PARIS — Forty-eight hours after helping lead Team USA to a historic bronze medal in the team competition, Paul Juda and Frederick Richard placed 14th and 15th, respectively, in the individual all-around final Wednesday night — their last event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Richard, 20, got off to a shaky start with a fall on pommel horse in his first rotation and was unable to match some of the monster scores he put up in the team final, where the U.S. won its first Olympic medal since 2008. Juda was solid across the board but simply didn’t have the difficulty in his routines to be in the mix for a medal.

The race for gold ultimately came down to the final rotation, with several gymnasts from China, Japan and Great Britain all jockeying for the podium. 

Ultimately, it was Shinnosuke Oka of Japan who emerged with gold, giving Japan its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in this event. Boheng Zhang and Ruoteng Xiao of China earned silver and bronze, respectively.

Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto, the reigning world all-around champion, placed sixth.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Richard, who competes collegiately at the University of Michigan, needed to be pretty close to perfect or benefit from mistakes Wednesday to make a run at the podium, simply because the competitors from China and Japan had more difficulty in their routines. He sneaked onto the podium at the end of the all-around competition at the 2023 world championships, becoming the first American man to medal at worlds since Jonathan Horton in 2010. But he was unable to replicate that feat in Paris.

Juda had said over the weekend that he was thrilled just to have made it to the all-around final. At various points over the past year, it was unclear whether he would even make the Olympic team. But he ended up being a key contributor.

The U.S. has not medaled in the men’s all-around since the 2012 London Games, when Danell Leyva took home bronze. And it has not won an apparatus medal on the men’s side since 2016, when Leyva won a pair of silvers.

Stephen Nedoroscik is the only men’s gymnast left to compete in Paris for Team USA; He’ll be in the eight-man pommel horse final Saturday.

Simone Biles and Suni Lee will compete for the U.S. in the women’s all-around final Thursday night.

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Olympic gymnastics results: Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka wins gold

Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka won gold in the men’s all-around final, scoring an 86.832 and finishing 0.233 ahead of China’s Zhang Boheng in second and 0.468 ahead of China’s Xiao Ruoteng in third. It is the fourth straight gold for the Japanese in the all-around final.

Olympics gymnastics schedule

Here is the remaining Olympic gymnastics schedule.

Thursday, Aug. 1: The women’s all-around final is at 12:15 p.m. ET. Simone Biles and Suni Lee are competing in the all-around final for the Americans.
Saturday, Aug. 3: Day 1 opens with the men’s floor exercise final, beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. Then, it’s the women’s vault final at 10:20 a.m. ET and the pommel horse final at 11:10 a.m. ET.
Sunday, Aug. 4: Day 2 begins with the still rings final at 9 a.m. ET before uneven bars at 9:40 a.m. ET and the men’s vault final at 10:25 a.m. ET.
Monday, Aug. 5: Day 3 is a big one, with four event finals, two for the women and two for the men. Competition begins (11:45 a.m. Paris time), with It starts with the parallel bars at 5:45 a.m. ET, followed by balance beam at 6:36 a.m. ET, high bar final is at 7:31 a.m. ET and finally women’s floor final 8:20 a.m. ET.

When does Simone Biles compete next?

Here is when Simone Biles competes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Biles opened competition in Paris with team qualifying on Sunday, July 28.
The women’s team final was on Tuesday, July 30. Biles and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team won gold.
The women’s all-around final is at 12:15 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 1.
The women’s vault final is at 10:20 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 3.
The women’s balance beam final (6:36 a.m. ET) and floor exercise final (8:20 a.m.) are Monday, Aug. 5.

What individual finals Simone Biles, US teammates qualified for

Here are the individual final events the U.S. women’s gymnastics team will compete in.

Simone Biles: all-around, vault, floor exercise, balance beam.
Suni Lee: all-around, uneven bars, balance beam.
Jordan Chiles: floor exercise.
Jade Carey: vault.

