Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Pro Football
NFL Network suspends analysts over sexual misconduct suit
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Hall of
Fame player Marshall Faulk
and two other NFL Network
analysts were suspended
after a woman who worked
as a wardrobe stylist at
the network accused them
of sexual misconduct in a
lawsuit.
The NFL on Tuesday
identified the three as Faulk,
Ike Taylor and Heath Evans.
They have been “suspended
from their duties at NFL
Network pending an investi-
gation into these allegations,”
league spokesman Brian
McCarthy said.
Jami Cantor described
several sexually inappro-
priate encounters with the
three retired players and
others who have worked for
NFL Network, according
to court documents first
reported by Bloomberg .
The lawsuit and suspen-
sions are the latest in a wave
of sexual misconduct allega-
tions against prominent men
in politics, entertainment and
media.
Former NFL Network
executive Eric Weinberger,
former
NFL
Network
analysts Donovan McNabb,
Eric Davis, and Hall of Famer
Warren Sapp, and former
NFL Network employee
Marc Watts also are named
in the lawsuit.
Weinberger is president
of the Bill Simmons Media
Group and was placed on
leave, according to a state-
ment given to the New York
Times . McNabb and Davis
now work as ESPN radio
contributors.
“We are investigating, and
AP Photo/File
Hall of Fame player Marshall Faulk, left, and two other
NFL Network analysts Ike Taylor, center, and Heath Ev-
ans, right, have been suspended after a former employ-
ee alleged sexual misconduct in a lawsuit.
McNabb and Davis will not
appear on our networks as
that investigation proceeds,”
ESPN spokesman Josh
Krulewitz said Tuesday.
None of the men named
immediately responded to
messages seeking comment
from The Associated Press.
Cantor worked at NFL
Network for a decade until
she was fired in October
2016. In the suit against
NFL Enterprises, she alleges
age and sex discrimination,
sexual harassment that
created a hostile work envi-
ronment, wrongful termina-
tion and defamation.
Cantor’s lawyer, Laura
Horton, filed an amended
complaint Monday to the
original suit filed in Los
Angeles Superior Court
in October. The amended
version includes the names
of those accused and details
about the sexual misconduct
allegations.
Horton said she has not
heard back from the NFL
Network since the original
filing in October.
“It’s been silent. It just
went nowhere,” Horton said
Tuesday. “They haven’t
reached out to me. I don’t
know what their next move
will be.”
Cantor said in the suit that
Faulk fondled and groped her
and asked “deeply personal
and invasive questions”
about her sex life. Cantor said
she received inappropriate
and sexually explicit texts
from Weinberger, McNabb,
Taylor and Evans.
“It was a severe, perva-
sive, sexually charged work
environment,” Horton said.
“There was a lot of stuff
going on. The texts and the
video and the photographs,
I’ve got them. It’s not like
a he-said, she-said sort of
thing. I’ve got documentary
evidence.”
Faulk starred for the Indi-
anapolis Colts and St. Louis
Rams. The running back was
the NFL’s MVP in 2000 and
won a Super Bowl with the
Rams in the 2000 game. He
retired in 2005.
Taylor spent 12 seasons
as a cornerback with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Evans, a
fullback, was in the league
for 10 seasons, mostly with
Seattle, New England and
New Orleans.
Prep Sports
OSAA’s 2018-2022 classification plan on hold due to appeals
Football-specific
changes could be
on horizon, too
By JERRY ULMER
The Oregonian/OregonLive
In a perfect world, the
OSAA would have sealed
the deal in October when it
adopted a new classification
and districting plan for the
four-year time block that
begins in 2018-19.
More than two months
later, though, the OSAA still
needs to tie up some loose
ends.
It could be another month
or so before a hearings
officer rules on an appeal
by the Salem-Keizer School
District, which contends
that the OSAA violated its
own tenets and an Oregon
statute when it placed five
Salem-Keizer schools in the
same league with three Bend
schools.
And an ad-hoc football
committee, which the OSAA
formed to address issues
that have arisen mostly from
declining participation, is
evaluating potential changes
that it could present
to the executive
board in February.
So schools are
in a holding pattern
until it all gets
sorted out.
