athlete

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering today’s version of the collective, groups that are closely affiliated with schools and that, in the early days of NIL after July 2021, proved the most efficient way for schools to indirectly cut deals with players.

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8-billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Already, collectives affiliated with Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others have announced they’re shutting down. Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois are among those that have announced plans with Learfield, a media and technology company with decades of licensing and other experience across college athletics, to help arrange NIL deals.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established by the new College Sports Commission and is being run by the auditing group Deloitte.

In its letter to the ADs, the CSC said more than 1,500 deals have been cleared since NIL Go launched on June 11, “ranging in value from three figures to seven figures.” More than 12,000 athletes and 1,100 institutional users have registered to use the system.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.

Sports attorney Darren Heitner, who deals in NIL, said the guidance “could disproportionately burden collectives that are already committed to spending money on players for multiple years to come.”

“If a pattern of rejections results from collective deals submitted to Deloitte, it may invite legal scrutiny under antitrust principles,” he said.

On a separate track, some college sports leaders, including the NCAA, are seeking a limited form of antitrust protection from Congress.

The letter said a NIL deal could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.

“In other words, NIL collectives may act as marketing agencies that match student-athletes with businesses that have a valid business purpose and seek to use the student’s NIL to promote their businesses,” the letter said.

Pells writes for the Associated Press.

As college athletic departments across the country brace for a new era of sharing revenue directly with their athletes, USC is eliminating a dozen jobs in its athletic department in an effort to reduce costs in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement.

Six athletics employees were told late last week that their roles in the department had been eliminated, a person familiar with the decision not authorized to disucss it publicly told The Times. The most senior among them was Paul Perrier, an executive senior associate athletic director, who spent two six-year stints at USC working under three different athletic directors.

Six other vacant roles have also since been eliminated, the person said.

USC is planning to share the maximum of $20.5 million with its athletes that’s permitted by the settlement in 2025, the vast majority of which will go to the football program. That’s no small expenditure — especially for a university in the midst of serious financial issues.

USC, like other schools, continues to explore other revenue streams to help pay for the costs associated with this new landscape of college athletics. USC recently signed a 15-year multimedia rights deal with Learfield that should help ease some of the burden of revenue sharing. Last season, the school sold ad space in the Coliseum end zone to DirecTV.

Some schools have opted to cut sports, in an attempt to reduce costs. But USC has yet to choose that route. Instead, athletic director Jennifer Cohen announced last month that USC would invest revenue-sharing dollars, in some form or fashion, with all 23 of the school’s athletics programs.

June 27 (UPI) — The Department of Health and Human Services has opened a civil rights investigation into the Minnesota Department of Education over a transgender teenager competing on a girls’ softball team.

The investigation, announced Thursday, is the latest from the Trump administration connected to the teenager from Champlin Park High School competing in the girls’ Minnesota State High School League. The team earlier this month won the 2025 State Tournament.

HHS said in a statement Thursday that it is investigating the Minnesota Department of Education and the MSHSL under Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and activities of HHS funding recipients. It is seeking see if the state’s policies violated federal civil rights laws.

“The investigation will examine whether Minnesota engaged in discrimination on the basis of sex by allowing male athletes to compete on sports teams reserved for females,” the statement said.

The federal Department of Justice and the Department of Education have already opened investigations related to the transgender teenager’s participation in the sports league.

The effort to ban transgender girls from girls’ sports teams has been a Republican effort for years and part of a larger movement targeting the LGBT community, which gained a federal partner under the Trump administration.

In early February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports to ensure transgender women and girls do not play on women or women’s or girls’ sports sports teams.

Proponents of the ban argue that allowing transgender females in girls’ and women’s sports gives them an unfair advantage while being discriminatory to athletes who were born female. Critics, meanwhile, contend that the science does not support claims that transgender girls have an unfair advantage, that this is a non-issue given how few transgender athletes there are and that transgender athletes have the right to compete alongside their peers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has also voiced support for transgender athletes participating in sports competitions that align with their gender identity, stating it “helps youth develop self-esteem, correlates positively with overall mental health, and appears to have a protective effect against suicide.

Israel’s attacks on Tehran have not only targeted military bases and nuclear sites, but they also have penetrated the bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms of ordinary citizens. Children have been killed. Teachers have fallen silent. Athletes have been buried in the rubble. All of them were as far removed from politics as possible.

The attacks between Israel and Iran started on Friday, when Israel launched what it called preemptive air strikes targeting more than a dozen Iranian sites — including key nuclear facilities, nuclear scientists and military leaders — in an operation it said was aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

According to the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 224 people have been killed and 1,481 wounded.

Iran has retaliated with a wave of ballistic missile strikes against Israel, claiming the lives of at least 24 people and wounding 380, in an escalation that has raised fears of a broader regional conflict.

