Maryland blamed for death

An independent investigation into the death of University of Maryland football player Jordan McNair has determined that trainers on the scene did not follow proper procedures after he collapsed on the field.

McNair was hospitalized on May 29 after a team workout and died June 13. The family attorney said the cause of death was heatstroke.

Rod Walters, a former college athletic trainer and sports medicine consultant who led the investigation launched by the school following McNair’s death, said Friday “there was a failure to identify symptoms and aggressively treat it.”

Maryland athletic director Damon Evans acknowledged last month that “mistakes were made” by the training staff in the treatment of McNair, a 19-year-old sophomore offensive lineman.

Terrapins head coach DJ Durkin is on administrative leave while an unrelated external investigation into the culture of the football program is being conducted.

NBA

Commissioner Adam Silver wants all teams to hire more women, especially in leadership and supervisory positions, and is urging them to take some of the mandates that the Dallas Mavericks must now adhere to as an impetus to improve working conditions within their own organizations.

Silver, in a memo sent to all teams Friday, also asked teams to thoroughly review the report that was released earlier this week about the Mavericks. The league stopped short of flatly ordering the 29 other clubs to institute new policies, though Silver’s wishes were very clear.

“Use this opportunity to make changes and create a dialogue within your organizations about workplace policies, procedures and respectful conduct,” Silver wrote.

Jefferson’s father killed: The father of former Milwaukee Bucks player Richard Jefferson was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Los Angeles area.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said that Jefferson’s father, also named Richard Jefferson, was fatally shot while standing on a corner in Compton on Wednesday night.

The sheriff’s department says at least one man fired on the 65-year-old Jefferson from a car, hitting him several times in the torso. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Detectives said the motive is unknown.

The 38-year-old Jefferson played for the Bucks in the 2008-’09 season.

TENNIS

Naomi Osaka raised her game when she needed to, and it landed her a spot in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

The U.S. Open champion, who upset Serena Williams in the final in New York at the beginning of the month, won her ninth straight match, beating Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 6-4.

Osaka will next face Camila Giorgi, who advanced after Victoria Azarenka retired from their match with an illness in the first set.