Sports
‘The man was hurting’: Reporter explains her controversial interaction with Jaguars coach
Lynn Jones didn’t have a question ready.
The 64-year-old veteran reporter for the Jacksonville Free Press was attending Jaguars coach Liam Coen‘s postgame news conference Sunday after his team’s 27-23 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Three other reporters had already asked game-specific questions when the microphone was passed to Jones, who was still looking at her notes and trying to figure out what to ask the first-year coach immediately after a heartbreaking end to the season.
She ended up not asking anything at all.
Instead, Jones spent 22 seconds of the six-minute news conference offering Coen words of encouragement and praise. Things like, “I just want to tell you congratulations on your success, young man” and “You hold your head up, all right? You guys have had a most magnificent season.”
Jones told The Times in a phone interview Tuesday that the words “just flowed out of me.”
Those words prompted what appeared to be a genuine smile from Coen, who answered each of Jones’ seven comments with a variation of “thank you, ma’am” or “I appreciate it.”
“The man was hurting,” Jones told The Times. But then “he starts smiling. ‘Yes, ma’am, yes, ma’am.’ And he felt better to know that it’s OK, it’s going to be OK. ‘I’ve done a great job,’ you know? So I was glad to make him feel that way.”
Video from the session quickly went viral. ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X, “This is an awesome post-game exchange between a reporter and Jaguars HC Liam Coen.”
Associated Press reporter Mark Long expressed a different point of view.
“Nothing ‘awesome’ about fans/fake media doing stuff like that,” Long wrote in an X post that has since been deleted. “It should be embarrassing for the people who credentialed her and her organization, and it’s a waste of time for those of us actually working.”
Many others have weighed in on either side of the issue. ESPN personality Pat McAfee wrote in a lengthy X post that sports writers who criticized Jones’ actions are “curmudgeon bums” whose “opinions and thoughts are coming from a place of wanting to destroy sports.”
“feels like some journalism was actually done there,” McAfee added of Jones’ approach.
ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor wrote on X: “look, it’s a kind sentiment, but it’s not the job of a reporter to console a coach in a postgame press conference. Pressers are to ask questions to gain a better understanding of what happened or figure out what’s next — and do it in a limited amount of time.”
Time wasn’t an issue for Jones, who said every reporter with a question had the opportunity to ask it. She added that her brief interaction with Coen seemed to lighten the mood a bit in the room.
Rev. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., released a statement in support of Jones.
“Humanity + compassion done = unprofessional,” King wrote. “If so, the world could certainly use more ‘unprofessionalism’ right now. Thank you, Ms. Jones.”
Jones, who worked for the Jaguars as an administrative assistant during their inaugural season in 1995, has no problem admitting she’s a fan of the team she now covers. She also has been a reporter for more than three decades, including the last 18 years at the Free Press, and bristles at being labeled “fake media.”
“That’s where I draw the line,” she said. “That’s why I have not responded to the gentleman from the AP or anyone else for that matter, because it doesn’t affect me. I know my credibility. I know what I do and how we do it as an organization.
“They’ve been talking about us being a small-town market, but we have a big heart. We here at the Free Press, we do things intentionally and in a manner that’s reported from all eyes, you know, every community in that sense.”
On Tuesday, the Free Press — a member of the National Newspapers Publishers Assn., which represents more than 200 Black-owned newspapers in the United States — started selling apparel featuring the newspaper’s name, Jones’ name and some of the uplifting phrases she used during her interaction with Coen.
“Join the Free Press family and the Lynn Jones movement of nothing but love and get your t-shirt, hoodie or sweatshirt today,” the newspaper wrote on Instagram. “ALL PROCEEDS will go towards scholarships and internships to teach young journalists a positive spin to reporting!”
Jones said her actions at Coen’s news conference were typical for her. “Oh, that’s me,” she said, “anybody will tell you.”
She added: “I’m a passionate person, so when I’m in these environments, it’s easy to be able to have a warm interaction with these individuals.”
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Baseball is humming.
Here are the odds for the 2026 World Series at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 25.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
2026 World Series odds
Dodgers: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Yankees: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Braves: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Mariners: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Rays: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total)
Cubs: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Brewers: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Phillies: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Blue Jays: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Rangers: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Guardians: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Padres: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Red Sox: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Astros: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Athletics: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Tigers: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Mets: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Pirates: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Diamondbacks: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Orioles: +7000 (bet $10 to win $710 total)
Twins: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Royals: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Reds: +12000 (bet $10 to win $1,210 total)
White Sox: +12000 (bet $10 to win $1,210 total)
Cardinals: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Giants: +20000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)
Marlins: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Angels: +40000 (bet $10 to win $4,010 total)
Rockies: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Nationals: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Here’s what to know about this oddsboard:
The Defending Champs: At the end of last season, the Dodgers became the first back-to-back World Series champs since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000. In addition, L.A. won its third championship in the past six years. As for this season? L.A. has picked up right where it left off. As of May 25, the Dodgers are atop the NL West and have the third-best record in baseball (33-20). They have the highest run differential per game in MLB (2), and sit in the top five in batting average, home runs, RBIs, hits, pitching wins, team ERA and quality starts.
