National courts
Split verdict conviction tossed for ex-NFL star's killer

By Kevin Mcgill Jan. 12, 2021 01:11 PM EST
The U.S. Supreme Court has thrown out the manslaughter conviction for the man who shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith to death in 2016. ...

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, file photo, Curtis Flowers flanked by sister Priscilla Ward, right, exits the Winston Choctaw Regional Correctional Facility in Louisville, Miss. The NFL says it is honoring Flowers, a Black man from Mississippi who was imprisoned more than 22 years. He was freed in late 2019, months after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the last of his several convictions in a quadruple murder case. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
NFL honors Mississippi man freed after 22 years in prison

By Emily Wagster Pettus Dec. 24, 2020 03:06 PM EST

In this June 29, 2020 file photo, the Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Supreme Court allows antitrust suit against NFL to proceed

Nov. 02, 2020 10:04 AM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, former professional wrestler Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka leaves Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown, Pa. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, dismissed a lawsuit filed by 50 former professional wrestlers, including Snuka, who claimed World Wrestling Entertainment failed to protect them from repeated head trauma including concussions that led to long-term brain damage. (Michael Kubel/The Morning Call via AP, File)
Former WWE wrestlers' lawsuit over brain damage is dismissed

By Dave Collins Sep. 09, 2020 12:59 PM EDT

File-Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Rick Mirer (3) is sacked for a seven-yard-loss by Kevin Henry (76) of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter of their NFL game in Seattle, Wash., Sunday, Dec. 26, 1993. Dementia tests in the NFL concussion litigation allow doctors to use different baseline standards for Black and white retired players, making it more difficult for Blacks to show injury and qualify for awards, lawyers for two ex-players argued in court filings Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Lawyers for ex-players Henry and Najeh Davenport said their clients were denied awards “based on a discriminatory testing regime" that weighs sociological factors including race. Both men would have qualified for awards had race not been considered, they said. (AP Photos/Gary Stewart, File)
Lawyers: NFL concussion awards discriminate against Blacks

By Maryclaire Dale Aug. 25, 2020 05:37 PM EDT

FILE - These are 2020 file photos showing District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, left, and Washington Redskins NFL football team owner Dan Snyder, right. The recent national conversation about racism has renewed calls for the Washington Redskins to change their name. D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser called the name an "obstacle" to the team building its stadium and headquarters in the District, but owner Dan Snyder over the years has shown no indications he'd consider it. (AP Photo/File)
Debate on racism renews calls for Redskins to change name

By Stephen Whyno Jun. 17, 2020 05:36 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 18, 2014, file photo, lawyer Craig Mitnick speaks as he stands in front of a photograph that lists some of the approximately 1,400 players in NFL concussion litigation he represented, in Haddonfield, N.J. After several years of infighting over $112 million in legal fees in the NFL concussion case, a federal appeals court has approved a plan to give nearly half the money to New York-based Seeger Weiss. The decision Thursday, May 7, 2020, grants New York-based Seeger Weiss firm over $51 million, more than 10 times the amount of any other firm, including the lawyers who filed the first cases in 2012. Mitnick, whose split of the legal fees was left at about $675,000, felt the appeals court did not sufficiently explain its reasoning. Oral arguments in the case were cancelled amid the COVID-19 courthouse shutdown, he said. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
1 law firm gets lion's share of $112M in NFL concussion fees

By Maryclaire Dale May. 08, 2020 03:46 PM EDT

Supreme Court won't send St. Louis to arbitration with Rams

Apr. 20, 2020 08:33 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition from the Los Angeles Rams to send a lawsuit regarding their relocation from St. Louis into...

Washington Nationals fans boo as Houston Astros players walk onto the field for a spring training baseball game in West Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)
MLB tells court attempts at cheating are a part of sports

By Ronald Blum Feb. 24, 2020 01:05 PM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2019, file photo, Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Greg Robinson smiles during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz. Robinson was being held Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in a Texas jail on a pending drug distribution charge from a federal agency, records show. Robinson, 27, was booked Tuesday, according to El Paso County jail records.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
NFL free agent Greg Robinson jailed in Texas on pot charge

Feb. 19, 2020 01:57 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2009, file photo, Peter Fonda, poses atop a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Glendale, Calif. Fonda, the son of a Hollywood legend who became a movie star in his own right both writing and starring in counterculture classics like "Easy Rider," has died. His family says in a statement that Fonda died Aug. 16, 2019, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2019

By Bernard Mcghee Dec. 23, 2019 10:13 AM EST

Canadian viewers won't see US Super Bowl commercials

By The Associated Press Dec. 19, 2019 11:22 AM EST
Canada's Supreme Court has overturned a decision that allowed viewers to see U.S. commercials during the Super Bowl. Bell Canada received...

In this Nov. 18, 2019 photo, a patron visits a betting kiosk in the sports betting area of Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. Legalized sports betting's rapid march across the U.S. could face some bigger tests in 2020. Less than two years after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling opened the door to sportsbooks outside Nevada, they have been legalized in states that are home to about one-third of the nation's population. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Sports betting's rapid expansion faces more tests in 2020

By Jennifer Mcdermott And Geoff Mulvihill Dec. 18, 2019 03:19 PM EST

FILE - In this May 15, 2019, file photo, Juice WRLD performs in concert during his "Death Race for Love Tour" at The Skyline Stage at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The Chicago-area rapper, whose real name is Jarad A. Higgins, was pronounced dead Dec. 8 after a "medical emergency'' at Chicago's Midway International Airport, according to authorities. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File)
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2019

By Bernard Mcghee Dec. 16, 2019 12:47 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014, file photo, former NFL safety Darren Sharper appears in Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles. Imprisoned former NFL star Darren Sharper is pressing on with his attempts to reduce his 18-year federal sentence in a sexual assault case. An on-again-off-again appeal was revived Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. (Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)
Appeal by ex-NFL star Sharper continues in drug, rape case

By Kevin Mcgill Oct. 11, 2019 12:35 PM EDT

In this Sept. 4, 2019 photo, Andy Lanni of Oceanview, N.J. checks the odds at the sports book in the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, N.J. As the second NFL season begins following a U.S. Supreme Court decision clearing the way for legal sports betting, the industry is growing larger and ever-more mobile in the U.S. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Larger US sports betting market races for (online) end zone

By Wayne Parry Sep. 04, 2019 02:50 PM EDT

Promoter intends to drop sanctioning suit against USSF

By The Associated Press Aug. 05, 2019 09:52 PM EDT
A promoter intends to drop its lawsuit that asked a court to order the U.S. Soccer Federation to sanction international league matches in the United States. ...

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014, file photo, former NFL safety Darren Sharper appears in Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles. Disgraced NFL star Darren Sharper’s attempt to get out of a 2016 plea deal and the resulting 18-year prison sentence in a sexual assault case has been rejected by a federal judge. Attorneys for Sharper argued in a motion filed last year that he was not adequately advised by his previous lawyers on the consequences of his 2016 guilty plea, which arose from allegations that Sharper drugged and sexually assaulted as many as 16 women in four states. (Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)
Disgraced NFL star loses bid to undo plea deal in rape case

By Kevin Mcgill Aug. 01, 2019 10:35 AM EDT

Former Microsoft employee gets 2 years for embezzlement

Jun. 28, 2019 06:06 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — A former Microsoft sports marketing director has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after admitting he tried to embezzle $1.5 million —...

Judge approves $24 million settlement over Rams' PSLs

Jun. 24, 2019 04:17 PM EDT
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge has approved a settlement calling for the NFL's Rams to pay up to $24 million to personal seat license holders in St. Louis. ...