Frederick Richard, Paul Juda scores in all-around final

Frederick Richard and Paul Juda have wrapped up the all-around final. Richard, whose last turn was on floor (13.200), totaled 82.166 while Juda, who finished on pommel horse (13.866), finished with 82.197 points.

Olympic gymnastics results: Final rotation

Frederick Richard, Paul Juda on fifth rotation

Frederick Richard has moved up to 12th after a strong high bar routine, though his score of 14.400 wasn’t quite as high as his score in the team final Monday night. He’ll wrap up the night on floor. Paul Juda, who is in 16th, will conclude on pommel horse.

Olympic gymnastics results: Fifth rotation

The men’s all-around final looks like it’s going to come down to the wire. With just one rotation to go, there are now six men at the top separated by 1.1 points or less, each of them with a shot at earning an Olympic medal. Shinnosuke Oka of Japan is back in first, followed by Ruoteng Xiao and Boheng Zhang of China. Here are the top three in the standings after five rotations.

First: Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka, 72.332
Second: China’s Xiao Ruoteng, 71.998
Third: China’s Zhang Boheng, 71.966

Paul Juda, Frederick Richard on fourth rotation

In the fourth rotation, Paul Juda scored a 13.766 on high bar. Frederick Richard scored a 14.133 parallel bars this rotation. The metaphorical ship has probably sailed for the Americans’ hopes of earning a medal. Juda and Richard are sitting tied for 18th and 20th, respectively, with just two rotations remaining.

Olympic gymnastics results: Fourth rotation

For all the hype entering Wednesday about China and Japan, it is actually the two Ukrainians — Oleg Verniaiev and Illia Kovtun — who are sitting in first and second, respectively, through four rotations. 

Finishing with one, if not two, gymnasts on the podium would of course be incredibly meaningful for Ukraine, which brought a delegation of around 140 athletes to the Paris Olympics amid its war with Russian. Ukraine has so far just won a single bronze medal, in fencing. Here are the top three in the standings after four rotations.

First: Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev, 57.766
Second: Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun, 57.632
Third: Ziao Ruoteng, 57.232

Frederick Richard, Paul Juda after three rotations

After falling on pommel horse, Frederick Richard has actually performed better than he did in qualifying on both still rings and vault. But he still has a long way to go if he’s going to get back in the picture for a medal. Richard is sitting 22nd in the 24-man field, about 2.5 points behind leader Shinnosuke Oka of Japan. He’s also slightly behind U.S. teammate Paul Juda, who is sitting in 17th after recording a 13.866 on parallel bars. 

Olympic gymnastics results: Third rotation

Two gymnasts from Ukraine and two from China occupy the second through fifth spots, while reigning world champion Daiki Hashimoto of Japan is in 18th at the halfway point.

Here are the top three at the halfway point.

First: Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka, 42.932
Second: Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev, 42.766
Third: China’s Xiao Ruoteng

Brody Malone, Asher Hong, Stephen Nedoroscik supporting teammates at all-around final

Brody Malone, three-time U.S. champion, missed out on tonight’s event after a rough performance in qualifying. But he’s on the floor helping out Frederick Richard and Paul Juda. Before Richard went on pommel horse, Malone brought the chalk bag onto the podium and helped adjust the height of the horse. Between rotations, he helped lug everyone’s bags to the next event.  Meanwhile, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik are watching from the stands.

While it might seem unusual, other gymnasts will often help their teammates during all-around and event finals. The Netherlands’ Loran De Munck, for example, was helping his teammate, Frank Rijken. 

Frederick Richard on still rings, Paul Juda on vault

As for the Americans, Frederick Richard followed up his fall on pommel horse with a solid routine on rings, while Paul Juda lost some points on his vault for taking a sideways hop out of the landing zone. They’ll both by sitting in the back of the pack by the end of the second rotation.

Olympic gymnastics results: Second rotation

Two of the favorites to win gold tonight, Boheng Zhang of China and Daishi Hakimoto of Japan, have both already had shocking mistakes in the early stages of the competition.

