!”
Bush said in a statement.
Bush played running back at USC from 200305, leading the Trojans to a pair of national championships. Five years after he was gone, Bush and USC were penalized by the NCAA after an investigation determined he and his family received impermissible benefits while he was still in school.
Soccer
MLS TO RESUME SEASON WITH TOURNEY » Major League Soccer is resuming its season amid the coronavirus pandemic on July 8 with a World Cupstyle tournament in Florida that won’t include fans in the stands.
The league’s 26 teams will be divided into six groups for the opening round of the tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World.
Sixteen teams will advance to the knockout round, with the winner earning a spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. The group matches will count toward the regular season, the league said.
Teams had played just two games to start the season when the league suspended play March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boxing
JOSHUA, FURY AGREE TO TWO-FIGHT DEAL » An allBritish world heavyweight title showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in 2021 is a step closer.
Fury said that an agreement has been reached with Joshua’s camp on a two-fight deal between the current holders of the heavyweight belts.