C2 Sports The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019
Switzerland’s highest court ruled Tuesday that two-time
Olympic gold medalistCasterSemenyamust immediately fol-
low rules passed by track’s governing body that would require
her to undergo hormone therapy to compete in certain women’s
track events, reversing previous rulings that allowed her to
compete pending her appeal. The latest decision will prevent
the 28-year-old South African from defending her world title in
the 800 meters at September’s World Championships in Qatar,
according to her legal team. In May, the Court of Arbitration for
Sport sided with the International Association of Athletics Fed-
erations, upholding the organization’s rule that put a cap on
permissible testosterone levels for select track and field events.
The rule requires any female athletes whose natural testoster-
one levels exceed a certain threshold to lower their levels, hold-
ing that naturally elevated testosterone levels constitute an im-
permissible competitive advantage.
TENNISStephensoustedfromCitiOpen
RebeccaPetersonof Sweden knocked top seedSloane
Stephensout of the Citi Open, the hard-court tournament
that serves as a tune-up for the US Open. Peterson, ranked
70th in the world, got the win in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, over
Stephens, the world’s eighth-ranked player, who was coming
off a third-round loss at Wimbledon. Peterson will face Ameri-
canSachiaVickeryor ItalianCamilaGiorgiin the second
round. In other action in Washington, eighth-seededMonica
Puigof Puerto Rico defeated AmericanAllieKiick, 6-4, 6-2,
and teenage phenomCocoGaufflost toZarinaDiyas, 6-4, 6-2
... An Egyptian player whose brother was banned from the
sport for life for match-fixing has been suspended from tennis
for alleged integrity violations. The Tennis Integrity Unit an-
nounced that 21-year-oldYoussefHossamhas been provi-
sionally suspended while its investigation continues. He may
not compete in or attend any event sanctioned by the sport’s
governing bodies. Last year his brother,KarimHossam,was
found guilty of 16 corruption charges, including providing in-
side information and facilitating betting. He was given a life-
time ban.
PAN AM GAMESUSwinsbeachvolleyballgold
AmericansKarissaCookandJacePardonwon the women’s
beach volleyball final at the Pan American Games, as the US
beat Argentina, 14-21, 22-20, 15-10. Cook and Pardon hugged
and waved an American flag when the match ended. Thick fog
from the nearby Pacific Ocean blanketed the hills surrounding
the sandy venue in Lima. But Cook said it was ideal. ‘‘My home-
town is just like this. I love this weather,’’ said Cook, who is from
Santa Cruz, Calif.
HOCKEYBlackhawks’Kunitzretires
ChrisKunitzhas retired after winning four Stanley Cup titles
in 15 NHL seasons, and he is joining the Chicago Blackhawks’
front office as a player development adviser. Kunitz, 39, will
work with the coaching staffs for the Blackhawks and their
American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford. He announced
his decision in a statement released by the team Tuesday. Kunitz
had 268 goals and 351 assists in 1,022 NHL games with Ana-
heim, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Chicago. He also had
27 goals and 66 assists in 178 career playoff appearances.
MISCELLANYMarylandmanlandsrecordfish
A Maryland man who says he had to outlast a mahi mahi to
land it now has a place in the state record book to show for his
work. The state Department of Natural Resources saidJeff
Wrightof Cambridge broke a 34-year-old fishing record when
he caught the 72.8-pound fish off the coast of Ocean City last
Sunday. Wright’s catch beat the record held byKimLawson,
who reeled in a 67.8-pound common dolphinfish in July 1985.
Wright said he fought the fish for 25 minutes before it finally
gave up.
SportsLog
Runner Semenya loses
hormone therapy suit
Judge dismisses
lawsuit on noncall
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The last of three federal
lawsuits against NFL officials
over the failure to call a bla-
tant penalty
in January’s
NFC title
game be-
tween the New Orleans Saints
and Los Angeles Rams has
been dismissed by a US Dis-
trict Court judge in New Orl-
eans, leaving one state court
lawsuit over the no-call still
alive in Louisiana state court.
At the center of all of the
suits is the failure to flag
Rams cornerbackNickell
Robey-Colemanfor his hel-
met-to-helmet hit on receiver
TommyleeLewiswithapass
in the air at a crucial point in
the game. The Rams won and
advanced to the Super Bowl.
