⚖️ Axios Sports: Forced arbitration

Plus: F1's Miami debut | Friday, May 06, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By NetJets   Axios Sports By Jeff Tracy · May 06, 2022 👋 Happy Friday! You made it. Today's word count: 2,026 words (8 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: ⚖️ Forced arbitration Photo: David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images   Brian Flores' lawsuit regarding racist hiring practices against the NFL and six of its teams could be forced into arbitration. Why it matters: Forced arbitration is a strategy by the NFL to keep proceedings private, and if it goes this route then the arbitrator in one of the highest-profile cases of racial discrimination in league history would be commissioner Roger Goodell. How it works: The NFL's constitution — as well as employees' contracts — stipulates that such matters be resolved privately whenever possible, in part because pre-trial discovery could uncover damaging information. But the optics aren't great when the arbitrator is the same person whose job is to protect the league's interests and whose gargantuan salary is determined by a committee comprising team owners. State of play: Lawyers for both sides met Monday at a hearing in New York for the first time since the suit was filed in February. The hearing came a month after two more coaches joined Flores' suit, and two weeks after the NFL requested the case either be dismissed or sent to arbitration because the league believes it lacks legal merit. Judge Valerie Caproni felt the sides should settle, but they declined. Now, she'll determine whether or not to send the case to arbitration. What they're saying: "With forced arbitration, there won't be a jury of my peers who will hear my claims, which is one of the most important and fundamental rights we have in this country," Flores said in March. Flores' attorney, Douglas Wigdor, on Monday said this showed "unconscionable bias," also arguing that any allegations from when Flores wasn't under contract wouldn't be subject to the arbitration clause. The NFL's attorney, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, countered that the claims still fall under the league's arbitration provisions and that it will "set up a neutral process." What's next: The NFL has until June 21 to file a motion to compel arbitration, the coaches have until July 22 to respond and the NFL has until Aug. 5 to provide its final reply brief. In related news ... The NFL will hold a diversity seminar later this month during its annual spring owners meeting for 64 prospective head coach and GM candidates, according to a memo obtained Wednesday by ESPN.     2. 🏁 F1 comes to Miami Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   The Miami Grand Prix debuts on Sunday, the first of two Formula 1 races in the U.S. this season and the first ever in Miami. Why it matters: The race comes at the perfect time in the sport's domestic evolution from curiosity to obsession, and if the weekend goes as planned the U.S. seems poised to become an F1 superpower. The track: Organizers originally wanted a waterfront circuit like Monaco's, but when that didn't work they pivoted to building the Miami International Autodrome, a temporary track around the Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium. Drivers will take 57 laps around the 3.36-mile circuit, featuring 19 turns and a fake marina intended to mimic the waterfront vibe it couldn't achieve organically. State of play: More than 300,000 people are flocking to Miami for the weekend's lavish festivities, per CNBC, with spending expected to surpass even what Miami's 2020 Super Bowl generated. The average ticket costs $2,179, more than three times the price at last year's Grand Prix in Austin, and some hotels are charging upwards of $100,000 a night for their best suites. What they're saying: "This is going to be the biggest week in Miami history," said Jeff Zalaznick, whose restaurant, Carbone, sold out its $3,000 per head dinner in South Beach. "We've never seen demand like this. It's going to be a very hedonistic experience." The big picture: The sport's explosion in the states isn't exactly a coincidence. Its roots are in 2017, when Liberty Media, the American company that owns the Braves, bought F1. Two years later it got an even bigger bump when Netflix's smash hit "Drive to Survive" began streaming. The show was renewed Thursday for two more seasons. The growth will only accelerate next year when Las Vegas joins Miami and Austin as the third domestic race on the calendar. You think this weekend's crazy? Imagine Sin City. The bottom line: The pomp and circumstance expected in Miami signals an inflection point in the meteoric rise of F1's popularity in the states. Go deeper: F1's American conundrum (NYT)     3. 