The San Antonio Brahmas opened their 2023 campaign at the Alamodome on Feb. 19 against the St. Louis Battlehawks. About 24,000 fans cheered on the two teams. The game, which was broadcast on ABC, featured guest appearances by San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and XFL co-owner Dwayne Johnson.

Even though the Brahams (15) fell to the Battlehawks (18), XFL Chairwoman Dany Garcia announced before the game that the XFL Championship Game would be played in San Antonio at the end of the season. The XFL will play a 10-week regular season, consisting of each team playing 10 games, five at home and five on the road. The teams will play their division rivals twice and teams from the other division once. The season will conclude with the XFL Championship game on Saturday, May 13, at 3 pm on ABC.

Dwayne “The Rock,” Johnson told San Antonio fans he began his wrestling career at the Alamodome. Johnson has since starred in more than 50 films. 

Brahmas head coach, Hines Ward, is a bit of a celebrity himself. He competed in and won “Dancing with the Stars” in 2011. He also starred as a football player in the 2012 Batman blockbuster, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Ward played 14 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning two Super Bowls — including Super Bowl XL MVP — and earning a spot in the team’s Hall of Honor. He participated in the 2013 Ironman World Championships. Ward started his coaching career as an intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He followed that as an assistant coach with the New York Jets and then Florida Atlantic University and spent time as the Alliance of American Football’s director of player development.

The Brahmas play their next game on Feb. 26 in Orlando against the Orlando Guardians and play their last game on April 22 back in the Alamodome against the DC Defenders.

The eight teams of the XFL are split into two divisions – the North Division is home to the D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, and Vegas Vipers. At the same time, the Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, and San Antonio Brahmas will do battle in the South Division.

The league will build on what was started in 2020 by carrying over several rules and includes innovative changes in clock management, play reviews, and late-game possession designed to improve gameplay and enhance the fan-viewing experience. 

San Antonio Brahmas Quarterback Jack Coan said his team and coach have been developing chemistry that will hopefully translate onto the field.

“You come into this new league and don’t really know what to expect. You really don’t know any of the guys on the team, what the offensive is going to be, what the scheme is going to be,” he said on the XFL website. “Just trying to learn as much as you can each and every day…I think a really important part of that is just really good to know everybody. I think Coach Ward’s has done a great job of building a family atmosphere here. I think we have a really close-knit team. I feel like the chemistry has grown each and every day throughout camp. I’m really happy with where we’re at right now. We’re going to just continue to get better each and every day.”

Last year (2022) proved to be a challenging year for Black athletes. In addition to the greatest soccer player (Pelé) of all time passing away Dec. 29, many other professional athletes died in 2022.

NBA

NBA players are donning No. 6 to honor NBA great Bill Russell, who was known for his career with the Boston Celtics. He died on July 31 at the age of 88.

Lusia Harris passed away on Jan. 18 at the age of 66. The New Orleans Jazz drafted Harris as the 137th pick of the 1977 NBA Draft, but she never played a game. She was chosen to play for the U.S. Olympic team in 1976. Harris was the first Black woman and female college player to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tiffany Jackson, 37, was a professional basketball player and coach known for her iconic college career at the University of Texas. She passed away Oct. 3 after battling breast cancer.

John Drew, 67, played in the NBA for 11 seasons. He died April 10 from bone cancer. Caleb Swanigan, 25, died on June 20. Swanigan died of natural causes and was a first-round draft pick in 2017 by the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Adreian Payne, 31, was shot and killed in Orlando, Florida May 9 while trying to help a woman engaged in a domestic dispute. He played four seasons in the NBA. Wayne “Coop” Cooper played 14 seasons in the NBA. Cooper, 65, passed away April 11 following a battle with kidney disease.

NFL

Marion Barber III, 38, was found dead inside his apartment June 1 from heat stroke. He played in the NFL from 2005 to 2011 and was a fourth-round draft pick by the Cowboys. Jaylon Ferguson, of the NFL Ravens, died June 21 of the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine. Ferguson, 26, was a third-round draft pick by the Ravens in 2019.

Jeff Gladney, 25, died May 30 in a horrific car crash in Dallas, along with his girlfriend. He was a defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals and a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Less than one month before his 25th birthday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was tragically struck by a vehicle and subsequently died April 9. Former cornerback for the Carolina Panthers, Rashard Anderson, 45, died of pancreatic cancer July 13.

Charley Taylor, 80, was a wide receiver who spent 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins and passed away Feb. 19. Rayfield Wright, 76, was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys. He passed away April 7 after suffering a seizure. Gary Brown, 52, was an NFL running back and an assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He died April 10 from liver and kidney failure.

Tragically in November, three University of Virginia football players were shot and killed by an ex-teammate. They were junior receiver Lavel Davis Jr. of South Carolina, junior receiver Devin Chandler of North Carolina, and junior defensive end/linebacker D’Sean Perry of Miami.

MLB

Gerald Williams, 55, played for 14 seasons among different MLB teams. He passed away Feb. 8 following a battle with cancer. Tommy Davis, 83, was famously known for his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he was a two-time National League batting champion. He passed away April 3. Dwight Smith, 58, was an MLB outfielder known for his time with the Cubs organization. He passed away July 22 after suffering congestive heart and lung failure. Maury Wills, 89, was a former MLB player turned manager who was known for his career with the Dodgers. He passed away Sept 19.

Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts

Earnie Shavers, 78, was a two-time world heavyweight championship boxer. He passed away Sept. 1. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, 38, was a mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He passed away Nov. 13 from organ failure due to non-hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

As the world watched Argentina recently win the FIFA World Cup, it’s about to mourn a soccer legend that spanned continents. Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is considered one of the greatest soccer players in history.

His family is currently by his bedside as his health is failing at the age of 83 from colon cancer and other ailments. 

The Roots of Fight clothing website, which features his iconic No. 10 on shirts and pants, said it best of Pelé’s impact, “It has been said that what God is to religion Pelé is to soccer. No singular athlete has ever meant so much to a sport. No presence hovers over a playing field so completely, and no one player sings in the hearts of his countryman so passionately. For Brazil, Pelé means hero. The man who gave the country three World Cups, in 1958 when he was just 17 years old, then again 1962, and then again 1970. 

People joke about important athletes being national treasures — Pelé literally was declared a national treasure in Brazil in 1961. For America, Pelé means legend — the man who gave the country soccer and filled it with imagination. For Nigeria, Pelé meant peace. His presence was enough to halt a war when he came to play there in 1969. For South Africa, Pelé meant awe. Nelson Mandela once said, ‘To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.’”

Pelé achieved 1,283 goals throughout 1,363 games. In 1977, Pelé competed in an exhibition match between the New York Cosmos and Santos F.C. in front of thousands of spectators – including boxing great Muhammad Ali – at New Jersey’s Giants Stadium. He played the first half of the game for Santos, switched jerseys, and played for the Cosmos in the second half. 

Growing up in poverty, Pelé, an Afro-Brazilian, eventually became involved in humanitarian efforts. However, others wanted him to be more vocal about the anti-Black violence that’s prevalent in Brazil. In 1994, Pelé served as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Champion for Sport and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, creating such campaigns as Children in Need fundraising in 1996 and the Match of the Hearth in 2000. In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed Pelé the honorary title of Knight Commander of the British Empire for his humanitarian work and activism.