“We’ve asked schools to
hold off on scheduling foot-
ball for a little while to allow
the committee to work and
see if they can come up with
something to put in place for
next year,” OSAA executive
director Peter Weber said.
“Hopefully the committee
can make something happen,
but it may not be for next
year. It may have to be
beyond that.”
The most pressing issue
is the appeal from Salem-
Keizer, which has the poten-
tial to alter the districting in
Class 6A.
Salem-Keizer says the
OSAA went against its own
rules by forcing hardship
on the district in the form
of increased travel costs
(estimated to climb $700,000
per school year) and substan-
tial loss of instructional
time. It claims the OSAA
violated an Oregon statute
(ORS 329.025) that regards
instructional time, transpor-
tation safety and a district’s
control of its funds.
It also charges
that the OSAA
did not allow the
district enough time
to respond to the
plan before it was
adopted by the executive
board.
“We believe we followed
the process with all our
policies,” Weber said. “We
feel it best met our criteria
that we’re following. Placing
the Bend schools with the
southern Oregon schools
would be further travel for
both groups. Same with
placing them with, for
example, the East County
schools.”
Cascade also is appealing
its move from Class 4A to
5A next year. The school
contends that the OSAA
should use its enrollment
number from Oct. 1 instead
of the figure from 2016-17.
OSAA bylaws dictate using
of the number from the
previous school year.
W. Michael Gillette,
a former Oregon Court
of Appeals and Oregon
Supreme Court judge, will
hear the cases. No date
has been scheduled for the
hearings.
What if Gillette rules in
favor of Salem-Keizer?
“If we’re told we need to
do something different, then
we’ll do something different
at that point,” Weber said.
Changes also could be
coming from the findings
of the ad-hoc football
committee, a 13-member
panel that includes princi-
pals, athletic directors and
football coaches.
The classification and
districting
committee
recommended
formation
of the ad-hoc committee to
the executive board after
encountering issues specific
to football. The continued
decline in participation has
created more issues with
competitive balance and led
to 15 teams playing indepen-
dent schedules this season.
“They are trying to put
together a plan that they think
will help reverse the trend of
declining participation and
the loss of programs,” Weber
said.
One idea the ad-hoc
committee is exploring is
establishing criteria to allow
schools to play down one
classification.
In its latest update, the
committee proposed that
BEAVERS: Play Saint Louis in Portland on Saturday
Continued from 1B
Oregon State led 70-67
but committed turnovers
on consecutive possessions
with less than two minutes
left. Jacksonville State
trailed 70-69 after two
Jamall Gregory free throws,
but Gregory missed a layup
the next time down the floor.
Jacksonville State made a
defensive stop against the
Beavers, though, and had a
chance for the win.
The Gamecocks came
into the contest averaging
52.2 percent on field goals,
which ranked sixth in the
NCAA. But the Beavers
held them to 42 percent
shooting and shot 52 percent
themselves.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: With a win
against Arkansas-Pine Bluff
on Saturday, Oregon State
surpassed its win total for
last season, when leading
player Tinkle missed most
of the year due to injury. .
The Beavers last won four
in a row during the 2014-15
season. The last time
Oregon State won six in a
row was in 2004-05.
BREAKOUT GAME
Kendal Manuel scored
a season-high 10 points for
the Beavers on Tuesday.
He averaged 7.8 points as a
freshman but had slumped
as a sophomore, and
was averaging 2.7 points
entering the game. He
hadn’t scored in five of the
previous six contests.
UP NEXT
Oregon State hosts
Saint Louis in Portland for
the Dam City Classic on
Saturday.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Wednesday
Hermiston at Walla Walla (WA), 7 p.m.
Friday
Condon/Wheeler vs. Mac-Hi (at Pilot
Rock), 4:30 p.m.
Ione vs. Riverside (at Stanfield), 4:30 p.m.
Umatilla vs. Gervais (at Amity), 4:45 p.m.
Putnam at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 7 p.m.
Echo at Helix, 7 p.m.
Heppner at Imbler, 7:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Grant Union, 7:30
p.m.
Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Elgin at Stanfield, 7:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Union, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Mac-Hi vs. Enterprise (at Pilot Rock),
2:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Lewiston (ID), 3 p.m.
Echo at Pine Eagle, 3 p.m.
