Season 2, Episode 3. Special guest Donovan Jones joins the podcast to talk about this week's top sports headlines.
NBA
· Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder praised star guard Donovan Mitchell for using his social media platform to push for social justice and cited some of the negative feedback as proof that significantly more progress must be made.
o Mitchell expressed dismay about racist comments some fans posted in response to his Instagram post of an image that read "free-ish SINCE 1865" honoring Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the effective ending of slavery in the United States.
o In a tweet hours later, Mitchell questioned how fans could cheer for players but be so openly against their push for social justice.
o "There were a lot of positive comments surrounding Donovan's post," Snyder said during a video conference call Thursday with reporters. "That said, there were also some comments that were abominable and things that we all should never tolerate.
o "To the extent you can rationalize some of those negative comments by saying there were positive comments, I think that's a mistake. We all have to be that diligent, because as long as those comments are there, there's work to be done."
o Snyder, who is part of the NBA coaches' association's committee on racial injustice and reform, kept the focus of the call with ESPN reporters on social justice issues. He said he would discuss basketball at a later date as the planned restart of the NBA season nears.
o 4 mins
· The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are planning to paint "Black Lives Matter" on the court inside both sidelines in all three arenas the league will use at the Walt Disney World Resort when it resumes the 2019-20 season late next month in Orlando, Florida, league sources told ESPN.
o The WNBA is also discussing painting "Black Lives Matter" on the court when it begins its abbreviated 2020 season at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, sources said.
o 2.5 mins
· The Los Angeles Lakers are planning to sign free-agent guard JR Smith and submit his name as part of the franchise's roster for the restart in Orlando, Florida, sources told ESPN.
o Smith and the Lakers have been discussing a deal since starting guard Avery Bradley opted out of the season restart last week.
o Smith and the Lakers were working through the final details of a contract on Monday in Los Angeles, and there are believed to be no hurdles to a finalized deal, sources said.
o 3 mins
NFL
· 2015 NFL MVP and former Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton has reached an agreement on a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the New England Patriots, league sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter.
o Newton now will step into the mix to try to help replace former Patriots signal-caller Tom Brady, who left to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. The Patriots did not select a quarterback in April's draft, with 2019 fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham and 11-year veteran Brian Hoyer atop the depth chart.
o 3.5 mins
· The NFL fined the New England Patriots $1.1 million and took away a third-round pick in the 2021 draft among the punishments for their television crew's filming the field and sideline during a Dec. 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, according to ESPN.
o In addition, the Patriots' television production crews will not be allowed to shoot any games during the 2020 season, and senior club officials will undergo required training on league operation and game policies.
o 2 mins
· FedEx asks the Washington Redskins to change their nickname
o FedEx has naming rights to the Redskins’ stadium, which they paid $205 million for
o "We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name," FedEx said in a statement obtained by ESPN.
o FedEx, Nike and PepsiCo each received letters signed by 87 investment firms and shareholders worth a combined $620 billion asking the companies to sever ties with the team unless it changes its controversial name, Adweek reported Wednesday
o On Thursday night, Nike appeared to remove all Redskins gear from its online store. The other 31 NFL teams were listed and a search for "Redskins'' came up with no results. Nike did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.
o Dan Synder announced on Friday that the team will have a meeting about a “possible change” and potential new names for the franchise
o 4 mins
· Colin Kaepernick will be the subject of a six-part series produced by acclaimed director Ava DuVernay, Netflix announced Monday.
o The series, "Colin in Black and White," will explore the quarterback's high school years, attempting to show the experiences and insights that led to his activism.
o Kaepernick will appear as a narrator, with an actor playing him as a youth in the scripted drama of a Black child adopted by a white family.
o "Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens," Kaepernick said in a release. "We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years. It's an honor to bring these stories to life in collaboration with Ava for the world to see."
o 4 mins
College Sports Headlines
· University of Arizona pauses plan for athletes to return to campus
o The school waits for permission from State Governor Doug Ducey after he ordered all Arizona gyms to close again due to one of the biggest coronavirus spikes in the country happening in Arizona
o 2 mins
· Former University of Iowa RB Akrum Wadley says his time at Iowa “was a living nightmare”
o Former Iowa running back Akrum Wadley on Monday detailed several allegations of mistreatment by current and former Hawkeyes coaches, writing that "playing for Iowa Football was a living nightmare."
o Wadley, who played for Iowa from 2014 to 2017, mentioned head coach Kirk Ferentz, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz and former strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle in the allegations, published on Facebook by Robert T. Green, whose sports advisory firm is working with several former Iowa players to voice their experiences with the program.
o Wadley alleges that Brian Ferentz, son of Kirk Ferentz and an Iowa assistant since 2012, repeatedly asked him if he planned to rob a liquor store or a gas station whenever he saw Wadley wearing a team-issued wool cap. He also alleges that Iowa targeted him and other Black players for not gaining enough weight during the season, which led to him bingeing on shakes before workouts and becoming sick.
o "I was threatened by Kirk Ferentz that my meal card would be taken away and I will not eat nor be able to sit with my teammates during eating sessions," Wadley writes in his statement. "He did follow through on his threat. I went to use my meal card and it was declined. I had to call my mother from New Jersey at 10 or 11 at night because I was hungry to order Domino's Pizza for me. Or I would have to go to a fan's house earlier at night to eat because there was no way I was going to be able to make it through the next day vomiting, being weak and be able to make it through school and practice."
o Wadley writes that he asked Broderick Binns, Iowa's director of player development, to find him a therapist "because no one in the football program would help us or listen to what we had to say." After meeting with the therapist once, Wadley writes that "she disappeared."
o "No one told me where she went and no one was put in place for her after that," Wadley writes. "I didn't want to ask too many questions because we would get punished for anything and everything."
o Wadley writes that he turned to alcohol to cope because of his experience at Iowa. He led the Hawkeyes in rushing in each of his final two seasons and finished his career with 2,872 rushing yards in 43 games.
o "My time at Iowa has done things to me that I am not going to discuss because knowing how these people treated me and other black athletes," Wadley writes. "I am done giving them power over me. But if I could do it all over again. I wish I never played for the Iowa Hawkeyes. I would not encourage any future athletes or parents to send your kid to go play for the Iowa Hawkeyes under that current coaching staff."
o 4 mins
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