The WNBA announced it could not substantiate any reports of racism during the season-opening game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky.

‘We have investigated the report of racist fan behavior in the vicinity of the court,’ the league said in a statement. ‘Based on information gathered to date, including from relevant fans, team and arena staff, as well as audio and video review of the game, we have not substantiated it.

‘The WNBA is committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing our fan code of conduct.’

The investigation launched on May 18 stems from alleged hateful comments made inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Fever. While the specifics of the allegations weren’t made clear, a person with knowledge of the situation told IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, that hateful comments to Sky forward Angel Reese were the center of the investigation.

Reese said ‘there’s no place in this league’ for racism and discrimination and ‘obviously in the moment it’s hard to hear’ comments being made toward her during the game. The Fever, Sky and WNBA players’ union welcomed the investigation, and players like Caitlin Clark denounced the reported hateful comments.

‘We appreciate the quick action by the league and the Indiana Fever to take this matter seriously and to investigate,’ Sky president Adam Fox said in a statement. ‘This process demonstrates the league’s strong stance on stopping hate at all WNBA games and events, and we will continue to support those efforts.’

It was never specified when the alleged acts happened during the game, but things got heated during the contest between Clark and Reese.

In the third quarter, Clark intentionally fouled Reese on the arm and shoved her as the Chicago forward attempted a layup. Reese immediately got up and went toward Clark and appeared to say something to her before Indiana forward Aliyah Boston intervened. Clark walked away while the situation was quickly de-escalated by the players on the court and coaching staff.

Referees reviewed the play and upgraded the foul by Clark to a Flagrant 1, while Boston and Reese were given offsetting technical fouls. Reese was heavily booed by the Indiana crowd throughout the game, but the intensity picked up as she shot the free throws following the Flagrant 1 call.

With racism, discriminatory comments and bullying at high levels during the 2024 season, the WNBA launched the ‘No Space for Hate’ initiative for 2025 to combat hate and promote respect. It features a task force of league and team representatives that use ‘enhanced technological features’ to detect hateful comments online and puts extra emphasis on providing security measures in arenas during games.

‘We appreciate the swift and thorough process undertaken by the WNBA to investigate these allegations, which we substantiated,’ the Fever said in a statement. ‘At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, we are committed to providing the best possible basketball experience for players and fans where hate speech has absolutely no place.’

This story was updated with new information.

The Caitlin Clark effect has brought a plenty of attention and high demand to see the Indiana Fever, but the WNBA is seeing a the opposite side of that effect: less intrigue when she’s injured.

Clark will be sidelined for at least two weeks as she suffered a left quad strain following Indiana’s 90-88 loss to the defending champion New York Liberty on Saturday. Missing two weeks means Clark will miss at least the next four games, and it’s had a dramatic effect on ticket prices for those contests, particularly the two road games during that stretch − at the Washington Mystics on May 28 and at the Chicago Sky on June 7.

Indiana Fever ticket prices plunge with Caitlin Clark injured

Ticket prices have drastically fallen since Monday’s news of Clark’s injury. For the four games Clark will miss, the average purchase price was 71% more expensive prior to the news than Tuesday, as the average has dropped from $137 to $80, according to TickPick data provided to USA TODAY Sports.

The road games in Washington and Chicago have been heavily impacted, as both were moved to bigger arenas to accommodate the demand to see Clark.

Washington moved the game from its home CareFirst Arena to the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, which has more than 6,000 extra capacity. Prior to the injury news, the cheapest ticket sold for the game was $41, per TickPick. Now, the get-in price is $14, as of Tuesday night. The average purchase price went from $115 to $83.

The Sky vs. the Fever game was even more affected as it was supposed to be another edition of Clark vs. Angel Reese. The contest was moved to United Center, the first time WNBA games would be played at the 20,000-plus seat arena. On Sunday, the cheapest ticket was $86 on TickPick. As of Tuesday night, it’s now $25. The average purchase price was $210, 121% more expensive than Tuesday’s average of $95, TickPick said.

