Reuters Sports News Summary

The PGA Tour, which only restarted last week after a three-month COVID-19-forced hiatus, confirmed its first positive test, removing Nick Watney from second-round play at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Flurry of positive coronavirus tests in athletes hurts U.S. restart plans

Hopes that sport in the United States might soon return to business as usual suffered a blow on Friday as athletes from golf to hockey tested positive for the novel coronavirus, triggering a shutdown of some facilities. The PGA Tour, which only restarted last week after a three-month COVID-19-forced hiatus, confirmed its first positive test, removing Nick Watney from second-round play at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Watney tests positive for COVID-19, withdraws from PGA Tour event

American Nick Watney withdrew from the RBC Heritage in South Carolina ahead of the second round on Friday after he became the first golfer to test positive for COVID-19, the PGA Tour said. Watney, who competed last week in Fort Worth, Texas where he missed the cut in the PGA Tour's return from a three-month hiatus, traveled privately to Hilton Head Island this week. MLS players establish coalition to conquer racism in soccer

A group of more than 70 Major League Soccer (MLS) players have formed a new coalition that was unveiled on Friday with the aim of addressing racial inequalities in the U.S.-based league and standing with those who fight racism in the sport. The Black Players Coalition of MLS, which is being headed up by Toronto FC defender Justin Morrow, was announced to coincide with the Juneteenth holiday marking the abolition of slavery in the United States. Report: Ties, altered extra innings on table in MLB talks

The negotiations between Major League Baseball and the players union are currently at a stalemate, a condition that could become more prevalent if games are played this year. The owners and players have discussed letting games end in ties or changing the extra-inning rules during a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Friday. On this day: Died June 21, 1969: Maureen Connolly, American tennis player

American Maureen Connolly's career lasted only four years in the early 1950s but it was enough time for "Little Mo" to make a big impression in the tennis world. Feared and revered for her aggressive style, the 5ft 4in San Diego native's firepower saw her nicknamed in reference to the U.S. Navy battleship USS Missouri -- which was dubbed "Big Mo." Healthy Gronkowski says Brady 'icing on the cake' of NFL return

Rob Gronkowski is feeling healthy again and has rediscovered his love of the sport he walked away from after mounting injuries zapped his desire to ever play in the NFL again. Gronkowski, 31, announced his retirement in March 2019 after nine season and three championships with the New England Patriots, saying he had no interest in returning given the sport's physical and mental toll. U.S. Open organisers rethinking decision on wheelchair event

The organisers of the U.S. Open said on Friday they could have better communicated with wheelchair athletes before announcing they would not be part of this year's scaled-down event in New York and are now rethinking their decision. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) held a call on Friday with wheelchair tennis leadership during which they stated they should have worked in a "collaborative manner" with wheelchair athletes when developing the plan for the U.S. Open. NFL: Memorial to late Redskins' owner Marshall removed, calls for name change intensify

A memorial to late Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who fought against the racial integration of the National Football League, was removed from RFK Stadium on Friday, the company in charge of the property said. Although NFL teams signed individual Black players as early as 1946, Marshall refused until the federal government stepped in and, in 1962, Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell joined the team. MLB, NHL teams close Florida facilities, dampening outlook for sports in COVID-19 era

The hope for a return of professional sports in North America took a hit on Friday as two teams from MLB and one from the NHL closed their Florida facilities after players tested positive for the new coronavirus. The Philadelphia Phillies shut down its Clearwater, Florida, site after five players and three members of the Major League Baseball team's staff tested positive. Baseball: Minnesota Twins remove statue of racist ex-owner Griffith

The Minnesota Twins on Friday said the club has removed a statue of the late former owner Calvin Griffith from outside Target Field in Minneapolis because of racist comments he made decades ago. The team said it erected the statue of Griffith, who died in 1999, in 2010 as a tribute to the moments that shaped the franchise's history including its move to Minnesota from Washington, D.C. in 1961, which he orchestrated.