Star forward Elena Delle Donne has told the Washington Mystics that she has decided to step away from playing basketball for an undetermined amount of time, according to an ESPN report.

ESPN reported that the two-time WNBA MVP previously informed Mystics officials she was unsure about her future and she didn’t plan on signing the one-year supermax contract the team offered her when WNBA free agency opened on Feb 1.

Delle Donne has struggled with back issues and come back from multiple surgeries during her nine-year pro career. However, even at age 34, she remains a force on the court when she’s been healthy.

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The Mystics have placed the core designation on Delle Donne, which retains the team’s exclusive negotiating rights with her and guarantees her a one-year supermax contract. Without the core player designation, the Mystics could lose her without compensation if she decides to return and wants to play elsewhere.

In February for Black History Month, USA TODAY Sports is publishing the series ’29 Black Stories in 29 Days.’ We examine the issues, challenges and opportunities Black athletes and sports officials continue to face after the nation’s reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. This is the fourth installment of the series.

This week Kiya Tomlin posted a message on TikTok and her words, despite such a short video, said so much.

‘Kiya Tomlin here,’ she started. ‘Wife of 27 years to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. So all this talk about where is all the really cool licensed NFL apparel for women. I just have to say: Been here, been doing that.’

The video then switched to images of women wearing Tomlin’s NFL inspired designs. The message was powerful and clear.

‘After seeing all the commotion about Taylor Swift,’ Tomlin said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports, ‘I just wanted to say, ‘I’m here. I’ve been doing this. Here’s my work.”

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I’m the guy who wears his pajamas into the grocery store so fashion isn’t my thing but by all accounts Tomlin’s designs, including her NFL licensed apparel, are stylish, and high quality. Also, her track record in this space is lengthy, starting in 2014, and she says her products are cut and sewn in America. She’s a small business success story.

So why have so few people heard of what she’s doing? That’s a great question and the answer is nuanced. But it cannot be answered without the context of the story of Kristin Juszczyk.

She is the wife of 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Kristin, too, started a clothing line and like Tomlin, she was able to get an NFL licensing deal. Kristin had a staggering moment that changed the course of her business and perhaps her life. The San Jose Mercury News described it this way: ‘(Juszczyk) has become the talk of the fashion and sports worlds, ever since Taylor Swift strode into Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 13, wearing a red puffer jacket that Juszczyk made for her.’

‘Kristin is certainly on people’s radar. I’m sure there will be all eyes on what she’s wearing at the Super Bowl and if she’s designed anything for the other celebrities attending the game,’ Krista Corrigan, an analyst for Edited, told the newspaper. ‘In a way, it almost feels like her Super Bowl as well − a Super Bowl for her business. It’s a very cool story.’

It is a cool story and to be clear, Tomlin isn’t criticizing Juszczyk (and neither am I). But the juxtaposition is hard to ignore.

Tomlin says some of why her story isn’t as well known is because she wanted to be independent and not use her last name to promote her work.

‘I’ve stayed a little off the radar because when I was building the business, I wanted to make clear that this is what I do, not what Mike does,’ she said, referring to the Super Bowl winning coach. ‘I’ve always wanted to be on my own.’

However, it’s still highly problematic that there wasn’t more attention to what she was doing. There have been some stories about her but not many.

What would have happened had Swift seen Tomlin’s work? We don’t know. What we do know is Tomlin’s business is prospering. Her line is called Kiya Tomlin X NFL and her website describes it this way:

‘All of my life I’ve been inspired by moments and stories and the beautiful, busy, extraordinary living of them. Giving women the opportunity to fully live in each of these moments is my why. Why I became a designer. Why I create easy, flattering, fashionable, functional clothes. Clothes meant to spend more time on real bodies than on hangers. Fabrics hand-chosen to drape nicely over middles; that stand with you as you speak your mind; that show off the shoulders that keep holding this world up.

‘I design clothing so that all women can live their stories purely and fully, without restriction or limitation. Each and every garment worthy of being seen, enjoyed, admired, appreciated. Just like the moments that inspired them. And the beautiful, incredible women they’re made for.’

Tomlin said it took her several years to get the NFL license and when she did it ‘opened the door to a small, Black-owned business like mine, and has really helped me grow.’

What would Tomlin’s advice be to other people thinking of trying to create their own fashion line?

