TIGER PGA KING WOODS IS BACK (CONGRATS)

TIGER PGA KING WOODS IS BACK (CONGRATS):

TIGER OVERCOMES SCANDAL, DISGRACE & ILLNESS TO TASTE VICTORY AGAIN.

ALL OF HIS JEALOUS HATERS CAN KICK ROCKS.

I’M PROUD OF YOU TIGER.


Post Sources: ABC News, ESPN, PGA, Youtube


***** How Tiger Woods overcame pain, scandal and age to triumph again


He was bigger than an NFL Sunday, which seems perfectly apropos. In his prime, Tiger Woods was bigger than everything and everyone. Why not win a head-to-head with America's modern pastime in his return to the winner's circle as an aging, balding man?

Whether you were in Lincoln Financial Field to watch the return of Carson Wentz, or in any other stadium where outsized athletes in helmets and pads took turns pancaking each other, you had to keep one eye on the nearest TV, the other on your phone. Why? Woods was doing far more in Atlanta than finishing off his 80th PGA Tour victory, that's why.

He was becoming Eldrick Tont Woods again, Tiger to you and me and the rest of creation. He was becoming the best of the best one more time, protecting a 54-hole lead of at least 3 shots for the 24th time in 24 tries. He was returning as Mozart and Michelangelo in a red shirt and spikes, all the way back from the golfing dead.

The scene on the 72nd hole was stunning, as a huge parade of fans at East Lake marched up the fairway behind Woods, nearly inspiring him to cry. The crowd around the green chanted "U-S-A ... U-S-A" for a golfer who never thought he had a prayer of being part of this year's Ryder Cup team. Then Woods hit his bunker shot onto the green that sealed the deal. He tapped in his second putt, raised his arms to the sky, and hugged Rory McIlroy and then his own caddie, Joe LaCava, as the fans started chanting his name.

We never thought we would see the artist return to the peak of his powers, and for good reason: Tiger never thought he would see the artist return to the peak of his powers, either. But in July he held the lead at The Open with eight holes to play, and in August he quieted his old, achy bones in ice baths at the PGA Championship and beat all the younger, fresher stars who grew up idolizing him -- well, all except Brooks Koepka.

And now in September, NFL season, the 42-year-old Woods wasn't going to let Rory McIlroy or Justin Rose or anyone else deny him his Tour Championship triumph. All those back surgeries and an everyday life of searing pain had made the vision of Tiger holding another trophy seem almost unfathomable.

"Oh God," Woods had said at the PGA Championship, "I didn't even know if I was going to play golf again."

He played golf in Atlanta like he played it in his dynastic prime. The better news? Woods nailed down No. 80 as a different human being, as a kinder and gentler update on the programmed assassin he used to be. Tiger has mellowed some with age, offering the head nods and eye contact he rarely bothered with during his scorched-earth prime. Back in the day, the legend Tiger has spent his life chasing Jack Nicklaus, altering his act, too, after growing tired of playing the villain while his neighborly rival, Palmer, basked in the gallery's love.

Woods? He didn't change because the fans had fallen hard for someone else. He changed because parenthood always changes young dads and moms, and because his staggering physical and personal breakdowns inspired him to reassess his tee-to-green purpose. Many of Tiger's wounds were self inflicted, and a fan is entitled to feel about the man the way he or she sees fit. But no matter how you judge his character, Woods is indisputably one of the finest athletes this country has ever produced. And what he has pulled off in the early stages of recovery from what he called "some really dark, dark times" ranks among the greatest sports comebacks ever.

Do you remember the last time Tiger won any tournament? Do you? It was only five years ago, yet it feels like 15. Woods dominated the field at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone, claiming his eighth title at Firestone and his fifth victory of 2013 before almost immediately wondering aloud how often he'd won at least five times on tour in a single season.

Tiger Woods shoots a 71 in the final round of the Tour Championship to win by two strokes for his first win in five years.

"Eight or nine?" he asked.

Ten, he was told.

"That's even better," he said. "That's something I'm very proud of, is how many tournaments I've been able to win consistently, year in and year out."

Tiger's sheer volume of victories made people forget just how hard it is to win just once on the PGA Tour. Golf might be the world's most maddening game -- just ask any recreational player dumbfounded by his or her standard two-way miss -- and yet Woods regularly reduced it to a springtime walk in the park. He conquered a game thought to be unconquerable, and flattened dozens of opponents he wasn't allowed by the sport's bylaws to blitz, tackle or defend in any way.

For the very first time, a golfer was arguably the world's most recognizable athlete. He bargained for himself an entirely new and unwanted level of global fame and infamy over Thanksgiving 2009, of course, when he drove his Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree in the dead of night and ended up in the street unconscious and bleeding, his then-wife Elin standing over him with a golf club in hand. Woods' serial infidelity was about to be exposed, and so were his vulnerabilities as a man and an athlete.

Woods ultimately lost his marriage. After checking into a treatment center for sexual addiction, he returned to the sport a far less intimidating force. He would win eight more times on tour over the 2012 and 2013 seasons, but he couldn't recapture the major championship aura he lost at the PGA in 2009, when he finally stumbled on a Sunday (he had been 14-0 in majors when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead) and fell to a self-taught South Korean journeyman named Y.E. Yang.

Asked in 2015 why his vanquished foe had lost the eye of the Tiger in the majors, Yang told ESPN.com, "I, amongst many other players, believe that it has to do with his personal issues and that it is none of our business. Tiger is not a machine and is a person like all of us. I think once he gets his focus back, he will be fine."

As it turned out, Tiger's body was more fragile than his focus. One back injury after another left him bedridden at times, and at others unable to perform the basic physical functions of your average middle-aged dad. "I couldn't even go out for dinner," Woods said. "I couldn't sit. I couldn't get from Point A to B in the house."

Woods couldn't chip because of the pain he felt running down his leg when he bent over, causing his hands to shake. The cortisone shots and the epidurals didn't give him relief. He couldn't play pickup golf with his friends, and he couldn't even play backyard ball with his kids.

"Coming back and playing golf was never in my thoughts," Woods would tell ESPN in March. "It was just, 'How do I get away from this pain? How can I live life again?' That was driving my life. I felt like I couldn't participate in my own life."

