INSIDE: COMICS, OPINIONS & CLASSIFIEDS
B
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • SaTUrday, aUgUST 13, 2022
bendbulletin.com/sports
NFL
More Black retirees
win dementia cases
PHILADELPHIA — Two
years after a pair of former
players sued the NFL over
the treatment of Black
retirees in the league’s $1
billion concussion settle-
ment, hundreds of men
whose medical tests were
rescored to eliminate
race bias now qualify for
awards.
The new payouts,
announced in a report
Friday, are a victory for
NFL families in the de-
cade-long legal saga over
concussions. The 2020
lawsuit unearthed the fact
the dementia tests were
being “race-normed” —
adjusted due to assump-
tions that Black people
have a lower cognitive
baseline score. Changes
to the settlement made
last year are meant to
make the tests race-blind.
The new results will
add millions to the NFL’s
payouts for concus-
sion-linked brain injuries.
A league spokesman did
not return a phone call Fri-
day or respond to emails
sent in recent weeks
seeking comment on the
rescoring.
Of the 646 Black men
whose tests were re-
scored, nearly half now
qualify for dementia
awards. Sixty-one are clas-
sified as having early to
moderate dementia, with
average awards topping
$600,000; nearly 250 more
have milder dementia and
will get up to $35,000 in
enhanced medical testing
and treatment, according
to the claims administra-
tor’s report.
This first group of play-
ers had the best chance of
success because they oth-
erwise passed the test-
ing protocols and would
have qualified if they were
white. Thousands of other
Black former players can
ask to be rescored or re-
tested, but their cases
might not be as strong
based on earlier results
on dementia, validity and
impairment tests. About
70% of active players and
60% of living retirees are
Black.
— Associated Press
NFL | PRESEASON
Quarterback question marks
Seattle Seahawks signal callers Drew Lock, Geno Smith hope for edge in preseason opener
Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via AP
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock, center, drops back to pass as Geno Smith, left, and Jacob Eason, right, watch before a mock game Aug. 6 in Seattle.
“We’d love to see the guys execute and they’ve done really well on the practice field. We’d love
to see it carry over. But then, at the quarterback position, there’s opportunities and if there’s
opportunities there, how do they seize them? We just have to wait and see.”
BY TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — The biggest
question surrounding the Seattle Seahawks
— Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks coach
enters a new phase this weekend, one
That question won’t be answered solely by the
results of the first preseason game. But it will be a
significant step toward determining who will be
the replacement for Wilson after he was traded
to Denver in March.
So far, the question has lingered during off-
season workouts and minicamps in the spring,
the first couple weeks of training camp and a
scrimmage last weekend where Lock seemed to
gain some momentum after a strong outing with
the No. 2 offense against the majority of Seattle’s
starting defense.
But now the two QBs will face competition
where the variables are out of their control.
The race between Geno Smith and Drew
Lock to replace Russell Wilson as Seattle’s
starting quarterback will hit another gear
beginning with Saturday’s preseason
opener at Pittsburgh.
that won’t be wearing Seahawks colors and a dif-
ferent kind of evaluation.
“We’d love to see the guys execute and they’ve
done really well on the practice field. We’d love to
see it carry over, just like I’m talking about,” Seat-
tle coach Pete Carroll said Thursday. “But then,
at the quarterback position, there’s opportunities
and if there’s opportunities there, how do they
seize them? Do they come through and make the
play? Make the big throw in red zone? Maybe it’s
in third down or whatever it is and they hit some-
one open deep. We just have to wait and see.”
See Seahawks / B2
BOXING
Tyson Fury decides
to ‘walk away’
LONDON — Tyson
Fury has decided to “walk
away” from boxing, only
three days after saying
he was returning to the
sport.
Fury turned 34 on Fri-
day and posted a mes-
sage on social media
saying: “Massive thanks to
everyone who had an in-
put in my career over the
years & after long hard
conversations (I’ve finally)
decided to walk away &
on my 34th birthday I say
Bon voyage.”
