GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Steve Spurrier stashed six decades worth of memorabilia in closets and cabinets, scattered between his office, his home and his nearby beach house. Jerseys and cleats. Helmets and visors. Trophies and trinkets. Rings and pictures. Spurrier’s collection was as massive as it was impressive.

He stored another assortment of keepsakes in his head: “ball plays,” some of them as famous as his notable one-liners.

He has gathered all those treasures — even the plays he jotted down from memory — and proudly put them on display at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille. The one-of-a-kind restaurant opened this week in Gainesville and doubles as the Head Ball Coach’s personal museum.

Spurrier and his investment team spared no expense in putting together a “polished casual” eatery that serves farm-to-table food. They visited nearly 60 celebrity restaurants across the world, stopping at places owned by Troy Aikman, John Elway, Gloria Estefan, Pele, Mike Shanahan and Tiger Woods. They also studied what caused others to falter.

Football plays designed by Steve Spurrier from years past are displayed on wallpaper in a restroom at his new restaurant, the Gridiron Grill, in Gainesville, Florida.AP

“We believe we got a plan that’s in place to be very successful,” Spurrier said. “Location, food, service, we got all that. Hopefully we got all that. We believe we do.”

Spurrier gave The Associated Press a tour of the 18,600-square-foot restaurant that cost more than $12 million to build weeks before the grand opening, and the details and decor stood out.

Spurrier has his Heisman Trophy on display along with 14 championship rings, including Duke’s 1989 Atlantic Coast Conference title, South Carolina’s 2010 Southeastern Conference Eastern Division championship and his latest one from the Orlando Apollos (He claims the Alliance of American Football title after the league suspended operations in April 2019 with Spurrier’s Apollos atop the standings at 7-1).

The cleats he wore while kicking a 40-yard field goal to beat Auburn 30-27 in 1966 and clinch the Heisman Trophy are on display and so is the game ball from that one, both on loan from the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

He has glass cabinets filled with trophies awarded to former players. There’s a wall-sized mosaic of Spurrier from his quarterback days adorning the main entryway, plaques recognizing Spurrier’s “Gator Greats” — the inaugural class featured Spurrier, Carlos Alvarez, Emmitt Smith, Errict Rhett, Danny Wuerffel and Percy Harvin – and hundreds of other items spread throughout.

The upstairs bar displays Steve Spurrier’s signature on the wall at his new restaurant, the Gridiron Grill.AP

A hole-in-one display from the par-3 course at Augusta National. Congratulatory letters from Hall of Fame coaches Pat Summitt and John Wooden. Fifteen keys to cities. An array of bowl watches. Pictures with President Bill Clinton, entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. and comedian/actor Jackie Gleason. Photos of Spurrier from every decade of his coaching career, beginning before he switched from hats to his trademark visors.

Speaking of Visors — that’s the name of Spurrier’s rooftop bar where, of course, he has a collection of about 250 of them on display. He also had two specific bar stools reserved for the “HBC” and his wife, Jerri.

“It’s all me? Yeah, it’s a little weird, I guess,” Spurrier said. “But a lot of team pictures, too, which is very important.”

There are five private dining rooms, which make Spurrier’s a hot spot for meetings and parties. Current Gators football coach Dan Mullen and men’s basketball coach Mike White will broadcast their weekly shows from the restaurant. There’s also a podcast room that houses every helmet from every team Spurrier has even been associated with.

ESPN has placed a rental deposit on part of the restaurant for the weekend of the Alabama-Florida game, scheduled to be played Sept. 18.

“This is built for Gator Nation,” said Freddie Wehbe, who collaborated with Frankel Media to handle most of the heavy lifting in getting Spurrier’s from conception to completion. “How would you not? UF is the program that Coach created.”

Spurrier was Florida’s first Heisman winner and coached the Gators to their first national championship 30 years later. He has a statue outside the stadium and is a member of the program’s exclusive ring of honor.

Spurrier also nicknamed the stadium “The Swamp.” The Gators went 122-27-1 in 12 seasons under Spurrier, including a staggering 68-5 at home, and won six SEC titles.

The Gators renamed their football field after him in 2016, calling it Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. He’s without question the most beloved personality in school history.

