Google shared a unique doodle today, February 14, to celebrate the beginning of the Women’s Premier League 2025. While sharing the doodle, search engine giant Google said that today’s doodle celebrates the start of the 2025 Women’s Premier League cricket season. “It’s one of the most notable developments in women’s cricket history, providing a high-profile platform for female players to show off their athleticism and talents,” Google Doodle said. WPL 2025: A Look at Previous Finishes of the Five Franchises Ahead of Women’s Premier League Season 3.
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EXCLUSIVE: Former University of Pennsylvania women’s swimmers Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist have filed a lawsuit against the university, Harvard University, the NCAA and the Ivy League Council of Presidents over their experience sharing a team with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. The lawsuit does not name Thomas as a defendant.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Estabrok, Kaczorowski and Holmquist argue that Thomas’ eligibility to compete as a woman for UPenn violated their Title IX rights. It argues the NCAA’s 2010, which allows biological males to compete in the women’s category based on their preferred gender identity, is “discriminatory.”
The women claim that by allowing Thomas to compete, the institutions “injured them and violated federal law.”
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The lawsuit also detailed the personal experiences each of the women faced having to share a team and locker room with Thomas. Each of the plaintiffs claims the experience left them “repeatedly emotionally traumatized.”
The plaintiffs allege that the university administrators pushed pro-trans ideology onto them throughout the process of accepting Thomas on the team and in their locker room. The former swimmers say that they were led to feel their concerns over being teammates with Thomas was rooted in a “psychological problem.”
“The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas’s participation on the UPenn Women’s team, they should seek counseling and support from CAPS and the LBGTQ center,” the lawsuit alleges.
“The administrators also invited the women to a talk titled, ‘Trans 101.’ Thus, the women were led to understand that UPenn’s position was that if a woman on the team had any problem with a trans-identifying male being on her team that woman had a psychological problem and needed counseling.”
Lia Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers swims in the 500 yard freestyle event during a tri-meet against the Yale Bulldogs and the Dartmouth Big Green at Sheerr Pool on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on January 8, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.(Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
The plaintiffs also allege that the administrators warned them against speaking out against the situation publicly.
“The UPenn administrators went on to tell the women that if the women spoke publicly about their concerns about Thomas’ participation on the Women’s Team, the reputation of those complaining about Thomas being on the team would be tainted with transphobia for the rest of their lives and they would probably never be able to get a job,’” the lawsuit alleges.
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Thomas, a biological male, previously competed for the UPenn men’s swimming team from 2017-20 under the name Will Thomas. According to the lawsuit, Thomas was introduced by women’s swimming head coach Mike Schnur to the women’s swimmers during a team meeting in Fall 2019 as their incoming teammate.
The lawsuit alleges that coaches and UPenn administrators told the women’s swimmers not to talk about Thomas’ situation. Schnur allegedly told the women’s swimmers that Thomas wouldn’t be sharing a locker room with them when they asked after the initial introduction.
But that allegedly changed later.
Thomas officially began to practice and compete with the women’s swimmers in Fall 2021.
And that was when the female swimmers say they discovered that Schnur’s alleged claim Thomas wouldn’t share a locker room was not true.
“When UPenn’s women’s swimmers returned to school in the fall of 2021 they were shocked to discover that Thomas was being allowed to use the women’s locker room at UPenn and would be allowed to use the women’s locker room at swim meets,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Margot [Kaczorowski] only learned that Thomas had been authorized by UPenn to use the women’s locker room when [Kaczorowski] walked in the women’s locker room to find Thomas in front of her changing his clothing.”
Per the suit, Kaczorowski confronted Schnur in tears about her shock of discovering Thomas would now share a locker room with her. She alleges the coach responded by saying “I know it’s wrong but there’s nothing I can do.”
“Coach Schnur told the Plaintiffs he would be fired by UPenn if he did not allow Thomas to use the women’s locker room and compete on the women’s swim team,” the lawsuit alleges.
In December 2021, another team meeting was held to discuss Thomas’ presence on the team and the media attention it garnered, per the court documents. The female swimmers allege they were told that Thomas would continue to be on their team and that “Lia swimming is a non-negotiable.”
HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE
The three female swimmers allege that they were made to believe they would be removed from the team if they tried to protest Thomas’ participation ahead of the 2022 Ivy League championships.
“UPenn swim team members were told by Coach Schnur and UPenn administrators that UPenn administrators coordinated closely with the NCAA and the Ivy League to ensure that Thomas would be eligible for the 2021-2022 women’s swimming season,” the suit alleged.
