Reuters Sports News Summary

Rapinoe was following the lead of then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the same protests in 2016 and hasn't played in the NFL since that year. Kaepernick, who at the time was the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, was the first to take a knee during the pre-game playing of the national anthem to call attention to racial injustice and police brutality.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. U.S. Soccer president apologizes to Rapinoe

A day after the U.S. Soccer announced that it had overturned its ban on protests during the national anthem, federation president Cindy Parlow Cone apologized to women's national team star Megan Rapinoe for the policy being instituted originally. U.S. Soccer added the rule to its bylaws in 2017 after Rapinoe began kneeling for the anthem to protest racism and police abuses. Rapinoe was following the lead of then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the same protests in 2016 and hasn't played in the NFL since that year. Commonwealth Games: Athletes to be allowed to take a knee in protest, says Games chief

Athletes competing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England will be allowed to take a knee in support of worldwide anti-racism movements, competition organisers said. Several major sports organisations have moved to allow protests at their events following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. NASCAR drivers drop helmet designer for flag comments

NASCAR's decision to ban the Confederate flag from all its tracks and races continued to rumble through the sport on Thursday with several drivers dropping helmet designer Beam Designs after the company expressed opposition to the ban. Bubba Wallace, the only African-American competing in NASCAR's top Cup series, and Jimmie Johnson, a seven-times NASCAR Cup series champion, were among drivers who said they would no long be doing business with Beam Designs. Sport-On this day: Born June 13, 1982: Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopian runner

Ethiopia's three-time Olympic and five-time world champion Kenenisa Bekele is one of the African continent's finest athletes but he still wants to seal his golden legacy by becoming the fastest marathon runner of all time. He holds world records in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and came within a whisker of posting another one last September at the Berlin marathon in one of the sport's greatest comebacks. Tennis: Thiem joins Mouratoglou's innovative new league in France

World number three Dominic Thiem will be the fourth top-10 player from the men's ATP Tour to join the field in the innovative new tennis league starting in France on Saturday, organisers announced. The Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), co-owned by Patrick Mouratoglou, the long-time coach of Serena Williams, will have Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, Italian Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin of Belgium, joining six others to compete in a round-robin format over five weeks. Ravens' Harbaugh terms reopening rules 'humanly impossible'

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is not a fan of the new NFL guidelines for reopening practice facilities, which he termed as "humanly impossible" on Thursday. The mandates call for physical distancing in the locker room as well as in weight rooms and meeting rooms. Hamlin lands pole for Homestead-Miami race

Denny Hamlin, one of four two-time winners in the NASCAR Cup Series this year, will start on the pole Sunday for the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hamlin, coming off a 24th-place finish Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway earned the designation Thursday in a blind draw. Joey Logano, also a two-time winner in 2020, will open next to Hamlin in the front row for the start of the 400.5-miles, 267-lap race. NFL pledges $250 million to fight racism

The National Football League on Thursday announced a 10-year, $250 million fund to combat systemic racism following widespread U.S. protests over racial bias and law enforcement brutality. The NFL, where 70% of the players are black, said it would work with the league's 32 teams to support programs that address criminal justice reform, police reform and economic and educational advancement in light of "historic injustices faced by African-Americans." Owens says NFL should apologize to Kaepernick

NFL great Terrell Owens on Thursday said the league should apologize to Colin Kaepernick for refusing to support his kneeling protests against racial inequality during the 2016 season. Kaepernick, who at the time was the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, was the first to take a knee during the pre-game playing of the national anthem to call attention to racial injustice and police brutality. Olympic hopeful U.S. boxer cleared of doping violation caused by sex

U.S. Olympic team boxer Virginia Fuchs has been cleared of a doping violation after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) determined that banned substances in her sample had been transmitted during sex with her boyfriend. The 32-year-old flyweight had tested positive for two substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in an out-of-competition urine test on Feb. 13, the USADA said in a statement.