Sports
Can USA Basketball mend fences with Tatum, get younger for L.A. 2028?
PARIS — Jayson Tatum stood in the arena loading dock Saturday night, an Olympic gold medal draped around his neck and untold bottles of champagne waiting for him, answering questions about his personal disappointment and his mom coming to his defense on social media.
This should have been, and in many ways still was, the Summer of Tatum. His first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics. A $314-million contract extension. The birth of his second child. And yes, a second gold medal in as many Olympics, this time as a member of arguably the greatest team ever assembled.
But Tatum’s role on the fringe of Team USA’s rotation was not one he’s used to, or was prepared for, and the two games he didn’t play in during the Americans’ run to gold made for huge news and hot debate back home.
“I keep trying to say, I’m trying not to make it about me, all the storylines over the last few days — we won,” Tatum said after the Americans’ 98-87 triumph over France, in which Tatum did play and contributed two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes. “We won a gold medal, and that was most important.”
Because they won, the debate is moot. History will judge U.S. coach Steve Kerr favorably for managing this team as he did, for riding Devin Booker as a starter over Tatum, for using Derrick White as a point-of-attack defender off the bench until the Americans played France, when Tatum’s length was more valuable to the team than what White brought as a defense-first guard.
Had the Americans lost at any point this summer, and especially in the medal rounds, with Tatum on the bench, then yes, Kerr and Team USA’s executives would have been crushed with criticism for not finding a bigger role for someone who has been a first-team All-NBA selection three years in a row.
But they didn’t lose, so the arguments and the takes no longer matter. What is important, vitally important, for U.S. men’s basketball now, though, is how Tatum feels. Because the program still needs him and will need him.
“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to be making any decision off emotions,” Tatum said. “If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028, it is four years from now, and I would have to take time and think about that. So I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.”
After a lot of time spent on the bench in Paris, Jayson Tatum isn’t sure about L.A. in 2028. “I’m not going to be making any decision off emotions,” he said. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
The U.S. has now won five consecutive men’s basketball gold medals. They all count, but this one felt bigger in terms of importance because of the team the Americans sent to Paris. The names and the resumes belonging to LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, to say nothing of the other eight stars, including Tatum, drew constant comparisons to the Dream Team of 1992. If this team couldn’t win, what would that say about the state of USA Basketball moving forward?
Thanks to the heroics of the Americans’ three elder statesmen, no one had to answer that question. But the team the U.S. fields four summers from now, when the Games are on American soil in Los Angeles, will be influenced greatly by the experience of this summer.
Whether it was the choice made by USA executives to go all in on All-Stars, instead of sprinkling in more role players, or how the players who could return to the team in 2028 feel about the journey they just completed, the next chapter of American basketball on the international stage will be written based in large part on the chapter that finished so gloriously late Saturday night in the City of Light.
“You can’t keep everyone happy,” USA managing director Grant Hill — who won a gold medal as a player in 1996 — said in a recent interview with The Athletic. “But I think you win a gold medal and everyone feels like they contributed. I think people will come out of this with a positive outlook on the entire experience.
“And, you know, we’ll have to revamp and figure things out in four years.”
As Hill said in that interview, which was first published Friday, the team was constructed with 11 All-Stars (12, if you count Kawhi Leonard before he was replaced by Derrick White) in part because of the versatility of the top teams in the world, but also in case James, Curry or Durant couldn’t play at the highest level.
James will be 43 in 2028. He said Saturday he did not expect to play for Team USA at the Los Angeles Games. Curry will be 40, and while he left himself room to change his mind — “never say never” is what he said — he suggested Paris would be his first and only Olympics. Durant will be 39 and has battled injuries the last few years, but he could easily decide he wants to be the men’s version of Diana Taurasi or Sue Bird and go for a fifth Olympic gold.
Even if Durant were healthy enough to sign up for another Olympic tour, he would not likely be the alpha, dominant player he’s been in his first four Games. Jrue Holiday will be 38 in 2028; he is probably finished after two gold medals. Anthony Davis will be 35 in 2028 and White, who will be 34, could be back, but it would depend in part on Davis’ interest and also what kind of team the Americans want to build.
The U.S. would love to get another Olympics out of Embiid, whom Hill successfully recruited away from France through occasional, low-pressure, open-ended discussions while the French demanded Embiid make good on the passport he asked for by playing for Les Bleus.
But when asked what he thought of his first Olympics, and if he might be interested in another go when he’ll be 34 in 2028, Embiid said, “It’s been a grind.
“That’s one thing I’ll say being gone for a few weeks away from family, away from home,” Embiid said. “But then again, I think being with Team USA, the group of guys that we have, the people around has made it easy to just enjoy it. And then Paris is a great city too, and then the next one is in LA. We’ll see. I don’t know, maybe it might not be with Team USA, maybe it might be with Cameroon, so we’ll see.”
Joel Embiid spent most of these two weeks being chided by French fans for choosing to play for the U.S. “It’s been a grind,” he said Saturday. (Harry Langer / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Embiid, born in Cameroon, could not play for his native country without releases from both FIBA and USA Basketball, since he played for the Americans this summer.
Bam Adebayo is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He will be 31 in 2028, but his coach for the Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra, could well be the next coach for Team USA (Kerr has said he will step down from his role after the Paris Games). Spoelstra served as an assistant to Kerr on this year’s team.
“A lot of people don’t get these opportunities, one, to be able to compete for your country, and two, to be able to win a gold medal,” Adebayo said. “So just having both of those in mind, you can’t pass on an opportunity like this.”
Booker, like Adebayo and Tatum, is a veteran of the last two Olympics and will be 31 for the Los Angeles Games. Booker took on a “lesser” role with Team USA, insofar as he elected to defend, rebound and do the dirty work until open shots came to him (he is, of course, a prolific scorer for the Suns). By thriving in what was asked of him, Booker started every game at the Paris Olympics.
“Devin Booker is an incredible basketball player,” Kerr said. “He was our unsung MVP — I just wanted to say that.”
If anyone has positive feelings about a return for the next Olympics, it would be Booker.
Roster building for most countries is a more singular, holistic approach of building a national team that plays in all the high-profile tournaments, including Olympics and FIBA World Cups — which now are held the year before the Olympics.
The problem for Hill and USA Basketball is most American NBA superstars have decided they do not want to play consecutive summers. So, for the time being, Hill will likely have to piece together rosters of younger rising stars for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar, and then decide who among those players he can elevate to the Olympic team with more established stars.
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Anthony Edwards was Team USA’s youngest player at 22 this summer. He came off Kerr’s bench and enjoyed some huge scoring games at the Olympics, including his 26 points against Puerto Rico. He has said he is interested in more Olympic experiences for the U.S., but no more World Cups.
“Hell nah,” Edwards said, when asked if he would consider a second appearance at a World Cup.
Tyrese Haliburton is only 24, and he and Edwards were the lone players asked to play at the Olympics from the 2023 World Cup team that finished fourth in the Philippines. But unlike Edwards, Haliburton played the fewest minutes of anyone this summer, with “DNP–coach’s decision” next to his name in four games.
When you ain’t do nun on the group project and still get an A🏅 pic.twitter.com/xpshYZhMyA
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) August 10, 2024
Haliburton came into the Olympic run aware that his role would be reduced from what it was in 2023, when he set a U.S. record for assists at a World Cup, but Haliburton’s playing time nose-dived once White joined the team.
Paolo Banchero, another member of USA’s last World Cup team, was under serious consideration for the Paris Olympics and is a player Hill wants to feature in Olympiads to come.
Jaylen Brown, a superstar on the Boston Celtics whose only experience on the national team was in 2019 at the World Cup in China, felt snubbed by not making the 2024 Olympic team either as an original member or as a replacement for Leonard. He was openly critical of being left off the roster on social media. Hill told All the Smoke’s “Open Run” with Rachel Nichols last week that Brown “will be a candidate in ’28 if he wants in.”
“Oh yeah,” Hill said. “One thing I’ve learned. You can’t take anything personal in this role. And so, I haven’t personalized anything. My goal, my objective is to win. As soon as … that happens, we pivot and start looking ahead to the future.”
And of course, there are any number of current NBA stars, or borderline stars, or future stars who could be a great fit for Team USA in 2028. Perhaps even a player who is not yet in the NBA, like Cooper Flagg, who is headed for his first and likely only season at Duke before turning pro.
What is certain is the pressure to win at home will be great, and will come with enormous challenges from the world’s other top teams — including France.
The French have narrowly lost the last two gold-medal games to the United States. Victor Wembanyama is only 20, and the San Antonio Spurs superstar was dominant against the Americans Saturday with 26 points and as a presence on defense. Four Frenchmen were drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft last June.
Zaccharie Risacher went No. 1 to the Atlanta Hawks, and the Washington Wizards selected 7-footer Alex Sarr with the second pick. The Charlotte Hornets drafted forward Tidjane Salaün at No. 6, and Pacôme Dadiet was selected 25th by the New York Knicks. None of the four were on the French national team this summer, but it’s likely all could join Wembanyama and the Washington Wizards’ Bilal Coulibaly as young, upcoming NBA players (stars?) at the next World Cup and Olympics.
Les Bleus are just one example, although maybe the best one, of how hard it’s going to be for the Americans to keep winning gold medals every four years, regardless of who is on the roster.
“I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple years,” Wembanyama said Saturday, a silver medal dangling from his neck, not far from where Tatum was standing.
Asked if he meant he was “worried” for opponents in the NBA, or on the international stage, Wemby said: “Everywhere.”
Including Los Angeles, in four years.
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(Top photo of Bam Adebayo, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and LeBron James celebrating Saturday’s win: Harry Langer / DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Sports
Education Dept launches 18 Title IX probes after SCOTUS hears arguments in efforts to protect women’s sports
Supreme Court hears landmark women’s sports cases
Independent Women’s Law Center Director May Mailman joins ‘America’s Newsroom,’ reacting to the ongoing hearings to determine if transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
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The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Wednesday it had launched 18 Title IX investigations into several school districts across the country, a day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the fight to protect women’s and girls sports.
School districts with high-profile transgender athlete controversies were among those under investigation. The targeted districts are in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington.
“In the same week that the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the future of Title IX, OCR is aggressively pursuing allegations of discrimination against women and girls by entities which reportedly allow males to compete in women’s sports,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a news release.
“Time and again, the Trump administration has made its position clear: Violations of women’s rights, dignity, and fairness are unacceptable.
A protester holds a sign outside the Supreme Court during arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“We will leave no stone unturned in these investigations to uphold women’s right to equal access in education programs, a fight that started over half a century ago and is far from finished.”
The schools under investigation included the following:
- Jurupa School District (California)
- Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (California)
- Santa Monica College (California)
- Santa Rosa Junior College (California)
- Waterbury Public Schools (Connecticut)
- Hawaii State Department of Education (Hawaii)
- Regional School Unit 19 (Maine)
- Regional School Unit 57 (Maine)
- Foxborough Public Schools (Massachusetts)
- University of Nevada-Reno (Nevada)
- Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District (New York)
- New York City Department of Education (New York)
- Great Valley School District (Pennsylvania)
- Champlain Valley School District (Vermont)
- Cheney Public Schools (Washington)
- Sultan School District No. 311 (Washington)
- Tacoma Public Schools (Washington)
- Vancouver Public Schools (Washington)
Fox News Digital reached out to each school and district.
The districts are accused of maintaining “policies or practices that discriminate on the basis of sex by permitting students to participate in sports based on their ‘gender identity,’ not biological sex,” the Education Department said. “These policies jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities.”