‘Move beyond what’s in your head,’ she said. ‘Start taking the needed steps. And don’t let other people’s doubts impact you.’

February brings the start of Major League Baseball’s 2024 spring training as teams assemble in Florida and Arizona to prepare for the new season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres – who will open the regular season in Korea – play the first spring game of 2024 on Feb. 22. There are four games on Feb. 23, with every other team joining the action on Saturday the 24th.

Here’s a look at the 2024 spring training schedule, including the time and date of every team’s first game as well as the dates that players report to camp:

2024 spring training schedule: Every team’s first game

When every team plays first spring training game (all times Eastern)

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Arizona Diamondbacks: Feb. 23 at Rockies, 3:10 p.m.
Atlanta Braves: Feb. 24 at Rays, 1:05 p.m.
Baltimore Orioles: Feb. 24 vs. Red Sox, 1:05 p.m.
Boston Red Sox: Feb. 24 at Orioles, 1:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox: Feb. 23 at Cubs, 3:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs: Feb. 23 vs. White Sox, 3:05 p.m
Cincinnati Reds: Feb. 24 at Guardians, 3:05 p.m
Cleveland Guardians: Feb. 24 vs. Reds, 3:05 p.m
Colorado Rockies: Feb. 23 vs. Diamondbacks, 3:10 p.m.
Detroit Tigers: Feb. 24 vs. Yankees, 1:05 p.m.
Houston Astros: Feb. 24 v at Nationals, 6:05 p.m.
Kansas City Royals: Feb. 23 at Rangers, 3:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Angels: Feb. 24 vs. Dodgers, 3:10 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Feb. 22 at Padres, 3:10 p.m.
Miami Marlins: Feb. 24 at Cardinals, 1:05 p.m.
Milwaukee Brewers: Feb. 24 at Padres, 3:10 p.m.
Minnesota Twins: Feb. 24 vs. Pirates, 1:05 p.m.
New York Mets: Feb. 24 vs. Cardinals, 1:10 p.m.
New York Yankees: Feb. 24 at Tigers, 1:05 p.m.
Oakland Athletics: Feb. 24 vs. Rockies, 3:05 p.m.
Philadelphia Phillies: Feb. 24 at Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Feb. 24 at Twins, 1:05 p.m.
San Diego Padres: Feb. 22 vs. Dodgers, 3:10 p.m.
San Francisco Giants: Feb. 24 vs. Cubs, 3:05 p.m.
Seattle Mariners: Feb. 24 at White Sox, 3:05 p.m.
St. Louis Cardinals: Feb. 24 vs. Marlins, 1:05 p.m. // at Mets, 1:10 p.m. (split squad)
Tampa Bay Rays: Feb. 24 vs. Braves, 1:05 p.m.
Texas Rangers: Feb. 23 vs. Royals, 3:05 p.m.
Toronto Blue Jays: Feb. 24 vs. Phillies, 1:07 p.m.
Washington Nationals: Feb. 24 vs. Astros, 6:05 p.m.

Grapefruit League spring training schedule, report dates

Pitchers and catchers // full squad

Atlanta Braves: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Baltimore Orioles: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Boston Red Sox: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Detroit Tigers: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Houston Astros: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Miami Marlins: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Minnesota Twins: Feb. 14 // Feb. 18
New York Mets: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
New York Yankees: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Philadelphia Phillies: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Pittsburgh Pirates: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
St. Louis Cardinals: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Tampa Bay Rays: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Toronto Blue Jays: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Washington Nationals: Feb. 14 // Feb. 20

Cactus League spring training schedule, report dates

Arizona Diamondbacks: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Chicago Cubs: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Chicago White Sox: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Cincinnati Reds: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Cleveland Guardians: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Colorado Rockies: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Kansas City Royals: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Los Angeles Dodgers: Feb. 9 // Feb. 14
Los Angeles Angels: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
Milwaukee Brewers: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Oakland Athletics: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19
San Diego Padres: Feb. 11 // Feb. 16
San Francisco Giants: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Seattle Mariners: Feb. 15 // Feb. 20
Texas Rangers: Feb. 14 // Feb. 19

Shortly after Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, CBS television cameras likely will show a familiar postgame celebration with the winning team:

∎ For the ninth time in 19 years, the Lombardi Trophy will be presented to a white team owner who inherited that ownership from family.

