D8 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS
LAFC forward Adama
Diomande has voluntarily
entered the MLS Substance
Abuse and Behavioral
Health Program, the league
announced Friday, making
him ineligible for Saturday’s
game with Toronto FC at
Banc of California Stadium.
Diomande will be barred
from team activities for an
unknown period of time,
which could stretch through
next month’s playoffs.
LAFC (19-4-7), which has
clinched a playoff berth and
the Western Conference ti-
tle, can secure home-field
advantage throughout the
postseason with a win this
weekend.
Diomande, a 29-year-old
from Norway, plays in the
center of a three-man at-
tacking front line between
Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi,
who have combined for a
league-record 43 goals.
Diomande is third on the
team with eight goals and
fourth with seven assists in
25 games.
He had 12 goals in 18
games last season after
transferring from Hull City
of the English Champi-
onship in May.
According to a league of-
ficial who is not authorized
to speak publicly on the is-
sue, Diomande is OK and
has no health problems. He
entered the program, the of-
ficial said, to deal with “per-
sonal issues” and will not be
able to resume regular team
activities until he is cleared
by program officials.
Diomande had his best
season in 2015 playing for
Stabaek in Norway’s first di-
vision, scoring 25 goals in 26
games in all competition. He
also made his international
debut for Norway that sea-
son when he played under
Bob Bradley, now the coach
at LAFC.
According to figures re-
leased by the MLS players’
association, Diomande will
make $935,000 this season.LAFC
forward
to be out
awhile
Norway’s Diomande
voluntarily enters
MLS health program
for ‘personal issues.’
By Kevin Baxterto make sure they’re on the
field immediately,” said
Zack Murshedi, in his sixth
season with the Galaxy,
making him one of the long-
est-tenured team adminis-
trators in MLS.
Sometimes the immigra-
tion paperwork can be the
easiest part of the process,
especially since many teams
have their administrators
begin work on that long be-
fore a contract is signed. But
Huber faced a series of addi-
tional challenges last month
when the team signed two
young Latin Americans, 18-
year-old Uruguayan winger
Brian Rodriguez and 20-
year-old Ecuadoran defend-
er Diego Palacios, who could
both play Saturday when
LAFC hosts Toronto FC
with a chance to secure
home-field advantage
throughout the playoffs.
Rodriguez, who had ne-
ver lived outside Uruguay,
came to Los Angeles with
only his girlfriend while
Palacios came alone, factors
that can make the transition
more difficult and the home-
sickness more acute — espe-
cially since neither player
speaks English.
“Once they’re here in
market, that’s just the be-
ginning,” Huber said.
“I want them to assimi-
late themselves here in Los
Angeles. But at the same
time it takes some hand-
holding. There is a lot to
changing cultures and mov-
ing, whether or not it’s in the
United States.”
Palacios traded a
crowded house and a large
family in Ecuador for a
small, empty apartment a
few miles from LAFC’s train-
ing facility. “I spend most of
my time with PlayStation,”
he said in Spanish. “I sleep. I
rest as much as I can.”
He doesn’t have a car or a
driver’s license so he hitches
rides with teammate Ed-
uard Atuesta, who lives in
the same apartment com-
plex. The team, including
Huber, “has been spectacu-
lar,” he said. “They know
when you’re coming from
abroad you don’t have any-
one here and they treat you
like family.”
John Thorrington,
LAFC’s general manager,
learned the importance of
that from experience. After
his junior year in high schoolsponsible for at least six
marriages on this squad. To
be fair they genuinely have
been with these girls for a
long time and they just never
got married.”
It’s all part of the job for
MLS team administrators,
who have the difficult and
thankless task of getting
players, their families and
sometimes their pets set up
in the U.S. once those play-
ers have signed from abroad.
“You have to perform
magic in some senses,”
LAFC’s Geoff Huber said.
“You try to control the con-
trollable and predict the un-
predictable.”
