Picture this: Kawhi and Kobe together in California
The Raptors forward worked out with the Lakers legend in Newport Beach
11:43 AMKawhi Leonard will soon be in Toronto in preparation for his first season with the Raptors. The two-time NBA All-Star forward will be a free agent next summer, but a source has told The Undefeated that he will be open-minded about re-signing with the Raptors.
Even so, the Los Angeles-area native posing with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant after working out in Newport Beach, California, on Thursday night will only add to the intrigue of Leonard potentially coming home to sign with the Lakers. While Leonard was injured with the San Antonio Spurs last season, there were numerous reports that he wanted to resume his career in Los Angeles.
Leonard also worked out with new Lakers forward LeBron James, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman several weeks ago at UCLA. While Durant and Osman were there, much of the social media intrigue was about Leonard and James working out together and perhaps joining forces with the Lakers.
Raptors fans, however, should be well-aware that their basketball staff members Phil Handy (who posted the photo), John Corbacio and Jeremy Castleberry attended both workouts with Leonard. Also, Handy, a new Raptors assistant coach, previously worked with Bryant with the Lakers and James and Osman with the Cavaliers. Spurs assistant coach Chip Engelland also once helped Leonard improve his shooting form by using examples of Bryant, who has also worked out with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Candace Parker this offseason.
NBA
Milwaukee police officer involved in Sterling Brown arrest fired
Officer violated department’s social media policy
5:22 PMA Milwaukee police officer who was involved in the controversial arrest of Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown was fired from the department, according to remarks made by Milwaukee police Chief Alfonso Morales on Thursday.
The officer, however, was not fired for the “racially-based use of excessive force” that he was accused of by Brown’s attorney, but for violating the department’s social media policy. Speaking at Marquette University, Morales said the officer was “not involved in the initial part” of the investigation into the arrest of Brown, but “it was more of the social media,” according to Journal Sentinel reporter Ashley Luthern. Morales added that while the officer wasn’t accused of lying during the investigation, he faced a “credibility issue” on par with former Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman, known for pleading the Fifth Amendment during the O.J. Simpson murder trial after being asked if he ever used the N-word or planted evidence in any case.
According to the Journal Sentinel, Erik Andrade was the officer who was under internal investigation for violating the social media policy, which states officers can use social media sites “to the degree that their speech is not disruptive to the mission of the department” but not in “any manner which brings or is likely to bring discredit upon the department.”
Andrade was one of at least 11 officers who stopped, immobilized with a stun gun and arrested Brown for a parking violation back in January. When Brown filed suit against the department and the city of Milwaukee in June, it came to light that Andrade made a handful of questionable posts on his personal Facebook page.
The morning after the arrest, Andrade posted, “Nice meeting Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning! Lol#FearTheDeer.” Months later, he shared a post comparing Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant’s hair to an ice cream cone with black sprinkles on it, and made his own post joking about hoping “JR Smith double parks in Walgreens handicap Parkin spots when he’s in Milwaukee” after the Cleveland Cavaliers guard made a boneheaded play at the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Brown filed a federal lawsuit on June 19 claiming unlawful arrest and excessive force after the Jan. 26 arrest. He is seeking an undetermined amount of money for compensatory and punitive damages.
NCAA
David Williams II is stepping down as Vanderbilt AD
Was the first black athletic director in SEC history
1:26 PMDavid Williams II, the first black athletic director in Southeastern Conference (SEC) history, announced on Tuesday that he is leaving his position at Vanderbilt.
Williams, who was also the first African-American vice chancellor in school history, took over the Commodores program in 2003 after three years as a faculty member and was officially designated athletic director in 2012. He will continue in the role until his successor is named.
Under the 70-year-old’s watch, the Commodores football team reached five bowl games (winning three) after not appearing in a single postseason game since 1982. Outside of football, Vanderbilt won four national championships, including one apiece in baseball and women’s tennis and two in women’s bowling.
Williams was also instrumental in helping further break the color barrier in the SEC, hiring football coaches James Franklin (the first black coach in a major sport at Vanderbilt and just the third black football coach in SEC history) in 2010 and Derek Mason, who replaced Franklin, in 2014, making Vanderbilt the first SEC school to hire multiple black football coaches.
The departure of Williams leaves just one black athletic director in the SEC: Auburn’s Allen Greene, who was hired away from Buffalo in January (Greene is the third black athletic director in conference history and the first at Auburn). Unless Williams is replaced by another African-American, his retirement will also bring the number of black athletic directors in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) down to 12.
While Williams is leaving his football post, the school announced he will transition into a full-time role as tenured professor of law at the Vanderbilt Law School, a position he’s held since 2000.
“It has been a remarkable run and I have cherished the opportunity to work with so many passionate and committed students, coaches and staff,” Williams said in a statement. “After 27 years as a senior administrator in higher education, I am also excited to move back to my first love of teaching and to bring all that I’ve learned and experienced fully into that role.”
Remaining Black athletic directors in FBS
- Allen Greene, Auburn
- Bernard Muir, Stanford
- Carla Williams, Virginia
- Derrick Gragg, Tulsa
- Eugene Smith, Ohio State
- Damon Evans, Maryland
- Lynn Swann, USC
- Martin Jarmond, Boston College
- Ray Anderson, Arizona State
- Sean Frazier, Northern Illinois
- Warde J. Manuel, Michigan
- Mark Alnutt, Buffalo