For the home games − May 30 against the Connecticut Sun and June 3 vs. the Mystics − the cheapest ticket option on TickPick are $13 and $11, respectively.

Indiana Fever ticket prices when Caitlin Clark returns

It’s evident how impactful Clark’s availability determines the secondary market should she return after a two week absence.

The first game she might be available to return is June 10 at the Atlanta Dream. The cheapest ticket for that contest at Gateway Center Arena is $147. The next four road games after that − against the Golden State Valkyries, Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings − all have get-in prices of at least $100, with the June 27 contest against Paige Bueckers and Dallas starting at $141 on TickPick.

Meanwhile, the first home game Clark is eligible to return to is June 14 against the Liberty, which has a get-in price of $43.

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Boxer Ryan Garcia had surgery on his right hand Tuesday for an injury his manager says plagued him during his May 2 loss to Rolando “Rolly’’ Romero.

“Yes, his injury was a problem during the Romero fight,’’ Guadalupe Valencia, Garcia’s manager and attorney, told USA TODAY Sports by text message. “But, that is in the past, and we don’t want to make excuses. …

‘He is feeling good and positive and will be back in the fall.”

Garcia, 26, got knocked down in the second round by Romero and looked hesitant for much of the fight, which Romero won by unanimous decision.

Valencia did not say when Garcia (24-2) hurt his right hand, but Sports Illustrated reported the injury took place during training camp before the 12-round welterweight bout.

“When Ryan is well, he will be back and will have an elite level performance,’’ Valencia said. “This past fight vs. Romero is a minor setback. Ryan at 100% is unbeatable.’’

Garcia’s loss to Romero cast doubt on a possible rematch against Devin Haney. Valencia said Garcia fighting Haney remains an option. Oscar De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, recently told Fight Hype a rematch against Romero, not Haney, would be ‘the right move” for Garcia. 

“Honestly, right now, we just need his hand to heal,’’ Valencia said. “We will discuss his future plans in the coming weeks. There are several important options, including Haney.’’

Recovery from the hand surgery will take Garcia four to six weeks, according to Valencia.

The date was Jan. 15, 2016, long before anyone conceived of a 16-team College Football Playoff, a transfer portal or seven-figure NIL deals for replacement-level basketball players. The place was San Antonio, where NCAA officials and college administrators gathered for their annual convention. And the topic; oh boy, was it a hot one. 

By the second year of so-called “autonomy” for the Power Five conferences – a power grab that theoretically allowed the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 to expand athletes’ benefits without being slowed down by smaller schools – they were already out of big, controversial ideas. 

But there was one issue creating significant debate within the room: A proposal that would allow schools to pay for lodging, meals and entertainment for up to four family members on official recruiting visits.

To normal people, unencumbered by the bureaucracy of tedium that rules college sports, this is common sense. Of course an athletic department with a nine-figure budget trying to attract top talent should pay lodging, meals and entertainment expenses for up to four family members. 

But for these folks, College Athletics Brain always takes over. So naturally, someone in the room wanted to litigate exactly what that meant. After all, if you’re at UCLA, entertainment expenses could mean four courtside seats to a Lakers game that might be worth more than a two-bedroom house in, say, Starkville, Mississippi. And wouldn’t providing that for recruits just be … unfair?

That was the moment I realized most of these people representing the richest schools and conferences – many of whom are still in position to shape the future of college sports a decade later – were simply incapable of governing themselves, even though they had portrayed the ability to govern themselves as necessary to save the NCAA.  

It’s not that the people who work in college sports lack the intellectual capacity to understand that these tiny, perceived competitive advantages from school to school and conference to conference are ultimately inconsequential to their collective business interests. Their culture simply doesn’t allow them to see the big picture through a froth of constant concern that one of their competitors is pulling a fast one.  

It’s slightly humorous – but mostly pathetic – how little has changed in what drives the so-called leadership of college sports even as everything else in their world has changed immensely in the decade since. 

