11 LIV golfers sue PGA Tour

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and nine other players who defected to the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf series filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against the PGA Tour, the first step in a legal fight that could define the boundaries of where players can compete. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claims the PGA Tour has used monopoly power to try to squash competition and has unfairly suspended players. A separate motion was filed asking for a temporary restraining order to allow Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford to compete in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, which begin next week. The lawsuit also revealed that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended Mickelson for two months in March for his role in recruiting players to LIV Golf. It said Mickelson’s request in June to be reinstated was denied because he played in a LIV tournament and that he was suspended until March 2024 for playing in another such event. Monahan responded to the lawsuit with a terse memo to his players in which he referred to “11 of your former colleagues” suing the tour and continued to refer to LIV Golf as the “Saudi Golf League.” Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is the primary source of the money paying exorbitant signing bonuses and providing $25 million purses for 48-man fields. Several players are in their 40s and no longer ranked among the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Monahan said players knew the consequences of signing up for the rival league, writing: “We have been preparing to protect our membership and contest this latest attempt to disrupt our tour, and you should be confident in the legal merits of our position.”

FOOTBALL

› The NFL is seeking an indefinite suspension of at least one year plus a fine in appealing a disciplinary officer’s decision to suspend Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson for six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, a person familiar with the filing told The Associated Press. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter isn’t public knowledge, also said Watson would be required to undergo treatment before he could be reinstated. The league initially recommended an $8 million fine and asked during settlement negotiations for at least a $5 million fine plus a 12-game suspension that never materialized, another person involved in the talks told the AP. The NFL’s appeal gives commissioner Roger Goodell — or someone he designates — the authority to impose a stiffer penalty. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said it’s still to be determined whether Goodell or someone else will hear the appeal. Former federal judge Sue L. Robinson issued her ruling Monday after Watson was accused by two dozen women in Texas of sexual misconduct during massage treatments while he played for the Houston Texans. In her 16-page report, Robinson described Watson’s behavior as “more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL.” But her punishment fell far short of the NFL’s request, so on Wednesday the league exercised its right to appeal, per the collective bargaining agreement. The players’ union has until the end of business Friday to respond in writing. The union could challenge the appeal ruling in federal court, but both sides could still reach a settlement to avoid a lengthy battle. The union didn’t immediately comment on the appeal.

BASKETBALL

› STORRS, Conn. — University of Connecticut star Paige Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee during a pickup game and will miss the entire 2022-23 season, the Huskies announced Wednesday. UConn’s release stated Bueckers was injured Monday, underwent an MRI that evening and will undergo surgery Friday. It did not say where the junior guard from Hopkins, Minnesota, was playing when the injury occurred. It was the same knee she injured last year, with a tibia plateau fracture and torn meniscus in December causing Bueckers to miss 19 games before she returned to lead the Huskies to the NCAA tournament’s title game in Minneapolis, where they lost to South Carolina. She averaged 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last season. In 2020-21, Bueckers was the AP national player of the year, becoming the first freshman to earn that honor after she averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game.