Zhang, who topped the leaderboard in qualifying, came up short on a tumbling pass on floor and leaned forward onto his head in his first rotation. Then, minuteslater, Hakimoto fell off the pommel horse after stalling on a handstand. Their mistakes left the door open for 20-year-old Shinnosuke Oka of Japan to move into the lead, at least for now.

Standings after the second rotation:

First: Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka, 29.006
Second: Great Britain’s Jake Jarman, 28.966
Third: Felix Dolci, 28.699

Frederick Richard falls off pommel horse

Of the two Americans in the field tonight, reigning world bronze medalist Frederick Richard entered with the best chance of winning an all-around medal. But his start on pommel horse won’t help. Richard, 20, appeared off balance as soon as he mounted the apparatus and then fell off it altogether when his hand slipped during a flare. While there’s still a lot of gymnastics to go, his score of 12.733 left him sitting 23rd out of 24 gymnasts after the first rotation.

Paul Juda on still rings

Paul Juda, meanwhile, got off to a much more solid start on still rings: A 13.433 that was almost exactly on par with his performance in qualifying.

Olympic gymnastics results: First rotation

Here are the men’s all-around final standings after the first rotation.

First: Great Britain’s Jake Jarman: 14.900 (floor)
Second: Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev: 14.833 (pommel horse)
Tied for third: Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto 14.633 (floor), Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun 14.633 (pommel horse)

Who is last US man to win an Olympic all-around medal? 

That would be Danell Leyva, who won a bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London. He was just the third American man to win an all-around medal at the Olympics, following Peter Vidmar’s silver in 1984 and Paul Hamm’s gold in 2004. 

The U.S. men haven’t had much more success in the all-around at the world championships. Frederick Richard’s bronze last year was the first since 2010, when Jonathan Horton also won a bronze. The only other two all-around medals by U.S. men at the world championships were by Paul Hamm, who won gold in 2003, and Kurt Thomas, the silver medalist in 1979. 

How does Olympic gymnastics scoring work?

A gymnastics routine gets two scores: One for difficulty, also known as the D score or start value, and one for execution. Every gymnastics skill has a numerical value, and the D score is the sum total of the skills in a routine. The execution score, or E score, reflects how well the skills were done. A gymnast starts with a 10.0, and deductions for flaws and form errors are taken from there. Add the D and E scores together, and that’s your total for an apparatus. (Vault scores will always be higher because it’s a single skill.)

US men winning Olympic team bronze shows strategy changes are working

For years, the U.S. men’s gymnastics teams would insist they were within striking distance of the podium, that they were thisclose to winning a medal. But if the Americans ever wanted a medal, they were going to have to do more than talk.

“We had to trust the process,” said Sam Mikulak, a three-time Olympian who now coaches Brody Malone and Stephen Nedoroscik. “The first couple of years were rough.”

It worked, though. The bronze medal hanging around the U.S. men’s necks Monday night is proof. The medal is the Americans’ first at an Olympics since 2008, when they also won a bronze. It comes a year after they snapped a nine year drought at the world championships, also with a bronze.

“I just hope it shows promise, shows capability and shows that when you put trust in one another and you put the hard work in that things do happen,” said Paul Juda, a member of both drought-busting teams.

The U.S. women’s national soccer team beat Australia 2-1 in the final match of group play at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, setting up a quarterfinal showdown with Japan on Saturday.

Trinity Rodman’s goal in the 43rd minute opened the scoring for the Americans, as the 22-year-old pounced on a loose ball following a corner kick for her second tally of the tournament. Korbin Albert scored from long range in the 77th to give the Americans some insurance, the 20-year-old’s first career international goal.

Alanna Kennedy pulled one back for Australia in the 91st minute, but her side was unable to find an equalizer in the seven minutes of stoppage time.

The U.S. won all three of its group games against Zambia, Germany and Australia, outscoring opponents 9-2.