“These statements about close coordination between UPenn, the Ivy League and the NCAA regarding Thomas’ eligibility led the UPenn Women’s Team members to understand the resisting or protesting the participation of Thomas on the team or his presence in the locker room would be futile and could result in the women being removed from the team or from UPenn.”
At the 2022 Ivy League Swimming Championships, Thomas came in first in the 500-, 200- and 100-yard freestyle races, setting pool and Ivy League records, and was ultimately the highest-scoring swimmer at the entire meet. That year’s competition was hosted at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas poses with her teammates Hannah Kannan, Camryn Carter, and Margot Kaczorowski after winning the 400 yard freestyle relay during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 19, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
The lawsuit alleges that Harvard made no accommodations for any of the female athletes who did not want to share a locker room or restroom with Thomas.
“Harvard did not provide a unisex bathroom or separate bathroom for Thomas to use or for any other women to use who did not want to use the Women’s Locker room while Thomas was using it,” the suit alleges.
After Thomas’ record-breaking performance in Cambridge that February, the athlete went on to compete at that year’s NCAA championships. There, an infamous tie with former University of Kentucky Riley Gaines resulted in Thomas hoisting the trophy for photo-ops over the biologically female Gaines.
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Gaines has since filed her own lawsuit against the NCAA alongside several other female athletes who have been affected by the association’s gender identity policies.
Other female competitors from that event who joined Gaines’ lawsuit have spoken out about their experience with Thomas as well.
Former North Carolina State women’s swimmer Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion, spoke about the experience competing against and sharing a locker room with Thomas, during a Georgia senate committee hearing on Jan. 30.
“We all were just guinea pigs for a giant social experiment formed by the NCAA regarding how much abuse and blatant disregard women would be forced to take in silence,” Alons said. “I go to the locker room that day only to see Thomas and realize there is no escape from this nightmare, no matter where I go. I had no idea he was going to be allowed in the women’s locker room as we did not consent to have a man in our locker room.”
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler joined Lyons in recounting the experience of sharing a locker room with Thomas at the Jan. 30 hearing.
“Young women, teenage girls were forced to undress next to a fully intact biological male who exposed himself to us, while we were simultaneously fully exposed,” Wheeler said. “We were never asked. We were never given a choice or another option. We were just expected to be OK with it, to shove down our discomfort, our embarrassment, our fear, because standing up for ourselves would mean being labeled as intolerant or hateful or bigoted.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to UPenn, Harvard, The Ivy League and the NCAA for comment, but has not received a response at the time of publication.
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NCAA President Charlie Baker addressed concerns over the issue of female athletes having to share teams and locker rooms with trans athletes during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in December.
There, Baker insisted that female athletes have the option to find other accommodations if they’re uncomfortable sharing with transgenders.
“Everybody else should have an opportunity to use other facilities if they wish to do so,” Baker said.
Baker also says that the NCAA’s policies that allow trans athletes to compete against women is based on federal standards.
Those federal standards may change in the coming days.
President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order to ban trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14, which would cut federal funding for any public educational institution that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.
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The dust continues to settle in the days following the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers formally welcomed the 25-year-old on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis and Max Christie continue to settle into their new surroundings with the Mavericks.
The Slovenian basketball superstar won his first scoring title last season, before leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals. Doncic is also a five-time All-NBA selection and a five-time All-Star.
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A basketball is placed on the court next to an NBA logo during a break in the first half of a game in Las Vegas, Nevada.(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Amid his reaction to the blockbuster deal, former Golden State Warriors minority owner and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya provided some insight about his decision to sell his stake in the NBA franchise.
Palihapitiya revealed the decision partially revolved around his belief the league would soon be forced to contend with a serious competitor.
“I sold my ownership in the Warriors last year, in part, because I was pretty sure competition for the NBA was coming a la LIV Golf vs PGA,” Palihapitiya wrote in a reply on X, formerly known as Twitter, to a post from Texas-based attorney Adam Loewy.
LUKA DONCIC DETAILS LAKERS TRADE ‘SHOCK’ AT INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE
Loewy cited Chris Kratovil, another lawyer, who offered an analysis of the monumental trade involving Doncic. The lawyer theorized that the Mavs decision to move on from Doncic was part of a hypothetical strategy to maintain enough leverage to potentially move the franchise out of Texas if the state does not eventually legalize sports gambling.
