By Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League “Please continue to pray for my family and all the other families of the wrongfully detained, as our pain remains active until our loved ones are brought home. Let’s continue to use our voices to speak the names of all the wrongfully detained Americans and […]
Category: Sports
Posted inNational Sports
Felix comes out of retirement, helps 4×400 relay into final
By Pat Graham, AP Sports Writer Enjoying retired life, Allyson Felix was eating hot wings and sipping on a root beer float in Los Angeles when the phone rang. She was needed back in Oregon for the prelims of the 4×400 women’s relay. Could she return to world championships? The most decorated sprinter in U.S. […]
Posted inNational Sports
Black MLB draftees become part of a historic 2022 class
by JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor Within one hour of Sunday’s Major League Baseball Draft held in Los Angeles in conjunction with the All-Star festivities, it became a seminal event for the sport when with the fifth pick, the Washington Nationals selected Elijah Green of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The 18-year-old outfielder is the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Cherry Hill honors native Leon Bailey, the man who integrated Navy wrestling
By Nicole D. Batey, Special to the AFRO Leon Bailey, a trailblazer in U.S. Navy Wrestling, was the first African American to integrate Navy wrestling and win an individual title at the AAU New England Six-State Championship in 1964. His life story and accomplishments are shared in his self-published book, Leon Bailey: The Dream. Born […]
Posted inSports
Raiders’ Morgan is NFL’s first Black female team president
By W.G. Ramirez, The Associated Press The Las Vegas Raiders introduced a former Nevada gambling regulator July 7 as the franchise’s new president, the first Black woman to hold the title with an NFL team. Team owner Mark Davis said Sandra Douglass Morgan topped his list every time after he spoke to candidates. “Her experience, […]
Posted inSports
Sharks hire Mike Grier as NHL’s first Black General manager
By Josh Dubow, The Associated Press The San Jose Sharks’ three-month search for a general manager ended with a barrier-breaking hire as the team made longtime NHL forward, Mike Grier, the first Black General manager in league history. “It means a lot to me,” Grier said at his introductory news conference on July 5. “It’s […]
Posted inNational News
More than 1,000 Black women leaders call on Biden administration to step up efforts to free Brittney Griner
By Stacey M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent A collective of nearly 1,200 intergenerational, intersectional Black women leaders across the United States is calling on the Biden administration to ramp up efforts to free WNBA superstar Brittney Griner from detainment in Russia. In a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the #WinWithBlackWomen collective […]
Posted inNational News
Denzel Washington and Simone Biles among 17 Medal of Freedom honorees
By Kara Thompson, MDDC Intern On Thursday, July 7, President Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 Americans in a formal ceremony at the White House. “We strive for we the people doing what we can to ensure the idea of America,” said Biden. “The call of freedom shines like the sun to […]
Posted inBaltimore Community
Basketball icon Muggsy Bogues returns home for a book signing
By Demetrius Dillard, Special to the AFRO Basketball legend, philanthropist and author, Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues released a new autobiography chronicling some of his life’s most memorable moments entitled “Muggsy: My Life from a Kid in the Projects to the Godfather of Small Ball.” The former NBA star returned home to hold a book signing that […]
Posted inPolitics
House of Representatives passes bill calling for immediate release of Brittany Griner, WNBA star still in Russian custody
By Tashi McQueen, Report For America Corps Member, Political Writer for The AFRO Black woman and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, Brittany Griner has been detained in Russia for carrying an illegal substance into the Moscow Airport. On Friday, the US House of Representatives came to an agreement on the Griner Resolution that would […]
Posted inSports
Naomi Osaka and LeBron James launch media company
By AFRO Staff LeBron James, earlier this month, broke barriers again when he was named as the only active professional basketball player to become a billionaire. And phenom tennis player Naomi Osaka may well be on her way to joining King James after recently announcing another business venture. Osaka has partnered with the basketball legend […]
Posted inSports
College baseball intent on increasing Black players, coaches
By Eric Olson, AP Sports Writer Anthony Holman is the highest-ranking NCAA official at the College World Series and the man in charge of the Division I baseball championship. Holman is Black, and when he watches the games, he doesn’t see many people who look like him on the field or in the dugouts. “I […]