In Tehran, the full scale of the destruction remains to be seen. But in the streets, evidence of the lives lost emerges from the wreckage of bombed-out buildings. A child’s lifeless body in the rubble. A dirt-covered doll abandoned in the street. A sketchbook lost among the concrete and dust.

For many Iranians, these scenes evoke memories of the Iran-Iraq War. But this time, the war is not at the borders; it’s in the heart of the capital. Residents say the night sky in Tehran — now dotted with missiles and fires — is not the one they know.

In a mass panic, people are fleeing the city in droves. Petrol stations are overrun. Highways are jammed. Homes that once promised safety stand vulnerable with no emergency shelters or warning sirens.

Here are some of the victims who died in the recent attacks on Tehran.

The Pilates instructor

On Saturday morning, Tehran reeked of dust and smoke. Israeli missiles had landed on homes that were filled with laughter just hours before. One of the silenced voices belonged to Niloufar Ghalehvand, whose friend Ghazal* recalled the last time she saw her at a cafe sipping coffee, just one night before the bombs fell.

Ghalehvand, a 32-year-old Pilates instructor, was killed along with her father, Kamran Ghalehvand, and her mother, Fatemeh Sedighi, in their home on Ozgol Street in northern Tehran.

“We were at the cafe, having coffee, and she said, ‘Iran is so beautiful. I just wish we could live in peace, like people in other countries,’” Ghazal told Al Jazeera. “I still can’t believe she’s gone. We were making plans to celebrate her 32nd birthday on June 28. She was so full of hope.”

Ghazal said Ghalehvand lived near the residence of Iran’s highest-ranking military commander, General Mohammad Bagheri, the target of the strike.

“They were ordinary people,” Ghazal said of Ghalehvand’s family. “They didn’t engage in political activity.”

Ghalehvand dreamed of becoming a famous Pilates instructor.

“The last time we met, she asked me to help her launch an Instagram page to post her workout videos. She never imagined she would become famous for her death.”

Ghalehvand had been a professional instructor for eight years, but Ghazal said her income was never enough. She worked on commission at local gyms and was always seeking more private clients.

The athlete

On Friday morning, Parsa Mansour, a 27-year-old professional paddle tennis player, was asleep at home in Shahrara, a densely packed district in northern Tehran, when an Israeli missile struck nearby.

The blast shattered the windows, and debris collapsed on top of him, killing him instantly. His parents, who were in the next room, miraculously survived.

“Parsa was full of laughter and always joking,” said Saman*, his best friend. He noted that Parsa was a self-made athlete who trained alone without a coach.

“When I saw the Tennis Federation’s announcement of his death, I was in shock. I didn’t believe it at first. Then I went to his home. It was in ruins,” Saman said.

“Parsa’s father is in a terrible state. He still can’t believe his son is gone.”

The son who lost his father

On Sunday afternoon, Amin Ahmad, a 30-year-old taekwondo athlete, witnessed his father’s horrific death in eastern Tehran.

“I saw it with my own eyes,” said Ahmad. “My father was blasted out of the house. His face was burned, and his ears were torn off.”

Ahmad’s voice trembled as he recalled his father’s final moments.

“We were trapped inside. I had to force the window bars open and call out for help. Someone brought a ladder, and my mother and I escaped,” he said.

“My father was a teacher. He bought this home after a lifetime of hard work, so he could retire in peace. Now he’s dead, and the house is destroyed. What was his crime? I don’t know what to do.”

The photographer

On Sunday at midday, after two nights of Israeli fighter jets buzzing Iranian airspace, an explosion struck the relatively wealthy neighbourhood of Tajrish in northern Tehran. Water pipes burst, flooding the streets.

Ehsan Bayrami, a 35-year-old freelance photographer and graphic designer who was walking nearby, was killed instantly.

Ali*, a colleague, said Bayrami had just left a work meeting and was on his way home.

“He used to film videos for sports clubs and photograph sporting events,” Ali explained.

On Sunday morning, he recalled telling Bayrami to be careful.

“He told me not to worry because it’s safe during the day. ‘Israel only attacks at night when people are asleep,’ he said.”

Ali paused before adding, “Ehsan was incredibly talented and hardworking. He never let anything stop him from working.”

*Ghazal, Saman and Ali preferred not to use their full names while speaking with Al Jazeera to protect their identities.

This article is published in collaboration with the news consortium Egab.

“The Future of Sports Is Here: We are on a mission to redefine superhumanity through science, innovation and sports.”

An unabashedly ambitious goal, or at least choice of words. Yet “redefining superhumanity” isn’t enough for the Enhanced Games, a start-up that plans to hold an Olympic-style competition next year in Las Vegas.

