Sports

(TUSCALOOSA, Ala.) — University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban and NBA icon Jerry West joined three fellow sports personalities native to West Virginia to pen a letter to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., urging him to help push voting rights legislation in the Senate without asking him to allow a rule change that would be necessary to ensure the bill’s passage.

On Tuesday evening, Manchin pointed out on C-SPAN that the version of the letter made public this week was missing a key footnote in which Saban indicates his objection to eliminating the filibuster while the other signatories take no position on it.

“Coach Saban is not in favor of getting rid of the filibuster in the Senate. He believes this will destroy the checks and balances we must have in our Democracy. The others signing this letter take no position on this aspect of Senate policies,” the version shared by Manchin reads.

Manchin, like Saban, has also said he supports Democrats’ voting rights legislation but has long stated his opposition to changing the Senate filibuster rule.

Saban, one of the best-known coaches in American sports, originally hails from West Virginia and maintains a friendship with the West Virginia senator dating back to the 1950s. West, former NFL players Oliver Luck and Darryl Talley, and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue also signed the letter.

Their letter focuses on equal election access for all Americans and the importance of transparency and impartiality in elections administration. A House-passed voting rights bill that combines both the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act addresses these issues with provisions that boost vote by mail and aim to prevent new laws restricting voting rights from being enacted in the future.

“We strongly support urgently needed legislation that will protect both the rights of voters and the integrity of outcomes in all Federal elections,” the letter, dated Jan. 13, reads.

The letter comes amid an ongoing, high-stakes voting rights battle in the Senate, with the measure looking destined to be blocked by a Republican filibuster since Democrats do not have the support of their entire slim majority to pass a rules change. With Manchin and fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., reaffirming their opposition to altering the filibuster rule, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s attempt to create a carveout for voting rights is poised to fail when it is voted on Wednesday evening.

Manchin told reporters Wednesday morning he would be speaking on the Senate floor later in the day to outline where he stands. But he has been adamant in his resistance even calls to get rid of the filibuster to protect voting rights have grown louder.

The latest push for federal voting rights legislation comes after 19 states passed laws restricting voting rights in 2021 following the 2020 election, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.

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(BOSTON) — The Boston Bruins retired the jersey of Willie O’Ree, the first Black NHL player, on Tuesday night — 64 years to the day of his professional hockey debut.

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 and currently in line to be the first hockey player to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, the ceremony, which was held at TD Garden, marked another historic moment for O’Ree’s ever-growing, decades-long legacy.

An avid ice hockey player from the age of 5, O’Ree knew he’d wanted to play professional hockey since he was 14 years old.

“I made two goals for myself: to play professional hockey and hopefully one day to play in the National Hockey League,” he said in an interview for ABC News Live on Monday.

He would go on to achieve both.

The Canada native committed himself to the sport, leaving home at 17 years old to play in a junior league.

O’Ree continued to improve his game, but at 20 years old, his dreams of joining the NHL were jeopardized when a puck struck him in the face while playing for the Kitchener Canucks, a junior ice hockey team. The impact shattered his retina, causing him to lose vision in his right eye. He was told that the injury would stop him from playing ever again.

Despite the prognosis, O’Ree said he was determined to continue practicing, so he adapted. As a left-wing player, he would have to turn his head completely to the right to see the puck.

“Forget about what you can’t see, and concentrate on what you can see,” he said he told himself at the time.

Just two years later, he made history when he became the first Black NHL player ever in 1958 at 22 years old. He never told the team about his loss of vision. It would have made him ineligible to play if the league knew.

O’Ree didn’t know the impact he was making at the time, he said.

“I didn’t realize I broke the color barrier until I read it in the paper the next morning,” he said, adding, “I was just so excited that I got the opportunity to play in the National Hockey League and with the Boston Bruins.”

If they can’t accept you for the individual that you are, then that’s their problem
But his time with the Bruins was not without adversity.

Although his Bruins teammates accepted him, as the first and only Black player in the league during the 1950s and 1960s, O’Ree said he was met with racism from fans and opposing players. He said he didn’t allow the bigotry to deter him.

“I knew if I fought every time somebody called me a name that I’d be in the penalty box all the time,” O’Ree said. “So it was hard. It was hard at the beginning. But later on, I did gain the respect of not only the fans in the stands, but the players on the opposition.”

