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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee is paying $2.48 million to settle a lawsuit filed by eight unidentified women who said the school had violated Title IX regulations and created a hostile sexual environment through a policy of indifference toward assaults by athletes.Lawyers for the school and the plaintiffs issued a joint press release Tuesday announcing the settlement.We are satisfied that, while universities everywhere struggle with these issues, the University of Tennessee has made significant progress in the way they educate and respond to sexual assault cases, said David Randolph Smith, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs. My clients and I are also convinced that the Universitys leadership is truly committed to continue its exemplary efforts to create a model as it relates to sexual misconduct.Tennessees athletic department and the schools central administration will split the cost of the settlement. According to the release announcing the settlement, no taxpayer dollars, student fees or donor funds would be used to fund the settlement, and the funding instead will come from other income-generating activities within the university.Tennessee chancellor Jimmy Cheek said he will soon announce a new series of initiatives on campus to improve its Title IX efforts, including additional support and budgeting specifically in areas related to sexual assault, student conduct, education programming and student well-being. UT president Joe DiPietro said he would appoint an independent commission to review existing programs make recommendations addressing the issues of sexual assault and misconduct.No university will be able to prevent every incident of students, faculty or staff making bad judgments, Cheek said in a statement. Like many institutions we are not perfect, but our goal is to continue to be the best we can be at creating awareness, educating, and preventing discrimination and abuse in any form, and to continue to be equally prepared when it does happen and to deal with it promptly, sensitively, fairly and effectively.Weve come a long way in recent years, and we are working every day to be even better. Our first priority is the safety and well-being of every member of our University community.The announcement of the settlement comes two weeks after Cheek announced he would step down as chancellor to return to teaching. Cheeks move wont become effective until a successor is appointed. When he announced the move last month, Cheek said it was a personal decision unrelated to the Title IX suit.According to the release, negotiations toward a settlement began in earnest in April. The case wasnt scheduled to go to trial until 2018, and the release noted that the cost to litigate the case all the way to trial could have cost as much as $5.5 million. As of June 8, the state had paid over $220,000 in legal fees associated with the lawsuit.The release also noted that the school is not admitting guilt, negligence or unlawful acts as part of the settlement.Six women filed the suit in federal court in Nashville on Feb. 9. Two more plaintiffs added their names to an amended complaint two weeks later. The original complaint referenced incidents dating back to 1995 to show how the school has historically handled reports of player misconduct, and one paragraph mentioned a sexual harassment complaint made by a Tennessee trainer in 1996 that included an incident involving recently retired quarterback Peyton Manning, who was playing for Tennessee at the time.The amended complaint included a statement from former Tennessee football player Drae Bowles in which he said he assisted a woman who said she had been raped by two other players and that he later was attacked by teammates and told by football coach Butch Jones that he had betrayed the team. When the document was filed, Jones responded by saying the assertion that I ever attempted to belittle or demean a young man for taking action to help another person is absolutely false.Tennessee reacted to the lawsuit by bringing all its head coaches together for a February press conference in which they defended the culture of the athletic department. Athletic director Dave Hart made similar remarks at a separate press conference two days later.No athletic officials commented Tuesday night, but the release announcing the settlement included statements from Cheek, DiPietro and Tennessee Board of Trustees vice chair Raja Jubran.Settling this case was the right thing to do from a compassionate perspective for the young women involved and from a reputation perspective for the institution, regardless of the merits of the case, Jubran said. One side ultimately would have won in court several years from now, and we felt confident about our legal position, but I truly believe that both sides would have lost.The intangible costs of emotional stress to those involved and the distraction to all of our positive progress at UT, over and above actual legal costs, would have been exorbitant.Title IX is a federal statute that bans discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. The U.S. Department of Education in 2011 warned schools of their legal responsibilities to immediately investigate allegations of sexual assault, even if the criminal investigation has not concluded. Clearance Soccer Jerseys . