Urban Meyer Makes Controversial Hire, J.J. Watt Leaving Texans, Fans Prohibited From Australian Open, Daytona 500 (Fans, Pitbull, Michael Jordan)
FOOTBALL
Urban Meyer is making headlines again and not in a good way. Meyer is the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and just hired Chris Doyle as the director of sports performance. Doyle was the former strength and conditioning coach at Iowa but agreed to leave over allegations of racist comments and bullying. Meyer has vocally defended his hire, but it’s a controversial decision since Meyer was suspended at Ohio State after he allegedly overlooked accusations of domestic violence associated with his assistant coach.
In an emotional twitter announcement, one of the best defensive players in the league, J.J. Watt, said he was leaving the Houston Texans. Watt spoke about the respect and admiration he has for the team (in which he was selected with the #11th overall pick in 2011) and the fans and said he was excited about what the future holds.
TENNIS
The organizers of the Australian Open announced that due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, fans will be prohibited from attending matches. According to reports, there was an outbreak at a Holiday Inn near the Melbourne Airport, and now the state of Victoria is preparing for a five-day lockdown.
NASCAR
The Daytona 500 is on Sunday, and 30,000 fans will be in attendance (larger than last week’s Super Bowl). According to the President of the Daytona International Speedway, “It’s going to be the largest sporting event that happens in the United States since COVID hit.” Pitbull, the new co-owner of Trackhouse Racing, will be the grand marshall, and Bubba Wallace will make his debut for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing, driving a No. 23 Toyota Camry.