∎ For the eighth time in 11 years, the trophy also will be handed to a white head coach who is the father, son or grandson of an NFL family coaching tree. 

Will it go to San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York, nephew of previous longtime 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.? Jed York hired 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, son of former Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike Shanahan.

Or will the trophy go to Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, son of team founder Lamar Hunt and heir to the Hunt family oil fortune? Clark Hunt hired Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, whose sons have worked on his coaching staff in recent years.

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The family factions face off at Allegiant Stadium, serving as another reminder of how nepotism and family birthrights are still heavily ingrained in the NFL, where 16 of the league’s 32 owners inherited their teams from family, compared to only six of 30 in the NBA, according to USA TODAY Sports research.

What does that matter?

This is the Super Bowl, the ultimate contest in a merit-based playoff system.

“One of the reasons that these statistics may bother some people is that sports is supposed to be a meritocracy,” said David Grenardo, a law professor and sports law expert at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. “The best players play on the team, and the team that plays the best wins. Meritocracy, however, applies to players, not ownership or coaching.”

Both Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid also coached against each other in the Super Bowl in 2020 and are considered among the brightest coaching minds in the NFL, regardless of how they traded on their family names to give or get coaching jobs. 

But now it comes against a shifting cultural backdrop in which the term “nepo baby” is used to describe children who follow in the footsteps of their celebrity parents – and while a lawsuit filed in 2022 remains active against the NFL over its alleged pattern of discrimination against hiring Black coaches.

In the case of Shanahan, 44, does this Super Bowl showcase him as the poster boy for nepotism in the NFL? Or does it validate family pedigree as just another valued trait in a league that is rife with it, including for coaches who aren’t white like him?

Succession in the NFL

Privilege by birthright is an old source of tension in America – between capitalistic property rights and the ideal of equal opportunity for all.  In 1776, the American Declaration of Independence said “all men are created equal” and railed against being subject to a king who had inherited his throne in England. Then came the Civil War over slavery.

More recently, pop culture has chewed on the issue, including some entertainers who said they didn’t think it was right to let their children inherit wealth they didn’t earn. In January, the hit HBO show “Succession” won an Emmy for its unflattering portrayal of unqualified offspring vying to inherit control of their father’s global business empire.

In business and sports, all of this comes amid an ongoing push for more equitable access to the levers of power for those who didn’t acquire them by birth, family connections or related racial influences. Only two NFL majority owners are not white – Buffalo’s Kim Pegula and Jacksonville’s Shahid Khan, neither of whom inherited their ownership.

Likewise, team owners are the ones who hire the head coaches but haven’t often given those jobs to those who are Black or not white like them. This year, there are nine head coaches of color out of 32 – a record for the NFL, though still a small fraction in a league where about 60% of the players in recent years have been Black.

At the start of the 2023 season, at least 90 of 752 on-field NFL coaches had a father, son or brother who actively or previously coached in the NFL, according to USA TODAY Sports research. Of those 90 coaches with connections, 76 (84.4%) were white.

High-profile mom-and-pop shops

Yet the NFL is the most lucrative league in America and this year just had its most-watched round of playoffs ever with an average of 38.5 million per postseason game.

Was that because of – or in spite of – the fact that half of NFL teams are mom-and-pop shops passed down as heirlooms?

It’s far easier to understand why so many family owners want to keep the teams in the family and not sell them – because it’s a prestigious license to print money through NFL revenue-sharing, even for the worst teams. Every NFL franchise is worth at least $3.5 billion, according to Forbes.

This showed after Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen died in 2019. A “Succession”-like squabble among his heirs over control of the team ultimately led to the sale of it — to the family heirs of the Walmart fortune for nearly $5 billion in 2022.

“The situation is a microcosm of society,” said Grenardo, who last year published a peer-reviewed paper on the lack of Black owners in sports. That society includes a wealth disparity built over many generations, long divided along racial lines to the benefit of white property owners.

And when a family owns such an asset as this, it’s always been their right to do what they want with it, within the rules. They can even put family initials on players’ uniforms, as the Chiefs do with patches on their jerseys that honor Clark’s deceased father, Lamar Hunt (“LH”), and mother, Norma K. Hunt (“NKH”).

