Sports
Ex-NFL star Troy Aikman drops theory about cause of early season injuries
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Former Dallas Cowboys star Troy Aikman offered his own theory as to why there have been a spate of early-season injuries in the NFL over the last few years.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer said he believed the NFL’s rules to help players avoid injuries may actually be the cause of them.
Troy Aikman arrives on the red carpet for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 5, 2023. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
On Friday’s “Rodeo Time Podcast,” Aikman fondly remembered doing two-a-day practices in Wichita Falls, Texas, where the Cowboys would hold training camp in the summer. He suggested that while players aren’t as “taxed” as they were in the 1980s and 1990s during camps, they may not be as prepared for the toll their bodies take at the beginning of the season.
“I think they only wear pads one day a week or one time a day, and they have a walk-through, and then after, I don’t know how it all reads, but it’s pretty player friendly and favorable,” Aikman said. “And a lot of it, whenever they negotiate the CBA, the owners tend to always win on the financial side of things. And then the players say, ‘Well, all right, then we’re not gonna practice as long, or we’re not gonna practice as often.’ So, then they tend to get concessions when it comes to how much time they’re actually at facilities.
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Troy Aikman before game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on Dec. 4, 2023. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports)
“I think the only ones who don’t have a voice in those negotiations are the coaches. They kind of have to wait till the dust settles and say, ‘All right, just how often do we get them?’ But some of it is that we see too is a lot of the reasons I think that we see so many injuries, especially early in the year. A lot of soft tissue injuries, a lot of muscle pulls, and things of that nature is the players, they’re just not able to train the way that we once did, they’re not able to callous their bodies as easily. Not that they’re not training hard and all that, but it’s different training on your own as opposed to being on the football field practicing football movements.”
Aikman made clear he was a fan of making changes in the name of player safety, but worried they may do more harm than good for some.
Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy and Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson were among the quarterbacks to miss time early last season.
Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson throws during team warmups before an NFL preseason football game against the Dallas Cowboys Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
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Player safety is set to be thrust back into the spotlight as the NFL reportedly eyes a Thanksgiving Eve game with the possibility of expanding to an 18-game schedule in the future.
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Folarin Balogun’s teammates came to his defense after the USA World Cup star was given a red card during the team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Balogun received the red card after he stepped on defender Tarik Muharemovic’s right ankle. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus only gave Balogun the card after a VAR review. The red card meant Balogun will not be able to play in the team’s Round of 16 match against Belgium.
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United States’ Folarin Balogun, right, stands by after being issued a red card by Referee Raphael Claus, of Brazil, as United States’ Weston McKennie (8) looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A FIFA official told The Athletic a team cannot appeal against the red card or the suspension. The official pointed the outlet to a portion of the organization’s rules and regulations, which states, “A sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match. The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures.”
Balogun’s teammate, Weston McKennie, called the lack of an appeal process “bogus” and disagreed with the referee’s decision to issue the red card.
Bosnia’s Sead Kolasinac (5) talks to United States’ Folarin Balogun after Balogun was sent off, as Christian Pulisic (10) watches during the World Cup round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Julio Cortez / AP)
“Obviously the ref made a decision that he made, but I think it’s questionable,” McKennie said. “I think there’s been many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that a card wasn’t given at all. It’s disappointing.”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said Balogun’s act “was never intentional.”
“It’s never a red card. Never. … If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that never was. It was a normal action in football that you are fighting for the ball and your feet land,” he said.
Balogun is the third player to score in a World Cup knockout match and be sent off. He follows Brazil’s Ronaldinho in 2002’s quarterfinal match against England and France’s Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.
Referee Raphael Claus of Brazil shows a red card to United States’ Folarin Balogun, right, during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
It’s the fifth red card handed to an American in the squad’s World Cup history.
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Eric Wynalda received one against Czechoslovakia in 1990, Fernando Clavijo got one against Brazil in 1994 and Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope each received one against Italy in 2006.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
While veterans jockey for new contracts during free agency, young players are getting their tryout opportunities with NBA summer league games beginning this week.
First-round draft pick Cameron Carr and second-year forward Adou Thiero highlight the Lakers summer league roster that was announced Wednesday. The 16-man team will be coached by Lakers assistant coach Ty Abbott and begin summer league play Friday against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
The Lakers also face the Miami Heat (July 5, 1:30 p.m.) and San Antonio Spurs (July 6, 4:30 p.m.) in the California Classic before playing in the Las Vegas summer league from July 9-19. The Lakers play Oklahoma City (July 10), Dallas (July 11), the Clippers (July 14) and Chicago (July 16) in Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.
The Lakers traded up in the draft to get Carr, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Baylor, with the 24th overall pick. He will make his unofficial NBA debut, along with former Indiana State and Saint Louis star Robbie Avila. The 6-10 center became a bespectacled college basketball cult hero known affectionately as “Cream Abdul Jabbar” while leading Indiana State to the NIT championship game in 2024. He transferred to Saint Louis, where he was named Atlantic-10 player of the year as a senior when the Billikens won a school-record 29 wins.
Although he is entering his second season with the Lakers, Thiero will be playing his first summer league games. Persistent knee injuries hampered his rookie season. The athletic 6-7 forward averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 25 appearances last season. He said after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs that he wanted to improve on his three-point shooting during his second year. He attempted only five three-pointers during his rookie season, regular season and playoffs, making one.
Lakers summer league roster
Robbie Avila, C, 6-10, 240
Cameron Carr, G, 6-5, 190
Jon Elmore, G, 6-3, 190
Luke Goode, F, 6-7, 210
William Hickey, G, 6-4, 203
Arthur Kaluma, F, 6-7, 225
William Kyle III, C, 6-9, 230
Chris Mañon, G, 6-4, 212
Robert McCray V, G, 6-4, 188
AK Okereke, F, 6-7, 245
Chase Ross, G, 6-5, 210
Zhaire Smith, G, 6-4, 205
Peter Suder, G, 6-5, 215
Adou Thiero, F, 6-7, 234
Anton Watson, F, 6-8, 225
Jacari White, G, 6-3, 180
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U.S. men’s national team star Folarin Balogun received a red card in the second half of their Round of 32 World Cup matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Balogun was making a challenge on a ball when he stepped on an opposing player’s leg.
The U.S. men’s national team is down to 10 players for the rest of the match. If the U.S. holds their 1-0 lead, Balogun will have to miss the Round of 16 game.
Balogun scored for the U.S. in the first half.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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