RAINBOW-PUSH: The Rainbow-PUSH Coalition is sponsoring
a sports workshop in Chicago today with the theme "Building
Partnerships with Sports Leagues and Other Sports
Organizations." Among expected attendees: NBA Deputy
Commissioner RUSS GRANIK, NBA Senior VP/Basketball
Operations STU JACKSON and Pacers coach ISIAH THOMAS.
Rainbow-PUSH Sports Dir CHARLES FARRELL, on the workshop:
"We are calling on the leagues to build better partnerships
and to better share the wealth with the black community in
general. Pro teams purchased millions of dollars of goods
and services every year. And there are many blacks and
Latino businesses that produce quality products and services
that these teams buy" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/27). Also,
MARION JONES will receive the Female Athlete of the Year
award, and Nike Dir of Global Issues Management VADA MANAGER
will be awarded Sporting Goods Representative of the Year at
today's workshop (THE DAILY).
MORE NAMES: The USTA will unveil on August 28 -- the
opening day of the U.S. Open -- a "seven-foot tall" figure
commemorating ARTHUR ASHE. The figure is "of a nude black
man," which is "cast in the heroic tradition of ancient
Greek statues of athletes." USTA President JUDY LEVERING
said the organization "felt that" artist ERIC FISCHL "very
tastefully handles [the nudity] and we were not upset about
it." The figure is being paid for by friends and family of
Ashe, as well as individual donors and the USTA. The budget
was about $500,000 (N.Y. TIMES, 7/27)....In N.Y., Rush &
Molloy report that MICHAEL JORDAN has reportedly paid $4M
for "two prime lots on the golf course" at the Paradise
Island resort in the Bahamas (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/27)....In
Las Vegas, Benjamin Grove wrote that the "prodding of" U.S.
Senators JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) and SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) was
"not enough to set up a vote" on a bill that would outlaw
wagering on collegiate sports in Nevada. NV senators say
that it "seems unlikely now the bill will be voted on this
year." Senator HARRY REID (D-NV): "They have got a lot of
issues they need to take care of" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 7/26).