The venture also seeks to “reinvent sports with science.”

Translation: Not just allow performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), not just encourage their use, but celebrate their use.

Or, in the juice-flecked hyperbole of Enhanced Games copywriters, “We are pioneering a new era in athletic competition that embraces scientific advancements to push the boundaries of human performance.”

Breaking a world record in track or swimming sprint events will trigger a $1 million payout to the athlete, one of several performance bonuses promised by Enhanced. Where will the money come from? Investors reportedly include conservative billionaire Peter Thiel, Saudi prince Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, and Donald Trump Jr.
From the audacity of the message to the deep pockets funding the venture to the athletes tempted by the prospect of making big money and setting world records, the Enhanced Games are worth a closer look.

Why are the Enhanced Games in the news?

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Witold Banka sounded an alarm last week at a meeting of Summer Olympics sports leaders, warning that the Enhanced Games pose a threat to all that’s hallowed and decent in global sport.

“This initiative seeks to normalize the use of potentially dangerous drugs,” Banka said. “For the sake of athlete health and the purity of sport, of course, it must be stopped.

“As the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles approach, we cannot allow what should be a celebration of honest sporting endeavor to be overshadowed by this cynical attempt to undermine clean sport. We will urge the U.S. authorities to find legal ways to block this initiative.”

Witold Banka, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), attends a press conference at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 25, 2024, in Paris.

(Michel Euler / Associated Press)

Banka’s warning prompted eye-rolling in some quarters. The Senate committee on Consumer Protection, Technology and Data Privacy will hold a hearing Tuesday titled “WADA Shame: Swimming in Denial Over Chinese Doping.”

WADA refused to investigate claims of 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive for a PED before the Tokyo Olympics. With the LA Games in 2028 and Salt Lake City Games in 2034 looming, the Senate committee also plans to address claims that inconsistent enforcement by WADA has resulted in unfair competitions impacting American athletes.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart accused Banka of mentioning the Enhanced Games to distract from the upcoming Senate hearing, telling the Associated Press, “Banka’s indignation equals his misinformation or ignorance about how free democratic societies and markets work.”

That doesn’t mean Tygart is A-OK with an endeavor that encourages the use of PEDs and the resulting tainted accomplishments.

“As we have repeatedly said, for all of the obvious reasons, the Enhanced Games or any other open competition is a bad idea,” Tygart said in comments emailed to Agence France-Presse. “If he really wants to ask U.S. authorities to do something, he should show up and ask the Senate to do something.”

The first global sports body to push back is World Aquatics, which passed a rule two weeks ago that bans any swimmer who supports the Enhanced Games — even if they’ve never competed — from representing their country again.

Former Olympic athlete Michael Phelps, (from left) Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and former Olympic athlete Allison Schmitt are sworn in during an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2024.

(Nathan Howard / Getty Images)

The rule applies to those who “support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods,” a World Aquatics statement said.

When and where will the Enhanced Games take place?

The Enhanced Games will take aim at world records in swimming, weightlifting and track at Resorts World in Las Vegas on Memorial Day Weekend, 2026.

Scheduled swimming events are the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, and the 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly. Weightlifting will include the snatch and the clean & jerk. Track events will include the 100-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles.

Chef Ray Garcia’s restaurant, ¡Viva!, located inside the Resorts World Las Vegas on Thursday, June 24, 2021.

(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

Each event will carry a prize purse of $500,000, with $250,000 awarded to each winner. In addition, bonuses will be paid for world records, including $1 million for records in the 100-meter sprint and 50-meter freestyle, which the Enhanced Games website describes as “the two definitive tests of raw human speed.”

The Enhanced Games will take place within the resort. The competition complex features a four-lane pool, a six-lane sprint track and a weightlifting stage.

Who came up with this and why?

The founder and president of the Enhanced Games is Aron D’Souza, an Australian entrepreneur. D’Souza has been on a crusade to create an alternative to the Olympic Games, which he believes don’t compensate athletes fairly.

He advocates for the use of PEDs, arguing that athletes should have the freedom to make choices about their own bodies and that WADA acts as an “anti-science police force” for the International Olympic Committee.

Previously, D’Souza led Thiel’s litigation against Gawker Media involving the wrestler Hulk Hogan, which resulted in one of the largest invasion of privacy judgments in history, and is the subject of the book “Conspiracy” by author Ryan Holiday.

D’Souza is the founder of Sargon, a technology infrastructure company in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He sold his stake in the company in 2018.

(L-R) Amy Chua and Peter Thiel attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press)

The extent to which billionaire investors, such as Thiel, Alwaleed Al Saud and Trump Jr., will fund the Enhanced Games is unclear. Money isn’t a problem, if statements on the event’s website are believed: “We are backed by some of the world’s most successful venture capitalists, allowing us to operate independently without government and taxpayer funding.”