🏇 The Run for the Roses Data: VegasInsider.com; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios The 148th Kentucky Derby is on Saturday, kicking off the 2022 Triple Crown with what could be a record-setting crowd. After fans were limited the past two years, organizers project that attendance tomorrow could break the record of 170,513 set in 2015. Post time: 6:57pm ET (NBC) Weather: High of 66°F and 46% chance of rain The field: 20 horses will line up with anywhere from a 3-1 to 30-1 shot at winning. Favorites: Zandon (3-1 odds; post No. 10); Epicenter (7-2; No. 3); Messier (8-1; No. 6); White Abarrio (10-1; No. 15); Mo Donegal (10-1; No. 1) Japanese history: Crown Pride (20-1, No. 7) is the fourth horse with ties to Japan to ever compete in the Derby, and just the second actually born there. Of note: Since the Derby began using a starting gate in 1930, posts No. 5 (10 wins) and No. 10 (nine) have seen the most winners, while No. 17 is the only one that's never produced a champ. Between the lines: Notably absent from this year's Derby is legendary but controversial trainer Bob Baffert. He received a two-year ban after his record seventh win last year was stripped due to a failed drug test. Medina Spirit, the horse in question, died suddenly last December during a workout. His necropsy did not confirm a definitive cause of death. Baffert will also miss this year's Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Go deeper: Favorites and sleepers (B/R)     A message from NetJets Why 50+ PGA TOUR pros choose NetJets     Tournament to getaway to home. In other words: Only NetJets gets it all done for the world's top golfers, ensuring reliable access, unparalleled safety and total comfort on every flight. Learn what it means to travel with the worldwide leader.     4. ⚡️ Lightning round Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images   ⚾️ 7-run stunner: The Mets shocked the Phillies Thursday night, scoring seven runs in the top of the 9th to win, 8-7. It was just the third win in franchise history after trailing by 6+ runs in the 9th, and first since 1997. ⚾️ Another one: The Reds lost again, dropping to 3-22 with a truly shocking -87 run differential. Since 1900, only the 1988 Orioles (2-23) have had a worse 25-game start. 🎓 NIL regulation coming: New NIL guidelines are expected to be published next week in an effort to better regulate an environment in which boosters have committed recruiting violations by striking deals with athletes before they've enrolled, SI reports. 🥊 Record audience: 1.5 million people watched Saturday's Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano bout at MSG, according to DAZN — the most ever for a women-headlined boxing match.     5. 🏀 The WNBA tips off today, with a twist Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela. Photos: Jeff Bottari, Barry Gossage, Joshua Huston, David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images   The 26th WNBA season begins today with four games, including the reigning champ Chicago Sky hosting the reloaded L.A. Sparks. Details: The regular season features a record 36 games and the expanded playoffs have done away with single-elimination games for the first time since 2015, replacing them with four best-of-three series in Round 1. Broadcast: 148 regular-season games will be broadcast nationally or available to stream on CBS and CBSSN (40), NBA TV (46), Prime Video (17), Facebook Watch (20) and ESPN's family of networks (25). The intrigue: For the first time ever, ESPN is offering Fantasy Women's Basketball. Here's a quick toolkit for your draft: Scoring: One fantasy point each for points, rebounds, assists and made threes; two for steals and blocks. Top 10 players: Tina Charles (C, PHX); Breanna Stewart (F, SEA); Jonquel Jones (F, CONN); Sylvia Fowles (C, MIN); A'ja Wilson (F, LV); Skylar Diggins-Smith (G, PHX); DeWanna Bonner (F, CONN); Candace Parker (F, CHI); Natasha Howard (F, NY); Elena Delle Donne (F, WSH) Sleepers: Aces F Dearica Hamby (ranked 47th by ESPN), the two-time Sixth Woman of the Year, appears finally to be starting; Liberty G Rebecca Allen (59th) averaged 2.8 combined steals and blocks and 1.9 threes last year. Go deeper: Preseason power rankings (ESPN) Numbers to watch for each team (FiveThirtyEight)     6. 