Police investigating QB Watson
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is accused of sexual assault and harassment in lawsuits filed by 21 women, is being investigated by police after a report was filed regarding the NFL player, officials said Friday.
In a tweet Friday, the Houston Police Department said a complainant had filed a report with the agency about Watson.
“As with any allegation, the Houston Police Department is now conducting an investigation and will not comment further during the investigative process,” the law enforcement agency said.
Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, has called the allegations “meritless” and has questioned the claims made against the NFL player, alleging they were made following a failed attempt to blackmail his client for $30,000.
“We welcome this long overdue development. Now we will learn the identity of at least one accuser. We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department,” Hardin said Friday in a statement.
College basketball: Oklahoma has hired Loyola’s Porter Moser as its men’s basketball coach, a person familiar with the situation said Friday. Moser will replace Lon Kruger, who retired last month after 10 years coaching the Sooners. Moser led Loyola to two deep runs in the NCAA Tournament — the Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 this year. He went 188-141 in 10 years at Loyola and has a 293-242 record in 17 seasons as a college head coach, with stops at Arkansas Little Rock (2000-03) and Illinois State (200307).
MLB: A COVID-19 outbreak affecting more than a third of the Nationals’ roster caused the postponement of the 2019 World Series champions’ season-opening three-game series against the visiting Mets. Four of the Nats’ players have tested positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and another five were quarantining after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed, general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday in a video call with reporters. “We’re in crisis management mode,” Rizzo said.
NBA: Kevin Durant was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Friday for his offensive and derogatory language in social media messages to actor Michael Rapaport. Rapaport released images of the private messages Tuesday on his Twitter account, and they included homophobic and misogynistic language from the Nets star. Durant apologized Thursday, saying: “I’m sorry that people seen the language that I used. That’s not really what I want people to see and hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out on the floor.” He is currently out with a strained left hamstring.
Tennis: Former junior skiing champion Jannik Sinner has joined some fast company at the Miami Open. On Friday, the 19-yearold Italian became the fourth teenager to reach the men’s final. The others: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi. “It’s nice, but it doesn’t mean anything,” Sinner said. “The road to have a big name is long. It’s not done in one week of a tournament.” Sinner, who is playing in his third top-level ATP event, rallied to top Roberto Bautista Agut in the semis, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.