The lockers for Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis L. Ortiz were cleared out, according to The Athletic.
Both pitchers are on leave amid an MLB investigation into gambling.
Luis L. Ortiz was placed on leave on July 3 after two of his pitches received unusual gambling activity.

The Cleveland Guardians’ clubhouse had some notable changes on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 1.

The lockers for closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis L. Ortiz were cleared out, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic.

Both players were placed on leave in July, related to an ongoing investigation into gambling by Major League Baseball. If they are found guilty, both could potentially receive a lifetime ban.

It was not made clear if a decision had been reached involving the two players or if it is just potential locker changes in the clubhouse following the conclusion of the MLB trade deadline on July 31.

Why was Luis L. Ortiz placed on leave?

Both were sliders outside of the strike zone at the start of an inning in games played in June.

Some gambling websites allow users to bet on the first pitch of an MLB at-bat.

Why was Emmanuel Clase placed on leave?

The league is looking to see if Clase had violated the MLB’s gambling policy.

Clase has been considered as one of the league’s best closers and his name was mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the deadline.

While the Guardians could have received a nice return in a trade for the three-time All-Star, instead, they still have Clase under contract with some uncertainty about his future.

A gender discrimination lawsuit against Stephen F. Austin State University could have national implications after U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale ordered SFA to reinstate three women’s sports teams Friday, Aug. 1.

Six Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) athletes from the women’s bowling and beach volleyball teams filed a class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas against their school this summer claiming Title IX discrimination after the university announced in May it would be cutting those two programs and men’s and women’s golf effective the end of the 2024-25 academic year. “The decision was based on sustained departmental budget deficits and the anticipated financial impact of upcoming revenue-sharing requirements with Division I athletes” SFA athletics said in a press release. 

The plaintiffs sought to keep the school from axing these programs.

SFA argued that the plaintiffs’ case is based ‘exclusively on a three-part test contained in guidance and interpretation documents,” rather than the Title IX statute itself. Defendant lawyers urged the court to disregard the policy interpretation handed down by the U.S. Department of Education 46 years ago, citing the 2024 Supreme Court ruling Loper-Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. If the court declined, however, defendant lawyers claimed SFA still complies with Title IX under the 1979 guidance.

After two days in court, spanning 17 hours and 14 witnesses, Judge Truncale issued a written ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. SFA has been ordered to reinstate all three women’s teams. Truncale affirmed that the Loper-Bright case cannot be applied to Title IX in what plaintiff attorney John Clune called an ‘incredibly important’ win for gender equity in sports.

‘If a court were to find that Loper-Bright meant that the Department of Education was not allowed to rely on policy interpretations of their own regulations, the entire framework for compliance with gender equity in sports would be thrown out the window,’ Clune told USA TODAY. ‘You’d still be required to have gender equity in sports, but what that means and how you decided would no longer exist.

‘… Really happy about the ruling, but we’re not surprised by the ruling. If you follow the law, this is what the outcome should be.’

SFA will appeal the ruling, university spokesperson Korbin Pate told USA TODAY. In an official statement on the decision, SFA said “We remain confident in the legality and rationale behind our decision to reduce the number of sports we sponsor. … Since there was no evidence that the difficult decision to cut these four teams was based on sex, we maintain that our actions are fully compliant with Title IX requirements.” 

What is the three-part test?

Under the Department of Education’s three-part test, a school can be in compliance with the participation aspects of Title IX in any one of the following ways:

The number of male and female athletes is substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments; or
The institution has a history and continuing practice of expanding participation opportunities responsive to the developing interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex; or
The institution is fully and effectively accommodating the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.

The plaintiffs in this case argued that SFA violated all three prongs. The plaintiffs filed a report by former chief executive officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation, expert witness Donna Lopiano, Ph.D., to prove such. Using EADA data and annual NCAA participation reports, Lopiano wrote that women made up 62.8% of SFA’s enrollment during the 2023-24 academic year but less than 35% of SFA’s varsity athletes.