They also can hire who they want – relatives they trust to run the team, coaches who look like them or even the 37-year-old son of a prominent former NFL coach.

The Shanahan family hiring loop

Kyle Shanahan was hired by York at that age in 2017 and faced questions about this before his last Super Bowl against the Chiefs in 2020. Now back at the Super Bowl again, he arguably serves as an example of why family pedigree is valued for a reason, especially in a league whose ownership is defined by it.

He learned at the knee of a father who won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and said he has developed a “chip” on his shoulder to overcome the perception he got a free pass.

His first coaching job in the NFL came with Tampa Bay under head coach Jon Gruden as quality control assistant.

“I would never say it’s difficult, in terms of it gave me a real good life and gave me a lot of advantages,” Kyle Shanahan said in January 2020. “I didn’t know Jon Gruden personally. So it helped that I think that my dad knew him a little bit to give me an opportunity as a QC to start. But I think with anyone, when people know your last name, there’s always human nature, whether I made the basketball team in high school, it was always because of my dad, according to the guys who didn’t make it.”

His “advantages” also helped form a family loop of sorts. After Tampa, Shanahan got hired as an assistant coach at Houston in 2006 under head coach Gary Kubiak, who was the backup quarterback in Denver when Mike Shanahan was the offensive coordinator there in the 1980s. After Mike Shanahan became head coach of the Washington football team in 2010, he hired son Kyle as offensive coordinator.

Kyle then gave Gary Kubiak’s son Klay his first NFL job in 2021 after Kyle was named head coach of the 49ers. Klay Kubiak and his brother Klint both served as assistants on Kyle’s staff in San Francisco this season. After the Super Bowl, Klint Kubiak, 36, is expected to move up the career ladder as the new offensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints.

Andy Reid and sons

Similarly, Chiefs coach Andy Reid last year hired his youngest son, Spencer, as the team’s assistant strength coach. Another one of his sons, Britt, was on his Chiefs staff as a linebackers coach until he got in a car crash in Kansas City that left a 5-year-old girl with brain injuries two days before the Super Bowl in 2021. In 2022, Britt Reid was sentenced to three years in prison for driving drunk and is currently incarcerated at the Maryville Treatment Center, according to state records.

The Reids, Shanahans and Kubiaks all are white coaches hired by white owners. Last year, NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent even said, “nepotism and cronyism must be eliminated” in a statement that was included in the league’s annual diversity and inclusion report, co-authored by researchers C. Keith Harrison and Scott Bukstein from the University of Central Florida.

“Nepotism creates an overwhelming bias and inequity that has yet to be properly addressed throughout the league,” Harrison and Bukstein recently said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports.

‘Maybe this isn’t a meritocracy’

But there have been signs of change. A record four men of color were hired as head coaches in the recent hiring cycle, bringing the number of head coaches of color to a record nine, according to data collected for USA TODAY Sports’ NFL Coaches Project.

More Black coaches over time could mean more younger Black coaches getting jobs the way many white coaches have for decades. Chiefs wide receivers coach Connor Embree is the biracial son of former 49ers assistant and current Miami Dolphins assistant head coach Jon Embree, who is Black. Niners assistant head coach Anthony Lynn, who is Black, helped his son D’Anton break into the NFL and hired him on his staff when he was head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. The younger Lynn is now a head-coaching prospect to watch as a defensive coordinator at the college level, with Southern California.

In the meantime, awareness of these issues has increased as society has become more racially diverse, said Dave Berri, a sports economist at Southern Utah.

“White males like me are now 29% of adults, when before we were a much bigger percentage,” he said. “So 70% of society is looking at how jobs are being allocated, and saying, ‘OK, well, it seems like we have hired the same group of people over and over again. Maybe this isn’t a meritocracy.’ ‘

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Those who do not learn from history … may not be fortunate enough to repeat it.

Repeat champions are something of a rare occurrence in the NFL. In 57 Super Bowl matchups, there have been just eight teams to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in back-to-back seasons. While others have reached the Super Bowl in back-to-back years, not all have been able to finish the job in the ultimate game of the season.

With a Super Bowl 58 appearance on the horizon, the already-elite Kansas City Chiefs have an opportunity to join some legendary company in NFL history if they finish out the 2023 NFL season with hardware. If not, they’ll be one of several teams to have missed out on the opportunity to etch names in record books.