SusieMorgan’sruling
Tuesday came in a class-ac-
tion lawsuit against the
league, NFL commissioner
RogerGoodell,threegameof-
ficials, and the NFL’s vice
president in charge of officiat-
ing. The judge rejected argu-
ments that people who
bought tickets to the game are
entitled to damage payments
under Louisiana’s civil code.
Ticket purchasers who
filed the suit said the NFL and
game officials, in effect, broke
a legal promise that the game
would be played fairly and
that, if an unfair act occurred,
that Goodell would, under a
league rule, remedy the situa-
tion, perhaps by reversing the
game’s result or by reschedul-
ing all or part of the game.CowboysgetMorris
The Cowboys are bringing
back running backAlfred
Morriswith two-time rushing
championEzekielElliott
holding out of training camp
while seeking a new contract.
Morris agreed to terms Mon-
day, the third day of practices
without Elliott. Morris was
the replacement back for the
Cowboys when Elliott was
suspended for six games over
domestic violence allegations
two years ago... The Saints
are giving former Redskins
running backRobertKelleya
chance to get back in the NFL
after two injury-plagued sea-
sons. Kelley practiced with
the Saints for the first time
Tuesday. He broke into the
league with Washington in
2016, when he rushed for 704
yards and six touchdowns in
15 games. But he spent much
of the past two seasons on in-
jured reserve with ankle,
knee, and toe injuries.Fitzpatrickshines
In Miami,JoshRosenis
starting to look like a backup
quarterback. Rosen joined the
Dolphins in April as their lat-
est hope to become a fran-
chise quarterback, but coach
BrianFloressaid journeyman
RyanFitzpatrickhas emerged
as the front-runner for the
starting job. ‘‘Ryan Fitzpatrick
is leading the way,’’ Flores
said. ‘‘He has been more pro-
ductive. He runs the offense
very efficiently. He has great
rapport with the entire team;
he has a lot of leadership abil-
ity. It’s still a competition. But
as we stand today, Ryan has
done a really good job.’’... In
Atlanta, meanwhile,Julio
Joneswill be sitting out the
Falcons’ full preseason sched-
ule for the second straight
year. Jones said he will be
coaching the team’s younger
wide receivers in Thursday
night’s Hall of Fame game
against the Broncos in Can-ton, Ohio. Jones and the Fal-
cons continue to negotiate a
contract extension. Jones said
his preseason plan has noth-
ing to do with those talks.
‘‘I’m a veteran,” Jones said.
“I’ve been doing this. I don’t
need preseason to get ready.
I’ll get my reps in practice. I
practice the way I play. When
I get my reps in, I’ll be ready
to play.’’ Falcons coachDan
Quinnsaid he’s confident
Jones will be ready for the
season. ‘‘We’ve got a good
plan in order,’’ Quinn said.
‘‘We know where we need to
get him to.’’Colts’Luckout
AndrewLuckdid not par-
ticipate in the Colts’ practice
and will miss at least two
more workouts because of a
strained left calf. He also has
been ruled out of the pre-
season opener, Aug. 8, at Buf-
falo. Luck, 29, was already on
a limited schedule at training
camp. But he said instead of
progressing, he feels like he’s
taking a step backward. The
injury prevented Luck from
participating in the team’s off-
season workouts. When the
Colts reported to training
camp last week, Luck was
limited to individual work
and 7-on-7 drills... Sea-
hawks first-round pickL.J.
Collierwas carted off the
practice field with a right leg
injury. Collier was rushing the
passer during a team session
when he grabbed at his lower
leg. The team didn’t offer spe-
cifics on the injury after prac-
tice.. .A.J.Greenhad left an-
kle surgery and is expected to
miss the start of the season,
another significant setback
for the Bengals’ offense.
Green hurt his ankle less than
an hour into the first practice
of camp Saturday in Dayton,
landing awkwardly after cor-
nerbackDreKirkpatrick
bumped into the star receiver
while breaking up a pass. It’s
the second straight season
that Green has suffered a sig-
nificant injury: He missed
half of last season with an in-
jured right toe that required
surgery... Chiefs star receiv-
erTyreekHillleft the practice
field with a bruised quadri-
ceps. Hill walked off the field
before riding in a cart to the
locker rooms. The Chiefs do
not believe his injury is seri-
ous... Jets wide receiverJa-
misonCrowderhas been
cleared by the team to prac-
tice after an injury scare.
