Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesBy MEGAN STONE and HAYLEY FITZPATRICK, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Olympic athlete Usain Bolt has tested positive for COVID-19.
Jamaica’s health ministry confirmed the 34-year-old’s positive test result on Monday after the athlete shared a video saying he is isolating at home following his test.
“I saw on social media it said I’m confirmed of COVID-19. I did a test on Saturday to leave cause I work,” Bolt explained in a video, posted Monday morning. “Trying to be responsible, so I’m going to stay in and stay away from my friends.”
The eight-time Olympic gold medalist said he is “having no symptoms” and that he is simply “going to quarantine myself and wait on the confirmation to see what is the protocol.”
Bolt, who celebrated his 34th birthday during a party with friends last week — days before receiving his positive COVID-19 results — said he was going to reach out to attendees of the gathering to notify them of his results.
“I’m going to call my friends and tell them that anyone who come in contact with me, just to be safe,” he said in the video, adding that he will spend his quarantine taking it easy as he awaits his results. “Stay safe out there,” he briskly concluded.
During a virtual press conference on Monday evening, Andrew Holness, the prime minister of Jamaica, said Bolt has been formally notified of his positive results by the authorities.
There are currently 1,612 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jamaica, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. There have been 16 deaths from the novel coronavirus pandemic in Jamaica.
During a press conference, it was also announced that gatherings with more than 20 people will not be permitted and specific communities will have adjusted curfew restrictions.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events: MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Chi Cubs 9, Detroit 3 St. Louis 9, Kansas City 3 AMERICAN LEAGUE Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 4 Minnesota 3, Cleveland 2 Texas 3, Oakland 2 Houston 11, LA Angels 4 NATIONAL LEAGUE Miami 11, Washington 8 Milwaukee 4, Cincinnati 2 Colorado 3, Arizona 2 NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS Milwaukee 121, Orlando 106 Oklahoma City 117, Houston 114 Miami 99, Indiana 87 LA Lakers 135, Portland 115 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS NY Islanders 4, Philadelphia 0 Dallas 5, Colorado 2 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER New York City FC 1, Columbus 0
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesBy LESLEY MESSER and CARSON BLACKWELDER, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — To his countless fans, Kobe Bryant was a larger-than-life basketball star with an Academy Award and burgeoning career in the entertainment industry.
But to his friends and family, the late L.A. Laker was also a doting father to four daughters, a romantic husband to his longtime love, Vanessa, and a devoted friend.
Days before what would have been Bryant’s 42nd birthday, WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Sabrina Ionescu remembered Bryant — nicknamed “Black Mamba” for his drive and laser focus — as someone who pushed himself and everyone around him to be better.
“There was just this constant fire that was burning,” Taurasi told Good Morning America. “I think he was trying to give people that hope that if you have a passion and you have this burning desire to be really good at [something], whatever it is, you can get there. That’s what he gave me.”
“He saw greatness in you even if you didn’t see it yourself,” added Ionescu. “Kobe was special.”
Bryant was killed alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, and seven others when the helicopter in which they were traveling crashed on Jan. 26. At the time, the group was en route to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy, now called Sports Academy, for a game. Gigi Bryant dreamed of playing professional basketball like her father, and he was teaching her everything he knew, Taurasi recalled. Women’s sports in general were something he always championed, she said.
“He was doing it before it really became popular to do it. I mean, he was doing in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. He was at every single one of our games,” Taurasi recalled. “When he was coaching [Gigi’s team] … he was tuned in like it was just as important as coaching an NBA Finals.”
“He’s actually putting in effort and energy and time which, when you think about a guy like Kobe, you don’t have a lot of that,” she continued. “I think he looked at it as a challenge that, hopefully, Gigi can make it to that level one day.”
In honor of Bryant’s birthday on Aug. 23, and Kobe Bryant Day on Aug. 24 (Bryant’s numbers were 8 and 24), Taurasi, whom Bryant affectionately called “White Mamba,” spoke to GMA”about her friend and his legacy.
“He was a guy that had so much to give,” she said. “There was so much more he was going to do. He was going to open so many doors for so many people, different avenues to give people opportunity, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Ionescu compiled her thoughts in a personal essay for Good Morning America, below.
The impact Kobe had on basketball is far greater than anyone had thought to be possible. Kobe not only motivated and inspired people to be the best they could be, he showed them how to be the best. Through his work ethic, his desire to be the best in anything and everything and his “Mamba mentality,” he was the best role model those can be. He saw greatness in you even if you didn’t see it yourself, and if you were so lucky to be one of the individuals that he mentored and invested his time in, you know exactly how magical his mentorship was: something that is indescribable, and purely unlike any other. That was Kobe: magical.
He meant everything to women’s basketball, the way he invested his time and energy in the game was unlike any other. It’s because he knew Gigi would be the future one day and he knew he had to do his part and advocate for equality. He wanted to be the very best he could: the best husband, father, player and coach. If people, especially “girl dads,” want to live out his legacy, they’d better support women’s sports.
