Sports briefs: Jaguars associate first male coach to come out as gay

NFL

Jags coach first male to come out as gay

Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.

Maxen spoke about his sexual orientation in an interview published Thursday by Outsports.

“I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” Maxen said. “I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else.

“I want to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just live and not feel fear about how people will react.” — AP

COLLEGES

CAA going coastal

The Colonial Athletic Association announced Thursday morning that it has changed its name to the Coastal Athletic Association. The conference said it will still be referred to as the CAA and will continue to use the same logo.

The conference added that the name change reflects its recent expansion, with members now covering the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to South Carolina. The conference has 14 schools spread across nine states, including Hofstra and Stony Brook on Long Island.

The conference said the name change will also carry over to football, but will continue to be referred to as the CAA Football Conference. CAA Football will have the largest membership in the FCS for the 2023 season with 15 members, including Stony Brook. — Mike Rose

UConn settles after 9 years

UConn has settled a lawsuit filed by a former women's soccer player who lost her scholarship for flashing her middle finger in the direction of a TV camera as the Huskies celebrated winning a conference championship in 2014.

The former student athlete, Noriana Radwan, alleged that the gesture amounted to free speech and she was subjected to harsher punishment than male athletes who violated the school's conduct rules.

Under terms of the settlement disclosed in court Wednesday, Radwan will receive just over $46,000 to cover the cost of her student debt at Hofstra, where she transferred after losing her scholarship. Her attorneys will receive $162,500, according to the settlement.

Radwan raised her middle finger toward an ESPNU camera while celebrating with teammates after the Huskies beat South Florida, 3-2 on penalty kicks, in the 2014 American Athletic Conference championship game. The school's coach initially suspended Radwan from the 2014 NCAA Tournament and issued a statement apologizing to the conference, South Florida and those who watched the game on television.

In her lawsuit, which was filed in 2016, Radwan alleged that after the publicity died down, she was stripped of her scholarship midway through the school year without due process for what the coach described as “serious misconduct.” She eventually transferred to Hofstra. Radwan, a midfielder, played in nine games in her lone season playing for the Huskies. She did not have a goal.

CYCLING

Asgreen wins 18th Tour stage

Another Danish rider took the limelight at the Tour de France as Kasper Asgreen joined an early breakaway and then held on to win the 18th stage in a sprint finish at Bourg-en-Bresee, France.

His countryman Jonas Vingegaard took it easy this time, sitting comfortably in the main pack as he protected his huge overall lead. The defending champion leads two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia by 7 minutes, 35 seconds and Britain's Adam Yates by 10:45 with Sunday’s finale in Paris getting closer.

But this was Asgreen's day and he spread his arms after beating Dutchman Pascal Eenkhoorn and Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen in their dash to the line. — AP