O’Ree credits his older brother Richard with helping him develop the confidence he needed to succeed in a league that was not welcoming to people like him.

“He knew the type of individual I was, and you know, the racism and prejudice and bigotry,” O’Ree said to media after the ceremony. “He knew I could handle that, and he just said, ‘Forget about what other people think about you. If they can’t accept you for the individual that you are, then that’s their problem.'”

He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 1961, the same team he played against in his NHL debut, and then continued on to play in minor leagues before retiring in 1979.

Over half a century later, Black hockey players still face prejudice from spectators, teammates, and coaches.

O’Ree, now 86, has worked as the NHL’s director of youth development and an ambassador for NHL Diversity for 24 years.

His lifelong dedication to dismantling barriers for athletes of color continues to play a large role in the NHL’s efforts to address the lack of diversity in the league.

The NHL has an initiative called Hockey is For Everyone, which is focused on creating a more inclusive environment for players and fans of all backgrounds through programming that includes the Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend.

“Watching these boys and girls experience everything hockey has to offer is incredible,” he said. “More than 130,000 boys and girls have gone through the programs so far. I look forward to supporting the next generation of young hockey players.”

His passion for ice hockey, helping young athletes set goals and providing a space for opportunity and success have influenced the sport and many who love it over the years.

“There are more Black girls and Black boys and players of color playing hockey today than ever before,” O’Ree said. “So we’re going, we’re going in the right direction.”

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Minnesota 112, New York 110
Golden State 102, Detroit 86

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 3, Ottawa 1
Washington 4, Winnipeg 3 (OT)
Carolina 7, Boston 1
NY Islanders 4 Philadelphia 3 (SO)
Vancouver 3, Nashville 1
Final Montreal 5, Dallas 3
Calgary 5, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 6, Los Angeles 4
Columbus at NY Islanders 7
Detroit at Philadelphia (Postponed)
Chicago at Edmonton (Postponed)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baylor 77, West Virginia 68
Florida St. 79, Duke 78
Kansas 67, Oklahoma 64
Wisconsin 82, Northwestern 76
Houston 74, South Florida 55
Texas Tech 72, Iowa St. 60
Ohio St. 83, IUPUI 37
Loyola Chicago 77, Evansville 48
Kansas St. 66, Texas 65
Tennessee 68, Vanderbilt 60
UConn 76, Butler 59
Providence at Seton Hall (Postponed)

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(NEW YORK) — As the fight for voting rights stalls in Congress, the NBA Social Justice Coalition continues its call for lawmakers to act urgently to protect the right to vote.

The NBA Social Justice Coalition was formed in 2020, after the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake. The group, which includes players, owners and staffers, has advocated for policy changes regarding voting rights, criminal justice, policing and justice reform, by reaching out to lawmakers in targeted efforts in Congress and state and local legislatures.

Over the past two years, the group has been active across the country and in Washington, D.C.

Voting rights were at the forefront for the NBA Social Justice Coalition in 2020. The NBA opened up 23 league facilities to help increase voting participation by using them as polling locations and voter registration locations.

In 2021, NBA all-star forward Karl Anthony Towns, from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Caron Butler, an assistant coach of the Miami Heat, held a virtual roundtable with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., on the topic of policing reform.

Last year, the group publicly endorsed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and pushed for the passage of the EQUAL Act, a bill that seeks to eliminate the federal differences in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine.

Privately, the group has also held several bipartisan meetings with lawmakers.

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers told ABC News, fighting for equal rights “has been part of my life throughout my life.”

Born and raised in Chicago, Rivers, 60, grew up going to Operation Breadbasket, a 1960s era program that fought for jobs and services on behalf of the Black community.

Rivers was only three years old when the Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965 and stressed that Americans should not normalize the fight for voting rights.

“You should be able to vote and you should be fighting for everyone to be able to do it. And the more people you can get engaged in the fight to vote, which shouldn’t be a fight anymore,” he said.

The coach added, “We can’t normalize it that for a long period of our history, and not just Black Americans, women, minorities, were kept out of the right the vote, which is literally the single most important thing about democracy being able to vote, and it’s been attacked throughout my lifetime.”

In August, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed in the House of Representatives. However, in the months since, the bill has stalled due to partisan gridlock.

Rivers told ABC News, “this shouldn’t be controversial … This has nothing to do with color. This has to do with equal rights.”

