Sports & Politics Intersect: Reckoning claims one of NFL's good ol' boys

“It’s just another person’s word versus that person’s word. But needless to say, I still think extremely highly of Mr. Richardson.” - Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers quarterback

Last week, the Carolina Panthers announced that owner Jerry Richardson was stepping away from running the team and that they were launching an internal investigation looking into possible impropriety. This week, Sports Illustrated reported on the exact nature of said impropriety, which included multiple accusations of sexual harassment and at least one instance of racism. Since then, Richardson said that he intends to sell the team. 

According to the scathing Sports Illustrated exposé, Richardson paid out "significant" settlements to at least four of his accusers. As part of the payouts, the accusers had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevented them from speaking publicly about what transpired. According to the Charlotte Observer, these settlements were made without the NFL's knowledge

Richardson's misbehavior couldn't have come at a worse time for the NFL, which is still getting it on both sides for the national anthem protests led by predominantly black players to raise awareness for racial inequality and police brutality. 

"This is potentially the ugliest story our league has faced in a long time," an anonymous league official told Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman, who speculates that the Richardson scandal will spread to other franchises and result in their dirty laundry being aired.

Despite the credible accusations, Richardson still has the support of his star quarterback Cam Newton. (It's worth noting that Cam Newton had to apologize earlier this year to a female reporter for making sexist comments.)

“I left disgruntled because … this is a person who has enlightened me on so many different things, on the field as well as off," Newton said of a meeting where he learned Richardson was selling the team. "And for him to kind of be ejected from my life, [on] the sports side, I don’t even know how to handle that.”

Also supporting Richardson is Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner.

"I'm very sad," Jones told reporters on Sunday. "Jerry is one of the really, really, really outstanding men of football that I've ever met, and I really admire him. I know that he made it the old-fashioned way."

The good news for Jones is that the upcoming sale of the Panthers will likely be the most expensive sale in sports history, which will result in Jones getting a cut. It's unclear how much buying the team will cost, but some are predicting that it'll fetch more than $3 billion.

- Fidel Martinez

“It takes tremendous courage to publicly disclose it, knowing that any day there could be a process server at her door.”  - John Manly on McKayla Maroney’s nondisclosure agreement with USA Olympics

On December 20, the Wall Street Journal reported that Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement to keep quiet about the sexual assault she suffered because of Larry Nassar. 

Earlier this month, details about Nassar’s history of sexual misconduct and possession of child pornography were made public. Nassar was given a 60-year federal prison sentence after his guilty plea to 10 counts of sexual misconduct. 

With Nassar sentenced to spend what will likely be the rest of his life behind bars, the victims of Nassar’s predation and their families have shifted their focus to USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University for their parts in enabling Nassar to continue to practice unethical and disgusting work despite several women and girls filing complaints that go back to the 1990s. 

Maroney filed a lawsuit this past Wednesday against the United States Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University in which Maroney is seeking monetary damages and to nullify the nondisclosure agreement. In the settlement with USA Gymnastics, Maroney would have to pay north of $100,000 should she speak out about her abuse or the settlement. 

John Manly, Maroney’s lawyer, said a victim of child sexual abuse cannot be forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement under California law and called the NDA “an immoral and illegal attempt to silence a victim of child sexual abuse.”

Things also haven’t gotten any better for Michigan State, as the Lansing State Journal reported that the university allowed Nassar to see patients for 16 months while he was under criminal investigation. 

LSJ obtained public records from MSU which helped provide clarity to the timeline in which Nassar was allowed to practice against the timeline in which sexual abuse claims came in. While Attorney General Bill Schuette is on record saying, "We believe the evidence will show that no MSU official believed Nassar committed sexual abuse prior to newspaper reports in late summer 2016," the public records suggest otherwise. 

There was a three-month Title IX investigation that looked into Nassar and the sexual abuse claims, and after he was cleared, at least a dozen women and girls reported that Nassar sexually abused them. 

