Former Heat VP & Associate General Counsel VERED YAKOVEE is "suing the team, claiming she was harassed and then fired for taking maternity leave." According to the lawsuit, when Yakovee returned from leave in October, Heat Exec VP & General Counsel RAQUEL LIBMAN "'treated (her) with disdain and hostility,' canceling meetings, bad-mouthing her to others and complaining about her work." The lawsuit states that on Dec. 18, Yakovee "took an approved sick day to take her ill baby to the doctor," and the next day, Heat President of Business Operations ERIC WOOLWORTH "fired her" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/15).
A REAL JERRY MAGUIRE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Ben Cohen profiled Glushon Sports Management Founder & President JASON GLUSHON for the paper's "How'd You Get That Job" feature. Glushon, 34, first "wanted to be" a pro athlete, and he "came much closer than most agents." After earning an internship at Wasserman prior to his senior year of college, Glushon was "planning to return on a full-time basis after graduation when he received an unexpected call during his first day in the workforce" -- the A's were "on the line to offer him a minor-league contract." Glushon "made it all the way to Triple-A" before he "came back to the agency for good after he retired from baseball" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/15).
FEELING LIKE AN ALL-STAR: PRESIDENT OBAMA on Friday prior to the Rising Stars game held an NBA Cares service event at Wintrust Arena and "received a familiar greeting as cheers, smiles and outstretched hands surrounded him." Obama was flanked by Hawks G TRAE YOUNG and Pelicans F ZION WILLIAMSON on an "assembly line to pack backpacks with school supplies" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/15)....MICHAEL JORDAN on Friday "celebrated his upcoming 57th birthday at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios' Little Village complex." Singer MIGUEL performed at the party, and Trail Blazers F CARMELO ANTHONY, Celtics G KEMBA WALKER, Lakers F ANTHONY DAVIS, Rockets G RUSSELL WESTBROOK, rapper VIC MENSA and actor JALEEL WHITE were "among the 250 to 300 people in attendance" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/15).
NAMES: Oregon State has "dropped its lawsuit" against Georgia Tech AD TODD STANSBURY. OSU had "filed a complaint against Stansbury in December alleging that he had failed to pay back" the $2.1M buyout that he "owed for leaving to take" the Georgia Tech job. Stansbury on Jan. 31 "wired Oregon State a payment of $1,565,908.43, satisfying his obligation to the school" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 2/15)....The Joe Andruzzi Foundation last month surpassed $7M in donations (BOSTON HERALD, 2/15)....Redskins coach RON RIVERA and his wife, STEPHANIE, "hosted a yard sale" in Charlotte on Saturday. As the Riveras are moving to DC, they decided to sell their various Panthers-themed items, with "all benefits going to the Humane Society, a cause the family has supported over their time in the Carolinas" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/16)....Former Belmont Univ. men’s basketball coach RICK BYRD had the court at Curb Event Center named in his honor (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/15)....Actor OLIVIA WILDE will direct a biopic on former Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast KERRI STRUG (DEADLINE.com, 2/14)....Texans DE J.J. WATT and NWSL Chicago Red Stars F KEALIA OHAI got married Saturday in the Bahamas (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 2/17).