🥊 Boxing snapshot: Unified champions Photo: Matt Thomas/Getty Images   Ahead of Canelo Álvarez's light heavyweight title bout on Saturday against Dmitry Bivol, here's a snapshot of the best active boxers based on current titles held. By the numbers: 12 fighters across 11 weight classes (of 17 total) are unified champions, meaning they hold titles from at least two of boxing's four major sanctioning bodies (WBO, IBF, WBA, WBC). Heavyweight (unlimited pounds): Oleksandr Usyk (WBO, IBF, WBA) Light heavyweight (175): Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBC) ... Bivol holds the WBA belt Super middleweight (168): Álvarez (undisputed; he holds all four) Middleweight (160): Gennadiy Golovkin (IBF, WBA) Junior middleweight (154): Jermell Charlo (IBF, WBA, WBC) Welterweight (147): Errol Spence Jr. (IBF, WBA, WBC) Junior welterweight (140): Josh Taylor (undisputed) Lightweight (135): George Kambosos Jr. (WBO, IBF, WBA) Junior lightweight (130): Shakur Stevenson (WBO, WBC) Junior featherweight (122): Stephen Fulton (WBO, WBC); Murodjon Akhmadaliev (IBF, WBA) Bantamweight (118): Naoya Inoue (IBF, WBA) Go deeper: Álvarez plots his path to history (ESPN)     7. 🌎 The world in photos Photo: Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images DENVER — Cale Makar scored the game winner in OT to lead the Avalanche — for whom Mikko Rantanen definitely plays, unlike what I wrote yesterday — past the Predators, 2-1, to take a 2-0 series lead. Elsewhere: The Panthers beat the Capitals (5-1), the Rangers beat the Penguins (5-2) and the Stars beat the Flames (2-0), with each series now tied 1-1. Photo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images BOSTON — Shotime came to Fenway as Ohtani put together a two-way masterpiece in an 8-0 win: 7 IP, 6 H, 11 K and 0 BB on the mound; 2-4, R, RBI at the plate. Wild stat: His 29 swings and misses induced are second-most by an Angels pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (2008). Photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images MADRID — Spanish wunderkind Carlos Alcaraz beat Cameron Norrie Thursday on his 19th birthday, setting up a quarterfinal match today against a fellow Spaniard named Rafael Nadal. The big picture: Alcaraz is now ranked a career-high No. 7.     8. 📺 Watchlist: Ivy League lacrosse Photo: Rich Barnes/Getty Images   The Ivy League men's lacrosse tournament features just four teams, but it's got more than enough talent to go around. Six of the league's seven teams (Columbia doesn't play) are in the top-12 nationally, but No. 2 Princeton and No. 12 Harvard didn't even qualify for their own tournament, beginning on ESPNU tonight. Schedule: Cornell vs. Yale (Fri. 6pm ET) and Brown vs. Penn (Fri. 8:30pm). Championship is Sunday at noon. More to watch: 🏁 F1: Miami Grand Prix (Sun. 3:30pm, ABC) 🏇 Kentucky Derby: 148th Run for the Roses (Sat. 6:57pm, NBC) 🏀 NBA playoffs: Heat (up 2-0) at 76ers (Fri. 7pm, ESPN; Sun. 8pm, TNT); Suns (up 2-0) at Mavericks (Fri. 9:30pm, ESPN; Sun. 3:30pm, ESPN); Celtics (1-1) at Bucks (Sat. 3:30pm, ABC); Grizzlies (1-1) at Warriors (Sat. 8:30pm, ABC) 🏒 NHL playoffs: 12 games (TNT/TBS/ESPN) ... The Hurricanes (up 2-0 on the Bruins) are the only team that can advance this weekend. 🏀 WNBA: Opening weekend (ESPN/ESPN2/NBA/CBSSN) ⚽️ NWSL Challenge Cup Final: NC Courage vs. Washington Spirit (Sat. 1pm, CBS) 🥊 Boxing: Canelo Álvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol (Sat. 8pm, DAZN) 🥊 UFC 274: Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje (Sat. 10pm, ESPN+ PPV) ⚾️ MLB: Rays at Mariners (Fri. 9:40pm, Apple TV+); Cardinals at Giants (Sat. 7:15pm, FS1); White Sox at Red Sox (Sun. 11:30am, NBC); Dodgers at Cubs (Sun. 7pm, ESPN) ⚽️ Premier League: Liverpool vs. Tottenham (Sat. 2:45pm, USA) ⚽️ MLS: Austin vs. LA Galaxy (Sun. 7pm, FS1) 🏈 USFL: Week 4 (FS1/Fox/NBC/Peacock) 🏁 NASCAR: Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (Sun. 3:30pm, FS1) 🎾 Tennis: Madrid Open (Fri.-Sun., Tennis) ⛳️ PGA: Wells Fargo Championship (Fri.-Sun., Golf/CBS/ESPN+)     9. 🏀 NBA trivia Photo: Justin Ford/Getty Images   Ja Morant has at least eight rebounds and eight assists in each of his last seven games, tying two other players for the longest such streak in a single postseason. Question: Who are those players? Hint: They did it for the same team 38 years apart. Answer at the bottom.     10. ⚾️ 1 pitcher thing: 0.00 ERA Source: Giphy One month of stats may not be that much, but any pitcher still putting zeroes on the board has to be doing something right. By the numbers: 10 pitchers with a minimum of 10 IP still have a perfect 0.00 ERA. Dillon Peters, PIT: 16.2 IP J.P. Feyereisen, TB: 11.2 Taylor Rogers, SD: 11.2 Drew Smith, NYM: 11.1 David Robertson, CHC: 11 Erik Swanson, SEA: 11 Andrew Heaney, LAD: 10.1 Michael Fulmer, DET: 10.1 Dany Jiménez, OAK: 10 Jakob Junis, SF: 10     A message from NetJets NetJets helps you do more and miss less     NetJets Owners enjoy guaranteed access to the largest, most diverse fleet of private jets in the world, giving you the ultimate in flexibility and peace of mind. The result: Unsurpassable luxury. See what else makes NetJets the premier private aviation choice.   Have a great weekend, Jeff "My ERA's hovering in the mid-4s" Tracy Trivia answer: Magic Johnson (1982); LeBron James (2020) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: