Sports
Ex-Laker Darius Morris dies three months after father, brother convicted of bank fraud
It seems far too soon to be mourning the death of Darius Morris, the memory of the irrepressible point guard stepping into the Lakers’ starting lineup in a 2013 playoff series and shining still fresh in the minds of so many.
Yet a spokesperson with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner confirmed that Morris died May 2 in a private residence. He was 33. The spokesperson said it could take up to three months for the cause of death to be determined.
What will endure are memories of Morris’ exuberant personality and winning smile while playing for the Lakers alongside his mentor Kobe Bryant after starring at Windward High in Mar Vista and the University of Michigan.
“Darius was an absolutely super nice guy, he always had a smile,” said Mike Bresnahan, The Times’ Lakers beat writer for 12 years who now is a Lakers analyst for Spectrum SportsNet.
“What I appreciated was that when he made it to the NBA he decided he was going to enjoy every minute of it. He was going to have fun. Darius never forgot that part of it.”
Morris also played in 10 games for the Clippers in January 2014, along with stints in Philadelphia, Memphis and Brooklyn. He played overseas and in the NBA development league until 2020 when the COVID shutdown canceled his season in France.
Morris and his parents attended the 50th birthday party of one of his high school coaches a year ago and had warm conversations with friends and former teammates.
“He wanted to get back on the court and hopefully get another shot to play somewhere,” said Miguel Villegas, the coach who led Windward to its first CIF state high school championship in 2009 with Darius as the star player. “We really didn’t talk basketball, it was more about, ‘How are you doing? Great to see you.’”
Those close to him say he was pained by the February conviction of his father, Dewayne Morris Sr., and older brother, Dewayne Morris Jr., both of whom were found guilty of conspiracy and three counts of bank fraud following a jury trial. Dewayne Jr. also was found guilty of witness tampering.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 3 in federal district court in San Diego. Both men face up to 30 years in prison.
There is no indication that Darius Morris was connected with the case, in which Dewayne Sr., a career U.S. postal supervisor based in Venice and Marina del Rey, was accused of obtaining thousands of postal money orders worth up to $5.1 million and Dewayne Jr. of fraudulently depositing them in bank accounts then withdrawing the cash.
Dewayne Jr. also was accused of paying his rent with the bogus money orders and he was convicted of threatening his landlord — who had testified against him before a grand jury — while on pretrial release.
With her husband and one son incarcerated and another son dying unexpectedly, Robin Morris is understandably distraught and did not respond to a request for comment. A day after Darius was found dead, she called Villegas.
“Imagine that conversation,” Villegas said. “His parents and I are pretty tight. I saw him develop from a gangly 14-year-old through his transformation to becoming a young man. Everyone is just beginning the grieving process.”
Villegas met Morris when he was in eighth grade. As brash as he was scrawny, Morris needed to launch shots with two hands from his hip to reach the basket, yet he promised people he’d be able to dunk and that Windward was going to win a state championship before he graduated.
“The first game I laid eyes on him, I knew he had special talent,” said Villegas, now the athletic director at St. Monica High. “He had the ‘it’ factor.”
Every morning, Morris would be dropped off early at Windward by his father on his way to his job at the post office. Morris would shoot hoops until school started.
By his senior year, he made good on his promises, leading Windward to a Division V state title and being named CIF Southern Section player of the year. He scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter of the state final.
“Darius put the school on the map,” Villegas said. “To me, the most important part was that he was a great kid, a great teammate, a leader who worked extremely hard. He checked all the boxes as a player and as a person.”
Soon off to Michigan, Morris set a single-season school record with 235 assists as a sophomore. He was named third-team All-Big Ten and was Michigan’s most valuable player.
The Lakers took him in the second round of the 2011 NBA draft with the 41st overall pick. He was offered a two-year contract but opted to sign for one year, figuring that if he made the team he’d deserve a raise in Year 2. Sure enough, he played in 19 games as a rookie and the Lakers doubled his salary in his second season.
“It’s kind of bold, especially for a second-round pick,” Morris said at the time of his contract gamble. “You just have to have faith and believe everything’s going to work out for you as long as you work hard.”
A SportsNet Backstage Lakers segment in 2012 featured Morris playing cinematographer during a Thanksgiving celebration at the home of center Dwight Howard and during a team flight. He took his assigned seat next to Bryant.
“I’m just capturing the moment for the people who aren’t there,” Morris said. “It’s all fun and smiles.”
In the 2012-13 season, the Lakers made the playoffs and faced the San Antonio Spurs despite catastrophic injuries to Bryant (torn Achilles’ tendon) and point guard Steve Nash (broken leg). Morris came off the bench in the first two games and started Games 3 and 4 after guard Steve Blake was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Although the Lakers lost, Morris had 24 points and six assists matched up against All-Star guard Tony Parker. Morris also started Game 4 and again contributed six assists along with eight points.
Morris’ last NBA season was 2014-15 with the Nets, but he continued to play in the G League as well as in China, Russia and France. He made a final attempt at returning to the NBA in 2019 at the Las Vegas Summer League. He’d played in the summer league early in his career and reflected on the difference.
“I think I’m in that in-between stage of my career where I can offer a lot of advice,” Morris told Bleacher Report. “I’ve started in the playoffs, I’ve started in the regular season, I’ve played with legends, I’ve been cut before, I’ve been in the G League, I’ve signed 10-days, I’ve played side by side with Kobe. I can relate to anybody.
“If you’ve got a young star that’s going back and forth in the G League, I know all that advice. But I’m still entering my prime and I can play at a high level. I have a lot left.”
