Bennett was at least the third prominent N.F.L. player to protest during the anthem in the first full week of preseason games. Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch, a former teammate of Bennett’s in Seattle, also sat. Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn raised his right fist, continuing his approach from last season following the decision by Colin Kaepernick, then the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback, to kneel during the anthem.
Asked about players who did not stand for the anthem before preseason games, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell said that while the playing of the anthem is a special moment to him, “we also have to understand the other side.” Goodell made the comments at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., during a question-and-answer period with Arizona Cardinals club seat holders.
NEW BILLS RECEIVER IS HURT The revamped group of Buffalo Bills receivers is suddenly down a key addition, with Jordan Matthews sidelined indefinitely because of a chip fracture in his sternum. The Bills list Matthews, who was injured during his first practice since joining the team in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, as week to week.
FALCONS’ FREEMAN TO MISS PRESEASON GAME Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman has concussion symptoms and has been ruled out for this week’s preseason game at Pittsburgh.
BASEBALL
Encarnacion Helps Indians Top Red Sox
Edwin Encarnacion homered twice to help the American-League-Central-leading Cleveland Indians earn their fourth straight victory, 7-3 over the Red Sox in Boston.
In a rematch of a 2016 A.L. division series, which Cleveland won in a three-game sweep, Trevor Bauer (11-8) struck out 11 over six and two-thirds innings. He allowed three runs — all on solo homers by Red Sox rookies. Rafael Devers had two and Andrew Benintendi one.
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The Indians improved to a season-high five games in front of the second-place Minnesota Twins, who were idle. The Red Sox lost for just the second time in 12 games, and their lead in the A.L. East was trimmed to four and a half games over the Yankees.
STANTON HITS 43RD HOMER Giancarlo Stanton hit his team-record 43rd home run, connecting in his fifth straight game and sending the Marlins over the San Francisco Giants, 8-3, in Miami. Stanton broke the club mark of 42 homers set by Gary Sheffield in 1996. Stanton has homered 22 times in his last 34 games.
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TENNIS
Federer Withdraws From Ohio Event
The Wimbledon champion Roger Federer withdrew from the Western & Southern Open because of a back injury. He has won that Masters series tournament in Mason, Ohio, seven times. The event, a United States Open warm-up, has now lost five of the six top-ranked men.
Federer, a 19-time major champion, said in a statement he tweaked his back last week at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, where he lost Sunday’s final to Alexander Zverev.
Federer, ranked No. 3, is sidelined along with No. 1 Andy Murray, No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, No. 5 Novak Djokovic and No. 6 Marin Cilic, the defending champion. Only No. 2 Rafael Nadal, the top-seeded player, remains in the draw.
Federer’s withdrawal means Nadal, who lost in the third round at Montreal, will return to No. 1 when new ATP rankings are released Aug. 21. Nadal, of Spain, will be No. 1 for the first time since July 6, 2014.
PRO BASKETBALL
N.B.A. Releases Its Full Schedule
DeMarcus Cousins will make an early-season trip back to Sacramento, while Gordon Hayward will wait almost all season to see Utah again. Chris Paul’s return to his old Clippers home is part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day triple-header that includes another N.B.A. finals rematch, while Paul George and Jimmy Butler also learned the dates of their return games when the N.B.A. released its full 2017-18 schedule — which for the first time requires no team to play four games in five nights.
The league had unveiled its opening-week national TV games and its five-game Christmas schedule last week. Opening night is Oct. 17, the earliest the regular season has started in 37 years.
Cousins will return to Sacramento to play for the first time since the Kings traded him to New Orleans last February when the Pelicans visit Oct. 26 as part of a TNT doubleheader. From there, it’s another five months until Hayward plays in Salt Lake City for the first time since he joined the Boston Celtics as a free agent in July. The Celtics visit the Jazz on March 28 for an ESPN game.
Other nights of note: George travels back to Indiana on Dec. 13 for the first time since the Pacers surprisingly dealt him to Oklahoma City; and Butler, another All-Star who went East to West in the summer, takes the Timberwolves into Chicago on Feb. 9.