Making Waves: The Rays were not seen as a threat entering the season. In fact, they had the longest odds to win their own division. However, as of May 25, they have the best record in baseball (34-16), behind a pitching staff that is having a dominant year. Tampa Bay is second in wins (34), fifth in team ERA (3.51) and first in saves (23). In terms of World Series odds, the Rays were at +6000 back on April 27.
Sports
Ex-MLB star Wander Franco granted judicial pardon despite being found guilty of sexual assault
Wander Franco is guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in 2023, a judge in the Dominican Republic made clear Monday.
Yet in his next breath, the same judge ruled that the former Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop will not be sentenced to prison because he was a victim of blackmail and extortion by the girl’s mother.
Celebrity justice in the D.R. can be perplexing, and Judge José Antonio Núñez admitted as much. But he also contended that the judicial pardon he granted Franco was the result of “logical and legal reasoning.”
“It seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and, at the same time, exempt him from punishment,” Núñez said. “The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one.”
The court found that the girl’s mother extorted thousands of dollars from Franco. The woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of commercial sexual exploitation of a minor and money laundering.
The odds are long that Franco will return to Major League Baseball any time soon. The fact that the court found him guilty of repeatedly having sex with a minor puts him squarely in violation of MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
The league is in the midst of an investigation into Franco’s conduct.
“We respect the legal process and the decision issued by the court,” the Rays said in a statement. “This is a serious matter, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the case.
“The Rays will continue to cooperate fully with Major League Baseball as it completes its review under the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Out of respect for the legal process and all parties involved, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Franco’s situation serves as a cautionary tale for MLB teams that hand out long-term contracts years before players become free agents. The Rays signed a 20-year-old Franco to an 11-year, $182 million deal in November 2021 after he batted .288 with 30 extra-base hits in 70 games as a rookie.
Franco appeared on his way to stardom during a stellar 2023 season, but according to court filings he carried on a relationship with the 14-year-old victim for several months.
An investigation was launched in August 2023. Franco was arrested Jan. 1, 2024, after failing to appear before Dominican authorities who sought to interview him.
Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list early in the 2024 season, voiding his contract.
Franco was found guilty in a June 2025 trial. Although prosecutors sought a five-year prison sentence, he was given only a two-year suspended sentence by Justice Jakayra Veras.
“Look at us, Wander,” Veras said in open court. “Do not approach minors for sexual purposes. If you don’t like people very close to your age, you have to wait your time.”
An appeals court in December ordered a new trial, which took place Monday and resulted in his pardon.
“Thank God for everything,” Franco said as he embraced his mother, Nancy Aybar, after Judge Nuñez announced the pardon.
As he departed the courthouse, Franco was asked by a reporter how he felt.
“I feel calm,” he said.
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The Houston Astros capped their fourth straight win with a no-hit shutout on Monday. Tatsuya Imai started and pitched six innings before relievers Steven Okert and Alimber Santa took over to keep the Texas Rangers hitless.
The 9-0 victory marked the MLB’s first no-hitter since Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relievers combined for a 12-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in September 2024.
The last complete-game no-hitter came in August 2024, when Blake Snell held the Cincinnati Reds hitless.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai throws to the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Imai went six innings in the 17th regular-season no-hitter in Astros history and fourth that was a combined effort. Houston also threw a no-hitter in the 2022 World Series when four pitchers combined against Philadelphia.
Okert worked the seventh after Imai got 16 outs over the last 16 batters he faced. He walked three of his first four batters but benefited from a double play in the first inning before finding a rhythm.
2026 MLB ODDS: WHO WILL LEAD MLB IN HOME RUNS? SCHWARBER FAVORED
Santa made his big-league debut in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced. His 24th pitch was a called third strike against Brandon Nimmo that ended it after an ABS challenge by the batter was confirmed a strike.
Houston Astros pitcher Alimber Santa is doused with water after pitching in his major league debut and closing a combined no-hitter against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on May 25, 2026. (Julio Cortez/AP)
The Rangers were held without a hit for the sixth time, the first since Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter against them for the New York Yankees in May 2021.
A general view of Globe Life Field during the game between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 25, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Imai is in his first big-league season after coming over from Japan.
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The 28-year-old right-hander joined the Astros in January after agreeing to a $54 million, three-year contract. He was a three-time All-Star during eight seasons in Japan, and went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last season for the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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