Reuters Sports News Summary

Zimmerman, Ross sit out Nationals season over COVID-19 concerns Infielder Ryan Zimmerman and pitcher Joe Ross will not help the Washington Nationals defend their World Series title after both players opted to sit out the Major League Baseball season over health concerns related to COVID-19, the team said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Sailing: Team New Zealand blames inside job for America's Cup allegations

Team New Zealand have blamed "informants" for spreading "highly defamatory and inaccurate" allegations about the body organising their America's Cup defence, triggering government questions over "financial and structural matters". The team, who will defend the 169-year-old sailing trophy in Auckland next year, said suspicions that there were "informants" in the America's Cup Event (ACE) organisation were confirmed when leaked information came back to them from Europe. Reports: Blue Jays allowed to play in Canada

The Canadian government will allow the Blue Jays to return to Toronto and play their home games in the city, multiple outlets reported Monday. An official announcement is expected to come early this week, with the Blue Jays players arriving in Toronto by the middle of the week. Major League Baseball's resumed spring training begins Wednesday. Report: NBA to paint 'Black Lives Matter' on Disney courts

The NBA's plan to highlight social-justice issues when play restarts reportedly will start from the ground up. The courts that will be used for games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla., will have "Black Lives Matter" painted on them, ESPN reported Monday. Zimmerman, Ross sit out Nationals season over COVID-19 concerns

Infielder Ryan Zimmerman and pitcher Joe Ross will not help the Washington Nationals defend their World Series title after both players opted to sit out the Major League Baseball season over health concerns related to COVID-19, the team said on Monday. "Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross have decided not to participate in the 2020 season for the personal health and safety of themselves and their loved ones," said Mike Rizzo, Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager in a statement. English is fifth PGA Tour player to test positive for COVID-19

American Harris English has become the fifth player on the PGA Tour to test positive for COVID-19, the Tour said on Monday. English, 30, was set to participate in this week's Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club but was forced to withdraw from the event after testing positive during the pre-tournament screening process this week. Brooklyn Nets duo Jordan, Dinwiddie test positive for COVID-19

Brooklyn Nets duo DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie said on Monday they have tested positive for COVID-19, the news coming as the NBA prepares to resume the 2020 season next month. Jordan confirmed his positive test on Twitter and said he would not return to action when the season resumes on July 30 at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. NHL: League says 26 players test positive for COVID-19

The National Hockey League (NHL) said on Monday that 26 players have tested positive for COVID-19, including 15 who reported to team facilities for "Phase 2 activities." Under the league's Phase 2 plan, clubs that met safety criteria were allowed to reopen training facilities for voluntary workouts with groups of no more than six players at a time, as of June 8. Grizzlies' Morant apologizes after anti-police post

Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Ja Morant apologized on Twitter on Monday for reposting an anti-police image on social media. On Sunday, Morant, who wears No. 12, displayed an image that had the word "F---" and 12 on the back of his jersey. "F--- 12" is an anti-police term, according to the Urban Dictionary. Nets G Dinwiddie tests positive for COVID-19

Brooklyn Nets standout guard Spencer Dinwiddie has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, he told The Athletic on Monday. Dinwiddie told the publication he may not be able to play when the NBA season is scheduled to resume July 30 in the Orlando, Fla., area. Soccer: English TV commentary across leagues shows racial bias, study claims

Television commentators praise players with lighter skin as more intelligent and hardworking than those with darker skin, showed a study https://runrepeat.com/racial-bias-study-soccer by Danish firm RunRepeat in association with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The study analysed 2,073 statements from English-speaking commentators in 80 games from the 2019-20 season across Italy's Serie A, France's Ligue 1, Spain's La Liga and England's Premier League. A total of 643 players of various races and skin tones were discussed.

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