Three more massage therapists have accused Baltimore Ravens placekicker Justin Tucker of sexual misconduct, bringing the total number to nine women who say the Pro Bowler was inappropriate during sessions.

The unnamed woman, who is only identified as M. in the story, said in 2015 that during her massage session with Tucker at the QG, a downtown Baltimore spa, he stroked her inner thigh and exposed himself, leaving what she said was sperm on the table.

“I understand that Justin Tucker is an important client to The QG, but as an employee of The QG who has tolerated the previous interactions with him, I no longer feel safe or comfortable working with him,’ the woman wrote in an internal report.

Tucker, 35, has called the allegations ‘unequivocally false,’ adding that the women took ‘innocuous or ambiguous interactions and skews them so out of proportion that they are no longer recognizable,’ calling the Baltimore Banner’s initial report ‘desperate tabloid fodder.’

All things Ravens: Latest Baltimore Ravens news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

“I cannot be any clearer,” Tucker said in a statement. “These accusations are false and incredibly hurtful to both me, and more importantly, my family.”

The Baltimore Banner said they spoke to six massage therapists about Tucker and reported that two spas banned him from their business.

Tucker denied being inappropriate or being banned from any spa.

The NFL and the Ravens each put out statements concerning Tucker.

‘We first became aware of the allegations from the reporter investigating this story as they were not previously shared with the NFL,’ NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. ‘We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter.’

‘We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation,’ the Ravens said in a statement.

Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, signed a four-year, $24 million contract extension with the Ravens in 2022 and will earn a base salary of $4.2 million next season.

Grey Zabel might be the perfect player to prove the case for the Senior Bowl.

The former North Dakota State football offensive lineman has made a name for himself this week in practices and at the Senior Bowl game itself on Saturday. For his strong week at practices in Mobile, Alabama, Zabel was named the Senior Bowl Overall Practice Player of the Week in a poll by 32 NFL executives.

Zabel has worked into the conversation of being a late first-round pick following an intense week in front of NFL scouts and personnel.

Here’s what you need to know about Zabel, including his college recruitment:

Who is Grey Zabel?

Zabel measured at 6-foot-5, 316 pounds at the Senior Bowl. He appeared in 62 games during his career with the Bison, including starting at left tackle in his final season. He has proven he can play everywhere, as he also made starts at left guard, right tackle and right guard during his career.

During the Senior Bowl, Zabel played guard and got in a drive at center, further proving his positional versatility for the next level. Zabel graduated from NDSU with a major in agribusiness and a minor in economics and precision agriculture.

Zabel earned First-Team FCS All-American this season at tackle for the Bison, but being able to show his ability to play around the offensive line and the ability he creates with his hands and feet has earned him high praise from NFL draft analysts.

‘From start-to-finish, Grey Zabel dominated the week,’ ESPN analyst Field Yates wrote on social media. ‘He was outstanding in 1-on-1s at both guard spots and center. His hands and feet were always in sync and he finished with an edge. Leaving this week, Zabel felt like a guy who will hear his name called late in Round 1.’

Grey Zabel recruitment

Star rating: 0 stars
National ranking: No ranking
Positional ranking: No ranking
State ranking: No ranking

According to 247Sports’ Composite rankings, Zabel was unranked in the 2020 recruiting class out of T.F. Riggs High School in Pierre, South Dakota. Zabel also held offers from South Dakota and South Dakota State but committed to the Bison on July 16, 2019. He finished his high school career with 84 tackles, 25 t tackles for loss and 14 sacks.

A two-time UFC champion, Adesanya lost his third straight fight − this time by a technical knock out to Nassourdine Imavov in a matchup of middleweights.

Imavov dropped him with an overhand right and continued to pummel him on the ground before the referee stopped the fight 30 seconds into the second round.

It was Adesanya’s first non-title fight since 2019, and it’s unclear when – maybe if – the 35-year-old fight he’ll get another title shot as his record dropped to 24-5 after his fourth defeat in five matches.

Imavov, a 28-year-old from France, won his fourth straight fight and improved to 16-4.

Expert NFL playoff picks: Unique data and betting insights only at USA TODAY

A recap of the rest of the fight card:

Michael Page def. Shara Magomedov by unanimous decision

Quick and elusive, Page rode those skills to victory in the middleweight bout and handed Magomedov the first loss of the Russian’s career.

Page, bouncing on the balls of his feet, largely avoided any powerful kicks and punches. But he delivered them. And, under attack late in the third round, Page fended off Magomedov with a solid left jab.