Woods said the pain and sleeplessness caused him to over-medicate himself and led to his late-night DUI arrest near his Jupiter, Florida, home on Memorial Day in 2017, when he was found asleep at the wheel of his damaged car with the engine running. The mortifying roadside video of Woods' interaction with police suggested the golfer was literally and figuratively lost, and maybe for keeps. The toxicology report would show that Tiger had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- in his system at the time the cops arrested him. Woods would seek professional help, he said, to "manage my medications and the ways that I deal with back pain and a sleep disorder."

Woods could have killed himself, or someone else, after he started his car that night. He seemed almost irretrievably broken, and a million miles removed from the epic champion he used to be.

But the in-patient treatment that followed his arrest -- along with his Hail Mary of a fourth back surgery, the spinal fusion surgery -- ultimately changed his entire life. He arrived at the Masters in April calling himself a "walking miracle." His smile was back, and so was his astonishing swing speed.

Woods decided he wanted to win for daughter Sam and son Charlie; he had joked of his children seeing him almost exclusively as a "YouTube golfer." Sam and Charlie were forever asking him, "Daddy, when are you going to win the tournament?" and for good reason. Sam hadn't seen her old man win a major since she attended the U.S. Open in 2008, when Tiger beat Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff on one leg. Charlie had seen his old man win only once, as a 4-year-old, when he attended the WGC-Bridgestone in 2013.

And then 1,876 days later, Sam and Charlie's dad finally ended the biblical drought. By clinching victory No. 80, two shy of Sam Snead's record, Woods made Atlanta in September feel like Augusta in April.

The world has changed so much since Tiger won on tour for the first time, at age 20, in the fall of 1996, but its fascination with the golfer who is equal parts artist and assassin has remained very much intact. The game has never seen a force quite like him, and chances are it never will again.

Maybe this is the last time Tiger Woods will hold the winner's trophy high, maybe not. Either way, the man in red outplayed the NFL on Sunday and, of greater consequence, delivered a vintage Tiger triumph as a new and improved man.

MANUEL ORREGO-SAVALA WHO KILLED NFL PLAYER EDWIN JACKSON SENTENCED TO 16 YRS PRISON

MANUEL ORREGO-SAVALA WHO KILLED NFL PLAYER EDWIN JACKSON IS SENTENCED TO 16 YRS IN PRISON (ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT):

MANUEL ORREGO-SAVALA (FROM GUATEMALA) WAS DRUNK DRIVING, KILLED EDWIN JACKSON & HIS UBER DRIVER, THEN COWARDLY LEFT THE SCENE.

SAVALA IS ANOTHER REASON WHY AMERICA DOES NOT NEED OPEN BORDERS BUT NEEDS LOGICAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM ASAP.

IMMIGRATION REFORM IS NOT RACISM AGAINST LATINOS.....IT’S LAW AND ORDER TO PROTECT OUR NATION.


Post Sources: AP, Fox News, NBC News, Youtube


****** Guatemalan Man living illegally in USA gets 16 years for crash that killed Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and an Uber driver


A man from Guatemala living illegally in the U.S. was sentenced Friday to the maximum of 16 years in prison for a drunken-driving crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver.

Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .15 or more, causing death. The sentence marked the maximum possible under his plea agreement.

Investigators said Orrego-Savala had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 — nearly 2 ½ times Indiana's legal limit — when his F-150 truck crashed into Jackson and his Uber driver, Jeffrey Monroe, 54, on Feb. 4 along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis.

Monroe, of Avon, Indiana, had pulled over when the 26-year-old Jackson became ill. Both men were standing outside Monroe's car on the highway's shoulder when Orrego-Savala's truck crashed into them.

Authorities said Orrego-Savala was walking away from the crash when a state trooper detained him. Under his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped two counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

A Marion County judge sentenced Orrego-Savala after hearing an emotional testimony from Monroe’s widow, Deborah Monroe, and Jackson's mother. The widow told Orrego-Savala that the crashed killed “the greatest love of my life” and destroyed their retirement plans that included travel and fulfilling her husband’s dream of going to the Great Wall of China.

"My family and I are serving a life sentence because of you," she said, speaking directly to Orrego-Savala, who kept his head lowered during much of Friday's hearing.

"You're a drunk, a liar, a murderer and a coward," Monroe said.

Jackson grew up in Atlanta and started eight games for the Colts during the 2016 season, finishing third on the team with 61 tackles. Jackson was considered a possible starter at inside linebacker for 2017 but missed the season after suffering a training camp injury.

His mother, Mary Ellen Powell Jackson, told the court she was preparing to leave Sunday services when she learned that he had died in a crash in a phone call.

Our hearts have been ripped apart and we're always asking, 'Why Edwin?'" she said, recalling him as a hardworking, handsome athlete, and a good, obedient and caring son who had "a heart of gold."

Orrego-Savala was deported in 2007 and 2009. Federal authorities said he illegally re-entered the U.S. and faces federal immigration charges that could potentially result in a 10-year sentence, said Jeremy Johnson, a Marion County deputy prosecutor.

“I’m grateful he was an illegal immigrant because our federal government will give him 10 more years. So that’s 26 years he’ll spend in prison for what he did,” Monroe said according to FOX 59.

SERENA WILLIAMS’ U.S. OPEN “ANGRY BLACK WOMAN” CARTOON IS RACISM AT IT’S FINEST

SERENA WILLIAMS’ U.S. OPEN “ANGRY BLACK WOMAN” CARTOON IS RACISM AT IT’S FINEST:

UNFORTUNATELY 20th CENTURY RACISM IS STILL ALIVE EVEN FOR SUPER ATHLETES.


Post Sources: ESPN, Herald Sun, Washington Post, Yahoo Sports, Youtube


**** Australian newspaper prints racist cartoon about Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka


Serena Williams made headlines (and was fined $17,000) for her outburst over the officiating nightmare at the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday. It was a polarizing moment, with Williams calling out the double standard for the conduct women’s tennis players and the inconsistent application of the rules. Now, days after the incident, a newspaper cartoonist from Australia has put his spin on it. And his spin is really, really racist.

Editorial cartoonist Mark Knight of the Australian newspaper the Herald Sun was so proud of his Serena Williams-U.S. Open cartoon, which was published in the newspaper, that he posted it on his Twitter account early Monday morning.

