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Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Yankees defend decision to draft shortstop tied to campus swastika incident
The New York Yankees' decision to draft University of Utah shortstop Core Jackson in the fifth round of last month's MLB draft has drawn scrutiny after the Athletic reported that Jackson once drew a swastika on a Jewish student's dorm room door. The incident took place in 2021, when Jackson was a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Nebraska. He told the Athletic he had been 'blackout drunk' and had no memory of it. 'I felt like the worst person in the world,' he said. Related: The Mets and Yankees' high-priced rosters are stumbling at a terrible time – but why? Nebraska fined him, assigned community service and required online sensitivity training, but did not suspend him from the team. Jackson said he wanted to apologize directly but was told by campus police not to contact the victim. Yankees amateur scouting director Damon Oppenheimer said the team carried out the most extensive background check of his 23-year tenure before selecting Jackson. The decision was approved by owner Hal Steinbrenner and supported by Jewish officials inside the club, including team president Randy Levine. 'We were looking for accountability,' Oppenheimer said. 'We believe his actions since the incident show remorse and growth.' Jackson signed for $147,500, well below the slot value of $411,100 for the 164th overall pick. He has already reported to High-A Hudson Valley. His agent, Blake Corosky, initially considered dropping him but reconsidered under two conditions: that Jackson disclose the incident to every MLB team before the 2024 draft and that he work with Diamondbacks prospect Jacob Steinmetz, the first practicing Orthodox Jewish player ever drafted. Jackson, who grew up in a Christian household in Wyoming, admitted he knew little about Judaism or the historical weight of the swastika. 'That doesn't excuse it,' he said. 'But it shows how much I had to learn.' The swastika incident is not Jackson's only off-field trouble. In September 2024, while playing at Utah, he was charged with DUI. The case was reduced to misdemeanor impaired driving after he completed community service, substance-abuse training and paid fines. Jackson says he has not had a drink since. His winding college career took him from Nebraska to South Mountain Community College in Arizona and finally to Utah, where he hit .363 with four home runs and 41 RBIs in 2024. Scouts praised his arm strength, power and athleticism. For the Yankees, those tools – along with Jackson's willingness to confront his past – were enough to outweigh concerns. But in New York, home to the world's largest Jewish community outside Israel, the decision remains polarizing. 'I think it's important that this is part of my story,' Jackson said. 'God has given me this platform, and I want to use it to show forgiveness and growth.'
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jets held a player-led practice last Sunday
Aaron Glenn is trying to change the Jets' trajectory in his first year as the team's head coach and his approach to preparing for the regular season made room for an unusual practice last Sunday. The Jets held a practice that was not announced publicly a day after their preseason game against the Giants. It was unusual because Glenn was the only member of the coaching staff in attendance and the players led the drills in what the team is officially calling a walkthrough. Safety Andre Cisco said it showed that Glenn wants a "player-driven team." "It was personally different for me because I've never experienced that — having no coaches out there," cornerback Brandon Stephens, via Rich Cimimi of "It was great for us to lead the groups by ourselves." Cimini notes that Glenn may have gotten the idea for a player-led practice from his days as a Jets player. Bill Parcells once pulled himself and the rest of the coaching staff out of a late 1990s practice because he was angry with the team and players led the rest of the session. Those were better days for the Jets — Parcells took them to an AFC title game — and Glenn may be hoping that history repeats itself during his tenure.
