Meyer defends hiring ex-Iowa coach accused of racism

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer defended the hiring of a former Iowa assistant accused of racism, saying Feb. 11 he “vetted him thoroughly along with our general manager and owner.”

Iowa agreed to pay strength coach Chris Doyle $1.1 million in a resignation agreement last June after more than a dozen former players said he bullied and discriminated against them. Doyle denied the allegations. An investigation by an outside law firm later found that the program’s rules “perpetuated racial and culture biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity,” and allowed coaches to demean players without consequence.

A lawyer for 13 Black exIowa football players has filed a lawsuit alleging his clients suffered racial discrimination under longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. Doyle is among the defendants.

Meyer officially hired Doyle as Jacksonville’s director of sports performance — part of his 30-person staff — and said he will assist the strength and conditioning and athletic training programs. Doyle served as Iowa’s strength and conditioning coordinator for more than two decades (1999-2019).

“I feel great about the hire, about his expertise at that position,” Meyer said. “I vet everyone on our staff, and like I said, the relationship goes back close to 20 years and a lot of hard questions asked, a lot of vetting involved with all our staff. We did a very good job vetting that one.”

Meyer added that owner Shad Khan was involved with all of the “high-end hires,” including Doyle. Meyer said he’s confident the addition won’t be an issue with current player or potential free agents.

Olympics

TOKYO OFFICIAL TO RESIGN >> The long saga of Yoshiro Mori appears to be near the end. Japan’s Kyodo news agency and others reported — citing unnamed sources “familiar with the matter” — that Yoshiro Mori will step down on Feb. 12 as the president of the Tokyo

Olympic organizing committee. The move follows his sexist comments about women more than a week ago, and an ensuing and rare public debate in Japan about gender equality. They also come just over five months before the Olympics are to open.

NBA

RAPTORS STAYING IN FLORIDA >> The Raptors aren’t going back to Toronto this season. Ongoing challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic and how that affects the process of crossing the border between the U.S. and Canada will keep the Raptors in their adopted Tampa, Florida, home for the remainder of the regular season, the team said.

“It took us a while to get settled in,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I think to pick up shop and go back and try to re-settle in, kind of like you would at the start of the fall ... we’re just kind of getting settled in, we might as well finish it out now.”

MLB OF HAMILTON JOINS INDIANS>>

Speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton has agreed to a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press. Hamilton, who spent last season with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, will also receive an invitation to big league training camp, the person said on condition of anonymity because the contract can’t be finalized until medical tests are completed.

The 30-year-old Hamilton will be added to a congested outfield competition for the Indians, who are trying to upgrade a problem area over the past few seasons.

Colleges

Valparaiso University announced that is dropping the team name Crusaders, the school mascot and all logos associated with the term that it says has been embraced by hate groups. The decision comes after a decades-long debate that had intensified recently because groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began using the symbols and words.