If you’re wondering why he was proud, you’re not alone. He depicts Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes of all time, as a racist stereotype, with a huge nose and big lips. She’s drawn like a Hulk baby, her strength and power twisted into infantile ugliness as she stomps on her racquet with a pacifier on the ground.

As if the racist depiction of Williams wasn’t enough, there’s more. Naomi Osaka, who beat Williams on Saturday, is Japanese-Haitian. But in the cartoon, she’s drawn as a busty, blonde white woman. And the only words in the cartoon are uttered by the umpire, who says “Can’t you just let her win?” That makes it seem like he played zero part in Saturday’s controversy, but it also implies that Williams needs to be “allowed” to win because she’s not talented enough or because she’s too “angry.”

Twitter’s response was swift and angry

Considering that the racism in Knight’s cartoon was so immense that it could have been spotted from space, Twitter jumped on it immediately and called it out for what it was: racist, hurtful, and 100% unnecessary.

In this one, Williams is drawn like a racist stereotype again, with the big lips and nose, and very defined cheeks. Additionally, she barely looks like a woman, which is obviously intentional. She’s holding up a sign and being approached by a Nike executive, in an effort to tie in the brand’s recent Colin Kaepernick commercial and make it look like Williams fighting for herself on the court was just a PR move.

Williams’ race isn’t brought up in the text of the cartoon itself, but she’s still drawn like a racist stereotype. Zanetti made the choice to draw her that way, when drawing Williams like a person wouldn’t have changed the overall meaning of the cartoon at all. But he did draw her that way, because the point of the cartoon is to make Williams look bad, not just for challenging the double standard of women’s conduct in tennis and being emotional on the court, but apparently just for being African-American.

JEMELE HILL - FOOLISH ACTIVIST - FIRED BY ESPN

JEMELE HILL - FOOLISH ACTIVIST - FIRED BY ESPN:

JEMELE RUINED A GREAT JOB WITH ESPN TO HELP DEMOCRATS IN 2020.

SHE WAS HIRED AS A SPORTS COMMENTATOR NOT A POLITICAL ACTIVIST.

WILL DEMOCRAT LEADERS WHO HATE TRUMP NOW OFFER JEMELE A $10 MILLION CONTRACT??

IT’S NOT ABOUT VIOLATING FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIKE TRUMP, HE IS STILL THE ELECTED U.S. PRESIDENT JUST AS OBAMA WAS.

THINK SMARTER BLACK YOUNG PEOPLE.

IF YOU WANT TO BE AN ACTIVIST, SAVE MONEY AND THEN LEAVE YOUR JOB AMICABLY FIRST.

YOU CAN NOT BE AN POLITICAL ACTIVIST AT WORK IN CORPORATE AMERICA UNLESS YOU WERE HIRED UPFRONT TO BE A PAID POLITICAL COMMENTATOR.

PERIOD.


Post Sources: NY Daily Post, Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox News, Sports Illustrated, Your Black World, Youtube


***** Jemele Hill is out at ESPN


Jemele Hill needed to be out at ESPN. Hill knew it. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro knew it. And, now, Jemele Hill is out at ESPN.

The marriage between ESPN and Hill — the controversial sports commentator who waded into politics and sparred with President Donald Trump — has long been stuck in irreconcilable differences. Since leaving “SportsCenter” earlier this year, she has barely worked, making a divorce the obvious conclusion.

A buyout of her reported $2.5 million per year contract has been completed and her last day will be Friday, according to sources.

On Saturday night, the author James Miller, who wrote a book about ESPN, first tweeted the newsof the breakup, calling it “amicable.” The timing, on a Saturday evening, was fortunate for Hill and ESPN in an attempt to lessen the news coverage of what had been a huge national story, both in politics and in sports. There had been rumblings last week of buyout talks between the two sides.

It is quite simple as to why the buyout happened: Hill wants to continue her involvement in politics, and ESPN wants out of politics.

Pitaro has made it clear ESPN is a sports network and does not want to be associated with politics, so he agreed to a buyout with Hill, according to sources. ESPN had no use for Hill on any of its programs after her ill-fated 6 p.m. “SportsCenter”with her former partner, Michael Smith, failed to deliver ratings. She first left Smith behind by quitting the show before the executive in charge of the program, Norby Williamson, had a chance to replace her. She would have been removed.

Nearly one year ago, on Sept. 11, 2017, Hill called Trump “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself [with] other white supremacists.” Though it broke ESPN’s social media rules about commenting on politics unrelated to sports, then-network president John Skipper failed to suspend Hill. The White House called for Hill to be fired.

A little more than a month later, Skipper decided to suspend Hill after she criticized Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ anthem stance by tweeting, “Change happens when advertisers are impacted. If you feel strongly about JJ’s statement, boycott his advertisers.” She was off television for two weeks. ESPN called it a second offense. Hill said she regretted that she had “painted ESPN in an unfair light.”

Pitaro recently said he thinks the biggest misperception of ESPN is that it is political, and now he is putting action behind his words. Though the network’s on-air programming is mostly apolitical, it is hard to ask viewers to disassociate stances they read on social media when ESPN personalities are on TV, radio or writing for its website.

Nearly one year ago, on Sept. 11, 2017, Hill called Trump “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself [with] other white supremacists.” Though it broke ESPN’s social media rules about commenting on politics unrelated to sports, then-network president John Skipper failed to suspend Hill. The White House called for Hill to be fired.

A little more than a month later, Skipper decided to suspend Hill after she criticized Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ anthem stance by tweeting, “Change happens when advertisers are impacted. If you feel strongly about JJ’s statement, boycott his advertisers.” She was off television for two weeks. ESPN called it a second offense. Hill said she regretted that she had “painted ESPN in an unfair light.”

Pitaro recently said he thinks the biggest misperception of ESPN is that it is political, and now he is putting action behind his words. Though the network’s on-air programming is mostly apolitical, it is hard to ask viewers to disassociate stances they read on social media when ESPN personalities are on TV, radio or writing for its website.

NFL RATINGS vs FLAG PROTESTS: BYE-BYE FANS (STOP USING U.S. MILITARY)

NFL RATINGS vs AMERICAN FLAG PROTESTS:

CORE FANS ARE QUIETLY SLIPPING AWAY.

PLEASE STOP USING U.S. MILITARY TROOPS TO PUSH DIVISIVE AGENDAS.