Helix at Wallowa, 5 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Imbler, 5:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Heppner, 5:30 p.m.
Condon/Wheeler at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m.
Cove at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m.
Stanfield vs. TBD (at Stanfield), TBD
Ione vs. TBD (at Stanfield), TBD
Riverside vs. TBD (at Stanfield), TBD
Umatilla vs. TBD (at Amity), TBD
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Thursday
Wilsonville at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Friday
Condon/Wheeler vs. Mac-Hi (at Pilot
Rock), 3 p.m.
Umatilla vs. Gervais (at Amity), 3 p.m.
Ione vs. Riverside (at Stanfield), 3 p.m.
Heppner at Imbler, 3 p.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5 p.m.
Irrigon at Union, 6 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Grant Union, 6 p.m.
Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Elgin at Stanfield, 6 p.m.
Echo at Helix, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Mac-Hi vs. Enterprise (at Pilot Rock), 1
p.m.
Echo at Pine Eagle, 4 p.m.
Cove at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Imbler, 4 p.m.
Grant Union at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Condon/Wheeler at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m.
Helix at Wallowa, 5 p.m.
La Grande vs. Irrigon (at Hermiston), 7
p.m.
Ione vs. TBD (at Stanfield), TBD
Umatilla vs. TBD (at Amity), TBD
Stanfield vs. TBD (at Stanfield), TBD
Riverside vs. TBD (at Stanfield), TBD
PREP WRESTLING
Friday
Hermiston at Tri-State (ID)
Pendleton at Banks
Echo at Twin Falls (ID)
Irrigon vs. Riverside
Saturday
Hermiston at Tri-State (ID)
Pendleton at Liberty Tournament
(Hillsboro)
Mac-Hi, Riverside, Irrigon, Heppner, Echo
at Mac-Hi Christmas Tournament
PREP SWIMMING
Saturday
Pendleton, Hermiston at La Grande
Basketball
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W
L Pct GB
Boston
23
6 .793 —
Toronto
17
8 .680
4
New York
14 13 .519
8
Philadelphia
14 13 .519
8
Brooklyn
11 15 .423 10½
Southeast Division
W
L Pct GB
Washington
14 13 .519 —
Miami
13 13 .500
½
Orlando
11 17 .393 3½
Charlotte
10 16 .385 3½
Atlanta
6 21 .222
8
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Cleveland
20
8 .714 —
Milwaukee
15 10 .600 3½
Indiana
16 11 .593 3½
Detroit
14 13 .519 5½
Chicago
6 20 .231 13
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
21
4 .840 —
San Antonio
19
9 .679 3½
New Orleans
14 14 .500 8½
Memphis
8 19 .296 14
Dallas
8 20 .286 14½
Northwest Division
W
L Pct GB
Minnesota
16 12 .571 —
Denver
15 12 .556
½
Portland
13 13 .500
2
Utah
13 14 .481 2½
Oklahoma City
12 14 .462
3
Pacific Division
W
L Pct GB
Golden State
22
6 .786 —
L.A. Clippers
10 15 .400 10½
L.A. Lakers
10 16 .385 11
Sacramento
9 18 .333 12½
Phoenix
9 20 .310 13½
———
Tuesday’s Games
Cleveland 123, Atlanta 114
Denver 103, Detroit 84
New York 113, L.A. Lakers 109, OT
Brooklyn 103, Washington 98
Dallas 95, San Antonio 89
Philadelphia 118, Minnesota 112, OT
Sacramento 99, Phoenix 92
Wednesday’s Games
L.A. Clippers at Orlando, 4 p.m.
Memphis at Washington, 4 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Indiana, 4 p.m.
Denver at Boston, 4:30 p.m.
Portland at Miami, 4:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
Utah at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Toronto at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Houston, 7:30 p.m.
NCAA
Men’s College Basketball
Top 25
Tuesday’s Games
No. 25 Cincinnati 65, Mississippi State 50
No. 15 Seton Hall 84, Saint Peter’s 61
Wednesday’s Games
No. 1 Villanova at Temple, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Savannah State at No. 9 Texas A&M, 5 p.m.
Kennesaw State at No. 24 Texas Tech,
6 p.m.