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District responded to a request for comment.
“The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District has been notified of a review by the U.S. Department of Education,” a school official said. “Our priority has always been to provide safe, respectful and inclusive learning environments for all students while meeting our obligations under state and federal law. The district’s policies were adopted in good faith and are aligned with applicable law, and we will fully cooperate with all requests related to this matter.”
Maine’s Regional School Unit 57 told Fox News Digital, “RSU 57 received notification yesterday afternoon from the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), that a complaint has been filed alleging discrimination. OCR has indicated it is opening an investigation. RSU 57 complies with all state and federal laws related to discrimination and harassment, and provides a safe and inclusive learning environment for all of its students. RSU 57 will provide OCR with the information that it has requested and looks forward to resolving this matter.”
Cheney Public Schools told Fox News Digital, “We are aware of the investigation that the Department of Education initiated today. At this time, we cannot comment on the substance of the investigation, but we intend to cooperate with the investigator throughout this process.”
Vancouver Public Schools told Fox News Digital, “We did receive notice earlier today alerting us that the Office for Civil Rights is initiating an investigation. We are reviewing the allegations, but are unable to provide further comment while the investigation is pending.”
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Education Secretary Linda McMahon speaks to the crowd as protesters gather outside the Supreme Court as it hears arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The OCR’s announcement came as the Supreme Court heard arguments in two landmark cases to protect women’s and girls sports.
The issue at hand is whether laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender athletes who identify as women from playing on teams that match their gender identity, discriminate based on sex.
In the case of Little v. Hecox, a biological man who sought to compete on the women’s track and cross-country teams at Boise State University contended that Idaho’s law, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, violated the equal protection clause by excluding transgender women.
West Virginia v. B.P.J. centers on a 15-year-old transgender athlete who identifies as a girl and who argued the state’s ban violated both the Constitution and Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.
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Lawyers for the states defending the bans maintain that separating sports based on biological sex preserves fairness and safety for female athletes and is consistent with Title IX’s definition of sex.
Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
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Sports
At least 20 players and gamblers indicted for fixing college and pro basketball games amid ongoing investigation
At least 20 people allegedly colluded with known gamblers to fix basketball games, according to a federal indictment filed Thursday.
The indictment filed in Philadelphia cites charges of “bribery in sporting contests” and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to fix men’s college and Chinese professional basketball games.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced the sweeping indictment that involves players from 17 college teams from 2022 through 2025. The scheme also involved two gamblers — Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley — who were indicted in October for their alleged role in an NBA sports gambling scheme that included Miami Heat star Terry Rozier.
The most prominent player indicted Thursday was Antonio Blakeney, the leading scorer at Louisiana State in 2016-2017 and a veteran of two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The shooting guard has played for professional teams in China, Israel and Bahrain since last playing in the NBA in 2019.
According to the indictment, the scheme began with attempts in the 2022–23 season to fix games in the Chinese Basketball Association. Blakeney, who played for the Jiangsu Dragons and led the league in scoring with 32.1 points a game, is alleged to have been recruited by Hennen and Fairley to shave points.
Hennen and Fairley were included in the indictment along with others who worked as AAU coaches or personal trainers and recruited players to shave points, often in the first halves of games. Prop bets — wagers on specific events or occurrences within a game that aren’t tied to the final score — also were placed on certain outcomes based on the agreements with players. Payments of as much as $20,000 were made to players, the indictment alleges.
“Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Thursday. “The pattern of college basketball game integrity conduct revealed by law enforcement today is not entirely new information to the NCAA. Through helpful collaboration and with industry regulators, we have finished or have open investigations into almost all of the teams in today’s indictment.”
Colleges under investigation include DePaul, Saint Louis, La Salle, Eastern Michigan, Robert Morris, Fordham, Buffalo, Tulane, Northwestern (La.) State, Nicholls State, Southern Mississippi, North Carolina A&T, Kennesaw State, Coppin State, New Orleans, Abilene Christian and Alabama State.