THIS PROTEST HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE U.S. MILITARY.

THIS PROTEST IS ABOUT 400 YEARS OF INTENTIONAL INSTITUTIONAL RACISM CONGRESS REFUSES TO STOP.


Sources: USA Today, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Youtube


***** Shock poll: NFL now least liked sport, core fans down 31%


Over just one month of player, coach, and owner protests of the flag and National Anthem, the National Football League has gone from America's sport to the least liked of top professional and college sports, according to a new poll.


From the end of August to the end of September, the favorable ratings for the NFL have dropped from 57 percent to 44 percent, and it has the highest unfavorable rating – 40 percent – of any big sport, according to the Winston Group survey provided exclusively to Secrets.

Worse for football, which was already seeing lower TV ratings and empty stadium seats, the month of protests and complaints about them from President Trump drove core fans, men 34-54, away, the most significant indicator that NFL brass aren't in touch with their base.

The Winston Poll from the Washington-based Winston Group found that the attitude of those fans went from an August rating of 73 percent favorable and 19 percent unfavorable to 42 percent favorable and 47 percent unfavorable, a remarkable turn against the sport.

According to the poll analysis, "more critically for the NFL, the fall off in favorables occurred among important audiences. Among males, NFL favorables fell 23 percent, going from 68 percent to 45 percent. In looking at a more specific audience, males 34-54, NFL favorables fell 31 percent, going from 73 percent to 42 percent. Among this group the NFL has a surprising negative image, as it went from +54 percent in August to -5 percent in September."

The Winston Poll was of brand images for the NFL, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and college football and basketball. It was of 1,000 registered voters and taken August 29-30 and then again September 28-29.

In August, baseball had the highest favorables, just a few points above the NFL.

August Winston Poll

MLB/61 percent favorable to 13 percent unfavorable.
NFL/57 percent favorable to 23 percent unfavorable.
College football/53 percent favorable to 16 percent unfavorable.
College basketball/48 percent favorable to 17 percent unfavorable.
NBA/47 percent unfavorable to 23 percent unfavorable.
September Winston Poll

MLB/63 percent favorable to 16 percent unfavorable.
College football/51 percent favorable to 21 percent unfavorable.
NBA/46 percent favorable to 28 percent unfavorable.
College basketball/45 percent favorable to 25 percent unfavorable.
NFL/44 percent favorable to 40 percent unfavorable.
During the month, the college basketball drop was likely influenced by the suspension of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino who is linked to a scandal.

According to the Winston Poll, every category of NFL fan saw a drop in support.

NIKE STANDS BY TIGER WOODS AFTER DUI ARREST (LOYALTY & GRATITUDE)

NIKE STANDS BY TIGER WOODS AFTER DUI ARREST (LOYALTY):

TIGER HAS MADE A TON OF $$$ FOR NIKE.

TIGER IS STILL AN AMAZING GOLFER.


Sources: CBS News, Fox News, YouTube


***** Iconic Sponsor NIKE weigh in on Tiger Woods' DUI arrest


Nike is keeping its sponsorship of golf pro Tiger Woods, after his arrest in Florida for driving under the influence.

A spokesman told CBS News, "There is no change in our relationship with Tiger."

The golfer admitted to getting behind the wheel after taking a potent mix of prescription drugs.

Police reports confirm Woods was not drunk, reports CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez.

Two breathalyzer tests showed his blood alcohol level at zero.

Still, officers say Woods slurred his speech and failed field sobriety tests, prompting them to take him into custody.

Around 2:00 am Monday morning police say they found Woods asleep behind the wheel of a black Mercedes.

His car was blocking the right hand lane, its left brake light on and right turn signal flashing. Both drivers' side tires were flat. The rims were damaged.

Once awake, police say Woods was swaying, that his eyes were extremely droopy and seemed as if he was lost. Woods also told officers he had taken four medications, including the painkiller Vicodin.

"I feel bad for him," said Jack Nicklaus at a press conference. The golf great said he hopes Woods will play again. "He needs a lot of support from a lot of people, and I'll be one of them."

Vicodin is a highly addictive opioid often used for post-surgical pain. The FDA warns the drug can impair driving.

Woods, who is recovering from a back operation last month, said: "I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions."

"Tiger lucked out. He got pulled off the road before he committed an even worse crime -- before he killed somebody, before he injured someone or himself," said Heather Geronemus, a Mothers Against Drunk Driving board member.

Prescription drugs also allegedly played a role in Woods' 2009 crash. The latest incident so far has not cost him any sponsorships.

Bridgestone Golf told "CBS This Morning" it was, "... continuing to monitor the situation."

"It saddens you," said legal analyst and former "60 Minutes Sports" correspondent, Jack Ford.

Ford once played a round of golf with Woods. He says few DUI cases ever go to trial.

"The process has become so sophisticated -- the testing process so sophisticated -- and the penalties are fairly severe. So usually people try to work something out," Ford said.

Jupiter police say they will release dash cam footage of the arrest later today.

Woods received two citations – driving under the influence and illegal parking. His first court appearance is scheduled for July 5.

TIGER WOODS ARRESTED FOR DUI

TIGER WOODS ARRESTED FOR DUI:

IS HE LOSING IT??


Sources: AJC, AP, YouTube


***** Tiger Woods: ‘Unexpected reaction’ to meds led to DUI arrest


Golfer Tiger Woods spent Memorial Day morning in a Jupiter, Fla., jail charged with DUI following a traffic stop.

Woods was arrested about 3 a.m., according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. He was released on his own recognizance about eight hours later.

Woods on Monday blamed an unexpected reaction to medication as the reason for his arrest.

The 14-time major championship winner, in a statement, insisted alcohol was not a contributing factor.

“I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Woods, 41, wrote in a statement. “I want the public to now that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn't realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.

“I would like to apologize with all my heart to my family, friends and the fans. I expect more from myself, too.”

Woods, who lives in Jupiter Island, has undergone four surgeries to relieve chronic back pain since 2014. His most recent procedure was in April.

He has not played professionally since February. He has missed three of the last four Masters Tournaments at Augusta National Golf Club.

TRUMP'S INAUGURATION CEREMONY: FLOYD MAYWEATHER & PRAYER LEADERS

TRUMP'S INAUGURATION CEREMONY COUNTDOWN:

BOXING LEGEND FLOYD MAYWEATHER TO ATTEND.