Mark Cuban sold his controlling interest in the Mavericks in 2023 to the family of Miriam Adelson. The family owns a casino company. Cuban did remain on as a minority owner, but he is no longer involved in the day-to-day basketball operations.
The Dallas Mavericks logo is pictured on a uniform against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on March 09, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Palihapitiya also suggested LeBron James should be the preferred choice, should the speculative competitor ever materialize.
“The (speculated) antics below only reinforce the likelihood that a group of well heeled investors with $5-10B could quickly stand up a competitor to the NBA. After this trade, they may want to start with Luka and pay him his supermax and get LeBron by making him the commissioner.”
James’ trusted business partner, Maverick Carter, is pursuing $5 billion in capital from investors with the goal of launching a new basketball league outside of North America, Front Office Sports reported. James is not believed to have any involvement in the international basketball league effort.
After an influx of apparent phone calls, Palihapitiya made another post on X which outlined what an international basketball league that directly competes with the NBA could entail.
Donic reacted to the trade, saying he was initially in a state of disbelief. “You can imagine how surprised I was,” Doncic said on Tuesday. “I had to check if it was April 1. I didn’t really believe it.”
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The superstar has begun to recover after his first two days in Los Angeles, and he’s growing increasingly excited about a new chapter with James and the Lakers.
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“It was a big shock,” Doncic said. “(Dallas) was home, so it was really hard moments for me. … (But now) I get to play in the greatest club in the world, and I’m excited for this new journey.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
Controversial women’s basketball superstar Angel Reese became the first player to be ejected from a game in the startup Unrivaled league on Saturday. She then called a Sports Illustrated article covering the incident “clickbait.”
Reese was ejected during the Rose Basketball Club’s matchup against Vinyl Basketball Club in the second quarter. She was called for a foul against Tiffany Hayes, then she earned a technical foul after making an offensive gesture toward a referee. When she started arguing that foul, she got a second technical, and refs tossed her from the game after that.
Reese wasted very little time after the historic ejection to vent her feelings on social media, firing off a series of posts on X. One was a re-sharing of the Sports Illustrated article covering the ejection, which she captioned with her criticism.
“Clickbait. Everything I do keep going viral,” Reese wrote over the article.
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Reese and Rose Basketball Club were already in last place with a 1-4 record going into Saturday’s game, but things got worse after the star’s ejection. Rose lost 79-73 as Vinyl’s Rhyne Howard dropped 33 points on Reese’s squad amid the ejection.
Reese has been one of the most controversial stars in women’s basketball ever since her infamous late-game showboating in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship game. Reese led LSU to a 102-85 victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa that March and bragged about it by pointing to her finger in front of Clark’s face to remind her rival who was getting the ring.
It was a moment that Reese says “changed my life forever,” in the first episode of her podcast.
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Angel Reese of the Rose takes a moment against the Vinyl during a timeout at Wayfair Arena.(Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said.
Reese even alleges that some fans have made AI-generated images of her, depicting her without clothes on, and sent them to her family members.
The two renewed their rivalry the following season in the 2024 Elite 8, as Clark got her revenge by defeating Reese and LSU 94-87. After the game, Reese cried at the post-game press conference as she recounted the harassment she received following the previous season’s controversy.
INSIDE CAITLIN CLARK AND ANGEL REESE’S IMPACT ON MEN’S BASKETBALL
Sky forward Angel Reese walks on the court at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Aug. 25, 2024.(Kamil Krzaczynski-USA Today Sports)
In four head-to-head WNBA matchups this past season, Clark’s Indiana Fever beat Reese’s Chicago Sky three times. In just two of those contests, Reese put up more points than Clark, while pulling down more rebounds than Clark in all four meetings. Clark registered more assists in all four meetings.
Reese’s Sky also committed several controversial fouls against Clark in those meetings, including one from Reese herself when she slammed her arm into Clark’s head in a game in June, resulting in a flagrant-1.
The two won’t be bringing their rivalry to Unrivaled, at least not this year. Clark declined to join the league despite an aggressive push from its ownership group.
But even with Clark not in that league, Reese is still finding ways to stir trouble.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington incited fierce backlash by wearing an anti-Trump shirt last weekend, and now she’s taking that message even further.
During a press conference before an “Unrivaled” league game Thursday, Carrington declared it’s time for WNBA players to “take action” in response to President Donald Trump’s policies.
