Josh Howard on YouTube controversy: “That’s not me.”

A contrite Josh Howard says he’s sorry for offending fans and hopes to win them back after he was caught on video dissing the national anthem. Howard can be seen on YouTube video at fellow NBA player Allen Iverson’s celebrity flag football game this summer as the “Star Spangled Banner” is performed, saying: “I don’t celebrate that s–t. I’m Black.” Howard has since changed his tune, claiming that he was joking. “I know that’s not me,” he says. “I love this country. If it wasn’t for this country, I wouldn’t be out here playing basketball. For me to have that opportunity is the greatest.” He adds that he attended military school and that the widely viewed video doesn’t represent him. “That’s not Josh Howard,” says the Dallas forward. “That was an idiot.” Howard insists that he’ll win back any fans he’s lost. “Whatever it takes for me to do it, I’m going to do it,” he says.

Tennis phenom holds court in Germany. Venus Williams has moved into the second round of the Porsche Grand Prix after beating Anna-Lena Groenefeld. Williams is appearing in the German tournament for the first time in 10 years. “She hit some great shots, but my experience helped me,” Williams says of her Tuesday win. She ranks as a sixth seed in the competition and will next face Katerina Bondarenko.

Sports camp organizer said to have conned parents out of cash. The same Michigan man who cops had to help escape an angry crowd at a high school football game this week has been arrested. Anthony Bolden, 48, allegedly conned parents out of $17,000 by accepting cash from parents of youth who’d hoped to participate in a University of Michigan football camp. Cops say Bolden took the money, then wrote a bad check to cover the camp’s expenses. Parents were forced to pay a second registration fee in order to have their children attend the camp. Bolden is charged with five counts of larceny and has 40 criminal complaints pending against him.

TAGS: Anthony Bolden, Josh Howard, tennis, University of Michigan, Venus Williams, youtube

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