Page 24 - Florida Sentinel 9-10-21

Sports
Sam ‘Bam’ Cunningham,
Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard Marries Fiancee Kay’la Hanson
Damian Lillard poses with Kay’la and his son, Damian Jr.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard married his long-time partner, Kay’la Hanson, over the weekend in an event that included many current and former teammates as well as an appearance by rapper Snoop Dogg.
Last January, the couple welcomed the birth of twin children, daughter Kali Emma Lee Lillard and son Kalii Laheem Lillard. Their first child, Damian Jr., was born in March 2018.
At the reception, Snoop Dogg and Common per- formed as did Lillard.
HBCU News
Deion Sanders Challenges
Hall Of Fame USC Player Who
SWAC Schools To Put
Helped Integrate College
Names On Jerseys
Football, Dies At 71
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders had a message for schools in the Southwestern Athletic Con- ference (SWAC) following the Tigers’ 7-6 win over Florida A&M on Sunday:
Put players’ last names on the back of their jerseys.
“Turn around, Aubrey,” Sanders said during his postgame news conference, speaking to JSU linebacker Aubrey Miller, Jr. The sec- ond-year coach then pointed to Miller’s name on the back of his jersey.
“Why do we don’t do that in this SWAC?” Sanders asked. “Is it that expensive to
Sam “Bam” Cunning- ham, the star USC running back whom many people praise for helping integrate college football in the early 1970s, died Tuesday at the age of 71.
Cunningham, who was enshrined in the College Foot- ball and New England Patri- ots Halls of Fame in 2010, is perhaps best known for his two-touchdown performance against the University of Ala- bama in 1970, when the inte- grated Trojans trounced the all-white Crimson Tide 42-21 in Birmingham.
The Trojans’ victory at Le- gion Field, a stadium located in a city known for antipathy toward African Americans and some of the darkest mo- ments of the civil rights move- ment, made the achievement over legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant an even more heroic feat.
“I’m just proud to be a part of it, because it was such a special game,” Cunningham told the Los Angeles Times in 2016.
On Tuesday, former Ala- bama and NFL player Mark McMillian thanked Cun-
SAM “BAM” CUNNINGHAM
ningham for “opening the door for players like myself to play in the south & at Ala- bama.”
A Santa Barbara native, Cunningham played for the Trojans for three years, in- cluding an All-American sea- son in 1972, when the Trojans also captured the national championship.
In 1973, Cunningham was drafted by the Patriots in the first round, and he stayed with the team for his entire 10-year professional career, which included being named to the Pro Bowl in 1978.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft called Cunningham “one of my favorite players throughout the ’70s,” adding that his death “is felt with heavy hearts.”
COACH DEION SANDERS
put their name on the back of the jersey? Don’t you think his mama ‘n them, want to see the baby name on the back of the jerseys? Don’t you think his siblings, his friends, his family, his loved ones?”
Former NFL RB Clinton Portis Pled Guilty to Fraud Charge; May
Steph Curry Has
Face 10 Years in Prison
In Parents’ Divorce
Former
NFL running
back Clinton Portis faces
up to 10 years
in prison after pleading guilty
to a conspiracy
to commit
health fraud last week.
Portis was accused of scheming with other former players to defraud the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Plan, which reimburses retired play- ers for medical expenses. Por- tis and other players were alleged to have made up claims and were then reimbursed by the plan.
The initial fraud charge against Portis resulted in a hung jury last week. Portis then went into negotiations for a plea deal, which will reduce his maximum sentence. He was facing up to 20 years in prison.
As part of the plea, Portis will pay back $99,264 that was defrauded from the program. He will also face a fine of up to $250,000.
Portis played for the Denver Broncos and Washington Foot- ball Team over the course of a nine-year NFL career. He filed for bankruptcy in 2015 despite making more than $43M in game salary during his career.
Dell Curry says his es- tranged wife Sonya, cheated on him with Steven John- son, a former NFLer. Dell also claims Sonya lied about the affair.
Sonya, Dell says in the legal docs, “began her extra- marital affair with Mr. Johnson during the mar- riage and prior to the date of separation, and she lied to [Dell] each time she cheated on him.”
On top of that, the docs also state that Sonya is actu- ally living with Johnson in Tennessee and because of that, she should not be enti- tled to alimony.
Sonya, 55, via respond- ing paperwork, claims she is NOT living with Johnson. She’s currently living by her- self in the Volunteer State be- cause Dell will not allow her to live at their home.
As far as her dating status, Sonya does admit that she is in a relationship, but denied cheating on Dell, saying the relationship began “months after” she and Dell agreed to legally separate in March 2020.
Sonya is also pointing the cheat finger at Dell, 57,
Reportedly Chosen Sides
CLINTON PORTIS
STEPH CURRY
who she claims cheated on her during the marriage; and that he hooked up with dif- ferent women, and family and close friends knew about it.
It is now being reported that Steph has chosen his mother’s side in the divorce.
A family friend of the Warriors star explained, “[Steph] has a special rela- tionship with his mother, and so he’s supporting her.”
The insider added, “[Steph’s] relationship with his father is strained after this. He’s disappointed that [Dell] would put all their family business out there, and he doesn’t believe the ac- cusations against his mother.”
Sonya filed for divorce on June 14.
PAGE 12-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021