Sports

Fight of Century is Now Battle in Court as Fans Sue Pacquiao

Published

9 years ago

May 19, 2015

This May 2, 2015 file photo shows Manny Pacquiao, from the Philippines, left, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., embrace in the ring at the finish of their welterweight title fight in Las Vegas. Boxing fans across the country or at least their lawyers are calling the hyped-up fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather a fraud. Some 31 class action lawsuits had been filed through Friday alleging primarily the same thing: that Pacquiaos pre-existing shoulder injury should have been disclosed to fans ahead of time. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, File)

KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Boxing fans across the country and their lawyers are calling the hyped-up fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. a fraud and want their money back, and then some.

At least 32 U.S. lawsuits seeking class-action status allege Pacquiao should have disclosed a shoulder injury to fans before the fight, which Mayweather won in a unanimous decision after 12 rounds that most fans thought didn’t live up to the hype.

Fight of the century? More like fraud of the century, the lawsuits contend.

“The fight was not great, not entertaining, not electrifying. It was boring, slow and lackluster,” according to a lawsuit filed in Texas alleging racketeering, a claim usually reserved for organized crime.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of Flights Beer Bar near Los Angeles International Airport in California said Pacquiao and his promoter’s actions were “nothing but a cash-grab.” The bar paid $2,600 to broadcast the fight.

The fighters are expected to earn more than $100 million each — Mayweather more than Pacquiao. HBO and Showtime broke records, raking in more than $400 million from 4.4 million people who paid to watch the pay-per-view broadcast.

Those viewers paid up to $100 each, and the lawsuits want that money back.

It isn’t as easy as showing a receipt and demanding a refund. A federal panel of judges will likely first need to decide if the lawsuits from multiple states and Puerto Rico should be consolidated into one case. From there, a judge would have to decide whether to certify them as class action or not.

What’s sought in each is the same: a jury trial and at least $5 million in damages, the threshold for federal class-action lawsuits.

But the defendants differ. All include Pacquiao and his promotions team but some add Mayweather and his representatives, along with HBO, Showtime and cable companies.

Representatives for Pacquiao and Top Rank Promotions, HBO and Showtime had no comment on the lawsuits. Mayweather Promotions did not return multiple phone messages.

Exhibit A for most of the lawsuits is a Nevada Athletic Commission medical questionnaire that Pacquiao signed days before the fight. When asked if he had any injuries, including to his shoulder, he replied, “no.”

In fact, his shoulder was injured enough to warrant surgery shortly after the fight.

In a twist, Pacquiao revealed for the first time in a post-fight press conference that he had torn his rotator cuff weeks before. The Nevada Athletic Commission denied him a pain reliever mere hours before the fight, when regulators first learned of the injury.

Conspiracy theories abound as to how many people knew about the injury and when, including claims in a few of the lawsuits that Mayweather had a spy in Pacquiao’s camp and the boxer targeted Pacquiao’s right shoulder during the fight.

Experts in resolving legal disputes doubt disgruntled boxing fans will be able to claim victory.

“They’d have more lawsuits if they didn’t hold the fight,” said Maureen Weston, director of Pepperdine University’s entertainment, media and sports dispute-resolution project.

If a fight is what fans were paying for, the boxers unquestionably delivered, she said. Just because people didn’t like the show doesn’t mean they get their money back, Weston said.

Ultimately the question is: Who did Pacquiao have a legal duty to explain his injury to?

Short answer: He didn’t have to tell viewers, she said. The only contract viewers had was with their cable companies, which had contracts with HBO and Showtime.

It’s not the first time customers have gone to court when things didn’t go quite the way they expected in the field of entertainment.

Remember Milli Vanilli? Music fans in the 1990s argued the lip-synching pop duo owed them a refund once it was revealed they weren’t actually singing.

Or the bite-fight with Mike Tyson? Sports fans may have gotten an earful, but they contended they didn’t pay to see a boxing match only for it to be disqualified.

Neither resulted in judgments for refund-seeking customers. Milli Vanilli fans got a buck or two back in a settlement.

So if viewers were promised a fight, and they got a 12-round fight, isn’t that enough?

Lawyer Caleb Marker, who represents clients in two separate class-action suits against Pacquiao, says that’s arguable.

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Rajah Caruth: Young Trailblazer of NASCAR

Imagine you’re only 22 years old and already making a name for yourself in NASCAR, one of the most thrilling sports in the US. That is the life of Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver.

Published

18 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver. (File Photo)

By Tamara Shiloh

Born June 11, 2002, in Washington, DC, he was drawn to the sport as a child after seeing the Disney Pixar film “Cars.”

Caruth dreamed of tooling around the track like the main character in “Cars,” Lightning McQueen. His enthusiasm grew when his parents surprised him with a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway when he was 12.

In 2018, while keeping busy with school, sports and a summer job, Caruth and his family held fundraisers so that he could buy an iRacing simulator. Then, at age 16, he traded a real driver’s license to race virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, which led to him being recruited by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

His first big opportunity came in 2019 when he competed in a “Legends” car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Bojangles’ Southern Shootout and recorded two top-third in the semi-pro points.

People began to recognize Caruth’s talents. In 2020, he stepped up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and became the first African American to win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a late model race. The next year, he won at Tri-County Motor Speedway and picked up his fourth overall late model victory.

Then, he became the first person of color to win at the South Carolina track.

In 2021, Caruth announced he would compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he finished third in the standings, including a series of top-five finishes. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on a bigger stage as well.

Then, in 2022, thing really took off. A new chapter found Caruth at NASCAR’s unofficial Triple A league with GMS Racing, where he drives full-time for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with a sponsorship from The Wendell Scott Foundation. After a few setbacks, he broke into the top 10 several times, finishing at a career-high 6th at Darlington Raceway.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Caruth’s took the third major step in his career. He is now driving full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports and has been making the news for putting on stellar performances. Oh, and he won at Las Vegas: his first career victory.

From an impressionable young racing fan to a professional NASCAR driver, Caruth is charting a new path, creating history, and inspiring people to always remember that if you have the talent, the drive, and most of all, the heart, anything can be achieved.

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Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

22 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com