It’s a complex assign-
ment that includes every-
thing from securing visas
and international transfer
certificates to helping the
player find a place to live,
turning on the utilities and
negotiating traffic. And it
must be done quickly since
those new acquisitions —
many of whom were expen-
sive acquisitions — can’t
play until it’s all finished.
“There needs to be some
patience and there needs to
be some time to get every-
thing done. Because you
can’t force things in the
United States. And you
shouldn’t,” said Galaxy gen-
eral manager Dennis te
Kloese.
Few teams know that
better than the Galaxy, who
have imported six starters
and an entire coaching staff
since January, just weeks af-
ter the team moved Te
Kloese and his family from
Mexico. Without those addi-
tions, the team probably
wouldn’t be fighting for a
playoff berth Saturday when
it meets the Montreal Im-
pact at Dignity Health
Sports Park.
Some of those moves
were easier than others.
Uruguayan defender Diego
Polenta, who has an Italian
passport, was able to enter
the U.S. legally and stay for
90 days but had to go to Van-
couver and wait for an ap-
pointment at the U.S. con-
sultant to get a visa. Argen-
tine midfielder Cristian
Pavon, on the other hand,
played in his first game three
days after agreeing to a con-
tract.
“They want them on the
field immediately. My job is
on the Palos Verdes Penin-
sula, he signed with Eng-
land’s Manchester United,
beginning a European jour-
ney on which he played for
five teams in two countries
before his 25th birthday.
He later played for three
MLS teams in the U.S. and
Canada.
“I did it as a young single
guy, I did it as a married guy.
I did it as a guy married with-
out kids, I did it as a guy mar-
ried with kids,” Thorrington
said of moving. The most
challenging transition, he
said, came just before the
2011 season when he went
from Chicago to Vancouver
while his wife, Krista, was
seven months pregnant.
“New country, new medi-
cal system, new insurance,
everything,” he remem-
bered.
That has influenced how
LAFC handles new players.
“You try to make sure the
transition is for not just the
player but for the whole fam-
ily,” he said. “You have to
deal with schools for your
kids. Maybe a job transition
for your wife. It is a lot.”
As a result Huber, team
coordinator Mitchell Moni-
han or another staff memberaccompany players to medi-
cal appointments, to the
DMV and often on house-
hunting trips as well. LAFC
is also offering language
classes, for players and staff,
to help bridge the gap more
quickly.
“A lot of my job is crisis
management,” Huber said.
“If you can think one, two,
three steps ahead of what
could potentially happen,
the better.”
All that was new for he
and Monihan in the winter of
2018 when Thorrington be-
gan putting together the ex-
pansion team’s first roster,
with many of the signings
coming just days before
training camp opened.
“It was like drinking
through a fire hose,” said
Huber, a former professional
player who came to LAFC as
an account executive and
had no experience as a team
administrator. “There were
a lot of sleepless nights.
[Mitchell] and I were just
thrown into the fire.”
So they set up shop at a
Starbucks in Eagle Rock,
logged onto to the free Wi-Fi
and began calling players,
agents and immigration
lawyers.“There will never be a
more difficult time,” said
Huber, who had to bring in
players and coaches from a
dozen countries. “And I’m
proud to say not one single
player got here in market
late.
“If there’s nothing in the
headlines of XYZ player be-
ing delayed here and there,
I’ve done my job.”
The community of team
administrators in MLS is
small and unusually sup-
portive, sharing advice and
brainstorm solutions
through a chat group organ-
ized by Tejeda, who once
had a player try to expense
the cost of relocating his dog
from England.
Told that applied only to
family members, the player
argued “your dog is your
family.”
He lost.
“It’s insane,” said Mur-
shedi, whose Galaxy staff in-
cludes soccer operations di-
rector Gordon Kljestan and
team vice president Karen
Goodheart. “People really
don’t think about that stuff
when they’re watching the
games; how much went into
getting them into that
game.”Transition teams
must get players,
families settled
[MLS, from D1]
CRISTIAN PAVON, middle, on loan from Argentina’s Boca Juniors, had his
paperwork done ahead of time and was able to play immediately for the Galaxy.Greg BeachamAssociated PressLAFC’SBrian Rodriguez, 18, arrived
from Uruguay, speaking no English.Jeff RobersonAssociated Press
PITY MARTINEZof Atlanta United
quickly married upon his arrival.Manu FernandezAssociated PressKareem Maddox’s eyes
begin to well up when he
thinks about the opportuni-
ty before him.