The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 in favor of Page.

Page, the 37-year-old Brit, improved to 23-3. Magomedov, the 30-year-old Russian, fell to 15-1.

Sergei Pavlovich def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by unanimous decision

It was no crowd pleaser, with lulls in the action twice prompting the referee to urge the fighters, “OK, let’s go.’’

When they did get going, albeit for brief stretches, Pavlovich dominated the heavyweight bout with his superior striking.

The crowd booed when the action slowed, but there was no doubt about the outcome. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Pavlovich, the 32-year-old Russian who improved to 19-3.

Rozenstruik, a 36-year-old from Suriname, fell to 15-6.

Vinicius Oliveira def. Said Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision

Oliveira winced and held the left side of his rib cage after his victory, the explained he’d fought through the lingering injury during an entertaining bantamweight bout.

Looking like a whirling dervish, Nurmagomedov landed a series of kicks early and controlled the first round. But he look spent heading into the second round, which is when Oliveira began to rev up his attack.

All three judges scored in 29-28 in favor of Oliveira, a 29-year-old Brazilian who improved to 22-3.  Nurmagomedov, a 32-year-old Russian, dropped to 18.4.

Fares Ziam def. Mike Davis by unanimous decision

On a blood-splattered mat, Ziam won the lightweight bout in impressive fashion. He finished coated in blood, most of which belonged to Davis.

The blood poured after Ziam landed a blow in the second round that opened up a deep cut. Though he dominated the fight, Davis struck hard toward the end of the third round.

He opened up a cut over Ziam’s, and the Frenchmen still was bleeding during his victorious, postfight interview in the Octagon.

All three judges scored it 30-27 for Ziam, the 27-year-old Frenchman, who improved to 17-4. Davis, a 32-year-old American, dropped to 11-3.

Muhammad Naimov def. Kaan Ofli by unanimous decision

Naimov took a kick to the groin in the first round and needed more than a minute before he could continue. It was the only time he looked hurt in the featherweight bout.

On their feet, each fighter landed ample punches. But Naimov won the fight on the ground, where he pummeled Ofli for significant stretches.

The judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Naimov, a 30-year-old from Tajikistan, improved to 12-3. Ofli, a 31-year-old Australian, fell to 11-4-1.

Shamil Gaziev def. Thomas Petersen by TKO

Gaziev displayed impressive power, especially on the final punch of the heavyweight bout. He floored Petersen with a right cross for a TKO victory in the first round.

Earlier in the round, Petersen scored a takedown but couldn’t keep down Gaziev long. Back on his feet, Gaziev went on the attack with his fists and Petersen proved vulnerable.

The referee stopped the fight at 3:12 of the first round.

Gaziev, 34-year-old Russian, improved to 13-1. Petersen, a 29-year-old American, fell to 9-3.

Terrance McKinney def. Damir Hadzovic by TKO

With his signature aggression, McKinney needed just two minutes to finish off Hadzovic in their lightweight bout.

McKinney opened with head kicks, then scored a takedown that lead to a barrage of elbows and punches to Hadzovic’s head. With blood on the mat, the referee halted the fight.

Of his 16 victories, 15 have come in the first round. McKinney, a 30-year-old from Chicago, improved to 16-7.

16-7. Hadzovic, a 38-year-old native of Bosnia, fell to 14-8.

Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision

Jasudavicius scored takedowns in all three rounds and each time battered Silva on her way to victory by unanimous decision in their flyweight bout.

The rounds were close – that is, until Jasudavicius scored her takedowns. She capitalized on them all, landing body shots and headshots while subduing her Silva.

All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Jasudavicius, a 35-year-old Canadian who improved to 13-3.

Silva, a 33-year-old Brazilian, fell to 10-5-1.

Bogdan Grad def. Lucas Alexander by TKO

Grad dropped Alexander with a right hand in the second round, then unleashed a series or punches and elbows to the head before scoring a second-round TKO in their featherweight bout.

Alexander appeared to win the first round and dropped Grad to the canvas with a leg kick early in the second round. But Grad rose to his feet, responded with that crushing right and soon after smothered Alexander with punches and elbows. The referee stopped the fight with 27 seconds left in the round.

Grad, the Romanian-born 29-year-old improved to 15-2. Alexander, a 29-year-old Brazilian, dropped to 8-5. 

Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Jamal Pogues by split decision

Pogues wept as he walked to the Octagon. He smiled at times while landing punches during the fight. But after his heavyweight bout against Abdelwahab, he was frowning.

In his first UFC bout in more than two years, Abdelwahab won by split decision. After the fight he said he didn’t think he did enough to win. But the judges disagreed.

They scored the fight 27-30, 29-28, 29-28 in Abdelwahab’s favor even though Pogues appeared to land considerably more punches.

Abdelwahab, the 32-year-old Egyptian and one-time Olympic wrestler, improved to 6-0. Pogues, a 29-year-old American, fell to 11-5.

UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia fight card

Main Card

Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov, Middleweight
Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page, Middleweight
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Heavyweight
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira, Bantamweight
Mike Davis vs. Fares Ziam, Lightweight

Prelims

Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli, Featherweight
Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen, Heavyweight
Damir Hadzovic vs. Terrance McKinney, Lightweight
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Mayra Bueno Silva, Women’s Flyweight
Lucas Alexander vs. Bogdan Grad, Featherweight
Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues, Heavyweight

UFC Saudi Arabia: Time, TV, streaming for Adesanya vs. Imavov

Date: Saturday, Feb. 1
Time: Prelims begin at 9 a.m. ET; Main card begins at noon ET
Location: ANB Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV: N/A
Stream: ESPN+ PPV

Catch UFC action with an ESPN+ subscription

UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia odds

All odds are for moneyline bets (as of Saturday), according to BetMGM.

Main Card

Israel Adesanya (-170) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (+140)
Shara Magomedov (-185) vs. Michael Page (-185)
Sergei Pavlovich (-325) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (+260)
Said Nurmagomedov (-160) vs. Vinicius Oliveira (+135)
Mike Davis (-140) vs. Fares Ziam (+115)

Prelims

Muhammad Naimov (-325) vs. Kaan Ofli (+260)
Shamil Gaziev (-350) vs. Thomas Petersen (+280)
Damir Hadzovic (+360) vs. Terrance McKinney (-500)
Jasmine Jasudavicius (-250) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (+200)
Lucas Alexander (-125) vs. Bogdan Grad (+105)
Hamdy Abdelwahab (-115) vs. Jamal Pogues (-105)

UFC Saudi Arabia predictions

MMA Junkie: Majority picks Adesanya

Nolan King: Adesanya, 8-3
Matt Erickson: Adesanya, 8-3
Simon Samano: Imavov, 7-4
Brian Garcia: Imavov, 7-4
George Garcia: Adesanya, 7-4
Matthew Wells: Adesanya, 6-5
Danny Segura: Imavov, 6-5
Ken Hathaway: Imavov, 5-6
Farah Hannoun: Adesanya, 5-6
Abbey Subhan: Adesanya, 5-6
Mike Bohn: Adesanya, 3-8
MMA Junkie readers’ picks: 79% take Adesanya

Forbes: Adesanya to win via decision

Trent Reinsmith writes, ‘With two straight losses, it’s fair to ask if the 35-year-old Adesanya has begun his downward slide. I don’t believe that to be the case, especially when it comes to his striking. If Adesanya can keep the fight standing, this one is his to lose. However, if Imavov decided to make it a wrestling match, things could get interesting. The pick is for Adesanya to win via decision.’

ClutchPoints : Adesanya to win

Dominik Zawartko writes, ‘This fight should be fun to watch from a fan’s perspective as we’re bound to see some elite striking from both sides. However, Israel Adesanya is too adept at gauging the range and I don’t believe Imavov will be able to close the distance effectively. Furthermore, we know Izzy can absorb big shots and I don’t see Imavov threatening too much with the knockout.

Expect this fight to carry into the later rounds, but we’ll roll with Israel Adesanya to win this fight and show shades of his old untouchable self.’

VSiN: Advantage Adesanya

Lou Finocchiaro writes, ‘Adesanya’s athleticism, reach and length advantages will position him to potentially shred Imavov as long as Adesanya can keep this fight at distance and upright and provided he decides this is what he really wants.

‘Early on, this fight makes out to be a tight, competitive bout. However, should it enter the third round and beyond, a focused, motivated Adesanya, with his experience and competition faced, will hold advantage. There’s just one question: Which Issy do we get?’

Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov: Tale of the tape

UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia price

UFC events are available to ESPN+ subscribers for $119.99 for the entire year. You can also purchase a monthly subscription of ESPN+ for $11.99.

