Former Univ. of Iowa Senior Associate AD JANE MEYER won a "sweeping victory Thursday in her discrimination lawsuit" against the school, awarding her $1.43M in damages. Meyer was "second in command overall" in the department until she was "first reassigned and then terminated last September." Meyer "accused her former boss," Iowa AD GARY BARTA, of "forcing her out because she was a gay woman who was outspoken about gender inequities in his department." She also balked when Barta brought in a man in August '14 to "perform many of her duties at a salary $70,000 higher than the $176,000 per year she was making." Meyer was hired at Iowa by then-AD and current Big 12 Commissioner BOB BOWLSBY (DES MOINES REGISTER, 5/5).
CAUGHT RED-HANDED? Sources said that after an NBPA "probe into the unauthorized use of a player's personal credit card," ASM Sports agent CHRISTIAN DAWKINS "was terminated." Dawkins was "discovered to have used an Uber account connected to the personal credit card of an unidentified NBA player" between July '15 and May '16, "running up approximately $42,000 in charges." The player "had not been a client of ASM Sports" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/4).
TALLADEGA NIGHTS: NBCSPORTS.com's Jerry Bonkowski profiled Talladega Superspeedway Chair GRANT LYNCH, who is the "third-longest tenured track operator in NASCAR." Lynch has "turned Talladega into a must-see track on any race fan's bucket list." During his time as head of the racetrack, Lynch has "elevated the fan experience with enhancements such as unlimited free camping, alcohol-free campgrounds and Sunday morning church services." Though Talladega has "gone through an evolution due to the downturn in the economy, less demand for tickets and fewer fans attending races," Lynch remains "optimistic that things are turning around" (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/4).
STUDY HALL: Heat Dir of Basketball Development & Analytics SHANE BATTIER on Thursday "surprised 21 high school sophomores at Miami Central High with fully paid four-year college scholarships." The scholarships "require the students graduate high school with at least a 2.5 GPA, stay out of trouble and participate in Battier’s new GUIDE program, which assigns students to college mentors they must meet with twice a month" (MIAMI HERALD, 5/5).
NAMES: Sources said that Disney Chair & CEO BOB IGER is being "pelted with entreaties to run for president" in '20, and is "clearly intrigued by the idea." Iger "discussed the feasibility with friends but has made no formal moves." Former Dreamworks CEO JEFFREY KATZENBERG is said to be "among those encouraging" him to run (AXIOS.com, 5/5)....Gold Medal-winning U.S. swimmers MICHAEL PHELPS and ALLISON SCHMITT on Thursday went to George Washington Univ. for National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day to “receive Special Recognition Awards from Health and Human Services Secretary TOM PRICE for their support of young people with mental and substance abuse disorders” (Baltimore SUN, 5/4)....Nets G JEREMY LIN is featured in GQ about his daily diet. Lin: “I just have two meals before the game. ... With any meal, it’s just clean everything; lean proteins, veggies and clean good carbs” (GQ.com, 5/4)....Braves minor league player RYAN HOWARD on Thursday announced his role as a Partner at Pennsylvania-based venture capital firm SeventySix Capital (SeventySix)....Jaguars RB LEONARD FOURNETTE on Thursday surprised his mother LORY "with a new Mercedes” (NOLA.com, 5/4)....Esquire Derby has “released its celebrity guest list for its premiere party at 21c Museum.” Attendees included actor ADRIAN GRENIER, Chef BOBBY FLAY and Heat C HASSAN WHITESIDE (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/5).
