Sports
NASCAR Distances Itself from Confederate Flag After Massacre
In this Feb. 15, 2008, file photo, flags, including a Confederate flag, fap in the wind during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Though NASCAR bars the use of the flag in any official capacity, many fans fly the flag at their races. (AP Photo/Darryl Graham, File)
MARK LONG, AP Sports Writer
Confederate flags are as easy to find at NASCAR races as cutoff jeans, cowboy hats and beer.
They fly over motorhomes. They adorn clothing. They are regular fixtures, just like Ford and Chevrolet, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.
NASCAR probably would like to see them go away.
The sanctioning body for the motorsports series backed South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s call to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds in the wake of the Charleston church massacre. NASCAR issued its statement Tuesday, the same day South Carolina lawmakers agreed to discuss removing the flag and one day after Haley said “the time has come” to take it down. And that is as far as NASCAR appears willing to go for now.
“As our industry works collectively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity,” NASCAR said. “While NASCAR recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events.”
International Speedway Corp., NASCAR’S sister company that owns a majority of the tracks, echoed the sanctioning body’s response.
“We join NASCAR in support of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s position on the Confederate flag,” ISC President John Saunders said in a statement. “ISC strives to ensure all fans are welcome to enjoy our events and maintains an inclusive environment at our facilities nationwide. ISC will continue our long-standing practice to prohibit the sale of Confederate flag material on our property.”
Saunders declined a request by The Associated Press for further comment. Other tracks did not respond to requests for comment.
Nine people were slain last week at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Dylann Storm Roof, 21, is charged with murder. The white man appeared in photos holding Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags, and purportedly wrote of fomenting racial violence.
Big retailers like Wal-Mart, Amazon, Sears, eBay and Etsy all said they would remove Confederate merchandise from their stores or websites and politicians across the South called for various steps to move away from the symbol that many associate with racism.
NASCAR has faced criticism over the years for various issues, often involving sponsors. A decade ago, there were questions when hard liquor companies emerged as potential sponsors for a sport built around fast cars and a series whose founding in 1948 gave ex-moonshiners a place to race. More recently, the National Rifle Association drew attention when it struck a sponsorship deal with Texas Motor Speedway not long after the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut.
Confederate flags have been flown by fans at NASCAR races for years. For NASCAR’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Charleston, a Confederate flag theme was part of poster merchandise from the 1950s into the late ’70s.
Tracks have long and detailed rules for fans, but none involving the content of flags. Although NASCAR has eliminated the use of Confederate flags in any official capacity, it could take things a step further and include language in sanctioning agreements that would ban them altogether at tracks.
But that would be difficult to enforce at tracks with hundreds of acres of infield space and sometimes more than 100,000 fans.
“There’s only so much that you can do with an issue like this if you’re NASCAR,” said Brad Daugherty, a former NBA star and current co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing.
“But I will tell you, being an African-American man going to the racetrack and seeing the Confederate flag – and I’m a different egg or a different bird because I’m a Southern kid, I’m a mountain kid, I hunt and fish, I love racing,” Daugherty said Tuesday on Sirius XM radio. “But to walk into the racetrack and there’s only few that you walk into and see that Confederate flag – it does make my skin crawl. And even though I do my best to not acknowledge it or to pay any attention to it, it’s there and it bothers me because of what it represents.”
In 2012, NASCAR and track officials canceled plans to have pro golfer Bubba Watson drive the car from the television series “The Dukes of Hazzard” at Phoenix International Raceway, which is owned by ISC. Officials cited concerns about a negative reaction to an image of the Confederate flag on the roof of the “General Lee.”
“The image of the Confederate flag is not something that should play an official role in our sport as we continue to reach out to new fans and make NASCAR more inclusive,” NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said at the time. Watson said he didn’t “stand for the Confederate flag” and noted that NASCAR was “built on moonshining,” an occasional theme in the TV show.
Former “Dukes” actor and ex-Georgia Congressman Ben Jones criticized that decision.
“As a cast member of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ and the owner of several ‘General Lees,’ I can attest that the car and our show reflect the very best of American values, and that Hazzard County was a place where racism was not tolerated,” said Jones, who played the mechanic Cooter on the show. “This action by NASCAR is a provocative and unnecessary overreaction to a problem that doesn’t exist. It is a disgraceful and gratuitous insult to a lot of very decent people.”
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AP Sports Writer Luke Meredith contributed to this report.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Community
Golden State Valkyries Become Bay Area Legends Winning WNBA Championship on Halloween Night
In only their second year as a franchise, the Golden State Valkyries captured the 2026 WNBA Championship with a 68-63 victory over the Atlanta Dream. Playing before a sold-out crowd at Chase Center on Halloween night, Gabby Williams delivered a historic 30-point performance to earn Finals MVP honors. The victory marks a rapid rise for the expansion team, which has already set league attendance records and surpassed a $1 billion valuation. Fans gathered by the hundreds of thousands this week to celebrate the new Bay Area legends, read more.
