Breonna Taylor
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) greets Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (19) after defeating them in an NFL wild-card playoff football game, late Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Column: Smith-Schuster fires up foes through jigs and digs

By Arnie Stapleton Jan. 12, 2021 02:31 AM EST

FILE - Driver Bubba Wallace wears a Black Lives Matter shirt as he prepares for a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Martinsville, Va., in this Wednesday, June 10, 2020, file photo. In a most unusual year already thrown into chaos by the coronavirus pandemic, many athletes took unprecedented steps when a nationwide reckoning on race spilled into the streets of American cities after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, while in Minneapolis police custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
Athletes act: Stars rise up against racial injustice in 2020

By Cliff Brunt Dec. 29, 2020 01:41 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth during an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Inglewood, Calif. In the wake of the civil unrest this year, Rams players established a social justice fund and veteran tackle Andrew Whitworth pledged to match all his teammates’ contributions. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
NFL players take leading role on social justice front

By Barry Wilner Dec. 22, 2020 03:06 PM EST

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wears a T-shirt that reads "We Want Justice" in support of Black Lives Matter as he warms up for an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks 12/6/2020

Dec. 06, 2020 02:50 PM EST

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis (14) runs against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons 12/6/2020

Dec. 06, 2020 01:10 PM EST

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) lands in the end zone for a touchdown against the Denver Broncosduring the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Rams players award $750,000 to social justice programs

By The Associated Press Dec. 04, 2020 11:37 AM EST

Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills (12) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Minnesota Vikings with teammate Will Fuller (15) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
Texans release wide receiver Kenny Stills

Nov. 27, 2020 06:31 PM EST

Cyprus' Dimitris Christofi, centre, controls the ball during an international friendly soccer match between Cyprus and Czech Republic at AEK arena in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Latest: Ali to host Women's Sports Foundation awards

By The Associated Press Oct. 10, 2020 08:27 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2019, file photo, free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick arrives for a workout for NFL football scouts and media in Riverdale, Ga. Kaepernick’s publishing company is putting out a collection of 30 essays over the next four weeks about abolition, police and prisons. The project is titled: “Abolition For the People: The Movement For A Future Without Policing & Prisons.” Kaepernick envisioned and curated this project following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland, File)
Kaepernick's company publishing essays on policing, prisons

Oct. 06, 2020 12:33 PM EDT

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers prepares to throw before an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers 10/5/2020

Oct. 05, 2020 08:34 PM EDT

A fan sits in the stands before an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals 10/4/2020

Oct. 04, 2020 12:28 PM EDT

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., right, celebrates with running back Kareem Hunt after Beckham's touchdown during the first half of the team's NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Browns' star Beckham finds "acceptance" on and off field

By Tom Withers Sep. 24, 2020 06:05 PM EDT

File-New England Patriots running back James White (28) runs with the ball as Miami Dolphins linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (51) tackles him in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. White says he is is having trouble processing the sudden death of his father, but is finding comfort in celebrating his son's first birthday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
NFL rallies around Patriots' White after father's death

By Kyle Hightower Sep. 22, 2020 05:17 PM EDT

Players kneel in remembrance of Rep.. John Lewis, D-Ga., during the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Racial injustice themes fill empty NFL stadiums

By Jimmy Golen Sep. 13, 2020 02:49 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2020, file photo, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Zimmer and co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson have worked together for four different teams, a football friendship of white and Black coaches renewed when Zimmer was hired by the Vikings and put Patterson on his staff. As Vikings players initiated deep discussions about race and justice on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, Zimmer was startled to hear Patterson reveal his own frightening history of being pulled over by police for no apparent infraction. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
Coaching pals Zimmer, Patterson share diverse views on Vikes

By Dave Campbell Aug. 28, 2020 02:21 AM EDT

An empty field is seen at the New York Jets NFL football team's training camp in Florham Park, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. The New York Jets canceled their practice in an apparent response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin. The Jets provided no immediate details on their decision to not practice. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
9 NFL teams cancel practice in response to Blake shooting

By Dennis Waszak Jr. Aug. 27, 2020 10:21 AM EDT

New York Jets safety Bradley McDougald (30) during a practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Florham Park, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Within the confines of the team's facility, McDougald is a respected pro football player whose main concern is stopping the offense. When he heads home and turns onto the main road just a few hundred yards away, he goes on the defense. His guard goes up. Just as it has most of his life. “Guys are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” McDougald said Wednesday during a video conference call. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
NFL players concerned, 'sick and tired' of racial injustice

By Dennis Waszak Jr. Aug. 26, 2020 06:04 PM EDT

In this image from video, a Louisville Metro Police Department office stands guard outside the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron as protestors sit in his front yard in Louisville, Kentucky Tuesday, July 14, 2020. About two dozen protestors were arrested. Protesters were chanting Breonna Taylor's name as well as calling for justice after the 26-year-old emergency room technician was fatally shot by LMPD in her South End Apartment while police were serving a search warrant. Cameron said he still has no timeline for when his office will conclude its investigation of the case. (Mary Ann Gerth/Courier Journal via AP)
87 protesters arrested at Kentucky attorney general's home

By Rebecca Reynolds Yonker And Dylan Lovan Jul. 15, 2020 02:03 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2020, file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love heads up the court after making a 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Denver. Love received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPY Awards on Sunday, June 21, 2020, for sparking a national conversation about mental health. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
The ESPYS focus on honors, pandemic and racial justice

By Beth Harris Jun. 21, 2020 11:29 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. The NFL, which has raised $44 million in donations through its Inspire Change program, announced the additional $206 million commitment Thursday, June 11, 2020. Kaepernick and others began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest social injustice and police brutality. He has not found an NFL job the last three seasons. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
NFL to spend $250 million on social justice initiatives

By Barry Wilner Jun. 11, 2020 07:19 PM EDT