Legislators to consider allowing high school athletes to earn NIL income
An Alabama House committee will vote on whether to advance a bipartisan bill allowing high school athletes in the state to receive compensation for using their name, image and likeness. HB489, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, would allow high school student athletes to participate in endorsement deals and other NIL opportunities under specific guidelines. […]
An Alabama House committee will vote on whether to advance a bipartisan bill allowing high school athletes in the state to receive compensation for using their name, image and likeness.
HB489, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, would allow high school student athletes to participate in endorsement deals and other NIL opportunities under specific guidelines. Gray filed similar legislation during the 2024 legislative session.
The bill was assigned to the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee, which will hold a public hearing this week.
The legislation follows a nationwide interest in NIL rights sparked by the NCAA’s 2021 decision to allow college athletes to monetize their personal brands. Alabama is currently one of nine states that don’t allow high schoolers to profit from NIL deals.
Since the NCAA lifted its ban on college athletes profiting from NIL in 2021, several states, including Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee, have expanded NIL rights to the high school level.
Under the proposal, student athletes could be compensated for commercial endorsements, personal appearances and social media promotions. However, the bill strictly prohibits NIL deals from being linked to athletic performance, recruiting inducements or direct support from schools.
Students would not be allowed to use school logos, uniforms or facilities when creating promotional content or during promotional activities. Notification to the school principal or athletic director would be mandatory at least seven days before entering into a deal.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
In 2022, the state repealed its original restrictive NIL law for collegiate athletes to allow more flexibility at the higher level. HB489 would position Alabama alongside the expanding list of states seeking to expand NIL opportunities for younger athletes.
The bill also requires that student-athletes and their parents or guardians receive professional guidance on the financial and legal implications of NIL contracts before signing any agreements, as it pertains to “the potential impacts and consequences of receiving the compensation, including collegiate financial aid and tax implications.”
If passed, the legislation would take effect on Oct. 1, 2025.
How to watch 2025 Prefontaine Classic on TV, streaming
This weekend is the 50th Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. It is one of the premier track and field meets on the calendar each season, attracting top talent from all over the world. Prefontaine was, and arguably still is, the most famous American distance runner ever. Advertisement His brash attitude, aggressive racing […]
This weekend is the 50th Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. It is one of the premier track and field meets on the calendar each season, attracting top talent from all over the world.
Prefontaine was, and arguably still is, the most famous American distance runner ever.
Advertisement
His brash attitude, aggressive racing style and willingness to push his body to the absolute edge made him a favorite among fans and runners themselves. “Stop Pre” shirts became a common sight around Hayward Field in the 1970s. And it’s why you still see “Stop Pre” shirts to this day.
At the University of Oregon, Prefontaine won seven NCAA titles in cross-country and track and field and used to hold every American record from the 2,000 to the 10,000 meters.
Prefontaine died in a car crash at 24. At his memorial service, Prefontaine was remembered by longtime writer and fellow Oregon Ducks track athlete Kenny Moore, via aboutnike.com:
(Prefontaine) conceived of his sport as a service, in the way an artist serves. Without that, he would never have given us all the records. They were out beyond winning or losing, which a runner does for himself. They came from those furious minutes near the end of a race when his relentlessness and our excitement blended into a joyous thunder. All of us who now say, ‘I had no idea how much this man meant to me,’ do so because we didn’t realize how much we meant to him. He was our glory, and we his.”
Advertisement
What is the Pre Classic?
Fifty years ago, May 30, 1975, tragedy struck the track and field world when Prefontaine was killed in a car crash in the hills of Eugene, Oregon, not far from where Prefontaine became a college star and only days before he was set to compete in a meet.
In the days after his death, the scheduled track meet — originally called the Hayward Restoration Meet, to raise money for the deteriorating stadium at the time — was re-branded in his honor and called the “Prefontaine Classic.”
Since then, Hayward Field has morphed into one of the more iconic track and field stadiums in the world, while the meet has become one of the more competitive in the sport.
Advertisement
When is the Pre Classic?
The Pre Classic is on Saturday, July 5, from 10 a.m. MST to 3 p.m. MST. The men’s hammer throw is the first event of the meet.
For a full schedule of events, click here.
How do I watch the Pre Classic?
The first half of the meet will be streaming on USATF.TV from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. MST.
Then, the second half of the meet will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock from 1-3 p.m. MST.
For international viewers, here is how to find out where to watch the Pre Classic.
The meet will also be streamed live on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel for those not listed in the international broadcast.
Advertisement
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How to watch 2025 Prefontaine Classic
SPRING SPORTS – Honors Correction Over the last few weeks, as we detailed the Spring honors for Laguna Beach High School, we noted All-Orange County and All-CIF honors, as well as team awards for the spring team sports. However, we inadvertently omitted the #1 honor earned by the girls’ lacrosse squad in recognition of their […]
Over the last few weeks, as we detailed the Spring honors for Laguna Beach High School, we noted All-Orange County and All-CIF honors, as well as team awards for the spring team sports. However, we inadvertently omitted the #1 honor earned by the girls’ lacrosse squad in recognition of their best effort for the program’s 8th overall season. Junior Addison Berg was the squad’s leading scorer, earning FIRST TEAM All-CIF honors for D-2, receiving one of the 24 spots out of 67 players nominated for the recognition – quite an achievement for a team that only achieved their first varsity win in 2023.