SFA cited the 2024 Supreme Court ruling Loper-Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo in an effort to have the three-part test thrown out. The Supreme Court’s decision made in favor of Loper-Bright overturned a 40-year precedent known as “the Chevron doctrine” directing courts to defer to government agency interpretations of ‘ambiguous’ laws. But Judge Truncale wrote in his decision that Loper-Bright is about an agency’s interpretation of a statute, not an agency’s interpretation of its own regulation. He also wrote that Loper-Bright does not overturn any case law that previously interpreted policy. Thus, it does not apply to Title IX’s 1979 policy interpretation.

Breaking down the Title IX lawsuit against Stephen F. Austin State University

Sophia Myers, Kara Kay, Ryann Allison, Elaina Amador, Berklee Andrews and Meagan Ledbetter filed a class action lawsuit on June 30 against Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) after it announced the elimination of women’s beach volleyball, women’s bowling and men’s and women’s golf on May 22. The six plaintiffs, represented by renowned Title IX attorneys Clune and Arthur Bryant, are current athletes on the women’s beach volleyball and bowling teams.

They argued that the university violated Title IX by depriving them of equal opportunity in intercollegiate athletics and sought an emergency preliminary injunction to preserve the three women’s programs “and all other women’s teams at SFA, until this case is resolved.”

‘Title IX mandates that schools provide equal participation opportunities for men and women to compete in intercollegiate sports,’ the initial complaint read. ‘Nonetheless, SFA has a long history of depriving female athletes of an equal opportunity to participate. Consistent with that history, SFA opted to further discriminate against women in violation of Title IX by eliminating three successful women’s teams: beach volleyball, bowling, and golf. SFA’s decision undercuts Plaintiffs’ civil rights and, if permitted to move forward, will irreparably harm their academic and athletic careers.’

SFA, represented by Marlayna Marie Ellis and Sheaffer Kristine Fennessey of the attorney general’s office, argued that the plaintiff’s case is based ‘exclusively on a three-part test contained in guidance and interpretation documents, rather than the statute or 1975 implementing regulation.” Defendant lawyers urged the court to disregard the three-part test but affirmed that SFA is Title IX compliant regardless, citing the test’s first and third prongs.

The first prong requires “the number of male and female athletes is substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments.” The third requires “the institution is fully and effectively accommodating the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.” Defendant lawyers claimed there is “no strict rule” defining ‘substantially proportionate,” and that SFA “effectively accommodates the interest and abilities of women, despite the discontinuation of the women’s beach volleyball, bowling, and golf teams.” 

Financial pressure from House settlement not valid defense for cutting women’s sports

SFA opted into the House settlement, where schools are able to pay athletes directly starting this athletic year with a $20.5 million cap per institution. These new financial pressures are why athletic director Michael McBroom said the decision to cut teams was made.

The athletic department reported a $1 million surplus during the 2024 fiscal year, with about $24 million in institutional support out of $28.8 million in total operating revenue. In FY2023, SFA reported a $61,000 deficit, with $19.4 million in institutional support. And in FY2022, SFA reported a $275,000 deficit, with $17.7 million institutional support.

Plaintiffs argued, successfully, that ‘budgetary constraints are not a legitimate defense to Title IX.’

‘The funding of those revenue-sharing payments for football players and men’s basketball absolutely cannot come at the expense of women’s sports,’ Clune said. ‘So this is a huge message to schools across the country. Whatever you have to do to figure out how you’re going to fund your revenue-sharing payments, it’s not going to come at the expense of women’s opportunities to participate in sports. That’s a big deal.’

Reach USA TODAY Network sports reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.

This story has been updated with new information.

Jhoan Duran made his Philadelphia Phillies debut Friday night, and it didn’t disappoint.

Duran made his way out of the bullpen wearing No. 59 to a loud roar from the crowd at Citizens Bank Park, just two days after he was traded to Philadelphia by the Minnesota Twins for a pair of Top 100 prospects: Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait.

Who is Jhoan Duran?

Duran is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander from the Dominican Republic. 

He entered Friday with a 6-4 record, a 2.01 ERA and 16 saves in 49 games with the Twins this year.

Jhoan Duran records save in debut

Duran secured the victory with just four pitches as the Phillies completed the comeback against the Detroit Tigers to win 5-4 on Friday night.

