Fired Angels staffer settles defamation lawsuit
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Brian Harkins, the longtime Los Angeles Angels clubhouse attendant who was fired for distributing foreign substances to players, has settled his defamation lawsuit with his former employer, ending a three-year saga that at one point saw the case get struck down in court.
Jury selection for a trial in Orange County Superior Court was scheduled to begin Monday, but the two sides reached a settlement over the weekend. The amount was not disclosed.
Harkins, who had worked as the visiting clubhouse attendant at Angel Stadium since 1990, was fired in March 2020 in the early stages of Major League Baseball’s efforts to crack down on the use of sticky substances that were taking spin rates to disproportionately high levels. For decades, Harkins crafted a blend of rosin, pine tar and “Mota stick” — a type of glue used to grip bats — that was popular among pitchers but violated a memo that emphasized the rule disallowing illegal substances and stated that team personnel was forbidden from facilitating in the use of it.
Harkins’ attorneys initially argued that their client was unfairly cast as a “scapegoat” in MLB’s venture, noting that the entire industry — pitchers, hitters, umpires, coaches, even executives — had long ignored the use of illegal substances because it was widely beneficial for pitchers to maintain proper grip of baseballs that were often too slick when brought into play. Harkins alleged he never sold the mixture as a side business — though he admitted in court to receiving up to $100 from players for it — and said he was never given a copy of the memo, distributed by former MLB executive Chris Young only days before his firing.
An opposition to MLB’s request to dismiss the original lawsuit in January 2021 included text messages from Gerrit Cole requesting Harkins’ concoction, while identifying Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer among those who also used the blend.
The defamation lawsuit was struck down about three weeks later, but the Orange County 4th District Court of Appeals reversed the superior court’s decision in February 2022.
Young and Billy Eppler, the current New York Mets general manager and then-Angels GM who initially informed Harkins of his firing, were expected to either testify or provide video testimony during the case. The two sides were said to be far apart on a potential settlement as recently as the middle of last week, but ultimately made up ground in the final days.
Both sides declined to comment on the situation, instead issuing a simple statement: “The matter is settled.”
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Adam Rittenberg
The Nebraska–Tennessee football home-and-home football series scheduled for 2026 and 2027 will not be played after Nebraska opted out of the agreement.
Tennessee athletic director Danny White posted on X that Nebraska called off the series and added that Tennessee is “very disappointed” by the cancellation, especially so close to the initial game in 2026. The teams had been set to play in 2026 at Nebraska and at Tennessee the following year.
In a statement, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen explained renovations to the team’s stadium, which will temporarily lower seating capacity, ultimately led to the decision.
“We are making plans to embark on major renovations of Memorial Stadium that may impact our seating capacity for the 2027 season,” Dannen said. “The best scenario for us is to have eight home games in 2027 to offset any potential revenue loss from a reduced capacity. The additional home games will also have a tremendous economic benefit on the Lincoln community.”
The Cornhuskers announced they will host Bowling Green in 2026 and Miami (Ohio) in 2027 on the dates when it was originally set to play Tennessee. Nebraska has never faced either school. The team will play eight homes in 2027 for the first time since 2013.
The cancellation ends a nearly two-decade process around a Nebraska-Tennessee series, which was originally agreed upon in 2006 and set for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2013, the two schools agreed to delay the games for a decade. Nebraska will pay $500,000 to get out of the scheduling agreement.
White told Volquest that the “buyout implications need to be much steeper” with an “old contract,” and the cancellation puts Tennessee in a bind. Tennessee, which opens the 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta, had its nonleague schedule set through the 2030 season. The school either must find an opponent who can fill the 2026 and 2027 dates for a home-and-home series, or explore neutral-site options.
“You really can’t pull an audible this late in the game,” White told Volquest.
Nebraska’s stadium renovation, the first phase of which had been set to begin after the 2024 season, has been delayed until after the 2025 season, at the earliest.
Tennessee and Nebraska have played only three times before, most recently in the 2016 Music City Bowl, won by the Vols. Nebraska beat Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl to secure a share of the national title that season.
Tennessee has been on the other side of a similar situation. The Vols in 2021 canceled a game against Army for the next season in 2022 and added Akron instead.
Information from ESPN’s Chris Low was used in this report.
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Jorge Castillo
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.
In a statement, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow “well-groomed beards” effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976.
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in the statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.
“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
George Steinbrenner implemented the mandate before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache. Hal Steinbrenner kept the policy in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008.
Players overwhelmingly obliged with the order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason, though a few have pushed the limits.
In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merril for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.
This year, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported for his spring training physical with a beard before shaving it down to a mustache for the team’s first workout the next day. On the other end, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp with their new teams sporting full beards.
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