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Replica Soccer Jerseys . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Soccer Jerseys China . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. The Latest on Week 10 of the NFL season (all times eastern):9:30 p.m.There are no longer any NFL teams that havent thrown an interception this season.The Patriots streak of eight straight games without a pick came to an end with 9:20 left the second quarter against Seattle Sunday night.Tom Brady danced in the pocket to buy some time on first down, but his pass intended for Malcolm Mitchell was well short and intercepted by DeShawn Shead.New England had thrown 258 passes this season without an interception.The Patriots had a chance to tie the 1960 Cleveland Browns for an NFL-record nine games without an interception.- Kyle Hightower reporting from Foxborough, Mass.6 p.m.Philip Rivers has tied John Elway for eighth all-time with his 300th touchdown pass and his second of the game. This one, a 7-yard pass to rookie Hunter Henry, gave the Chargers a 17-14 lead over Miami with 5:36 to go in the third quarter. Rivers threw an 11-yard TD pass to star tight end Antonio Gates in the second quarter.- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.---5 p.m.It took a while for the San Diego Chargers to get their offense going against the Dolphins, and when they did, it was a familiar result. Philip Rivers threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Antonio Gates for a 10-0 lead. It was the 82nd time those two connected, extending their NFL record. Gates needs two TD catches to tie Tony Gonzalezs NFL record for touchdown grabs by a tight end (111). It was Rivers 299th career touchdown pass, leaving him one shy of tying John Elway for eighth all-time.- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.---4:40 p.m.Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has tied Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for 11th on the touchdown pass list. Roethlisbergers 2-yard strike to LeVeon Bell in the first quarter against Dallas on Sunday gave Roethlisberger 290 touchdown passes in his career. Roethlisbergers next scoring throw will tie him with Hall of Famer Warren Moon for 10th on the all-time list.---3:45 p.m.Referee Jeff Triplettes crew is having a busy day in the Green Bay-Tennessee game.The Packers already have seven penalties for 62 yards, and Triplette has ejected Tennessees left tackle.But the most confusing sequence took place after Aaron Rodgers ran for a 20-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter. Titans cornerback Perrish Cox hit Rodgers just after the quarterback crossed the goal line, sparking a scrum between both teams at the back of the end zone.Officials huddled then announced Cox had been penalized for unnecessary roughness for the hit on Rodgers. With the Packers ready to attempt a 2-point conversion, Triplette first announced the Packers would take the 15-yard penalty on the 2-point try, only to quickly reverse himself and note thats not something Green Bay can do.Triplette then said the Packers were going to attempt the 2-point conversion. The Titans stopped James Starks short.Then it got better.Mason Crosby pushed an onside kick attempt out of bounds, and Triplette essentially repeated himself explaining the penalty and the ball being spotted at the Titans 45.Tennessee leads 34-22.- Teresa M. Walker reporting from Nashville, Tenn.---2:55 p.m.Marcus Mariota is getting the best of his first matchup against two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers -- at least through the first half.The No. 2 pick overall in the 2015 draft completed his first 10 passes Sunday and reached halftime 12 of 18 for 216 yards with three touchdowns. Mariota threw a TD pass to Anthony Fasano to cap a 21-point first quarter, and he threw a 32-yard TD pass to Rishard Matthews and a 6-yarder to Kendall Wright.His third TD pass gave the Titans a 35-10 lead with 1:55 left in the first half.Rodgers answered with a 13-yard TD pass to James Starks, but Tennessee took a 35-16 lead into halftime.- Teresa M. Walker reporting from Nashville, Tenn.---2:45 p.m.On consecutive plays to end the first half, wide receivers Julio Jones and Dorial Green-Beckham played deep safety for the Falcons and Eagles, respectively.Jones came in to play defense when Philadelphia went for fourth-and-1 from the Falcons 48 with :08 seconds left in the first half. Carson Wentz threw the ball away instead of running out the clock and the Falcons took over for a chance at a desperation play. So, the 6-foot-5 Green-Beckham entered on defense for the Eagles. But Matt Ryan didnt get a chance to heave a deep pass and threw it away to end the half. The Eagles lead the Falcons 7-6.- Rob Maaddi reporting from Philadelphia.