Page 32 - Florida Sentinel 5-10-19

Sports
Tyra Banks Is Back And On The Cover Of
Plenty Of Athletes Are Refusing To Stand With Trump, Not Tiger Woods
'Sports Illustrated'
Red Sox Manager Passes On White House Visit
Tiger Woods was at the White House Monday to accept the Presidential Medal of Free- dom for winning the Masters last month in what marked a career comeback for the 43- year-old after a decade of in- juries and losses. He won’t be the first athlete to garner such an accolade. Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Muham- mad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Jackie Robinson and Arnold Palmer are among those bestowed the honor since President John F. Kennedy created the award in 1963.
Tiger's troubles widen his distance from blacks.
Woods made an indelible mark on the sport of golf and certainly is as legendary and deserving of the honor as the athletes who came before him.
Just because he is famous doesn’t mean Woods has any obligation to be a spokesman against racism in America. He did indeed train all his life to play golf, not lead a modern day Civil Rights movement. But his position as a star ath- lete, particularly as an African- American in a sport that has historically been overwhelm- ingly white, makes him a role model in this regard whether he likes it or not. He could use this opportunity to raise aware- ness of an issue that has surely
TIGER WOODS and PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
impacted his life, as well as those of many of his relatives and ancestors. Or he could at least decline to allow the presi- dent to co-opt his glory with a White House photo-op.
Is Woods oblivious, or does he just not care that the president regularly demonizes minorities and emboldens those who hate? He has been spotted on golfing outings with the president on at least two occasions since he took office, including most recently in Feb- ruary, when golfer Jack Nick- laus also joined the pair.
Woods need to take a page from today's athletes like Le- Bron James, Steph Curry and others and take a stand against this radical behavior from the President of the United States. But again, we talking about Tiger Woods. He just don't care.
ALEX CORA
Tyra Banks just made the ultimate comeback.
"Sports Illustrated Swim- suit" revealed that Banks was their cover girl Wednesday morning with the media mogul wearing an itty-bitty yellow string bikini.
It's hard to believe that Banks is 45.
It's only fitting that Banks
land the cover once again as she was the first black woman to ever be on the cover of the magazine solo in 1997.
Even Banks can't believe where the time has gone, telling ABC's "GMA," "My first [cover] was 23 years ago, how crazy is that?!"
This is Banks' third time on the cover.
President Donald Trump always touts how much he loves winners. But there is growing proof that a lot of that love may be unrequited. The manager of the Boston Red Sox, Alex Cora, announced that he will not attend a White House celebration of the 2018 World Series Championship this com- ing week.
Cora, in a statement to El Nuevo Dia, made it official what, according to ESPN, he had indicated back in January when he first voiced concerns about the Trump administra-
tion’s relief policies to Hurri-
LAURENCE
cane Maria that hit Puerto Rico
FISHBURNE
in 2017.
“Puerto Rico is very impor-
tant to me,” Cora said. “During the winter I spent a lot of time back home, visiting my family and friends. Unfortunately, we are still struggling, still fighting. Some people still lack basic ne- cessities, others remain without electricity and many homes and schools are in pretty bad shape almost a year and a half after Hurricane María struck.”
Cora made it clear that this was a personal decision and had nothing to do with the Red Sox, writing, “I want to empha- size that this is a personal deci- sion and that it does not reflect, in any way, the sentiment of our organization.”
Cora joins a list of other Red Sox players who will not at- tend the celebration, including American League Most Valu- able Player Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Rafael Devers.
Additionally, just last week University of Virginia men’s basketball coach, Tony Ben- nett announced that his team would decline a White House invite to celebrate their cham- pionship.
Tennis Champ Sloane Stephens Announces
Engagement To Soccer Player Jozy Altidore
Sloane Stephens and Jozy Altidore announced their engagement on social media on Monday. The couple posted photos on Instagram, with one captioned “Forever yes,” Sloane wrote while showing off a stunning dia- mond engagement ring.
Altidore wrote in a post on Twitter: “Forever starts now.”
The Boca Raton-native has played for the United States Men’s National Team in the World Cup as well as overseas in the English Premier League. Altidore currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer, per The Daily Mail.
Sloane, a Grand Slam champion, posted about her exciting engagement news by sharing a picture with Jozy’s arms wrapped around her waist. The couple are report- edly childhood friends from
Florida who started dating in 2016 after reconnecting.
According to jewelry de- signer Jen Hansen, the size of the ring could mean that it’s worth up to $2 million.
Stephens, who won the 2017 U. S. Open singles title, is a top-10 player in the world.
Tennis star Sloane Stephens, 26, and Jozy Alti- dore, a 29-year-old soccer player, are engaged.
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