FOS Daily 6/12/2020

Roughly a week after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly condemned social injustice and police brutality, the NFL is making a $250 million pledge. The funds will be spread out over the next 10 years to “combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans.”

The commitment stems from a deal the league agreed to with the Players Coalition, a group of more than 1,400 athletes pushing for systemic change. In more than two seasons working with the Players Coalition, the NFL has already donated $44 million to social justice causes. The NFL will also work with its players to support more programs to address criminal justice reform, police reform, and economic and educational advancement of underprivileged communities.

LeBron’s Voting Assist

LeBron James, along with athletes like Trae Young and Skylar Diggins-Smith as well as entertainers like Kevin Hart, have started More Than a Vote. The organization aims to protect the voting rights of African Americans. “We’re going to give you the background of how to vote and what they’re trying to do, the other side, to stop you from voting,” James told the New York Times. More Than a Vote will be a non-profit and won’t engage in advocacy for specific candidates.

Despite being told to “shut up and dribble” by Fox News personality Laura Ingraham, James has dedicated much of his off-the-court career to social efforts. Along with this new group, James has been heavily involved in his native Ohio, underwriting tuition for University of Akron students and opening his own elementary school, among other endeavors. “There’s a lot of people that want change in the black community,” James said. “If you actually don’t put in the work or if you don’t have the mindset, there’s never going to be change.”

While it appears Major League Baseball and its players are still far apart on an agreement for the 2020 season, Commissioner Rob Manfred is confident a season will be played. “I can tell you unequivocally we are going to play Major League Baseball this year,” he said during an interview with ESPN.

Manfred was speaking before Wednesday’s MLB Draft broadcast, which came a day after the MLB Players Association proposed an 89-game regular season with 100% of prorated salaries. Earlier in the week, MLB had offered a 76-game regular season with 50% of prorated salaries and up to 25% additional based on the postseason. There hasn’t been a season with fewer than 80 games since 1879.

Following the players’ proposal, Manfred said a plan of 100% of prorated salary and 89 games is unrealistic as the negotiations have extended beyond a deadline for a potential July 4 start date. Part of MLB’s argument is to get a season and a postseason in before a possible second wave of coronavirus. Both MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to expand the postseason, which could help boost revenue – which, even without expansion, generates $787 million annually in broadcast revenue.

A decision on the U.S. Open will likely be made within the next week. But as officials weigh options for the tournament that drives 80% of their revenue, there’s resistance from international players.

The USTA has proposed the U.S. Open be played without spectators and with players, coaches, and support personnel in a bubble. The tournament would also be without singles qualifying, and the doubles tournament would drop from 64 teams to 24. International tennis stars, including men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic and women’s No. 2 Simona Halep, have expressed doubts about international travel and playing within the quarantined environment.

However, the USTA has moved on from moving the tournament outside of New York, and USTA President Patrick Galbraith said a potential scenario is to “pack it up and just cancel 2020.” A year without the U.S. Open would be catastrophic to the USTA, which reportedly doesn’t have cancellation insurance on the event and already had to lay off 130 employees due to the coronavirus pandemic’s financial impact.

Another tournament lost would also be detrimental to the lower-ranked professional players who’ve been without prize money opportunities since March. Two of tennis’ four Grand Slams have already been affected, as Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since 1945, and the French Open moved from its normal May date to late September. The 2020 Australian Open was held with no issues in late January and early February.

As the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge teed off yesterday in Texas, golfers across the country have already been hitting the links hard. The number of scores posted to the U.S. Golf Association in May jumped 22% year-over-year, indicating a mass demand following an April when many of the nation’s courses were closed because of COVID-19.

That’s leading to hope from the $84 billion golf industry that the sport is attracting new golfers as a result, which would be much needed. Participation in golf the past six years has remained steady with 24 million U.S. golfers, but that is down from a 2003 peak of 30.6 million. With courses open and golf among the first sports back in action, it could add to the newfound fervor. Fantasy sports site Monkey Knife Fight recently cited a 181% increase in participation in its golf contests and a 53% increase in intent to watch golf when it returned as a reason it’s bullish on sports in the second half of 2020.