Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended last week for a positive marijuana test, was left off the U.S relay team and won't compete in this year's Olympics, USA Track & Field said Tuesday.
Why it matters: While Richardson had accepted a one-month suspension, there was still a chance she could return in time to race in the women's 4x100-meter relay in Tokyo on Aug. 6. But USATF declined to add her to the team, saying it wouldn't be fair to the other athletes.
ESPN announced Tuesday it would move its longtime basketball reporter Rachel Nichols off sideline coverage of the NBA Finals amid controversy related to disparaging comments she made last year about her colleague Maria Taylor, CNBC reports.
Why it matters: The sports-media giant's decision comes two days after the New York Times published a leaked audio recording of Nichols suggesting the promotion of Taylor, who is Black, was because ESPN was "feeling pressure" on diversity.
100 years after Babe Ruth bent the sport of baseball to his will, Shohei Ohtani — who takes the mound tonight against the Red Sox — has broken it entirely.
Driving the news: Next week in Denver, Ohtani will compete in the Home Run Derby, start at DH for the AL andtake the mound after becoming the first player ever named an All-Star as both a pitcher and position player.
Convening 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries for the Tokyo Olympics is proving to be a logistical nightmare, Bloomberg reports.
The big picture: The pandemic has upended flight schedules, closed international borders and COVID-19 testing and vaccination requirements are posing enormous challenges for athletes traveling to the games.
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, died Sunday from chest trauma following an accident with a firework at a Fourth of July celebration in Novi, Michigan, according to AP.
The big picture: The Novi Police Department said Kivlenieks, a native of Riga, Latvia, slipped and hit his head on concrete while fleeing a mortar-style firework that had tilted toward him and several other people.