“We see that some of the policies are already going into action, and, of course, that means that as the WNBA and being at the forefront of a lot of these movements, it’s time for us to also take action,” Carrington said.
“It definitely needs to happen as women, women’s rights being taken away, like, now, LGBTQ rights being taken away now. They haven’t happened yet, but definitely in the works.”
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DiJonai Carrington (21) of the Connecticut Sun dribbles during Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs against the Indiana Fever Sept. 25, 2024, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Carrington wore a shirt that said, “The F— Donald Trump Tour” Friday while walking into Wayfair Arena in Miami, Florida.
The player is most known for her interactions with women’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark during Clark’s rookie WNBA season in 2024.
Carrington gave Clark a black eye after poking her during a game between Clark’s Indiana Fever and Carrington’s Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs in September. Carrington laughed with Fever teammate Marina Mabrey after the incident.
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Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) fouls Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) in the second half in Indianapolis Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Carrington has said she didn’t intentionally poke Clark in the eye and that she wasn’t laughing about the incident. However, she made light of the controversy over Clark’s black eye in an Instagram Live video in October.
In the video, Carrington and her girlfriend, NaLyssa Smith, who plays on the Indiana Fever with Clark, were in their kitchen when Smith poked Carrington in the eye.
“Ow, you poked me in the eye,” Carrington said. Smith apologized, and the two laughed.
“Did you do it on purpose?” Carrington asked.
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Connecticut Sun guards Marina Mabrey (4) and DiJonai Carrington (21) celebrate during the second half of a first-round WNBA basketball playoff game against the Indiana Fever Sept. 25, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Carrington provoked Clark fans prior to the eye-poking incident with multiple statements berating Clark and her fan base.
During a game in June, Carrington fouled Clark after Clark received an inbound pass from teammate Kristy Wallace. Clark caught the pass and started toward the basket. Carrington was late getting to Clark due to a screen by Aliyah Boston, and she bumped into Clark.
Later that month, Carrington posted on X, saying Clark should do more to speak out about people using her name for “racism” and other forms of prejudice. She also called the Fever fans the “nastiest” in the league.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, referees are under a lot of scrutiny, with fans and experts debating whether the officials favor the Kansas City Chiefs.
Troy Aikman, an ESPN broadcaster and Pro Football Hall of Famer, said the league “owes” it to its fans to address the officiating issues, especially with how much money people have at stake when they gamble and the NFL continuing to promote betting.
“I know the officials have a tough job. I mean, the scrutiny that they’re under. As we’ve gotten more advanced with instant replay, those guys, it seems, have become more and more scrutinized,” Aikman said during a recent appearance on “SI Media with Jimmy Traina.”
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Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman before a game Nov. 6, 2023, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“And the game has not become less controversial. The game has become more controversial,” Aikman said. “I just think that we’re at a point that this has tipped a little bit because the league is partners with a number of these gambling services.
“Here you are promoting gambling — people are gambling more than they ever have before and those types of calls – there’s a lot at stake regardless. But especially when you’re considering there’s a lot of money that’s changing hands with these calls as well.
“I think that we owe it to the fans that we get it right, and I think we’re at a point in time where we can. We can get it more right. So, that was really my position in just trying to lean on the NFL and say, ‘Hey, we gotta fix this. We gotta address it in the offseason.’”
The conversation about the referees continued after last week’s AFC championship win for the Chiefs.
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TV commentator Troy Aikman before a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals Dec. 4, 2023, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.(David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s failed fourth down conversion on a QB sneak became a hotly debated topic because some observers questioned whether the Chiefs actually stopped him short of a first down.
Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy’s reception while battling with Bills safety Cole Bishop for the ball in the first half also had fans skeptical that the referees made the right call because it looked like Bishop had a good hold on the ball.
Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, took to social media to address the “referee favoritism” ahead of the Super Bowl.
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The Super Bowl is still over a week away, and conversations about the officiating won’t go away anytime soon.
The Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
FOX’s Super Bowl coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET. Coverage can also be streamed live on Tubi for the first time ever.
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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.
UCLA softball shortstop Maya Brady has committed to playing in the new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), ESPN reported.
Adding a player of Brady’s caliber and star power is expected to provide a boost to the upstart league that will conduct its inaugural draft this week.
The 23-year-old is the niece of seven-time Super Bowl winner and current FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady.
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Maya Brady of the UCLA Bruins during a game against the Stanford Cardinal at Easton Stadium April 2, 2023, in Los Angeles.(Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
The left-handed UCLA Bruin also plays in the outfield and has received first-team All-American honors twice. Brady was also previously named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and was the Softball America Freshman of the Year in 2020.
