To many the father of one of the NBA’s top prospects is a charlatan. But he can change a business in which African Americans often fail to get a fair deal UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball had a lot invested in Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery. Ball, whose court vision and playmaking ability have drawn rave reviews, is a consensus top-three pick. Getting picked by the right team in next month’s draft sets him up for a bright future although a poor fit or dysfunctional franchise could derail his career. The draft is equally important from a business standpoint, as a player’s salary for at least his first seasons is determined entirely by draft order. Related: Top NBA prospect Lonzo...
Nike’s move to highlight the intensity and passion of veiled Muslim athletes speaks volumes in an age of renewed xenophobia, but it’s hardly groundbreakingTwo days before International Women’s Day, Nike unveiled its Pro Hijab and took a leap into modest sportswear. Nike, arguably the most influential sports company in the world, announced that the product, available in three colors, would be on sale in spring 2018.The Pro Hijab is a collaboration between Muslim athletes in the Middle East – and the timing of Nike highlighting diversity in sport is impeccable. In an era where xenophobia seems to ring out as a norm, highlighting the intensity and passion of veiled Muslim athletes speaks volumes. But the modest sportswear industry is not...
By the end of the 5-1 Champions League capitulation there was an air of sadness, of a wonderful manager caught in the final stages of a long goodbyeThis was a strange, decelerating, ultimately rather sad occasion for a great club and a wonderful manager caught in the final stages of his own torturous long goodbye. Before kick-off a caravan of two hundred or so Arsenal supporters had staged a procession from Highbury to the Emirates in protest at Arsène Wenger’s continued employment, a kind of Jarrow march for the parochially enraged of north London. “We want you to go, we want you to go,” they sang on the streets outside the stadium. “No New Contract,” the signs read. Which, as...