HIS CHOICE OF PRAYER LEADERS DISPLAYS TRUMP'S VALUES AND FAITH.


Sources: NPR, Fox News, TMZ Sports, YouTube


***** With His Choice Of Inauguration Prayer Leaders, Trump Shows His Values

The six faith leaders President-elect Donald Trump has invited to pray at his inauguration come from diverse backgrounds, but they have something in common: All have personal ties to Trump or his family or have in some way signaled their approval of him, his politics or his wealth.

The group includes an African-American megachurch leader from Detroit, a Florida woman known for her lavish lifestyle and preaching on "abundancy," a rabbi from Los Angeles, and a Hispanic evangelical — as well as Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.

Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who leads Great Faith Ministries in Detroit, played a key role during the presidential campaign by inviting candidate Trump to visit his church. For Trump, it was a rare appearance before a black congregation.

Presenting Trump with a Jewish prayer shawl during his visit, Jackson said, "There are going to be times in your life that you are going to feel forsaken ... but the anointing is going to lift you up."

With his invitation to Jackson to pray at his inauguration, Trump returned a favor.

Jackson lives in a multimillion dollar mansion in Detroit and drives luxury cars. He preaches that being rich is not bad and that Trump's wealth shows he is "blessed by God."

Such teachings exemplify the "prosperity gospel," which holds that God rewards faithful Christians with financial success. It is a faith tradition with which Trump long has been associated. His "spiritual adviser" is Paula White, who as the leader of New Destiny Christian Center near Orlando, Fla., is perhaps the best known prosperity preacher in the country.

"Every day you're [living] your destiny, designed by God and discovered by you," White said in a recent sermon. "You're either in a position of abundance, you're in a position of prosperity, or you're in a position of poverty. Now that's in every area of your life. ... You're living abundant in your affairs of life — and that includes your financial conditions — or you're living in poverty."

Not surprisingly, Donald Trump is drawn to those preachers who say that one's wealth is a sign of God's approval. Paula White has her critics in the evangelical world, some of whom consider her a heretic, but she endorsed Trump's candidacy, and he reciprocated by inviting White to pray at his swearing-in ceremony.

Another pro-Trump evangelist who will be praying at the inauguration is Franklin Graham. During a recent interview with Lou Dobbs on the Fox Business Network, Graham said "the hand of God" was evident in Trump's election.

"I think God intervened and put his hand on Donald Trump for some reason," Graham told Dobbs. "It's obvious that there was something behind this, and it was more than people understand. I just think it was God."

By appearing at Trump's swearing-in, Franklin Graham will be following family tradition: His 98-year-old father, Billy, prayed at the inauguration of several presidents, from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton, and Franklin prayed at the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001.

His inclusion as a prayer leader may also signal Trump's comfort with Graham's political positions. During his campaign, Trump focused a lot of attention on the threat from "radical Islam," a theme Franklin Graham also has emphasized.

Shared political views may also explain Trump's invitation to Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founding president of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. In a recent television interview, Hier said it was "outrageous" that the Obama administration chose not to veto a recent United Nations resolution condemning Israel's settlement policy, echoing Trump's own criticism.

Hier, the first rabbi asked to pray at a presidential inauguration since 1985, says he will hit "modern themes" during his inauguration appearance. "It will be a short prayer, but it will reflect on the 21st century," he says.

Hier also has ties to the Trump world through Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and close adviser. Kushner's parents are old friends with Hier and his wife.

One indication of Trump's unorthodox approach in choosing inauguration prayer leaders is the absence of any representative of mainline Protestantism, the dominant faith tradition of U.S. presidents throughout the country's history. On the other hand, Trump is the first to invite a Hispanic evangelical leader, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) and senior pastor at New Season Christian Worship Center, an Assemblies of God congregation in Sacramento, Calif.

Rodriguez accepted the invitation despite some misgivings about Trump's hard-line immigration views.

"There was a bit of angst due to the fact that throughout the course of this campaign, the rhetoric and tone, as it pertained particularly to the immigrant community, did not line up with the ethos or the values of the NHCLC," Rodriguez told NPR. He agreed to come to Washington for the inauguration after "prayerful deliberation and discussion" and a conclusion that he could not pass up an opportunity to pray on "the quintessential political platform on the planet."

Among Hispanic evangelicals, Rodriguez is one of the more conservative leaders. While he did not endorse Trump, he told NPR that he has heard a "change of tone" from Trump in the past few weeks, and now has high hopes for better relations between Hispanics and the Trump administration.

"Thirty percent of Latinos voted for Donald Trump," Rodriguez points out. "There's a great possibility that the president-elect and his team have come to the realization that this constituency could be engaged successfully."

Generally, Trump's selection of inauguration prayer leaders reflects his tendency to break with mainstream thinking — and the importance he places on loyalty. With his invitations, he has rewarded clergy members who support him politically, endorse his views, or even offer a religious approval of his great wealth.

The least surprising prayer leader choice is Cardinal Dolan. Most U.S. presidents in recent years have asked a prominent Catholic bishop or theologian to pray at their inaugurations, and as fellow New Yorkers, Dolan and Trump have known each other for a long time.

AYESHA CURRY'S TWITTER RANT BACKLASH IS RACIST (REMEMBER TIPPER GORE?)

AYESHA CURRY'S TWITTER RANT BACKLASH IS RACIST (REMEMBER TIPPER GORE?)

IGNORE STEPHEN A. SMITH'S SEXIST, MISOGYNIST REMARKS.

IN AMERICA FREE SPEECH ISN'T COLORBLIND.

DOES ANYONE REMEMBER TIPPER GORE'S CENSORSHIP PR STUNT?

IS IT POSSIBLE AYESHA CURRY'S ANTI-NBA TWEETS COULD BE AN INTENTIONAL PR STUNT?

Sources: ESPN, Huffpost, Twitter, NBA, Rollingstone, Oprah, Village Voice, Undefeated, YouTube

Ayesha Curry, wife of NBA Superstar Stephen Curry is being slammed for her recent tweets about the NBA being rigged.

Many people have previously expressed this same sentiment about the NBA Play-offs, so why is Ayesha being rebuked?

Is it due to the fact that her husband Stepen is currently employed by the NBA or does RACISM play a factor in this backlash against Ayesha?

