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Published

3 years ago

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4:38 PM ET

  • Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by nine former University of Minnesota football players who were accused of sexual assault in 2016 in a case that roiled the school’s football program.

The lawsuit against the school claimed that the players faced emotional distress and financial damage after being falsely accused of being sex offenders. The players, who were identified in the lawsuit as John Does, sought unspecified damages for willful and malicious discrimination.

A woman alleged up to a dozen football players raped her or watched and cheered at an off-campus party in 2016. None of the players were ever charged.

The university found that 10 football players committed sexual misconduct. Five of them were expelled or suspended for violating student conduct codes, and the others were cleared on appeal.

In their lawsuit, the players alleged that the woman initiated the sexual encounters with players and an underage recruit.

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank dismissed the lawsuit last week, saying the former players did not prove any of their claims, including allegations of bias by university investigators or pressure from athletic director Mark Coyle and former president Eric Kaler, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

David Madgett, an attorney for the players, said Tuesday that they are considering an appeal but have to determine if it makes sense financially and in terms of letting the former players get on with their lives. He said it was disappointing that the outcome was determined by the judge’s version of events and not decided by a jury.

“It’s disappointing to see disputes decided in this way,” Madgett said. “That’s the way things are decided more and more these days. … It’s disappointing you don’t get your day in court.”

When the allegations became public in 2016, players threatened to boycott the team’s trip to the Holiday Bowl. But after a graphic report of the investigation was released, the players agreed to play in the game.

University of Minnesota spokesperson Jake Ricker said the school appreciated the judge’s decision affirming the actions taken in the case. He said the university would continue its work focusing on sexual misconduct awareness, prevention and response.

Frank dismissed the lawsuit in 2019, but an appeals court reinstated part of it in 2021 and returned it to Frank.

The players, all of whom are Black, also initially claimed racial discrimination, but that claim was previously dismissed.

The only remaining claim alleged Title IX gender discrimination. The former players noted that they never faced criminal charges, but Frank’s ruling said that “is certainly not evidence of a judicial adjudication or that plaintiffs ‘were proven innocent.'”

The men also claimed that an investigator for the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action used “manipulative tactics” with them in interviews and that their accuser helped draft the report. The players also alleged that “prior failed investigations motivated” the the school to punish them.

Frank said all the claims were unsupported by the evidence and “no reasonable jury could find that the University disciplined plaintiffs on the basis of sex.”

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Injury-plagued Blues lose Walker into February

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2 hours ago

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December 2, 2025

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Injury-plagued Blues lose Walker into February

  • Associated Press

Dec 2, 2025, 12:27 PM ET

St. Louis Blues winger Nathan Walker is expected to miss at least eight weeks because of an undisclosed upper-body injury, putting the struggling team short another forward for an extended period of time.

Rookie Jimmy Snuggerud is out six weeks to recover from surgery on his left wrist, which coach Jim Montgomery said Monday was scheduled to take place Tuesday. Alexey Toropchenko is considered week to week after sustaining burns to his legs in a home accident.

St. Louis on Tuesday also made a trade of 25-year-old minor-league forwards, sending Nikita Alexandrov to Los Angeles for Akil Thomas. The Blues said Thomas would report to Springfield of the American Hockey League.

Walker, 31, was the first player from Australia to make the NHL when he debuted with Washington in 2017. He won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals later that season.

In 25 games this season, Walker has three goals and six assists.

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Ex-NHL player Dineen reveals cancer diagnosis

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2 hours ago

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December 2, 2025

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Ex-NHL player Dineen reveals cancer diagnosis

  • Associated Press

Dec 2, 2025, 11:55 AM ET

Longtime NHL player-turned-coach Kevin Dineen said he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Dineen, who is 62, posted a message on social media over the weekend revealing the diagnosis.

“This Thanksgiving feels a bit different,” Dineen wrote on social media. “It has put a lot into perspective, most of all how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many supportive family and friends.”

A feisty winger during his playing days, Dineen skated in more than 1,200 regular-season and playoff games with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets during an eras-spanning career from 1984 to 2002.

After a short stint scouting and working in management, he spent the next two decades behind hockey benches, including two-plus seasons as head coach of the Florida Panthers from 2011 to ’13. He coached Canada’s women’s team to an Olympic gold medal in Sochi in 2014 after being a late replacement pick for the job.

Dineen has his name on the Stanley Cup as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. He had most recently coached the San Diego Gulls and the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.

“I wanted to share my news because hockey has taught me that no fight is faced alone,” Dineen wrote. “For anyone out there battling something heavy — whether it’s cancer or another fight entirely — I want you to know you are not alone.”

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NHL to teams: Helmets mandatory in warmups

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2 hours ago

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December 2, 2025

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NHL to teams: Helmets mandatory in warmups

  • Greg WyshynskiDec 2, 2025, 11:14 AM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL is warning teams against taking warmups without helmets, a growing trend this season that violates NHL rules.

Daly told ESPN that the league is sending out a memo to remind teams that helmets are mandatory in warmups for “all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later,” per Rule 9.6.

The Ottawa Senators skated out for warmups without helmets in a game at the Vegas Golden Knights last Wednesday, having lost in their past six trips to T-Mobile Arena. Forward Shane Pinto told TSN that the players decided at a team dinner to change their Vegas luck by doffing their helmets. “It was pretty cool to do,” he said.

The Senators won the game 4-3 in a shootout.

The San Jose Sharks also went without helmets in warmups in Vegas, having lost five straight road games to the Knights. Alas, their luck didn’t change, losing 4-3 to their division rival. Forward Will Smith said there was no particular motivation for it.

“It was a team decision. It was Saturday night in Vegas, so I think all the guys were pretty easy to [do] it,” he said.

On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils skated out wearing hats instead of helmets, in honor of defenseman Brenden Dillon‘s 1,000th NHL game.

Rule 9.6 reads:

“It is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”

The NHL amended its rules in 2022 to mandate helmet usage in warmups out of player safety concerns, in particular with rookies who took the ice without helmets before their debut games as part of a longstanding NHL tradition. Much like the league’s visor rule, some veteran players were “grandfathered” in and exempt.

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