Reuters Sports News Summary

Mavericks owner Cuban says NBA should allow 'take a knee' protests Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Thursday he hopes the National Basketball Association will allow players to take a knee during the national anthem to support protests over the May 25 death of African American George Floyd in police custody.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Australia offer Alcott support, plan full programme for Melbourne

Tennis Australia have offered their support to Dylan Alcott over his disappointment at the wheelchair events being cut from the U.S. Open and said they were optimistic of running a full programme at January's Australian Open. Australian Alcott, who has won 10 Grand Slam wheelchair singles titles including two at Flushing Meadows, on Thursday slammed organisers for cutting his events from the Aug. 31-Sept 13 tournament, describing it as "disgusting discrimination". NFL: League to make 'adjustments as necessary' amid COVID-19

The NFL said on Thursday it will make adjustments as necessary to keep players safe following comments from top U.S. health official Anthony Fauci who said football may not happen unless athletes live in a "bubble". Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN it would be hard to see football played this year unless athletes were quarantined in one closed-off community like the NBA plans to do at Disney World in July. MLBPA counters with 70-game proposal

The Major League Baseball Players Association offered a counterproposal Thursday to the league that includes a 70-game regular season and expanded playoffs in 2020 and 2021. The schedule would run from July 19 through Sept. 30. According to ESPN, the union's latest offer also calls for $50 million in playoff bonuses, a 50/50 split of new postseason television revenues in 2021, salary-advance forgiveness, use of a universal designated hitter and a mutual waiver of the right to file a grievance. Whitelock back but not leading Crusaders against Hurricanes

Veteran All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock will make his return for the Canterbury Crusaders against the Wellington Hurricanes in the second week of Super Rugby Aotearoa on Sunday but will not lead the side in the absence of the injured Scott Barrett. Hooker Codie Taylor will instead captain the team for the first time with Barrett ruled out because of an issue with the plantar fascia ligament in his foot, Crusader's coach Scott Robertson told reporters on Friday. On this day: Born June 20, 1978 - Frank Lampard Chelsea manager

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, who celebrates his 42nd birthday on Saturday, is hoping to buck the trend of top English players whose forays into management turn out to be short and unsuccessful. Chelsea resume their Premier League campaign at Aston Villa on Sunday and the West London club are currently occupying the fourth Champions League spot. Motor racing: IndyCar ready to welcome back spectators

The IndyCar Series is ready to welcome spectators back to the track, saying on Thursday that a limited number of tickets will be made available to fans for a doubleheader event on July 17-18 at Iowa Speedway. After a near three-month forced delay due to the coronavirus outbreak, IndyCar launched its season on June 6 with a race without fans at Texas Motor Speedway won by New Zealand's Scott Dixon. Golf: Poulter, Hubbard share early lead at RBC Heritage

Britain's Ian Poulter capped an error-free opening round with a birdie-birdie finish to grab a share of the early lead with American Mark Hubbard at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina on Thursday. With the PGA Tour staging just its second event following a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Poulter showed no signs of rust with a rock-solid seven-under 64 in ideal scoring conditions at the Harbor Town Golf Links. Kaepernick joins Medium, will create content on race and civil rights

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has joined the board of directors of Medium and will work on content focused on race and civil rights, the U.S.-based online publishing platform announced on Thursday. Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested against racial injustice by kneeling https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nfl-kaepernick-sit/nfls-kaepernick-kneels-during-national-anthem-continuing-protest-idUSKCN11806U as the U.S. national anthem played during a game, will be publishing across Medium's platform and sharing thoughts on anti-Black racism in society, the company said. Former U.S. coach Arena says national anthem in pro leagues is 'inappropriate'

Former United States soccer coach Bruce Arena questioned the relevance of playing the country's national anthem before matches in professional sports leagues, saying it was inappropriate. Arena said he understood why some athletes take a knee to protest racial discrimination during pre-match renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner", saying it was appropriate as long as it was respectful. Mavericks owner Cuban says NBA should allow 'take a knee' protests

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Thursday he hopes the National Basketball Association will allow players to take a knee during the national anthem to support protests over the May 25 death of African American George Floyd in police custody. Video footage showed a white police officer in Minneapolis kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes before the unarmed 46-year-old man died, triggering outrage and protests across the United States and in other countries.