DUBLIN – Graeme McDowell became the latest high-profile golfer to rule out going to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday.
In a statement posted on his Twitter feed, McDowell said he was not available to replace Rory McIlroy in the Ireland team. McIlroy opted out of the Olympics because of concerns about the Zika virus.
But McDowell said he decided “many months ago” that he would not play or travel outside of the United States while his wife, Kristin, was expecting their second child.
MONACO – The IAAF issued guidelines for any Russian track and field athletes seeking “exceptional” dispensation to compete in the upcoming Olympics on Thursday, insisting again that they would do so as neutral athletes and not under their national flag.
Track and field’s governing body has been at odds with the International Olympic Committee, which says any Russian athletes approved by the IAAF would compete under their national flag.
The guidelines cover “any individual athletes who can clearly and convincingly show that they are not tainted by the Russian system because they have been outside the country and subject to other effective anti-doping systems.”
KUWAIT CITY – A Kuwaiti government official said Thursday the Arab nation will sue the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland for $1 billion.
The comments by Sheikh Salman al-Homoud Al Sabah come amid its worsening relationship with the IOC and its own Olympic committee. The Kuwaiti government has filed a lawsuit in local courts against 14 board members of its Olympic committee seeking some $1.3 billion in damages.
The dispute comes over the IOC suspending Kuwait in October on grounds of government interference in sports. The suspension could keep Kuwaiti athletes from representing their country at this year’s Olympics.
In a meeting earlier this month, the IOC’s executive board authorized Kuwaiti sportsmen to compete as individual athletes under the Olympic flag if they qualify.
LONDON – Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka withdrew from Wimbledon on Thursday because of a right knee injury.
It was the same knee she hurt at the French Open, forcing her to retire during her first-round match. She hasn’t played since.
Azarenka, ranked No. 6, was seeded the same for the grass-court Grand Slam starting Monday.
The Belarusian has earned three titles this year, including two of the biggest outside of the majors, Indian Wells and Miami, in March. She beat Serena Williams in the Indian Wells final. At Wimbledon, she has reached the semifinals twice, and quarterfinals twice. Williams stopped her in three of those runs.
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan wants the NFL to study how medical marijuana could help players.
Morgan said Thursday on Twitter that “it’s time for the @NFL to take an HONEST look into the potential medical benefits of Cannabis for its players.” He tweeted after telling Yahoo that he wants the league to conduct more research on marijuana, particularly on how it could help treat or prevent CTE.
His comments follow offensive tackle Eugene Monroe’s recommendation that the NFL stop testing players for marijuana. Monroe was released last week by the Baltimore Ravens.
The NFL tests players for marijuana between April 20 and Aug. 9. Players who test positive for the first time enter the league’s substance abuse program. Additional positive tests result in stiffer penalties.
LAS VEGAS – A day after Las Vegas won a bid for an NHL hockey team, a governor’s panel studying a proposal for a 65,000-seat stadium to lure the NFL’s Oakland Raiders to town was met with a cascade of changing numbers.
There was no talk Thursday about whether gambling on pro sports is a good idea.
Around town, legal sports books are already taking bets on how the as-yet unnamed hockey team will score its first goal.
Officials focused more on the key question of finding a site on which to build a stadium now projected to cost $1.45 billion.
Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee members heard again that the project won’t cost the public more than $750 million – mostly through a hotel room tax increase.
A top executive with casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. is vowing the deal will get done.