UCLA has long boasted one of the top softball programs in the nation, and Brady ranks second on the school’s all-time home run list.
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Former Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng is spearheading AUSL and was named a senior advisor last year. Ng has said the league will be “Major League Baseball for softball.”
The league will feature four teams playing 30 games in six to eight cities in its first season.
The Bandits, Blaze, Volts and Talons will be the league’s original four teams.
Maya Brady of the UCLA Bruins against the Stanford Cardinal in the third inning at Boyd at Jill Smith Family Stadium April 20, 2024, in Stanford, Calif. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
“Softball is poised for tremendous growth at the professional level, and the AUSL is meeting the moment by creating the action-packed, world-class softball league that this sport has deserved for so long,” Ng said.
“The caliber of players vying to be drafted tomorrow — Olympians, Team USA veterans, All-Americans and NCAA champions — further exemplifies that the world’s best players are here together as a unit of founding members who will make the AUSL the next big thing in women’s sports.”
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UCLA’s Maya Brady celebrates after a home run during the third inning of an NCAA softball Women’s College World Series game against Oklahoma June 6, 2022, in Oklahoma City.(AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Brady hit 71 home runs with 246 RBIs in 249 games at UCLA.
Last summer, two different four-team softball leagues held games, Women’s Professional Fastpitch and Association of Fastpitch Professionals.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
Fans are starting to get sick of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jealousy of the Chiefs’ success may be at play.
But fans recently seem to be hating even more due to the Chiefs seemingly getting the favor of the whistle.
The AFC title game involved some questionable calls that went the Chiefs’ way, most notably on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak in which refs marked Josh Allen short of the first down marker.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with referee John Hussey in the third quarter in a game against the Detroit Lions Sept. 7, 2023, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
At the time, the Bills led 22-21, and head coach Sean McDermott seemed to hint that the Bills would have gone for two had they scored a touchdown to try and make it a nine-point game.
Replay seemed to show that Allen might have gotten the first down, but the call on the field stood. The Chiefs got the ball, took advantage and scored a touchdown en route to a 32-29 win.
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Despite many eyebrows being raised recently, Dean Blandino, the NFL’s former head of officiating, says he doesn’t see favoritism toward the Chiefs.
“People are talking about officiating a little too much. … It’s always going to be a part of the conversation,” Blandino told TMZ Sports this week.
Referee Carl Cheffers speaks to Patrick Mahomes during a break in the third quarter of a game between the Chiefs and Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
“Do teams get breaks at times? They do. And not every call is right. And sometimes that happens. I think it evens out over time. Me watching it, I don’t see these games and say the Chiefs are getting all these calls. These are close, close plays, and they happened to go in the Chiefs’ favor on Sunday.”
Blandino also disputed any notion there is some sort of conspiracy to favor the Chiefs.
“I get it. I’m a fan first. I grew up in New York as a Knicks fan watching Michael Jordan crush my dreams and saying, ‘The league wants Michael Jordan in the championships.’ Ultimately, when you’re a part of the NFL and you realize, for it to really be a conspiracy, do you know the amount of people that would have to be involved?
Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi.(Tubi)
“Someone somewhere would slip up, and it would get out. If there was a room in the NFL office where they were writing the script, they never invited me, and I was the head of officiating. I feel like I’d be a pretty important contributor to that. I get it. People are passionate. I just think, sometimes, officials make mistakes. … sometimes, when you have a team that has been this successful, I think it’s par for the course.”
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It will be Kansas City against the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time in three seasons vying for the Lombardi Trophy.
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A Virginia man named Mack Donahue has started a petition on Change.org, calling for football fans to boycott the NFL over recent officiating.
Donahue is calling for the league to introduce “rigorous referee training and accountability mechanisms” in response to suspected favoritism by referees toward the Kansas City Chiefs, which has become a hot talking point for fans this season.
“A growing concern over the inconsistent refereeing, particularly evident while observing games involving the Kansas City Chiefs, is tarnishing this beautiful sport’s spirit. The aggravation has reached a point where many of us are contemplating boycotting not just the Super Bowl, but all future games until there is significant change,” Donahue wrote in the petition’s description.
“It’s time we took a stand against unjust refereeing and call on the NFL to introduce rigorous referee training and accountability mechanisms that will guarantee fair game-play for all teams. By signing this petition, you are agreeing to join the boycott and work towards restoring the joy and integrity of NFL games that we so dearly love.”