That seemingly puts
Fury back into retirement,
after he announced on
Tuesday that he was re-
turning to boxing in order
to set up a fight against
Derek Chisora, a fellow
Briton whom he beat
twice early in his career.
That announcement
had sparked speculation
that Fury, the reigning
WBC heavyweight cham-
pion, was targeting a
possible unification bout
against the winner be-
tween Oleksandr Usyk,
the reigning WBA, IBF
and WBO title-holder, and
Anthony Joshua, who
are fighting on Aug. 20 in
Saudi Arabia.
Fury did not give a
reason for his apparent
change of heart. The un-
defeated Fury said after
his win over Dillian Whyte
in April that he was retir-
ing from the sport.
— Associated Press
MOTOR SPORTS | NASCAR CUP SERIES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL | OREGON STATE BEAVERS
Rejzohn Wright leads a talented,
experienced defensive backfield
BY NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
Paul Sancya/AP
Bubba Wallace smiles during the Aug. 6 NASCAR Cup Series qualify-
ing at the Michigan International Speedway.
Bubba Wallace signs contract
extension with 23XI Racing
BY JENNA FRYER
Associated Press
Bubba Wallace locked down
his future with 23XI Racing
on Friday and is eyeing a spot
in NASCAR’s playoffs for the
first time in his career.
Wallace and 23XI an-
nounced a multiyear contract
extension that keeps Wal-
lace in the No. 23 Toyota that
was the foundation of Denny
Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s
race team.
The organization was
launched around the only
Black driver competing at
NASCAR’s top level and the
many partners Wallace signed
in 2020 when he became a
central figure in the national
reckoning on racial and social
justice issues.
“It feels great to get this re-
newal done and to know I
have a home at 23XI Racing,”
Wallace said. “Thanks to M.J.
and Denny for continuing to
believe in me. We’ve come a
long way together in less than
two years and we’ve checked
off some major goals along the
way. We know we still have
work to do, both on and off
the race track, but I feel good
about our team and the direc-
tion we’re heading.”
See Wallace / B5
To follow the emotions
of Oregon State cornerback
Rejzohn Wright last season
was like riding a wave.
There was little doubt
Wright had his mind set on
joining brother Nahshon in
the NFL. But Wright needed
evidence that he was ready.
After spectacular games,
Wright was convinced he
would jump to the pros. After
less-than-ideal performances,
Wright began to think maybe
he needed more seasoning.
As late as the regular season
finale, Wright said he was
“50-50” to leave.
“I was in my own head,”
Wright said after Thursday’s
preseason camp practice.
After talking to his fam-
ily, and second-year Dallas
Cowboy brother Nahshon
Wright, Rejzohn Wright de-
cided to return for his senior
year at Oregon State. There’s
good reason to believe the
Beavers are better off having
the 6-foot-2 Bay Area native
locking down the left side of
the field.
Wright is expected to be
among the Pac-12’s best cor-
nerbacks.
This summer, Wright
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via TNS, file
Oregon State defensive back Rejzohn Wright celebrates after a sack
in the fourth quarter against the Washington Huskies at Reser Sta-
dium in Corvallis last season.
earned numerous presea-
son honors, including sec-
ond-team all-conference as a
defensive back.
OSU defensive backs coach
Blue Adams thinks Wright is
on the verge of fitting on an
NFL team.
“Skillset wise, he has it.
He’s played the position. He
knows it in and out,” Ad-
ams said. “He did a good job
during the offseason address-
ing his body.”
Coming off a 2021 sea-
son where he started all 13
games and earned an honor-
able mention to the Pac-12
all-conference team, Wright
thought improving tackling
was a top priority. He feels
that’s been addressed. Now
it’s consistency with perfor-
mance and technique, some-
thing that varied a bit too
much from week to week
during the 2021 season.
See Wright / B2