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With 32 NFL teams, chances are you might not have much to root for when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59, which airs at 6:30 p.m. ET Feb. 9 on Fox, NFL app and Tubi.

Maybe you’ll just tune in for the commercials or go to a party for the snacks. Whatever the case may be, why not give yourself something more to care about, like some cold hard cash?

One of the easiest, no-skills way to play is the Super Bowl squares game. And now’s the perfect time (there’s a 100 reasons why below) to get a game going with family, friends or co-workers:

How to play Super Bowl squares

1. A 10×10 grid is used to play the game. Often, a paper copy of the grid is printed out.

2. People buy squares on the grid for a fixed price. We’ll use $5 a square here. Generally, in an office setting, you can write your name on the official grid.

Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them.

3. Once all squares are sold (It’s OK if some are not sold, more on that later) the pool organizer draws random numbers between 0-9 and assigns them across the top and side of the grid. The organizer then shares the grid with all players who purchased squares.

4. At the end of every quarter, the last digit of the score for each team is plotted on the grid. For example, if the score at the end of the first quarter was the Eagles 14 and Chiefs 7, the winning numbers of 4 and 7 are plotted on the grid. Here, ‘Rick P.’ is the winner for the first quarter.

What if you haven’t sold all the squares and a blank square wins? That quarter’s prize rolls over into the next quarter. Just use your best judgment. You don’t want a game where there are too few squares and nobody wins.

How Super Bowl squares winnings are distributed

How winnings are divided among quarters can differ. Traditionally, the final quarter pays out the most. In our example, we assume we sold all 100 squares, making a $500 pot. The first, second and third quarters are awarded $100 and the final score is awarded $200.

Download a the Super Bowl squares grid

Click here to download your own Super Bowl Squares template and start a game with your friends. Tip: print the document in landscape mode.

MEDLEY, Fla. — Unrivaled returns to action on Saturday with one club seeking its first win of the season, while two other clubs hope to avoid a losing weekend in Week 3.

Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart and the winless Mist (0-4) will face the Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale and the Vinyl (2-2) in the first of two games at 6 p.m. ET.

Kayla McBride, Tiffany Hayes and the Laces (4-1) hope to bounce back after their first loss against Angel Reese and the Rose (1-4) in the second game at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Here’s everything you need to know, and follow along here for live updates from USA TODAY Sports:

How to watch Unrivaled games on TV Saturday night?

Unrivaled is available on cable television on TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.

How to live stream Unrivaled games on Saturday night?

Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.

Watch: Unrivaled games on Sling TV

Vinyl (2-2) vs. Mist (0-4) at 6 p.m.

Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart leads the Mist in nearly every statistical category, but the club is the only winless side in the league.

Meanwhile, the Vinyl hopes to get back on track. They won their first two games in Week 1, but dropped both games in Week 2.

Dearica Hamby leads the Vinyl with 19.0 points per game (fifth in Unrivaled), while Rhyne Howard averages 17.5 points (eighth). Jewell Loyd leads the Mist with 17.7 points (seventh), while Stewart has 17.5 points (ninth) and 11.8 rebounds per game (tied for first).

Laces (4-1) vs. Rose (1-4) at 7:30 p.m.

The Laces dropped their first game of the season against the Lunar Owls in a battle of unbeaten teams, while the Rose fell to Sabrina Ionescu and the Phantom on Friday night.

The Laces are led by Kayla McBride (25.6 ppg, second in Unrivaled) and Tiffany Hayes (19.4 ppg, fourth). Kahleah Copper is the leading scorer for Rose (14.8 ppg), while Angel Reese has averaged 11.2 points and 8.0 rebounds.

Both teams faced each other last Monday, with the Laces winning 71-64.

Angel Reese has new McDonald’s deal

Starting Feb. 10, you can order the Angel Reese Special, which includes a BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese topped with a new BBQ sauce, plus French fries and a drink.

WNBA free agency, offseason takes flight

The Unrivaled games come during a blockbuster week where several WNBA players will be on the move next season.

Griner agreed to a free agent deal with the Atlanta Dream after 11 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury.
The Laces’ Alyssa Thomas was traded from the Connecticut Sun after 11 seasons to the Mercury.
A three-team trade featuring Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum and several 2025 WNBA draft picks started the frenzy.

What is Unrivaled?

Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in the 3-on-3, full court games.

Where is Unrivaled playing games?

Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Florida, which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.

Unrivaled team names and rosters

Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young.
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.