The indictment estimates the gamblers conspired with as many as 39 players across those 17 Division I teams to fix games.
“Our enforcement staff has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year,” Baker said. “While some of the investigations are ongoing, 11 student-athletes from seven schools were recently found to have bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors, and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they—or others—placed. This behavior resulted in a permanent loss of NCAA eligibility for all of them.
“Additionally, 13 student-athletes from eight schools were found to have failed to cooperate in the sports betting integrity investigation by providing false or misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff. None of them are competing today.”
At least four of the players charged are currently active: Simeon Cottle of Kennesaw State, Camian Shell of Delaware State, Carlos Hart of Eastern Michigan and Oumar Koureissi of Texas Southern. Cottle, in fact, scored 21 points Wednesday night in Kennesaw State’s victory over Florida International and is the leading scorer in Conference USA.
Baker said the NCAA tries to root out sports betting violations through a “layered integrity monitoring program” that covers more than 20,000 games, but admits the organization can’t do it alone.
“We still need the remaining states, regulators and gaming companies to eliminate threats to integrity — such as collegiate prop bets — to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors,” he said. “We also will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
Sports
Mike Tomlin’s exit was unexpected as Steelers begin rare coaching search, team president says
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Mike Tomlin’s decision to step away after a blowout AFC wild-card loss pushed the Steelers into an uncharacteristic coaching search.
Tomlin did not specify a reason for stepping away in a statement released Tuesday, but he thanked owner Art Rooney II and the late Ambassador Dan Rooney for their trust over nearly two decades.
“While this chapter comes to a close, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change. I am excited for what the future holds for this organization, and I will forever be grateful for my time coaching in Pittsburgh,” Tomlin said in the statement.
Rooney II and Omar Khan will oversee the coaching search. Rooney called Tomlin’s decision unexpected but not surprising.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Dec 23, 2018, in New Orleans. (Chuck Cook/USA Today Sports)
“It was his decision, and I will say that I wasn’t shocked, but I wasn’t expecting that conversation yesterday either,” Rooney said. “I was certainly willing to take another run at it next year with Mike, and that was what I was expecting to talk about yesterday, but it went in another direction.”
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Tomlin has two years left on his Steelers contract, and any team seeking to hire him before 2027 would need to compensate Pittsburgh. Rooney acknowledged the slim prospects of Tomlin coaching later this year and provided additional context on his departure, saying it was centered on his personal life.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner and team President Art Rooney II before a game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium Sept. 22, 2022, in Cleveland,. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
“Mike indicated that he did not anticipate coaching in the near future,” Rooney said. “I think he wants to spend time with his family and do the things he hasn’t been able to do for the last many years. So, if something like that comes up, we’ll deal with it when it comes up, but it doesn’t seem like something on his radar.”
Rooney said he, Khan and other key decision-makers will take an open-minded approach to the rare coaching search.
“I’ve been involved in a number of searches going back to coach [Bill] Cowher and GM searches,” Rooney said as he recalled past coaching search experiences. “I think if I’ve learned anything about searches it’s to have an open mind. We had Mike in for his first interview, certainly wasn’t expecting him to be our head coach. I think you go through the process and be diligent and hopefully come out with the right guy.”
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, right, stands on the sideline during the first half of a wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans in Pittsburgh Jan. 12, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
When asked about the qualities he will look for in candidates, Rooney said leadership is at the top of the list.
“I think there are a lot of things that go into being a successful head coach,” Rooney said. “No. 1 in my mind is leadership and trusting this person can step up in front of the team day in and day out and hold their attention and have them motivated to do what they do. That’s the most important.”
After defeating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 to clinch the AFC North and the final spot in the NFL playoffs, the Steelers scored just six points in Monday’s loss to the Houston Texans.
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/SI202601151081.webp?w=80&resize=80,80&ssl=1 "Racing Bulls launch 2026 livery in Detroit")
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