BEAVERTON, Ore. —
The president of Nike Inc. said Thursday he has decided to change the name of the Joe Paterno Child Development Center, a child care facility at the company's headquarters outside Portland.
Chief executive Mark Parker said he was deeply saddened by the news coming of the Louis Freeh investigation on the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State. Freeh says Paterno and other top school officials disregarded the welfare of Jerry Sandusky's victims as they failed to report abuse allegations against the longtime assistant coach.
"It is a terrible tragedy that children were unprotected from such abhorrent crimes,'' Parker said.
Nike founder Phil Knight, who defended Paterno at the coach's memorial service, said "it appears Joe made missteps that led to heartbreaking consequences. I missed that Joe missed it, and I am extremely saddened on this day.''
Knight said Paterno strived to put young athletes in a position to succeed in sports and in life.
"My love for Joe and his family remains,'' Knight said.
Nike has not released a new name for the Joe Paterno Child Development Center, which opened in the early 1990s and was remodeled in 2008. Company officials did not respond to requests for more information about the center or its new name.
The company is known for naming its buildings after sports figures including Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt. Nike's headquarters is located on Bowerman Drive, named for Bill Bowerman, Knight's track and field coach at the University of Oregon who co-founded the athletic-wear giant.
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NIKE taking Paterno's name off child care center
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‘All-State Brace’
All the hours and hard work of keeping the Claremore Zebra athletes injury-free in order to reach their dreams at the highest level helped graduate Averey Brace fulfill a huge accomplishment in her athletic training career.
Brace, a recent 2013 graduate of Claremore High School, received All-State honors from the Oklahoma Coaches Association earlier this month for her three-year commitment to the Claremore High School athletic training program. -
Sign up now for OSU Baseball Camp
Oklahoma State Baseball will be holding a pair of camps in June for players in grades 1-8, and registration is now open.
Session I of the camp is June 17-19, with Session II set for June 24-26, and cost for each camp is $200. Camp runs from 9 a.m.-noon each day. -
Lady Zebra volleyball camp set for May 20
The Claremore Lady Zebra volleyball camp will take place on May 20-23 at the Claremore High School gymnasium.
Under the direction of Lady Zebra head coach Lindsey Renfroe, campers will receive instruction in fundamentals — passing, setting, hitting and serving. -
Green Country All-Star Games start May 23 in Catoosa
Area senior all-star athletes from 21 schools in northeastern Oklahoma will lace up their high tops, hoist their bats and dust off their pom-poms in preparation for the 2013 Green Country All-Star Games held May 23-24 in Catoosa.
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SEC BASEBALL: Auburn blanks No. 13 Arkansas, 3-0
Conner Kendrick and Terrance Dedrick combined on a five-hit shutout as Auburn defeated No. 13 Arkansas, 3-0, in the series opener on Thursday night at Plainsman Park.
Arkansas drops to 34-18 overall and 17-10 in Southeastern Conference play, while Auburn is now 32-21 and 12-16 in league play. -
GOLF: Bradley gets course-record 60 at Byron Nelson
Keegan Bradley had no thoughts of a course record, or the possibility of a 59, after consecutive bogeys in the middle of his opening round at the Byron Nelson Championship.
Until his 136-yard wedge shot on his final hole Thursday.
“It was going right at it. (A 59) crossed my mind for a second, and it would be unbelievable if I buried this,” Bradley said. “But I had 3 feet to shoot 60. I was actually very nervous, uncomfortable over it and thank God I made it.” -
Cowboys rock Mountaineers, 7-4
Oklahoma State showcased its offensive ability in its series opener against West Virginia on Thursday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
Whether it’s small ball or the long ball — both of which came into effect — the 16th-ranked Cowboys are proving they can find a way to win here late in the season with a 7-4 mauling of the Mountaineers. -
OU baseball closes out regular season play at K-State
Moods were light as Oklahoma boarded a bus for Manhattan, Kan., Thursday afternoon. What they’ll be like by Sunday depends on what transpires over the next three games.
The Sooners’ season hinges on the outcome. -
Westbrook's injury hinders Thunder's playoff run
The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the “vision” of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason.
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NSU women's golf in 8th place at NCAA Division II Championship
The Northeastern State women’s golf team sits in eighth place after Thursday’s second round of the 2013 NCAA Division II Championships on the par-72, 6,228-yard Legends Course at LPGA International.
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