Unrivaled rules to know 

Unrivaled games start with three seven-minute quarters, and games end when the target winning score is reached in the fourth quarter. The target winning score is 11 points higher than the highest team’s score after the third quarter, known as the Elam Ending. 
Players also take just one free throw after being fouled: A free throw equals two or three points depending on the shooting foul. 
How long is the Unrivaled court size? It’s is 72 feet long by 49.2 feet wide. NBA and WNBA courts are 94 feet long and 50 feet wide. 

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New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray tore his Achilles tendon during Friday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, according to multiple reports. The one-time All-Star’s first season with New Orleans is over.

The injury occurred during the first quarter of what was an eventual 118-116 win by the Celtics. Murray went down after pulling in a rebound after his own miss. He could barely get off the court under his own power and required assistance to get to the locker room.

Murray had four points and five rebounds in eight minutes before exiting with the injury.

Murray, an All-Star in 2022, joined the Pelicans via trade last July for a high price: four players, including promising third-year man Dyson Daniels and dependable veteran Larry Nance Jr., and two first-round draft picks.

Murray’s season got off to an inauspicious start — he broke his hand in the season opener on Oct. 23 and didn’t play again until Nov. 27. Now his campaign is over.

All things Pelicans: Latest New Orleans Pelicans news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Entering Friday, Murray was averaging 17.9 points, 7.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds over 30 games.

The Pelicans have been ravaged by injuries this season. Zion Williamson has played just 13 games. Brandon Ingram has played in just 18 contests. And now Murray, their big offseason acquisition, will end the year having played 31 games.

That’s helped explain the Pelicans plummeting down the standings. A 49-33 playoff team last season, New Orleans is an abysmal 12-37 this year after Friday’s loss.

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After largely withstanding written and oral arguments from a handful of lawyers opposing preliminary approval, the proposed multi-billion-dollar settlement of three athlete-compensation antitrust cases against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences now faces numerous organized objections and individual pleas as a federal judge in Northern California weighs whether to grant final consent.

More than 35 formal objections or comment letters were filed before the deadline for such submissions passed on Friday night at 11:59 Pacific Time. Among the most prominent athletes to object was current LSU gymnast and noted social-media influencer Olivia Dunne.

Dunne’s filing, on Friday, was not presented by a law firm acting on her behalf, and she did not identify herself by school or sport. But an LSU athletics spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that Dunne had made the submission, which included seven detailed bullet points and a request that she or her lawyer be heard during the final approval hearing April 7.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing a group of 76 athletes who have opted out of the proposed settlement on Friday started a new antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA and the conferences. With former Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill as the lead plaintiff, it was filed in the same district in Northern California as the ongoing cases and several prominent past cases against the NCAA.  

The proposed settlement agreement would involve a $2.8 billion in damages pools for current and former athletes over a span of 10 years and set the stage for a fundamental change in college sports — Division I schools being allowed to start paying athletes directly for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), subject to a per-school cap that would increase over time.

Also part of the arrangement would be rules changes for schools that opt in to making NIL deals with their athletes. Longstanding, sport-by-sport scholarship limits would be eliminated for those schools and replaced with a new set of roster-size limits, as early as the 2025-26 school year. The limits likely would result in hundreds, if not thousands, of current Division I roster spots being eliminated.

In addition, while athletes would continue to have the ability to make NIL deals with entities other than their schools, the settlement would allow the NCAA to institute rules designed to give the association greater enforcement oversight of those arrangements.

This has prompted a broad array of disagreements with the deal, dozens of which were detailed in both general and highly legalistic ways across the spread of filings. The most prominent and repeated ones are:

The impact on athletes who soon stand to lose their places on teams, and whether the roster limits could be imposed over several years instead of all at once.

Whether the proposed method for allocating a sizable part of the overall damages amount discriminates against female athletes in violation of the gender-equity law, Title IX, and sets the stage for allocations of NIL money from schools going forward in a fashion that violates Title IX. The damages allocation at issue would dramatically favor football and men’s basketball players.

The per-school cap on pay for NIL use replaces one illegal restraint on compensation with another.

Whether the plaintiffs’ lawyers — who could be positioned to receive more than $750 million in attorney’s fees and costs — could adequately represent the interests of all of the athletes involved in the case, given their varying interests of former, current athletes and future athletes; athletes on full scholarships, partial scholarships or no scholarships.  

The objection documents and comment letters came from athletes, former athletes and parents of athletes, some of whom told detailed personal stories.

