TRUMP & SPORTS
A day later, there were signs that some around the NFL already were ready to move on from their anthem-related gestures prodded by President Donald Trump’s profane broadside against such actions.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion, said Monday - after a sleepless night - that he regretted that most of his team remained in the tunnel during “The Star-Spangled Banner” instead of appearing on the sideline before a 23-17 loss at Chicago on Sunday.
“Moving forward, we will be on the field,” Roethlisberger said. “What we do when we’re out there is yet to be determined.”
Other players and coaches indicated that their teams would discuss as a group how they want to proceed next weekend during the anthem.
But there seemed to be a sentiment that fewer people would participate.
“I would anticipate maybe this one was stronger this week than it’s ever been, because (Trump’s) comments affected people on such a different level,” Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.
MIAMI (AP) - NBA teams are going to do something. It’s just that no one is exactly sure what.
President Donald Trump struck a clear chord in the NBA when he criticized protests by NFL players and rescinded the Golden State Warriors’ traditional championship invitation to the White House.
League-wide media days on Monday were dominated by Trump talk. While frustrations are clear, solutions are not.
It seems unlikely that NBA teams will kneel for anthems. Many players said that they wouldn’t do so.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra says he will “support our guys if they choose to decide to fight this in a coherent, connected way.”
Thunder forward Paul George says “hopefully, we do something as a league that gives us strength.”
UNDATED - Marie Tillman, the widow of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman, says that her husband’s service “should never be politicized in a way that divides us.”
Marie Tillman released a statement to CNN after President Donald Trump retweeted an account referencing Pat Tillman and using the hashtag #StandForOurAnthem. Trump has criticized NFL players for kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest police treatment of blacks and other social injustices. More than 200 NFL players knelt or sat during the anthem this weekend.
Tillman walked away from the NFL to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.
“As a football player and soldier, Pat inspired countless Americans to unify,” Marie Tillman said. “It is my hope that his memory should always remind people that we must come together. Pat’s service, along with that of every man and woman’s service, should never be politicized in a way that divides us. We are too great of a country for that. Those that serve fight for the American ideals of freedom, justice and democracy. They and their families know the cost of that fight. I know the very personal costs in a way I feel acutely every day.”
PRO BASKETBALL
MIAMI (AP) - Teams cannot officially start pursuing Dwyane Wade yet, because that would be tampering.
The same rules don’t apply to players.
So on Monday, even though Wade’s agreed-upon buyout deal with the Chicago Bulls has not yet become official, plenty of his NBA colleagues - particularly those in Cleveland, Oklahoma City and his former home in Miami - started lobbying the 12-time All-Star in earnest about where they think he should be playing this season.
Wade isn’t expected to clear waivers until 5 p.m. Wednesday. He and the Bulls reached an agreement Sunday on the buyout, a person with direct knowledge told The Associated Press. Wade was due to make about $24 million this season in Chicago, and he told AP that he intended to take a couple of days to talk with players and teams about his options.
It’s unclear how many teams have reached out to Wade’s representatives. Wade said he hopes to make a decision quickly.
Wade helped recruit LeBron James to Miami in 2010, and James is now hoping to do the same by getting his close friend to Cleveland.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - Aaron Judge broke Mark McGwire’s major league record for home runs by a rookie, going deep twice Monday to raise his total to 50.
The Yankees slugger hit a two-run drive to right-center off Kansas City’s Jakob Junis in the third inning to tie the mark. He added a solo shot over the visitors’ bullpen in left in the seventh inning against Trevor Cahill.
Judge has 13 home runs in September and six in five games. He hit two home runs for the second straight day and has four multihomer games this month.
McGwire hit 49 homers for Oakland in 1987, breaking the previous mark of 38 set by the Boston Braves’ Wally Berger in 1930 and matched by Cincinnati’s Frank Robinson in 1956.
Judge is second in the major leagues behind Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, who has hit 57.
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