In only their second year as a franchise, the Golden State Valkyries became the WBNA 2026 Champions, with Gabby Williams named WNBA Finals MVP. A Halloween night movie of magic and there was no surprise that the game was sold out, with more than 18,000 fans inside Chase Center while thousands more packed the open space at Thrive Center from hours preceding the game through the final buzzer.
In the decisive Game 7, Williams delivered a legendary performance, scoring 30 points to lead the Golden State Valkyries to a 68-63 championship victory over the Atlanta Dream. Remarkably, 28 of her 30 points came in the second half, setting a WNBA postseason record for points in a half and earning her Finals MVP honors.
The team celebrated its victory on Wednesday with a rally in Oakland followed by a ferry ride to San Francisco’s Embarcadero and then a two-mile parade that drew about 400,000 fans.
Williams has become a symbol of the Bay Area’s impact on the team. Although born in Nevada, Williams has deep family roots in Oakland and has often said the city’s culture, community, and basketball traditions shaped her identity and playing style.
After signing with the Valkyries, she began calling the city home and noting that “there’s no Golden State without Oakland.”
The Valkyries have several ballers who made an impact on winning this series, including Veronica Burton, Tiffany ‘Tip’ Hayes, Kayla Thornton, Kaila Charles, and Cecilia Zandalasini.
Veteran center Kiah Stokes brought championship experience and defensive leadership when she signed a multi-year free-agent contract with the franchise on April 13. A former first-round draft pick out of UConn and a three-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces before joining Golden State, Stokes was recruited by head coach Natalie Nakae, with whom she had previously worked in Las Vegas.
Known as one of the league’s premier rim protectors and rebounders, Stokes quickly became a defensive anchor for the expansion franchise and played a major role in leading the Valkyries to their historic championship run.
The Valkyries have accomplished something extraordinary, proving that a new franchise can make an immediate impact both on and off the court. In their first year, the Valkyries became the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season and set all-time league attendance records. The franchise sold out all home games, reporting 18,064 attendees per game in both seasons — the highest attendance figures in WNBA history. The Valkyries’ success has also translated into extraordinary franchise value. After entering the league by paying a $50 million expansion fee, the organization generated record revenues and rapidly became one of the most valuable franchises in women’s sports, valued at over $! billion.
The WNBA Finals’ deciding game averaged 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA playoff game in league history and the most-watched finals game since 1999.
The record audience reflects the league’s growing popularity and has major implications for its future, including higher media rights value, increased advertising revenue, stronger sponsorship opportunities, rising merchandise sales, and greater ticket demand.
The Finals also featured sold-out arenas and record postseason viewership, demonstrating that the WNBA is expanding its commercial reach, attracting new fans, and strengthening its position as a major professional sports league.
Black History
Oakland Strong: Building Champions and Healthier Generations
Entrepreneur Mike Jenkins is revitalizing youth wellness in Oakland through Oakland Strong, a world-class strength-training facility in Jack London Square. After providing a decade of free training in Fruitvale, the program moved and rebranded while continuing to produce national and international weightlifting champions. Jenkins aims to counter community health challenges by teaching Olympic-style lifting and nutrition to children ages 8 to 18. As the program seeks new ways to sustain its free services, local partnerships are forming to support these elite young athletes. Read more.
Mike Jenkins is a serial entrepreneur with a vision to make a lasting impact in Oakland.
Raised in a military family in the Pinole area, Jenkins played basketball at Merritt College before continuing his athletic career at Sacramento State.
His lifelong interest in health and wellness led him to consider a troubling reality: as members of the Black community age, health challenges often increase. Jenkins believes investing in health is an investment in wealth, and he has made it his mission to give Oakland’s youth a stronger foundation for life.
Years ago, Jenkins invested in young people by building Speed Power Strength, a world-class strength-training facility in the Fruitvale neighborhood. For 10 years, the facility served hundreds of children, providing training entirely free of charge. Displaced by gentrification, the program eventually found a new home in Jack London Square.
That move inspired a new name: Oakland Strong, reflecting both the program’s mission and its pride in the city it represents.
“When we found the new home, I needed to put a spotlight on what we were doing– producing the strongest kids in Oakland – so I named our new location Oakland Strong,” Jenkins explained. “We are known nationally and internationally, so when we compete, our city’s name is on our chest.”
Through Olympic weightlifting, governed nationally by USA Weightlifting, the program has developed an extraordinary record. Its athletes have earned 10 national championships, a team national championship, and international titles. Today, two Oakland Strong athletes are Olympic hopefuls.