As Group B winner, the USWNT faces Group C runner-up Japan in the quarterfinals in Marseille on Saturday, while Australia must await its fate later Wednesday as the third-place team in Group A.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Korbin Albert goal! USWNT 2, Australia 0

20-year-old Korbin Albert scored from long range in the 77th minute, extending the USWNT’s lead with her first career international goal.

Albert became the center of controversy in March when she reposted a TikTok video of a sermon that talked how being gay and “feeling transgender” is wrong, according to The Athletic. It was also discovered Albert liked a meme celebrating Megan Rapinoe’s injury in her final professional match.

Rapinoe publicly called out Albert for the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and she later issued an apology for liking and sharing several ‘offensive, insensitive and hurtful’ social media posts.

Albert was not disciplined for the incident even though several current and former players like Alex Morgan, Lindsey Horan and Christine Press expressed disappointment with the midfielder. When Albert entered a match vs. South Korea in June, she received boos from the crowd. Fans also expressed disappointment when Albert was announced as part of the Olympic roster.

65th minute: Trinity Rodman comes off in USWNT subs

Team USA’s half goalscorer Trinity Rodman was replaced in the 65th minute, along with Rose LaVelle and Emily Fox. The trio was replaced by Casey Krueger, Korbin Albert (who immediately received a yellow card) and Lynn Williams.

Second half starts, USWNT makes sub

Jenna Nighswonger came on for Crystal Dunn, while the Australians had Clare Wheeler replace. Kyra Cooney-Cross to begin the second half.

Halftime: USWNT 0, Australia 0

A 43rd-minute goal from Trinity Rodman gave the USWNT a much-deserved lead before halftime, ultimately managing six shots on target in the first half against Australia – with goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold being forced into five saves.

The Americans had better than 75% possession in the first half, and the Australians didn’t take a single shot on goal.

Trinity Rodman goal! USWNT 1, Australia 0

The Americans had been knocking on the door, requiring some big saves from Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and finally found a breakthrough right before halftime, with Trinity Rodman pouncing on a loose ball after a corner kick in the 43rd minute.

There was a long delay after the score with VAR checking on a possible offside – but the goal ultimately stood, giving the Americans a 1-0 lead. In a chaotic scene, Australia manager Tony Gustavsson was then issued a yellow card after arguing with French referee François Letexier. The official then went and took another look at the monitor, confirming the goal for a second time.

Sam Coffey gets yellow card for USWNT

Sam Coffey picked up an early yellow card for the second straight game, this time in the third minute. She was shown a yellow in the 22nd against Germany.

USWNT lineup vs. Australia

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 

Coach Emma Hayes will trot out the same starting lineup – with the exception of Emily Sonnett for Tierna Davidson – as she has for the first two Games of the Olympics. 

Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
Defenders: Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn
Midfielders: Alex Coffey, Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan (captain) 
Forwards: Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith

What time does USWNT play Australia?

The U.S. and Australia kick off at 1 p.m. ET.

Where to watch USA vs. Australia

E! is airing the match, and Peacock is live streaming it.

Tierna Davidson injury for USWNT

The U.S. will have to navigate this one with center back Tierna Davidson, who will be out with a leg contusion she suffered in the previous game against Germany. 

Davidson exited just before halftime and was replaced by Emily Sonnett. Her absence was noticeable, as she and Naomi Girma are the defensive forces in the middle in front of keeper Alyssa Naeher. 

Alternate Emily Sams will replace her on the 18-person roster. Croix Bethune remains part of the matchday squad in place of Jaedyn Shaw, who has not been available all Games due to a leg injury.

Australia coming off wild victory 

The Aussies posted six goals in a 6-5 victory over Zambia on Sunday. They trailed 5-2 at one point but scored four unanswered, including one in the 90th minute to escape with a win. 

