NCAA, Power Five conferences vote to approve $2.8B settlement in House, Hubbard and Carter cases

• A new model is expected to eliminate scholarship restrictions while implementing roster limits, a move to avoid more legal fights but one that could cost schools millions more in additional financial aid amid a hotly recruiting landscape.

In the spring of 2021, attorneys for the NCAA, appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, argued vehemently against providing each college athlete with additional cash annually.

The amount: $5,980.

Three years later, in a landmark agreement that will transform the course of major college athletics, the organization left behind its archaic rules, shook off its long-time amateurism argument and thrust the industry into an era of direct athlete compensation.

The amount: more than $15 billion in new cash is expected to funnel to athletes over the duration of the 10-year agreement.

The NCAA and power conferences cast votes this week in support of settling three antitrust cases (House, Hubbard and Carter), approving terms that feature nearly $2.8 billion in back damages; a future athlete revenue-sharing model that will cost major conferences a cumulative $1 billion-plus annually; and other potential changes to the association’s governance, enforcement and scholarship structure.

While expected for weeks now, the vote is a historic moment, a groundbreaking and seismic shift for an organization that has, for decades, fought against direct athlete pay despite the billions earned from its major football and men’s basketball powers. The result of nine months of negotiations with plaintiff lawyers, NCAA president Charlie Baker and conference commissioners usher into the industry a new age that they hope brings stability to the current unruly recruiting landscape.

Caught in a purgatory between amateurism and professionalism, major college sports is springing forward — though not by its own volition. Begrudgingly forced into this semi-professional world by state laws and the court system, the industry still clings to a shred of amateurism, as the new model is expected to still prohibit pay-for-play and booster payments.

However, college leaders believe the agreement staves off future legal challenges, binds at least for another decade the power leagues with the NCAA, and brings more regulation to the recruiting environment.

“This would be the biggest change in the history of college sports. Period,” said Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane and leading voice in NCAA litigation matters. “There have been significant changes and incremental changes. The NIL era has opened a lot of doors, but to have athletes share revenue with the schools would be not only monumental but would be contrary to what the NCAA has espoused for a century.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa-power-five-conferences-vote-to-approve-28b-settlement-in-house-hubbard-and-carter-cases-001736810.html

Dave Chappelle says there's a 'genocide' in the Gaza Strip as Israel-Hamas war rages on there

https://apnews.com/article/dave-chappelle-israel-hamas-war-gaza-48cab01d70064d6e8c1045d961ed7c1f

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — American comedian Dave Chappelle said a “genocide” is striking the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas war to cheers during his performance in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, while urging Americans to fight antisemitism so Jews don’t feel like they need to be protected by Israel.

Chappelle’s comments come as Abu Dhabi has maintained its diplomatic relations with Israel even as it has increasingly criticized its conduct in the seven-month war.

Meanwhile, while pro-Palestinian marches have swept across the wider Middle East since the war began, protests and speech remains tightly restricted in the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula.

Even before coming on stage, the full crowd at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena cheered as DJ Trauma, who accompanied Chappelle on the trip, played the song “My Blood is Palestinian” by the Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf. The thousands there agreed to place their switched-off mobile phones in locked pouches for the performance — a standard feature of Chappelle's shows.

About halfway through in a wide-ranging comedy set in Abu Dhabi, Chappelle, a Muslim, initially said he had been told by his friends either to discuss the war or not. From the audience, a woman screamed: “Free Palestine!” The crowd cheered.

Chappelle then said the Gaza Strip faces a “genocide." He also said that making Jews safer in America amid rising cases of antisemitism would make them realize they don’t need Israel as an ultimate protector.

Another moment also displayed just how diverse the crowd was in the Abu Dhabi. In telling another joke about how Jews cheer while drinking, Chappelle said “l’chaim,” or “to life” in Hebrew, which another man shouted back from the audience.

But when touching on the upcoming U.S. election, Chappelle’s mention of President Joe Biden — who has promised “ironclad” support for Israel — drew widespread boos throughout the arena. Donald Trump drew scattered cheers.

Chappelle, as other artists during the performance, told some racy jokes and swore. But they largely avoided discussing local politics — though Chappelle did make a sly joke about the UAE’s widespread surveillance network and another deadpanning about “how difficult is it to be gay” in the country as homosexuality is illegal.

But he also came out on stage with a falcon on his arm — a symbol for the UAE.

Chappelle, 50, won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019. He performed at the Abu Dhabi Comedy Week.