Why The 'Race Card' Is Played

Boston's first African-American police commissioner He's been a part of the department since 1983 and now William Gross is the first black commissioner of the Boston Police Department.

Baseball player Josh Hader receives standing ovation after racist and homophobic tweets revealed Milwaukee Brewers pitcher  Josh Hader   got a warm welcome back on Saturday just days after racist tweets were discovered . — Stand Your Ground strikes again: White man walks after shooting Black dad over parking space — Last week, Josh Hader apologized for the homophobic and racist tweets, one which simply said ‘KKK’, which have since been deleted, and he set his account to private after they circulated heavily on social media during the MLB All-Star Game. Saturday, most of the 36,000 fans at Miller Park, gave him a standing ovation when the left-handed pitcher hit the mound, according to the  Daily Mail . Surprisingly some of Hader’s African-American teammates were in support of him too and stood behind him 90 minutes ahead of Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, during a news conference. “It’s amazing. It tells me that they have my back and t...

Protesters demand answers at T-Mobile store where black men were held at gunpoint by police The man  seen on video  being held at gunpoint by Fresno police last month after workers at a T-Mobile store reported he might be a robber returned Friday to join a small protest demanding answers and an apology. It was Dorian Johnson’s first time back inside the store since he and his uncle were detained. The Facebook video that made national headlines in June shows Johnson, 26, as he crawls  across the cement outside the T-Mobile store  on his stomach, obeying officers’ orders. At least one of the officers is pointing a gun at Johnson. The video, shot by Johnson’s uncle, Vincent Lemar, cuts out after police order Lemar to come out of the store with his hands up, but the audio is still on. Johnson’s girlfriend can be heard screaming from the parking lot. Ultimately, both men were cuffed, but no arrests were made. Lemar later commended the officers for their co...

NYPD files formal departmental charges against officers in Eric Garner case The New York police officer who choked Eric Garner in 2014 has been formally served with departmental charges, an NYPD spokesman said Saturday. Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who wrapped his arm around Garner's neck before the man complained he couldn't breathe, was served with the charges Friday night, according to city officials. Pantaleo is seen in video from the scene tackling Garner from behind using a department-banned chokehold. He now faces two separate charges -- for use of a chokehold and for restricting the man's breathing, said an NYPD official with knowledge of the investigation.

LaVar Ball hints at plan for Big Baller Brand competitor to NBA The Junior Basketball Association is LaVar Ball’s first foray into forming a basketball league, but it may not be his last. During a recent Q&A with  SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell , the Big Baller Brand CEO discussed the possibility of a successor to the Junior Basketball Association while pontificating on defying expectations for the future expansion of his burgeoning business empire. “And then all the sudden this league pops up, something that has the potential to be one of the greatest things ever on the fact that maybe in 5-10 years, maybe we have 30 teams,” he said. “How about I create my own league now. And now you have two leagues like we had the ABA and NBA. It has potential.” At present, the JBA is far from a competitor for the NBA. Where the latter is currently open to all players who are at least one year removed from their respective high school graduations, the former limits participation to p...

Lion in winter: Denver’s first African-American mayor talks politics Wellington Webb stands in the shade on the sidewalk at Commons Park along the South Platte River behind Denver Union Station, joggers loping by on the paths, cars nosing their way toward parking, as a young couple at the base of the distinctive Denver Millennium Bridge across the street calls out and waves. “Mayor! Mayor!” they say, bursting with smiles. Webb nods and waves back, returning the smiles, and then turns his gaze to the park — part of more than 2,000 acres of new parks and open space created in the city during his 12 years as mayor — and then hooks his thumb over his shoulder.

Man sentenced 33 months for threatening to murder African American students at Howard University ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia man has been sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison for  threatening to murder African Americans at historically black Howard University  in 2015. U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady sentenced 27-year-old John Edgar Rust of Alexandria to 33 months in federal court Friday. O'Grady found that Rust's conduct constituted a hate crime, increasing his sentence, and also ordered Rust to pay $6,458 in restitution. Rust pleaded guilty to transmitting threats over the internet in March.