NBA stresses rule that players must stand for national anthem

The NBA is recommending teams address fans or show videos expressing themes of unity before their first home games, while reminding them of the rule that players must stand for the national anthem. A memo was sent to teams Friday, a day after commissioner Adam Silver said he expected players would stand for the anthem. In the memo, obtained by the Associated Press, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum suggested teams use their opening games ‘‘to demonstrate your commitment to the NBA’s core values of equality, diversity, inclusion, and serve as a unifying force in the community.’’

Spurs’ Leonard to sit out preseason

A lingering thigh injury for Kawhi Leonard has the Spurs’ season off to an ominous start. Leonard will miss the entire preseason while rehabbing an injury to his right quadriceps, the Spurs announced. There is no definitive timetable for his return. Coach Gregg Popovich said Leonard’s thigh has bothered him since the playoffs. The Spurs said it was quadriceps tendinopathy, a condition that can cause the tendon to tire with overuse . . . Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert received ‘‘vile, disgusting’’ voicemails after LeBron James called President Trump a ‘‘bum’’ on Twitter. Gilbert said he was flooded with phone messages when the NBA’s most celebrated player criticized Trump for rescinding a White House invitation to Golden State’s Stephen Curry to honor the team’s NBA championship . . . Frank Hamblen, who won seven NBA championships as an assistant to Phil Jackson with the Lakers and Bulls, died at age 70. No cause of death was announced.

NFL

Trevathan suspended for two games

The NFL suspended Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan for two games for his frightening hit against Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams on Thursday night. Trevathan has three business days to appeal the suspension. Adams was taken off the field on a stretcher in the third quarter after getting hit in the head by Trevathan while being tackled. Adams was taken to a hospital and released Friday.

Police defend handling of Bennett

Police acted appropriately and professionally detaining Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett when he ran from a casino as officers searched for an active shooter following a report of gunfire at an after-hours club on the Las Vegas Strip, the head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Friday. A review of hundreds of videos, including police body-worn cameras, found no evidence that the three officers who had direct contact with the NFL star early Aug. 27 profiled Bennett by race or used excessive force, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said. Bennett committed no crime, the sheriff said. But he was detained at gunpoint, handcuffed and seated for about 10 minutes in the back of a patrol car while police searched the crowded casino just hours after an Aug. 26 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. What people thought was gunfire was actually the sharp sound of velvet rope stands knocked to a tile floor during a scuffle. Video shows an officer with his gun out while handcuffing Bennett as he lies prone in a traffic lane on Las Vegas Boulevard outside the Cromwell casino. But Lombardo said there was nothing to support Bennett’s allegation, made in a Twitter post more than a week later, that an officer put a gun to Bennett’s head and threatened to blow his head off.

COLLEGES

Former Purdue coach Tiller dies at 74

Joe Tiller, who guided quarterback Drew Brees at Purdue and was the school’s winningest football coach, died of natural causes at his home in Wyoming. He was 74. Tiller and Brees carried Purdue football to rare heights at a school better known for basketball. Together, they led Tiller’s ‘‘basketball on grass’’ spread offense to the 2001 Rose Bowl. Tiller had an 87-62 record at Purdue from 1997 to 2008. He led the previously downtrodden program to 10 bowl games and also coached NFL quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Curtis Painter.

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari says that freshman forward Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss the next three months after injuring his left foot in practice. The high school All-American sustained the injury during drill instruction on Friday. He’ll likely have surgery that will sideline him until January.

TENNIS

Bondarenko ends long title drought

Kateryna Bondarenko won her first WTA singles title in nine years by beating Timea Babos, 6-4, 6-4, in the final of the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan . . . Unseeded Caroline Garcia won her first WTA title of the year, beating Ashleigh Barty, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, in the Wuhan Open final in China.

SOCCER

Breakers fall to end NWSL campaign

The Boston Breakers dropped their NWSL season finale to Sky Blue FC, 4-3, at Jordan Field in Allston. Natasha Dowie scored twice for the Breakers (4-13-7) . . . Toronto FC clinched the Supporters’ Shield for MLS’s best record by beating the New York Red Bulls, 4-2. Justin Morrow had a hat trick for the hosts.

MISCELLANY

Suffolk’s live racing ends Sunday

Larkin, ridden by Luis Quinones and out of Godolphin Racing, won the feature allowance/optional claiming race by one length at Suffolk Downs. The track will conclude its live racing season on Sunday with nine races . . . Indians outfielder Michael Brantley was activated from the disabled list, and manager Terry Francona is considering placing him on Cleveland’s roster for the AL Division Series. Brantley had been sidelined since Aug. 9 with a sprained right ankle . . . Russia and China were among nine countries suspended from weightlifting for a year in an attempt to combat an epidemic of doping. The decision by the International Weightlifting Federation followed the retesting of anti-doping samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Countries with at least three doping offenses from those Olympics were suspended. Also suspended were Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine . . . Lewis Hamilton took the pole for F1’s Malaysian Grand Prix.