Here are the teams that have won back-to-back Super Bowls, and those who missed their opportunity to enter the record books:

Back-to-back Super Bowl winners

In NFL history, there have been eight teams to finish consecutive seasons with Super Bowl victories. They are as follows (year of season in parenthesis):

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Green Bay Packers (1966, 1967); Defeated Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders.
Miami Dolphins (1972, 1973); Defeated Washington, Minnesota Vikings.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1974, 1975); Defeated Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1978, 1979); Defeated Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams.
San Francisco 49ers (1988, 1989); Defeated Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos.
Dallas Cowboys (1992, 1993); Defeated Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Bills.
Denver Broncos (1997, 1998); Defeated Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons.
New England Patriots (2003, 2004); Defeated Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles.

The Chiefs will have their second opportunity to win back-to-back titles when they face the 49ers in Super Bowl 58. They defeated the 49ers for the first Super Bowl of the Patrick Mahomes era in Super Bowl 54, before losing to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55.

To that end, there have been a number of teams who have made it to back-to-back Super Bowls, but haven’t been able to close the deal:

Dallas Cowboys: Won Super Bowl 12 (beat Broncos), lost Super Bowl 13 (vs. Steelers)
Washington: Won Super Bowl 17 (beat Dolphins), lost Super Bowl 18 (vs. Raiders)
Green Bay Packers: Won Super Bowl 31 (beat Patriots), lost Super Bowl 32 (vs. Broncos)
Seattle Seahawks: Won Super Bowl 48 (beat Broncos), lost Super Bowl 49 (vs. Patriots)
New England Patriots: Won Super Bowl 51 (beat Falcons), lost Super Bowl 52 (vs. Eagles)
Kansas City Chiefs: Won Super Bowl 54 (beat, lost Super Bowl 55 (lost to Buccaneers)

No team has ever achieved a threepeat in the Super Bowl era. The Packers, though, won the NFL championship game in 1966 before winning both Super Bowls 1 and 2 for an unofficial threepeat.

Lindsay Casinelli worked her first Super Bowl when she moved to the United States from Venezuela at the age of 18.

She was stunned at how quiet the streets in San Jose, California were while she was out delivering pizzas. That’s when she knew the magnitude of the game.

Casinelli is now working at Super Bowl 58 as a reporter for Univision when it broadcasts the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in Spanish. This is the first year the 78-year-old media company will broadcast the big game.

‘It’s incredible for me that so many years later, I’m gonna have the opportunity to be in the first historic transmission for the Super Bowl,’ she told USA TODAY Sports.

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Univision has humble roots as the first Hispanic-owned, Spanish-speaking radio station in the country. In 2022, it was the No. 1 broadcast network in weeknight primetime, beating out ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox with an average audience of 1.6 million viewers. The Spanish-language channel has become a household name because of its coverage of elections, entertainment and other large sports events like the World Cup, all with flavor and energy that is signature to Latin American and Hispanic cultures.

Olek Loewenstein, Univision’s president of global sports business, said the “planets aligned” for Univision to host its first Super Bowl, which will be a partnership with CBS. The Spanish-language network’s goals aligned with those of the NFL, including growing the sport’s audience and expanding the ways Univision connects with its community.

‘For us, the perfect way to do that is through the big moments in sports,’ he said, ‘and you can’t talk about big moments in sports in the U.S. without being part of the big game.’

The NFL has struggled in the past to connect with its Latin American and Hispanic fanbase. Its ‘ÑFL’ campaign struck a sour note with many and the Washington Commanders released the only head coach of Latin American descent when they fired Ron Rivera last month. Dave Canales, who is Mexican-American, was named the head coach of the Carolina Panthers weeks later. The league has the International Player Pathway program to encourage players from outside the United States to join the league.

Telemundo, a member of NBCUniversal, was the first broadcast network to air the Super Bowl in Spanish in 2022. Their broadcast averaged 1.9 million viewers, per NBC Sports. The next year, the broadcast was hosted by Fox Deportes and saw a viewership of 951,000 fans, according to Fox Sports.

Loewenstein said what makes Univsion unique is that the company is its own entity and has a completely independent editorial process. He also noted how Univision’s intention to connect organically with each members of its community separates it from SAP audio slapped over an English language broadcast.