Now here comes SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, the thin-skinned pedant of Birmingham, all up in his feelings as the league’s spring meetings get underway this week in Florida because some of his colleagues have dared to question the motivations behind Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti jockeying for four automatic bids each in a new 16-team CFP.

“I don’t need lectures from others about good of the game,” Sankey said Sunday, meeting with reporters before what will surely be intense internal discussions about what the next CFP should look like. “I don’t lecture others about good of the game. And coordinating press releases about good of the game, OK, you can issue your press statement, but I’m actually looking for ideas to move us forward.”

Keep in mind, this was Sankey’s response to a series of questions about a proposal that would assign four CFP bids every year to the SEC and Big Ten before a single game has been played, while the ACC and Big 12 get only two guaranteed bids. If Sankey was expecting his colleagues to lap up that gruel and leave a five-star review, he’s not living in the land of reality. You can’t offer a strongarm and expect a handshake in return.   

“In our own room, I’ve had athletics directors tell me directly that we’ve given too much away to arrive at these political compromises, that we move teams from outside the (top 12 in the rankings into the playoff),” Sankey explained. “How many of those compromises does it take?”

The scale of structuring a 16-team playoff may not be comparable to free meals on a recruiting visit, but they come from the same place: A never-ending battle in college athletics between those with the most power stacking the deck in their favor and those fearing that every acknowledgement of inherent inequality will be a ticket to second-class citizenry. 

And the especially childish part of this debate is the SEC and Big Ten would be virtually assured of getting at least four teams into the Playoff organically nearly every year, notwithstanding a possible outlier here or there. It should be equally clear that codifying the so-called “4-4-2-2-1-1-1-1” structure into the CFP format would be a toxic indulgence by the SEC and Big Ten, yielding no practical value either for themselves or greater public confidence in the sport. 

But the underlying takeaway is the same as it was when I listened to those debates in 2016 between the really rich schools and the kinda rich schools over recruiting visits: If this is how difficult it’s going to be for the SEC and Big Ten to reach an accord with the ACC and Big 12 over something that should be driven by common sense, what chance in hell do they have of pulling together and fixing the truly difficult issues swallowing their industry? 

Intelligent, well-educated men and women making seven figures to be executives of a sports league are being reduced to children in a fight over playground territory because they overthink themselves into paranoia that one decision on the margins of a $1.3 billion annual enterprise is going to be unfair to them. 

And you wonder why college sports is at a complete gridlock, now in Year 6 of begging Congress for legislation that will mitigate the chaos of the transfer portal and NIL.  

But what gums up progress in college sports isn’t an ideological battle between the big schools and the small schools over the direction of the NCAA and how flexible its rules should be. It is, was and has always been the inability of the big schools to treat each other fundamentally as business partners rather than competitors. 

The CFP debate is merely a symptom of a much more invasive disease, one that the key stakeholders in college sports would rather pout about than make any significant concessions to cure.

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Alert the statue makers. Their services would be needed in January, if a college football team navigates this season undefeated.

That’s the way Steve Sarkisian sees it, anyway.

The Texas coach boldly predicted Tuesday that college football might have seen its last undefeated national champion. And in the off-chance that another perfect team emerges, bust out the bronze, Sarkisian says.

Michigan most recently pulled off perfection with its 2023 team. The Wolverines went 15-0, emerging victorious from a four-team College Football Playoff.

Now, with a 12-team playoff in place and a bigger playoff likely on the horizon, national champions play more than 15 games.

This season’s national champion will play a minimum of 16 games. Ohio State captured glory with a 14-2 record last season. The Buckeyes lost twice during the regular season before winning the national championship from the No. 8 seed line.

Ohio State became the first two-loss champion since 2007 LSU. Get used to more of that, says Sarkisian.

“This idea of somebody is going to go 16-0 in college football, man, put a statue up somewhere of that team,” Sarkisian said before the SEC’s spring meetings began here this week, “because I just don’t know if that’s going to happen again.”

Interesting opinion.