Crowder hurt his left foot dur-
ing practice Monday and
walked with a noticeable limp
as he left the field.Statueplanned
The Cleveland Browns are
honoring Hall of Fame quar-
terbackOttoGrahamwith a
statue outside FirstEnergy
Stadium. Graham played 10
seasons with Cleveland, lead-
ing the Browns to a title game
in each one. With Graham,
the Browns won four All-
America Football Conference
championships (1946, 1947,
1948, 1949) and three NFL
championships (1950, 1954,
1955). In his final game, Gra-
ham threw for two touch-
downs and ran for two in a
38-14 win over the Los Ange-
les Rams for the NFL title.
Graham was inducted in the
Hall of Fame in 1965. He died
in 2003 at 82. The Browns
will unveil the statue in Sep-
tember. It will be the second
by the team, following one of
Hall of Fame running back
JimBrownin 2016.NFL
NOTEBOOKSmart has own take on Irving
ByHaydenBird
BOSTON.COM STAFF
WithKyrieIrvingnow in
Brooklyn with the Nets, his leg-
acy from two seasons in Boston
has been thor-
oughly dis-
cussed. Much
of the analysis
has portrayed Irving in a nega-
tive light, as a player unable to
lead a talented roster to its full
potential.
MarcusSmartdisagrees. On
an episode of ESPN’s “The
Jump,” Smart offered his take
on Irving and Boston’s disap-
pointing 2018-19 season.
“Let me make this be clear,”
Smart began, “we, not just me,
the world, even Kyrie knows,
he didn’t play up to the stan-
dard that he wanted to. But
there are four other guys out
there with him, there’s a coach
out there, we’re all supposed to
be one team, so you can’t just
put the blame on one guy be-
cause there are things that ev-
erybody could’ve done better to
not just help Kyrie, but help
each other.
“When you’re going in, espe-
cially when you’re trying to
buildthatcamaraderie,when
you start singling those guys
out, it makes it really hard,”
Smart continued. “We’ve seen
it, ourselves inside the locker
with things like that when guys
calling guys out, and it just
wasn’t working for us. So for
me, I just wanted to let people
know that yes, we understand
that Kyrie wasn’t up to Kyrie’s
standards, but there’s four oth-
er guys, there’s a whole roster
full of guys, coaches, everybody
participated.”
Smart agreed with the as-
sessment that Irving is “misun-
derstood.” He also praised Ir-
ving’s support as a teammate,
citing his personal story in the
loss of his mother to cancer in
2018.
“For me personally — I can’t
speak for other guys — but for
me personally, Kyrie is a great
teammate,” said Smart. “I’ve
had sitdowns with Kyrie where
things for me probably weren’t
going so well, where he was
pulling me to the side. And it
wasn’t even about basketball.
“Everybody knows what I
went through with my mom,
losing her and everything.
Kyrie [was] one of the first guys
to text me, call me. When I got
back to Boston, [he] pulled me
to the side, we sat down and we
talked. As far as basketball,
[he] just helped me slow the
game down and really recog-
nize and understand that game
even more. So as a teammate, I
loved him for it.”
Smart also spoke about the
“dysfunction” in the season,
and the role of “team culture.”
Still, he thinks the Celtics
could surprise the experts in
2019-20. When asked if he
thinks teams will underesti-
mate Boston next season,Smart didn’t hesitate.
“I 100 percent think they
will, and to be honest, that’s ex-
actly how we like it,” he said.Grousbeckoptimistic
OwnerWycGrousbeckfeels
good about the direction of the
team, despite losing Irving and
AlHorfordin the offseason.
“I’m always optimistic in Ju-
ly, it seems like,” Grousbeck
told WEEI. “But there’s been
good reason to be optimistic
over the past 15-16 years.
We’ve had some good teams.
This one feels like a great vibe.”
Grousbeck also reflected on
what was a frustrating season
and was asked about his char-
acterization that this team was
the toughest for him to watch.
“It’s not bad feelings. It’s just
sort of like, ‘What the heck?’ I
mean, we could have done bet-
ter,” said Grousbeck. “Nobody’s
angry, but nobody’s happy. It
was just a year that we’re just
going to turn the corner. We’ve
got new players now and we’re
goingtohaveanewapproach.”
Grousbeck was asked about
Smart’s comment that the team
was dysfunctional.
