September 9, 2020 • No Comments • Sports News

Scott Clarke / ESPN ImagesBy KATIE KINDELAN, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Tennis star Naomi Osaka received an unexpected and emotional thank you Tuesday night from the families of some of the victims of police brutality and racial injustice whose legacies she is highlighting at the U.S. Open.

Osaka was surprised after her quarterfinal win with video messages from the mother of Trayvon Martin and the father of Ahmaud Arbery thanking her for honoring them during the tournament.

“God bless you for what you’re doing and you supporting our family with my son,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, Sr., said in a video message played for Osaka on ESPN. “My family really, really appreciates that, and God bless you.”

“I just want to say thank you to Naomi Osaka for representing Trayvon Martin on your customized mask and also for Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor,” said Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, in a separate video message. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Continue to do well. Continue to kick butt at the U.S. Open.”

At each of her matches at the Open, Osaka, 22, has worn a different face mask featuring the name of a person who has been a victim of racial injustice. On Tuesday, Osaka’s face mask honored George Floyd, who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him down and put his knee on his neck.

Osaka appeared visibly moved while watching the messages from Fulton and Arbery, Sr., and tweeted later that she cried while watching their messages again.

“I often wonder if what I’m doing is resonating and reaching as many people as I hope,” she wrote. “That being said, I tried to hold it in on set but after watching these back I cried so much. The strength and the character both of these parents have is beyond me. Love you both, thank you.”

After Osaka wore her mask featuring Trayvon’s name at her fourth-round match, she tweeted about the impact of his death. Trayvon, 17, was killed Feb. 26, 2012, in Florida while walking home from a convenience store after neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman confronted and later shot him. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013.

“I remember Trayvon’s death clearly. I remember being a kid and just feeling scared.I know his death wasn’t the first but for me it was the one that opened my eyes to what was going on,” Osaka wrote on Twitter. “To see the same things happening over and over still is sad. Things have to change.”

Osaka joined fellow athletes in protest last month after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times by police in front of his children. The shooting sparked civil unrest in Blake’s hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the country.

Osaka protested the shooting by not competing in an Aug. 27 scheduled semifinal match at the 2020 Western & Southern Open.

Osaka has said that she brought seven face masks with her to the U.S. Open, one for each match if she makes it through to the finals.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 9, 2020 • No Comments • Sports News

winhorse/iStockBy JULIA JACOBO, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce plans to hear a proposed bill that would ban the doping of horses on race day — a key concern over the safety and wellbeing of racehorses.

The Committee is expected to amend and approve the Horseracing Integrity Act, or H.R. 1754, which would establish the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority as an independent, private non-profit corporation.

The authority, which would be overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, would be responsible for developing and administering an anti-doping and medication control program for racehorses as well as the personnel engaged in the care, training, or racing of the horses.

The bill was introduced in March 2019 by U.S. Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Andy Barr, R-Ky. If approved, it would be taken up on the House floor.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced on Aug. 31 he would introduce compromise legislation, named the Horseracing Safety and Integrity (HISA) Act, which would incorporate many of the key provisions within H.R. 1754.

The proposed legislation comes after years of controversial horse deaths and animal welfare advocates calling for federal regulation of horse racing. In March 2019, Southern California’s Santa Anita Park introduced a zero-tolerance policy for almost all medication on race day after dozens of horses died within months of beginning the season.

“The doping of American racehorses has been a controversial issue over the past five years with hundreds of horses dying on racetracks annually, and the indictment of 37 trainers and veterinarians in March of 2020,” the Animal Wellness Action said in a statement Tuesday.

The legislation is supported by all three Triple Crown racetracks as well as the Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity, according to Animal Wellness Action.

“With the anticipated successful mark up in the House Energy and Commerce Committee today, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 will take a significant step forward toward passage in the House,” Humane Society President and CEO Kitty Block told ABC News in a statement. “The bill mirrors language being introduced today by Senate Majority Leader McConnell representing a state with deep economic stakes in racing and focuses on two key factors that have led to a number of racetrack deaths in recent years: the reckless doping of racehorses and track safety. With a scandalous average of 8.5 horses dying during races every week, the need for Congressional action is critical this year. Industry support for this bill is a powerful acknowledgment of the problems plaguing horse racing today.”

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 9, 2020 • No Comments • Sports News

TarpMagnus/iStockBy ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is mourning the death of his prodigy, Danny Gonzalez, who was shot and killed over the Labor Day weekend.

Gonzales was 22.

Mayweather honored his star pupil on Tuesday by offering two photos that marked the beginning of Gonzalez’s career, where he and Mayweather are posing with his freshly inked contract, and a recent photo of a referee hoisting the boxing prodigy’s victorious fist in the air.

He was signed in 2016 to Mayweather’s The Money Team when he was 18.

