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Names In The News

Former San Diego State women's basketball coach BETH BURNS yesterday "won her wrongful termination lawsuit against the university," receiving a $3.35M judgment from a San Diego Superior Court jury for "whistleblower retaliation after complaining about potential Title IX violations" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/29). Burns sued SDSU and its university system BOT, contending she was "fired without legitimate cause after she complained for years about what she perceived as SDSU's lack of equal treatment for her program." Missouri AD JIM STERK, who was Burns' AD while at SDSU, "admitted during his testimony to destroying notes he had kept pertaining to Burns' dismissal" (COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE, 9/29).

SEE YOU IN COURT: A federal court judge gave the go ahead for a lawsuit to proceed against the USTA brought by a former young prospect who charges her training through the USTA triggered an eating disorder. NATALIE O'LOUGHLIN, now 19, was 10 when she was admitted to the USTA's elite training program in Florida. She charges that the USTA ignored her issues with eating, with coaches allegedly taunting her with unhealthy food. New York federal court judge VINCENT BRICCETTI ordered the case to now go to trial, rejecting the USTA's motion to dismiss the case (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES: NFL free agent RB RAY RICE yesterday "spoke out about sexual assault while on a Big 12 panel about campus violence." Rice, who "recently has been counseling high school football players," was joined on stage by Big 12 Commissioner BOB BOWLSBY, Iowa State President STEVEN LEATH and sexual assault survivor BRENDA TRACY (ESPN.com, 9/28).

GALA AFFAIR: The NASCAR Foundation held its annual gala yesterday at the Marriott Marquis in N.Y., and among those in attendance included drivers JIMMIE JOHNSON, DANICA PATRICK, TY DILLON, KYLE BUSCH, MARTIN TRUEX JR., RUSTY WALLACE, Fox NASCAR host KRISTA VODA and NASCAR Chair & CEO BRIAN FRANCE and his wife, AMY. The foundation donated $1M to the Hassenfeld Children's Hospital of N.Y. at NYU Langone (PAGESIX.com, 9/28)....Chargers LB MELVIN INGRAM on Monday hosted Chargers and Chops, the team's second-annual dinner fundraiser at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa. The event "raised more than $120,000," with all proceeds going toward Ingram's Mission Possible Foundation. Several Chargers teammates attended, including TE ANTONIO GATES, DE COREY LIUGET, RB MELVIN GORDON, S JAHLEEL ADDAE, LB TOUREK WILLIAMS, S DEXTER MCCOIL and DT BRANDON MEBANE (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/29).

FAMILY MATTERS: The NBPA has asked a N.Y. court to order members of former NBPA Exec Dir BILLY HUNTER's family to "produce documents and testimony the union says it needs in its ongoing legal battle with its former leader." In papers filed yesterday in Supreme Court in Manhattan, attorneys for the NBPA said that "none of the four Hunter family members who have received subpoenas have scheduled depositions." Only one, Hunter's daughter, ALEXIS HUNTER, has "produced documents requested by union attorneys" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/29).

NAMES: Astros 2B JOSE ALTUVE yesterday presented longtime Astros TV broadcaster BILL BROWN with "one of his bats, signed on the barrel by every member of the team," before he called his final game. Astros manager A.J. HINCH also "gifted Brown a bottle of Red Stitch wine," the brand owned by Dodgers manager DAVE ROBERTS and former MLBer RICH AURILIA (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/29)....Automotive manufacturer Piston Group, owned by former NBAer VINNIE JOHNSON, yesterday closed on the $175M acquisition of Takata Corp. a subsidiary of Irvin Automotive (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 9/28)....Groundskeepers at Hazeltine National Golf Club yesterday ahead of the Ryder Cup were “120-strong” and “donned retro buttons declaring ‘I Am A Member Of Arnie’s Army’" in honor of the late ARNOLD PALMER. His late father DEACON was a "longtime course superintendent from Pennsylvania" (TWINCITIES.com, 9/28)....Basketball HOFer KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR’s next book will be a “fond look back at his long friendship” with his late coach JOHN WOODEN. “COACH WOODEN AND ME” will be published next June (AP, 9/29)....Ravens QB JOE FLACCO and his wife, DANA, on Tuesday welcomed their fourth child and first daughter, EVELYN RENEE (Baltimore SUN, 9/29).

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SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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