A table setting with photos and other memorabilia is viewed at Steve Spurrier’s Gridiron GrillAP

Spurrier’s daughter, Amy Moody, urged him to build a restaurant just to get all his memorabilia organized and on display. Spurrier didn’t do much else to get the place up and running other than sit in meetings and tweak ideas from countless consultants.

One thing he did provide: those plays.

Spurrier recreated dozens of his most famous and successful plays on paper and had them turned into wallpaper that now covers both upstairs bathrooms.

A few of them came from lopsided wins against hated rival Georgia, of course. Others: Terry Dean connecting with Jack Jackson in a victory against Alabama in the 1993 SEC title game; Wuerffel to Reidel Anthony on a fourth-and-12 play versus Tennessee in 1996; Doug Johnson hooking up with Jacquez Green on a curl-and-go that set up the winning score against Florida State in 1997.

Spurrier’s menu, meanwhile, has several items that are sure to elicit smiles from the Florida faithful, too. Main courses include the Ike Hillard Catch of the Day, the Tomahawk Porkchop and the Emory & Henry. Drinks include The Kick (for Spurrier’s 40-yarder against Auburn), CiTrUs 75 (for his “you can’t spell Citrus without U-T” joke) and the 52-20 Pale Ale (the score of Florida’s first national title).

For Spurrier, creating the restaurant stirred fond memories. And he hopes it will do the same for his fans. It might also fill a void since the winningest football coach in the history of two schools (Florida and South Carolina) has more time on his hands than he expected when he temporarily walked away in 2016.

“Life doesn’t always go the way you plan,” he said. “I thought when my coaching days were over, I’d get good at golf again. But guess what? I grew arthritis in the fingers. … My golf game is not near what it used to be. But you get to the play the senior tees.”

Read More

Andy Dalton will get more than six plays Saturday to try to change the city-wide narrative about the Bears’ quarterback competition-that-isn’t-really-one against rookie Justin Fields.

Not that he’s thinking about it that way.

“You can’t focus on that,” he said after practice Wednesday. “If you focus on that, then that’s gonna beat you down. And so I know who I am, I know who I was created to be, I know where my identity lies.

“And so do I want the fans behind me and this team and all that kind of stuff? Yes. Do I want them behind Justin? Absolutely, I do.”

Fields gave Bears fans plenty to cheer in the first exhibition game. Dalton did not. failing to garner a first down over two drives — one came back on an Alex Bars holding call — and completing 2-of-4 passes for 18 yards. He ran six plays before giving way to Fields.

Dalton, though, remains the Bears’ unquestioned Week 1 starter — even as Bears fans breathlessly wait for coach Matt Nagy to give the job, eventually, to Fields.

“Justin is going to have his time and Justin is going to have a great career,” Dalton said. “But right now it’s my time. And so my focus is on being the best player I can be for this team and do everything I can to help this team win.’

That sound awfully similar to Mike Glennon’s “this-is-my-year” declaration in 2017 after the Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky. But Dalton has the self-confidence and the resume never had. Glennon at the time had started 18 games and thrown 30 touchdowns; Dalton has 142 and 218, respectively. Dalton has thus far managed a potentially awkward situation remarkably well, even as he knows the ovation that awaits the rookie Saturday.

“I mean, he’s a first-round pick and just with everything that’s gone on here, there’s a lot of excitement with it,” Dalton said. “But I didn’t feel like there wasn’t excitement for me either, you know. So it’s like, yeah, I think for us if we just go out and operate how we know we can do, I think the fans will be excited when we score lots of touchdowns this year.”

Fields struggled in practice Tuesday. His development hit a roadblock Wednesday, as he threw only a few passes in practice because of a groin injury. Bears coach Matt Nagy said he hoped Fields would be able to play Saturday — exhibitions are valuable for his development, and for the Bears’ ability to evaluate him in a game setting.

With or without Fields, Dalton will play more Saturday than he did in the opener — at least twice as many snaps as he got last week. His goals are simple.

“You just want to see the offense operate the way it’s supposed to …” he said. “I just want to be efficient and set the standard of how we’re going to be getting in and out of the huddle, how we’re going to move the ball and all that kind of stuff. …

“This week, obviously, we’ll have a chance to get in more of a rhythm.”

Dalton was sharp in practice again Wednesday. He’s been solid for the past three weeks –safety Tashaun Gipson said Dalton’s had a “super-fine camp” — but it’s human nature for him to want to show a stadium full of people that the offense is good hands.

