BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — One of Diego Maradona’s daughters lashed out at neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, who was considered her father's primary physician at the time of his death, during a negligence trial Tuesday.
Gianinna Maradona, in a court in the Buenos Aires town of San Isidro, testified in the trial of seven medical professionals accused of negligence her father's death in 2020.
“I heard on television that he said he wasn’t his doctor, and it makes me very angry that he won’t take responsibility,” Gianinna Maradona said.
Luque and six others are standing a new trial because last May the court declared a mistrial after Julieta Makintach, one of the original three presiding judges, stepped down over criticism about her participation in a documentary on the case.
The negligence case accuses Maradona’s medical team of failing to provide adequate care in the weeks leading up to his death at a home outside Buenos Aires. Maradona died at age 60 from cardiac arrest while recovering from surgery for a blood clot on the brain.
The defendants, who deny all accusations, were charged with culpable homicide, a charge similar to involuntary manslaughter in that it implies the accused were aware of the risk caused by their alleged reckless conduct and ignored it.
Maradona’s daughter said that Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Díaz were responsible for Maradona’s health and the home confinement where, she said, the star’s health deteriorated day by day without anyone apparently remedying it.
Luque’s defense alleges that Gianinna Maradona and her sister Dalma — the former soccer star's eldest daughters from his relationship with Claudia Villafañe — were responsible for not acting with the necessary speed to care for their father during a long process of declining health.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Physician Leopoldo Luque sits in court for the first day of his trial with the medical team that treated the late soccer star Diego Maradona, to face charges of alleged homicide by negligence in San Isidro, Argentina, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Veronica Ojeda, center, the former partner of the late soccer star Diego Maradona, arrives to court for the first day of the trial of his medical team for alleged homicide by negligence in San Isidro, Argentina, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Fans of the late soccer star Diego Maradona stand outside court on the first day of the trial of his medical team for alleged homicide by negligence in San Isidro, Argentina, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
The Texas attorney general's office warned the Big 12 on Thursday of potential legal action from Texas Tech as the conference considers what to do after Red Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby won a court order restoring his eligibility and setting aside his ban by the NCAA for gambling on pro and college sports.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the notice came shortly before the start of the league's executive board meeting to discuss its options in the Sorsby situation.
The temporary injunction issued Monday by a Texas district court prevents the NCAA from enforcing its permanent ban of Sorsby, a decision that sent shock waves across college sports. The transfer QB had been ruled ineligible after he acknowledged years of gambling that included at least 40 bets on his own team while he was a freshman at Indiana. Texas Tech said he has completed a month-long inpatient treatment program and will continue to receive treatment and support while being monitored.
The letter from the Texas AG's office was addressed to Yormark and Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod, the chairman of the Big 12 board of directors. It specifically references a conference bylaw that, with a supermajority vote, could result in sanctioning a school that has "engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the conference taken as a whole.”
The AG's office said any sanctions against Texas Tech for “acting consistent" with the district court injunction “would be a per se violation of federal and state antitrust laws — a naked horizontal agreement among competitors to disadvantage Texas Tech by cutting off access to the resources it needs to compete.”
Beyond any antitrust exposure, the letter said, the Big 12 would also face liability for “breach of contract and tortious interference" for any sanction that results in the alteration of Texas Tech's scheduled games.
The letter was signed by Thomas York, chief of the antitrust division, and Kimberly Gdula, chief of the litigation division. The attorney general, Ken Paxton, is the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Texas this fall.
Yormark said the conference is taking time with its legal counsel to understand the concerns of the state.
Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who represents Sorsby in his case against the NCAA, sent a separate and similar letter Thursday to the Big 12, according to multiple reports. That letter reportedly referenced the same Big 12 bylaw and warned the league that it is bound by the court's ruling this week.
The NCAA has said it will appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas, seeking an accelerated decision to overturn the injunction and again make Sorsby ineligible.
Since NCAA rules call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team, the judge’s decision brought sharp criticism from college sports leadership, including in Texas Tech’s own league. The executive board met as planned Thursday in preparation for a meeting Monday of the Big 12's full board of directors, which is made up of presidents and chancellors from the league's 16 schools.
“We had a good and informative discussion. Sentiment among the executive board was no different from what we heard from the ADs earlier this week,” Yormark said. "Our discussion with the full board will determine our course of action, and all options remain on the table.”
Big 12 athletic directors in a conference call Tuesday expressed strong opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders in what will be his final college season. Some of those ADs even suggested maybe not playing Texas Tech if he does.
Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech in January for a reported multimillion-dollar deal after playing the past two seasons at Cincinnati, another Big 12 school. The 22-year-old Texas native first spent two seasons at Indiana.
The threat of legal action came one day after Texas Tech billionaire booster and regents chair Cody Campbell mentioned that possibility during a podcast appearance with Dan Dakich. Campbell was addressing reports of schools talking about boycotting the Red Raiders.
“I love when the Big Ten or the K-State AD comes out and says we’ve all gotten together and we’ve talked about how we’re not going to play Tech, because guess what? That’s collusion,” Campbell said. “That’s an antitrust violation. So have fun with that one, guys. You can’t do that.”
Campbell, a former offensive lineman at the school, has been a key figure in helping Texas Tech land top players over the past two years.
The Red Raiders, with one of college football's most expensive rosters, won their first Big 12 title last season, setting a school record with 12 wins and making the 12-team College Football Playoff. Sorsby was brought in to be the starting QB after hometown favorite Behren Morton exhausted his eligibility.
The school posted a 21-minute video message Thursday night to Red Raiders fans that included school president Lawrence Schovanec, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and coach Joey McGuire talking about how the university is addressing the situation.
“I believe that every person at this table is looking at the student first. And that student is a football player. And that student is where he, I think, feels the safest and also feels to where he can deal with this the most is in this building at Texas Tech,” McGuire said. “And I think that’s where he should be and I’m glad he’s back. I know his teammates are glad he's back.”
Hocutt spoke about the NCAA twice denying Texas Tech's petition to have Sorsby reinstated. The AD also reiterated that the school wasn't a party in the quarterback's separate legal case and didn't pay any of his legal fees.
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
FILE - Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark addresses the media during the NCAA college Big 12 women's basketball media day, Oct. 22, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