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Patrick Mahomes talks to referee Clete Blakeman before the AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
The petition launched over the weekend had less than 200 signatures at the time of publication. Many of those who have signed have expressed their support for the petition’s cause in the comments.
“This [is an] important cause for democracy,” one signer wrote.
“So many plays were clearly not the right call that even the announcer was confused,” another wrote. This comment may have been referring to a moment in the Chiefs’ 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills when officials ruled that Bills quarterback Josh Allen was stopped short of a first down in the fourth quarter. CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said during the broadcast he believed Allen got the first down.
That call prompted mass backlash from NFL fans on social media, but it was not the only one.
During the second quarter, officials ruled Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy made a catch despite video replay showing the ball touching the ground.
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Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi.(Tubi)
Referees came under similar scrutiny during the Chiefs’ divisional round playoff win against the Houston Texans one week earlier when a pair of roughing the passer penalties were called against the Texans for hits on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Houston edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. was called for roughing the passer on a third down in the first quarter. Anderson appeared to push Mahomes in the chest after he had thrown the ball incomplete to tight end Travis Kelce. Anderson was flagged.
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The second penalty came during a Mahomes scramble in the third quarter. He had two blockers on a run and three defenders bearing down on him. He moved to his right and then back to his left when he decided to slide.
ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman criticized the penalty and said it’s something the league has to address in the offseason.
Texans players and head coach DeMeco Ryans suggested after the game the referees were against them as well.
Mahomes addressed the issue when asked by reporters last Wednesday if he believed referees were giving him preferential treatment.
Referee Carl Cheffers speaks to Patrick Mahomes during a break in the third quarter against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
“I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes answered. “At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. … I think that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.
“You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances and you never can really tell because every play’s different. And that’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win. And whatever happens kind of happens.'”
Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce refused to address the issue when asked by his brother Jason Kelce about the officiating during an episode of their “New Heights” podcast last week.
“I’d like to plead the Fifth,” the tight end said, jokingly referring to his constitutional right to remain silent, when Jason brought up the issue.
Now the Chiefs get a Super Bowl rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles. When the two teams last met in the Super Bowl two years ago, that game was determined by a controversial penalty called late in the game against Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, which set up the Chiefs for a 38-35 win.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
Bronny James is NBA great LeBron James’ oldest son, which placed a spotlight on the 20-year-old rookie.
In October, Bronny was part of history when he checked into the Los Angeles Lakers season opener and played alongside his father. It marked the first active father-son duo in league history. Shortly after his NBA debut, the Lakers announced the youngest James would split his time between the NBA franchise and their G League affiliate — the South Bay Lakers.
Bronny does not travel with the team for road games, but he was on hand for South Bay’s game against Rip City Remix — the Portland Trail Blazers G League affiliate — in El Segundo, California on Jan. 24. James had a game to remember on Friday, finishing South Bay’s 122-110 win with a career-best 31 points.
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Jan 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) during the game against the Boston Celtics at the Crypto.com Arena.(Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
His strong performance on the offensive end of the basketball court was highlighted by a monster slam dunk. James also made five of his eleven 3-point attempts.
LEBRON JAMES PICKED FOR 21ST STRAIGHT ALL-STAR GAME, EXTENDING NBA RECORD
A screen from center Christian Koloko allowed James to pick up his dribble and throw down the highlight-reel worthy dunk over Rip City’s Sterling Manely. The dunk also tied the game and sparked a 9-4 South Bay run.
James spoke about his confidence after the game.
“I’m just trying to get my confidence back,” James told a reporter during his on-court interview. “I’m just trying to play my game. Learn from every game. While I’m not playing in the G League, learn from the Lakers, learning from my vets and just keep trying to be myself. That’s been working recently. I’m happy with my results.”
Jan 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) interacts with son Bronny James during the game against the Boston Celtics at the Crypto.com Arena.(Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
“I am having fun,” James responded when asked about the spotlight that’s been placed on him. “Any time I’m playing basketball, any time I’m out here breathing, any time I’m out here walking … I’m grateful for everything.”
Oct 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center.(Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
The win improved South Bay’s record to 2-7.
Bronny’s four-time NBA champion took notice of his son’s heroics. “GRATEFUL OF YOU KID!!” the elder James wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the game.
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James likely will not get the call to rejoin the NBA team until next month. The Lakers are in the midst of a road trip and return to Southern California for a cross-town game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 4.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