And why is Sports Commentator Stephen A. Smith (a BLACK Man) comparing Ayesha Curry to Lebron James' wife Savannah?

Both Women are BLACK, however that is where the similarity stops.

Since the husbands of Ayesha Curry and Savannah James will play for rival teams during the 2016 Play-Off games, is it possible Ayesha is strategically posting negative NBA Twitter rants as a PR stunt?

Has the Mainstream Media forgotten about TIPPER GORE, former wife of AL GORE?

When her husband was still employed as Vice-President in the Clinton administration, TIPPER GORE launched a national campaign to shut up and Censor the music of BLACK Rappers.

Yet......

No one, not even the NAACP told TIPPER GORE to "Shut up and stay in her place".

TIPPER GORE used her fake "Family Values" Hip Hop Music Censorship campaign to bring attention to HERSELF but no one said a word.

Not even Bill and Hillary Clinton!

******* Stephen A. Smith Essentially Tells Ayesha Curry To Shut Her Mouth And Know Her Place

“You are not just Ayesha Curry. You are Steph Curry’s wife.”

What many people thought would be a night of champagne celebrations for the Curry family instead turned out rather badly for them on Thursday night.

Stephen continued to lack MVP-level sharpness in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, fouling out and then getting ejected for throwing his mouthpiece at some rich kid in a loss that pushed the series to seven games. But most of the conversation following the game centered around his wife, who hopped on Twitter to accuse the Cavs of holding up the Warriors’ family bus and the NBA of rigging the Finals for money. (She quickly deleted the latter tweet.)

TWITTER/@AYESHACURRY

Ayesha joins the NBA conspiracy theorist community.

Steph defended his wife after the game, saying, “Everybody says stuff where you get caught in the moment ... I don’t fault her from showing some emotion on Twitter.” But on ESPN’s Friday morning episode of “First Take,” “analysts” Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless completely faulted Ayesha for showing emotion.

Smith spoke at length (as seen in the above video), in fact, about how NBA wives should and should not act. He focused the conversation around wives of the NBA Finals’ two rival stars: LeBron James and Steph. Smith thinks that Ayesha, a relative rookie when it comes to the superstar NBA lifestyle, should be quiet and act more like LeBron’s wife Savannah Brinson, a 13-year veteran of the NBA family. 

“[Brinson] never brings attention to herself. She never tweets and calls out the lying. Nobody, nobody is more scrutinized than her husband, but yet she thinks about how she represents him,” Smith said.  

And there’s nothing wrong or right about that! It’s Savannah’s choice to stay low and work on a small business. It’s also Ayesha’s choice to parlay her popularity as a family-first social media presence into a Food Network show. They’re different women who are making their own mark, if Smith couldn’t tell.

But he can’t, because his sexism won’t allow him to recognize Ayesha as an independent person from her husband. “You are not just Ayesha Curry. You are Steph Curry’s wife,” he shockingly said (and Bayless agreed!). Apparently, once a woman marries an NBA player, they no longer have their own identity. They’re merely ornamental.  

Smith claims that because “everybody veers towards Steph Curry,” we’re ignoring Ayesha’s tweets. Quite the contrary, as much has been made of her tweets Thursday morning. 

“If this were Savannah acting like this, do you know how much heat LeBron James may have taken?” Smith continued to argue. 

Savannah “acting like this” may indeed cause some heat for LeBron. Yet in the spectrum of overly critical LeBron stories, Smith’s “acting like this” hypothetical would likely amount to nothing. Would LeBron and Savannah suffer if she started defending LeBron’s flopping? No. Will Ayesha and Steph suffer because of a few tweets? No. When you’re Steph Curry or LeBron James, two of the biggest athletes alive, it’ll take a lot more than heated tweets to “hurt yourself or your husband or your family in any way,” as Smith said.

Ayesha evidently watched Smith’s diatribe, and responded on Twitter immediately: 

Seeing the tweet, Smith responded live on “First Take” and continued to explain why she was out of line.

“It is not me. It is you,” he said.

No it isn’t, Steven. No it isn’t. 

MUHAMMAD ALI vs FOREMAN (ACTUAL FIGHT FOOTAGE vs THE WILL SMITH FILM)

MUHAMMAD ALI vs GEORGE FOREMAN (ACTUAL FIGHT FOOTAGE):

ALI WAS INDEED THE GREATEST BOXER TO EVER LIVE.

January 17, 1942 - June 3, 2016

Rest In Peace My Brother.

Sources: Youtube, NY Times

MUHAMMAD ALI'S LEGACY; PROUD POWERFUL BLACK MAN ("VIET CONG")

MUHAMMAD ALI'S LEGACY; PROUD POWERFUL BLACK MAN:

"NO VIET CONG EVER CALLED ME NIGGER".

ALI LEFT SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL.

WHERE ARE THE PROUD POWERFUL BLACK MEN OF TODAY?

Sources: ESPN, NY Times, Youtube

Muhammad Ali formerly known as Cassius Marcellus Clay, was born in January 1942, and died in June 2016 at the age of 74.

Ali converted to the ISLAMIC faith in 1964 and remained a devout Muslim until his death.

Ali was married four times and fathered nine children who loved and respected their Father very much.

Ali was an intelligent professional Boxer who lost and won back his title three times.

After developing a personal friendship with the late Sportscaster Howard Cosell, Ali became an international figure.

Throughout his life Muhammad Ali stood strong by his Convictions, including his refusal to fight in the Vietnam war after publicly declaring "No Viet Cong ever called me Nigger".

Although I don't agree with all of Muhammad Ali's personal life and religious decisions, I will forever respect Ali for being a Proud Powerful BLACK Man, who never sold out his people for Money nor Fame.

Muhammad Ali most certainly deserves to REST IN PEACE.

I send my prayers and condolences to the surviving family of Muhammad Ali.

***** Ali's legacy outlives him, but must be considered in 

THERE IS, EVEN in the sadness of his death, little reason to think about Muhammad Ali in the gauzy past tense, to remember him through the lens of pre-color-film footage, except to beam at those hands, marvel at the foot speed, linger on the unblemished supremacy of his youth with all its beauty and foreshadowing.

Otherwise, we need only rise each morning to see him, for Ali feels very much present today as he was during his time. Too many contemporary parallels exist to look backward.