---2:40 p.m.Blair Walsh missed again.The Minnesota Vikings kicker, who managed to keep his job despite all sorts of accuracy issues, shanked an extra point wide right at the end of the first half against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. That left Minnesotas lead at 20-14 heading into halftime.Walsh is only 15 of 19 on PATS this season, 79 percent.The Vikings brought in six frree-agent kickers during the week for a tryout to replace Walsh, but the team wound up sticking with him.dddddddddddd In last weeks loss to Detroit, Walsh missed an extra point, had a field goal blocked and put a kickoff into the end zone when it was supposed to land inside the 10-yard line.- Howard Fendrich reporting from Landover, Md.---2:35 p.m.Denver controlled the first 29 minutes against the Saints, intercepting Drew Brees twice and taking a 10-0 lead. But as the second half kicks off, New Orleans is just one score down thanks to a late-first-half interception by Sterling Moore. Brees then marched New Orleans 50 yards in 27 seconds to set up a short Wil Lutz field goal, and the score is now 10-3.- Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans.---2:00 p.m.Jacksonvilles Blake Bortles cant even throw the ball away properly.Under pressure and trying to ground it near covered running back T.J. Yeldon, Bortles hit Yeldons foot and the ball bounced into the air. Houston linebacker Whitney Mercilus picked it off, giving the Texans the ball at midfield. They missed a 49-yard field goal, but still led 14-7 in the second quarter.It was Bortles second interception of the game and his sixth in the last five games. His first one was returned for a touchdown.- Mark Long reporting from Jacksonville.---1:55 p.m.So far, Denvers No. 1 pass defense is owning New Orleans top-rated pass offense.The Broncos made interceptions on two straight Drew Brees passes, both by Darian Stewart. The first ended a promising Saints drive at the Denver 7-yard line. When New Orleans regained possession, Brees next pass over the middle for rookie Mochael Thomas deflected by Bradley Roby and caught, once again, by Stewart. He returned it to the New Orleans 39, setting up a 50-yard field goal by Brandon McManus that put the Broncos up 10-0 in the second quarter.- Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans.---1:50 p.m.A difficult catch that was initially ruled incomplete has given Denver a 7-0 lead over the New Orleans Saints.Receiver Jordan Taylor made a leaping 14-yard catch near the sideline, but was immediately hit by Saints safety Jairus Byrd, who tried to rip the ball out. Taylor momentarily lost his handle on the ball, but was able regather control as he landed on his side with one foot out of bounds.However, video replay showed Taylors knee came down in bounds before the foot touched on the white line. That was enough evidence to overturn the call and give Denver an early lead in the Superdome.-Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans.---1:40 p.m.The Panthers have lost punter Andy Lee to a hamstring injury. Kicker Graham Gano was forced into punting duties in the first quarter and launched a 42-yard punt, his first attempt since 2010.Lees return is listed as questionable.---1:35 p.m.Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has become the first player in NFL history with 20,000 yards passing and 3,000 yards rushing in the first six NFL seasons.Newton also passed Jake Delhomme for the most completions in franchise history with 1,581. Newton completed a 9-yard pass to tight end Greg Olsen in the first quarter to break the record.---1:30 p.m.Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan has been ejected in the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers after making contact with an official.The Titans were lining up for just their second official play with a 7-0 lead when officials threw a handful of flags with Letroy Guion going unabated to quarterback Marcus Mariota. Lewan was arguing with Guion when back judge Steve Freeman was trying to break up the Titans and Packers.Lewan appeared on replays to push away Freemans hand.Officials talked over the penalties, and an angry Lewan headed to the locker room. He was replaced by Dennis Kelly.The Titans capped the drive with running back DeMarco Murray throwing a 10-yard pass to Delanie Walker for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.- Teresa M. Walker reporting from Nashville, Tennessee.---1:25 p.m.Tennessee running back DeMarco Murray needed only one carry Sunday to match a franchise record originally set by Earl Campbell.Murray took his first handoff 75 yards for a touchdown Sunday against Green Bay, giving him his fifth straight game with at least one rushing touchdown. Campbell, now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, did that in 1979 for the then-Houston Oilers.The Titans running back came into Sunday as the NFLs second-leading rusher in his first season in Tennessee. Murray had been tied with LenDale White (2008), Eddie George (2000), Gary Brown (1993), Alonzo Highsmith (1989) and Campbell (1981) with four straight games with a rushing TD.- Teresa M. Walker reporting from Nashville, Tenn.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '