By AFRO Staff The 2023 CIAA Tournament returned to Baltimore from Feb. 21 to 25. The CFG Bank Arena in Downtown Baltimore was full of activity as the nation’s premier Black athletes met on the court. The CFG Bank Arena, formerly Royal Farms Arena, is newly renovated and opened its doors for the first time […]
Category: Sports
Posted inSports
CIAA Tournament returns to Baltimore
By AFRO Staff Fans of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) from around the nation converged on Baltimore this week for the 2023 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament. HBCU athletes, cheerleaders and mascots left it all on the court as they faced off with some of the country’s top athletes.
Posted inNational Sports
Fox pit reporter Sims a symbol of NASCAR’s diversity goals
By Dan Gelston, AP Sports Writer When Josh Sims reports on NASCAR this season, the stock car series these days – from the garage to the grandstands to top brass – looks more like him. Yes, Sims takes pride in the fact that he will become the first Black pit reporter for the Daytona 500 […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
National Black Players Coalition salutes first Black quarterbacks to face off in one Super Bowl game
2023 Super Bowl full of historic milestones Black athletes and artists were crown jewels of Super Bowl 57. This year’s event was full of historic “firsts” as Sheryl Lee Ralph performed an inspiring renditionof James Weldon Johnson’s Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” for the first time ever. Rihanna also gave a landmark […]
Posted inHBCU
Fisk University gymnasts sparkle as first HBCU gymnastics team in NCAA
By Bianca Crawley, Special to the AFRO This year is special for Fisk University, a private historically Black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tenn. On Jan. 6 their gymnasts became the first HBCU team to compete on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level for their sport. Since 1906, the NCAA has showcased remarkable competitive […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Mount Holyoke College appoints Danielle Ren Holley as first Black female president to lead institution
By Howard News Staff Danielle Ren Holley, noted legal educator and social justice scholar, will become the twentieth president of Mount Holyoke College on July 1, 2023. The Board unanimously elected Holley following a thorough and inclusive search process. President-elect Holley is the first Black woman in the 186-year history of Mount Holyoke College to […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Extraordinary and influential former track coach of Mervo, Freddie Lee Hendricks, dies at 81
By Nicole D. Batey, Special to the AFRO Family members of retired track and field Coach Freddie Lee Hendricks recently announced that he completed his final race on Jan. 27, 2023. Hendricks, who taught physical education at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical (Mervo) High School for 36 years, leading the high school’s team to numerous city, state, […]
Posted inSports
Coppin State’s Jewel Watkins Named MEAC Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Submitted by Steven Kramer, Director of Athletic Communications NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State’s Jewel Watkins has been named the MEAC Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon. This is Watkins’ first weekly award this season after receiving a pair of Rookie of the Week honors […]
Posted inNational Sports
Ticket demand, anticipation grows as LeBron nears Kareem
By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Basketball Writer Courtside seats 166 and 167 at the arena where the Los Angeles Lakers play their home games are pretty much as good as it gets. The people occupying those chairs when LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record will have an up-close view, with their feet on the […]
Posted inWord In Black
NFL has been slow to embrace mental health support for players
By Mark Kreidler, Word In Black When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field in the middle of the “Monday Night Football” game in Cincinnati on Jan. 2, Carrie Hastings, half a continent away, understood what she needed to do — and right away. “I had a few guys […]
Posted inSports
Sports Roundup: a look at local high school sports
On Jan. 27 the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM) track and field teams gathered at the Prince George’s County Sports Complex in Landover, Md. Some of the best high school talent in the area participated for the championship, including two outstanding athletes Elise Cooper, of the McDonogh […]
Posted inNational Sports
Frank Reich, fired by Colts, named to coach Carolina Panthers
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO The Carolina Panthers filled its head coach vacancy with former Indianapolis Colts Frank Reich Jan.26 in a move viewed as the latest example of Black coaching talent being overlooked in the National Football League. The decision to jettison interim head coach Steve Wilks comes in the wake of the […]
