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Sports

Dee Brown, star of Illinois’ 2005 Final Four team, is hired as head coach at NAIA Roosevelt

Former Illinois star Dee Brown is the new coach at Roosevelt University in Chicago, the NAIA school announced Monday.The 37-year-old Brown was a McDonald’s All-American and Mr. Basketball of Illinois in 2002 at Proviso East in Maywood.AdvertisementHe went on to lead Illinois to Big Ten regular-season titles in 2004 and 2005 and a run to the 2005 NCAA championship game, in which the Illini lost to North Carolina.Brown played professionally for nine seasons, including two NBA seasons with the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns.AdvertisementBrown has been an assistant at Illinois-Chicago since 2017. He also worked as director of player development and alumni relations for the Illinois men’s basketball team under former coach John Groce and coached AAU ball.

Lifestyle

Monkeypox cases in Chicago jump to 42 but it remains rare and is much less transmissible than COVID-19

Chicago has 42 diagnosed monkeypox cases, the city’s top doctor said Monday.That’s an increase from the 27 cases that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was reporting for all of Illinois.AdvertisementDr. Allison Arwady, shared the update with the City Council’s health committee.“At this point, it is rare, and we’ve not had any deaths associated with it, and it does not spread easily,” Arwady said.AdvertisementMonkeypox is a viral illness that typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes before progressing to a rash on the face and body. The illness typically lasts two to four weeks. According to the CDC, monkeypox cannot be spread by people who don’t have symptoms.The illness doesn’t spread through casual contact like COVID-19 can, Arwady said.“This is close contact. Skin to skin. Touching somebody’s rashes or sores. Potentially sharing bedding or towels. Kissing, coughing, sneezing,” she said.The CDC was reporting 244 cases in the United States as of Monday, though apparently not all of the new Chicago cases had been added. The outbreak is most severe in parts of western Europe, though cases have been reported across the globe.A long line of people seeking monkeypox vaccinations wait outside the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic in New York on June 23, 2022. (Hiram Durán/The New York Times)Most of Chicago’s monkeypox cases have been in men who have sex with men, a pattern also seen in the European outbreak, Arwady said.“A lot of this is just because spread will occur through tight-knit social networks,” she said.People who see a new and unexplained rash should see their doctor and avoid intimacy, Arwady said.Monkeypox’s spread among men who have sex with men isn’t typical of the illness and is just a characteristic of this year’s outbreak, said Dr. Sharon Welbel, Cook County Health’s director of hospital epidemiology and infection control and prevention. Awareness of where the illness is spreading allows for more focused intervention, she said.AdvertisementThe jump in cases shows that doctors and the public are getting better at identifying and properly treating monkeypox, she said.“It is a big increase since the last number that we heard last week, but I’m not surprised,” Welbel said. While the virus is not common in the U.S., it was first identified in 1958, and is more common in West and Central Africa, she added. Vaccines and antivirals used to treat similar viruses, such as smallpox, can be used to treat monkeypox, she said.Afternoon BriefingDailyChicago Tribune editors’ top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon.Monkeypox is also much less transmissible than COVID-19 and easy to avoid because of its visibility, Welbel said. The monkeypox rash grows to look like a large pimple and often starts on the face, she previously told the Tribune. The rash can resemble herpes, chickenpox and syphilis, she said.Epidemiologists have also confirmed that the monkeypox version spreading in Illinois is less aggressive and associated with very low mortality rates, Welbel said.“Patients shouldn’t be afraid that they’re going to get this at the doctor’s office or at the hospital. We know how to isolate these patients,” she said.More cases will be seen worldwide as it becomes easier to identify the illness, Welbel added.Advertisement“I really think people should not be fearful,” she said.jsheridan@chicagotribune.comTwitter @jakesheridan_

Sports

‘We’re doing a disservice to an entire generation’: How Chicago athletes and teams reacted to Roe being overturned

