Hometown Broadcasting Sports Friday 6/5/20
5 June 2020 Sports
The Green Bay Packers on Thursday released a statement on the rampant police brutality and systemic racism that contributed to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others.
In the same statement, the team committed to making a financial difference.
The Packers are supporting a desire to bring attention to racism, police brutality, oppression and injustice and bring about change by working with the team’s players to make a $250,000 donation “to Wisconsin causes that support social justice and racial equality and announcing donations in the future.” Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy and his wife, Laurie, are also supporting the effort with a $250,000 donation to Wisconsin social justice groups.
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The NBA board of governors voted Thursday to approve a 22-team format to restart the 2019-20 season July 31 in Orlando, Florida.
Sources told ESPN that the vote was 29-1, with the Portland Trail Blazers voting against the proposal. The National Basketball Players Association has been working closely with league officials on the plan, and the NBPA’s team player representatives have a conference call set for Friday to approve the proposal, sources told ESPN.
Under the plan, 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams will play eight regular-season “seeding” games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed and playoffs at the Walt Disney World Resort.
The top 16 teams in the Eastern and Western conferences will be joined by teams currently within six games of eighth place in the two conferences — New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix and Washington.
The play-in tournament will include the No. 8 and No. 9 teams in a conference — if the ninth seed finishes the regular season within four games of the eighth. In that case, the No. 9 seed would need to beat the No. 8 seed twice to earn the playoff berth, while the No. 8 would need one win from the two potential games. The NBA said the season resuming is contingent on an agreement with The Walt Disney Co., which owns ESPN, to use the Walt Disney Resort for all games, practices and housing. Teams will begin training in Orlando starting July 9-11, sources said.
The league also offered dates beyond the July 31-Oct. 12 season window, with the draft lottery set on Aug. 25, the NBA draft on Oct. 15 and the 2020-21 season likely beginning Dec. 1. Sources told ESPN that free agency could begin Oct. 18, with training camps starting Nov. 10, though teams were told to consider the free-agency date as flexible.
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NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim today announced that the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA G League season, which was suspended March 12, has been canceled. The NBA G League’s regular season was scheduled to conclude on March 28.
“While canceling the remainder of our season weighs heavily on us, we recognize that it is the most appropriate action to take for our league,” said Abdur-Rahim. “I extend my sincere gratitude to NBA G League players and coaches for giving their all to their teams and fans this season. And to our fans, I thank you and look forward to resuming play for the 2020-21 season.”
In the coming weeks, the NBA G League will announce end-of-season award winners, including the Most Valuable Player, Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees apologized Thursday morning in an Instagram post for his comments about kneeling during the national anthem that received intense criticism Wednesday.
Brees said during an interview with Yahoo Finance he “will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country” when asked about players possibly kneeling during the anthem to bring awareness to social injustice, as Colin Kaepernick did in 2016, during the 2020 season. The future Hall of Fame quarterback was roundly condemned for his comments by current teammates like Cam Jordan, Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Malcolm Jenkins, NFL leaders like Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans staples like actor Wendell Pierce. On Thursday, Brees issued a lengthy apology on Instagram for his comments and the pain and frustration they caused.
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NFL coaches will be allowed to return to team facilities starting Friday. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport obtained a memo sent to teams from Commissioner Roger Goodell that allows coaching staffs to be among the employees eligible to return to club facilities beginning Friday, June 5. Players not seeking treatment for injuries are still barred from working at team facilities.
According to the memo, coaches may return only if the team has “received necessary permission from state and local governments to reopen its facility.” Clubs may also increase the number of employees in the facility to a total of 100, if allowed by local authorities.
Rapoport reported that the league anticipates only the San Francisco 49ers are not able to get to their facility Friday. The Niners are aware and supportive of the plan and have communicated with local authorities to obtain all necessary permissions when available. Team facilities were allowed to begin reopening on May 19, but coaches and players were barred from returning as many states continued with lockdown orders. Protocols put in place will continue to be followed as additional members of the teams are allowed to re-enter the building. Friday’s return to the office for coaching staffs will be the next step in gearing up for the 2020 season. The Eagles announced later Thursday that their facilities are set to reopen Monday to limited employees.
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