Friday's Sports in Briefs

Updated Jun. 6, 2020 2:44 a.m. ET

Associated Press

PRO FOOTBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was wrong for not listening to players fighting for racial equality and encouraged them to peacefully protest.

One day after 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and several of his peers released a video demanding the league condemn racism, Goodell made his strongest statement on the issues many players passionately support.

George Floyd’s death has ignited nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality, issues former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began speaking out against in 2016 when he started taking a knee during the national anthem.

“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said in the video. “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe Black Lives Matter. I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much needed change in this country.”

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — John Elway says he’s no longer staying on the sidelines and is “joining with the players, coaches and our organization in speaking up against racism, police brutality and any injustice against the black community.”

The comments from the Denver Broncos’ general manager came in a lengthy Twitter post at the end of a tempestuous week in which his head coach, Vic Fangio, drew widespread condemnation for suggesting he didn’t see racism or discrimination in the NFL.

Several Broncos players and coaches are expected to gather Saturday for a march and speeches at the state capitol in downtown Denver, the site of daily demonstrations since the death of George Floyd. Four officers have been fired and charged in his killing.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than half of the 32 NFL teams did not have coaching staffs at their facilities even though the league has approved such returns where local governments allow them.

Clubs with coaches in place at their training complexes were Super Bowl champion Kansas City, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Washington, Denver, Dallas, Jacksonville and Atlanta. While entire staffs had not yet returned in many cities, on hand were such head coaches as the Chiefs’ Andy Reid, the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Falcons’ Dan Quinn, the Broncos’ Vic Fangio and three of the new hires: the Browns Kevin Stefanski, the Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy and the Redskins’ Ron Rivera, who had much of his staff with him.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars protested against inequality and police brutality, marching from their stadium to the steps of the sheriff’s department.

The march included Joshua Dobbs, Brandon Linder and Josh Lambo of the Jaguars along with family members. Coach Doug Marrone, general manager Dave Caldwell and assistant coach Terry Robiskie also walked in what the team called an attempt to “raise awareness for racial injustices against the Black community,” with many wearing “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts.

The Jaguars started their march at 9:04 a.m. local time to signify the local 904 area code.

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Texans special teams coordinator Brad Seely is retiring after 31 seasons coaching in the NFL.

Seely served as a team’s special teams coordinator from 1989-2019. In all, he has been a coach for 41 years and won three Super Bowls.

PRO BASKETBALL

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand are giving $100 million to organizations dedicated to promoting racial equality and social justice.

In a joint statement on social media, Jordan and the Jordan Brand said money will be paid over 10 years with the goal of “ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.”

“Black lives matter,” the statement said. “This isn’t a controversial statement. Until the ingrained racism that allows our country’s institutions to fail is completely eradicated, we will remain committed to protecting and improving the lives of black people.”

Jordan, the 57-year-old former Chicago Bulls great, is the owner of the Charlotte Hornets. The Jordan Brand is a subsidiary of Nike, the shoe giant that earlier Friday committed $40 million over the next four years to support the black community.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Oklahoma State was fined $10,000 and its men’s basketball team was banned from the upcoming postseason after the NCAA found that former assistant coach Lamont Evans accepted up to $22,000 in bribes intended to help steer athletes to choose certain financial advisers.

The NCAA ruling included three years of probation, the fine self-imposed by the school along with an additional 1% from the program budget, recruiting restrictions and a reduction in basketball scholarships. Evans also received a 10-year show-cause order in the case tied to the federal corruption investigation into college basketball, which became public in fall 2017. The school received a notice of allegations last year.

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — Players accused teams of “depriving America of baseball games” as part of a money fight set off by the coronavirus pandemic and raised the possibility baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred might push ahead with a shortened season over the union’s objection.

Bruce Meyer, the union’s chief negotiator, sent a letter to Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem threatening that an attempt to play without an agreement could lead players to block any attempt to expand the playoffs and deny consent to neutral-site games in the postseason.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers would each save more than $100 million on player salaries as part of management’s proposal to start the coronavirus-delayed season than they would under the union’s plan, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Top stars accustomed to eye-popping salaries that set them apart from mere All-Stars would experience by far the steepest cuts. Set to earn $36 million each, Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole would get $25.3 million under the union’s plan and a base of $5.6 million under the teams’ proposal, with the chance to get back to about $8 million if the postseason is played. A rookie at the minimum would get $396,537 from the union plan and $256,706 from the MLB proposal — not much more than the $222,222 per game Trout and Cole originally were slated to earn.

AUTO RACING

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Roger Penske will watch the IndyCar season opener from a suite at Texas Motor Speedway — his first time off the pit stand and on the other side of the fence since his teams failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1995.

His relocation is partly for safety. At 83, Penske is considered at high risk for the coronavirus and he will avoid large crowds by working inside the paddock from a transporter separate from the rest of his team. But as the new owner of the IndyCar Series, he has also relinquished his role as a strategist for Team Penske to avoid conflicts of interest.

SOCCER

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — Soccer was back and so were the spectators in Vietnam when the top domestic league resumed after the coronavirus shutdown.

Fans were allowed into Ho Chi Minh City’s scoreless draw with Hai Phong among three matches, But unlike Germany’s Bundesliga and South Korea’s K-League, which returned to action in May with empty arenas, more than 1,000 fans attended the V-League game at Hai Phong. Allowing spectators to the matches was the result of Vietnam’s successful efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aleksandar Katai has been released by the LA Galaxy after a series of alarming social media posts by his wife, Tea. The Galaxy announced their decision to “mutually part ways” with their new Serbian winger in a one-sentence news release.

Tea Katai made the posts on her Instagram story earlier this week, and the Galaxy angrily condemned them as “racist and violent” on Wednesday. The posts included a photo with a caption written in Serbian urging police to “kill” protesters, another referring to protesters as “disgusting cattle,” and a third sharing a racist meme.

BOXING

CLEVELAND (AP) — Pete Rademacher, who won a boxing gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and fought Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight title in his first professional bout, has died. He was 91.

A family member told the Media Gazette that Rademacher died Thursday at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky. He had dementia for years. His brain will be donated for medical research, the family said.

Rademacher won gold in Australia by knocking out Russian Lev Mukhim in the title match. A college lineman at Washington State, Rademacher then set out to win the heavyweight belt as a pro and persuaded Patterson to fight him.