The negligence extends all the way to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office, which concluded that Nassar had done no wrong following a 2014 five-month investigation, and their investigation wasn’t sent to prosecutors for review for over a year. Assistant Prosecutor Steve Kwasnik told police that they would not charge Nassar, but would later say that, “Knowing what I know now, I would have looked at [the case] differently” after learning about Nassar’s possession of child pornography and the myriad of victims who shared their stories of being sexually abused by Nassar. 

- Phillip Barnett 

"Corporations are literally going wild over this, I think even beyond my expectations, so far beyond my expectations." - Donald Trump, after signing the GOP tax bill into law

The Republican-majority Congress voted on Wednesday to pass a massive $1.5 trillion rewrite of the United States tax code that just about every expert says will mostly benefit corporations and the very rich, two groups that are very much a part of the wide world of sports. 

Among those that stand to benefit from the new law is New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who Trump alleges called him to express his gratitude. According to Politico, Kraft is said to have told Trump that he's planning on buying a "tremendous paper mill or paper product plant." Kraft is likely not the the only billionaire filled with joy. Despite Trump rallying against a loophole that lets teams fund the construction of stadiums and sports facilities using tax-free bonds, the tax break survived the GOP negotiations.

Not everyone in the sports world is happy with this tax bill. College sports are sure to take a huge hit because of the new legislation. For starters, gone is a tax rule that allowed boosters to write off as much as 80 percent of money spent on season tickets as a charitable contribution. The new law will also cut into payouts schools get for participating in college bowls, and will make it even more expensive to keep high profile coaches like Nick Saban on the payroll.

"That figure will have to either be passed on to ticket holders and donors, or taken out of the budget of sports that are not… being targeted by the federal government," Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard told USA Today of how his school would pay for the extra $700,000 in cost Iowa State is now on the hook for.

- Fidel Martinez

“It’s great for the fans, it’s great for the owners, it’s great for the organization and everybody involved.” - Doug Weight, New York Islanders head coach on the team’s winning bid for a new arena

The New York Islanders were informed on Tuesday that their proposal to build a new arena at Belmont Park was selected as the winning bid over New York City FC’s proposed venue. 

The Islanders, who played at Nassau Coliseum from 1972 to 2015, moved into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after the team was unable to acquire public funding to get a new arena built. 

The Islanders have been unhappy with their time at Barclays for myriad reasons. The arena, originally built to host basketball games and entertainment events, was not a great home for a hockey team, with the franchise complaining about the quality of ice and the lack of a tangible hockey atmosphere. 

The new arena will house 18,000 seats that would “host 150 events annually as well as 435,000-square feet of space for retail, a hotel with 200 to 250 rooms and a 10,000-square foot ‘innovation center’ that would be developed with resident input.”

There are some groups that are considering filing a lawsuit to stop the arena project, however. They’re arguing that Empire State Development did not establish a community advisory council to hear out concerns about the development. Those opposed to the new arena would rather the state build education, research or technology centers that would bring high-paying jobs to the area. 

State Senator Todd Kaminsky said that the arena will “benefit Long Island and the surrounding communities while Senator Elaine Phillips believes that, “foundation has now been laid to make Belmont Park a reinvigorated economic engine for our region, which will strengthen the already existing racing industry, and make Nassau County a destination location.”

While the arena is under construction, the Islanders will have to figure out where to play their home games. They’re contractually obligated to play at Barclays through the 2017-18 season, but have an opportunity to opt out of their 25-year lease agreement by the end of January 2018. 

- Phillip Barnett

“Four years? That’s it? For all of the trash I’ve been talking?” - Enes Kanter on hearing the news that Turkish prosecutors were seeking a four-year prison term for Kanter insulting the Turkish President on Twitter

Turkish prosecutors are seeking a four-year jail term for the New York Knicks’ Enes Kanter, according to a report from Turkey’s state-run news agency. Kanter is wanted in Turkey because he has insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter and has been very vocal about his displeasure with Erdogan’s regime. 