Jhoan Duran wears No. 59 for Phillies

The Phillies are doing their best to welcome Duran with open arms.

Duran wore the No. 59 throughout the first four years of his major league career with the Twins. The number was already in use in Philadelphia, by manager Rob Thomson.

Usually, when a player is inquiring about a jersey number, there is some level of bargaining that takes place to complete the swap. That wasn’t needed — Thomson willingly gave up the number to Duran. 

‘The number really doesn’t mean much to me,’ Thomson said. ‘But if it makes you feel better, I’m all-in. He said, ‘Yeah.’ Then it’s all yours.’

Thomson will wear the No. 49 in honor of former New York Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry.

Watch Jhoan Duran entrance

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In one of the biggest media deals this century, ESPN and the National Football League agreed to a deal that will send popular entities such as RedZone over to the network, according to The Athletic.

The deal, according to the report, could be worth billions and is expected to be formally announced next week.

ESPN is gearing to start its direct-to-consumer service within weeks, which consumers are expected to pay nearly $30 a month, allowing buyers to cut cable subscriptions even further as people have more choices than ever in how they consume content featuring the nation’s most popular and attended spectator sport.

The network is expected to absorb the aforementioned RedZone, NFL Network, headquartered in Inglewood, California, and to take on its slate of games this season as well as the league’s popular fantasy football franchises. It is not expected that NFL Films is part of the deal, but the league is likely to take a 10% stake in the majority Disney-owned ESPN. The league is currently in an 11-year, $111 billion media rights deal with Amazon, CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC, which is set to expire in 2033.

The deal still needs to be approved by government regulators, but is expected to be done in plenty of time for the network to gear up for its Super Bowl 61 coverage. The game is set for February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The game is to be aired by ABC, another Disney-owned property.

Katie Ledecky has dominated the women’s 800-meter freestyle for more than a decade, winning gold in the event in four consecutive Olympic Games and six consecutive World Championships. But Canadian teen sensation Summer McIntosh is on her tail, setting up a massive showdown at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

Both Ledecky and McIntosh come into Saturday’s event in top form. Ledecky broke her own 800m world record in May at the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale with a time of 8:04.12. A month later, McIntosh set a national record in the 800m with a time of 8:05.07 at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials in June, where she also broke three world records in the 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley.

Will Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in history, continue her reign in the event? Or will McIntosh, the up-and-coming generational talent, dethrone the American veteran? We’ll find out Saturday when Ledecky, 28, and McIntosh, 18, face off in the 800m final on Saturday at the Singapore Sports Hub.

McIntosh won the first head-to-head with Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships earlier this week. McIntosh raced to gold in the 400-meter freestyle (3:56.26), finishing over two seconds faster than bronze medalist Ledecky (3:58.49). McIntosh also won gold in the 200m butterfly and 200m medley, while Ledecky won gold in the 1500m freestyle and silver in the 4 × 200m freestyle relay.

Five other finals will be held on Saturday, including the 200m backstroke final, featuring the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist, Australian Kaylee McKeown, and silver medalist, American Regan Smith.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Saturday:

How to watch the 2025 World Swimming Championships

The 2025 World Swimming Championships in Singapore run through Aug. 3 and can be streamed live on Peacock. Events start at 7 a.m. ET each day.

2025 World Swimming Championships schedule for Saturday

Six finals will be held on Saturday, including the highly anticipated women’s 800m free. Here’s the schedule:

Women’s 50m butterfly final (7:02 a.m. ET)
Men’s 50m freestyle final (7:09 a.m. ET)
Women’s 200m backstroke final (7:17 a.m. ET)
Men’s 100m butterfly final (7:43 a.m. ET)
Women’s 800m freestyle final (8:21 a.m. ET)
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay final (8:42 a.m. ET)

How to watch women’s 800m free final: Time, channel, lane assignments

Date: Saturday, Aug. 2

Time: 8:21 a.m. ET

Streaming: Peacock

Lane 1: China’s Li Bingjie
Lane 2: Italy’s Simona Quadarella
Lane 3: Canada’s Summer McIntosh
Lane 4: American Katie Ledecky
Lane 5: Australia’s Lani Pallister
Lane 6: Germany’s Isabel Gose
Lane 7: New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather
Lane 8: Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto

Stream World Aquatics Championships on Peacock

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The Indiana Fever have been without superstar Caitlin Clark for more than half of the season due to injury, but that hasn’t stopped the team from putting together its longest winning streak of the year. 