Summer Sports Programs Underway
Summer sports camps for both returning and incoming students are now open. Programs include baseball, basketball, boys beach volleyball, cross country, girls flag football, football, girls lacrosse, soccer, and indoor girls volleyball. Basketball was the first sport to start its summer camp last week. More information is available on the school’s athletics website at lbhs.lbusd.org/athletics/summer-programs.
The boys basketball team will host a summer high school tournament from July 18 through July 20 at Dugger Gym. The event will feature 12 games on Friday, 13 games on Saturday, and 12 games on Sunday, with the first tip-off scheduled at 8 a.m. each day. Laguna’s girls basketball team will participate in the El Toro Summer League, while the boys team will compete in the Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar tournaments. The boys will also play in the Marina, Dana Hills and Valencia summer leagues.
Fall 2025 Sports Countdown
Laguna Beach High School’s fall sports season will kick off with girls volleyball competing in the Queens Court Tournament on Aug. 2. Sinan Tinak returns for his fifth year, assisted by Laguna grads—Beau Bianchi ‘94 for Varsity, Cliff Amsden ’75 coaching the JV, and Olivia Nitigolia ’20 coaching the Frosh-Soph.
The girls flag football team will take the field on Aug.12 in a matchup against Loara. The football team begins its season on Aug. 21 with a Thursday night game at Chino. Cross country will compete on Aug. 30 at the Saddleback Cup hosted by Trabuco Hills High School. Boys water polo will open its season on Aug. 26 with a game at Aliso Niguel.
For full team schedules and results, visit the MaxPreps site or the LBHS athletics page at lbhs.lbusd.org/athletics/schedules. For sports tips or updates, contact Frank Aronoff at frank@twometer.net.
Way Too Early NCAA Women’s Cross Country Rankings 2025
The landscape shouldn’t change too much for the women’s NCAA Cross Country season, and that should lead to thrilling battles throughout the course of the 2025 season. With the start of the 2025 Cross Country season officially in the windshield, we decided to take a crack at some way too early cross country rankings. We […]
The landscape shouldn’t change too much for the women’s NCAA Cross Country season, and that should lead to thrilling battles throughout the course of the 2025 season.
With the start of the 2025 Cross Country season officially in the windshield, we decided to take a crack at some way too early cross country rankings. We subjectively ranked the top 25 individuals on the women’s side. Make sure to check out our men’s rankings as well.
To reiterate, the rankings are completely opinionated — but previous NCAA Championship experience played a large factor in these rankings.
Way Too Early Women’s Cross Country Rankings (IND)
RANK
NAME
TEAM
1
Doris Lemngole
Alabama
2
Pamela Kosgei
New Mexico
3
Grace Hartman
NC State
4
Paityn Noe
Arkansas
5
Hilda Olemomoi
Florida
6
Amy Bunnage
Stanford
7
Jane Hedengren
BYU
8
Vera Sjoberg
North Carolina
9
Sophia Kennedy
Stanford
10
Juliet Cherubet
Oregon
11
Joy Naukot
West Virginia
12
Marion Jepngetich
New Mexico
13
Hannah Gapes
NC State
14
Florence Caron
Penn State
15
Sadie Sigfstead
Villanova
16
Brenda Tuwei
Alabama
17
Angelina Napoleon
NC State
18
Rachel Forsyth
Michigan State
19
Jenna Hutchins
BYU
20
Brenda Jepchirchir
Auburn
21
Riley Chamberlain
BYU
22
Rosina Machu
Gonzaga
23
Diana Cherotich
Oregon
24
Agnes McTighe
NAU
25
Rylee Blade
Florida State
Don’t Miss A Second Of The 2025 Diamond League
This year, the Diamond League is streaming live on FloTrack and the FloSports app, and FloTrack is giving fans more Diamond League access than ever before. For the first time ever, the Diamond League is streaming to fans all the feeds, not just the traditional world feed.
Fans will have uninterrupted coverage for every throw, leap and run during the meets as well as the traditional broadcast.
Where To Watch Diamond League?
The Wanda Diamond League will be broadcast on FloTrack and the FloSports app starting with the 2025 season.
FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year
Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.
FloTrack Archived Footage
Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
Hanna Maddock: I’ll prove my value to GB at FIP Euro Padel Cup
Advertisement Hanna Maddock is back in the GB women’s team for next week’s FIP Euro Padel Cup and has been preparing for Madrid by clocking up the air miles, grafting hard… and playing beach volleyball! Lanzarote-based Hanna was injured for last year’s European Padel Championships in Sardinia, but has earned a recall to the Great […]
Hanna Maddock is back in the GB women’s team for next week’s FIP Euro Padel Cup and has been preparing for Madrid by clocking up the air miles, grafting hard… and playing beach volleyball!