Like Martin Luther King Jr., Ali was once one of the most hated men in America, and like MLK, he would decades later be co-opted by many of the very people who hated him (though a young Ali would be as despised today as he was in the 1960s).

It is the lonely walk of the original, of the dissenter, and it knows no era. He was hated by white America for his unsparing criticism of its obvious, enduring racism, a conversation no more welcome today than it was in 1963. He was hated by blacks and whites alike for challenging the military, for questioning the necessity, morality and inherent racism of war, and in response the American government used its full weight to try to destroy him. He was hated for challenging Christianity as a Muslim in America, yet in death he is mourned as if yesterday's struggle has been long resolved and defiance is no longer necessary.

When recast, Ali is so often dipped in the notion that he "transcended" race, which is pure and unadulterated nonsense. There was nothing for Ali to transcend racially. To him, blackness was no obstacle but central to his identity. His loyalty to being black made him both reviled by whites and luminescent to the black people desperate for his presence, for the African-American admission fee to acceptance and fame has always been the erasure of their color, to abandon it lest they be seen as threatening or difficult, angry or ungrateful. The white ticket buyers and image makers must be comfortable, and the black price for their comfort is reducing the core of oneself or risking the inevitable brand-threatening mainstream rage, or worse: being accused of playing the dreaded "race card," as if humiliation were a game easily turned into advantage with the right strategy. Creating distance from race is the key to mainstream black advancement; the pathway to future acceptance is unattainable without that surrender. Ali rejected this fantasy. He did not transcend race. He took his blackness with him.

Said Ali: "Money means nothing to me nor boxing when it comes to the freedom of your people. So everything I'm doing, if it means hitchhike tomorrow, if it means being raggedy, if it means look for a job, I'll be happy because I can go to bed, my conscience is clear and I didn't sell out or trade my people just because I could be rich in Hollywood."

So much of him lives today, including his darkest side. His worst moments were in his racial cruelty toward rival Joe Frazier. He was quicker mentally, better with words than Frazier, and whether for promotion or mental advantage, he used his better looks and lighter skin to exploit the racial stereotypes that saddle black men everywhere. He knew the implications of calling another black man a "gorilla," and he did it anyway.

What Ali did transcend was the conventions of modern celebrity by remaining a human. He could love the black and the brown around the world and, through the force of his humanity, bend the historical resistance to him over the final 40 years of his life. He could be rich and still be one of the poor. He knew the price for his beliefs, the price of not abandoning his people for fame or money, and was still willing to pay it in full.

Most of America will remember him safely, by separating Ali from its current self, allowing it to be magnanimous and him to be unthreatening. It will admire his religious conviction without recognizing our collective hostility toward Muslims. It will honor his courage, yet discourage us from questioning, as he did, the wars we fight, the government that spies on us or the fact that we forget our poor. It will celebrate his defiance while defiance is precisely what our increasingly intolerant culture is going out of its way to crush.

There is no reason to look backward, for Ali lives presently in the air we breathe. What is past is prologue.

MUHAMMAD "THE GREATEST" ALI IS DEAD AT AGE 74 ("Ali Bomaye")

MUHAMMAD "THE GREATEST" ALI IS DEAD AT AGE 74 (Ali Bomaye):

HOWARD COSELL HELPED TO MAKE ALI WORLD FAMOUS.

HE LOST & WON BACK HIS TITLE THREE TIMES.

ALI WAS THE MOST INTELLIGENT BOXER IN HISTORY.

HE WAS PROUD TO BE A BLACK MAN.

Sources: CNN, NBC News, Youtube

****** Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest,' dies at 74

Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer who proclaimed himself "The Greatest" and was among the most famous and beloved athletes on the planet, died Friday in Arizona, a family spokesman said.

Ali had been at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Scottsdale since Thursday with what spokesman Bob Gunnell had described as a respiratory issue.

"After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74.

The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Gunnell said in a statement. "The Ali family would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and support and asks for privacy at this time."

Ali's daughter Hana Ali said her father was a "humble mountain."

"And now he has gone home to God. God bless you daddy. YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!" she tweeted.

"When he came into the hospital, we thought, 'OK, it will be a brief stay'... I think it took a turn for the worse," he told CNN's Dan Simon Saturday. "But it was unexpected."

Ramsey said he didn't actually see Ali in the hospital Friday. The people who were with Ali when he died were "the kids, family only, and I respected that... it's a very private matter."

Ramsey said Ali's wife, Lonnie, called him Friday morning saying Ali's health was deteriorating.

"She said 'You might want to come out,' which I decided to do," he said.

Tributes from around the world

While touching tributes to Ali were pouring in from world leaders, fellow athletes and just regular folk, the boxing great had already addressed how he wanted the world to think about him after his death.

In his book "The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey," Ali said he wanted to be remembered as "a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous, and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him, and who helped as many people as he could. As a man who stood up for his beliefs no matter what.

As a man who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love."

He added, " And if all that's too much, then I guess I'd settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people, And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was."

President Barack Obama said he and first lady Michelle Obama mourn Ali's passing.

"But we're also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time," the Obamas said in a statement Saturday.

The President said he has a pair of Ali's gloves on display in his private study off of the Oval Office, just underneath a photograph of the legend.

Obama said Ali "fought for us."

"He stood with King and Mandela; stood up when it was hard; spoke out when others wouldn't. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled, and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground.

And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today," the President said in a statement issued by the White House.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, at a ceremony honoring Ali Saturday, said the boxer "lived a life so big and bold, it's hard to believe that any one man could do everything he did, could be all the things that he became in the course of just one lifetime."

He added, "Muhammad Ali belongs to the world, but he only has one hometown. The 'Louisville Lip' spoke to everyone, but we heard him in a way no one else could -- as our brother, our uncle, and our inspiration."

Don King, the boxing promoter who was every bit as brash as Ali, told CNN that in his mind Ali will never die.

"His spirit will go on forever," he said. "He's just a great human being, a champion of the people, the greatest of all time."

Even as the former champ battled Parkinson's, he had the same love for life and people, King said. Parkinson's disease, which primarily affects a patient's movement, is a "progressive disorder of the nervous system," according to the Mayo Clinic.

The Ali sense of humor was displayed in an old photo tweeted by Oscar De La Hoya, who won titles in six weight classes.