New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
With Bills roster decisions looming, Cole Bishop gets wake-up call, WR room draws focus
Bills head coach Sean McDermott didn't hold back. He gave a candid news conference addressing several topics that could directly impact the team's decisions for cutdown day. Teams must be at or under 53 players on their active roster by Aug. 26 at 4 p.m. ET. After hearing what McDermott said, taking in what is likely to be their two most intense practices of the week, along with other news and notes, several things stand out from this week. Advertisement One position that seemed to draw a massive reaction in the game against the Bears was the Bills' safeties — in particular, Cole Bishop, the team's second-round pick in 2024, who was with the first-team defense when healthy. Bishop was seen on the broadcast being a bit late on one catch over the middle to Bears tight end Colston Loveland, and then getting beaten by wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 36-yard touchdown. It was Bishop's first preseason game of the year after he sat out the Giants game recovering from a quad injury — another source of frustration, since it's the second straight summer where Bishop's availability has been impacted by injury. McDermott had some direct words when asked about the state of his safety position. 'I think we're looking for that other safety to play alongside of (Taylor Rapp),' McDermott said. 'There's been really good moments for all those guys back there, young and some of the more veteran guys that are back there to play for us. But I think we're still looking to find, who is it going to be? And how consistent can they become and how quickly can they grow if they're a younger player?' Specifically about Bishop, McDermott was careful to uplift the young safety, but also provided a wake-up call, of sorts. 'I really feel like Cole, from the time he's come back, it's just been a short runway to this point. He continues to improve,' McDermott said. 'He has shown to this point that the ability, the skill level can be there. We're just not there yet. And so his refining process, if you will, goes one day at a time, one rep at a time. We're just kind of getting started because of what wasn't with his availability, again, it affects that.' Context may be needed with the in-game performance and some of McDermott's previous comments. On the Loveland catch, the Bills would likely want him to see the play developing and reacting a bit quicker, though that comes with the time on task that McDermott preaches about. There also needs to be some accountability on the linebackers. The Zaccheaus touchdown was a bit of a head scratcher because the defensive call put Bishop in a situation the Bills would mostly try to avoid in the regular season. The Bills dropped into a Cover-1 look with safety Damar Hamlin perched up high and linebacker Joe Andreessen serving as support in the middle of the field. Perhaps the Bills were trying to disguise their man coverage by showing zone pre-snap, and wanted to see what Bishop could do in that situation. But it yielded a man-to-man coverage of Bishop on Zaccheaus, with boundary cornerback Dorian Strong against Loveland. It also yielded the smaller nickel Brandon Codrington on the 6-foot-3 Rome Odunze, which was another potential mismatch. The far more ideal matchup in that man coverage scenario is for Bishop to go up against a tight end like Loveland. With plenty of time ahead of the snap, putting Bishop one-on-one against a shifty slot wideout like Zaccheaus was not realistically setting him up for success. Most safeties would struggle in that matchup, just as they do in one-on-ones against wide receivers during training camp, because it's a different skill set and athleticism required at safety than at cornerback. On the rep, Bishop surrendered inside leverage to Zaccheaus with a bit too much of a reaction to the route, which is probably what caused some of McDermott's reaction. Bishop may have been expecting some help on the inside from Andreessen, and certainly some help from Hamlin to make the stop from the deep middle. However, it's still a matchup they'll try to avoid for Bishop in many cases. The replay wasn't as bad as the broadcast with all the added context from the film. Advertisement As for McDermott's warning, there have been several instances over his first eight seasons in which he has spoken candidly with reporters about a specific young player and their situation. It doesn't happen often, so when it does, there is usually intent in his words. He has long been a coach who preaches players earning opportunities, and after essentially handing Bishop the starting job in the offseason, perhaps McDermott's words were a not-so-subtle reminder that Bishop isn't guaranteed anything, and that urgency is immediately needed. It wouldn't be shocking to see Bishop play against the Buccaneers as a means for him to earn the job, even if the contest remains heavily weighted toward him. There was nothing from the first two practices of this week that indicated that the Bills were intent to make a change this late. With practices ticking down, and without a safety on the roster who would be a potential improvement to Bishop, it's far more likely the Bills begin the year with him in the starting lineup. They still really like Bishop's potential and felt good about what he showed in the starting lineup