Lanzarote-based Hanna was injured for last year’s European Padel Championships in Sardinia, but has earned a recall to the Great Britain team for this year’s rebranded, expanded Euros in the Spanish capital by grinding out good performances in FIP Tour and domestic tournaments since the turn of the year.
GB women’s captains Libby Fletcher and Agustin Gomez Silingo have selected Hanna alongside established group Aimee Gibson, Catherine Rose, Tia Norton, Lisa Phillips and Abigail Tordoff, plus 15-year-old debutante Rosie Quirk and another newcomer in Laura Jackson.
The GB men’s and women’s teams head out to Madrid on Tuesday (8 July) for a couple of days’ training, bonding and acclimatising (it’s going to be very hot), before beginning their campaign in Phase 2 of the reformatted competition on Friday at Madrid’s Padel G24 indoor arena. Read our FIP Euro Padel Cup guide.
Hanna, who turns 26 in two weeks’ time, has pressed the accelerator on her competitive padel career since the turn of the year, playing in eight FIP tournaments since March.
“I’ve really tried to prove myself to the team and have played as many tournaments as possible in the build-up to get my ranking up,” Hanna told The Padel Paper.
“Raising my level and ranking is a constant motivation but getting into the GB team again is definitely a big factor, because representing your country and playing in the Europeans is the highlight of the year.
“Now I’m selected, I’m training even more because I want to prove that they made the right decision in selecting me!”
Hanna joined the rest of the GB players at a special training camp with the Dutch team in Holland last week before competing in the FIP Silver Utrecht where she and Alice Keddie lost a closely-fought round of 32 match against (ironically) her GB team-mate Lisa Phillips and Marta Barrera, one of Hanna’s regular training partners in Lanzarote!
“I’ve been travelling so much to loads of tournaments — I was basically on the road the whole month of May,” she reveals. “You’re travelling from one country to another, sleeping at people’s houses, hotels or Air BnBs, you don’t eat that well and you do get run down. But it’s worth it when you go into a huge tournament like the Euros feeling well prepared and match fit.”
Advertisement
GB join the FIP Euro Padel Cup in its second phase, with the four big guns — Spain, Italy, Portugal and France — not joining the fray until an as-yet unscheduled third phase, called ‘The Final 8’, later in the year.
“I’m not so keen on this change of format,” Hanna says. “Previously, all the countries would be there together, you get to see all the nations play and we’d fight for our place over a long week. This time, it has been divided up, which I don’t like as much. We’re only playing over a weekend, which is quite sad, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Prior to her injury last year, Hanna competed in CrossFit, which she has now cut down to a coupe of sessions a week. She has, however, started playing beach volleyball at home in the Canary Islands, which she feels has complemented her padel and gym training.
“Beach volleyball really helps me with the mental side of padel,” she reveals. “Having another sport makes me enjoy padel even more and stops it from becoming too overwhelming, so I do that when I get time off the padel court.
“It also helps physically because it’s such a demanding sport. Running in the sand helps me get in better shape for my padel too.”
Good luck to Hanna and both British teams in Madrid at the FIP Euro Padel Cup!
You can watch live coverage from eight courts at the indoor Padel G24 in Madrid on the FIP YouTube channel, results and draws on the FIP website as well as our in-depth coverage on The Padel Paper.
The water polo champion returned to Prato for a few days. Chiara Tabani in the pool. The ‘special’ lessons
She celebrated the victory of the championship (the second in two years) with Ekipe Orizzonte of Catania as a protagonist. And in the last few days, Chiara Tabani returned to the city for a few days: the thirty-year-old from Prato went to the pool in via Roma as part of the project promoted by Azzurra […]
She celebrated the victory of the championship (the second in two years) with Ekipe Orizzonte of Catania as a protagonist. And in the last few days, Chiara Tabani returned to the city for a few days: the thirty-year-old from Prato went to the pool in via Roma as part of the project promoted by Azzurra “Try water polo”, training very young boys and girls for a few hours. And in the last few hours, the former pillar of the Setterosa also met the water polo players of Azzurra in Follonica, fresh from the end of the championship. It was an opportunity to meet up (considering that Chiara, during her lightning returns to Prato over the years, had met and trained for a few days a good part of the group, ed.) to compare notes and train. After all, it’s not every day that you can train under the direction of an international-level athlete. A moment of relaxation, for Tabani, before starting to focus on the next competitive season. Before last year, Chiara had come very close to winning the Serie A1 water polo championship several times, without however realizing her dream: in Spain she had won everything in a single season, in 2016/17 when she was defending the colors of Sabadell (including the top Spanish division) but the top Italian tournament seemed like a pipe dream. The player who won the Olympic silver medal in Rio 2016 had therefore decided to accept the proposal of the Sicilian club two summers ago (leaving Roma, with whom she had won the Italian Cup in both 2019 and 2022) and since then she has always triumphed: she has made a decisive contribution, in terms of technique, dynamism and experience, in giving an extra edge to Ekipe Orizzonte. And while waiting for the competitions to resume, who knows, maybe she will find more time for another training session with the Azzurra athletes.
(via dukedennis/TT)