‘We believe in our goal for this,’ Loewenstein said. ‘Our absolute objective for this game is to deliver the most-watched Super Bowl in Spanish language history in the U.S. Period.’

Univision will technically have two broadcasts: one in the United States and it will continue its Televisa broadcast in Mexico.

This will be the first Super Bowl for Jorge Ramos, who is a household name as a news reporter for Univision. Guillermo ‘Memo’ Schutz and Ramses Sandoval will be calling the game. It’s Sandoval’s first Super Bowl as well. Even though Schutz has covered the Super Bowl for the Televisa Mexico broadcast and Sandoval has covered large sports events like the World Cup, NBA Finals and Messi’s first game with Inter Miami CF, both felt the magnitude of calling the Super Bowl.

‘You can make a case it’s one of the biggest things I’ve ever done,’ Schutz said. ‘We’re preparing as it’s the most important thing I’ve ever done.’

‘I can tell you from the inside the importance that this company is taking this event with. It’s really, it’s massive. It’s impressive. As it should be, it’s the Super Bowl,’ Sandoval said. ‘Having the opportunity and being on the air as the play-by-play caller is a massive responsibility. . . . The amount of people that are watching you and are listening to you, I don’t take that responsibility lightly. It’s very exciting.’

Univision is gathering a well-rounded team of experts to meet its audience at all entry points. Many in the Hispanic and Latin American community, where soccer is king, might not know the fundamentals of the game, so the team is preparing content to help explain what’s going on. But there are also those born in the United States whose parents bought them NFL jerseys at birth. So the team is mindful of connecting with all points on the spectrum of American football knowledge.

‘Some folks don’t understand the game, the language, but also, it’s an excuse to be together,’ Univision’s senior vice president of live events Miguel Angel Garcia said. ‘One of the most important things that we were planning since the beginning is how do we put together a Super Bowl for everyone at home watching?’

There are a few players in the Super Bowl with Latin American heritage, including 49ers linebacker Fred Warner and defensive lineman Jon Feliciano.

Casinelli said she appreciates the underdog stories of Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco and San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy.

And Sandoval said he’s looking forward to Usher playing the halftime show because he remembers ‘Yeah!’ being played at his senior prom.

‘We Latinos always look for connections,’ Schutz said. ‘… We love football, we love connections and we’re going to find it in the Super Bowl.’

Besides Schutz and Sandoval, flag football champion Diana Flores from Mexico and Super Bowl-winning kicker Martín Gramática, who hails from Argentina, will assist with coverage. Ramos and Casinelli will be hosting pre-game coverage from Caesars Palace. The Super Bowl being in Las Vegas for the first time offers more opportunity to connect fans with a good time.

Univision’s brand identity of celebrating entertainment, sports and culture blends right in with the crossover the Super Bowl is known for. Covering a superstar like Taylor Swift, whose relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has boosted viewership among young women, will be nothing new to the team, who covers the love life of Jennifer Lopez and highlighted former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s relationship with singer Jessica Simpson.

‘For us, it’s equally important. It’s always been equally important for Hispanics,’ Loewenstein said.

Casinelli, who is a soccer mom, said having kids helped her understand the importance of the human element of covering sports. She hopes to bring that perspective to those who turn to Univision for comfort just like she did.

‘At this moment of my life, it’s more of a life lesson that I want to share with my kids and that I share with my family,’ she said, ‘because this is a personal goal, not to cover the Super Bowl but to be able to represent the company that means so much for so many immigrants when we come to this country.’

With immigration a controversial topic during an election year and inflation increasing every day, Univision has an opportunity to offer something more than a sports spectacle.

‘Through sports, we can heal so many wounds,’ Casinelli said. ‘That’s why I think for Univision it’s a great responsibility. There are people out there that are watching our station, that our watching our channel, that they are very tired, that they are away from their family, or maybe they’re going through financial hardship. And we can be the balm, the cream for the wounds. I take that with a lot of pride. That’s why for me, it’s so much more than a game.’

LOS ANGELES — The date is 2-8-24, numbers synonymous with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. It’s only appropriate that the team decided to unveil Bryant’s statue on this date.

