Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) criticized the NBA's decision to limit political messages players can wear while on court in a letter to league Commissioner Adam Silver on Friday.
Why it matters: Hawley accused the league of censoring players' support for law enforcement officers and the military, as well as their criticism of the Chinese Communist Party's human rights abuses in Hong Kong and against Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
In the past two days, 73 college football games were scrapped because of the virus, from marquee matchups like Oregon-Ohio State to storied rivalries like USC-Notre Dame. The Pac-12 joined the Big 10 in announcing they'll play only in-conference this fall, AP reports.
Why it matters: A conference-only schedule lets schools cut down on travel and other expenses at a time when athletic departments are facing massive budget constraints.
Why it matters: It's one of the first interventions from a prominent politician on the topic — and it comes after the Ivy League's move to pause fall sports and the Big Ten's decision to keep its competitions conference-only.
Why it matters: This will have a snowball effect on the rest of the country, and could force all Power 5 conferences to follow suit, resulting in a regionalized fall sports season.
Over the last few weeks, the Supreme Court has handed down multiple setbacks to President Trump and conservatives on cases ranging from abortion to LGBTQ discrimination. Chief Justice John Roberts' record shows he's not siding with the left. Instead, he's slowly but surely moving the court in a more conservative direction.