“I think that’s the biggest thing is, alright, this is what it’s like to be playing some real football,” he said. “Fans in the stands, there’s some emotion involved, and you’ve still got to be at your best.”

Read More

The Little League World Series is back. There won’t be international teams or 22,000 fans in the stands when the championship rolls around, but the tournament in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is set to start Thursday.

The coronavirus forced the cancellation of the tournament in 2020, and this year, the delta variant surge resulted in Little League tournaments for several older age groups being scrapped. But what most fans understand as the Little League World Series, featuring 10- to 12-year-old players, will take place over the next week and a half, with the championship set for Lamade Stadium on Aug. 29.

“It won’t be the same as what they’ve seen on TV and from years past, but I told them, ‘I don’t care if there’s 10,000 people or 10, you shouldn’t have any problem getting up to play here,'” said Dustin Radar, manager of Nebraska’s Hastings Little League team, the top club in the Midwest region.

“I think they’re just really excited for the opportunity.”

Though there won’t be fans packing the hill at Lamade Stadium, those close to the players can still see them in action. Each team will receive 250 game passes to distribute to friends, families and community members.

Instead of splitting 16 teams into U.S. and international brackets, Little League’s championship tournament will feature strictly American squads in 2021 because of COVID-19 and the international travel restrictions the pandemic brought about. Typically, eight teams from different geographic regions represent the United States, with the rest of the world broken into another eight regions.

This year, each U.S. region’s champion and runner-up moved on, instead of just the champ. Though manager Ben Lutwig’s Upper Providence Little League team of Oaks, Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia, won the Mid-Atlantic region outright, he feels good about letting the so-called B teams participate.

“I think Little League is doing the right thing and everything they can do to make it as good of an experience as possible,” Ludwig said. “A 16-team tournament is more robust, so I think it’s great what they’ve done here to expand it out, given the circumstances.”

Ludwig and company are well-prepared for adverse situations. His team lost its second game of the Pennsylvania state tournament, meaning it had to win five games in five days to advance to the Mid-Atlantic tournament.

His group succeeded, leading Ludwig to believe they’re equipped for elite competition.

“Based on what we just went through, it seems like ‘all right, this is going to be nothing out of the ordinary,'” Ludwig said. “It’s going to be something that our kids are ready for, and they’re going to step up to the challenge.”

Other teams, like Florida’s Martin County North Little League, took advantage of the expanded U.S. bracket. Manager Mark Rodgers’ team finished runner-up to Tennessee’s Nolensville Little League.

For Rodgers’ team, preparing for the tournament while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines was no easy chore.

“We practiced on three different fields. We did nothing together as a team, except a little bit of infield-outfield. We kept everybody apart because where we live, COVID was all around us,” Rodgers said. “We were all living the horror stories.”

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Little League spokesman Kevin Fountain said many of its leagues returned to the field this year, though 2021 participation has not been totaled. Approximately 2 million children played in 2019.

For Rodgers’ team, COVID-19’s effects have been significant, as several players have been infected. Rodgers has practiced law for 30 years and represents athletes such as Baltimore Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini, who missed the 2020 season because of chemotherapy treatment for stage three colon cancer.

Due to his close professional and personal relationship with Mancini, Rodgers connected the 2021 Home Run Derby runner-up with his team via Zoom to serve as a guiding presence as they begin to navigate unfamiliar territory.

“It’s been really cool to do that with him, especially with what he went through last year,” Rodgers said. “We’ve used him as an example of overcoming adversity and how at some point, baseball is not about living and dying — it’s got to be fun.”

Read More

Kanye West is bringing “Donda” home.

Kanye announced Wednesday that he will hold his third public listening event for the yet-to-be-released “Donda” album on Aug. 26 at Soldier Field. The news was announced straightforwardly via the singer’s IG account.

Tickets go on sale at noon Aug. 20 via Ticketmaster. Show time is 9 p.m. According to Variety, the event will also be livestreamed via Apple Music, while the album still does not have an official release date.

Kanye’s previous listening events (both in Atlanta, and famous for his taking up residence at Mercedes-Benz Arena) featured two distinct versions of the album, which leads fans to expect a third version for the Soldier Field date.

The album is named for Kanye’s mother, Donda West, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 58 after plastic surgery complications.