Maddox was on Team
USA’s gold medal-winning
squad at the FIBA 3x3 World
Cup last June and has put
himself in position to repre-
sent his country when three-
on-three basketball makes
its debut as an Olympic
sport at the 2020 Summer
Games in Tokyo.
Just six years ago Mad-
dox, 29, thought his basket-
ball career was over when he
walked into the KCRW stu-
dios on the campus of Santa
Monica College.
The 6-foot-8, 220-pound
Princeton graduate grew up
in Los Angeles as an avid lis-
tener of the National Public
Radio member station and
after playing two seasons
professionally in the Nether-
lands and United Kingdom,
he was back in L.A. looking
for work.
“I came back home and I
didn’t know what direction
to go,” Maddox said.
“So I just started volun-
teering at KCRW and they
told me to come in two days a
week. I ended up coming in
five days a week and no one
said anything to me. They
were teaching me radio and I
was loving it.”
Despite being runner-up
for league MVP honors in his
two seasons abroad, Mad-
dox wanted to be a story-
teller. He was always a jour-
nalist at heart.
He was the editor-in-
chief of the Oak Park Talon,
the school newspaper at
Oak Park High near Agoura
Hills, and attended weekend
journalism workshops held
at The Times.
As Maddox took part in
the final U.S. stop for the
FIBA 3x3 World Tour at the
Los Angeles Times Street
Festival this weekend out-
side of the Times’ new build-
ing in El Segundo, he
couldn’t help but think back
to his weekends spent at the
old offices in downtown.
“I was part of a program
called ‘Saturdays at The
Times’ where they brought
in high school journalism
students to work with L.A.
Times journalists,” Maddox
said.
“I got to work with Steve
Lopez and there was differ-
ent seminars and sessions
where you learned how to
write a lead, write a headline
and write features. It was
amazing getting to learn
from someone like Steve,
who is one of my favorite
writers.”
As much as Maddox’s
heart was in journalism, a
six-inch growth spurt be-
tween his junior and senior
years made him take a slight
detour as he headed to col-
lege.
After being recruited by
Yale, Cornell and Penn,
Maddox decided to go to
Princeton.
He was a senior co-cap-
tain of the team that went
25-7 in 2010-11, and he earned
a degree in English litera-
ture.
Following two years of
playing abroad, Maddox
spent three years working
for NPR member stations.
He produced “All Things
Considered” in Los Angeles
before hosting the show lo-
cally in Greeley, Colo.
“I think the people atKCRW saw someone that
really loved radio and loved
telling stories,” he said.
“They encouraged me
the same way coaches did
during my basketball ca-
reer.”
The love for basketball,
however, returned when he
played in the USA Basket-
ball 3x3 National Champi-
onships in Colorado
Springs, which is two hours
south of Greeley.
The experience motivat-
ed him to return to profes-
sional basketball in Poland
in 2016.
“I was doing the radio
thing when I got the urge to
play again and moved to Po-
land and the next year three-
on-three was announced as
an Olympic sport,” Maddox
said.
“I was sitting in my apart-
ment in Eastern Poland
when I heard the news and
that’s when I decided I
needed to figure out how to
get back in radio and make
the Olympics.”
That’s right, Maddox
hasn’t given up his day job as
he pursues his dream of be-
ing an Olympian.
In addition to playing in
the FIBA 3x3 World Tour
with an eye toward the 2020
Summer Games, he’s a pro-
ducer at Gimlet Media,
which is owned by Spotify.
He regularly tracks down
stories, does interviews and
cuts tape for “The Pitch,” a
venture funding podcast
similar to the television
show, “Shark Tank.”
“I’m lucky to work at a
place that allows me to pur-
sue my dream,” Maddox
said.