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
Thousand-dollar tickets and hundreds of dollars in fees shocked some hopeful Olympic fans this month, but they did not keep LA28 from boasting strong sales in the committee’s first ticket drop.
LA28 announced Thursday that it sold more than 4 million Olympic tickets during the first ticket drop. The private organizing committee will have a second ticket drop in August with “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports at a range of price points.”
But after the popularity of the first purchasing period, many of the lower-priced tickets have already been scooped up.
LA28 said roughly half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were sold during the locals presale, which was limited to people living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.
The average price per Olympic ticket is less than $200, which includes a mandatory 24% service fee, and LA28 said about 75% of all tickets, including final events, will be under $400. The premier seats at high-demand events command more than $1,000 per ticket, but the highest priced categories make up about 5% of the total ticket inventory.
Artistic gymnastics sold out the quickest in Drop 1. Four new Olympic sports — flag football, lacrosse, softball and squash — sold all their available inventory for the first drop. After five days of local presale, global ticket sales opened and drew fans from 85 countries and all 50 states and U.S. territories. The largest international sales came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Japan.
For the first female-majority Olympic Games, LA28 reported that women’s Olympic sessions outsold men’s 93% to 88% during the first drop.
“The response to our initial on-sale was nothing short of historic. Fans from near and far have spoken: the world wants to be part of the LA28 Games,” LA28 chief executive officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “The success of Drop 1 is about more than momentum — it reflects LA28’s commitment to delivering a fiscally responsible Games that create a lasting legacy for Los Angeles and its communities.”
Drop 2, which will begin in August, will have additional tickets across all Olympic sports, including those that may have sold out during the first purchasing windows. The registration period for Drop 2 opened Thursday and will continue until July 22. Fans who registered for the first drop of tickets but did not receive a time slot and fans who did not buy their maximum 12 general ticket allotment will automatically be entered into the random lottery Drop 2. The new registration period is only required for anybody who did not sign up for the initial drop.
Fans are still limited to 12 Olympic tickets and up to 12 soccer tickets that don’t count toward the general maximum. There is a four ticket per ceremony limit for the opening and closing ceremony that count toward the 12-ticket maximum, which is cumulative across all LA28 presales and ticket drops.
LA28 will have multiple ticket drops with assigned purchasing time slots before ticket sales move to a first-come, first-served format closer to the Games, which open on July 14, 2028. LA28 began its ticketing process earlier than most other Olympic Games with tickets going on sale more than two years in advance of the opening ceremony. The early timeline has created excitement for the first Summer Olympics in the United States since Atlanta 1996, but also prompted concerns about scheduling. Fans clamored for tickets with little information about which teams or athletes would be competing in most sessions.
Tickets are not refundable, but fans can opt for verified resale when LA28 launches its official resale system in 2027. AXS and Eventim is the official secondary ticket marketplace of the LA28 Games and Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets have also signed on as additional verified resale platforms.
LA28 will have 14 million tickets available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would eclipse the record of 12 million tickets sold for the Paris Games. Paris 2024 sold an about 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics, but used a different ticket system than LA28. For Paris, 3.5 million tickets were sold during the first phase, during which fans were required to buy tickets to at least three different sports instead of the option for single-event tickets available during LA28’s Drop 1 process.
Tickets for the 2028 Paralympics, which will be the first in L.A.’s history, will go on sale in 2027. Ticket sales and hospitality are expected to cover about $2.5 billion of LA28’s expected $7.1 billion budget for the first Games in L.A. in more than 40 years.
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An envoy for President Donald Trump has reportedly asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy in the 2026 World Cup this summer.
The Financial Times reported the plan is an effort to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which soured after the former’s comments against Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran.
United States special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested the idea to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2025. (Emilee Chinn/FIFA)
“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a U.S.-hosted tournament,” Zampolli told the outlet. “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Italy had a chance to be in the World Cup already, but it lost in a penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff final.
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Italy became the first World Cup-winning team to miss three consecutive tournaments after the 4-1 penalty shootout loss earlier this month.
“We still don’t believe it that we’re out and that it happened in this manner,” Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola told reporters at the time, according to the New York Post.
“It’s upsetting for everyone. For us, for our families and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a World Cup.”
While Zampolli told Infantino about his proposed plan, FIFA’s president said Iran “for sure” will play in the World Cup despite the conflict involving the U.S.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game against Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium in Tehran March 25, 2025. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“The Iranian team is coming, for sure,” Infantino said during the CNBC Invest in America Forum earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that, by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino visited the Iranian national team in Turkey, which is where it has its training camp.
All three of Iran’s group stage games are scheduled to be played in the U.S. That remains the case after Iranian government officials suggested to FIFA that their games be moved to Mexico because they could not travel to the U.S.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed FIFA’s rejection of Iran’s request, and it is insisting Iran play where it’s scheduled — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle. Iran said earlier this month it would only decide on its team’s participation once it heard from FIFA regarding its relocation request.
Iran is scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand June 16 to begin its tournament. It will also play Belgium at the stadium before finishing group play against Mo Salah and Egypt in Seattle June 26.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends an international friendly between Mexico and Portugal at Banorte Stadium in Mexico City March 28, 2026. (Antonio Torres/FIFA/Getty Images)
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Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month that Iran would be welcome to compete in the World Cup as scheduled, though it might not be “appropriate” considering the conflict.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote.
Trump also told Politico, “I really don’t care,” when asked about Iran’s participation in the tournament. Infantino, who has a strong relationship with Trump, said Trump has “reiterated” to him that the U.S. welcomes Iran’s team to compete.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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