Jalen Kitna, who was dismissed by Florida following an arrest on felony charges that were later dropped, has committed to join the football team at UAB.
The sophomore quarterback has been admitted to school, a university spokesperson told ESPN. Kitna, the son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, plans to be on campus for an official visit Wednesday.
Kitna, who was a backup quarterback for the Gators, was arrested on five child pornography charges in November 2022 after police received a tip that a user had distributed an image of child sexual abuse material on the social media platform Discord. But the charges were dropped in July after he reached a plea deal in which he pleaded no-contest to a second-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. He served six months’ probation.
In a statement to ESPN, UAB coach Trent Dilfer and athletic director Mark Ingram said “extensive due diligence” was performed in reviewing Kitna’s application to the school and interest in playing football.
Kitna said in a statement to ESPN that he was “grateful for the opportunity.”
“I acknowledge that I made naive decisions that I deeply regret and have since learned from,” he said. “As a result, I took responsibility by pleading no-contest to second-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges related to those decisions.”
Kitna said he is in good standing at Florida and weighed “multiple offers to play football from different schools.”
“However, I firmly believe that UAB is the perfect fit for me,” he said. “I consider myself fortunate to be in Birmingham, surrounded by an incredible support system, having found a church family, and being able to take advantage of the numerous resources offered by the university.”
Dilfer, who went 4-8 in his first season as UAB coach in 2023, acknowledged the shock of Kitna’s arrest but noted his discussions with Kitna and his family.
“Initial headlines can be hard to get past, even if they don’t hold up to the scrutiny of the legal process over time,” Dilfer said. “UAB and the Department of Athletics have performed extensive due diligence, and I have personally looked at the facts of this case and the thorough investigation, and I’ve had candid conversations with Jalen and his parents. I firmly believe Jalen learned valuable lessons and will carry himself well and show great character as a member of our community. Otherwise, he would not be at UAB.”
Said Ingram: “Jalen has worked diligently to complete his six-month probation and participate in activities to grow and mature as a young man. He has committed to continued engagement with a robust support system at home and on campus, and I am confident in the decisions made by the institution and Department of Athletics to both support admission to UAB and to make available the appropriate guidance, resources and support services to promote Jalen’s growth and success.”
LEBANON, Tenn. — Brad Keselowski said RFK Racing has made some small changes and talked about the “complexities” and team burdens under the NASCAR rulebook after an appeal reduced a penalty given to driver Chris Buescher and his team at Kansas Speedway.
Keselowski compared the NASCAR rulebook a bit to the IRS tax code during practice and qualifying Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday night’s Cracker Barrel 400.
“You read this paper and then you got to reference this paper to reference this paper to reference this paper, and when your head’s down and digging and you’re running 38 weeks a year, oversights are going to happen,” Keselowski said.
The co-owner of RFK Racing said that’s not an excuse. Keselowski said the team changed some roles and responsibilities this week to help the team be “better prepared and more mindful of what it takes to to be in compliance.”
NASCAR penalized Buescher and his team May 15 for illegal modifications to the bumper of his No. 17 Ford at Kansas. The team was docked 60 driver points, 60 owner points, five driver playoff points and five owner playoff points for the level one violation. It also fined the team $75,000 and suspended crew chief Scott Graves from the next two races: the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.
Those penalties came three days after Buescher finished eighth at Kansas and dropped him from 12th to 24th in the Cup Series point standings.
RFK Racing appealed and had a partial win Wednesday with the appeals panel ruling the team violated the rule on the front bumper cover but not the exhaust cover panel.
Buescher got back 30 points, moving him to 16th in the Cup Series points standing. That’s a slot below the playoff cutline and six points behind RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece.
SEWELL, N.J. — A few days after brothers John and Matthew Gaudreau died when they were struck by a driver while riding bicycles on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding, family friends were visiting parents Guy and Jane at their home during a rainstorm. Looking outside after the skies cleared, they saw a double rainbow that brought them some momentary peace.
Since then, Jane Gaudreau had not gotten any signs she attributed to her sons, so she sat in their room Friday and asked them for some divine intervention to clear out bad weather in time for an event to honor their legacies. After a brief scare of a tornado watch the night before, a rainbow appeared Saturday morning about an hour before the sun came out for the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run and Family Day.
