Sports & Politics Intersect: Oakland sues over pending Raiders departure

• Report details how USAG, USOC failed to stop Nassar - An independent report on the Larry Nassar saga revealed further details on how little USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee did to stop the disgraced team doctor from sexually abusing their athletes. Immediately after the report was released, the USOC fired its chief of sport performance, Alan Ashley, for his role in enabling Nassar. Meanwhile, the Senate wants the FBI to investigate former USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun for false statements he made during his testimony to a subcommittee. One of cruelest of details was that Nassar was tapped to help write the USAG’s sexual misconduct policies.

• Christine Blasey Ford presents SI award to Rachael Denhollander - In a video statement, Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who came forward with sexual assault accusations against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, made her first public statement since her testimony in October. She presented Sports Illustrated’s Inspirational Person of the Year Award to Rachael Denhollander, the former gymnast who was the first to make accusations toward the aforementioned Nassar.

• Olympic taekwondo champion has ban vacated - An arbitrator lifted a permanent ban of Steven Lopez, a two-time Olympic champion in taekwondo, which was enacted by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Lopez was accused of sexually assaulting a minor, but Jeff Kaplan stated that SafeSport did not prove its case. With greater spotlight on these accusations within Olympic sports, USA Today has published a list of actions one can take to determine if a coach who has been accused of sexual misconduct is still working with minors.

• NFL makes changes to Rooney Rule - With Reggie McKenzie getting fired by the Oakland Raiders, there’s one less black lead executive in the NFL ranks, adding to a disturbing trend. Because of how the Raiders went about his dismissal, the NFL has made modifications to the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for vacant head coaching and general manager positions. However, owner Mark Davis seems to believe that the rule doesn’t apply to the team.

• Dan Snyder making renewed push for FedEx Field replacement - In hopes of building a new stadium for Washington football in D.C. proper, team owner Dan Snyder is pushing for a stadium provision to be added to a larger spending bill that congressional Republicans are hoping to pass before the new Democratic-majority House takes control next month. However, Maryland governor Larry Hogan has been talking with Snyder and the Department of the Interior about a possible land swap that could entice the team to remain in his state. The latter consideration has been criticized by Betty McCollum, the Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota who will take over a powerful subcommittee in January.

• Rays stadium plan stalled; Manfred upset - Weeks after revealing plans for a new stadium, Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said that negotiations have stalled between the team and the city of St. Petersburg, meaning the team will likely remain in Tropicana Field until 2027. Prior to that announcement, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed his frustration with Sternberg over being a late entrant into the negotiations.

• Lawsuits may scare major conferences into paying student-athletes - Thanks to several ongoing lawsuits, athletic conferences are “quietly preparing for the sea-changing possibility” of having to provide greater compensation to NCAA student-athletes beyond current limits.

• Transgender boxer wins pro debut - Patricio Manuel became the first transgender male professional boxer in U.S. history and won his debut over Hugo Aguilar in a super-featherweight bout in Indio, California. Manuel fought as a female during the 2012 Olympic trials before making a lengthy transition.

• Culture of eating disorders, low pay clouded NBA dancers - A recent financial settlement by the Milwaukee Bucks with nearly 40 former team dancers brought wider attention to a culture among NBA dance teams in which performers are subjected to absurdly low wages, eating disorders and body shaming.

• KeyArena may get new contractor - Although renovations have started to prepare Seattle’s KeyArena for a new NHL franchise, the Oak View Group may replace Skanska Hunt as the venue’s contractor as the costs continue to soar.

• Yankees president not interested in White House job - New York Yankees president Randy Levine denied rumors that he is a candidate to replace John Kelly as the White House Chief of Staff. This was the second significant rejection by a member of the Yankees during the week.

• PGA wants to diversify - The PGA Tour has a nearly all-white male membership, something that the organization says it aims to change as it’s in the process of relocating headquarters to North Texas. Meanwhile, Mel Reid, an English member of the LPGA Tour, came out as gay at the urging of her best friend.

• Wayne Rooney, meet Barron Trump - DC United midfielder and former England soccer captain Wayne Rooney visited the White House for its Christmas party, where he would pose for a photo with President Donald Trump’s youngest son and noted soccer fan, Barron. 

This week in sports and politics history: SCOTUS declines to hear Wisconsin’s appeal to save Braves

 “The Stadium Tuesday morning was like the house of a deserted and lonely woman who keeps the floors polished and the furniture dusted in the forlorn hope that her man will come home. It was opening day for the Braves, but the beloved team was with a new sweetheart, Atlanta.” - From the April 12, 1966 edition of the Milwaukee Journal, describing Opening Day 1966 at Milwaukee County Stadium

It was 52 years ago this week, Dec. 12, 1966, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal from the State of Wisconsin regarding a ruling that allowed the Braves to continue to play in Atlanta, their new home, and not Milwaukee, their old one. That declination essentially ended all hope of Milwaukee keeping the Braves for one last season.

When the Milwaukee Brewers reached the postseason this fall, for the first time since 2011, their retractable-roofed ballyard, Miller Park, was packed and loud — pretty much the way it stayed all season. On a smaller scale, that’s how things were during the early years of the Milwaukee Braves’ time at County Stadium in the 1950s.

Led by Hank Aaron, the Braves won the World Series in 1957 and returned a year later, only to fall short. The team was beloved in Milwaukee, but as time went on the product on the field was no longer at an elite level, though the Braves never endured a losing season during their 13 years in Brew Town. However, fans began to stay away. In 1961, the team was sold to a Chicago-based group, and by ‘64 news broke that the Braves would relocate to Atlanta.

However, the city of Milwaukee felt the team was not being fair to the city and would not allow it to leave without a fight. Ownership wanted out right away, but the National League said the team needed to stay for the 1965 season — which drew little interest from the locals as even fewer people watched the lame-duck Milwaukee Braves in person.  

After a Fulton County Superior Court judge in Georgia said the Braves could play in Atlanta for the 1966 season on a temporary injunction, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Elmer W. Roller ordered the team return to play that season in Milwaukee. A date for the state of Wisconsin’s antitrust case against the Braves was set, but the team still intended to play the ‘66 season in Atlanta. Finally, on April 13, 1966, Roller ruled the Braves and the NL violated the state’s antitrust laws and that an expansion team in Milwaukee must be in place for the 1967 season.  As stated in the April 14, 1966 edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel: “At the decision, near pandemonium broke out in the courtroom, filled with 150 persons, including many newsmen who raced through the courtroom to telephones. The decision was considered a complete victory for the state in its antitrust suit against baseball.”

One day before Roller’s ruling, County Stadium prepared for Opening Day 1966 as if the Braves would be there to host the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Braves did play that opener against the Pirates — but in Atlanta. The team also appealed Roller’s ruling, thus staying in Atlanta for the time being. In July of that year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Roller’s decision and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the state’s appeal in December.

Baseball was officially gone from Milwaukee. However, it would return when an ownership group that included one Allan Huber “Bud” Selig purchased the struggling Seattle Pilots, relocated the franchise to Milwaukee and renamed it the Brewers.

In the years since, the Braves have won 18 division titles and one World Series in Atlanta. The Brewers have won four division crowns and reached the World Series in 1982. This past season, both the Braves and Brewers made the playoffs as division champs.