England cricketer BEN STOKES, accused of involvement in an altercation outside a nightclub that "cost him his place on the Ashes tour," pleaded not guilty to a charge of affray in court on Tuesday. The 26-year-old appeared at a magistrates' court in Bristol along with RYAN ALI and RYAN HALE (AFP, 2/13). ... League Championship side Hull City midfielder RYAN MASON was "forced to retire from football," taking medical advice following a head injury suffered during a Premier League match at Chelsea in Jan. '17. The 26-year-old suffered a fractured skull in a "horrific clash of heads" with GARY CAHILL and received treatment for around nine minutes on the Stamford Bridge pitch. He had surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in London and was released eight days later (London GUARDIAN, 2/13). ... The Australian Football League decided to allow transgender footballer HANNAH MOUNCEY to play state league football, "clearing the way for the 28-year-old to compete against the state's best female footballers" in '18. The AFL ruled against her playing in the AFL Women's this season (THE AGE, 2/13). ... Former Wales rugby captain EMYR LEWIS accused England coach EDDIE JONES of "beginning to bring rugby into disrepute" with some of his comments before and after Six Nations matches. Lewis, a former player who earned 41 tests caps from '91-96, said that he wished Jones would "shut his mouth up on more occasions" (STUFF, 2/13).
