Sports
JC Tretter elected NFLPA executive director
Feb 8, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NFL Players Association president JC Tretter during the NFLPA press conference at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images JC Tretter, the former president of the NFL Players Association who resigned from his role as the union’s chief strategy officer last summer, was elected as its next executive director Tuesday.
Tretter, 35, will be the fifth executive director of the NFLPA. After more than 300 candidates were considered, he won a three-way election against David White, the union’s interim executive director, and Tim Pernetti, commissioner of the NCAA’s American Conference.
“There are times in your life when you know that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. That’s where I am today,” Tretter said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the trust my fellow players have placed in me, and I’m going to reward that trust with my fullest commitment to these players and chart a new course for our union. My sole goal is to build up the strength of the NFLPA.
“I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and how important it is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with player leadership. This union has always played a critical role in shaping the game, and that work is as important now as it’s ever been. The NFLPA needs leadership that listens, leads with integrity, and puts players first every day. That’s exactly how I plan to lead.”
The NFLPA said in a statement that it is “confident in the leadership” Tretter will bring to the players union.
“This decision reflects the responsibility our Board of Player Representatives carries on behalf of every player,” the union’s statement said. “We conducted a thorough, deliberate search to identify the right long-term leader to deliver sustained, meaningful progress for our members. JC earned the trust of our Board and demonstrated a clear commitment to serving this membership. We’re excited about what’s ahead.”
Tretter spent nine years in the NFL as a center for the Green Bay Packers (2013-16) and Cleveland Browns (2017-21). He also holds a labor relations degree from Cornell.
The players union needed a new permanent executive director after Lloyd Howell resigned last summer amid multiple scandals.
Reporting from multiple news outlets found that Howell had hidden key parts of an arbitration ruling from the union membership; had a conflict of interest as a consultant for The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that had been approved to purchase up to 10% of an NFL franchise; and had expensed to the union two visits to a strip club.
While White served as the interim executive director, Tretter was once seen as a likely candidate for that post until he stepped down from the union in July 2025.
As NFLPA president (2020-24), Tretter oversaw the search that resulted in naming Howell the body’s executive director. And Tretter’s name appeared in an episode of the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast that uncovered a second arbitration ruling kept under wraps from players.
A grievance filed against Tretter complained that he’d suggested players could fake injuries as a contract negotiation tactic, which Tretter told CBS Sports he knew was “a dumb tongue-in-cheek remark” he should not have said.
“I don’t have any proof of this,” Tretter told CBS. “I think a lot of the attacks on me came from inside the building over the last six weeks. And I don’t want to walk inside that building anymore.”
He told CBS at the time he wasn’t resigning “in disgrace,” but because he felt he’d been left exposed to take public shots while the union didn’t back him up. But he remained popular enough with players to consider coming back in the executive director position.
Tretter was heavily involved in the most recent collective bargaining agreement struck with the league in 2020, and he was a leader in creating the NFLPA’s annual “team report cards” that allow players to grade each club’s working conditions, from weight room and nutrition to the treatment of players’ families.
Team owners have been critical of the report cards being made public, and last month, an arbitrator ruled that the union distributing the report cards violated the CBA because they were seen as disparaging NFL teams and individuals.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement congratulating Tretter on his election.
“We have worked with JC for several years, first as union president when he helped the league and the NFLPA successfully navigate through COVID during the 2020 season,” Goodell said. “We look forward to building upon that relationship to further our shared priorities, including our commitment to advancing player health and safety and ensuring the global growth of our game for our fans, the players and our clubs.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hot start helps Hyo Joo Kim take 5-shot lead at Fortinet Founders Cup
Apr 27, 2025; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; Hyo Joo Kim of Korea hits a tee shot on the first hole during the final round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim improved her grip on the lead to five strokes with a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday at the Fortinet Founders Cup in Menlo Park, Calif.
Kim, a seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour and the 2015 Founders Cup champion, led by two shots after the opening round and four through Friday’s play. The 30-year-old shot 6 under for the first six holes on Saturday and is 17-under 199 after three rounds at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, which is hosting the event for the first time.
World No. 2 Nelly Korda, competing for the first time since winning the weather-shortened Tournament of Champions to open the 2026 season, is five strokes back at 12 under after she matched Kim’s 66.
Kim, ranked No. 8 in the world, had an adventurous round with only seven pars. She started on fire with birdies at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 before an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole to get to 16 under for the tournament. Another birdie followed at No. 6, then the first of her three bogeys on the day to make the turn in 31 shots.
“The start up to hole 6, I believe, was unbelievable golf and I can’t even believe it,” Kim said. “I had a lot of birdies and (an) eagle, too. But I did also have some bogeys I shouldn’t have done. The start felt like almost a game.”
The back nine included birdies at Nos. 10 and 13 sandwiched around two bogeys and her seventh birdie of the round at the par-4 No. 16.
Kim hit eight of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation on Saturday.
Korda carded 33 on both the front and back nines in her bogey-free round. Birdies came at Nos. 2, 7, 8, 10, 16 and 18.
“It’s nice to have a clean scorecard wherever you play,” Korda said. “Doesn’t matter. With kind of how tough it is off the tee and into the greens, just really happy with my round today.”
She needed only 27 putts in hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.
