COLLEGE FOOTBALL

ATLANTA (AP)Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, projected as one of the top players in next month’s NFL draft, has been charged with reckless driving and racing in conjunction with the crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department has issued an arrest warrant, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, that alleges Carter was racing his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against the 2021 Ford Expedition driven by the recruiting staffer, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy, which led to the Jan. 15 wreck.

Carter had been due in Indianapolis on Wednesday for the NFL’s scouting combine, and he is expected to address the arrest warrant when he returns to Athens, according to Lt. Shaun Barnett of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

“It is my understanding that Mr. Carter is making arrangements to turn himself in,” Barnett said in an e-mail to the AP.

Carter, one of six players who was not present Wednesday for scheduled media interviews at the combine, issued a statement on his Twitter account saying he expects to be “fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”

NFL

NEW YORK (AP) – NFL Coach Brian Flores can press discrimination claims against the league and three teams after a federal judge on Wednesday rejected the option of arbitration, presumably before Commissioner Roger Goodell, and offered some stinging observations about the status of racial bias in the sport.

The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan clearing the way for Flores to bring his claims to trial also required two other coaches who joined the lawsuit to submit to arbitration. The league had tried to move the Flores claims to arbitration, citing contracts that coaches had signed.

Flores sued the league and three teams a year ago, saying the league was “rife with racism,” particularly in its hiring and promotion of Black coaches.

Caproni wrote that the descriptions by the coaches of their experiences of racial discrimination in a league with a “long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers – are incredibly troubling.”

The judge said it was “difficult to understand” how there was only one Black head coach at the time Flores filed his lawsuit in a league of 32 teams with Black players making up about 70% of the rosters.

The judge said Flores can let a jury decide the merits of his discrimination claims against the league, the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the Houston Texans, but he must pursue his claims against the Miami Dolphins through arbitration.

NHL

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Kings achieved their goal of adding a quality defenseman near the trade deadline. It came with a heavy cost.

The Kings acquired defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo in a trade with Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, Los Angeles sent two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender Jonathan Quick, a conditional 2023 first-round draft pick and a third-rounder in 2024.

Los Angeles is tied with Vegas for most points in the Pacific Division with 76. The Kings got to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2018 but lost in seven games to Edmonton in the first round. They have not won a postseason series since winning the Cup in 2014.

The first-rounder is conditional on the Kings making the playoffs, as expected. If they do not, Columbus – which has a league-low 46 points – gets a second-round pick from L.A. each of the next two drafts as part of the trade completed late Tuesday night and announced Wednesday.

TENNIS

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Jaume Munar of Spain upset top-seeded Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals at the clay-court Chile Open on Wednesday.

Musetti, an Italian who is ranked No. 18, slipped to 1-3 on his stops in South America this season.

The 66th-ranked Munar will next face Brazilian player Thiago Monteiro, who advanced by beating Marco Cecchinato of Italy 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Earlier Wednesday, German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann beat Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (6), 6-2. Hanfmann will next player either fourth-seeded Diego Schwartzman or Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.