Sports & Politics Intersect: Nevada police reopen sexual assault case against Ronaldo

Need to know now:  

• Cubs owner supporting Brett Kavanaugh - Through a $650,000 television ad, Chicago Cubs owner Todd Ricketts is showing support for embattled Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. While attending Yale in 1985, the future federal judge, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women, was questioned by police about a bar fight involving friend and future NBA player Chris Dudley.

• Russian intelligence officers charged with hacking anti-doping groups - A federal grand jury in Pennsylvania indicted seven Russian intelligence officers with hacking nearly 40 different anti-doping agencies and sports federations around the world, including the US.

• Major hoops programs fretting over corruption trial - With the new college basketball season upon us, some major programs are preparing for the next shoe to drop as the ongoing federal corruption trial continues to implicate more coaches and administrators. There is a major question of how much detail will come to light from federal investigators involved in the trial in New York.

• Seattle mayor key to closing in on NHL team - Jenny Durkan, the mayor of Seattle, may have been the one who convinced the NHL’s executive committee to consider the city’s bid for the league’s newest franchise. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league hopes to come to a vote on the bid in early December. If it goes through, Bettman will be a hero to the Emerald City, which can’t be said for one of WWE’s stars.

• Rams, NFL take a loss in Missouri court - A Missouri appeals court denied the Los Angeles Rams and the NFL in an attempt to settle a lawsuit related to the franchise’s move back to California, stating that their collective position didn’t meet “legal muster.”

• Reid won’t drop collusion suit; undecided on ceasing protest - While Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid says he is unsure if he will stop protesting during the national anthem, he is certain that he won’t drop his collusion suit against the NFL now that he’s signed to a new team. Meanwhile, music star Kanye West tweeted to Colin Kaepernick, Reid’s former teammate, suggesting that the free-agent quarterback have “a dialogue” with President Donald Trump.

• Goodell appreciates Trump’s “leadership” on trade provision - Shortly after the Trump administration announced a new trade deal with Mexico and China, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he appreciated the president’s “leadership and determination” on bringing a resolution to a complex intellectual property issue in Canada for the Super Bowl broadcast on CTV.

• White men still dominate leadership positions in college football - In its annual diversity report, the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida once more found that white males have the overwhelming majority of coaching and administrative positions in big-time college football.

• Ivanka Trump talks tech with NASCAR - While visiting North Carolina to observe how the state is dealing in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, White House senior adviser and daughter of the president, Ivanka Trump, made a pit stop to the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, raving about how the school prepares young people for in-demand jobs.

• Male sports fans have big interest in women’s sports - A Nielsen Sports study revealed that male sports fans actually make up more than half of the people who take an interest in women’s sports. The same study showed that of the general population of several countries, 64 percent have interest in at least one women’s sport.

• NFLPA wants seat at the table for gambling framework - The NFL wants players to steer clear of any relationship with gambling, while the NFL Players Association is upset that it has not been involved in any situation where gambling regulations are discussed. Meanwhile, the league is at odds with the casinos again as it hopes for federal oversight over legalized gambling, something casinos do not want. Someone who is hoping to embark more on the future of legalized gambling on sports is Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards, Mystics and Stanley Cup champion Capitals.

• Lisa Borders leaves WNBA for Time’s Up - Lisa Borders, who presided over the WNBA for three seasons, left her post to become the first CEO and president of Time’s Up, the advocacy group for women in the workplace. Borders’ departure solidifies the need for the next president (or first-ever commissioner) to be given more power and authority separate from the NBA.

• Yankees crossed picket lines in Boston - Ahead of their first playoff series against the Boston Red Sox since the infamous 2004 ALCS, the New York Yankees found another way to tick off some Bostonians. They arrived on the second day of a strike initiated by the city’s Marriott hotels, passing by picketing workers on their way to checking into the Ritz-Carlton.

• Accused diving coaches still working with children - According to a lawsuit filed against USA Diving, the organization has allegedly allowed coaches who are accused of sexual abuse to still work with children. Separately, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) suggested that in light of the sexual abuse scandals in Olympic sports, USA Olympics should have its tax-exempt status revoked.

• Reidy details process of MLB’s domestic violence investigation - Melisa Reidy, the ex-wife of Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, provides details into how Major League Baseball investigated her allegations of domestic violence and her reasons for coming forward. 

• Jemele Hill on leaving ESPN, joining The Atlantic - After her departure from ESPN, sports media personality Jemele Hill told The Hollywood Reporter that her relationship with “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” had run its course after its handling of the controversial back-and-forth between her and President Trump. Hill also returns to her writing roots as a columnist for The Atlantic. 

This week in sports and politics history: 

“I was a litmus test to see if it could be done. There were a lot of things in the equation other than X’s and O’s. Would fans come to the games? Would the players play for a black quarterback? A lot of things were accomplished because I didn’t fail.” - Marlin Briscoe on the plight of black quarterbacks

He started for only a single season, but it would be a season that would change everything. Marlin Briscoe became the first man of African-American descent to start at quarterback in the AFL or modern NFL. Briscoe would throw for 14 touchdowns and 1,897 yards for the Denver Broncos — rookie records that John Elway did not match.

Briscoe’s opportunity wasn’t just handed to him, though. He demanded it by telling the Broncos to let him compete for the quarterback job or he’d leave for the ABA or a teaching position. He went into training camp listed as a quarterback and stayed ready for his opportunity to take the field when Steve Tensi was injured. 

In 1968, Briscoe was an anomaly — an outlier who challenged the status quo and forced the football world to re-evaluate stigmas about black men and leadership. The intelligence of black men was questioned when it came to running an NFL offense, questions that still prevail today. More than their white counterparts, black men are often evaluated as skilled position athletes before being evaluated as a quarterback. Their Wonderlic scores receive more attention, and they have fewer opportunities to learn and fail on the job early in their careers. 

However, thanks to Briscoe’s single season, black quarterbacks now have many more opportunities on the field than they did in the late 1960s. A black quarterback has started in four of the last six Super Bowls and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes is this season’s early front-runner to win the NFL’s MVP award. 

Briscoe would play wide receiver for the remainder of his career, becoming an All-Pro his second year in the position and finishing second in receptions and yards with Buffalo. Briscoe would play nine seasons in the NFL — the first of which helped change everything.