Former Baylor president and chancellor Kenneth Starr defended former Bears football coach Art Briles on Saturday, saying he was unfairly criticized by the media for his handling of allegations of sexual assault against some of his players.During an interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Starr said Briles was an honorable man who conducted an honorable program.Briles has devoted his life to molding the lives of young men, Starr said. A grave injustice was done to Art Briles. Coach Briles has been [calumniated] ... its completely unfair.I have great confidence to this day in Coach Briles. I believe hes an honorable person.Baylor officials fired Briles in May, after the universitys board of trustees released the findings of the Pepper Hamilton report, which detailed how the school -- and specifically members of the football program -- failed to respond to reports of sexual assault.After the Pepper Hamilton summary was released, Starr was demoted and ultimately resigned, athletic director Ian McCaw was suspended and resigned and at least two other athletic department employees were fired.On Saturday, Starr said he disagreed with the findings of Pepper Hamilton, the Philadelphia law firm that the university hired in the fall of 2015 to investigate the way it handled sexual assault allegations.Among other findings, the Pepper Hamilton attorneys found that Baylor conducted processes that were wholly inadequate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX; actions by university administrators directly discouraged some complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes; and found specific failings within both the football program and athletics department leadership.The Pepper Hamilton summary also said the attorneys had significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylors football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student athlete misconduct.I disagree with the sense that there was a fundamental failure, Starr said Saturday. I love Title IX. It has been an instrument of great, great reform ... [but] the pendulum has swung much too far in one direction.Starr, who resigned as a law professor at Baylor in August, said he plans to write a book about his experiences at the school.In an interview with ESPN earlier this month, Briles said he took responsibility for his programs poor handling of sexual assault allegations against his players.There were some bad things that happened under my watch, Briles said. And for that, Im sorry. ... I was wrong. Im sorry. Im going to learn. Im going to get better. Youth Greece Jerseys .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Greece World Cup Jerseys . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. 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BOSTON -- Daily fantasy sports rivals DraftKings and FanDuel have agreed to merge after months of speculation and increasing regulatory scrutiny.The two companies made the announcement Friday, saying the combined organization would be able to reduce costs as they work to become profitable and battle with regulators across the country to remain legal.In a matter of a few short years, the two have raised millions of dollars through investors and sponsorship deals, drawing the attention of policymakers across the country.Some view the online games -- in which players pick teams of real life athletes and vie for cash and other prizes based on how those athletes do in actual games -as amounting to illegal sports betting.Financial terms were not disclosed Friday and the companies have remained vague about their long-term plans while the deal is being finalized.But in the short term, the merger appears to change little about how daily fantasy sports players use the sites and play the game. The companies have assured players they wont be making major changes in their operations at least through the next NFL season.For now, theyll retain their respective headquarters -- DraftKings in Boston and FanDuel in New York -- and keep separate brand names, operations and game platforms.Whether the deal can clear regulatory approval, though, remains an open question. The merger, which has been rumored for months, pairs two companies that represent about 90 percent of the daily fantasy sports market.Company executives Friday played down concerns about whether the merger might run afoul of federal antitrust laws.They argued that their companies remain relatively small players in the broader fantasy sports industry, where the likes of ESPN, Yahoo and other larger companies dominate.Were a company that collectively has a little over 5 million customers in a fantasy sports base with almost 60 million total, said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, who will take over as chief executive of the combined company. For us to ever hope to compete for those customers, we really felt this was something that was necessary.FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles, who will serve as board chairman, also suggested the merger could actually foster competition by fighting more effectively for regulatory clarity, efforts that could help bring back investor confidence in the industry.This is actually very good for all operators, he said.Spokespersons for the Federal Trade Commission, which would oversee the deal, didnt comment Friday.Reaction among daily fantasy sports companies, players and industry watchers was mixed Friday.In terms of competition, Im not suree it makes any difference.dddddddddddd There are still plenty of opportunities for growth, said Peter Schoenke, chairman of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. A lot of people are still trying to figure out what it means.Shergul Arshad, founder of Mondogoal, a smaller fantasy sports operator focused on soccer, suggested the proposed merger will likely make it tougher for new companies to gain a foothold, at least in the United States.On the international front, where daily fantasy sports is trying to compete against well-established and lucrative sports betting gambling operations, a stronger, unified company could be a boon, Arshad said.Brian Quinn, a Boston College law professor with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, expects the deal likely wont go forward without some conditions imposed by regulators. Others, though, suggest it might not face as tough a road.Were not talking about insurance companies, healthcare providers or drug makers here, said Daniel Etna, a New York attorney who has represented smaller daily fantasy sports operators. Its a leisure activity. At end of day, this is something you do or you dont do. So it will be viewed from a different prism.A more pressing question is whether the companies, both still unprofitable, can remain viable, said Dustin Hecker, a Boston lawyer.The merge doesnt appear to bring any immediate cost savings since both are maintaining separate headquarters and separate operations for now, he said.Robins and Eccles said the merger would allow the companies to free up resources to develop better products -- like offering more varied contests, developing loyalty programs and improving their website features -- though they declined to elaborate on those plans.In the meantime, some of the games top competitors say theyre waiting to see how the merger impacts their livelihood.Saahil Sud, a 27-year-old Bostonian widely considered the games leading player, says hes concerned the newly formed company could substantially raise player fees, a concern the companies have tried to assuage with promises to keep fees competitive.The main thing is that, in the near future, things are not going to change much or at all, Sud said. Given turmoil over past year, having business as usual is somewhat reassuring. But its too early to tell. Im definitely not going to overreact. Im just going to continue doing what Im doing. ---Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Youth NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys ' ' '