Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 2-12-19

Sports
Bucs Sign Kicker Phillip Andersen From German League
Deondre Francois' Former Girlfriend Recants Accusations, Apologizes
DEONDRE FRANCOIS
A day after quarterback Deondre Francois was dis- missed from the Florida State football team after allegations of domestic abuse, the woman who made the claims against Francois posted a lengthy apology on social media Mon- day.
The woman said the video was old and was "to scare him not to ruin anything he had going for hisself (sic)."
"If it was serious I would have took legal action instead of making the Instagram post," the woman, who signed the message Diamond Lindsey, wrote. "Love can make you do some crazy things and I'm sorry for lead- ing people to believe he was hitting me along with all the trouble that I have caused."
FSU coach Willie Tag- gart's decision to dismiss the redshirt senior was an- nounced Sunday after the quarterback's former girl- friend posted an expletive- filled, 24-second video on Instagram Saturday night al- leging abuse by Francois.
'Nobody is above the team:' Former Seminoles back FSU decision to cut Deondre Francois. The video did not show the altercation or either individual, but it picked up the audio. It was deleted soon after it was posted.
The woman's apology was posted on the same Instagram account. It was also deleted, according to reports.
A Tallahassee Police De- partment spokesperson told the Democrat Monday that it has not been contacted by the woman who accused Fran- cois of domestic violence in the Instagram post.
Charles Woodson Out As
Michael Husted was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' kicker from 1993-98.
Now a player, Husted helped get closer to realizing his NFL dream will compete to be the Buccaneers' kicker in 2019.
On Thursday, the Bucca- neers signed Phillip Ander- sen, a Danish kicker who showed off his skills in the Husted Kicking Pro Camp in Mobile, Alabama during Sen- ior Bowl week in January.
Andersen most recently kicked for the Berlin Rebels of the German Football League and has also played for the Amager Demons, Herlev Rebels and Søllerød Gold Dig- gers of the Danish American Football Federation, as well as the Berlin Eagles of the GFL. The GFL is the highest level of
American football in Ger- many.
Andersen (5-11, 208) helped the Eagles win the Eu- robowl in 2014 and was a member of the Danish na- tional team that advanced to the European Championship final. He began playing pro- fessionally in 2012 and has seen work as both a place- kicker and a punter. The Buc- caneers signed Andersen as a placekicker, and he is cur- rently the only player at that position who has a contract with the team for 2019.
Cairo Santos, who solid- ified the Buccaneers' kicking situation after replacing Chandler Catanzaro at midseason in 2018, would be- come an unrestricted free agent on March 13 if he is not re-signed prior to that date.
NFL Countdown
ESPN Shakes Up Sunday
After three years, ESPN has decided to part ways with analyst Charles Woodson as they aim to shakeup “Sun- day NFL Countdown.”
Following Chris Berman’s forced departure, the show has struggled with its format and viewership. Sam Ponder took over as the primary host, with ex- New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, retired quarter- back Matt Hasselbeck, and Hall of Famer Randy Moss serving as the main analysts.
After news of Woodson’s
CHARLES WOODSON
firing hit, he took to Insta- gram to thank ESPN and his co-hosts for the opportunity.
Martavis Bryant, Josh
Frank Robinson, MVP, First Black Manager, Dies At 83
FRANK ROBINSON
Gordon Could Be Cleared
By NFL For Training Camp
Martavis Bryant and Josh Gordon are sus- pended indefinitely by the NFL, but don’t discount a re- turn to the league for either of them. In fact, one reporter says the two could even be cleared to return by training camp, although that won’t be easy.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelis- sero says that if both players follow their treatment plans, the NFLPA could begin work in May on the reinstatement process for both players.
Bryant played in eight games for the Oakland Raiders last season but was suspended for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy for the third time.
Gordon played in 12 games, mostly with the Patri- ots following his trade from Cleveland. He has missed two
MARTAVIS BRYANT
full seasons and parts of four others due to numerous sus- pensions.
As great as this news is for optimists, the reality is it’s in- credibly difficult for any team to count on either player. They’re constantly in trouble with the league and com- pletely unreliable. I wouldn’t bother wasting a roster spot or any mental energy “hop- ing” either one of these repeat violators finally cleans things up.
Frank Robinson, the first African-American man- ager in Major League Baseball and the only player to win MVP in both leagues, has died at age 83, MLB said Thursday.
An outfielder and first baseman, Robinson was in- ducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 in his first year of eligibility.
A fearsome hitter, Robin- son ranks 10th on the career home runs list with 586. He won the Triple Crown with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 and became the first black manager in MLB history in 1975 with the Cleveland Indi- ans.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss of our friend, col- league and legend, who worked in our game for more than 60 years," Manfred said. "On behalf of Major
League Baseball, I send my deepest condolences to Frank's wife Barbara, daughter Nichelle, their en- tire family and the countless fans who admired this great figure of our National Pas- time." He also served as MLB's executive vice presi- dent of baseball development, with his focus on increasing African-American participa- tion in the sport. He later served as a senior adviser to commissioner Rob Man- fred.
Robinson was born in Beaumont, Texas, but grew up in Oakland, California, where in his high school he was cap- tain of a state championship basketball team, with Bill Russell -- who would go on to be the first black manager in the NBA -- as his team- mate.
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