Court officials overseeing the NFL’s $1B settlement fund for concussion-related injuries have “barred five law firms from handling any more claims from former players,” after finding that they “fraudulently steered clients toward doctors willing to give them a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis whether they exhibited symptoms or not.” The firms represented or performed work involving 98 former players who in recent years “sought six- to seven-figure payouts from the settlement for Parkinson’s disease claims.” Of those, 37 remained pending and will “now be denied, with a chance for the players to restart the claims process.” But 57 were approved -- totaling more than $95M. According to the report, the attorneys involved included former NFLer BART OATES (AP, 6/10).
JOINING THE CREW: Incoming Basketball HOFer CANDACE PARKER joined the Sport Beach’s Women’s Leadership Council as a co-chair to “help create meaningful pathways for women in coaching or leadership roles.” The platform launched the Women’s Leadership Council on Tuesday with the goal of “parlaying the current momentum surging women’s sports into long-lasting systems that address ongoing diversity and representation gaps.” The council brings together women from a “wide range of backgrounds, industries and experiences that offer different perspectives when searching for the best way to elevate female coaches and amplify their voices.” Others on the council include Type A President TARA AUGUST; Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast JORDAN CHILES; Netflix’s ELLE DUNCAN; Visa SVP/Global Partnership Strategy ANDREA FAIRCHILD; Ulta Beauty CMO KELLY MAHONEY; Nike EVP/Global Sports Marketing ANN MILLER; Sky co-owner NADIA RAWLINSON; and Sports Beach CEO BETH SIDHU (USA TODAY, 6/9).
CASE DISMISSED: A Wake County (N.C.) judge dismissed a civil lawsuit that accused current and former N.C. State officials of “allowing a former sports trainer to sexually harass male scholarship athletes.” Superior Court Judge BRYAN COLLINS dismissed the lawsuit against former head trainer ROBERT MURPHY and seven former and current administrators. The administrators include former AD DEBBIE YOW and current AD BOO CORRIGAN. The lawsuit stated school officials “recruited athletes to play sports at the school but left them vulnerable to Murphy’s sexual harassment and abuse, despite complaints from coaches and others” (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/10).
NAMES: Orioles owner DAVID RUBENSTEIN will have a new book out in September, titled “INSIDE THE OWNER’S BOX: CONVERSATIONS ON POWER AND LEADERSHIP IN SPORTS.” The book will be published Sept. 22 by Simon & Schuster. Rubenstein talked to other owners for the book, including Patriots owner ROBERT KRAFT, Kraken owner SAMANTHA HOLLOWAY, Suns owner MAT ISHBIA, Washington Spirit owner MICHELLE KANG, Astros owner JIM CRANE, Cubs owner TOM RICKETTS and Mariners owner JOHN STANTON (BALTIMORE SUN, 6/9)….Mavericks minority owner MARK CUBAN made a “philanthropic investment” in the U.S. Women’s Flag Football National Team as the sport prepares for its Olympic debut at the 2028 L.A. Games (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/10).