Many of the athletes had no name recognition. But in addition to Dunne, recent Boston College starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos, now at Florida State, had an objection filed on his behalf. Former Kansas basketball player Frank Mason III is involved with one; so is Chuck O’Bannon, the former TCU basketball player whose uncle, Ed, was the lead plaintiff in another prominent case against the NCAA.

Ed O’Bannon’s lead lawyer in that case is directing an objection in this one. Other attorneys of prominence in the Title IX and sexual harassment fields are involved, and several veteran sports economics experts are playing supporting roles. Even a handful of current college coaches submitted declarations in support of an objection.

The federal government — at least for the moment — also is in the mix. It’s involved directly through a filing in the case from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division three days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration that said final approval should be denied or include specified conditions. It’s involved indirectly, through documents issued by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) regarding the application of longstanding Title IX policies to direct payments from schools to athletes for use of their NIL.

Whether the government will remain involved under the new Trump Administration is unclear. None of the three most highest-ranking Justice officials whose names are on that filing are still with the department, according to the department website and/or their LinkedIn profiles and messages. At the Education Department, the OCR’s leadership has been replaced.   

Regardless, will any of this persuade U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken?

A number of the arguments being advanced in the objections were tried in the preliminary-approval phase (those lawyers are back, too) and during a hearing, Wilken largely waved them off. She did end up saying she would not approve the original version of the proposed settlement — but for set of reasons that differed from those expressed in the oppositions.

When lawyers for the plaintiffs and the NCAA who crafted the proposed settlement addressed Wilken’s concerns in an adjusted version of the agreement, she moved it ahead to this final phase.

And Steve Berman, one of the plaintiffs’ lead attorneys, told USA TODAY Sports on Friday night that he is “not concerned” about the objections.

‘A lot of the objections are reiterations of what (Wilken) saw and overruled in preliminary approval,” although he noted that this time some of these issues have been addressed in greater detail and buttressed with expert backup.

“With something as emotional at this, people are not all going to agree. But is the overall settlement fair? I think she’s going to say, ‘Yes.’ ”

However, Berman was certain about how his side will approach the response to the objections that it must file by March 3.

“We’re coming out swinging,” he said.

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Shriver, a 22-time major doubles champion and current ESPN commentator, revealed that she has recovered her Grand Slam trophies that were stolen inside her Dodge Durango Hellcat earlier this month after her family was forced to evacuate their Brentwood, California home as the Pacific Palisades wildfire raged, burning over 23,000 acres since Jan. 7.

‘Good news on my trophies (& family photos)- the LAPD detective in charge of the investigation has them at the police station being finger printed,’ Shriver wrote on X Friday, adding, ‘Today feels like we won another major!’

Shriver said 11 of her major trophies — five U.S. Open trophies, five Roland Garros plates and one Australian Open trophy — were in the back of the vehicle after her family fled to a hotel in Marina Del Rey, California.

‘I don’t think (the thieves) meant to take the trophies. I doubt they’re big tennis fans. They just happened to be in the back,’ Shriver told local new channel KTLA at the time. Family photos were among her possessions in the stolen car.

On Friday, Shriver told ESPN that the hotel staff found the trophies near the hotel on Monday morning. Surveillance footage showed that the hardware was returned by someone driving a vehicle that ‘fit, somewhat, the description’ of her stolen Dodge Durango Hellcat. She picked the trophies up from the police station on Tuesday after detectives fingerprinted them, but her black vehicle remains missing.

‘We still hope to find black Dodge Durango Hellcat in one piece,’ she wrote on X.

Shriver said she was overjoyed to be back in possession of her trophies. ‘It wasn’t just a sentiment to me. The trophies actually hold a pretty reasonable value as well,’ she told ESPN. ‘I do think getting a word out about the trophies helped get them back.’

Shriver and Martina Navratilova combined to form one of the most dominant women’s doubles teams in tennis history. They won 20 Grand Slams together, including seven Australian Open titles (1982-85, 1987-89), five Wimbledon titles (1981-84, 1986), four US Open titles (1983-84, 1986-87) and four French Open titles (1984-85, 1987-88). She also won the 1987 French Open mixed doubles title with Emilio Sánchez, the US Open with Natasha Zvereva in 1991, in addition to the Olympic gold medal in doubles with Zina Garrison at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.

‘That is just awesome!!!! Well done the Police!!!’ Navratilova replied to Shriver on X.

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