Sports News Roundup: Dozens of players positive for COVID-19 ; Perez waiting on COVID test for clearance to race and more

Formula One champions Mercedes confirm Bottas for 2021 Valtteri Bottas will continue to race for Mercedes until at least the end of next season, the Formula One champions said on Thursday ahead of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Athletics: Turkey's Mingir gets two-year ban for doping violation

Turkish steeplechaser Gulcan Mingir has been banned for two years after a re-test of her samples from the London Olympics in 2012 revealed the presence of a prohibited substance, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Thursday. Mingir, who was European champion in the 3,000-metre (1.9 mile) steeplechase in 2012, tested positive for an anabolic-androgenic steroid and her results from the period between Aug. 4, 2012 and Aug. 3, 2014 had been disqualified, the AIU said on its website https://www.athleticsintegrity.org/disciplinary-process/first-instance-decisions

Olympic rings temporarily removed from Tokyo Bay

The Olympic rings monument installed in Tokyo Bay for the 2020 Summer Games was temporarily removed for maintenance on Thursday and will return in December when Japan heads into the final stretch of preparations for the rescheduled event. The Olympics were pushed back by a year in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Thursday would have been Day 14 of the Games.

Formula One champions Mercedes confirm Bottas for 2021

Valtteri Bottas will continue to race for Mercedes until at least the end of next season, the Formula One champions said on Thursday ahead of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. The news was expected, with Mercedes having made clear they intended to retain the 30-year-old Finn for a fifth successive season.

Golf: Chilly weather greets early starters at quiet PGA Championship

The PGA Championship, golf's first major of 2020, kicked off on Thursday amid chilly and silent conditions at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco where Tiger Woods was among the early starters on a course closed to spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament typically does not garner anywhere near the same attention as golf's three other blue-riband events but was getting the marquee treatment this year as it is the first major championship since the July 2019 British Open.

Perez waiting on COVID test for clearance to race

Mexican Sergio Perez was waiting for the go-ahead to race in Formula One's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix after ending quarantine for COVID-19 on Thursday. Perez missed last weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone after having to self-isolate but the team said in a statement that Public Health England had confirmed the period had been completed.

MLB: League tightens coronavirus guidelines after positive tests

Major League Baseball (MLB) has tightened its health and safety protocols in an attempt to salvage the season after a series of positive coronavirus tests in recent days, according to a memo from the league obtained by Reuters. Teams will have to reduce the size of travelling parties "to only personnel who are absolutely essential to playing games", players and staff must wear face coverings at all times unless alone in their rooms, and in all parts of the ballpark - including dugouts - except for on the field of play.

NBA team owners pledge $300 million over 10 years to Black empowerment

National Basketball Association (NBA) team owners will contribute a total of $300 million over the next 10 years to a charitable foundation aimed at accelerating economic growth in the Black community, the league said on Wednesday. Each of the NBA's 30 teams will provide $1 million annually during that time to fund the NBA Foundation, which is being launched by the league's board of governors and the players' union.

James not bothered about losing Trump as a viewer amid kneeling criticism

LeBron James has said he has no qualms about losing U.S. President Donald Trump as a viewer as the Los Angeles Lakers forward defended NBA players for kneeling in protest before games. NBA teams have been protesting against racial injustice before games, with players wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts, bowing their heads and kneeling when the U.S. national anthem is played.

Olympic committees discuss eradicating abuse in Japanese sport after damning report

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has held discussions with his counterpart at the Japanese Olympic Committee about eradicating abuse within Japanese sport following a damning report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) last month. The HRW report found child athletes in Japan often suffer physical and verbal abuse and sometimes sexual abuse during training after documenting the experiences of over 800 athletes in 50 sports.

NFL: Dozens of players positive for COVID-19 since training camps open, opt-out deadline looms

Fifty-six National Football League players have so far tested positive for COVID-19 since training camps opened to rookies July 21, according to players' union data compiled through Wednesday. Camps opened for all players July 28, and the season is scheduled to kickoff Sept. 10 with health and safety measures in place designed to mitigate the potential spread of the coronavirus.

(With inputs from agencies.)