“Marcus is kind of the heart
and soul of the team. He has a
great attitude and a great work
ethic,” said Grousbeck. “Every-
body wanted to win, we didn’t
win. It just got a little messy in
the Milwaukee series. It just
seemed like four losses that
were not particularly close.Now we’ve got some new guys,
a new approach.”
Grousbeck said he’s actually
heard from Irving and that the
two had a nice correspondence
over Twitter.
“That doesn’t always hap-
pen with players,” said Grous-
beck. “He’s a guy that wants to
have a good relationship. We
do have a good relationship. He
and the Celtics organization
have a positive relationship. We
wish him the best, except when
playing us. He’s a good guy, he
tried, he gave us two years, and
we’re going to move forward.”TatumbacksLeBron
Though they play for histor-
ic rivals,LeBronJamesand
JaysonTatumare on the same
page when it comes to support-
ing their children.
Video of James emphatically
celebrating his 14-year-old son,
LeBronJamesJr., throwing
down an alley-oop in the Big
Time Tournament in Las Vegas
elicited criticism, as some
thought James went too far in
his celebrations.
Tatum, who is a father of an
18-month-old, tweeted a de-
fense of James, noting that, “I
can’t wait till my son gets older
and I get to support him with
whatever he wants to do!”Hayden Bird can be reached at
[email protected].
Follow him on Twitter at
@haydenhbird.Ellis stepping down
as US soccer coach
By Anne M. Peterson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
US women’s soccer coach Jill
Ellis is stepping down after
leading the team to back-to-
back World Cup titles.
Ellis has been coach of the
team since 2014 and has led it
to eight overall tournament ti-
tles, including victories at the
World Cup in 2015 in Canada
and earlier this month in
France.
‘‘The opportunity to coach
this team and work with these
amazing women has been the
honor of a lifetime,’’ Ellis said in
a statement released by US Soc-
cer Tuesday.
‘‘I want to thank and praise
them for their commitment and
passion to not only win champi-
onships but also raise the pro-
file of this sport globally while
being an inspiration to those
who will follow them.’’
She will remain with the
team for a World Cup victory
tour, which kicks off Saturday
with a match against Ireland at
the Rose Bowl. Following the
conclusion of the five-match
tour in October, she will serve
as a US Soccer ambassador.
Ellis’s contract was set to ex-
pire following this year’s World
Cup with a mutual option to ex-
tend it through the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics. US Soccer will begin
the search for a new coach after
a general manager for the wom-
en’s national team is named.
‘‘Jill was always extremely
passionate about this team, an-
alytical, tremendously focused,
and not afraid to make tough
decisions while giving her play-
ers the freedom to play to their
strengths,’’ US Soccer presidentCarlos Cordeiro said.
‘‘She helped raise the bar for
women’s soccer in the USA and
the world, and given the history
of this program, the level of suc-
cess she achieved is even more
remarkable.’’
Over the summer in France,
Ellis broke April Heinrich’s US
women’s record for most games
coached. Overall, she has led
the team in 127 matches, with
102 wins.
Ellis was named head coach
after serving as interim coach
following the dismissal of Tom
Sermanni. Ellis also served as
interim coach after Pia Sund-
hage resigned in 2012.
Ellis was an assistant to both
Sundhage and Sermanni. She
was on the staff of the gold
medal-winning teams at the
Beijing and London Olympics.
She also served as head coach at
UCLA for 12 seasons.
‘‘When I accepted the head
coaching position this was the
timeframe I envisioned,’’ Ellis
said in the statement. ‘‘The tim-
ing is right to move on and the
program is positioned to re-
main at the pinnacle of wom-
en’s soccer. Change is some-
thing I have always embraced
in my life and for me and my
family this is the right mo-
ment.’’
The World Cup title in 2015
was the team’s first since 1999.
Overall, the team has won soc-
cer’s most prestigious tourna-
ment four times.
The US is set to play Portu-
gal Aug. 29 in Philadelphia and
Sept. 3 in St. Paul. The final two
matches of the victory tour, set
for early October, have not yet
been announced.CELTICS
NOTEBOOK
MICHAEL CONROY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has been pulled in a
different direction while he deals with a strained calf.ELSA/GETTY IMAGES
Jill Ellis won two World Cup titles and holds the record for
most games coaching the US women’s soccer team.