“I was so relieved,” Jane said. “I was like, ‘Well, there’s my sign.'”
Thousands attended the event at Washington Lake Park in southern New Jersey, a place John and Matthew went hundreds of times as kids and around the corner from Hollydell Ice Arena, where they started playing hockey. Roughly 1,100 people took part in a walk or run in person, along with more than 1,300 virtually in the U.S., Canada and around the world.
“I think it speaks to them as a family, how close they were and how everybody loved being around them,” said Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, one of a handful of NHL players who were close to the Gaudreaus and made a point to be there. “You just see the support from this community and from other players as well that are here and traveled in. It just says a lot about Johnny, Matty, their legacy and this family as a whole, how much support they have because they’re such amazing people.”
Along with honoring the NHL star known as “Johnny Hockey” and his younger brother who family and friends called Matty, the goal of the event was to raise money for an accessible playground at Archbishop Damiano School where Jane and her daughter Kristen work. It was a cause John and Matthew had begun to champion in honor of their grandmother Marie, who spent 44 years at the school and died in 2023.
It became their mother’s project after their deaths.
“Jane works every day with children with disabilities, and she knew how important it was for the playground to be built,” said family friend Deb Vasutoro, who came up with the idea for a 5K. “The playground has been a project for, I think, four or five years, and there just never was enough funding. When the boys passed and Jane needed a purpose, she thought, ‘Let’s build the playground.’ It was the perfect marriage of doing something good to honor the boys and seeing children laugh and smile.”
The Rev. Allain Caparas from Gloucester Catholic High School, which the brothers attended and played hockey for while growing up in Carneys Point, said raising funds for the playground is an extension of the impact they had on the community.
“They’re continuing to make a difference in the lives of so many others,” Caparas said. “Johnny and Matthew lived their lives with purpose, and now we’re celebrating that.”
Social media filled with mentions from folks in Columbus and Calgary, the NHL cities in which John Gaudreau played, and as far away as Ireland and Sweden. Paul O’Connor, who has been tight with the Gaudreau family from son Dalton being childhood best friends with Matthew, couldn’t empty out his inbox because he kept getting notifications about signups and donations.
“It just keeps growing,” O’Connor said. “And people that couldn’t be here, they’re doing a virtual [5K]. If they can’t do either, they’re just throwing money at the cause.”
Tears welled up in the eyes of Guy and Jane as they talked about the event. His speech to the crowd was brief and poignant at the same time.
“I’d like to thank everybody for coming,” Guy said after running the 5K. “It really means a lot to Jane and the girls and the family. We miss the boys, and it really means a lot for us to have you here to honor my boys. Thank you.”
The sea of people first in the rain and then the sunshine included folks in gear from all across hockey. Tkachuk wore a “Johnny Hockey” hoodie with Gaudreau’s name and No. 13 on the back.
He handed sticks, collected from various vigils in late August and early September, to race winners along with fellow players Erik Gudbranson, Zach Aston-Reese, Tony DeAngelo and Buddy Robinson.
“Our family wouldn’t have missed this,” Gudbranson said after flying in Friday night following a trip to Walt Disney World. “Hockey’s a very tight community. It’s still a tragedy. We miss the boys.”
The aim is to hold the event annually moving forward, potentially in Calgary and Columbus.
“We thought this was such a good thing to honor the boys we want to keep it up,” Jane said. “I just think each year it’ll just get better and better.”
Panthers forward A.J. Greer‘s status for the series opener against the Oilers remains uncertain. He missed Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and was on the ice for only 4:22 in Game 5 due to a lower-body injury.
All three players did not participate in Saturday’s practice, the first team skate since the defending champions booked their spot in the Final rematch.
“I think the only question mark is Greer,” Maurice said. “We will list him as day to day. The other guys are fine. They will be back on the ice tomorrow when we do a little bit of an optional.”
Luostarinen, 26, recorded 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 80 games during the regular season and 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games this postseason.
Lundell, 23, tallied 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 79 games in the regular season and 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 17 playoff games.
Greer, 28, posted 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 81 games in the regular season and three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 12 playoff contests.