Count me among the skeptics, though, that we’ve seen the last of the undefeated national champions. This sport isn’t known for parity. It’s known for a small batch of schools dominating.

Sarkisian himself built a roster that could be poised to do some dominating this year.

Kirby Smart explains why perfection remains possible

Consider Georgia coach Kirby Smart skeptical of Sarkisian’s prediction that we’ve seen the sport’s last undefeated team.

Smart’s 2022 squad went undefeated, one of five teams to achieve the feat during the 10 years of the four-team playoff.

Smart’s thinking goes like this: Unless some framework is put in place to keep a team from outspending everyone else in this pay-for-play era, what’s to stop the emergence of an undefeated super team filled with highly paid players?

“You could end up with some haves and have nots out there,” Smart said, “and ultimately teams could drive prices and go buy a championship with a super team. I think we could see that if there’s not parity. We don’t really know if there’s going to be or not.”

A federal judge is considering whether to approve a legal settlement that would unlock revenue-sharing with athletes. That settlement would cap how much revenue each institution could share with athletes, functioning as something of a salary cap on rosters. However, even in that revenue-sharing landscape, separate NIL deals outside the school framework still could be brokered, allowing a roster to exceed the revenue-sharing cap.

College football’s landscape started evolving after NIL deals launched in 2021. Transfer rules also loosened that year. Those changes made it more difficult for one team – say, Alabama or Georgia – to stockpile a three-deep of all-stars.

“The portal and the lack of the depth” made going undefeated more difficult, Smart acknowledged.

Also, a longer season increases the runway for injuries. Both Texas and Georgia dealt with injuries to their starting quarterbacks last season. Georgia lost in the CFP quarterfinals to Notre Dame while starting a backup quarterback, after Carson Beck injured his elbow in the SEC championship game.

Texas is top candidate to be next undefeated national champion

Sarkisian ranks among the likeliest coaches to produce an undefeated champion within this structure.

The Longhorns possess the necessary ingredients to go undefeated:

∎ A lush bankroll. A handsomely paid roster doesn’t guarantee success, but let’s not kid ourselves, no pauper is winning a title in this pay-for-play model. Ohio State won with the help of spending $20 million to improve its roster. Texas, with its deep war chest, is believed to be among the teams driving up the market price this season.

∎ A good quarterback. Ohio State’s Will Howard peaked at the right time last season and delivered some of his finest performances throughout Ohio State’s four playoff victories. Texas will hand its quarterback reins to Arch Manning. He’s among the preseason favorites for the Heisman Trophy.

∎ A coach (and a school) that attracts talent and develops it. Ohio State’s Ryan Day can recruit and develop. So can Sarkisian. Day entered last season on the shortlist of best coaches without a national championship. Sarkisian heads up that list this season, after Texas’ consecutive trips to the CFP semifinals.

Arch Manning leads a talented Texas team that’s transitioning

Perfection talk aside, it’s evident that Sarkisian likes his roster. Texas must transition to new starters at key positions, including quarterback, but fresh starters doesn’t equate to a youthful roster.

“We’re not necessarily young. We’ve just got some new faces (starting),’ Sarkisian said, ‘guys who have been in our program, who have been working on their craft, who have been developing, and now it’s their opportunity.’

Take Manning, for example. He’s no pup, after two seasons as Quinn Ewers’ backup.

Manning started two games last season while Ewers recovered from an injury, and Sarkisian kept using Manning in select situations after Ewers returned.

The toughest roadblock to Texas achieving perfection probably isn’t the season’s length, but rather the location of its toughest regular-season games.

The Longhorns will play at Ohio State in the season opener and at Georgia in November.

If Manning and the Longhorns beat the Buckeyes at The Horseshoe, the victory would trumpet a message that Texas perfection is possible.

Anyone know any statue makers in Austin?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Did Shedeur Sanders buy himself a new, custom Rolls-Royce with his rookie contract money?

The Cleveland Browns’ fifth-round selection took to social media to dispute that rumor on Monday night.

