NBA great Jason Kidd has entered the soccer world by joining the ownership group of English Premier League club Everton.
The Hall of Fame point guard and current Dallas Mavericks coach said he was “honored” to join Roundhouse Capital Holdings, which is part of the Friedkin Group that took control of Everton last year. The group also owns Italian team Roma.
In a statement released Thursday by Everton, executive chairman Marc Watts said Kidd’s “knowledge and winning mentality will be an incredible resource” for a nine-time English champion which is without a major trophy since 1995 and has been battling relegation in recent years.
Kidd “is a respected leader and household name for many sports fans,” Watts said, “and will bring a deeper understanding of high performance as we collectively strive to build a brighter future for this storied club.”
Kidd won an NBA title as a player with the Mavericks in 2011 and was a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner with the U.S. national team, in 2000 and 2008. He took the Mavs to the NBA Finals as coach last year and has had previous spells in charge of the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
Everton recently secured its status in the Premier League for another year and is moving to a new state-of-the-art stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock for the start of next season.
“I’m honored to be joining Everton’s ownership at such an important moment,” Kidd said in Everton’s statement. “With a new stadium on the horizon and a bright future ahead, it’s a great moment to come on board.”
Everton has been an ever-present in England’s top soccer league since 1954.
The 52-year-old Kidd becomes the latest high-profile figure from American sports to get involved in English soccer.
In 2023, NFL great Tom Brady became a minority owner of Birmingham and chairman of its advisory board.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James bought a small stake in Liverpool in 2011 and PGA Tour golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are investors in 49ers Enterprises, which owns Leeds.
On Wednesday, Everton announced that Christopher Sarofim, chairman of global investment firm Fayez Sarofim & Co, had joined the ownership group in a move that “will further strengthen the club’s financial base.”
Everton said Sarofim will be a board observer at the club.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd yells to his players during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Friday, April 18, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.
A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.
“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.
The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.
“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”
FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