The Fever defeated the Dallas Wings 88-78 on Friday, Aug. 1 at the American Airlines Center, extending Indiana’s winning streak to four games in a collective team effort. Four of five Indiana starters scored in double digits.

‘This is the second half of the season. We know the margin of error is very small,’ said guard Aari McDonald, who finished with 15 points, while hitting four of six 3-pointers. ‘When four people are in double figures and they are all offensive threats, I think that opens up the floor for us.’

Kelsey Mitchell led the way with 23 points and three assists. Aliyah Boston recorded her fifth consecutive double-double and is up to 13 double-doubles on the season, second only to to the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese (17). Natasha Howard also finished with a double-double, tallying 11 points and 16 rebounds, which tied her career-high for rebounds.

The Fever improved to 16-2 on the season and 8-7 without Clark in the lineup.

The Fever dominated from beyond the arc, knocking down 12-of-28 3-pointers. The Wings were limited to two 3-pointers and were out-rebounded 44-30, including 14 offensive rebounds for Indiana compared to four for Dallas.

The Fever now lead the regular-season series vs. the Wings, 3-0. Indiana won the first matchup of the season 94-86 without Clark, who was sidelined at the time with a left groin injury. Fans got the highly-anticipated matchup between Clark and Bueckers on July 13 in Indianapolis, which the Fever won 102-83. Clark had 14 points, 13 assists and five steals in that victory, while Bueckers had 21 points and two steals in the loss.

USA TODAY sports had full coverage of Friday night’s game. Scroll below for highlights and a recap by quarter.

Indiana Fever vs. Dallas Wings: Full highlights

Paige Bueckers returns after hard fall

Bueckers checked back into the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter after suffering a hard fall in the third quarter. Bueckers got right back to business and is up to a game-high 22 points, cutting the Wings’ deficit to six points with 5:33 remaining in the game.

End of Q3: Fever 68, Wings 57

The Fever have a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, led by 18 points and three rebounds from Kelsey Mitchell. Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard are both closing in on double-doubles. Boston added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Howard is up to nine points and 13 rebounds.

Paige Bueckers appeared to be shaken up in the third quarter after fighting through a screen set by the Fever’s Boston with 4:03 remaining. Bueckers went down hard and appeared to grab her right thigh area as she writhed in pain on the ground. She was able to get up under her own power before limping over to the bench. Buckers had a team-high 18 points, three rebounds and two assists before being subbed out.

No other Wings player has reached double-digits in scoring and they have yet to knock down a 3-pointer (0-of-8) so far. Myisha Hines-Allen has nine points off the bench, while Arike Ogunbowale added eight points and five assists.

Halftime: Fever 48, Wings 42

The Fever led by as many as eight points in the second quarter and take a six point lead into halftime. The Fever are 13-4 this season when leading at halftime, while the Wings are 1-17 when trailing at the half.

Natasha Howard is up to nine points and eight rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell also scored nine points. The Fever have lived in the paint, scoring 24 of their 48 points from close range, but the addition of Chloe Bibby has helped Indiana stretch the floor. She’s up to six points off the bench, shooting a perfect 2-of-2 from the 3-point line.

Paige Bueckers has a game-high 15 points, three assists, two rebounds and no turnovers. Bueckers has reached double-digit points in all 23 games she’s played in her rookie season. Arike Ogunbowale has six points, and Myisha Hines-Allen added seven points off the bench. Haley Jones was limited in the second quarter with four fouls after picking up two fouls in a matter of 13 seconds.

The Wings are 0-of-5 from three, but they’ve knocked down 12-of-13 free throws to remain close. The Fever are 5-of-15 from beyond the arc and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

End of Q1: Fever 22, Wings 22

Things are all tied up after a back-and-forth first quarter that featured four ties and one lead change.

