Falcons under fire for asking player if he’s gay
The Atlanta Falcons acknowledged on Friday that a Falcons coach asked former Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple whether he was gay during a meeting last week at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The NFL is also looking into the claim.
Apple told Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, “The Falcons coach, one of the coaches, was like, ‘So do you like men?’ It was like the first thing he asked me. It was weird. I was just like, ‘No.’ He was like, ‘If you’re going to come to Atlanta, sometimes that’s how it is around here. You’re going to have to get used to it.’
“I guess he was joking, but they just ask most of these questions to see how you’re going to react.”
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn later acknowledged the incident and issued a statement, which read: “I am really disappointed in the question that was asked by one of our coaches. I have spoken to the coach that interviewed Eli Apple and explained to him how inappropriate and unprofessional this was. I have reiterated this to the entire coaching staff and I want to apologize to Eli for this even coming up. This is not what the Atlanta Falcons are about and it is not how we are going to conduct ourselves.”
An NFL spokesman said the league would investigate the issue.
Eye injury sidelines Winnipeg’s Ehlers
The Winnipeg Jets recalled forward JC Lipon on an emergency basis Friday from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.
Jets left winger Nikolaj Ehlers is out indefinitely with an eye injury after being hit in the face by the puck during the game-ending play in overtime on Thursday night.
The 20-year-old Ehlers, who has 13 goals and 31 points in his rookie season with Winnipeg, just missed giving his team a rare come-from-behind win on a two-on-one against the New York Islanders, only to back check on the ensuing rush and have Frans Nielsen’s wild shot hit him in the face and land on Kyle Okposo’s stick.
Lipon was recalled for the second time this season. He played in two games with Winnipeg after joining the Jets on Jan. 17. Lipon has played 45 games for Manitoba this season, recording 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) and 87 penalty minutes.
Mets renew deGrom’s contract
The New York Mets renewed right-hander Jacob deGrom’s contract for $607,000 on Friday after the sides could not agree on a new deal for the 2016 season.
The 2014 National League Rookie of the Year declined to sign the contract in a protest over his assigned salary — just $99,500 above the major league minimum.
Because deGrom has not achieved enough major league service time to be arbitration-eligible, Mets officials could assign him any salary they chose above the MLB minimum of $507,500.
The 27-year-old deGrom, who helped the Mets reach the World Series for the first time since 2000, was the only one of the team’s 25 pre-arbitration players who could not agree to terms on a new deal.
In his first full major league season last year, deGrom made the National League All-Star team and went 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA and 205 strikeouts over 191 innings in 30 starts. He was 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four postseason starts.
DeGrom said he is interested in discussing a long-term deal with the Mets.
Patriots release LB Fleming
The New England Patriots released linebacker Darius Fleming, the team announced Friday.
Fleming, 26, played in six regular season games and both preseason contests for the Patriots this past season.
He had two regular-season tackles along with three special teams’ stops. In the postseason, he had one tackle on defense and one on special teams.