Also: Record crowds expected as conference basketball tournaments kick off. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
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Front Office Sports

POWERED BY

Front Office Sports reveals new details surrounding the sex-trafficking allegations against the WWE’s Vince McMahon. … Conference tournaments hold their own before March Madness. … Formula One may have its hands full trying to attract new fans. … The big bucks of NFL free agency are starting to pour in. … And the impact of the canceled NCAA tournament is still being felt four years later.

Eric Fisher and David Rumsey

EXCLUSIVE

WWE President Nick Khan, COO Brad Blum Revealed As Key Figures in Vince McMahon Sex-Trafficking Suit

FOS Illustration

In January, Vince McMahon resigned from his position with TKO, the parent company of WWE, after a former WWE employee levied serious allegations in a sex-trafficking lawsuit filed against him, the company, and another former WWE exec. Now, more previously unreported details about the lawsuit have been uncovered in an exclusive story by Front Office Sports’ new director of features and news, Tim Marchman, along with wrestling reporters Brandon Thurston and John Pollock. This is the type of important journalism that FOS readers can expect moving forward.

What we found: WWE president Nick Khan—a dealmaker and former CAA executive who has earned a reputation as one of the most powerful men in sports media—and COO Brad Blum are the previously unnamed men identified as Corporate Officers No. 1 and No. 2 in the lawsuit filed in January by Janel Grant. Khan and Blum are not personally accused of sexual misconduct or violence, or of knowing of any such acts; rather, the suit claims that they and others facilitated and covered up Grant’s exploitation and were instrumental to a scheme in which McMahon arranged for Grant to be employed “in a completely undefined role, except for the understanding that she remain a sexual slave to be used and trafficked by McMahon within the WWE.” (McMahon has said the allegations in the lawsuit are “baseless” and that he intends to vigorously defend himself.)

The information about the identities of the corporate officers, which FOS confirmed with Grant’s attorney, offers a new lens through which to view Grant’s suit. Most attention has focused on the allegations of extreme sexual violence the suit makes against McMahon and his associates; it can, though, also be read as a set of claims about how McMahon made the highest-ranking executives in his company complicit in his conduct.

Some key takeaways from FOS’s story:

  • McMahon presented Blum and Khan to Grant as key fixers.
  • McMahon relied on Blum for assistance in placing Grant in an entry-level legal job for which she had minimal qualifications.
  • Grant, according to the suit, listed Khan and Blum among people who knew enough about her relationship that their roles should have been addressed in an NDA, during negotiations over its drafting.
  • The person identified in the suit as Corporate Officer No. 3 is McMahon’s daughter, longtime WWE exec Stephanie McMahon, whom Grant described as knowing of “other instances of [Vince] McMahon engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct.” (Stephanie McMahon did not respond to FOS for comment.)
  • A WWE spokesperson tells FOS: “Neither Nick Khan nor Brad Blum, prior to the lawsuit being filed on January 25, 2024, were aware of any allegation by Ms. Grant that she was the victim of abuse or unwanted physical contact; nor does the complaint allege that either had knowledge of such.”

To read the entire story, visit FrontOfficeSports.com.

Championship Week Commences, Promising High Turnstile Traffic

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Championship Week kicks into full gear Tuesday as the ACC and Big 12 men’s basketball tournaments tip off in Washington, D.C., and Kansas City, respectively. On Wednesday, the rest of the Power 5 (for the final time) tournaments get underway in Minneapolis (Big Ten), Nashville (SEC), and Las Vegas (Pac-12).

Altogether, 32 Division I conferences, some of which began their events last week, are crowning champions ahead of March Madness—a nationwide gathering that annually outdraws the NCAA tournament itself. Last year, 722,121 fans crossed the turnstiles at men’s NCAA tournament games, while attendance for all conference tournaments in March 2023 tallied up to a cool 1,073,493. Twelve months ago, the Big Ten welcomed the biggest crowd with 116,918 fans at Chicago’s United Center (across seven sessions), narrowly outdrawing the SEC’s 112,388 spectators at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena (also across seven sessions).

Here’s what you might not know about this month’s action:

  • Seven conference tournaments are being played in NBA or NHL arenas.
  • Five conferences are playing some or all tournament games on campus sites.
  • Nevada is the state hosting the most tournaments (five), with New York in second place (three).

Waiting for More Madness?

While the Big Ten sold out tickets for the women’s basketball tournament—which the Caitlin Clark–led Hawkeyes won Sunday—at Minnesota’s Target Center two weeks ahead of time, plenty of seats are still available for the upcoming men’s games at the same venue. The SEC’s ticket website says the tournament is sold out, but general admission seats for Wednesday are available for face value, $15 before taxes and fees, on the conference’s official ticket exchange. Seats also remain available for the other three Power 5 tournaments.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY

Is F1’s Success Formula Sputtering?

Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past few years, Formula One has been making considerable inroads in the U.S. market, thanks in no small part to Netflix’s hit series, Drive to Survive. But now that races are dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull, is there enough drama to keep the crowds hooked? Jonathan Clegg, sports editor at The Wall Street Journal and co-author of the new book The Formula, joins the show to discuss how F1 can still attract fans and what lessons the Premier League might provide. 

🎧 Listen and subscribe on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

ONE BIG FIG

Taking a Flier

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

$1.2 million

The amount of money Russell Wilson will receive after reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with the Steelers for the veteran’s minimum. Wilson, whose X avatar shows him in a Pittsburgh uniform, posted: “Year 13. Grateful. @Steelers” on Sunday. The Broncos, however, will pay the nine-time Pro Bowler $37.8 million after releasing him last week (and take an $85 million hit in dead money over the next two seasons). Wilson is still under contract with Denver until the start of the new league year, which kicks off Wednesday. The Broncos traded for the former Seahawks star quarterback in 2022 and handed him a five-year deal worth $242.6 million. Wilson went 11–19 in the Mile High City and was benched for the final two games of the ’23 season.

TIME CAPSULE

March 12, 2020: An Uncertain Time

Louisville/USA Today

On this day four years ago: The NCAA announced the cancellation of March Madness, immediately ending the season for men’s and women’s college basketball, and also all its other winter and spring sports championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like every other major sports entity, the NCAA was trying to figure out in real time how to respond to a rapidly accelerating global health emergency that reached a scale not seen in the lifetimes of any of its senior leaders. Many of those other leagues similarly paused their events and schedules, in some cases for more than a year. But it was the loss of March Madness, one of the most-anticipated events each year, that was arguably the most notable immediate sports impact from the pandemic.

Today, that decision also remains one of the most lasting and impactful in sports as a result of the pandemic. The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to a large swath of affected athletes, allowing them to still get four full seasons of play, and that ultimately became part of the recent Caitlin Clark decision in which she forfeited that additional year at Iowa to declare for the WNBA draft.

Conversation Starters

  • Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy recently broke ground for the construction of a $16.7 million affordable housing complex named JMB Gardens in Harrisburg, Pa., in honor of his grandparents.
  • The Savannah Bananas made their MLB stadium debut in Houston on Sunday, playing at a sold-out Minute Maid Park featuring pitching legends Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt. The team, as part of its Banana Ball World Tour, has upcoming stops in Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
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