COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: Suspended Michigan State football Coach Mel Tucker said Monday that allegations of sexual harassment against him are “completely false” and the intimate phone call he had with activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy is outside the scope of both Title IX and school policy.
In a two-page statement released by a Detroit law firm, Tucker sharply criticized Tracy for suggesting their relationship was anything but consensual and ripped the months-long investigation into his behavior as deeply flawed.
“I can only conclude that there is an ulterior motive designed to terminate my contract based on some other factor such as a desire to avoid any Nasser taint, or my race or gender,” said Tucker, who is Black.
The university was fined $4.5 million four years ago by the Education Department for failing to adequately respond to sexual assault complaints against Larry Nassar, a campus sports doctor who molested elite gymnasts and other female athletes. The school has also settled lawsuits filed by Nassar victims for $500 million.
Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller suspended Tucker without pay Sunday, less than 24 hours after Tracy’s allegations became public in a USA Today report.
• Liam Coen, the offensive coordinator at the University of Maine from 2016-2017 who now holds the same position at Kentucky, was hospitalized Sunday due to a medical episode at the school’s football offices, according to multiple reports.
It is unclear what triggered the health incident, but school officials said he was in “good condition” at a hospital and was expected to be released on Monday.
On Monday, Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said the prognosis for Coen was “good.” No further details on Coen’s condition were available.
Coen re-joined the Wildcats’ staff as the offensive coordinator after spending the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams. He was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2021 and before that was in the Rams’ organization from 2018 to 2020.
• No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Michigan held their places atop the AP poll Sunday, with Florida State moving up to No. 3 and Texas vaulting into the top five at No. 4 after beating Alabama. The Crimson Tide dropped seven spots to No. 10, keeping its streak of consecutive appearances in the top 10 alive at 128.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested and charged with assault and strangulation after allegedly attacking his girlfriend at a New York City hotel.
Porter, 23, is accused of hitting the woman several times and putting his hands around her neck, police said. The woman, 26, was taken to a hospital with a cut to the right side of her face. The incident happened around 6:45 a.m. at the Millennium Hilton near the United Nations in Manhattan, police said.
Porter remained in police custody as of Monday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately known if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. A message seeking comment was left for his agent.
TENNIS
RANKINGS: U.S. Open women’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka and men’s champion Novak Djokovic each moved up one spot to No. 1 in the rankings – Sabalenka’s first week atop the WTA, and Djokovic’s record-extending 390th atop the ATP – while women’s champion Coco Gauff rose to a career-high No. 3 in singles and No. 1 in doubles.
Sabalenka, a 25-year-old from Belarus, is the 29th player to top the women’s list since computerized rankings began in the 1970s. Sabalenka moved up one spot and overtook Iga Swiatek.
Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, is next in singles, rising three spots from No. 6, and she and partner Jessica Pegula jointly went up to No. 1 in doubles after making it to the quarterfinals in that event.
SOCCER
DRUG SUSPENSION: Once considered among the top midfielders in world soccer, Paul Pogba’s career risks a premature ending after the Juventus player and France international tested positive for testosterone, Italy’s anti-doping agency announced.
The exam was carried out after Juventus’ game at Udinese on Aug. 20. Pogba did not play in the Serie A match but was on Juve’s bench.
Nado Italia, the anti-doping agency, said that Pogba was suspended provisionally with immediate effect. Pending a trial and testing of a backup “B” sample, he risks a suspension of up to four years. If the backup sample confirms the positive test, the 30-year-old Pogba could get a lesser ban if he cooperates with authorities.
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