By Mark F. GraySpecial to the AFRO Howard basketball coach Kenny Blakeney wasn’t expecting it to be a teachable moment. It was supposed to be merely another chance to make history by playing on the NBA All Star Weekend’s biggest stage. However, fate gave Howard a lesson before they got to Cleveland and beat Morgan […]
Category: Sports
Posted inBaltimore News
A Baltimore all-female golf club’s fight for desegregation
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business WriterReport for America Corps Membermsayles@afro.com The Pitch and Putt Golf Club is the second oldest African-American female golf organization in the United States, and yet, many are unaware of its historical significance. Originally a co-ed golf club known as the Pitch and Putters, it was born in Baltimore City in 1938 […]
Posted inSports
Erin Jackson of US 1st Black woman to win speedskating gold
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP National Writer BEIJING (AP) — Erin Jackson has never viewed herself as some sort of trailblazer. She just likes to skate really, really fast, whether it’s on wheels or blades. Yet the 29-year-old from balmy Ocala, Florida knew this moment was special, her chance to really make an impact on the […]
Posted inNational Sports
It’s a yes! Simone Biles engaged to Jonathan Owens on V-day
By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Olympic great Simone Biles said it was “THE EASIEST YES” when her fellow elite athlete Jonathan Owens popped the question on Valentine’s Day. “I can’t wait to spend forever & ever with you, you’re everything I dreamed of and more! let’s get married FIANCE,” the excited gymnast […]
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On the slopes, a struggle for Black skiers’ Olympic dreams
By Aaron Morrison, The Associated Press Take an informal survey of elite American Alpine skiers and snowboarders, and most can name an organization that exposes Black and Hispanic children from urban areas to winter sports. Whether it’s on indoor halfpipes in New Jersey, or the Rocky Mountain slopes of Colorado and Wyoming, there seem to […]
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Howard, Morgan State to play in televised inaugural HBCU game during All-Star Weekend
By Associated Press The inaugural NBA HBCU Classic between Howard and Morgan State will be televised nationally as part of All-Star weekend festivities as the league expands support of historically Black colleges and universities. The Feb. 19 game will be broadcast on TNT and ESPN2 from Wolstein Center, Cleveland State’s home arena. Along with the […]
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HBCU Sports Report: HU defeats UMES, Blakeney lauds Bison resilience, maturity
By Mark F. Gray, Special to the AFRO The ups and downs of a young but talented team continued for Howard University (HU) at their home of Burr Gymnasium when University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES) made their annual pilgrimage to the District last weekend. However, there were flashes of dominance before and after halftime as […]
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MSU grad helps push Jamaican bobsledding into the 2022 Winter Olympics
By AFRO Staff From left, Ashley Watson, Rolando Reid, Shanwayne Stephens and Matthew Wekpe, members of the Jamaican four-man bobsled team, are back in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 1998. Reid, a former track and field standout, is a 2016 Morgan State graduate. Three-time Olympian and Morgan State University graduate (class of […]