‘Another lie….’ he wrote on X. ‘I’m focused on my team not a car purchase !’

The rumor surrounding Sanders’ potential Rolls-Royce stemmed from a video that surfaced over the weekend. His half-brother, Deion Sanders Jr., posted a video to YouTube on Sunday that showed a truck delivering a custom, olive green Rolls-Royce to the Sanders estate in Texas. It’s also known that while he was at Colorado, Shedeur drove around Boulder in a Rolls-Royce with custom black-and-gold wrapping.

Sanders’ social media post came hours after a similar retort from his father, Deion Sanders.

‘LIES!’ the elder Sanders replied to a post claiming that Shedeur had ‘purchased a $500k+ custom Rolls-Royce.’

Neither Shedeur nor Deion have provided any clarity on whom the car was intended for.

The rookie quarterback recently came to terms with Cleveland on a four-year $4.6 million deal that included a signing bonus of $447,380, according to Spotrac.

The Browns will begin their first of six days of OTAs (organized team activities) on Tuesday, and all eyes will be on the performance of the fifth-round pick.

In 2024, the Denver Broncos made the playoffs behind one of the best defenses in the league powered by Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II.

Standout play from that side of the ball and in-season improvement from rookie quarterback Bo Nix resulted in a 10-7 season and a playoff berth for the first time since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 to cap the 2015 NFL season.

That championship win was earned through another top defense and a solid offense with one Pro Bowl player: wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Thomas was the Broncos’ leading receiver for six seasons and earned five Pro Bowl honors with Denver. Now, the team will honor him as the newest member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame.

This was Thomas’ first year of eligibility to be elected to the Ring of Fame.

‘Demaryius Thomas’ election to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame — in his first year of eligibility — is a testament to the indelible mark he left on our organization and community,’ Broncos owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner said in a statement. ‘One of the most beloved players and greatest wide receivers in franchise history, Demaryius inspired our fans with breathtaking athleticism, record-setting performances and a joyful, infectious spirit.’

‘While we wish ‘D.T.’ was with us to celebrate this special moment, we look forward to honoring Demaryius alongside his Super Bowl 50 teammates during an unforgettable alumni weekend,’ Penner and Walton Penner said.

The Broncos drafted Thomas in the first round, No. 22 overall, in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the first wide receiver selected in the class and spent the first nine years of his career with the Broncos.

His production jumped when the Broncos signed quarterback Peyton Manning ahead of the 2012 NFL season. Thomas had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and made the Pro Bowl each year from 2012 to 2016.

Denver traded Thomas to the Houston Texans during the 2018 season for a pair of draft picks in 2019. He suffered an Achilles injury late in the year and missed the final game of the season.

Thomas signed with the New England Patriots in 2019 but was traded to the New York Jets before playing a game for New England. He played in 11 games for the Jets in his final NFL season.

Thomas officially announced his retirement in June 2021.

‘… One of the things D.T. always said was he didn’t want to be forgotten when he was finished with the game,’ Thomas’ mother, Katina Smith, said in a statement. ‘It wasn’t just about football for him but how he wanted to be remembered as a person. This will make Demaryius’ dream come true to be part of the prestigious Denver Broncos Ring of Fame.

‘It’s definitely going to be emotional and I am honored to represent him. I know D.T. is smiling in heaven with this exciting news that came out today.’

He remains one of the most prolific wide receivers in Broncos history. Thomas is second in career receiving yards (9,055) and touchdowns (60). He holds the franchise single-season and single-game records for yards with 1,619 and 226, respectively.

One of his more memorable moments with the Broncos was a walk-off touchdown in the 2011 wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. His catch-and-run sealed a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Thomas will be honored during the Broncos’ annual alumni weekend. The Super Bowl 50 title-winning team will be honored during a Week 7 home game against the New York Giants.

The Cincinnati Bengals star receiver is getting ready for his fifth season in the NFL and is fresh off signing a massive contract extension this offseason. But what about representing the United States in a different sport?

