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NBA stars Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul create fund for social change

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ABC NewsBy GMA TEAM, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — As the NBA kicks off scrimmages Wednesday in the Orlando “bubble,” several basketball superstars are speaking out to advocate for social justice.

Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Lebron James have each worked to generate change for communities across the country, but Anthony, Paul and Wade are now coming together to invest in and support organizations focused on empowering communities of color and advocating for the human rights of all Black lives.

“There’s a lot of things that each one of us have done as individuals, but we see this as an opportunity not only for us to come together and make a bigger impact, [but] just continue to try to make real sustainable change,” Paul told GMA.

In an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America,” Anthony, Paul and Wade shared what inspired them to start the Social Change Fund.

“Whether it be health and education, talking about the different types of foods that go into the inner cities … all this goes back to systemic racism,” Paul said.

“There’s people out there that are a lot smarter than us in some of these situations, so we’re going to try to do the work and educate ourselves, but also put our money where our mouth is and keep going,” Paul, who plays as a point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, added.

Through the fund, Anthony, Paul and Wade will focus on many critical issues, such as ending police brutality, criminal justice reform and inclusion, as well as empowering communities of color by expanding access to voting, increasing Black representation in government and building economic equity for Black people through education and employment.

“If you don’t have a good roof over your head, if you’re not being educated from home, along with [being] educated in the school, [Black people are] going to always be starting from behind and playing catch up. These are certain aspects that we want to attend ASAP,” said Anthony.

“The Social Impact Fund is necessary and timely,” said Topeka K. Sam, the founder and executive director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries and a leading voice in criminal justice reform who will serve as an adviser to the fund. “We have joined this incredible initiative to ensure true equity by guiding resources to community-based organizations that are led by directly impacted people of color.”

The NBA players have been advocating for sports stars to publicly speak out for justice since the 2016 ESPYs. Four years ago, Anthony, Paul, Wade and James delivered a moving speech, calling on their fellow athletes to promote social change after the deaths of unarmed Black men at the hands of police.

“I think right now, with everything that has happened since George Floyd, the last two months, we have even more responsibility,” said Wade, who retired from the NBA in 2019. “[We will not] get worn down at all, we continue to push this to continue to add pressure to the change we want to see.”

Go to website https://www.thesocialchangefund.org to learn more.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Serena Williams' husband shares why they invested in women's soccer team

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pepifoto/iStockBy GOOD MORNING AMERICA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A professional women’s soccer team may be coming to Los Angeles in spring 2022, the National Women’s Soccer League announced Tuesday.

The exclusive rights to bring a team to the city were secured by a mostly female group led by Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who, according to a press release, “led the investment through his firm Initialized Capital.”

The founding investor group includes Ohanian’s wife, tennis superstar Serena Williams, as well as their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr.

Actors Jessica Chastain, Uzo Aduba, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, and Eva Longoria are also investors, as are retired soccer stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, among others.

“I am proud to be a part of this wonderful group working to bring a women’s professional football club to Los Angeles,” Ohanian said in a statement. “Chiefly, because I’m a fan of the game, but also because I believe there is massive potential for the sport and it’s been undervalued by too many people for far too long. As someone who spends hours kicking around a football with my two-year-old daughter, I want her to have a front-row seat to this revolution. I’m personally investing on behalf of my family because creating more opportunities in women’s sports is important to my wife and me, and we want to be a part of making a better future for our daughter.”

“I am thrilled by the opportunity to partner with this incredible group of people to bring a professional women’s soccer team to Los Angeles. Together, we aim to build not only a winning team on the field, but also to develop a passionately loyal fan base,” added Portman in a statement of her own. “We also hope to make a substantive impact on our community, committing to extending access to sports for young people in Los Angeles through our relationship with the LA84 Foundation. Sports are such a joyful way to bring people together, and this has the power to make tangible change for female athletes both in our community and in the professional sphere.”

The team’s official name and venue will be announced later this year, and in the meantime, the group has dubbed itself “Angel City,” an homage to Los Angeles.

In addition to working with the NWSL, the investment group has pledged to “do things differently and to drive further dialogue about the issues impacting the LA community, as well as those that have negatively impacted women’s sports for decades,” according to the release.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

NFL, players agree to coronavirus testing protocols

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EricVega/iStockBy ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — NFL players and the players’ union have been at odds about how to safely bring athletes into training camps amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now the league and its players have agreed to coronavirus testing protocols, following a social media blitz by some of football’s biggest names blasting the league’s plan for opening training camps.

According to the new agreement, players will be tested everyday for the first two weeks of training camp. Players will be tested every other day after the first two weeks. Additionally, daily testing will resume if the positivity rate rises to 5%.

Watch the full report from ABC News below:

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.