D’Souza told the Associated Press that Trump Jr.’s group, called 1789 Capital, is bringing “double digit millions” to the Enhanced Games. Trump Jr. made a video trumpeting his partnership, that includes an appearance by his father, President Trump.

Trump Jr., in a statement accompanying the announcement of the funding, said: “This is about excellence, innovation, and American dominance on the world stage — something the MAGA movement is all about.”

D’Souza is thrilled by the backing of America’s first family and other moneyed interests.

“To know that some of the most significant figures in American social and political life support the Enhanced Games is more important to us than any investment,” he said on a video call in February. “I’ve had the great fortune of working alongside many members of the administration and other prominent figures of the Trump movement over the years, so it’s a very natural fit.”

D’Souza and his team express lofty goals beyond juicing athletes, setting records and paying race winners. Last week, D’Souza posted as much on LinkedIn:

“This isn’t just about enhancement. It’s about economic freedom. About athletes having a choice. About breaking the monopoly that old institutions hold over human performance.

“At the Enhanced Games, we are unapologetic: We’re not backing down. We will fight — in the courts, in the public square, and in the arena of ideas — for every athlete who’s been silenced, underpaid, or discarded.”

Why are performance-enhancing drugs forbidden anyway?

The list of health risks associated with taking anabolic steroids — which have no medical use approved by the U.S. government — is long and frightening:

Men may see their breasts and prostate gland grow and their testicles shrink. Women may get a deeper voice, grow body hair and lose hair on their head. Both men and women might tear tendons or develop liver tumors, severe acne, elevated blood pressure, heart problems, issues with anger and depression.

The Enhanced Games say the competition will be under the supervision of a medical team, but by the time the games begin, damage from taking PEDs may have already developed.

“Protecting athletes is our top priority,” the Enhanced Games website proclaims. “Every competitor will undergo rigorous, state-of-the-art medical profiling before participating in the competition.”

The first athlete to show results from using the Enhanced Games PEDs regimen is Kristian Gkolomeev, a Greek swimmer who never medaled in four Olympics.

In February, Gkolomeev swam two-hundredths of a second faster than the 50-meter freestyle world record with a time of 20.89. He wore an inline full-body open water suit that is prohibited by World Aquatics.

“I’m kind of like the driver in the car, but I need the team behind me,” Gkolomeev said during an Enhanced Games promotional event last month in Las Vegas.

Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev competes in the Swimming Men’s 50m Freestyle Semifinal 1 during the LEN European Aquatics Championships, at the Milan Gale Muskatirovic sports centre in Belgrade, on June 22, 2024.

(Andrej Isakovic / AFP via Getty Images)

Many believe that breaking records under the influence of PEDs is meaningless.

Paul Ifrim, a Romanian Luger who finished 20th at the 2010 Winter Olympics, responded to D’Souza’s LinkedIn post with this comment:

“I earned my place at the Olympics through hard, clean work and unwavering dedication over the course of many years. Integrity, fair play, respect, and perseverance are what inspire and shape true athletes. Your argument for ‘enhancing’ drugs, viewed as ‘athlete compensation,’ is a disgrace to those principles.

“What message are we sending young, aspiring athletes? That cheating and cutting corners is a valid path to success? These are pathetic excuses for undermining the true spirit of competition. You’re delusional for promoting this agenda. True athletes rise through grit and honor, not shortcuts and hypocrisy.”

Tygart, the CEO of USADA, had a similar reaction: “While those behind the Enhanced Games might be looking to make a quick buck, that profit would come at the expense of kids across the world thinking they need to dope to chase their dreams. We desperately wish this investment was being made in the athletes who are currently training and competing the real and safe way.

“They are the role models this world so desperately needs and they are the ones who deserve our support — not some dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.”

A counterpoint was published last summer by anti-doping expert Michael Ashenden, who helped create the athlete blood passport system and develop a test for the blood-boosting drug Erythropoietin (EPO).

Initially opposed to the Enhanced Games, Ashenden changed his mind, writing that the failures of WADA to combat doping in the Olympics make an alternative viable.

“Today I advocate for the concept of an Enhanced Games to co-exist with the Olympic Movement, provided their athletes do nothing illegal,” Ashenden wrote. “I realized that not following the WADA rules was not so radical after all….”

“I acknowledge that by offering incentives for record performances, the Enhanced Games are tacitly encouraging the use of performance-enhancing substances. But by offering a gold medal, the Olympic Movement also incentivizes the use of performance-enhancing substances….

“Although it may be a bitter pill for the Olympic Movement, it was foreseeable that the commercialization of sport under their stewardship would create an environment that seeded a corporate disruptor.”