This past summer, Oakland had three athletes at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs at the same time. One was Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu. The other two were Oakland Strong’s Robert Whitlock and Rucker Johnson, there for a weightlifting camp for Olympic hopefuls.
Whitlock, an Oakland Technical High School student, began training at age 10. Now a three-time consecutive national champion, two-time Pan American champion, and Team USA representative, Whitlock also holds an American record while maintaining straight A’s in school.
“If Oakland can’t support these kinds of kids, then what are we doing?” Jenkins asks.
Oakland Strong continues offering free training in Jack London Square to young people ages 8-18. The program welcomes girls as well as boys, with approximately 12 kids currently participating with room for 20.
With limited city support for free youth programs, Jenkins must find other ways to sustain the work.
When Carlyle Chicken Wings opened nearby, he approached the owner with an idea connecting nutrition and community investment. Because Oakland Strong teaches healthy eating alongside athletic training, they developed the Oakland Strong Bowl, a protein-focused meal. Carlyle will contribute $2 from each bowl sold to support the program.
For Jenkins, the mission extends far beyond medals and records. He wants to create generational health by teaching young people habits they can carry into adulthood and share with their families.
The strongest legacy, he believes, is not simply producing champions, but building healthier generations who understand their worth, their potential, and the importance of investing in themselves.
Business
100 Black Wings’ Team Oakland Youth Athletes Heading to Taiwan for 2026 International Children’s Games
By Post Staff The Bay Area Chapter of 100 Black Men is sending nine youth athletes from its 100 Black Wings’ Team Oakland Delegation to Taiwan on Thursday, July 30, to represent the City of Oakland at the 58th International Children’s
By Post Staff
The Bay Area Chapter of 100 Black Men is sending nine youth athletes from its 100 Black Wings’ Team Oakland Delegation to Taiwan on Thursday, July 30, to represent the City of Oakland at the 58th International Children’s Games (IGC) in Hualien County, Taiwan.
The Games will bring together young athletes ages 12 to 15 from 76 city delegations around the world. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 2, and athletic competitions take place Aug. 3-5.
While many international competitions center around national teams, the ICG brings young people together as representatives of their respective cities. This year’s theme – “Shining Hualien, Shining Together!” – reflects the host city’s vision of using sports, education, culture, and tourism to promote friendship, peace, inclusion, and sustainable development.
“Team Oakland’s participation demonstrates what can happen when young people are given opportunity, preparation, and a community that believes in them,” said Danny L. Williams, chairman of 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc.
“These athletes will carry Oakland’s talent, strength, and spirit onto an international stage while building relationships that can extend far beyond the competition,” he said.
Team Oakland will compete in track and field events including the 100-meter and 400-meter races, hurdles, long jump, shot put, javelin, and traditional and mixed 4×100-meter relays.
The athletes representing Oakland are: DeWayne Littlepage, Gia Goodlow, Abisewolu Redmond, Mahari Moore, Marvin Thomas, Najae Ellison, Royal Moore, Sir Kamryn Lloyd, and Jasani Highsmith.
The delegation’s coaching leadership includes Head Coach Dr. Tommie Smith, the
1968 Olympic gold medalist in the 200-meter sprint; Senior Coach Margaret Dixon;
Girls Coach Evangela Dixon; Strength and Conditioning Coach Nola Turnage;
and Boys Coach Michael Flood, Jr.
Delegation leadership also includes Williams, Head of Delegation Juanita Metters-Upshur, and city representative Dr. Mark Alexander.
“Our athletes have trained with tremendous discipline, but this journey represents much more than competition,” said Metters-Upshur, head of delegation. “They will have the opportunity to travel internationally, proudly represent Oakland, experience another culture, and form friendships with young people from communities across the world. We are incredibly proud of them and grateful to the families, coaches, partners, and supporters who have helped make this experience possible.”
In addition to track and field, the games will feature swimming, tennis, table tennis, Taekwondo, archery, football, and 3×3 basketball. Hualien County is located between Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range and the Pacific Ocean and hosts the International Children’s Games for the first time this year.
The International Children’s Games were founded in 1968 by Slovenian coach Metod Klemenc, based on the belief that sports can bridge differences in culture, religion, and race.
The ICG is approved by the International Olympic Committee and emphasizes friendship, fair play, teamwork, perseverance, and cultural understanding among young people.
The Oakland delegation’s participation reflects the 100 Black Wings’ programmatic commitment to developing young people through athletic achievement, discipline, leadership, cultural exposure, and global citizenship.
Team Oakland is supported by a network of families, coaches, community partners, and advocates who believe that international experiences can expand how young people view themselves and their possibilities.
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