Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 1-22-19

Sports
Carson Palmer: Bruce
VA Basketball Referee Banned After Inspecting 10-Year-Old Girl's Braids
A white, basketball referee has been banned from offici- ating children's games in a Virginia City after he report- edly singled out and publicly inspected a 10-year-old black girl's braided hairstyle on Sat- urday (Jan. 12).
The young girl was report- edly wearing braids with blue extensions during the basket- ball game. Erica Guerrier, the mother of the young girl and coach of the team, said the referee mistakenly stated that hair weaves and braids are against the rules. Guerrier claimed the ref then made a "spectacle" out of her daugh- ter during the game.
"At the end of the day, they're 9 and 10, so why does it even matter?" she told WAVY-TV.
Following the incident, Virginia High School League Executive Director Billy Haun said that the referee should not have raised con- cerns publicly.
Hampton Roads Basket- ball Association commissioner Rick Ennis announced that the ref is under investigation and is banned from officiating future games in the Chesa- peake, VA area. In addition, Guerrier said that she would like the ref to apologize to her daughter for the embarrass- ment.
This isn't the first incident to occur at a sports event in- volving a black player's hair. A New Jersey high school ref- eree received backlash after chopping off a black wrestler's dreadlocks in front of the en- tire school prior to his match. The ref was fired following public outrage.
Tiger Woods Will Play In
Arians, Jameis Winston
2019 Farmers Insurance
Will Be Great Together
Open At Torrey Pines
One of Bruce Arians’ former quarterbacks thinks the coach will be a big posi- tive for his new one.
Carson Palmer had some of his best NFL seasons while playing for Arians in Arizona and he was asked during an appearance on NFL Network about how he thinks Jameis Winston will fare now that Arians has been hired as the head coach of the Buccaneers. Palmer believes it is going to be a match made in heaven.
“They’re going to be great together,” Palmer said. “It’s probably the best thing that could’ve happen to Jameis at this point in his career. Getting a guy like B.A. to come in and clean up some things technically. And really installing what he does best and that’s push the ball down the field. He finds ways to get the ball down the field to Mike Evans with DeSean Jackson there and speed on the outside. His passing game, his vertical passing game is just different. It’s
JAMEIS WINSTON AND BRUCE ARIANS
hard to defend. You don’t see it throughout the league. Every team doesn’t do what he does. That combined with the way that Jameis can throw the ball down the field with accuracy, I think it’s a great tandem.”
Jackson may not stick around, but that’s unlikely to change Arians’ long-stand- ing approach to offensive football. Palmer’s not the first to suggest that it will be a good fit for Winston and the outlook for Winston’s future with the Bucs will be a lot brighter than it was for much of 2018 if those predic- tions are on the mark.
Tiger Woods will open his season at the Farmers In- surance Open at Torrey Pines in Calfornia on Jan. 24-27, according to Ryan Lavner of the Golf Channel.
That wasn't the only major announcement in the past 24 hours regarding the tournament, as Rory McIl- roy will also make his first appearance at the tourna- ment, per Lavner.
Woods, 43, had a fantas- tic 2018 after being plagued by injuries in recent years, winning the TOUR Champi-
TIGER WOODS
onship to close the season— his first win since the 2013 campaign.
Nelly Doesn't See 'The
Big Deal' On Super Bowl
Louisville International
Many people have their thoughts on the upcoming Super Bowl, and how the big event's Halftime headliners (Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi) shouldn't be performing in protest of the NFL.
Nelly, who performed at the Super Bowl in 2001 and 2004, said that he doesn't see the issue with performing at the game since NFL owners don't get paid for the halftime performance.
"I don't see the big deal on people upset about who's per- forming at halftime, because, what people have to under- stand, if you're really against the NFL, the halftime show is not what you should be con- cerned about," he told TMZ's cameras at LAX. "If you're watching the NFL, if you're supporting your team, that's how [NFL owners] get paid. They don't get paid through the halftime show."
The topic of Colin Kaepernick reportedly ex- pressing disappointment in Travis Scott for agreeing to perform came up in conversa- tion. Reports initially stated that Scott consulted with
NELLY
Kaepernick about perform- ing, but the NFL free agent re- portedly never said he was okay with him performing. Nelly said that the former 49ers quarterback has his own reasons for being upset, but that doesn't negate the fact that halftime show does- n't generate money for the owners.
"I wouldn't say that he has a point in the sense of... I mean, [Kaep] has his own reasons. But again, if you watch the NFL every Sunday, you support your team, that's how they make their money," he continues. "If you're trying to make a stand against the NFL, you should probably not watch it on Sunday or you should not go to the games ... the halftime show is irrele- vant."
Airport To Be Renamed
After Muhammad Ali
Louisville, Kentucky's hometown hero will have an airport named after him.
Mayor Greg Fischer an- nounced Wednesday (Jan. 16) that the Louisville Inter- national Airport will be re- named after Muhammad
Ali". Muhammad Ali be- longed to the world, but he only had one hometown, and fortunately, that is our great city of Louisville," Fischer said.
"Muhammad became one of the most well-known people to ever walk the earth and has left a legacy of hu- manitarianism and athleti- cism that has inspired billions of people."
The city is hoping to fi- nalize the renaming of the Louisville International Air- port to the Louisville Muhammad Ali Interna- tional Airport by June. The news was shared a day before the two year anniversary of
MUHAMMAD ALI
Ali's 2016 death. Ali would've been 77.
Officials with the Louisville airport are cur- rently working on receiving approval from Ali's family, however, they say an agree- ment is near. The decision for the rename to hopefully increase tourism.
"It is important that we, as a city, further champion The Champ's legacy," the mayor added. "And the air- port renaming is a wonderful next step."
Halftime Backlash
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019