This past May, Kanter was detained at a Romanian airport for hours after the Turkish government cancelled all of his travel documents. Kanter was on a tour for his charitable foundation and had to evade the Indonesian secret service before he was detained in Romania. 

The NBA and US Department of Homeland Security worked to bring Kanter back to the states, but Kanter’s troubles did not stop with his return home. Kanter’s father, Mehmet, was arrested by the Turkish government, a ploy Enes believed happened to his father "simply for being my family member."

Kanter is a supporter of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric who has been exiled from Turkey and been living in rural Pennsylvania for the last 15 years. Gulen has been accused by Erdogan of orchestrating a failed coup attempt in 2016. 

Erdogan has accused Kanter, and those who follow Gulen, of belonging to a terrorist group. Kanter has said that Erdogan is “the Hitler of our century.” 

When asked about why he’s been so outspoken in his criticism of Erdogan, Kanter pointed to the human rights issues surrounding his home country. “[...] there are thousands of people getting killed, raped. It’s really sad to see all this. My friends’ family are in jail. I hope the world is watching this. I want people to do something about it.”

Kanter doesn’t seem too concerned with the reports that the Turkish government wants to jail him, but he will have to live with the fact that he may never visit his home country again. 

- Phillip Barnett

Of note: 

• To no one’s surprise, NFL team owners are considering making a change to pregame protocols implemented in 2009 in light of the protests during the national anthem (and the controversies created by President Trump and others). In 2009, the league had players stand on the sidelines during the anthem, likely a result of arrangements made between many teams and the Department of Defense. Prior to that season, players were not required to do so.

• Speaking of President Trump, his name has become a racial taunt of sorts in so many corners of the country, including in high school sports where teams that may have players of minority descent will be jeered with his name by hostile crowds. Going further at Garfield High School in Seattle, the football team has been feeling the blowback (and support) of its decision to kneel during the national anthem shortly after Colin Kaepernick took a knee last fall.

• The anthem controversy also compelled changes with one of the league’s sponsors as John Schnatter will step down as CEO of Papa John’s, the pizza chain he founded. Though he will remain chairman, he is stepping back from operations two months after trying to pin declining sales growth on the player protests, claiming that customers had negative perceptions of the company because of its relationship with the NFL.

• Erin McParland, a former makeup artist for the NFL Network, told her story of sexual harassment at the league-operated channel to Sports Illustrated. She shared firsthand accounts of inappropriate behavior from two of its higher-profiled analysts, Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin and former All-Pro cornerback Eric Davis.

• Bob Bowman was forced out as CEO and president of MLB Advanced Media after helming baseball’s digital media outfit to become one of the biggest players in all of media for the last 17 years. Bowman was alleged to have created a culture of raucous behavior, which included not only sexual harassment but even an incident where he shoved an executive for the Boston Red Sox’s parent company during last July’s All-Star Game in Miami.

• Baylor University did not properly investigate a former student that was accused of sexual assault in 2014, according to a legal filing. Instead, the school is alleged to not only have done a brief single-day investigation of the incident, but the assailant personally benefited from ties to administrators – including former school president Kenneth Starr and former vice president of student life Kevin Jackson.

• Last year, without notice or explanation, FIFA fired Jiri Dvorak after 22 years of operating in anti-doping, medical and injury-prevention programs for the organization. The soccer governing body had purged several officials after Gianni Infantino was elected to replace the ousted Sepp Blatter. The well-regarded doctor and professor’s dismissal was troubling because he was investigating the Russian doping program that caused the nation to be barred from the upcoming Winter Olympics.

• EFL Championship (UK) club Norwich City is backing the launch of Proud Canaries FC, a LGBT-friendly team. Formed in partnership with longtime sponsor Aviva and the Proud Canaries, a supporters’ group of Norwich City, this new team will face off against other LGBT-friendly squads in upcoming tournaments. This is a further evolution of making soccer more inclusive across Europe, helped by efforts among UEFA’s member associations and player advocates like Liam Davis, who was the first openly gay male player to ever play at the famed Wembley Stadium.