“The one thing that that
has been the thread
throughout my career has
been storytelling. That’s
what I’m still doing to this
day.”Maddox can’t pass up
this shot at Olympics
The Angeleno was
bent on journalism
until he rebooted his
basketball career.
By Arash Markazi
round lead at the BMW PGA
Championship at Went-
worth.
Willett was five under af-
ter his first five holes and
rolled in three more birdies
in a seven-under 65, lifting
the former Masters champi-
on atop the leaderboard at
the flagship event at the Eu-
ropean Tour’s head-
quarters.Byeong Hun An finished
off a six-under 66 in the
morning and posted anoth-
er 66 on Friday to end his
long day atop the leader-
board in the storm-delayed
Sanderson Farms Champi-
onship. ... Kirk Triplett bird-
ied two of his last three holes
for a four-under 66 in strong
gusts to take a one-shot lead
after one round of the San-
ford International on the
PGA Tour Champions.ETC.Calvin Johnson
criticizes Lions
Calvin Johnson criti-
cized the Detroit Lions, his
old team, for the way it han-
dled concussions under for-
mer coaches Jim Caldwell
and Jim Schwartz.
Johnson said in a Sports
Illustrated interview that
the Lions “wanted me to
change my story” about suf-
fering a concussion in a 2012
game against the Minnesota
Vikings.
Johnson, who remains at
odds with the team after it
made him pay back a seven-
figure portion of his signing
bonus upon his retirement
in March 2016, was injured in
a Sept. 30, 2012, game against
the Vikings on a helmet-to-The alleged domestic vi-
olence incident that led to
New York Yankees pitcher
Domingo German being
placed on administrative
leave by Major League Base-
ball involved his girlfriend
and took place at home this
week, a person familiar with
the situation told the Associ-
ated Press on Friday.
The person spoke under
condition of anonymity be-
cause no details have been
authorized during the probe
by the league. German was
put on administrative leave
Thursday under MLB’s do-
mestic violence policy.
The person said the inci-
dent occurred Monday night
into Tuesday at German’s
residence in Yonkers. Ger-
man and his girlfriend have
at least one child together.
MLB is not aware of any
police involvement in the sit-
uation. MLB won’t an-
nounce any discipline until
its investigation is complete.
German reportedly will not
return for the regular season
or the playoffs.
German isn’t permitted
to be around the team dur-
ing the administrative leave,
which can last up to seven
days, barring an extension.
MLB and the players’ union
will speak next week to de-
termine the next step.GOLFWillett, Rahm
tied at BMW
A fast start by Danny
Willett and a sublime finish
by Jon Rahm helped them
into a tie for the second-helmet hit by linebacker
Chad Greenway.Roger Federer teamed
up with Alexander Zverev
in doubles to lift Europe into
a 3-1 lead over the world
team on the first day of the
Laver Cup.Brad Keselowski won
the pole for Saturday’s
NASCAR Cup Series race at
Richmond Raceway. ...
Christopher Bell passed
pole-sitter Austin Cindric
for the lead after 85 laps and
won the NASCAR Xfinity
Series race.Howard “Hopalong”
Cassady, the 1955 Heisman
Trophy winner at Ohio State
and running back for the De-
troit Lions, died. He was 85.
Cassady was elected to the
College Football Hall of
Fame in 1979.The Russian anti-doping
agency could face suspen-
sion again based on informa-
tion indicating data from the
Moscow drug-testing lab
had been manipulated be-
fore being delivered to the
World Anti-Doping Agency
earlier this year, a person fa-
miliar with the case told the
Associated Press.A former football recruit-
er who is suing Michigan
State says he urged coach
Mark Dantonio to reject a
player who subsequently
was convicted of sexual as-
sault.The Atlanta Hawks re-
signed 42-year-old Vince
Carter.... Former New York
Rangers and Tampa Bay
Lightning defenseman Dan
Girardi will retire from the
NHL after 13 seasons.THE DAY IN SPORTSAlleged incident
of Yankee is detailed
wire reports