Since there are only 12 women’s teams in the tournament, two of the three third-place teams in their respective groups will advance to the quarterfinals. Given that, Australia will have plenty to play for and will do its best to manage the United States’ scoring to control the goal differential tiebreaker. 

USWNT star Naomi Girma represents best of America, on and off field

But it’s the figurative sense that’s even more important. Girma is a first-generation American, the daughter of two Ethiopian immigrants. When she dons the jersey with the U.S. crest on the chest, it’s a reminder of the promise this country holds and proof of how much better we are when we welcome, and celebrate, the melting pot of races and cultures that is uniquely American.

“Diversity and embracing other cultures is what makes us so special, and I think that’s what has put us ahead for so many years,” Girma said. “I think that’s something that we should continue to do.” 

Read Nancy Armour’s full feature onNaomi Girma.

USWNT Olympic schedule 

July 25:USWNT 3, Zambia 0
July 28: USWNT 4, Germany 1
July 31: USWNT vs. Australia, 1 p.m. ET

USWNT Olympic roster 

Forward: Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Jaedyn Smith, Trinity Rodman and Crystal Dunn.
Goalkeepers: Casey Murphy and Alyssa Naeher.
Defenders: Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Casey Krueger, Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Sonnett.
Midfielders: Korbin Albert, Sam Coffey, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Lynn Williams.

The USA TODAY app brings you every Team USA medal — right when it happens. Download for full Olympics coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and much more.

Jokic, the reigning NBA MVP, finished one assist shy of the fourth triple-double in Olympic men’s basketball history in Serbia’s 107-66 win over Puerto Rico in Group C play at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The Denver Nuggets star had 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists over 23 minutes in the blowout, which came on the heels of Serbia’s loss to the United States to open up the 2024 Paris Olympics. But Jokic, who has 148 career triple doubles in the NBA, probably deserved a better fate than barely missing out on his first Olympic triple-double in his team’s bounce-back performance. 

With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Serbian teammate and Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic missed a relatively easy fastbreak layup that would have also been Jokic’s 10th assist. It loomed especially large when Jokic was subbed out by Serbian coach Svetislav Pesic with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter and never returned to the game.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Jokic had 8 rebounds in just the first quarter and entered halftime with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists The 29-year-old then became the first player in Olympics history to combine for 10 or more points, 15 rebounds and five or more assists, according to FIBA.

‘We heard that he’s on nine assists, somebody shouted it from the stands. But trust me, he doesn’t really care about this stuff,’ Serbian teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic told reporters after the game.

The first official Olympic triple-double in men’s basketball occurred at the 1976 Montreal Games when Alexander Belov had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Canada. It should be noted, however, that rebounds and assists weren’t consistently tracked by the IOC prior to 1976. 

There wasn’t another triple-double until LeBron James accomplished the feat in Team USA’s semifinals win over Australia in the 2012 London Olympics. James had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in that game. 

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic had the most recent men’s basketball triple-double during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he finished with 16 points, 18 assists, and 10 rebounds in a semifinal loss to France playing for Slovenia.

Jokic could have joined them Wednesday, and perhaps he still can during these Olympics. Serbia will play South Sudan Saturday to wrap up Group C pool play and a spot in the round of 16 will likely hang in the balance. 

Serbia won a silver medal in men’s basketball at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with Jokic on the roster. It last won a gold medal in 1980.

The United States women’s national soccer team wraps up the group stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics Wednesday with a match against Australia.

Even though it’s a game against the No. 12 team in the world in one of the most prestigious international tournaments, there’s little at stake for the Americans. With a 3-0 victory against Zambia last Thursday and a 4-1 throttling of world No. 4 Germany last Sunday, the USWNT sits atop Group B and has already secured a place in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

Still, for a squad looking to reassert itself as the best women’s national team in the world and win its first Olympic gold medal since 2012, every game counts, particularly as the Americans acclimate themselves to new manager Emma Hayes.