China’s Ruixin Liu (66 on Saturday) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (65) are tied for third at 11 under.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who leads the Race to CME Globe standings, is tied for fifth at 9 under with three others: Australia’s Karis Davison (69), Japan’s Erika Hara (67) and South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi (69).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fresh off historic blowout, No. 1 Florida takes aim at No. 9 Iowa
Mar 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida Gators center Olivier Rioux (32) dunks the ball in the second half against the Prairie View A&M Panthers during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Florida began pursuit of a second straight national championship by trouncing Prairie View A&M by a whopping 59 points, the second-largest winning margin in NCAA Tournament history.
That margin of victory couldn’t have been comforting for Iowa.
The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes take aim at a major upset when they face the top-seeded Gators on Sunday night in a second-round South Region game at Tampa, Fla.
“They’re talented at all five positions for Florida,” Iowa star guard Bennett Stirtz said on Saturday. “Yeah, our hands are going to be full, but we’re going to take full advantage of the opportunity, and to be the best you’ve got to beat the best.”
Iowa (22-12) registered a 67-61 first-round victory over eighth-seeded Clemson on Friday for its first NCAA tourney win since 2021. The Gators (27-7) romped 114-55 over Prairie View A&M with only Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963 representing a worse beatdown.
In other words, Florida plays a much-faster pace than the Hawkeyes, who are more comfortable in halfcourt sets.
Iowa coach Ben McCollum isn’t paying much attention to whether the game is slowed down or resembles a track meet.
“If it’s slow or fast is irrelevant, it’s just a matter if we can put the ball in the basket more than they do,” McCollum said of the pace. “I don’t think we probably focus on it as much as most people think. I think it just naturally happens.”
Meanwhile, the Gators will have a pro-Florida crowd in Tampa for the second straight game and coach Todd Golden is certainly relishing that aspect.
“It’s a great advantage of finishing where we did and being able to stay close to home and playing in Tampa and something that we definitely don’t take lightly,” Golden said.
Last season, the Gators squeaked out a 77-75 win over two-time defending national champion UConn in the second round. It was one of four victories by six or fewer points in the title run, including a 65-63 victory over Houston to win the national title.
Golden said this season’s Gators are more ready to battle their way through the tournament than last season’s edition.
“I believe we’re more prepared this year, obviously going through last year’s tournament,” Golden said. “Just the ups and downs that we had earlier on in the season. We’ve been able to get through some adversity and get back to playing together, playing the right way, having really good success.
“So, coming into the Tournament, I feel like we’re more comfortable, better prepared. I believe our guys had a great mentality after this week’s practice going into the game (Friday) night and played with great purpose and intent. I expect to try to do that again against a really good Iowa team.”
The Gators were ready for their first game, shooting 64.3% from the field and outrebounding the Panthers 54-20. Seven Florida players scored in double digits.
Florida knows the task will be tougher Sunday. The players are focusing on Stirtz, the honorable mention All-American who was just 4-of-17 shooting while scoring 16 points in Iowa’s win over Clemson.
“Bennett is a great player,” Florida guard Boogie Fland said. “Just got to contain him, no threes, and all team defense.”
McCollum, who is coaching Stirtz for the fourth straight season at a third different school, is expecting a bounce-back from Stirtz.
“They’re paying attention to him pretty heavy and it’s pretty contested,” McCollum said. “I’m not overly concerned with it. Obviously, he’s going to have to be able to score for us to win to a certain level, but he doesn’t need to go have 30 points for us to do that.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sixers close trip with late spurt, knock off Jazz
Mar 21, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Jabari Walker (33) goes up for a shot against Utah Jazz guard John Konchar (55) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Quentin Grimes scored 25 points and VJ Edgecombe added 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 126-116 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Salt Lake City.
Trendon Watford added 20 points off the bench for the 76ers (39-32), who won for the fourth time in the last five games. Cameron Payne added 16 points and seven assists off the bench and Adem Bona also scored 16 points for Philadelphia, which played without star Joel Embiid (oblique) for the 12th straight contest.
Ace Bailey had 25 points and seven rebounds and Kennedy Chandler scored a career-best 19 points off the bench for Utah (21-50), which sewed up its third straight 50-loss campaign. Chandler made his team debut after being signed to a 10-day contract due to the Jazz being short on players. Utah suited up eight on Saturday.
Cody Williams and Elijah Harkless scored 15 points apiece and Bez Mbeng had a career-best 13 points for the Jazz, who have lost five of their last six.
Utah shot 40.6% from the field, including a shaky 9 of 40 from 3-point range.
The 76ers, who won two of three on a trip out west, connected on 50% of their attempts and also struggled from deep (6 of 27).
Grimes scored six points during a decisive 12-2 run turned a two-point deficit into a 118-110 lead with 2:35 remaining in the game.
When Utah crept within six, Grimes banked in a short floater to make it 122-114 with 1:36 left and Philadelphia closed it out.
Bailey and Chandler scored 13 points apiece as Utah led 70-64 at halftime. Edgecombe and Grimes each had 12 in the half for Philadelphia.
The 76ers used a 13-2 burst early in the third quarter to take a 77-74 lead on Watford’s basket with 7:26 left in the third quarter.
Edgecombe later buried a tiebreaking 3-pointer to give Philadelphia a 95-92 lead with 41.9 seconds left in the period.
The 76ers took a 95-94 edge into the fourth quarter and later led by four before Utah went on a 10-4 run. John Konchar’s three-point play gave the Jazz a 108-106 lead with 6:43 to play.
–Field Level Media
Hot start helps Hyo Joo Kim take 5-shot lead at Fortinet Founders Cup
Fresh off historic blowout, No. 1 Florida takes aim at No. 9 Iowa
