Manfred will be one of three MLB execs being deposed in a lawsuit over a fan hit by a ball at Wrigley FieldGETTY IMAGES
A judge ruled that MLB Commissioner ROB MANFRED, Commissioner Emeritus BUD SELIG and Deputy Commissioner DAN HALEM are to be "deposed by April 3 in a lawsuit over injuries a fan suffered three years ago when he was hit in the head by a foul ball at Wrigley Field." The negligence suit "alleges that MLB failed to take proper action to protect fans" after conducting a '15 "review of safety in the stands regarding foul balls and thrown and broken bats" (ESPN.com. 2/27).
COURT REPORT: Former SMU women’s basketball player DAI'JA THOMAS has "filed a lawsuit, naming the university, head coach TRAVIS MAYS and team doctor JOHN BAKER as the defendants." The lawsuit was filed against SMU "for abuse that included pressuring her to play despite a severe knee injury, and verbal abuse, which included Mays making a statement to team members to commit suicide" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/28)
BRAND NEW DAY: The three-year contract extension signed by Ohio State football coach RYAN DAY includes a "revised buyout clause that will make it more costly for him to leave the school." Day would owe OSU $3.5M, "plus damages, if he terminates his employment on or before Jan. 31, 2021." The amount "decreases by $500,000 each year thereafter." Day is to make $5.4M in '20, plus receive a $1M "contribution toward his retirement plan." His salary increases to $6.5M in '21 and $7.6M in '22 (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/28).
NAMES: Thunder G CHRIS PAUL announced a partnership with Live Nation Urban to “build an internship pipeline between the company and students at North Carolina A&T,” with the mission to “introduce HBCU students to the live music industry” (OKLAHOMAN, 2/27)....PEYTON MANNING will be “honored as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl's 2020 Distinguished Citizen Award recipient.” Manning will be in Memphis to receive the award June 7 (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/28)...Julien’s Auctions said that it is featuring some memorabilia of the late KOBE BRYANT in its annual auction called, “Sports Legends.” Taking place April 30, the “highlight is a collection of Bryant-related items.” Among the offerings are Bryant’s full uniform that he wore in a game during the ‘99-00 NBA Finals (L.A. TIMES, 2/28)....MSG Co. President ANDREW LUSTGARTEN will assume the role of Chair of the Lustgarten Foundation BOD. Lustgarten is the son of Foundation co-Founder MARC LUSTGARTEN and has served on the board since '01 (MSG)....A woman in Texas was arrested after buying Rockets Owner TILMAN FERTITTA's social security number "on the dark web" for "about $10" last year. Identify theft prevention company LifeLock "alerted Fertitta" when a Capital One account was "opened in his name" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/28).
