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Brees said he ‘missed the mark’

Drew Brees apologized Thursday for comments that were “insensitive and completely missed the mark” when he reiterated his opposition to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, drawing sharp criticism from fellow high-profile athletes and others in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Los Angeles Lakers great LeBron James, New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins and former NFL player Martellus Bennett were just some of the high-profile athletes to criticize Brees on their Twitter feeds.

Brees, a New Orleans Saints quarterback who won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season, was asked Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo to revisit former NFL quarterback Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem before games to bring awareness of police brutality and racial injustice.

“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States,” Brees began, adding that the national anthem reminds him of his grandfathers, who served in the armed forces during World War II. “In many cases, it brings me to tears thinking about all that has been sacrificed, and not just in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ’60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point.”

NFL coaches allowed at team facilities

Coaches will be allowed to return beginning today to NFL team facilities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic as the league continues preparation for training camps and its season.

Commissioner Roger Goodell told the 32 clubs on Thursday in a memo obtained by the Associated Press that coaching staffs may work from team complexes starting today. Previously, only up to 75 people per day could be at the facilities, with coaches and players not seeking treatment for injuries barred.

All coaches will count toward the maximum number of club employees in the facility, but that number will be increased to 100 – subject to governmental regulations and implementation of health protocols developed by the NFL’s medical staff.

Team facilities were closed in March, and the league developed a phasing plan for them to reopen, pending governmental permission.

Raiders coaches won’t be going back, with moving trucks arriving last week at the team’s Alameda, California, facility and its new one in Henderson, Nevada, not open yet.

7 Arkansas State athletes test positive

Seven Arkansas State athletes tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating for 14 days, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said Thursday.

The seven athletes are from three sports, and all were asymptomatic. They learned the results Wednesday night.

Damphousse said contact tracing has begun.

Wright State drops 3 sports

Wright State is dropping its softball and men’s and women’s tennis programs as part of a plan to cut $2 million from its athletic department budget.

The Dayton, Ohio, school is reducing expenditures across the board because of decreases in enrollment and state funding because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Associated Press research shows 10 Division I schools have dropped a total of 22 sports because of budget reductions. A total of 99 sports have been cut in all divisions of four-year schools.

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