Laci Turner wins C-USA Spirit of Service honor
UAB track & field athlete Laci Turner was honored with the Conference USA Spirit of Service award. Conference USA hands out one honor to an athlete at each school three times a year in recognition of their community service, academic honors and athletic achievements. This honor is for spring sport athletes.
Turner, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences, competes in a variety of events for the team. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA in her three years at UAB and has completed over 80 hours of community service. This past season, she placed 12th in the Conference USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the heptathlon.
Legion FC auctions jerseys for Civil Rights Institute
You might have spotted the Birmingham Legion sporting a special jersey in their Saturday match versus Austin Bold at BBVA Field. The team wore commemorative jerseys in honor of Juneteenth. The Juneteenth jerseys have a unique design and honor the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
“Professional athletes have played, and will continue to play, a vital role in our fight for social justice. This continued partnership has been a great benefit for BCRI, and it’s been a pleasure collaborating with Legion FC to continue our global mission,” said Isaac Cooper, Chair of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Board of Directors, on the partnership.
This is the second annual jersey auction that Legion FC has held, last year’s auction raised over $9,000 for the museum.
The player-signed jerseys are available for auction until June 24. Legion FC will return to play at Miami FC on June 23.
Supreme Court rules in favor of student-athletes on compensation
In big news for college athletes, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NCAA on June 21 leading the way for a loosening of restrictions on student-athlete compensation.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion of the court upholding the findings of the lower courts that the NCAA had violated antitrust law by restricting the amount that athletes can receive in educational benefits. In the ruling, the court finds that schools can grant unlimited compensation to athletes if that compensation connects to their education.
It was the first ruling the court has made on collegiate athletics in decades. While this ruling only relates to educational benefits, the NCAA is facing pressure on multiple other fronts to open up non-education-related compensation in the form of endorsement and likeness revenues.