• Major League Soccer announced that the city of Nashville will be home to its 24th franchise, yet there are little details about when it will take the field. While the city has shown to be ready in MLS’ point of view – though construction on a new stadium has yet to have a timeline – the league is still waiting to determine which city will also be gifted an expansion franchise. It appears that MLS continues to wait on Miami to get organized, but Detroit, Sacramento and Cincinnati are still in consideration.

• City officials in Ottawa were surprised by Senators owner Eugene Melnyk’s complaints regarding the team’s attendance, his hopes for a new arena and consideration of relocation. While fans and media were taken aback, sports economist Moshe Lander believes that Melnyk’s comments had a specific target – the very officials in government that showed dismay in the first place.

• The Arizona Coyotes will play at least one more season at Gila River Arena. While the facility has lost less money over the years, team owner Andrew Barroway is hoping for a new venue somewhere in the state.

• Terry and Kim Pegula have purchased the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League. Owners of both the Buffalo Sabres and Bills, the Pegulas became interested in buying the franchise after the New Jersey Devils made a stake in the Metropolitan Riveters in the fall.

• MGM International has committed resources to make the Las Vegas Aces work after relocating from San Antonio. The company’s efforts not only add live sports to its portfolio, but they can help enhance the WNBA’s standing in pro sports and perhaps endear itself to a potential NBA franchise.

• K-Lani Nava became the first female football player to play for and win a Texas high school football state title. The Strawn High School kicker had lettered in soccer before joining the six-player football team, where extra points and field goals count for more points than traditional eleven-player football.

• WWE chairman Vince McMahon has been rumored to reboot his once-failed football league, the XFL. Wrestling’s most famous promoter sold off $100 million in WWE stock to create Alpha Entertainment LLC, a separate entity that would potentially house a new league. The XFL lasted one season in 2001, though its influence has arguably lasted far longer.

• If you’re still using your parents’ cable login to stream live television in your own home, be prepared for cable operators to start cracking down on the practice soon enough. While it affects networks of all shapes, sizes and scope, it’s a particularly painful issue for sports channels as passwords tend to be shared most before major events. 

• Marnie “Peanut” Johnson passed away at the age of 82, according to Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. One of three women to have ever played in the black pro baseball circuit, Johnson pitched for the Indianapolis Clowns for three seasons after she was rejected by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. When she joined the Clowns in 1953, she became a teammate of Baseball Hall of Famer Henry “Hank” Aaron.

• In partnership with the University of Chicago, the city’s five major male pro sports teams have combined to pledge $1 million to help reduce gun violence. The donations from the Chicago Sports Alliance of the Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, Cubs and White Sox will be spent on youth therapy programs, further police training and U of C’s crime lab, which evaluates crime-reduction strategies.

- Jason Clinkscales

For the record books: This week in sports politics history

"Even Brazilian thieves love football and would never commit this sacrilege.” - Abrain Tebel, former head of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBD)

This week marks the 34th anniversary of the Jules Rimet Trophy being stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. 

The trophy, a depiction of Roman goddess Nike named after the former FIFA president who created the World Cup, was given outright to Brazil after they won the 1970 tournament. FIFA rules stipulated that a nation could hold on to the trophy for good if they won three World Cups. The Seleção's victory in Mexico completed their trifecta – they had previously won it in 1958 and 1962, and they would go on to win again in 1994 and in 2002.

In 1983, a group of thieves (the specific number is still a mystery) broke into the CBD's headquarters, tied up the night guard, broke into the bulletproof case, and took off with the trophy, never to be seen again. It is believed that the trophy was melted down and sold as gold bullion.

According to lore, the plan to steal the Jules Rumet trophy wasn't carefully orchestrated, but was rather crafted after a night of drinking cachaça. That they were able to pull it off is quite an amazing feat given that the Nazis allegedly tried to do it before but failed. 

- Fidel Martinez