Pac-12
Tuesday’s Games
Oregon State 70, Jacksonville St. 69
San Diego 69, Colorado 59
Wednesday’s Games
Portland State at Oregon, 7 p.m. (PAC12)
Women’s College Basketball
Top 25
Tuesday’s Games
No. 23 Michigan 79, North Florida 34
No. 3 Louisville 95, Tennessee St. 56
Wednesday’s Games
Savannah State at No. 17 Oregon State,
11 a.m.
No. 9 Oregon at No. 5 Mississippi St.,
4 p.m.
McNeese St. at No. 6 Baylor, 10 a.m.
Northwestern St. at No. 8 Texas, 5 p.m.
Pac-12
Tuesday’s Games
No games scheduled.
Wednesday’s Games
Savannah State at No. 17 Oregon State,
11 a.m.
No. 9 Oregon at No. 5 Mississippi St.,
4 p.m.
Hockey
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
GP W
L OT
Tampa Bay 30 22
6
2
Toronto
32 20 11
1
Boston
27 14
9
4
Montreal
31 13 14
4
Florida
31 12 14
5
Detroit
30 11 13
6
Ottawa
29 9 13
7
Buffalo
31 8 17
6
Metropolitan Division
GP W
L OT
Columbus 31 19 11
1
Washington 32 19 12
1
New Jersey 30 17
9
4
N.Y. Islanders 30 17 10
3
N.Y. Rangers 30 16 11
3
Pittsburgh 32 16 13
3
Carolina
30 12 11
7
Philadelphia 30 12 11
7
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
GP W
L OT
St. Louis
32 21
9
2
Winnipeg 31 18
8
5
Nashville
29 18
7
4
Minnesota 30 16 11
3
Dallas
31 17 13
1
Chicago
31 15 11
5
Colorado
30 14 14
2
Pacific Division
GP W
L OT
Los Angeles 32 20
9
3
Pts
46
41
32
30
29
28
25
22
GF GA
113 74
108 92
78 75
85 99
92 108
81 99
79 101
67 104
Pts
39
39
38
37
35
35
31
31
GF GA
88 80
100 93
94 92
108 100
99 89
94 104
83 93
87 88
Pts
44
41
40
35
35
35
30
GF GA
104 81
107 87
95 84
89 88
91 90
93 84
94 100
Pts GF GA
43 98 73
Vegas
30 19
9
2 40 105 94
San Jose
29 16 10
3 35 79 69
Calgary
31 16 12
3 35 89 96
Anaheim
31 13 11
7 33 83 91
Vancouver 31 14 13
4 32 82 90
Edmonton 31 13 16
2 28 93 101
Arizona
33 7 21
5 19 75 114
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss.
———
Tuesday’s Games
Edmonton 7, Columbus 2
Buffalo 3, Ottawa 2
Philadelphia 4, Toronto 2
Washington 5, Colorado 2
New Jersey 5, Los Angeles 1
Minnesota 2, Calgary 1, SO
Tampa Bay 3, St. Louis 0
Chicago 3, Florida 2, OT
Carolina 3, Vegas 2, SO
Wednesday’s Games
Dallas at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa, 4 p.m.
Boston at Detroit, 5 p.m.
Nashville at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Football
NFL
Week 15 Schedule
Thursday, Dec. 14
Denver at Indianapolis, 5:25 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 16
Chicago at Detroit, 1:30 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, 5:25 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 17
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m.
Cincinnati at Minnesota, 10 a.m.
Houston at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.
Arizona at Washington, 10 a.m.
N.Y. Jets at New Orleans, 10 a.m.
Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m.
Green Bay at Carolina, 10 a.m.
Baltimore at Cleveland, 10 a.m.
L.A. Rams at Seattle, 1:05 p.m.
New England at Pittsburgh, 1:25 p.m.
Tennessee at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m.
Dallas at Oakland, 5:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 18
Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m.
NCAA
Bowl Schedule
Saturday’s Games
Celebration Bowl
At Atlanta
NC A&T (11-0) vs. Grambling State (11-1),
9 a.m. (ABC)
New Orleans Bowl
North Texas (9-4) vs. Troy (10-2), 10 a.m.
(ESPN)
Cure Bowl
Orlando, Fla.