“R.I.P champ gone but never forgotten,” said Mayweather, 43, in the caption.

The Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Department confirmed to E! News that Gonzalez was shot and killed Monday.  Police were summoned to the scene “regarding a report of an assault with a deadly weapon” and found “three male victims with gunshot wounds.”

An investigation is ongoing.

When Gonzalez was first signed, Mayweather was quick to name him a rising star when introducing his latest protege on Facebook, praising his “incredible amateur record” and called him “a force to be reckoned with!”

“Follow this future World Champion, approved by the undefeated champion himself. Daniel Gonzalez is Floyd Mayweather, approved,” the boxing legend said at the time.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 9, 2020 • No Comments • Sports News

iStockBy ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Minnesota 7, St. Louis 3
Philadelphia 6, Boston 5
St. Louis 6, Minnesota 4
Washington 5, Tampa Bay 3
Baltimore 11, NY Mets 2
Detroit 8, Milwaukee 3
Boston 5, Philadelphia 2
Pittsburgh 5, Chi White Sox 4
San Francisco 6, Seattle 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 4, Houston 2
Kansas City 8, Cleveland 6
Toronto 2, NY Yankees 1
Texas 7 LA Angels 1
Houston 5, Oakland 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami 8, Atlanta 0
Chi Cubs 3, Cincinnati 0
San Diego 14, Colorado 5
LA Dodgers 10, Arizona 9 (10)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Miami 103, Milwaukee 94 (Miami wins series 4-1)
LA Lakers 112, Houston 102 (LA leads series 2-1)

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Vegas 3, Dallas 0 (Series tied 1-1)

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Los Angeles 96, New York 70
Washington 89, Minnesota 86
Las Vegas 92, Indiana 86

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 8, 2020 • No Comments • Sports News

Change the RefBy KATIE KINDELAN, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Amid the smiling fans seen as cardboard cutouts supporting their favorite baseball team during a crowdless season due to the coronavirus pandemic, one stands out.

The face of Joaquin Oliver, a 17-year-old victim of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff members, has been seen in the crowd at 14 different ballparks this season — from Oracle Park in San Francisco to Citi Field in New York.

The cutouts of Joaquin were placed in baseball stadiums by Change the Ref, the nonprofit organization formed by his parents, Manuel and Patricia Oliver, to raise awareness about mass shootings and bring an end to gun violence.

The MLB initiative is called “83 Strikes and No Outs” because, according to Change the Ref, there have been “83 additional school shootings and zero changes to federal gun laws,” since a teen gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, and killed Joaquin and 16 of his fellow students, teachers and coaches.

“It’s very sad, but I guess that’s the point,” Manuel Oliver told ABC News’ Good Morning America of seeing his late son’s image amid cheering fans in baseball stadiums.

“I need to let everybody know that this random tragedy that hit our family, it could hit you tomorrow,” he said. “I need to go beyond sadness and be strong enough, because I have to, and have this story told that explains how this kid isn’t able to be there anymore watching the games that he loved so much unless he’s printed on a cardboard.”

Seeing Joaquin’s face in baseball stadiums across the country is particularly poignant for Oliver, who always supported his son’s passion for baseball despite not playing or following the game himself.

Two years before Joaquin’s death, he and Oliver had started an annual tradition of flying to a city, renting a car and then driving to all the nearby baseball stadiums.

“You have to fall in love, or at least support, the passion of your kids,” said Oliver, an artist who has also painted murals across the country featuring Joaquin. “Imagine if I hadn’t done that [with Joaquin and baseball]. How would I feel today?”

“Every minute that I spent with Joaquin, on the baseball field, in the baseball park, in trainings, it’s one of the most valuable treasures that I hold today,’ he said.

Oliver said he hopes the sight of Joaquin in the crowds inspires people to take action and join the fight against gun violence, whether it’s by voting, educating themselves, joining Change the Ref or even getting to know kids in their community who may be in need of help.

“I didn’t see a message like this one before Feb. 14,” he said. “Maybe if someone had the brave attitude of doing something like this before Parkland, maybe I would have been one of the lucky ones to see that, and maybe I would have done something before Joaquin was murdered. [I would have been] part of the solution.”

More than two dozen school shootings happened in the U.S. in 2019 alone, according to an ABC News analysis of incidents at K-12 schools. And school shootings represent just a tiny fraction of the firearm crimes in the U.S., with more than 185,000 aggravated assaults with a firearm in 2018 alone, according to FBI data.

Oliver said he is hopeful that things will change when it comes to gun violence and gun reform in the U.S., and he is hopeful that Joaquin will continue to lead the way for change.

“My son is not a kid who died and you can visit him every Sunday in the cemetery and that’s it,” said Oliver. “No, my son will be a main element in the change that this nation is screaming for, and that makes me feel a little better than just remembering my son as the kid who went to school and never came back home.”

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