“It’s been made hard for targeted groups throughout my lifetime to vote, and I don’t care if you’re Democrat or Republican, the one thing that everybody should be fighting for is not making it harder to vote, but making it easier for everyone to vote,” Rivers said

When asked what he would say to lawmakers today on the issue of voting rights, he said he’d simply ask them to protect his right to vote.

“Can you protect my right to vote? Don’t make it harder for me, or certain groups make it easier for all groups. Protect our rights, and we love using the Constitution. That is constitutional,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston 104, New Orleans 92
Charlotte 97, New York 87
Washington 117, Philadelphia 98
Cleveland 114, Brooklyn 107
Memphis 119, Chicago 106
LA Clippers 139, Indiana 133
Atlanta 121, Milwaukee 114
Portland 98, Orlando 88Miami 104, Toronto 99
Phoenix 121, San Antonio 107
Dallas 104, Oklahoma City 102
LA Lakers 101, Utah 95

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Detroit 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)
Colorado 4, Minnesota 3 (SO)
Arizona 5, Montreal 2
San Jose 6, Los Angeles 2
Seattle 3, Chicago 2 (SO)
NY Islanders 4, Philadelphia 1
St. Louis 5, Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 5, Vegas 3
New Jersey at Toronto (Postponed)

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
LA Rams 34, Arizona 11

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Purdue 96, Illinois 88

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(PARIS) — Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic could be barred from competing in the French Open following the French Parliament’s adoption of a vaccine pass on Sunday.

Professional athletes, regardless of nationality, will now have to show their credentials and present a vaccine pass to access sports venues, France’s Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu told reporters on Monday.

Maracineanu had told French radio station France Info differently earlier this month, saying that athletes like Djokovic could benefit from exemptions “because the protocol, the health bubble of these major sporting events will allow it.”

However, she said on Monday that the recent law to curb the spread of the new coronavirus passed by the French Parliament had changed the situation.

French lawmakers passed a controversial piece of legislation on Sunday that will require people 16 years and older to have a vaccine certificate to enter public places such as restaurants, cafés, bars and cinemas. The regulation will apply to sports venues as well, Maracineanu announced, saying she hoped for the French sports sector to become an “ambassador(s) of these measures on the international level.”

Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, spent nearly a week in visa limbo in Australia, which has strict COVID-19 and vaccine rules for those entering the country. After a brief legal challenge, a judge ruled Djokovic had to leave the country.

The new vaccine pass regulation, which has not yet been promulgated, should come into force in the coming days.

Under these new regulations, athletes without a valid vaccine pass would not be allowed to compete French Open, which will be held in May in Paris.

A prior COVID-19 infection could make someone eligible for a vaccine pass, but only under strict conditions that need to be specified in a decree that will accompany the law, a spokesperson at the French Sports Ministry told ABC News.

The details of the decree should be announced at the end of the week and will reveal how long after a positive test that one’s infection can act as a vaccine pass under the new regulation.

 

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(BEIJING) — No public tickets will be sold to next month’s Beijing Olympics due to COVID-19, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee said.

Instead, groups of spectators will be invited to the games, and “the organizers expect that these spectators will strictly abide by the COVID-19 countermeasures before, during and after each event,” the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee said.

The organizing committee said this change is due to the “grave and complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the safety of all participants and spectators.”

The Opening ceremony is set for Friday, Feb. 4.

China is tightening travel restrictions for its capital ahead of the Olympics, requiring all travelers to Beijing to take a nucleic acid test within 72 hours of entry.

The testing rule, which will begin on Jan. 22, was announced after Beijing recorded its first omicron case this weekend in a suburb near many Olympic venues. Health authorities have sealed off the patient’s residential compound and workplace.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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(MELBOURNE) — Australian authorities on Friday canceled tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa, putting his participation in the Australian Open in doubt.

Alex Hawke, imigration minister, who announced his decision at about 6 p.m. local time, said the Australian government “is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders.”

“Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Hawke said in a statement.

Hawke’s decision arrived days after an Australian court reinstated the 34-year-old’s visa, which had been granted with a medical exemption to Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

Officials questioned whether Djokovic meet the requirements for that exemption, but Judge Anthony Kelly sided with the tennis star, noting that Djokovic’s medical exemption had been provided with input from an “eminently qualified physician.”

“And the point I’m somewhat agitated about is, ‘What more could this man have done?'” the judge said on Monday.

