Sports
Tuchel’s tough love on Bellingham could help England and the player at World Cup
Thomas Tuchel has already demonstrated throughout his club coaching career with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich that he is not afraid to ruffle feathers or argue with his bosses. That is why his appointments are often short-lived. And that tendency to never avoid confrontation was very evident in his decision to omit England‘s star player, Jude Bellingham, from the squad for this month’s games against Wales and Latvia.
However, you dress this up — and Tuchel denies that he has a problem with Bellingham — it is apparent that the England boss is making a point, and arguably aiming a shot across the bows of his most gifted player. Why? Reading between the lines of many a dispatch from the England camp, it seems there is an issue with how the Real Madrid star’s demeanor has been received by some of his teammates.
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He is a perfectionist whose body language can occasionally seem a little disdainful of less gifted colleagues. Are these accusations fair? Or is Bellingham simply trying to improve those around him to get results for the team? You suspect the player himself has, until now, been unaware of the vibes surrounding him.
Though Bellingham himself has admitted he maintains a “macho image” to deflect from personal vulnerabilities, which suggests he is hearing the current mood music.
“You notice when he is not there,” England teammate Anthony Gordon said. “He is a big presence, such a big player,”
No one is denying Bellingham’s importance to England’s World Cup mission as both creator and scorer. If the squad were to be selected tomorrow, he would certainly be included. And those who know him well, such as his good friend Jordan Henderson, describe him as a “brilliant character.”
But even going back to his Borussia Dortmund days, there were stories that some more senior players took exception to the then-teenager giving them a piece of his mind if things were going wrong.
It is easy to forget how much has happened to Bellingham. He was a fixture in Birmingham City’s team at age 16 and has since played 282 club games and 44 times for England. He has become an A-list global celebrity. So it is somewhat excusable for anyone to get a little giddy on that phenomenal success.
But here is Tuchel sending a message that he should take nothing for granted, that there are other No. 10s — such as Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers or Morgan Gibbs-White — on the radar. In other words: “Fight for your place like everyone else. There are no favorites here.”
The head coach astounded reporters last year by saying that his mother sometimes found Bellingham’s on-pitch behavior “repulsive.” He has since retracted that unfairly incriminating remark and apologized, but the quote did appear to reflect a level of dissatisfaction with how the player conducted himself.
It seems Tuchel wants a slightly modified version; a great tourist as well as a great player.
But is he right to do so? It is reminiscent of England’s only World Cup-winning manager, Sir Alf Ramsey, who liked to keep even his most trusted players guessing back in 1966.
His magnificent goalkeeper Gordon Banks left an England camp in that era with a cheery “See you next time, boss.”
“Will you?” was Ramsey’s icy response.
So what we are witnessing here may be Tuchel’s attempt to mold a World Cup squad free of the tensions that have undermined many a campaign for several teams, notably favorites France with their memorable row in 2010 and Spain (prior to their glut of trophies in more recent tournaments) on the frequent occasions when the rival Barcelona and Real Madrid players simply would not mix.
This week, legendary England midfielder Steven Gerrard said the talented national teams he played in failed because they were “egotistical losers” with petty cliques of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool players barely speaking.
So building a unified squad that pulls in the same direction is paramount for Tuchel, as it was for his predecessor, Sir Gareth Southgate.
It would have been easy for the England boss to explain the cold shoulder for Bellingham as an injury-related issue. He has, after all, been recovering from shoulder surgery, albeit featuring five times for Real Madrid since that operation, including starting the Madrid derby against Atlético.
But, typically, the German made it clear that it was a decision based on form, and said Bellingham had “no rhythm” in his play yet.
Besides, he wanted to reward the players who put in a breakthrough display for him with a 5-0 win in Serbia by naming an unchanged squad, even though he had to replace injured winger Noni Madueke with Bukayo Saka.
Yet it is fair to deduce that there is another agenda at play here, namely, the quest to head to the World Cup next summer with a happy band of brothers bursting with the team spirit that can make the difference in tight games.
Tuchel, like Ramsey 59 years ago, is going to do the job his way, even if it puts some noses out of joint. He does not care about that.
It is not only a brave option, but the right one. Bellingham will return to the team determined to prove a point and, as the world-class player and top character that he is, he will have taken note of what his boss is telling him. It is all just part of the learning curve, and one day, he might reflect that the day England left him out made him realize how he could become an even better contributor to the cause.
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The University of Michigan has not renewed the contract of the female football staffer who was suspected to have been in a relationship with fired coach Sherrone Moore.
A university spokesperson confirmed the departure to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“Her contract expired and was not renewed,” the spokesperson said.
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Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, second from right, walks with his wife, Kelli Moore, left, and his attorney, Ellen K. Michaels, right, towards the courtroom, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Moore allegedly maintained an inappropriate, years-long relationship with the staffer, despite him being married with multiple children.
Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital revealed allegations made by the staffer’s attorney, Heidi Sharp, on the day that Moore allegedly entered her home without permission, which later resulted in his arrest.
Det. Jessica Welker of the Pittsfield Township Police Department testified in court that the staffer called Sharp after Moore entered the residence and refused to leave. Sharp then told emergency dispatch that Moore was inside of her client’s home “attacking her.”
