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Lifestyle/Culture White. “We will build a Performance Institute there. Whenever you find a place where people grow up in difficult times, there are always good talents there. Not just fighters, but athletes of all kinds. The question is what kind of resources they have there to grow and learn. I want to build the PI there and I think we’ll see some tough guys come out of there in five or six years.” Known as the ‘Nigerian Nightmare,’ Kamaru Usman was born in Auchi, Nigeria and immigrated to the United States at the age of eight with his family. Usman started his MMA career in 2012 and amassed a record of 5-1 before being selected for the Ultimate Fighter 21. In March 2019, he realized a dream by becoming a world champion. In an interview with CNN, he said that he hopes that his journey — along with that of Adesanya and Ngannou — can be the example others might need to follow in their footsteps. “[Fighting in the UFC] wasn’t an example of

something that was attainable and now we are that example for the masses,” Usman told CNN. “Because I go back to my childhood growing up and starting to get into sports and simultaneously ending up in wrestling, of all places, in high school.” Usman mentioned the importance of researching the young athletes and finding out what they were doing and how they were able to breakthrough and get to that point. “That’s something that’s so powerful because you’re letting the human mind know that this is attainable. I never saw an example of a UFC champion and now to be that example for the masses all across Africa, not just Africa, all across the world, it’s something that I definitely do not take for granted.” https://travelnoire.com/ufc-will-debut-in-africa-in2022-thanks-to-african-mma-champions Image credit: BBC News

Milwaukee Bucks Celebrate NBA Championship with White House Visit By Aamer Madhani | The Associated Press PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WELCOMED the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks to the White House, praising team members not just for their achievements on the court, but also for their efforts to promote coronavirus vaccinations and for speaking out after the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake sparked protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Bucks were the first NBA champions to visit the White House in nearly five years, ending a Donald Trump-era hiatus. “You took a stand for justice and peace in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and you’ve gotten people engaged,”

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Biden said. The NBA postponed games in 2020 after the Bucks announced they would not participate in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series as they sought to shed light on what they said were racial injustices facing African-American communities. The Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, were genuinely excited to get back to the tradition of NBA champs visiting the White House. www.nba.com/news/bucks-celebrate-championshipwith-white-house-visit Image credit: NBA DAWN

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