Thursday’s Sports in Brief

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This article was published 07/04/2023 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TRANSGENDER ATHLETES

WASHINGTON (AP) — Schools and colleges across the U.S. would be forbidden from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes under a proposal released by the Biden administration, but teams could create some limits in certain cases — for example, to ensure fairness.

The proposed rule sends a political counterpunch toward a wave of Republican-led states that have sought to ban trans athletes from competing in school sports that align with their gender identities. If finalized, the proposal would become enshrined as a provision of Title IX, the landmark gender-equity legislation enacted in 1972.

It must undergo a lengthy approval process, however, and it’s almost certain to face challenges. While opponents sharply criticized the proposal, some advocates for transgender athletes were concerned that it did not go far enough.

The proposal came on the same day the Supreme Court said a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia can continue competing on her middle school track and cross-country teams while legal battles over the state’s transgender law continue. The law bans transgender athletes from female teams.

GOLF

The European tour was within its rights to sanction members who competed on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf without permission, an independent tribunal ruled.

An appeal panel at Sport Resolutions found that a number of players, including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, committed “serious breaches” of the European tour’s code of behavior by playing in LIV Golf events last year.

The ruling allows the European tour to impose fines of 100,000 pounds ($125,000) on players who competed in the rival league without a conflicting events release.

Keith Pelley, the European tour chief executive, said he was happy the panel gave clarity to the situation and determined the tour was not being anti-competitive. He also said it would be looked upon as a landmark case for all sports organizations.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU’s national champion women’s basketball team will accept an invitation from President Joe Biden to visit the White House.

University spokesman Michael Bonnette confirmed LSU’s intentions on the matter a day after Tigers star forward Angel Reese suggested during a podcast interview that her team should celebrate their title with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama rather than President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

Reese made the suggestion after saying she was not inclined to accept an apology from Jill Biden for suggesting that both LSU and runner-up Iowa be invited to the White House. President Biden did not follow through on that idea, inviting only LSU and men’s national champion Connecticut.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s governor took a shot at the city of Houston following the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four, which was held in that city last weekend.

Gov. Ned Lamont, who traveled to Houston and was on hand Monday night to watch the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team win its fifth NCAA Tournament championship, talked about his visit earlier this week on WPLR-FM’s Chaz and AJ show.

“After winning the semifinals, you walk around downtown Houston, which is butt ugly,” the Democrat said. “Not much there.”

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, also a Democrat, responded that he did not appreciate the governor “throwing shade” at his city after it went to the trouble to “feed you, dine you, host you, house you.”

Lamont and Turner spoke over the phone and Lamont apologized, Turner tweeted. Turner said he accepted the apology and again congratulated UConn for its championship.

SOCCER

LONDON (AP) — England’s Chloe Kelly scored the winning spot-kick to settle the first women’s Finalissima after a dramatic game against Brazil, watched by 83,132 fans at Wembley, ended in a 4-2 penalty shootout victory for the hosts.

Ella Toone looked to have secured the win for England in a match between the champions of Europe and South America. Her 23rd-minute strike was the game’s only goal going into the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

But Andressa Alves exploited a mistake by England goalkeeper Mary Earps to make it 1-1 and force the shootout, where Georgia Stanway, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly — who scored the goal at Wembley that made the Lionesses European champions last summer — got the job done for England.

Coach Sarina Wiegman’s side is undefeated in 30 matches, and will look to extend that streak when it hosts Australia in next week’s pre-World Cup friendly.

HOCKEY

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken clinched the first playoff berth in franchise history and set an NHL record for victories in an expansion team’s second season by beating the Arizona Coyotes 4-2.

Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers and Vince Dunn scored for the Kraken, who earned their 44th win — the most by a second-year NHL team since the Original Six era, which ended in 1968. It’s a big turnaround for Seattle, which was 27-49-6 in its first season and finished last in the Pacific Division.

Philipp Grubauer had 27 saves for Seattle, which won its third straight game.

AUTO RACING

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin’s penalties for hitting Ross Chastain from behind at Phoenix last month will stand, according to a decision by a NASCAR appeals panel.

Hamlin was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points after he acknowledged on his weekly podcast he intentionally wrecked Chastain on the last lap of the Phoenix race.

After hearing testimony on Hamlin’s appeal, the three-person National Motorsports Appeals panel chose to leave the penalties in place. Hamlin can appeal the decision to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, but said on a podcast posted later Thursday he had promised car owner Joe Gibbs he would not take it any further if the result went against him.

Hamlin originally opted against an appeal before changing his mind. The JGR driver was candid on his podcast, saying he wanted to put Chastain into the wall. Hamlin finished the Phoenix race in 23rd place, with Chastain a spot behind in 24th.

BOSTON MARATHON

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts gambling regulators denied a request to allow legal betting on this year’s Boston Marathon, citing concerns by the race’s organizers.

All four members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission who participated in the online meeting voted against the request by DraftKings. Commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein shared an email she received Wednesday from the Boston Athletic Association, which runs the marathon.

“At this moment, there is not sufficient time for the Boston Athletic Association, nor its many partners and agencies, to coordinate and fully ensure proper protocols are in place to support such a proposal for wagering on our event,” said Scott Stover, chief marketing officer for the BAA.

He added: “Until we can complete due diligence, our concerns include, but are not limited to, ensuring event security and potential influence on the outcome of the race.”

The commissioners also discussed the proximity of the marathon, scheduled for April 17, and what they saw as DraftKings’ lack of communication with the BAA.