The North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League fired coach Paul Riley effective immediately after allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct were detailed in a published report in the The Athletic. The alleged misconduct, which includes claims of sexual coercion, stretched back more than a decade, according to the report. US Soccer said it is suspending Riley’s coaching license. NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement that the league is referring the allegations to the US Center for SafeSport for investigation. The league, in its ninth season, is also mandating that anyone who interacts with players participate in training with SafeSport and be subject to background checks and additional screening. The NWSL is also implementing a new anonymous reporting process and vowed all reports would be promptly investigated. Former NWSL players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim recounted their experiences with Riley to The Athletic. The alleged harassment of Farrelly started in 2011 when she was a player with the Philadelphia Independence of the Women’s Professional Soccer league. She told the website that the abuse continued when Farrelly was with the Portland Thorns. Shim, a former Thorns player, also allegedly experienced harassment. Both women are no longer playing in the NWSL. Hanson’s Sam Mewis, a player for the Courage and the World Cup-winning US national team, posted her support for Farrelly and Shim on social media. Riley told The Athletic the allegations were “completely untrue.’'
Golf
Theegala leads Sanderson Farms
California rookie Sahith Theegala carved his tee shots into play and made it look easy from there Thursday for an 8-under-par 64 and a one-shot lead over Nick Watney and Harold Varner III at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss. … Tyrrell Hatton quickly shook off the disappointment of Europe’s heavy loss at the Ryder Cup last week to take a share of the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, a European Tour event he has won twice. Playing traditionally the toughest of the three courses that stage the tournament, Hatton shot 8-under 64 at Carnoustie to tie for the lead with Nicolas Colsaerts, Adri Arnaus (both St. Andrews) and Li Haotong (Kingsbarns) … Bryson DeChambeau is on to the final round of the Professional Long Drivers Association World Championship after finishing tied for fourth in the third round of the tournament in Mesquite, Nev.
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Miscellany
NBA vaccination rate climbs
The NBA has seen a rise in vaccination rates in recent days when factoring in those players who have received at least one of the necessary shots, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The leaguewide rate is now around 95 percent when counting those who are now at least in the vaccination process, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the NBA nor the National Basketball Players Association released the figure publicly …The NCAA is exploring holding a joint Final Four with the men and women’s basketball tournaments holding their semifinals and title games in the same city on the same weekend, though it would not happen until at least 2027 with sites already locked in through 2026 … Reigning Olympic luge silver medalist Chris Mazdzer of the US said he broke his right foot during a preseason training run and will need some time before figuring out a new plan to get ready for this winter’s Beijing Games. Mazdzer got hurt on the 2014 Olympic track in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, where some members of the USA Luge national team had gathered to start on-ice work for the season. Mazdzer didn’t crash but said his foot struck a piece of the ice while he was going around 75 miles per hour … Qatar will host its first Formula One race in November as part of the series’ pandemic-related schedule shuffling, and the nation signed a 10-year hosting agreement that begins in 2023.
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