The Lakers will officially reveal Bryant’s statue Thursday in a ceremony set to begin at 6 p.m. ET prior to the team’s game against the Denver Nuggets. The Bryant statue will be located at Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena.

Bryant will be the seventh Lakers icon commemorated with a statue. He is joining Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Chick Hearn. 

What is Kobe Bryant’s statue made out of?

The Bryant statue is bronze.

Black Mamba uniforms

In addition to the statue reveal, the Lakers will wear Kobe-inspired Black Mamba uniforms in Thursday’s game against the Nuggets.

Bryant helped design the “Black Mamba” uniform. It features snakeskin-themed black print and drop shadows on the jersey numbers. The uniform also has “LA 24” on the belt and Bryant’s Nos. 8 and 24 under the flap of each leg of the shorts.

Kobe Bryant’s lasting legacy

Bryant won five NBA championships, was a two-time Finals MVP and an 18-time All-Star all as a member of the Lakers. He retired in 2016 as one of the best basketball players in NBA history.

In January 2020, Bryant died in a helicopter crash that killed all nine people onboard.

Bryant was posthumously voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

The Olympic and Paralympic medals at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris will have a uniquely French twist.

Paris 2024 organizers revealed Thursday that every medal will feature a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower at its center, allowing athletes to take home a piece of French history if they win gold, silver or bronze.

The medals were designed by Chaumet, the luxury jewelry designer that is part of the Louis Vuitton group, and will be manufactured at the French mint. Organizers said they are the first medals to be designed by a jewelry company − and, naturally, the first to include an actual piece of the host country’s iconic landmark.

‘The Paris 2024 medals have been designed like real pieces of jewelry: On both sides, they will show the most beautiful face of France,’ said Tony Estanguet, the president of Paris 2024. ‘With their piece of the Eiffel Tower, they will be totally unique, creating a genuine link between the medal-winning athletes and our country.’

The Eiffel Tower was constructed in 1889 ahead of a world’s fair in Paris and has undergone several rounds of renovation work in the more than 100 years since. During some of those renovations, metal from the tower was removed and preserved. Now, organizers wrote in a news release, the Olympic medals will provide a unique way to give those old metal bits ‘a second lease of life.’

Athletes who earn a medal at this summer’s Games will receive a certificate of authenticity from the company that operates the tower, the Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel.

‘The Eiffel Tower, the daughter of Paris and site of major world events, had to be used to provide athletes with an unforgettable souvenir of Paris,’ the operating company’s president, Jean-François Martins, said in a statement.

Paris 2024 organizers will produce 5,084 medals for both the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. The back side of the Olympic medals will feature a rendition of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, with the Olympic rings above her and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The Paralympic medal will depict a low-angle view of the Eiffel Tower and feature the word ‘Paris’ and ‘2024’ written in Braille − a nod to the writing system invented by Louis Braille, who was French.

Each medal has a hexagonal piece of the original Eiffel Tower at its heart, weighing about 18 grams. They will be affixed to the medal by six claws, the type of setting that one would usually find in a piece of jewelry.

‘Having a gold medal is already something incredible. But we wanted to add this French touch and we thought that the Eiffel Tower would be this cherry on the top,’ Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organizing committee, said according to The Associated Press. ‘Having a piece of it is a piece of history.’

The medals are one of several ways in which Paris 2024 organizers are attempting to shine a spotlight on France’s iconic sights during the Games. Equestrian events will be held at the Palace of Versailles, for example, while beach volleyball matches will be played in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. The opening ceremony will feature athletes on barges floating down the Seine River.

The Games open July 26.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been able to share his opinions on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ for a few weeks when his weekly appearances ended for the season last month following the controversy with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

That doesn’t mean the New York Jets quarterback has gone silent. He’s gone to another friend and podcast to dive into a bevy of topics: ‘The Joe Rogan Experience.’ His episode dropped on Spotify Wednesday.

For over two hours, the four-time NFL MVP, whose positions about current events and conspiracies have been in the open in recent years, and the popular-yet-controversial podcast host provided their takes on the world’s problems.

One subject they touched on, not surprisingly, was COVID-19. And Rodgers, again, claimed he won’t be quiet about the topic.

For over three years, Rodgers’ views on COVID-19 and vaccines have been central to his message when he’s not on the football field.