The next step in that quest, however, will come without one of their most important players.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Here’s what you need to know about USWNT defender Tierna Davidson and her status entering the match against Australia:

Tierna Davidson injury update

Davidson will miss the USWNT’s group stage finale Wednesday against Australia with a knee contusion.

The 25-year-old NJ/NY Gotham FC standout suffered the injury in the emphatic win last Sunday against Germany following a knee-on-knee collision with Jule Brand in the 44th minute. Though she was able to walk off the field on her own power, Davidson didn’t return to the match.

“She got hit in her leg,” Hayes said to reporters. “Knee-on-knee situations can create a bit of swelling so that swelling will keep her out of this game.”

Even if it’s just for a single match, Davidson’s absence will be notable for several reasons.

For one, the Americans have just one defensive alternate, Emily Sams, who was added to the active 18-player roster with Davidson out. Emily Sonnett took Davidson’s spot in the starting lineup, which hadn’t changed between the Zambia and Germany matches.

Davidson has been an integral piece of what has been a stout USWNT defense. The Americans have allowed just a single goal in their first two matches at the Paris Olympics and shut out each of their four opponents in pre-Olympics friendlies since Hayes debuted as manager on June 1.

At 20 years old at the time, Davidson was the youngest player on the USWNT’s 2019 Women’s World Cup championship squad. She has earned 62 international caps for the USWNT, a time in which she has seven assists and three goals.

Colorado football safety Shilo Sanders reported to preseason football camp in Boulder this week with two big questions hanging over his head in his final season of college football:

∎ Can he help lift the Buffaloes to a bowl game after they fell short last year in father Deion Sanders’ first season as Colorado’s coach?

∎ Will he be freed from the $11 million debt he owes to a former security guard in Dallas after filing for bankruptcy last October?

Both storylines come with high stakes for a player with NFL potential at age 24. But the answer to the second question – his debt – could come sooner than Sanders would like. Last week, attorneys for the security guard, John Darjean, restated their case against him in a new court filing, arguing that Sanders should be held accountable for his alleged assault on Darjean in 2015, when Sanders was 15 years old.

“If Defendant (Sanders) is allowed to relitigate this matter, then Defendant is creating a new legal loophole to avoid responsibility when someone assaults another,” attorneys for the security guard wrote in bankruptcy court filings last week.

A federal bankruptcy judge could decide the matter in coming months with a summary judgment ruling that could blow up Sanders’ bankruptcy case and make him subject to debt collection efforts until he pays it all back. It’s a big pending decision in a baffling case. Here is where it stands after that new filing last week:

The effort to erase Shilo Sanders’ massive debt

Sanders’ goal when filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case last year was to stop Darjean’s debt collection efforts and get the debt erased by the court, allowing him “to get a fresh start, free from the oppressive burden of his debts,” as his attorneys have argued.

Normally, the bankruptcy court allows debts to be discharged as a way to provide relief to the “honest but unfortunate debtor,” said Angela Littwin, a law professor and bankruptcy expert at the University of Texas.

But there are exceptions in the law that would prevent the discharge of certain debts. One of them is if the debt stems from a “willful and malicious injury by the debtor,” as attorneys for the security guard said it did. They said Shilo Sanders assaulted Darjean in 2015 when Darjean was trying to confiscate Sanders’ phone at school, leaving Darjean with permanent and severe spinal and nerve injuries.

Darjean sued Sanders to recover for his damages in 2016, but when the case finally went to trial in Dallas in 2022, Sanders didn’t show up for it to defend himself in court. The court then considered the evidence and issued a default judgment that said Sanders owed Darjean $11.89 million, including $3 million for future physical impairment and $2 million in lost future earning capacity.

Darjean since has promised to fight for what he is owed and is opposing the discharge of the debt in bankruptcy court.

The issue now is whether Sanders gets to relitigate the incident from 2015. He has disputed Darjean’s version of events, saying it was self-defense in response to Darjean’s aggression. His attorneys also have questioned whether Darjean’s injuries came from pre-existing conditions.  

