Sports News Roundup: U.S. Soccer president apologizes to Rapinoe; Djokovic relishing fan influx at a charity tournament and more

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.

As many as 80% of venues secured for next year's Games: Tokyo 2020

Tokyo 2020 organizers announced on Friday that 80% of the venues required to run a successful Olympics have been secured ahead of next year's rearranged Games. In the original plan for the Olympics, which were due to start next month, there were 43 venues, including eight new sites built for the Games.

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.

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-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, were among drivers who said they would no longer be doing business with Beam Designs.

Women's game in a great spot, men need new champions - Cahill

Women's tennis is currently in a great place with a flurry of new champions while the men's circuit needs its younger generation to break through and win Grand Slams, Australian coach Darren Cahill has told Reuters. World number one Australian Ash Barty, Bianca Andreescu of Canada, and American Sofia Kenin were crowned first-time major winners in women's singles in three of the last four Grand Slams to be held.

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, organizers announced. The Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), co-owned by Patrick Mouratoglou, the longtime 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.

Djokovic relishing fan influx at a charity tournament

World number one Novak Djokovic is looking forward to returning to action in front of fans at the Serb's charity tennis tournament in Belgrade this weekend. The first leg of Djokovic's Adria Tour is being held at his tennis complex by the Danube River, with Germany's Alexander Zverev, Austrian Dominic Thiem, and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov arriving for the event.

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 funds 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.