NFL insists that Browns' Watson should be suspended indefinitely
The NFL and Deshaun Watson's legal team presented their arguments before a disciplinary officer for a second day, with both sides holding firm as the hearing is scheduled to continue in Delaware today.
The league is insisting on an indefinite suspension and Watson's side is arguing there's no basis for a punishment that significant, two people in attendance told The Associated Press. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the hearing isn't public.
Former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players' Association, is tasked with determining whether Watson violated the NFL's personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline.
If either the union or league appeals Robinson's decision, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or his designee “will issue a written decision that will constitute full, final and complete disposition of the dispute,” per terms of Article 46 in the collective bargaining agreement.
Watson agreed to settle 20 of 24 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct, but the league is seeking at least a one-year suspension, one of the people told The AP. Watson's side expects a suspension but wants the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback to play for the Cleveland Browns at some point this season, another person told the AP.
Two separate Texas grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal complaints stemming from the allegations.
Watson has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name.
Soccer
RONALDO LAWYERS SEEK $626K FROM WOMAN'S LAWYER >> Cristiano Ronaldo is asking a U.S. judge to order a woman's lawyer to pay the international soccer star more than $626,000 after claiming in a failed lawsuit seeking millions of dollars that Ronaldo raped the woman in Las Vegas nearly a decade earlier.
In a bluntly worded court document, Ronaldo's attorney, Peter Christiansen, asks U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey to make the woman's attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, personally responsible for the amount.
Stovall did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages. Text
messages to associate Larissa Drohobyczer were not answered. Stovall is due to file an answer with the court by July 8.
Dorsey on June 10 kicked the case out of court to punish Stovall for “badfaith conduct” and the improper use of leaked and stolen documents to pursue the case.
Stovall “crossed the border of ethical behavior before he filed this action, and his disregard for the rules of this court has continued unabated,” the judge found.
Dorsey said in her 42page order that dismissing plaintiff Kathryn Mayorga's case outright with no option to file it again was a severe sanction, but said Ronaldo had been harmed by Stovall's conduct.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through Stovall and Drohobyczer to make her name public.
The bid for court costs and fees for Ronaldo's attorneys, filed Friday, dwarfs a $375,000 hush-money payment that Mayorga received in 2010 to sign a confidentiality agreement and drop a criminal complaint alleging she was sexually assaulted.
U.S. WOMEN BEAT COLOMBIA 2-0 >>
Kelley O'Hara scored in the 77th minute after a lengthy lightning delay, and the U.S. women beat Colombia 2-0 on Tuesday night in Sandy, Utah in their final tuneup ahead of World Cup qualifying.
The United States extended its unbeaten streak to 69 games on home soil. Lightning was reported near Rio Tinto Stadium in the 75th minute, causing play to be suspended for more than 30 minutes.
It was the second of two games against Colombia as both teams prepare for World Cup qualifying in July. The U.S. will try for a third straight World Cup title next summer in Australia
and New Zealand.
The United States will next head to Monterrey, Mexico, for the CONCACAF W Championship.
Olympics
STOLEN GOLD MEDAL FOUND IN ANAHEIM >> A stolen Olympic gold medal belonging to a member of the 2020 U.S. Women's Volleyball Team has been found in Southern California, authorities said.
Jordyn Poulter reported the medal stolen May 25 after the Olympian discovered her car broken into at a parking garage in Anaheim, police said.
Detectives later arrested a suspect in the theft, but weren't immediately able to locate the missing medal.
On Monday, the owners of an Anaheim barbershop reported finding the gold medal inside a plastic bag discarded outside their business, police said in a statement. They handed it over to police, who will return it to Poulter.
Poulter was part of the team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, after the games were delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Motorsports
PIQUET APOLOGIZES TO HAMILTON OVER COMMENT >> Former Formula One champion Nelson Piquet apologized to Lewis Hamilton, saying the racial term he used about the Mercedes driver was “ill thought out” but was not meant to be offensive.
The 69-year-old Brazilian has faced heavy criticism this week over comments he made in Portuguese last November on a podcast where he referred to Hamilton as “neguinho,” which means “little Black guy.”
“What I said was ill thought out, and I make no defense for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese
as a synonym for `guy' or `person' and was never intended to offend,” Piquet, who won three F1 titles in the 1980s, said in the statement. “I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a driver because of his skin color.”
Piquet used the term three times during the interview as he discussed a crash between Hamilton — a seven-time F1 champion and the only Black driver in the sport — and Max Verstappen during last year's British Grand Prix. His daughter Kelly Piquet is Verstappen's girlfriend.
After Piquet's comments resurfaced this week, Hamilton called for “archaic mindsets” to change, while F1 and governing body FIA both condemned the use of racist language.
NHL KINGS GET FIALA IN TRADE WITH MINNESOTA >>
The Los Angeles Kings have acquired high-scoring forward Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for their first-round pick in the upcoming draft and prospect Brock Faber.
The Kings confirmed the deal for the restricted free agent. They expect to sign the Swiss star to a longterm contract extension.
Fiala was one of the most attractive potential acquisitions in the NHL this summer after putting up career highs of 33 goals and 52 assists for the Wild last season. The left wing seems to be a perfect fit on the top line for the Kings, who ended their three-year playoff drought last spring despite scoring fewer goals than every postseason team except Dallas.
The Wild get the 19th overall pick in the draft along with Faber, the Kings' second-round pick in 2020 and a star defenseman at the University of Minnesota.
Fiala can become a restricted free agent next month. Realizing his bigger payday would come, he signed a $5.1 million contract for the 2021-22 season and flourished at left wing on a line with rookie Matt Boldy and center Frederick Gaudreau. One of only two Wild skaters to play in all 82 regular-season games, Fiala blew away his previous career bests in points and assists.
Fiala had 79 goals and 107 assists in 215 games for the Wild, after arriving in a midseason trade with Nashville on Feb. 25, 2019, for Mikael Granlund.