The woman accused Moore of continuing to approach her until she was able to get her attorney on the phone, at which point he “immediately backed up and turned the knives on himself, pointing them at his neck, saying that he was going to kill himself and that she was going to watch.”
Then-Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore looks on during the college football game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Oct. 19, 2024, at Memorial Stadium, in Champaign, Illinois. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Moore then left the staffer’s residence and was later taken into custody by law enforcement, where he denied physically attacking the staffer.
The staffer, whose LinkedIn profile listed her as an Executive Assistant to the Head Football Coach at the University of Michigan, earned just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
That’s a 70.62 percent increase year-over-year — even higher than the figure circulating social media right now, via UMSalary.info.
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Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, center, appears in the courtroom, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Moore, who faces felony home invasion, stalking and illegal entry charges, scored a legal victory last month when a judge granted a request for a hearing to learn more about the investigation that led to criminal charges against him.
Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who is presiding, expressed concern that a police detective didn’t disclose Moore’s employer-employee relationship with the woman when a magistrate authorized a warrant for his arrest. Simpson described it as a “glaring omission.”
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Aaron Rodgers made clear on Wednesday that he has no plans to live a “public life” with his mystery wife, citing immense media scrutiny on his past relationships with high-profile women.
The NFL star previously dated actresses Olivia Munn and Shailene Woodley and former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick. Rodgers and Woodley were engaged in 2021, but called off their wedding plans in 2022 and later broke up.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) reacts on the field before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Rodgers lambasted his previous girlfriends during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” though he didn’t mention any of them by name. He said when he first met his wife, she didn’t want to date an athlete and moved back overseas.
“I got myself into crazy town, and I was with individuals who called the paparazzi, who leaked or talked about where I was living, who coerced me to make the proverbial Instagram, social media posts,” he said. “I never really wanted to live a public life. If you look at the saga with my family, for years it was one-sided. They were making shots in the media saying bulls—. I never said anything until it got to the point that, all right, enough is enough. … I’m not a social media guy anymore.”
“The narratives have gotten a little bit ridiculous,” he continued. “To some of those, I just want to say, just f—ing move on. It’s been years and years and years. I’ve dealt with clinically bipolar depressed relevance seeking, I dealt with people that wanted to search out other possibilities before they could commit to me, and then they go on TV talking about how I ruined their lives and all this s—.
“And I just want to say, move on with your life. Stop lying about me. Just move on with your life and be happy. It’s not just them, but it’s other people in the media that there’s this relevance they feel that they have to mention my name. I’m not seeking relevance. I’m not seeking attention.”
Aaron Rodgers previously dated actresses Olivia Munn and Shailene Woodley and ex-NASCAR driver Danica Patrick (not pictured). (Getty Images)
Rodgers added that, when his playing career is done, “you won’t see me.”
“I’m not doing TV … I’m not going to be out and about.”
The four-time MVP also pushed back on those seeking to figure out who his wife is, calling the issue “very strange.” He said earlier in the interview that the media frenzy caused him to move out of his Malibu, California, home.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) runs off the field after the game against the Miami Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium on Dec. 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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Rodgers has only said that his wife’s name is Brittani. The two started dating in December 2024, and they were married at some point in 2025. He said she’s a person who doesn’t want to be in the public spotlight and is happy with the possibility of leaving public life as well.
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He may be one of the best players in the NFL, but Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t great at following traffic laws.
The 2025 Defensive Player of the Year was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 in Congress Township, Ohio, which is between Cleveland and Columbus, back on Feb. 21, according to court records.
This speeding ticket marks the ninth since Garrett has entered the NFL since his rookie season in 2017, which includes a scary moment where he flipped his Porsche in 2022 after an incident where speeding was a factor.
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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Garrett was cited then for going 65 mph in a 45-mph zone at the time.
Garrett was also driving a Porsche during this traffic stop, as the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office pulled over the Browns star as he was going 24 mph over the speed limit in the early hours last month. Before being pulled over, Garrett was spotted at a college basketball game between Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio in Oxford, which is near Cincinnati.
Prior to this ticket, Garrett was pulled over during Browns training camp on Aug. 9, when he was driving 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in Strongsville, Ohio, which is near the team’s Berea training facility.
The Browns had just returned home from their preseason matchup against the Carolina Panthers, which led to a $250 fine for Garrett as well.
He was peppered with questions from the media about his speeding past following his then-eighth citation, but he declined to respond.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns looks on during the second quarter in the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 26, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” Garrett said to media on Aug. 20.
Garrett added that he tried to “keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”
It was hard not to ask Garrett about what happened in 2022, when he suffered a shoulder and biceps strains, among other less serious injuries, after his car flipped over. He had to miss the team’s Week 4 contest against the Atlanta Falcons, though he returned to his normal self that year. He had 16 sacks and two forced fumbles in 16 games for Cleveland.
This past year, Garrett broke the single-season sack record (23) with a league-high 33 tackles for loss in an insane campaign that made him a lock for the Defensive Player of the Year Award in his ninth season for the Browns. He had now made it three straight first-team All-Pro honors and five overall.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns looks on during warmups prior to the game at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
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But Garrett will now have to either appear in court on March 10, or pay a fine of more than $100 for his latest speeding ticket, per WKYC in Cleveland. After signing a then-record four-year, $160 million extension with Cleveland last year, the latter is likely the option he’ll choose.
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