Ex-49er phenom Hayne found guilty of sexual assault
Jarryd Hayne, who dodged charges for a San Jose rape accusation from his 49ers stint in 2015, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in his native Australia.
A jury Monday found Hayne, 33, guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent in a 2018 incident with a 26-year-old woman at her home.
Hayne was an Australian rugby-league superstar before pursuing an unlikely and ultimately short-lived NFL career with the 49ers. Off-field incidents in recent years tainted his image, and he now faces up to 14 years in jail.
He was granted $50,000 bail ahead of what a judge termed an “inevitable” jail sentence, which won’t be handed down until May; Hayne vowed to appeal Monday’s verdict.
“I’d rather go to jail knowing I spoke the truth than be a free man living a lie. I was straight up from the start,” Hayne told reporters as he left court, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. “It’s unfortunate, it’s disappointing, but at the end of the day they’ve come to a decision, I respect that.”
Hayne made a captivating trek onto the 49ers’ roster in 2015. His story about switching pro sports made him a summer sensation during the NFL’s otherwise bland preseason. But he promptly failed as a fumble-prone punt returner and novice running back with the 49ers.
It wasn’t long after his abrupt retirement from the NFL in May 2016 that he faced a rape allegation from a San Jose woman, who’d met Hayne at a bar after a 49ers game and returned to his house.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Hayne in October 2016, citing insufficient evidence. The accuser filed a civil suit in federal court and Hayne reached a settlement in 2019 with his alleged victim.
WATSON FACING 13 LAWSUITS ALLEGING SEX ASSAULT >> Six more women filed lawsuits accusing Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and harassment, bringing the total number of such lawsuits against the NFL player to13.
The claims in the six new suits, which were filed in a Harris County state district court, are similar those in the earlier cases. One of the latest lawsuits was filed by a woman who alleges Watson assaulted her on March 5 in Atlanta and that his behavior “is part of a disturbing pattern of preying on vulnerable women.”
Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, declined to comment Monday on the latest lawsuits filed against his client. In a statement Friday, Hardin called the allegations “meritless.”
Watson, 25, has broadly denied he acted inappropriately and said last week in a statement he looks forward to clearing his name. GIANTS SIGN ADOREE’ JACKSON >>
agreed to terms with cornerback Adoree’ Jackson on a reported threeyear, $39 million contract.
The 25-year-old Jackson will team with Pro Bowl corner James Bradberry to give the Giants a pair of topnotch cover men.
Jackson spent his first four NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He sustained a knee injury in training camp last summer and missed the first 13 regular-season games. He had 12 tackles in the final three games and then recorded eight stops during Tennessee’s playoff loss to Buffalo.
Baseball
RANGERS’ LECLERC SIDELINED >>
Texas Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc is expected to miss significant time this season due to an elbow injury, general manager Chris Young said.
Leclerc, a favorite to serve as closer for the Rangers, is scheduled to undergo tests with Dr. Keith Meister after feeling discomfort following an appearance against the Reds on Thursday.
He allowed seven hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings this spring after missing most of last year with a shoulder ailment.
JAYS’ YATES OUT SEVERAL WEEKS >> Reliever Kirby Yates, the favorite for the closer’s role with the Toronto Blue Jays, is expected to miss several weeks with a flexor-pronator strain in his right arm, the team said.
An All-Star in 2019 with the San Diego Padres, the right-hander signed a oneyear, $5.5 million deal with Toronto in the offseason.
Yates, 33, appeared in just six games for the Padres last season before having surgery in August to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow. ARIZONA’S GALLEN BATTLING SORE FOREARM >> Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Zac Gallen was scratched from Monday’s scheduled start and could miss the beginning of the regular season due to soreness in his pitching forearm.
The Diamondbacks are waiting on results from
Sunday’s MRI exam. The 25-year-old said he also underwent X-rays and a CT scan.
Gallen is slated to be the club’s No. 2 starter behind ex-Giant Madison Bumgarner. He went 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 12 starts last season and finished ninth in National League Cy Young balloting.
Golf
KOEPKA’S MASTERS STATUS IN QUESTION >>
Brooks Koepka is looking less likely to return for next month’s Masters.
Koepka, ranked 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, told Golfweek that he underwent surgery on his right knee last Tuesday.
The four-time major winner noted in a text to Golfweek that he sustained “right knee cap dislocation and ligament damage.” When asked about his potential participation in the Masters on April 8-11, Koepka said: “Whatever my body says, I’m going to listen.”