late last season. Benching a player they've spent the offseason planning to be a starter after only 11 snaps in a preseason game, in which he was the only projected starter on the field, would be an incredibly impulsive decision from an organization whose top two decision makers are generally averse to impulsive decisions. I'd chalk this up to the Bills trying to get more out of him with this message-through-the-media play. If there is one thing we know for sure about the Bills' wide receiver room, it's that they feel very good about the top three. Khalil Shakir is a known commodity as the slot receiver, Keon Coleman has made some good progress throughout the summer and has started to perform more consistently, and Joshua Palmer has fit into what the Bills are doing. After that, it's open for interpretation. 'Once you get kind of after that third person there, it's trying to figure out who the rest of them are and how they can help us,' McDermott said. 'Not only on offense, but on special teams and how we can ensure if we have someone — knock on wood — going down, that we have the right person, profile, size, speed, whatever it is to make sure we don't drop too far with that next spot.' This is undoubtedly a big week for Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, Tyrell Shavers, Kristian Wilkerson and Laviska Shenault. There are a pair of spots, at least, for the taking between that group of players. There's potentially a third spot for a player who helps their special teams picture. Should the Bills rest their starters once again this weekend, a massive opportunity is there for these five players, who are likely to get the bulk of the work early on. Advertisement Through Wednesday, it was abundantly clear based on their usage that the Bills are still trying to figure out which of them will stick around. At this point, Moore appears to be the safest. He has gotten a lot of work with Josh Allen because the Bills have been without Shakir since Aug. 1, and he gives them the best combination of availability and skill level. Samuel, for the first time since this summer, participated in team drills in full pads this week. His involvement on Tuesday was a bit more limited, but they ramped him up a bit more on Wednesday. It certainly looks like they're giving him every opportunity to prove that he should be one of the players they keep. He's made a couple of good plays on the ball, too, so perhaps he has done enough. It would make their lives easier, as his entire $6.91 million base salary is guaranteed in 2025. However, Samuel doesn't offer much on special teams, which is one of the things the Bills would like from their depth receivers. If there's one thing I wouldn't rule out, it's the Bills finding a trade suitor for someone like Samuel ahead of cutdown day. The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that three teams, the Jets, 49ers and Vikings, are monitoring the trade market for receivers. All three teams have the available cap space in 2025 to comfortably take on Samuel's full base salary without having to restructure his deal. If the Bills could get a late-round pick for Samuel, or even a pick swap of some kind, that, plus the immediate $6 million of cap relief, could be enough for them to keep someone like Shavers, Wilkerson or Shenault instead. Then there's Gabe Davis. The familiarity is certainly there as he spent his first four NFL seasons in Buffalo and remains close with Allen. Davis had an official visit with the Bills on Wednesday, which is eye-opening given the name and that there's some internal dialogue about who will be on that team at wide receiver. However, it is important to remember that Davis suffered a torn meniscus in November, and that could be a significant reason why he hasn't signed anywhere. There may not be a path to the 53-man roster for him immediately, but he's a name to remember during the season — whether it's in an active roster role or on the practice squad. The Bills have a difficult decision without a clear answer, and they're quickly running out of time to make it. That's why Saturday night could mean everything for the receiver group. The Bills haven't declared whether Allen will play against the Buccaneers on Saturday for the preseason finale, but it would be more of a surprise if he did, given the proximity to the season. Allen didn't play against the Giants or the Bears in the first two weeks, and if a clue from Allen is to be believed, that could extend to the entire preseason. 'Conditioning. We did some before this last game, and I'm sure we'll do some in Tampa,' Allen said when asked what he does to prepare for a season with game reps. 'Game reps, it's a lot different. The amount of exhaustion that happens during a game, you can't really rep it. So, just making sure that I'm as in control of that as possible, making sure I'm getting extra reps conditioning.' Conceivably, Allen may have just been saying what they *would* do if he doesn't play, but it did come across as matter of fact rather than up in the air. If Allen does not play, it would mark the first time he has not taken any game reps in the preseason during his career. He's only played in one of the Bills' last three preseason finales, in 2023. If the Bills do play Allen, the 'sit, sit, play' preseason approach was done only once before in 2021. (Top photo of Cole Bishop: David Banks / Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