No matter what it was, Kobe was going to win. The way he’s impacted the world, and is now able to have more and more people supporting the W, is a testament to the impact that he still has today.
Kobe was special, and magical to say the least. His impact in this world will forever be felt, because his legacy still lives on through so many of us.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events: MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Chi Cubs 2, Chi White Sox 1 San Diego 5, Houston 3 NY Yankees at NY Mets (Postponed) AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 5, Boston 4 Tampa Bay 5, Toronto 4 Detroit 7, Cleveland 4 Minnesota 5, Kansas City 4 Seattle 4, Texas 1 Oakland 5 LA Angels 4 NATIONAL LEAGUE Washington 9, Miami 3 Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 4 St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 2 San Francisco 6, Arizona 1 LA Dodgers 11, Colorado 3 Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 4 NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS Boston 110, Philadelphia 106 Dallas 135, LA Clippers 133 (OT) Toronto 150, Brooklyn 122 Utah 129, Denver 127 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Boston 3, Tampa Bay 2 Vegas 5, Vancouver 0 WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Atlanta 78, Minnesota 75 Los Angeles 84, Dallas 81 Phoenix 88, Washington 87 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER Seattle 3, Portland 0 Seattle 3 Portland 0 Orlando City at Atlanta (Canceled) Los Angeles FC at LA Galaxy (Canceled) New York City FC at New York (Canceled) Nashville at FC Dallas (Canceled)
Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesBy KARMA ALLEN and TONY MORRISON, ABC News
(CINCINNATI) — LGBTQ advocates are pressuring broadcast executives to sever ties with veteran Cincinnati Reds play-by-play man Thom Brennaman amid growing outrage over his use of an anti-gay slur caught on a hot mic.
Brennaman, who also announces NFL games for Fox, shocked many during Wednesday night’s Reds-Royals game when he referred to a city or place as “the f– capital of the world.”
Brennaman apologized on air, stopping midway through his statement to return to play-by-play action to call a home run. He finished his apology, then handed over his microphone.
“I made a comment earlier tonight that I guess went out over the air that I am deeply ashamed of,” Brennaman said. “If I have hurt anyone out there, I can’t tell you how much I say from the bottom of my heart I’m so very, very sorry. I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith.”
Brennaman, who’s worked as a national broadcaster for the MLB on Fox for nearly two decades, acknowledged that his career might be in jeopardy in light of the remark. He apologized directly to his employers.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be putting on this headset again. I don’t know if it’s going to be for the Reds. I don’t know if it’s going to be for my bosses at Fox,” he said. “I will apologize for the people who sign my paycheck, for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, for the people I work with, for anybody that I’ve offended here tonight.”
Social media erupted after the remark with many calling his apology flat and insincere. Reds pitcher Amir Garrett tweeted his own apology to fans, especially those who identify as LGBTQ.
“To the LGBTQ community just know i am with you, and whoever is against you, is against me,” he tweeted. “I’m sorry for what was said.”
The Reds blasted Brennaman’s actions as “horrific” and suspended him indefinitely, effective immediately.
“We share our sincerest apologies to the LGBTQ+ community in Cincinnati, Kansas City, all across this country, and beyond,” the team’s statement said.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the incident “unfortunate” in an interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America on Thursday.
“This unfortunate incident is just a reflection of the bias that we still have in our communities and we have to root it out,” David said. “Although he made an apology, I think we need to really think about how this is how he felt so comfortable in the first place.”
GLAAD issued a similar rebuke.
“It’s troubling how casually and recklessly Brennaman used the slur — while wearing a microphone, during a live broadcast — like he didn’t know or care how hurtful it was to say it,” the organization said in a statement.
The LGBTQ media advocacy organization said Brennaman “whiffed with his ‘I’m sorry if I offended’ apology,” a move it said highlights the broadcaster’s “bigoted beliefs.”
“It’s a weak way of not owning up to your mistakes and bigoted beliefs. LGBTQ people, who are among Reds fans and Royals fans, deserve far better,” GLAAD said.
The organization, which dubs itself as “the voice for acceptance,” said it reached out to Major League Baseball, the Reds and Fox Sports to demand accountability for “this unacceptable and thoughtless behavior.”
Major League Baseball officials called the incident “disheartening” in a statement, and Fox Sports said later on Thursday it wouldn’t have Brennaman call NFL games this fall.
Billy Bean, a vice president and special assistant to the commissioner, issued a statement on behalf of MLB. Bean was among the first MLB players to come out as gay, giving an interview on the subject in 1999, four years after he retired.
“The Reds’ immediate response and statement are a powerful example of MLB’s zero-tolerance policy for harassment, discrimination, or bias toward the LGBTQ+ community or any person at any time,” Bean said in a statement Thursday. “There is no doubt where MLB stands in regard to respect and acceptance for our players, coaches, employees, fans, and our television viewers. Our unified belief in education and workplace protection has helped change the landscape for all of professional sports. Last night is a difficult reminder that there is still much work to do.”
Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesBy MEGAN STONE and HAYLEY FITZPATRICK, ABC News
