ESPN and sports reporter Maria Taylor jointly announced Wednesday that the host is leaving the network after the two sides failed to reach an agreement to extend Taylor's contract.
Why it matters: Taylor's departure comes just weeks after the New York Times published leaked audio of basketball reporter Rachel Nichols suggesting Taylor, who is Black, was promoted because ESPN was "feeling pressure" on diversity.
The U.S. and Swedish women's soccer teams took a knee ahead of their match Wednesday to protest racism and discrimination.
The big picture: The International Olympic Committee issued new guidelines allowing athletes to "express their views" more freely than in the past. The organization relaxed its protest rules in the wake of 2020's global racial reckoning, Axios' Jeff Tracy reports.
Nearly 90% of the University of Alabama's football team has been vaccinated for COVID-19, head coach Nick Saban said at a press conference Wednesday.
Why it matters: The high percentage of vaccinated players on the team stands in contrast to the overall low vaccination rates in Alabama, where only 42.4% of people over the age of 18 have been fully vaccinated, according to the New York Times.
Veteran women's basketball star Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez will be the flag bearers at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced.
Driving the news: The International Olympic Committee, calling this year's event the "first gender-equal Olympic Games ever," encouraged teams to have one woman and one man serve as their flag bearers.
The U.S. women's soccer team lost 3-0 to Sweden on Wednesday in the team's first appearance in the group stage of the 2020 Olympics.
Why it matters: The stunning defeat marks the first loss for the U.S. team in 44 matches, the first loss under head coach Vlatko Andonovski and it raises the stakes for the next two games if the U.S. team wants to get out of Group G.
It's not the start that organizers had once imagined, but the delayed 2020 Olympics are underway with softball and women's soccer beginning competition Wednesday ahead of Friday's opening ceremonies.
Why it matters: Originally scheduled to take place in 2020, the Olympics remain in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Games are being played without spectators and a number of athletes have already had to withdraw from competition after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The International Olympic Committee awarded the 2032 Olympics to Brisbane, Australia, on Wednesday, capping a new one-city selection process meant to minimize costly bidding wars between countries.
Why it matters: It will be the third time that Australia hosts the Olympics, following the popular 2000 Summer Games in Sydney and the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne.
