A trial between former NFL teammates over a jersey number was averted on Monday when running back Clinton Portis agreed to pay US$18,000 to former Washington Redskins teammate Ifeanyi Ohalete.
Ohalete will receive all but US$2,000 of the US$20,000 he was seeking as the balance due for a US$40,000 agreement that gave Portis the Redskins jersey No. 26 last year. The case appeared headed for a civil trial in a Maryland District Court yesterday.
John Steren, Ohalete's attorney, said the player was content to give up the US$2,000, given the time and trouble it would have taken for him to travel from Arizona for a trial.
When Portis signed as a free agent with the Redskins last year, he said he wanted to wear the same jersey number he wore for two seasons with the Denver Broncos. However, No. 26 already belonged to Ohalete, and he was adamant that he wanted to keep it. Protracted negotiations led to a contract signed by Portis, Ohalete and witness Brad Berlin, the Redskins equipment manager.
It called for Portis to pay Ohalete US$40,000 in three installments: US$20,000 immediately, and two of US$10,000 during the season.
Portis paid the US$20,000 up front and got his coveted No. 26. Ohalete switched to No. 30.
But Ohalete then was cut by the Redskins during preseason training camp and was claimed off waivers by Arizona. Portis felt Ohalete's departure voided the rest of the contract, so he didn't pay the final two installments.
It's not uncommon on all levels for athletes to be attached to certain jersey numbers.
Eli Manning, for example, had to pay for punter Jeff Feagles' family vacation to Florida to snag the preferred No. 10 after the New York Giants drafted Manning with the No. 1 overall pick last year. Feagles also got a new kitchen in his home from Plaxico Burress when he gave Burress his No. 17 after the wide receiver signed with New York.
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
Two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday avenged her shock Paris Olympics loss to Zheng Qinwen with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Chinese eighth seed, setting up a semi-final against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the California desert. In the men’s singles, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz put on a show with his acrobatic shotmaking under the lights to close out the day’s action, overcoming a 4-1 second-set deficit to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the women’s doubles. Swiatek, one of the gold medal favorites when she lost to eventual champion Zheng in the
RSS