At the recent NFL owners meetings, the league gave its approval for players to be eligible to participate in the flag football event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. For now, it doesn’t appear Chase will be campaigning for a roster spot.

“I don’t know how I feel about it, if I’m being completely honest,” Chase said, via WPCO’s Marshall Kramsky. “I want to know the timing for us, offseason, in-season. I want to know if we’re getting paid. I want to know where we traveling every other week or every day, like all that plays a part, because we have an offseason, we have a life. Also, how long would that be? I don’t know. There’s a lot of questions to it.’

Chase went on to point out that he’s not 100% on board yet, saying the idea is cool, but there are still a lot of unknowns.

When asked if the Pro Bowl gave him any insight into the flag football game, Chase said they’re not the same.

‘First off, NFL Pro Bowl is against pros,’ Chase said. ‘Listen, Pro Bowl. All pros. You playing in the Olympics, not saying they not pros, but they not the same people we seeing every day.’

While the receiver continues to ponder his potential role, he also took a moment to point out the clashing of the two games if NFL players take flag football team roster spots every four years in the Olympics.

‘We taking they love of the game, and bashing it with our love of the game,’ Chase said. ‘Now we taking away their love of the game and we killing them. It’s a lot, bro. I think it’s cool, but I just don’t know if I’m 100% in on it.’

Whether Chase eventually comes around to the idea remains to be seen, but former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson was singing a different tune.

‘Just to think about the chances of playing in the Olympics and getting a gold medal, it’s a dream,’ Jefferson told reporters last week following announcement.

‘Just reverting back to being a kid and watching the track and field meets, watching basketball win the gold medal – that’s something that as a kid, I always wanted to be a part of,’ Jefferson said. ‘But football wasn’t (global). So now that we’re expanding the game and we’re going more globally, it’s pretty cool.’

The Minnesota Vikings’ star is seemingly all-in on flag football at the Olympics. Despite early roster spot debates, Jefferson has plenty of time to get Chase on board.

The Pittsburgh Steelers opened their voluntary OTAs Tuesday with Mason Rudolph as their No. 1 quarterback.

That could soon change, as the Steelers have been heavily connected to Aaron Rodgers since his mid-March release from the New York Jets. The 41-year-old veteran hasn’t yet agreed to a deal with Pittsburgh but has hinted at the possibility of joining the team in the not-so-distant future.

Rudolph expressed at OTAs he was aware of the chatter and the likelihood of the Steelers adding a fourth quarterback, whether it’s Rodgers or someone else, before camp. However, he is doing his best to ignore the buzz while keeping his focus on the field.

‘That’s nothing new to me. There’s been constant noise,’ Rudolph said, per the Steelers’ official website. ‘That is the nature of the NFL. So I am used to that for a long time. Now I’m doing nothing but being the best I can be to help our team get better this spring.’

Rudolph spent the first six seasons of his career with the Steelers but never was the team’s primary starter. He spent most of his time with the team backing up Ben Roethlisberger before playing behind Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky in his final two seasons with the team.

Overall, Rudolph made 13 starts for the Steelers, posting an 8-4-1 record and completing 63.5% of his passes for 3,085 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions across all his action. He parlayed his 3-0 performance to close the 2023 NFL season into a job with the Tennessee Titans while the Steelers pivoted to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback.

Rudolph admitted he faced ‘a lot of adversity’ in Tennessee. He posted a 1-4 record in five starts while completing 64% of his passes for 1,530 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.

That said, the soon-to-be 30-year-old believes getting ‘perspective and experience’ working with Brian Callahan’s staff for one year will prove beneficial for him. He is looking forward to growing from ‘a lot of good lessons learned’ as he returns to Pittsburgh, where he feels very comfortable.

‘I just think it’s a special place,’ Rudolph said. ‘You know, I’ve got a lot of great friends and teammates here, a lot of comfortability with Mike [Tomlin] and the staff, and [general manager] Omar [Khan] put together a great roster. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this team and this offense?’