Courts
Former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist Spencer Haywood shows an American Basketball Association glass ball with himself and his teammates depicted at his Las Vegas home Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Fights, drugs, racial tension: '70s spelled trouble for NBA

By Eddie Pells Dec. 16, 2021 02:19 AM EST

FILE - New Orleans Saints defensive end Glenn Foster Jr. (74) greets fans after practice before an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Alabama authorities are investigating after former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr. died following a high-speed chase that resulted in his arrest and then a fight involving officers in the jail where he was being held.The 31-year-old former New Orleans Saints player died Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, at a medical facility in Northport, Alabama, Senior Alabama Trooper Reginal King told The Tuscaloosa News.(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
Former NFL player Glenn Foster dies after arrest in Alabama

Dec. 08, 2021 09:24 AM EST

FILE - Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, left, and Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark speak before Game 1 in baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves, Oct. 26, 2021, in Houston. A five-year contract between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association expires at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Ron Blum, File)
Key people and background in MLB labor negotiations

By Ronald Blum Nov. 29, 2021 05:16 PM EST

Court to hear support case against Tavaris Jackson estate

Nov. 12, 2021 12:53 PM EST
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A Minnesota woman seeking more than $360,000 in child support from the estate of one-time NFL quarterback Tavaris Jackson, who died in...

FILE - In this Friday, March 19, 2021, file photo, people line up to make sports bets at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, N.J. On Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, the NFL announced it is spending $6.2 million on a responsible betting program with the National Council on Problem Gambling to teach people how to bet on sports responsibly and to fund and expand treatment and prevention programs for compulsive gambling. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
Column: Sports betting becoming more of a sure thing

By Tim Dahlberg Oct. 21, 2021 02:10 AM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2014, file photo, NFL lawyer Brad Karp leaves federal court after a hearing on the proposed NFL concussion settlement, in Philadelphia. Lawyers for the NFL and retired players filed proposed changes to the $1 billion concussion settlement on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, to remove race-norming in dementia testing, which made it more difficult for Black players to qualify for payments. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
NFL, players agree to end 'race-norming' in $1B settlement

By Maryclaire Dale Oct. 20, 2021 01:05 AM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2021, file photo, Dallas Cowboys' La'el Collins walks off the field during a preseason NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz. The NFL accused Cowboys offensive lineman Collins of trying to bribe a drug-testing official before he was suspended five games for a violation of the substance-abuse policy, according to court documents released Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
Judge denies request by Cowboys' Collins to halt suspension

Oct. 12, 2021 07:45 PM EDT

Broncos seeking to clear decks for potential sale of team

By Arnie Stapleton Sep. 21, 2021 06:39 PM EDT
DENVER (AP) — The next quarterback clash in Denver could very well pit John Elway and Peyton Manning vying to serve as the public face of any new Broncos...

FILE- In this Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, a man walks by as betting odds for NFL football's Super Bowl 55 are displayed on monitors at the Circa resort and casino sports book in Las Vegas. Three years after the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and allowed states to legalize sports betting, the NFL has embraced gambling as part of the landscape. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Gambling wave coming to NFL TV screens, but in moderation

By Joe Reedy Sep. 07, 2021 05:28 PM EDT

In this March 11, 2021, photo Debra Katz, an attorney for Charlotte Bennett, a former staffer who has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of workplace sexual harassment, poses for a picture at her office during an interview with the Associated Press in northwest Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
For top #MeToo legal duo, a pandemic year brings no pause

By Jocelyn Noveck Jul. 11, 2021 12:17 PM EDT

FILE - Former NFL players Ken Jenkins, right, and Clarence Vaughn III, center right, along with their wives, Amy Lewis, center, and Brooke Vaughn, left, carry tens of thousands of petitions demanding equal treatment for everyone involved in the settlement of concussion claims against the NFL, to the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, in this Friday, May 14, 2021, file photo. The NFL on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
NFL judge: Lawyers for Black players can join mediation

By Maryclaire Dale Jun. 03, 2021 06:09 PM EDT

FILE - This Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, file photo shows Pittsburgh Steelers' Najeh Davenport in Pittsburgh. The NFL on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
NFL pledges to halt 'race-norming,' review Black claims

By Maryclaire Dale Jun. 02, 2021 02:23 PM EDT

Former NFL player Clarence Vaughn III, center left, and his wife Brooke Vaughn kiss before delivering tens of thousands of petitions demanding equal treatment for everyone involved in the settlement of concussion claims against the NFL, to the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, Friday, May 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Retired Black players say NFL brain-injury payouts show bias

By Maryclaire Dale And Michelle R. Smith May. 14, 2021 01:09 PM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, July 12, 2017, file photo, New Orleans Saints super fan Jarrius "J.J." Robertson, right, accepts the Jimmy V perseverance award with his parents, from left, Patricia Hoyal and Jordy Robertson at the ESPYS at the Microsoft Theater on in Los Angeles. Jordy Robertson, whose seriously ill son Jarrius gained fame in New Orleans for his devotion to the Saints football team, was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday, May 11, 2021, for drug trafficking and for fraudulently capitalizing on his son's illness with a phony charity. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
8 years for dad of Saints 'super fan' in charity, drug case

By Kevin Mcgill May. 11, 2021 06:39 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 22, 2020, file photo, Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon (25) runs for his second touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the second half of an NFL football game in Denver. Gordon will likely avoid NFL discipline after his drunken driving charge was dismissed and he pleaded guilty in Denver County Court on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, to lesser charges of excessive speeding and reckless driving. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
DUI charge dismissed against Broncos running back Gordon

Mar. 10, 2021 12:31 PM EST

FILE - Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najeh Davenport (44) sits on the bench during an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Pittsburgh, in this Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007, file photo. A federal judge on Monday, March 8, 2021, dismissed a lawsuit that challenged “race-norming” in dementia tests for retired NFL players, a practice that some say makes it harder for Black athletes to show injury and qualify for awards. Davenport was denied an award but would have qualified had they been white, according to their lawsuit. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Judge tosses suit over 'race-norming' in NFL dementia tests

By Maryclaire Dale Mar. 08, 2021 11:49 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2012, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. Cardell Hayes, who fatally shot former NFL star Smith following a 2016 traffic collision, has a bond hearing scheduled Thursday, March 4, 2021, seeking freedom after his manslaughter conviction in Smith's death was overturned because his trial jury's vote was not unanimous. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
Bond hearing for man who killed ex-Saints star Will Smith

Mar. 04, 2021 01:06 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2012, file photo, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith appears before an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J. A lawyer for the man who fatally shot former NFL star Will Smith in 2016 said Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 he'll seek the man's release on bond now that a Louisiana appeals court has officially vacated the manslaughter conviction by a non-unanimous jury. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
Verdict vacated; bond request next for ex-NFL star's killer

Feb. 23, 2021 06:58 PM EST

Ex-NFL player Kellen Winslow II faces 14 years for assaults

Feb. 19, 2021 08:55 PM EST
VISTA, Calif. (AP) — Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II agreed Friday to accept a 14-year prison sentence for raping a homeless woman and assaulting two...

FILE - In this April 2, 1999, file photo, the late Harry Fujiwara, a former wrestler known as "Mr. Fuji," appears at a movie theater where he worked part time as an usher in Knoxville, Tenn. Fujiwara is among dozens of former pro wrestlers, named as plaintiffs in lawsuits charging that World Wrestling Entertainment failed to protect them from repeated head injuries, who are taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Byron E. Small/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP, File)
Former WWE wrestlers take brain damage case to Supreme Court

By Dave Collins Feb. 18, 2021 04:16 PM EST