Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 7-2-21

Sports
Trail Blazers Hire
Hammer Thrower Gwen
Lamar Odom, Rajon Rondo Banned From Dallas Establishment
One Dallas establishment stays so faithful to the Maver- icks that they have banned poorly-performing players of the home team from visiting their venue.
An entertainment venue in Rockwall, Texas called Shenaniganz has banned Lamar Odom, Rajon Rondo and DeAndre Jor- dan from visiting the place.
A patron noticed the funny oddity and shared a photo on social media that went viral.
Lakers' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Robbed
At Gunpoint
KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE
Los Angeles Lakers guard
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
was robbed at gunpoint earlier this month in a heist that net- ted $150,000 worth of luxury items, according to a report.
Caldwell-Pope, 28, was standing in the driveway of his Los Angeles home with a group of friends on June 17 at around 4 a.m. when a car pulled up, law enforcement sources told TMZ Sports.
Three armed men report- edly exited the vehicle and de- manded that KCP and his friends hand over their belong- ings.
Sources told the outlet that the thieves made off with about $150,000 worth of stuff, including a Rolex watch, jew- elry and an iPhone.
No one was injured and po- lice are investigating, accord- ing to the report.
Berry Turns Away From Flag
Chauncey Billups As
While Anthem Plays At Trials:
Next Head Coach
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS
nity on a whole other level.” The Blazers have sched- uled a Tuesday press confer- ence to introduce Billups, 44. He becomes the 15th head
coach of the franchise.
Over the course of his ca-
reer, Billups played for Boston, Toronto, Denver, Minnesota, Detroit, New York and the Clippers. Known as Mr. Big Shot, he was voted the 2004 NBA Finals MVP while with the championship- winning Pistons.
'I Feel Like It Was A Setup'
For the past week, the na- tional anthem has played one time per evening at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. On Saturday, the song happened to start while out- spoken activist Gwen Berry was standing on the podium after receiving her bronze medal in the hammer throw.
While the music played, Berry placed her left hand on her hip and fidgeted. She took a quarter turn, so she was facing the stands, not the flag. Toward the end, she plucked up her black T-shirt with the words "Activist Ath- lete" emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.
"I feel like it was a setup, and they did it on purpose,'' Berry said of the timing of the anthem. "I was pissed, to be honest.''USA Track and Field said the anthem has been scheduled to play at around 5:20 p.m. every evening at trials. On Satur- day, the music started at 5:25, while the hammer throwers, including third- place finisher Gwen Berry,
The Portland Trail Blazers in on Chauncey
Gwendolyn Berry turns away from the flag during the national anthem after the hammer throw competition.
left, were on the podium. "My purpose and my mis- sion is bigger than sports,'' Berry said. "I'm here to rep- resent those ... who died due to systemic racism. That's the important part. That's why I'm going. That's why
I'm here today.''
"They said they were
going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,'' said Berry. "But I don't re- ally want to talk about the anthem because that's not important. The anthem doesn't speak for me. It never has.''
The Blazers announced Billups as their next head coach on Sunday. He'll be on a five-year guaranteed deal, league sources told Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Chris Haynes.
Billups, an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers, will take over for Terry Stotts in Portland after his departure earlier this month.
“Portland is a special place and a unique franchise,” Billups said in a statement Sunday night. “As a player I always loved playing here be- cause the passion and knowl- edge of the fans brought out the very best in me as a com- petitor. Now I’m looking for- ward to being on the other side of that energy and engag- ing with the Portland commu-
are Billups.
Damian Lillard Could
Leave Trail Blazers
Due To Blowback Over
Chauncey Billups Hire
As backlash mounts over the Trail Blazers’ decision to hire Chauncey Billups as coach, Damian Lillard has been defensive on Twitter.
Could Lillard go on the offensive, even doing some- thing as drastic as requesting a trade?
The enormous backlash from the Portland Trail Blaz- ers’ process to hire a new coach and his concerns on whether a championship contender can be built have become factors that may push the franchise player — Lillard — out the door.
Lillard has remained loyal to Portland in large due to the tremendous fan base. But over the last few days, he’s seen some of those same fans attacking him on social
DAMIAN LILLARD
media for a pending coaching hire he played no part in con- summating, sources said.
It seems inaccurate to say Lillard played no role in the Trail Blazers hiring Billups. Lillard publicly endorsed Billups’ candidacy. Lillard also reportedly joined Billups’ virtual job inter- view.
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