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Underwood
faces sexual assault charges
FOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) — A woman
has filed a lawsuit accusing Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Dimitrius
Underwood of sexual assault.
The
plaintiff, listed as Jane Doe, accuses Underwood of assaulting her
in the team’s hotel on Oct. 7, while the Cowboys were in town
to play the Oakland Raiders.
Underwood
is accused of forcing his way into the plaintiff’s room at
the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City. The complaint alleges negligence,
sexual assault and battery, and false imprisonment. The hotel is
also named in the lawsuit.
Team
owner Jerry Jones also is a defendant in the lawsuit, which alleges
Jones and the Cowboys are liable for the players’ conduct.
Capt.
Craig Courtin, spokesman for the Foster City Police Department,
confirmed
the alleged victim came to the department on the evening of Oct.
8 to report a sexual battery at the Crown Plaza Hotel that day.
He would not give the person’s name or the name of the accused.
The
San Mateo County District Attorney’s said it declined to file
a charge of sexual battery against Underwood based on that allegation.
Cowboys
spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the club does not comment on pending
litigation.
Sanford
M. Cipinko, the woman’s attorney, said he tried unsuccessfully
to discuss the woman’s allegations with the Cowboys before
filing suit.
Holyfield,
Rahman to square off in Atlantic City
NEW YORK (AP) — Nobody threw a punch, nobody spewed an obscenity,
nobody gnawed any body parts.
Despite
the absence of malice, ex-heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield
and Hasim Rahman joined a news conference Wednesday announcing their
June 1 fight in Atlantic City — a return of big-time boxing
to New Jersey.
“I’ve
seen Rahman fight for a while, and he’s a guy who gives his
all,” said a gracious Holyfield, a four-time titlist. “If
a guy gives his all, he has a chance to win.”
An
equally hospitable Rahman, who held the title for seven months last
year after defeating Lennox Lewis, hailed Holyfield as “an
incredible fighter, an incredible champ.”
Both
men view the fight as the stepping stone to regaining the heavyweight
titles currently held by Lewis, who won the WBC and IBF crowns back
from Rahman in November. It will air on HBO.
Their
sedate news conference, in a midtown Manhattan hotel, stood in stark
contrast to recent boxing publicity ploys turned theater of the
absurd.
In
January, Mike Tyson and Lewis battled on a stage inside Manhattan’s
Hudson Theater, with Tyson allegedly biting Lewis’ leg before
unleashing a blistering stream of invective.
Rangers’
John Rocker demoted to minor league
ANAHEIM, Calif. — John Rocker and
his troubled career are headed to the minor leagues.
The
left-hander was optioned to the minors early Wednesday, hours after
he blew a save for the Texas Rangers in the 10th inning against
the Anaheim Angels.
“It’s
a disappointment for him,” Rocker’s agent, Joe Sambito,
said.
Sambito
said it would be premature to comment further because there was
“too much going on.”
Rocker,
whose crude remarks about minorities in 1999 led to a suspension
and set off a nationwide debate, was sent to the Rangers’ Triple-A
Oklahoma farm club. Rocker will not report on Wednesday, Sambito
said.
Rocker
has until Friday night to report. Hart expects Rocker to accept
the assignment, though he was still discussing options with Sambito.
The
club had not yet made a move to replace Rocker on the 25-man roster,
Rangers spokesman John Blake said in a statement.
Blake,
reached later in his hotel, said the team would have no comment
on the move until later Wednesday.
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