Questions had still lingered, however, about whether Djokovic lied on his Travel Declaration Form. Every traveler arriving in Australia needs to submit the document before entering the country.

At issue were the few weeks prior to Djokovic’s landing in Australia on Jan. 5 from Spain via Dubai. Under Australia’s pandemic measures, the tennis star would have had to stay in Spain for at least 14 days before travelling.

Djokovic on his entry form ticked the box saying he hadn’t traveled during that period. Social media seemed to tell a different story, with at least one post suggesting Djokovic had been in Serbia during those 14 days.

Hawke on Wednesday told ABC News: “Mr. Djokovic’s lawyers have recently provided lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation said to be relevant to the possible cancellation of Mr Djokovic’s visa. Naturally, this will affect the timeframe for a decision.”

The Australian Open begins on Jan. 17. Djokovic has won the tournament the last three years and nine times overall.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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(MELBOURNE) — Novak Djokovic will not be deported or detained on Friday night, but the world’s No.1 tennis player will need to attend an interview with immigration officials in Melbourne at 8 a.m. local time on Saturday — two days before he’s expected to start defending his title at the Australian Open.

A late-night emergency hearing was held at the Australian Federal Circuit and Family Court on Friday, after Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used ministerial powers to cancel his visa again.

Australian authorities on Friday had canceled tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa, putting his participation in the Australian Open in doubt.

“Today I exercised my power… to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Hawke said in a statement.

It could mean that he is banned from entering Australia for up to three years.

Hawke’s decision arrived days after an Australian court reinstated the 34-year-old’s visa, which had been granted with a medical exemption to Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

But on Friday night, Judge Anthony Kelly decided to move the case to the Federal Court of Australia in order to secure “a quick, inexpensive final determination of this proceeding.”

For now, Djokovic can remain where he is staying, but he will be taken into detention after an interview with immigration officials at an undisclosed location on Saturday morning. He will then be escorted by two Border Force officials to his lawyers’ office, then is due to go back into detention until Sunday’s hearing.

Djokovic’s team said they will challenge the reasons for canceling his visa — including the claim that allowing Djokovic to stay on would “excite” anti-vaccine activists in Australia.

Djokovic’s lawyer, Nick Wood, told the court that Minister Hawke’s reasoning was “patently irrational” and argued that Djokovic was “in good standing.”

“The reasons of the minister stand in stark contrast to the reasons that the delegate at the airport was saying,” Wood said.

Djokovic’s spokespeople said they want the procedure to move as quickly as possible because every minute before the tournament commences is “precious.”

“We are very concerned about time,” said Wood.

Questions had still lingered, however, about whether Djokovic lied on his Travel Declaration Form. Every traveler arriving in Australia needs to submit the document before entering the country.

At issue were the few weeks prior to Djokovic’s landing in Australia on Jan. 5 from Spain via Dubai. Under Australia’s pandemic measures, the tennis star would have had to stay in Spain for at least 14 days before travelling.

Djokovic on his entry form ticked the box saying he hadn’t traveled during that period. Social media seemed to tell a different story, with at least one post suggesting Djokovic had been in Serbia during those 14 days.

Hawke on Wednesday told ABC News: “Mr. Djokovic’s lawyers have recently provided lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation said to be relevant to the possible cancellation of Mr Djokovic’s visa. Naturally, this will affect the timeframe for a decision.”

The Australian Open begins on Jan. 17. Djokovic has won the tournament the last three years and nine times overall.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Milwaukee 118, Golden State 99
New Orleans 113 L.A. Clippers 89
Final Memphis 116 Minnesota 108
Final Oklahoma City 130 Brooklyn 109
Final Denver 140 Portland 108

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Columbus 6, Carolina 0
Tampa Bay 4, Vancouver 2
Boston 3, Philadelphia 2
Winnipeg 3, Detroit 0
NY Islanders 3, New Jersey 2
St. Louis 2, Seattle 1
Buffalo 4, Nashville 1
Chicago 3 Montreal 2 (OT)
Ottawa 4, Calgary 1
NY Rangers 3 San Jose 0
Los Angeles 6, Pittsburgh 2

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Oregon 84, UCLA 81
Wisconsin 78, Ohio St. 68
Texas Tech 78, Oklahoma St. 57
DePaul 96, Seton Hall 92
Gonzaga 110, BYU 84
Southern Cal 81, Oregon St. 71
Arizona 76, Colorado 55

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