The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Has your favorite baseball team exhausted you lately? Same. Inside:
Legislating: Can Congress actually stop future Kiffins?
The NCAA has been pleading with Congress to pass a bill to regulate college sports economics since 2019. The association is closer than ever to getting it, yet still far away.
The big news this week: A revised version of the bill didn’t get a Senate vote before senators left Washington for recess. It’ll have its next shot in September, leaving plenty more time for both debate and controversial amendments that might kill it. The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of senators (but perhaps not 60 of them) support the bill. The Congressional Black Caucus, whose opposition already helped scuttle a similar bill, does not. (The Athletic’s Jerry Brewer explains here why he thinks the bill should pass.)
There’s a lot to talk about in the bill: an antitrust exemption to let the NCAA make player payment rules (theoretically) without legal exposure, a “one-time” transfer rule for players, a provision that could dramatically slow down conference realignment and even a mechanism for schools to one day pool their media rights if enough of them agree.
But I want to talk about something a little more fun. The bill contains what its supporters call a “Lane Kiffin rule,” designed to stop coaches from doing what Kiffin did last fall when he abandoned Ole Miss in the middle of a playoff run to take the head job at LSU. (Kiffin spent months in an aggrieved posture over Ole Miss declining to let him coach the team while he built up a conference rival for the future.)
The bill says, in so many words, that a college football coach cannot perform head coach duties for another team — recruiting, staff-building, whatever — until their current team’s season is over. This applies not just to head coaches like Kiffin, but to assistants taking head-coaching jobs elsewhere. (For example, both of Oregon’s coordinators were working for two programs during the Ducks’ playoff run last year. That wouldn’t be allowed anymore.)
People around college football have wondered a lot about the practical application of this part of the bill. It sounds fair enough: Players can’t transfer in season, so why should coaches? But one could imagine some obvious logistical concerns, namely that policing coaches to ensure they’re staying within the spirit of the law may be impossible. Coaches leaving for new jobs would be barred from “directing, participating in, or materially influencing recruiting strategy or evaluations,” but is someone really going to stop a future Kiffin from dispatching deputies to do exactly that? Is Congress, or the NCAA, really going to suspend a violator for a year?
How would you get around this bill if you were a coach, agent or search firm whose remit is to place coaches in the mix for new jobs without letting the word out too early? I asked Chris Vannini, author of the above-linked explainer and a man who’s talked to a few football coaches and agents in his day:
💬 “I would accept a job under the table or just not say anything about it publicly until the season ends. The same way college basketball coaches magically accept new jobs the day after they’re eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. The rule doesn’t say you can’t take a job. You just can’t do basically any part of a head coach’s job at the new school. But you’ll need your school to try its best not to leak it.”
I don’t fault Congress for taking a stab at this. I am skeptical that our legislators will be able to stop profit-minded coaches and administrators from operating in a sleazy fashion. Let’s see.
News to Know
Nick Cammett / Getty Images
Roasts and a tough reveal
A Pro Football Hall of Fame class that initially made headlines for who it doesn’t include (longtime New England coach Bill Belichick) got its moment in the sun yesterday. The induction ceremony hit a somber note when former 49ers running back Roger Craig — who finally made it in his 28th year of eligibility — revealed in a prerecorded video that he’s been diagnosed with dementia that doctors believe could be related to his playing career. Craig said he came forward to help others spot the gradual changes he experienced. Also:
- Adam Vinatieri went for laughs, joking that Belichick missed the ceremony because he was judging his girlfriend’s cheerleading competition. 👀
- Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was playful, too, but also gave a tearjerking tribute to his parents.
- There’s much more on what stood out from all the speeches — including Drew Brees’ and Luke Kuechly’s — right here.
A messy day in the W
It wasn’t a great day for the WNBA staying out of the culture wars. First, Chicago guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected after this forearm across the face of Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham was upgraded to a Flagrant 2:
Then, shortly afterward, Carrington posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever” on social media. Cunningham, who is probably getting more attention in the U.S. at this point than whole continents, later said, “I guess she has some pent-up stuff.”
