May 18, 2013

Sports: Collins is ‘happiest’ ever, but not everyone celebrates gay NBA player

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(Reuters) – Veteran basketball player Jason Collins basked in support and declared himself as happy as he had ever been on Tuesday, but not everyone was pleased about his becoming the first openly gay player in North America’s four major professional sports leagues. Collins revealed he was gay on Monday in a Sports Illustrated article, [...]

NFL to fight anti-gay bias, says N.Y. attorney general

The NFL logo is seen on a trailer parked near the New Meadowlands Stadium where the Jets and Giants NFL football teams play home games in East Rutherford

(Reuters) – The National Football League will step up its efforts to fight discrimination based on sexual orientation, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Wednesday. The action comes after at least three college football players said they had been asked about their sexual orientation during NFL recruitment interviews earlier this year. As a [...]

NFL News: Pat Summerall dead at 82

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DALLAS (AP) — Pat Summerall, the deep-voiced NFL player-turned-broadcaster who spent half of his four decades calling sports famously paired with John Madden, died Tuesday. He was 82. Susie Wiles, Summerall’s daughter, said her father died in Dallas. ”He was an extraordinary man and a wonderful father,” Wiles said. ”I know he will be greatly [...]

Sports: Sexual orientation becoming hot topic in pro sports

NFL logo appears on an entrance door to football stadium at Super Bowl XLII in Glendale

(Reuters) – In the ultra-scrutinized world of U.S. professional sports, there is still one line that no one has ever crossed. There is still not a single openly gay player in any of America’s major professional sports leagues. In a country with openly gay politicians, entertainers and even soldiers, professional sports has become a final [...]

NFL: NFLPA to look into Elvis Dumervil contract dealings

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Quarterback Brandon Weeden #3 of the Cleveland Browns delivers a pass agaisnt the defense of defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson #99 and defensive end Elvis Dumervil #92 of the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 23, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Browns 34-12. (December 22, 2012 – Source: [...]

NFL Super Bowl XLVII: Smith chastises NFL for lack of player safety

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(PhatzRadio / AP) — NEW ORLEANS — The NFL Players Association challenged the league’s commitment to player safety on Monday, going so far as to call some teams’ behavior “reckless” when diagnosing and treating players. Executive director DeMaurice Smith, speaking in a second-floor conference room at the downtown convention center, pointed to Chargers physician David [...]

NFL players union funding $100 million Harvard study on injury

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(Reuters) – The union that represents U.S. professional football players has given Harvard University a $100 million grant for a study of the range of health problems, from brain damage to heart conditions, that affect current and former players. Researchers with Harvard Medical School plan to spend a decade studying hundreds of former players who [...]

NFL: Buffalo Bills reach deal to stay in western New York

The Buffalo Bills take the field before their NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Toronto

(Reuters) – The Buffalo Bills have reached an agreement that will keep the National Football League team in western New York for at least the next seven years, the team said on Friday. The deal, which includes a 10-year lease for the Bills’ current stadium and $130 million in upgrades to the facility, ends speculation [...]

NFL players: Three out of four own guns

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(Photo: Jamie Squire, Getty Images) Story Highlights Most players say Jovan Belcher murder-suicide will not change attitudes “I was always shocked at the number,” says former coach Tony Dungy of gun ownership Many cite 2007 death of Sean Taylor from home invasion as motivation for buying guns (PhatzRadio / USA Today) — Former NFL running [...]

I Was a Replacement Ref: Inside the NFL’s 7 Weirdest Weeks

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(George Gojkovich / Getty Images /NFL referee Jerry Frump) (PhatzRadio / Time / SI) — Jerry Frump, a banker who lives in the Chicago area, has refereed college football for 30 years. But this summer, when the NFL announced it was looking into casting replacements, he jumped at the chance – putting his college-football career [...]