"RIP @muhammadali, a legend who transcended sport and was a true champion for all. ‪#‎thegreatest‬ ‪#‎MuhammadAli‬," De La Hoya wrote above an image of Ali whose mischievous eyes proudly watched as his right hand made rabbit ears behind the "Golden Boy's" head.

Hours before her famed father passed away, Laila Ali posted a throwback photo of him with her daughter, Sydney, who was born in 2011.

"I love this photo of my father and my daughter Sydney when she was a baby! Thanks for all the love and well wishes. I feel your love and appreciate it!!" Laila Ali, herself a former world champion boxer, wrote.

George Foreman, who Ali defeated in 1974 for the world heavyweight title, wrote on Twitter, "It's been said it was rope a dope Ali beat me with. (N)o (it was) his beauty that beat me. Most beauty I've know(n). loved him."

Famed promoter Bob Arum wrote on Twitter: "A true great has left us. @MuhammadAli transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit."

Mike Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion in history, said, "God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest‪#‎RIP‬."

In recent years, Ali had largely stayed out of the public spotlight.

In his last known appearance, he appeared at a Parkinson's fundraiser April 9 in Phoenix, according to the Arizona Republic. A photo posted by the newspaper showed Ali wearing dark sunglasses.

On the website of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the actor -- who also has Parkinson's -- said: "Muhammad was a true legend -- a champion in the boxing ring, and a champion for millions of Parkinson's families. We looked up to him as an example of grace and courage in the face of great challenges."

Ali was known not only for his athletic prowess but also for his social activism.

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, as Cassius Clay in January 1942. He began boxing as an amateur when he was 12 years old and in 1964 became heavyweight champion with a knockout of Sonny Liston. That year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name.

Ali's sparkling career was interrupted for 3½ years in the 1960s when he refused induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was convicted of draft evasion. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction.

Ali was prepared to go to prison, King said.

"He stood his ground on who he was," King said. "He'd rather go to jail than break what he believed in."

During his boxing hiatus, Ali spoke out about racism in America.
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Ali a friend and a mentor.

"At a time when blacks who spoke up about injustice were labeled uppity and often arrested under one pretext or another, Muhammad willingly sacrificed the best years of his career to stand tall and fight for what he believed was right," Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Facebook.

Ali went on to win the heavyweight title twice more before retiring for good in 1981.

Ali also was hospitalized in January 2015 with a urinary tract infection.

He was hospitalized in December 2014 with pneumonia.

Funeral services will be held in Louisville, Gunnell said.

NBA 2017 ALL STAR GAMES: CHARLOTTE vs ATLANTA

NBA ENTERS 2016 POLITICAL FRAY; LGBT v RACISM; ATLANTA v CHARLOTTE

CHARLOTTE IS A MUCH BETTER VENUE.

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME JUST TRY LIVING IN ATLANTA FOR THREE MONTHS.

WHAT YOU SEE ON THE "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA" SHOW IS NOT ATLANTA.

Sources: The State, Newsmax, ABC 11Alive, AJC, Charlotte Observer, YouTube, 

Story Highlights:

April 2014 - Donald Sterling is banned by new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for mentioning Racist remarks secretly recorded by his girlfriend.

June 2015 - Charlotte, NC wins bid to host the 2017 NBA All-Star games.

February 2016 - Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed (Democrat) announces his endorsement for Hillary Clinton as President.

Charlotte City Council (Democrats) passes LGBT Bathroom Sharing Ordinance February 2016 despite widespread local voter opposition.

Gov McCrory repeals Charlotte's LGBT Bathroom Sharing Ordinance in March 22, 2016

Gov Nathan Deal vetoes the Georgia Religious Liberty legislation March 28, 2016 (the day after Easter Sunday)

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed calls on NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to change its 2017 All-Star Game venue from Charlotte to Atlanta

Obama visits Atlanta, Ga March 29, 2016 to speak a symposium to combat Prescription Drug Abuse

NBA Spokesperson said they are trying to keep the 2017 All-Star in Charlotte.

**** NBA responds to Atlanta’s call to move All-Star Game from Charlotte

Atlanta City Council invites NBA to move All-Star weekend

Resolution points to passage of North Carolina’s House Bill 2 as reason to move

NBA still hopeful N.C. can work through ‘differences’

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/news/nation-world/national/article68968147.html#storylink=cpy

The Atlanta City Council is asking the NBA to move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte to Atlanta after the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2, repealing portions of Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance.

During a committee hearing Tuesday, the resolution was introduced in Atlanta. It invites the NBA to consider relocating the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend “due to the passage of House Bill 2, a measure that discriminates against members of the LGBT community.”

The NBA says they are still hopeful Charlotte and North Carolina come to an agreement.

“We appreciate the invitation but are hopeful that the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina can work through their differences far in advance of the 2017 All-Star Game,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said about the proposal.

The day after the bill was signed, the National Basketball Association speculated that the bill might affect the Queen City’s hosting the 2017 All-Star Game. It’s scheduled for Feb. 17. 

“The NBA is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events,” the organization said in a release via Twitter after House Bill 2 was passed.

“We are deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect and do not yet know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte,” the statement continued.

Charlotte won the bid to host the All-Star Game in June 2015. One month later, the city formally committed to spending $600,000 in general tax dollars to host the event. The total incentive package for the All-Star Game is about $5.9 million, according to WBTV’s news partner The Charlotte Observer.

“The City of Atlanta draws strength from our diverse community,” said Atlanta Council President Ceasar Mitchell. “This unity creates our city’s embracing spirit, a quality that has made Atlanta the destination of choice for numerous international business conventions, professional and college sporting events, as well as one of the largest concentrations

“Atlanta is a vibrant, energetic city that would be an outstanding host to the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend,” chairman Andre Dickens said. “As the home to the civil and human rights movement, our diverse set of people and businesses welcome this global event with open arms.”

Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance passed in February by a 7-4 vote from the Charlotte City Council. It broadly defined how businesses should treat gay, lesbian and transgender customers. The debate, as in other cities recently, focused on bathrooms.

After its passage, several high ranking North Carolina Republicans, including McCrory, voiced concerns about people having the ability to choose public restrooms corresponding to their gender identity.

McCrory signed the state bill repealing parts of the ordinance into law Wednesday night. Lawmakers passed the bill in a special session and the governor signed it within one day.