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‘I’m going to continue talking about this because it’s important to me,’ Rodgers told Rogan. ‘I don’t want the memories to be lost. I don’t want what I went through to get brushed over. And also I don’t give a (expletive).’

Rodgers said his opinions about the pandemic have cost him.

‘Look at my situation, I lost friends, allies in the media, millions of dollars in sponsorship because I talked about what worked for me in my own beliefs and my own health reasons why I didn’t get vaccinated,’ Rodgers told Rogan.

What’s Rodgers’ connection to Rogan and how has he expressed his views about COVID-19 in recent years? Here’s a recap and how it weaved into his lengthy chat with Rogan:

Aaron Rodgers and the COVID-19 pandemic

Rodgers, of course, first drew a firestorm of attention during the 2021 NFL season for his positions around COVID-19. It dates to when he insinuated he was vaccinated during a Green Bay Packers training camp press conference after he said he was ‘immunized.’

However, his actual vaccination status didn’t come to light until his positive diagnosis in November 2021 since there were different thresholds for unvaccinated players in returning to play.

He then went on McAfee’s show a few days later and started to unload on the NFL for what he called its ‘draconian’ health and safety protocols that year, ‘woke culture,’ revealed that he sent the league a 500-page report on why he should have been considered vaccinated due to his homeopathic treatments, and said there was a witch hunt for unvaccinated players.

In the years since, Rodgers has championed other athletes who have been against the vaccine and recently has been vocal about Dr. Anthony Fauci and Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who has advocated for the Pfizer vaccine.

‘You stand for something, you stand courageously for what you believe in or the opposite side of that is saying nothing or being a coward,’ Rodgers said to Rogan. ‘I wasn’t willing to do that. Say whatever you want about the way I went about doing it.’

Aaron Rodgers and Joe Rogan

Rodgers first made public his friendship with Rogan on McAfee’s show days after he tested positive for COVID-19 in 2021.

He said Rogan gave him medical recommendations on treatments, which included ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that has not been authorized or approved for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 by the FDA. Rodgers again vouched for the drug during his appearance on Rogan’s show this week. Rogan has been a critic of COVID vaccines and two years ago 270 doctors called for Spotify to take action against Rogan over narratives his guests had shared about the vaccine.

Nevertheless, Rodgers praised the longform conversations that Rogan has on his podcast. Rogan’s podcast is the most-listened to podcast on Spotify the last three years and he recently signed a new multimillion dollar deal. Besides hosting the podcast, Rogan is a longtime UFC commentator and stand-up comedian.

Rodgers claimed that people ‘didn’t do critical thinking’ during the pandemic and alleged that ‘as more research comes out, there’s more papers published in very reputable scientific publications that talk about all of the things I was stumping for and talking about.’ What exact scientific publications he was referring to wasn’t clear.

Aaron Rodgers and his perceptions of himself

When Rogan referred to Rodgers as a ‘revered athlete,’ the Jets QB corrected him and said ‘less revered now.’

Rodgers lost his partnership with a local medical affiliate in Wisconsin in 2021 during the initial COVID controversy backlash. Despite saying he wants to stay out of politics he has essentially endorsed presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. due to their shared viewpoint on the vaccine. Rodgers often invokes the likes of Joe Biden and Donald Trump as well.

The 40-year-old wouldn’t change any of it.

‘In the end, I believe what I did and what I stand for is a tough position to be in,’ Rodgers said. ‘But I think it’s (an) important responsibility to continue to speak up and use my voice to give other people the permission to stand up as well because there’s a lot of people that believe a lot of the things that I believe in that don’t have the opportunity to do it, don’t have the courage to do it, don’t have the platform to do it in.

‘I feel like I can speak for some of those people and hold the line to some of those people regardless what crosshairs that puts me in with certain media members.’

Warning: Some strong language in video

Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Kimmel

Rodgers’ and Kimmel’s long-running feud recently intensified when the Jets quarterback mentioned Kimmel’s name on McAfee’s show while discussing a soon-to-be-released list of associates of accused sex trafficker and child abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

Rodgers and Rogan ended the podcast addressing that controversy.

‘That’s a big accusation that I wouldn’t make,’ Rodgers said. He claimed he was taken out of context by the media with his initial statement about Kimmel.

Rodgers said he would have no problem having a conversation with Kimmel in-person.