AP Sports

Trump signs executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designed to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls’ or women’s sports. The order gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth. Trump has already ordered the government to define sex as only male or female.

11 NFL teams have never had a Black head coach. Players find that disappointing

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — More than a third of Black NFL players who responded to questions from the AP about the state of Black head coaches around the league were discouraged or disappointed by the current numbers. More than half of the athletes in professional football are Black, but only seven of the 32 coaches that began this season are Black. As the Super Bowl approaches on Sunday, two of those seven have been fired and were replaced by white coaches. The Rooney Rule has been around for more than 20 years, but there still are 11 NFL franchises that have never had a Black head coach.

Rams will play regular-season game in Melbourne in 2026

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The NFL is expanding its international footprint to Australia. The league announced Wednesday that it will be playing games in Melbourne in upcoming seasons. As of the 2025 season, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated regular-season games internationally.

NFL players’ union boss Lloyd Howell: ‘No one wants to play an 18th game’ in regular season

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An 18-game NFL regular season isn’t a slam dunk. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell pushed back on it Wednesday even though NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has openly talked about it as if it’s inevitable. The two sides haven’t had formal discussions about expanding the season, which would require renegotiating the collective bargaining agreement. Of course, the players’ union would want the league to make several concessions in order to agree to an 18th game. Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a linebacker for the Lions and NFLPA president, wouldn’t specify what the players may want in return.

Vic Fangio remade the Eagles defense and now looks for his elusive Super Bowl title

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Vic Fangio’s coaching career started in the 1970s as a high school assistant in Pennsylvania and has taken him across the country in various stops as he grew into one of the most innovative defensive coaches in the game. Now at age 66, he is at the Super Bowl in New Orleans as defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles team he grew up supporting with a chance to fill one of the few remaining gaps on a stellar career. Fangio has incorporated eight new starters into a defense that ranked near the bottom of the NFL in 2023 and turned it into one of the league’s best.

Super Bowl secondary-ticket prices high but much less than last year’s game

Prices on the secondary-ticket market for Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans are much less than last year’s big game and declining. But they are still high by historical standards. The average price for the Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles game at TickPick was $6,552 as of Tuesday. If that amount holds, it would be that website’s third highest for a Super Bowl. Last year’s game between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers was the highest with an average price at that site of $9,136.

Bucks are adding Kyle Kuzma and sending Khris Middleton to the Wizards in a trade, AP source says

The Milwaukee Bucks are trading NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards and getting Kyle Kuzma back in the deal, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. A.J. Johnson goes from the Bucks to the Wizards and Patrick Baldwin goes from the Wizards to the Bucks, along with a future pick swap and some second-round draft capital, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had yet to receive league approval. The move first reported by ESPN, came one day before Thursday’s 3 p.m. Eastern trade deadline in the NBA.

Blitzing with ‘Spags’: Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the mad scientist of pass rush

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Steve Spagnuolo was interviewed by several teams during this hiring cycle, and for good reason: He’s long been considered one of the best defensive minds in the game. The Kansas City Chiefs coordinator affectionately known by his players as “Spags” has a deep, complicated playbook, one that can set heads a-spinnin’. But what really makes him stand out are the exotic blitzes that can come from any direction, and which could be crucial to stopping Jalen Hurts and the Eagles in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are back in the big game not only because of Patrick Mahomes but because of the other side of the ball, too.

Hermoso’s teammate and brother say in court the Spain player was pressured to downplay Rubiales kiss

MADRID (AP) — The brother of Jenni Hermoso and one of her teammates have told a judge there were attempts to pressure the player into downplaying the unsolicited kiss by former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales in the awards presentation ceremony following the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Rafael Hermoso said in court that former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda asked him to tell Jenni to record a video together with the former president to show she was OK with the kiss. Former teammate Misa Rodríguez said Jenni told the other players she was being coerced and that she was “not well” after what happened.

Settlement creates $5 million fund for NWSL players after abuse scandal

The National Women’s Soccer League will establish a $5 million fund for players as part of a settlement that stemmed from allegations of emotional and sexual misconduct that rocked the league in 2021. Attorneys general from Washington, D.C., Illinois and New York announced the settlement with the league on Wednesday. The funds will go to players who experienced abuse. The settlement also requires the league to maintain safeguards put into place following a pair of investigations released in late 2022 that found widespread misconduct that impacted multiple teams, coaches and players.