On Thursday, the sports world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or educational program that receives funding from the government.Fans, athletes, politicians and celebrities took part in celebrating the last 50 years of empowered female athletes. Title IX gave girls and women an opportunity to participate in sports that had long been available to men, though it did not necessarily level the playing field. The day was filled with remembrances of influential women in sports and promises for the future.AdvertisementThen on Friday, the Supreme Court stifled that joy when it overturned Roe v. Wade. The timing was likely coincidental but impactful nonetheless. The right for women to make decisions for their own bodies, as they see fit, was taken away.Abortion is a matter of both personal choice and healthcare, and for athletes, regardless of gender, Roe being struck down will have an impact on where they choose to play and live and the type of healthcare they are able to receive.AdvertisementIn Illinois, where a law remains in place to keep abortion legal, Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised the state would remain a “safe haven” for women’s reproductive rights.Two-time WNBA MVP and Chicago-area native Candace Parker expressed her dismay, telling WGN-TV: “I have a 13-year-old daughter. For me personally, for us in this generation to mess this up for her and the decisions that she can make and the ownership of her own body — I feel like we’re doing a disservice to an entire generation.“I get emotional because I feel like as women in this country every time we take two or three steps forward — is it by chance that it was close to Title IX and the 50th anniversary? I feel like we have a way in this country of handling things in that way. I’m just disappointed.”Her Chicago Sky teammate Courtney Vandersloot added: “To me, it’s just heartbreaking that we’re in 2022 and women are still fighting for their right for their own bodies. I don’t agree with it. For people that are standing up and being the voice — I think it’s really important. The fight’s not over. People need voices and I think the WNBA and the Chicago Sky is a great platform.”White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, in an appearance on WSCR-670 AM’s “Parkins & Spiegel Show,” voiced his displeasure with the decision.“Obviously, today is a terrible, terrible day for women’s rights,” Hendriks said. “I mean, what’s next? Are they going to take voting for women as well now? It’s just something that is absurd in the fact that they thought that this is their thing.“If this had anything to do with men, there’d be no chance that this would be overturned. And that’s something that’s disgraceful in this day and age.”Hendriks also served as the “voice” of Pride Night for the Sox on Thursday.Advertisement“The fact is the hate I get for being an ally is very limited compared to what some other people may be getting if they’re in the spotlight or in the limelight going through this ordeal of going out and being true to themselves,” he said.Other Chicago athletes took to social media to voice their displeasure with the ruling or express solidarity with those affected by it.“The strength of our women is unmatched. We must protect them at all costs,” Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman tweeted. “Unimaginable to see their rights taken away. Men should never be allowed to make laws about women’s bodies. Those of you who disagree need to realize you’re a direct part of the problem. Change is needed!”The strength of our women is unmatched. We must protect them all at costs. Unimaginable to see their rights taken away. Men should never be allowed to make laws about women’s bodies. Those of you who disagree need to realize you’re a direct part of the problem. Change is needed!— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 25, 2022

Stroman also retweeted Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and former NBA coach Stan van Gundy.Several athletes, including the Cubs’ Adbert Alzolay and the Bears’ Jaquan Brisker and Thomas Graham Jr., opted to retweet posts.The Chicago Sky shared a statement that read: “The Chicago Sky stand for all women and their rights to have autonomy over their own bodies and decide their own futures. We will be a voice for all those impacted by today’s Supreme Court decision and continue to fight for women’s freedom, health equity, and social justice.”AdvertisementThe commissioners of the NBA and WNBA released a joint statement: “The NBA and WNBA believe that women should be able to make their own decisions concerning their health and future, and we believe that freedom should be protected. We will continue to advocate for gender and health equity, including ensuring our employees have access to reproductive health care, regardless of their location.”NBA AND WNBA STATEMENT REGARDING ROE V. WADE DECISION NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert issued the following statement regarding today’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: pic.twitter.com/P13MSouB5A— NBA (@NBA) June 24, 2022

The WNBA firmly believes people have the right to make their own personal decisions regarding their health. We stand in solidarity with those who fear for the repercussions of the Supreme Court decision today and remain committed to our 2022 WNBA season focus on civic engagement. pic.twitter.com/RtuBdjbozP— WNBA (@WNBA) June 24, 2022