In the court filing from last week, Darjean’s attorneys argued that the law doesn’t allow him to relitigate a case that was already decided by another court, in this case the state court in Dallas.

What is the case against Shilo Sanders?

According to Darjean’s attorneys, this case is simple and should be decided quickly without the need for a trial. They note that the law doesn’t allow discharges for debt that stems from willful and malicious injuries. The state court in Texas already determined that “Shilo Sanders did in fact cause physical harm and injuries to John Darjean by assaulting him,” according to that court’s findings of fact. Therefore they say he is precluded from getting another attempt in court to dispute the underlying incident from 2015.

Darjean’s attorneys also noted that Shilo Sanders had defended himself from Darjean’s lawsuit for years before dropping his attorneys in the case in 2020. He had made counterclaims in the case, filed affirmative defenses and testified in a deposition.

“By participating in litigation up until trial, and failing to show up to trial, Defendant is creating an out from responsibility for what amounts to a first-degree felony of aggravated assault,” Darjean’s attorneys said in court filings last week.

One outside legal observer found it baffling that it even got to this point for Shilo Sanders.

“He is now facing every possible bad outcome in litigation,” said Mechele Dickerson, a law professor at the University of Texas. “He lost (in civil court), there’s a judgment, and he’s (possibly) precluded from raising certain defenses/claims or re-litigating decided issues. And because the judgment seems to involve willful and malicious conduct, he may not be able to discharge it in his bankruptcy case.”

Why Shilo Sanders wants to avoid summary judgment

Darjean’s attorneys are seeking a summary judgment ruling that will “determine that the claim of Plaintiff (Darjean) is excepted from discharge” under federal bankruptcy law.

If the judge agrees, Shilo would effectively lose his effort to discharge the debt and would be on the hook for the $11 million, though he could appeal. If the judge doesn’t agree with Darjean, the matter could proceed to trial, where the facts of the matter from 2015 could be contested in court.

“Normally, a non-dischargeability action based on an alleged willful and malicious injury is not resolved by summary judgment because there are facts in dispute,” said John Rao, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center in Boston. “However, the question in this case will be whether the bankruptcy judge will give any preclusive effect to the state court default judgment.”

That’s exactly what Darjean’s attorneys argued last week in their court filing. They said Sanders is “precluded from relitigating his counterclaims and defenses, in particular self-defense.” That’s because they said the issue was already effectively decided by the civil court in Texas. Under the doctrine of “collateral estoppel,” one party can prevent another from relitigating any issue that was finally determined on the merits of a previous case, according to the Legal Information Institute.

“Preclusion covers all claims and defenses which the Defendant (Sanders) had ample opportunity to argue in the state court but chose not to,” Darjean’s attorneys wrote in the  court filing. “Defendant also knowingly committed assault and aggravated assault under the Texas Penal Code’s definition since Plaintiff was a security officer who sustained severe bodily injury from Defendant’s acts.”

What comes next in Sanders bankruptcy case?

Sanders’ attorneys have argued that there is nothing in the final judgment in the Texas state court or its findings of fact that satisfy willful and malicious intent in this bankruptcy case, according to the court filing.

It’s up to the judge to decide who’s right, and there is no timeline scheduled for when the judge will rule on summary judgment.

Darjean has two active complaints against Sanders that seek to prevent him from getting out of his debt to him, including this one that is headed toward a summary judgment ruling. The other complaint is seeking to prevent a discharge based on other arguments, including that Shilo Sanders improperly hid or omitted his assets from his required bankruptcy disclosures.

That complaint is also pending, though Sanders is still trying to get parts of it dismissed after previously failing to have that whole complaint thrown out.

Sanders downplayed the overall situation in July at Big 12 Conference media days in Las Vegas.

“At the end of the day everybody is gonna know the truth about everything, you know,” said Sanders, Colorado’s leading tackler last season.

Colorado opens the season Aug. 29 at home against North Dakota State.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com