OLYMPICS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) The U.S. Olympic Committee and leaders of the effort to bring the 2024 Games to Los Angeles reached terms on a marketing agreement, clearing a major hurdle nearly a year before those Olympics are awarded.
The Joint Marketing Program Agreement would shift a majority of the USOC’s marketing revenue over to the host city for a period surrounding the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires the agreement to eliminate crossover sponsorships – for instance, the USOC pairing with one carmaker, while a host city pairs with another.
The inability to reach an agreement on the marketing deals until the 11th hour played into the failures of both the 2016 Chicago bid and the 2012 New York bid.
In some instances, host cities have received up to 90 percent of a national organizing committee’s sponsorship revenue.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the American sprinters whose raised-fist salutes at the 1968 Olympics are an ageless sign of race-inspired protest, will join the U.S. Olympic team at the White House next week for its meeting with President Barack Obama.
Smith and Carlos were sent home from the Olympics after raising their black-gloved fists in a symbolic protest during the U.S. national anthem. They called it a ”human rights salute.”
USOC CEO Scott Blackmun asked them to serve as ambassadors as the federation tries to bring more diversity to its own ranks. They will join the team at the White House next Wednesday, then later that evening at an awards celebration in Washington.
The sprinters have been referenced frequently in the recent protests, spurred by Colin Kaepernick, during national anthems at NFL games. One player, Marcus Peters of the Chiefs, raised his own black-gloved fist before Kansas City’s season opener.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) – Protesters gathered near an end zone and marched on the field after Eastern Michigan’s 27-24 victory over Wyoming, three days after racial graffiti was found spray painted on a campus building.
The students sat peacefully and talked to EMU President James Smith late in the third quarter. They moved outside the end zone area in the closing moments before walking onto the field chanting, ”No justice! No peace!” A Wyoming player joined them for a few moments.
The national anthem was played early while the teams were off the field, with the university citing safety and security concerns. Eastern Michigan walked onto the field linking arms as a show of solidarity.
The graffiti was found Tuesday and included the letters ”KKK” and a racial epithet. School officials say another racial slur was found Wednesday in a stairwell. Authorities also are investigating after an SUV pushed through a crowd protesting the graffiti Tuesday.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Penn State has settled a court fight with its insurer over payments to victims of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, a case that revealed new allegations about how early late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno knew of accusations against his assistant coach.
A one-page document filed with a Philadelphia court on Thursday stated the action against the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Insurance Company was settled.
Terms of the deal and the amount of payment are confidential by mutual consent, a Penn State spokeswoman said in an email Friday.
As part of the legal tussle over whether the insurer would have to cover Sandusky-related claims, both sides obtained sworn depositions from key witnesses and other documents that hadn’t previously become public.
The presiding judge, after requests from The Associated Press and other media outlets, released some of that information in July.
PRO BASKETBALL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Kevin Garnett has decided to retire after 21 seasons in the NBA, leaving a legacy as one of the best defensive players in league history and one of the game’s most influential and intense competitors.
Garnett posted a video on his Instagram account saying ”farewell” and ”thank you for the journey.” He narrates the short, black-and-white video that shows him walking alone through Target Center with sunglasses on.
Garnett informed the Timberwolves of his decision to retire. The team will waive the franchise icon, which will allow him to collect his entire $8 million salary for next season. That is the same approach the San Antonio Spurs took with Tim Duncan.
The 40-year-old Garnett put the Timberwolves on the map by turning one of the most hapless franchises in professional sports into a perennial playoff team. He later helped return the Boston Celtics to glory.
OTHER
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A judge has approved a settlement with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling over a $75 million deal with Rhode Island state that brought his failed video game company to the state.
A court spokesman says Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein approved the $2.5 million settlement.
Schilling and three other 38 Studios officials agreed to the settlement with Rhode Island’s economic development agency earlier this week. It will be paid by the company’s insurance.
Schilling agreed to move 38 Studios to Rhode Island in 2010 in exchange for a state loan guarantee. His company failed less than two years later.
The state has now recovered around $45 million. Just one company remains as a defendant, First Southwest, which acted as the state’s financial adviser in the deal.