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell has a game-high seven points, while forward Natasha Howard is closing in on her seventh double-double of the season with six points and seven rebounds after the first quarter.

Indiana is out-rebounding Dallas 13-9, including five offensive rebounds, but the Wings have managed to get to the free throw line more. Dallas had nine free throw attempts in the first, compared to one for Indiana.

Paige Bueckers leads the Wings with five points, while Myisha Hines-Allen added five points off the bench.

Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever guard ruled out

The Fever All-Star guard will not be available for Friday’s matchup against the Wings due to a right groin injury that has kept her sidelined for six consecutive games. Clark suffered the injury in the final minute of the Fever’s win over Connecticut on July 15, another setback in Clark’s injury-riddled sophomore season.

What time is Indiana Fever vs. Dallas Wings?

The Dallas Wings will host the Indiana Fever at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 1 at the American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. The game will be broadcast on ION.

How to watch Indiana Fever vs. Dallas Wings: TV, stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: American Airlines Center (Dallas)
TV channel:  ION
Streaming: WNBA League Pass

Indiana Fever starting lineup

With Clark sidelined with an injury, the Fever’s starting lineup is made up of Aari McDonald, Kelsey Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham, Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston. This lineup has made five starts this season and is 3-2.

Fever signs Chloe Bibby for the rest of the season

On Friday, the Fever announced that the team signed Australian forward Chloe Bibby for the rest of the year. Fever initially signed Bibby to a seven-day contract on July 25 and she went on to appear in two games, averaging 9.0 points while shooting 44.4% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.

Dallas Wings starting lineup

The Wings are sending Paige Bueckers, Luisa Geiselsoder, Haley Jones, Arike Ogunbowale and JJ Quinerly. This lineup has made two starts together and gone 1-1.

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One of the most familiar faces at Inter Miami games is set to miss some time, and this time it’s not Lionel Messi.

Messi’s bodyguard Yassine Cheuko will be suspended for the duration of the 2025 Leagues Cup after entering the field of play without authorization amid a post-game scuffle.

In a press release on Friday, Aug. 1, Leagues Cup — a competition between clubs from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX — said that ‘a member of Inter Miami’s club delegation displayed improper conduct by entering restricted areas without an official event credential.’

People with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that the person in question is Cheuko. The persons requested anonymity since Cheuko’s name was not publicly announced in the release.

Cheuko has become a well-known presence on the touchline at Inter Miami matches since Messi arrived in MLS in 2023. Generally, his role has been to stop pitch invaders from reaching Messi, whose popularity has tested MLS security measures in a way the league has not previously encountered.

The Leagues Cup disciplinary committee announced that it had ‘suspended the individual involved from all technical areas for the remainder of Leagues Cup 2025 and issued an undisclosed fine to Inter Miami CF.’

The incident in question came after a dramatic 2-1 Miami win over Atlas on Wednesday, July 30, with Messi setting up Marcelo Weigandt for a game-winning goal six minutes into second-half stoppage time. Weigandt’s goal was initially chalked off, but VAR overturned that call, awarding the Herons a win.

It was a remarkable end to a fiery game that had seen players and coaches from both sides jawing at one another, and Messi let Atlas’ Matías Cóccaro hear it while celebrating with new teammate Rodrigo De Paul. With the full time whistle coming seconds later, the normal post-game handshakes and hugs devolved momentarily, Cheuko was seen among the scuffling players and team staffers, at one point shoving Atlas defender Jorge San Martín.

The incident is not the first in which Cheuko’s presence has drawn pushback. In April, Miami told USA TODAY Sports that the bodyguard would no longer be on the touchline during the club’s MLS matches. At the time, Cheuko had said he was ‘banned’ from the field, though Miami said he would remain a club employee.

It’s also the latest bit of friction between Messi’s camp and MLS, who along with Liga MX, organizes Leagues Cup. Last week, the Argentine icon and teammate Jordi Alba were suspended for one match after not participating in the MLS All-Star Game. Miami owner Jorge Mas cited the need to rest Messi in the face of the Herons’ unusually demanding schedule, and said Messi was ‘very upset’ after MLS decided to enforce a rule requiring healthy players to participate if named to the All-Star roster.