Also in the game (a 90-86 Indiana win), Fever star Caitlin Clark was given a … weird? … technical foul that would have been her eighth of the season and seen her suspended for a game, had the league not later rescinded it.
Sigh. There is much more to the W, including league leaders Minnesota, who beat the reigning champion Aces behind 26 points from rookie highlight machine Olivia Miles. Best place to find it: Subscribe to our weekly No Offseason newsletter. You’ll be happier.
More News
- A mustached Kyle Shanahan said he thought his Tesla was on autopilot when he took his eyes off the road and it crossed into oncoming traffic, causing the crash that left the 49ers coach with broken bones and a concussion.
- A terrible outcome for fans of double digits: Oakland snapped a nine-game losing streak by snapping Boston’s nine-game winning streak. Story here.
- FIFA said there’s a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine president Gianni Infantino, on the heels of a report that UEFA paid off an alleged lover of Infantino’s while he was its secretary general. More details.
- Most known for the elbow surgery that’s named after him, former pitcher Tommy John wrote a farewell letter posted by the Yankees as he faces health issues.
- Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge, died at 68 after an illness. He saw the potential in his son before anyone, and became Lionel’s agent, business manager and confidant.
- UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley said coaches who are taking advantage of court rulings to add to their rosters are hurting the game. His full comments here.
- Ohio State received a commitment from the No. 1 QB in the 2028 class, Christopher Vargas.
- Longtime Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said this will probably be his last season.
- Raiders QB Kirk Cousins and edge Maxx Crosby were held out of practice for disciplinary reasons following their Friday scuffle.
📰 Find more news here 24/7.
Watch Guide
Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images
📺 MLB: Astros at Padres
8:20 p.m. ET on NBC
This is one of the more consequential interleague series of the year, with the Astros (somehow) still very much in the AL West race and the Padres angling for an NL wild card despite their star hitters struggling all year. Watch to see if Yordan Alvarez hits a ball to Temecula.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Most-shared Athletic stories this week:
- European nations agree to boycott World Cups over FIFA’s private investment plans
- FIFA scraps World Cup private investment plans as Infantino fights for his future
- The secret to happiness is playing pickup basketball. Just ask this 81-year-old
- “Worst contract in media history”: Tony Romo, CBS at a breaking point
- Why Northwestern’s $875 million stadium has a student section without seats
How many times has “Widow’s Bay” been mentioned in the Pulse Picks? *cursory Slack search yield: 4* Whatever. Here is a fifth mention to watch this show. The only reason I didn’t finish it in one night is because my husband has a weird “one episode a day” rule. This show rocks. Absolutely hilarious. Give Kate O’Flynn an Emmy. Or a life-sized statue. Watch it all before CFB returns in three weeks! — Jill Thaw
David Aldridge wrapped up his NBA offseason rankings with the top 10 teams. The 76ers at No. 1 might not be a surprise, but there’s nuance below them.
What’s better than football season? Tomato season. Throw corn in there, too. Now’s the time to stop by your local farm stand and taste the summer’s goodness. — Lauren Merola
🎥 Is horse racing’s Triple Crown dead? Hannah Vanbiber explains how a small scheduling issue turned into a sweeping political drama.
This list of the 50 best thrillers of the 21st century is so fun because it doubles as a “What to read” and also a check on so many killer movie adaptations. Absolute win-win. — Chris Sprow
As a dude of a certain age, it’s my solemn responsibility to encourage you to seek out and watch “Miami Vice,” which celebrated its 20th anniversary late last month. It’s another absolute banger by Michael Mann, at times reaching the lofty heights of his “The Insider” and “Heat,” not to mention being one of the most gorgeous-looking movies of the 21st century. Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell (he’s a fiend for mojitos) are in it, and it’s available on Prime and Apple TV. True Mann-heads know. — Jeremy Gottlieb
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The three habits mental performance coaches wish everyone would adopt.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.
