Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 2-23-18

Sports
Players Across NFL, NBA Landscape Host Free 'Black Panther' Screenings For Kids
Tampa Bay Buccaneers star and Arkansas native Clinton McDonald hosted a free screen- ing of Marvel's new Black Panther film for children in Central Arkansas.
Mark Cuban Fined
"The Black Panther!" someone shouts as Carolina Panthers safety Mike Adams walks out of the the- ater where he and 100 other residents of Paterson, New Jersey, just watched the his- tory-making Marvel movie. It's Saturday, a day after the film's official release, and though Adams is wearing a superpower-less version of the Marvel hero's necklace, their similarities go deeper than a costume.
Adams and the other athletes who sponsored screenings of Black Panther around the country over Presidents Day weekend are also stronger, faster and have better instincts (as the movie's introduction explains of its titular character) than most people. They want to make the world a better place too.
"The way a lot of us grew up, we feel an obligation to give back, because for some kids that superhero, or that
football player—that's all they have," Adams said. "If they don't see that, there's no hope."
Black Panther is the first Marvel film with a predomi- nantly black cast, and one whose box office success quickly became a cause: The better it does, the more likely Hollywood studios will be forced to prioritize represent- ing their audience onscreen.
Serena Williams
brought a group from Black Girls Code to see the movie. The Dallas Mavericks' Har- rison Barnes bought 150 tickets for kids in Dallas. The New Orleans Pelicans' Rajon Rondo hosted a screening in Louisville.
But it's NFL players— many of whom are back in their hometowns for the off- season—who've taken up the mantle en masse of bringing people to see the ground- breaking film. The Cowboys' Kavon Frazier took 600 kids in Dallas. The Jaguars'
Jaelen Strong took 60 kids in his hometown of Philadel- phia. The Buccaneers' Clin- ton McDonald and retired player Arian Foster both sponsored screenings, and from the Chargers, Russell Okung and Jason Verrett brought even more families to theaters.
Warriors To Spend D.C. Day With Kids Instead Of At White House
The Golden State Warriors have decided how to spend their day in D.C. later this month in place of what was supposed to be their trip to the White House to be honored as the defending NBA champi- ons.
The Warriors will spend Feb. 27 taking a private tour of a local place and they will be accompanied by children.
The Warriors are scheduled to play the Knicks in New York on Feb. 26 and the Washing- ton Wizards on Feb. 28. They likely were to spend the off-day in between at the White House to be honored, but the presi- dent rescinded the invitation after talk emerged that most of the players did not want to make the visit. Several War- riors players have made it clear that they do not support Pres- ident Trump, his beliefs nor his political agenda.
The NBA announced on Wednesday that Dallas Mav- ericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $600,000 for some recent comments he made about tanking.
The hefty fine is a result of what the NBA has deter- mined were public state- ments that are detrimental to the league.
In a recent appearance on “The House Call with Dr. J” podcast, Cuban said that he told his team it would be best if they lose for the remainder of the 2017-2018 season.
“I’m probably not sup- posed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren’t competing for the playoffs. I was like, ‘Look, losing is our best option,'” Cuban said on the podcast, as transcribed by ESPN.com.
MARK CUBAN
“Adam [Silver] would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I ex- plained it to them. And I ex- plained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we’re not going to tank again. This was, like, a year-and-a- half tanking, and that was too brutal for me. But being transparent, I think that’s the key to being kind of a players owner and having stability.”
$600K For Comments
About Mavs Tanking
Alshon Jeffery Has Surgery
For Shoulder Injury He
Played Through All Season
Alshon Jeffery had a productive season with the Philadelphia Eagles and was one of the main reasons the team won a Super Bowl, and his performance is even more impressive when you con- sider that he played through a significant injury the entire year.
A source reports that Jef- fery underwent successful surgery to repair a torn rota- tor cuff on Wednesday. The injury was the same one he
ALSHON JEFFERY
suffered when he landed awkwardly on his shoulder back in July.
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