Georgia State (6-5) vs. Western Kentucky
(6-6), 11:30 a.m. (CBSSN)
Las Vegas Bowl
Boise State (10-3) vs. Oregon (7-5), 12:30
p.m. (ABC)
New Mexico Bowl
Albuquerque
Colorado State (7-5) vs. Marshall (7-5),
1:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Camellia Bowl
Montgomery, Ala.
Arkansas State (7-3) vs. Middle Tennessee
(6-6), 5 p.m. (ESPN)
“any school with an in-class
winning percentage over
the last four years that is 22
percent or lower (two wins
per year), and any school
with 12 or fewer in-classifi-
cation games (three games
per year) over the last four
years are under consideration
to be moved down in football
only.”
Under that criteria, Class
6A schools eligible to move
to Class 5A for football
would be Aloha, Benson,
Cleveland, David Douglas,
McKay and South Eugene.
In Eastern Oregon, River-
side/Ione,
McLoughlin/
Griswold and Pilot Rock/
Nixyaawii would also be
eligible to move down under
those criteria.
The committee also has
discussed the possibility of
dividing the big-school clas-
sification into two divisions
for the playoffs, in light of
the lopsided results from the
Class 6A first round in recent
years.
“Does it make sense to
potentially take a division
like that and say, ‘Hey,
we’re going to take the top
16 teams and put them in an
open division, and then the
next 16 are going to play’?”
Weber said. “You don’t have
No. 1 vs. No. 32, you have
No. 17 vs. No. 32. Would
that make more sense? What
are the benefits of doing
that?”
Small-school issues –
such as possibly playing
6-man football for the
smallest schools and creating
an enrollment zone between
Class 1A and 2A to allow the
option of playing 11-man or
8-man – also are on the table.
The imbalance in the
number
of
sub-varsity
programs within leagues is
a concern. The committee is
looking at creating pools of
schools with similar sub-var-
sity programs for scheduling
purposes.
“Not to be beholden to
the long-held belief that if
my varsity is playing you
on Friday, then my JV and
freshmen need to play you,
as well,” Weber said.
“We’ve got some issues
in football, and we’re
working to try to address
them. Hopefully, whatever
the group comes up with
and recommends, and the
board ultimately approves,
works. But if it doesn’t, then
we’ll have to try something
different. It’s a process.”
BRIEFLY
Seattle GK Miller
goes first in MLS
expansion draft
LOS ANGELES (AP)
— Seattle goalkeeper Tyler
Miller was the Los Angeles
Football Club’s first pick in
the Major League Soccer
expansion draft on Tuesday.
LAFC also chose
Sporting Kansas City
forward Latif Blessing,
San Jose forward Marco
Urena, Columbus left back
Jukka Raitala and Toronto
defender Raheem Edwards.
The club then traded Raitala
and Edwards to Montreal
for Laurent Ciman, the
Impact’s former All-Star
defender.
Coach Bob Bradley’s
club finally has some assets
to begin shaping a roster
around the three prominent
players it had previously
acquired: Mexican forward
Carlos Vela, Egyptian
defender Omar Gaber and
American defender Walker
Zimmerman, who joined
last weekend in a trade with
FC Dallas.
With the arrival of
Ciman, LAFC already has
the basis for a stout defense
on a team that intends to
play up-tempo, attacking
football. The 32-year-old
Ciman was MLS’ Defender
of the Year in 2015, and he
will team with Zimmerman
in a formidable pairing.
LAFC general manager
John Thorrington began the
draft uncertain of how many
of his five choices would be
with the club when it begins
play as MLS’ 23rd franchise
in March, and he quickly
shipped out 40 percent of
his haul.
That’s normal in recent
years: Only four of the 10
combined players chosen in
last year’s expansion draft
actually stayed with their
clubs.
ATHLETE
OF THE WEEK
Jacee Currin
Heppner High School • Junior - Girls Basketball
Currin scored
a team-high 29
points to lead
her Heppner
Mustangs to
a pair of wins
over Mac-Hi and
Imbler over the weekend at
the Heppner Invitational.
Proudly Sponsored By:
“If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more, do more and become more,
you are a leader”.
- John Quincy Adams
Congratulations to the Athlete of the Week!
- State Representative Greg Smith, District 57