Monday’s Sports in Brief :-: FOX Sports
Fox Sports
PRO FOOTBALL
Attorneys for Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott are set for an emergency hearing in federal court in New York as they try again to stop the running back’s six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
Elliott’s legal team filed a request for a temporary restraining order Monday and will get a hearing Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the filing hadn’t been made public.
Last year’s NFL rushing leader is suspended for Sunday’s game at San Francisco after a federal appeals court overturned an injunction that had allowed him to play this season.
The case is shifting to New York because the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ordered the dismissal of Elliott’s lawsuit in Texas. Elliott’s attorneys have indicated they are still pursuing the case with the New Orleans court.
The person told the AP that U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty would hear arguments Tuesday in New York because the presiding judge, Katherine Polk Fialla, is out of town.
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) Football helmet maker Riddell says it intends to vigorously defend its products and its reputation against concussion-related lawsuits like one lawyers for late New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez have filed in Massachusetts against it and the NFL.
Des Plaines, Illinois-based Riddell says it introduced helmets designed to mitigate concussion risks more than 15 years ago.
Hernandez’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit last month after Hernandez killed himself in prison and an autopsy revealed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (ehn-sehf-uh-LAH’-puh-thee), a brain disease found in people who’ve suffered repetitive brain trauma such as concussions.
The lawsuit was refiled Monday. It accuses the NFL of hiding the dangers of football and names Riddell. It seeks damages for Hernandez’s daughter.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he thinks NFL players should stop protesting during the national anthem and instead speak out against domestic violence.
The Republican former presidential hopeful sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith saying he believes players are showing disrespect for the flag and veterans. Players should drop the ”divisive political sideshow” and speak out against domestic violence instead, the governor wrote.
NFL league meetings Tuesday offer an opportunity to strongly condemn domestic violence, Walker added.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Louisville’s Athletic Association has officially fired coach Rick Pitino nearly three weeks after the school acknowledged that its men’s basketball program is being investigated as part of a federal corruption probe.
The association, which oversees Louisville’s sports programs and is composed of trustees, faculty, students and administrators, voted unanimously to oust the longtime Cardinals coach following a board meeting Monday. The ULAA heard from Pitino’s attorney, who made the case that his client ”could not have known” about activities alleged in the federal investigation.
Not long after Steve Pence’s 45-minute address to the ULAA on Pitino’s behalf, the association announced its decision after five hours of meetings. Pitino has $44 million remaining in salary and bonuses in a contract extension through the 2025-26 season. He was scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.1 million.
GOLF
Tiger Woods is swinging a driver without pain, and his agent says doctors have cleared him to practice without limitations.
Still to be determined is when Woods can play in a tournament.
”We haven’t even addressed when he comes back to play again. We have not addressed one thing,” said Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports Management. ”He wants to play this so conservatively.”
Steinberg said Woods received a ”good report” last week from doctors who performed fusion surgery on his lower back in April. Woods posted a video on Twitter on Oct. 7 of him hitting a smooth iron shot. Then on Sunday, Woods posted another video – in a red shirt, no less – hitting a driver.
”Making progress,” he tweeted.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The University of Mississippi and former football coach Houston Nutt say they have reached an agreement to resolve Nutt’s lawsuit against the school.
The parties released a joint statement. The Rebels’ former coach – who led the program from 2008 to `11 – was alleging a breach of his severance agreement because of false statements he said school officials made during an ongoing NCAA investigation into rules violations by the football program.
The initial federal lawsuit was filed in July during Southeastern Conference football media days. It was eventually dismissed, but refiled in state court last week.
Nutt received an apology from the university, but no financial details were disclosed.