Throughout the album’s rollout, Kanye has remained mum about the project except through minimalist IG posts, including this one of a dove in a window following the second listening party:

Read More

It’s the year of cevapi. This hearty, comforting sandwich — made with small grilled sausages tucked into somun or lepinja (chewy flatbread) and decked out with onions, kajmak (clotted cream), and ajvar (a robust red pepper–eggplant spread) — has been popping up at a recent crop of new-school Balkan restaurants. You’ll find it all over: from Doma, a Croatian-inspired café, to Rose Mary, Joe Flamm’s Italian-Croatian juggernaut. But Balkan food goes way beyond cevapi. The region includes Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Greece, and other countries, and chefs with ties to these places are opening passion projects that look at these cuisines in fresh ways. These four, including a virtual kitchen slinging street snacks and a Logan Square taverna offering a personal tour of Athens, are standouts.

Kiosk Balkan Street Food

3517 N. Spaulding Ave., Avondale

The take Two Serbian brothers and hospitality pros offer variations on the street eats of their childhood via a virtual kitchen.
Why go Chef Nemanja Milunovic used to snack on grilled meats from kiosks around the former Yugoslavia. He translates his recollections of these into a menu of hits — from sarma, pork-stuffed cabbage rolls topped with two smoked pork ribs and basking in a thyme-paprika jus, to tavche gravche, paprika-loaded Macedonian beans with dried pepper sauce.
Must order Anything on somun, the perfect vessel for the immensely satisfying cevapi, as well as the fried chicken sandwich, garnished with shredded cabbage tossed with Champagne vinaigrette and urnebes, a spicy spread of feta, garlic, and peppers.

Rose Mary

932 W. Fulton Market, West Loop

The take Top Chef winner Joe Flamm’s humming West Loop restaurant marries his Italian background with his wife’s Croatian one.
Why go Flamm’s dishes cleverly meld the two cuisines, as in the rich, creamy stracciatella, which is dotted with seasonal berries, herbs, and balsamic vinegar and comes with a round of lepinja to tear apart and scoop it all up. This is Flamm, so pastas are a must: His version of djuvec, a Serbian vegetable rice dish, subs in tortellini, while deeply flavored lamb and red pepper ribbons are an excellent match for a glass of plavina, a bright, dry Croatian red wine.
Must order The tender, spicy pork ribs pampanella, slicked with Calabrian chile agrodolce, sprinkled with walnuts, and accented with a tangy cabbage-yogurt slaw.

016 Restaurant & Sandwich Shop

5077 N. Lincoln Ave., Ravenswood

The take Southern Serbian cuisine reflected through the lens of American influences.
Why go Chef Bojan Milicevic named this spot for the area code in Leskovac, his Serbian hometown. He serves dishes that are representative of the area, but with surprising twists. The Chi-Vap is a mash-up of cevapi and a Chicago dog, with bacon-wrapped sausage tucked into a roll and dragged through the garden. The Lincoln Square muffuletta recasts the New Orleans classic with mortadella, capicola, and lonza (dry-cured pork loin) and is accented by kajmak, ajvar aïoli, and giardiniera.
Must order The everything-spice burek is a flavor bomb. Milicevic stuffs the savory, flaky pastry with cream cheese and leeks and finishes it with a blast of everything bagel seasoning.

Andros Taverna

2542 N. Milwaukee Ave., Logan Square

The take RPM vets Doug Psaltis and his wife, Hsing Chen, explore his childhood memories of dining in Athens.
Why go Psaltis’s Greek cuisine is fresh and vibrant, whether it’s an herb-loaded whipped feta spread, served with crisp crudités and pillowy pitas, or tender octopus, braised in red wine and vinegar before being finished on the charcoal grill. Chen’s dessert menu is packed with contemporary Greek sweets like ouzo-soaked watermelon, roasted almond kourabiedes cookies, and, the star, frozen Greek yogurt studded with baklava and drizzled with pistachio sauce and honey.
Must order The flaky whole sea bass comes from the wood-burning oven. Get it with the herby tomato-sauced peas and a glass of moschofilero off the predominantly Greek wine list.

Read More

Read More

Read More

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska announced Wednesday that the NCAA is looking into its football program after a report said Cornhuskers staff improperly used analysts and consultants with the knowledge of coach Scott Frost and even moved workouts off campus last year when such activities were banned during the pandemic.

“The University of Nebraska Athletic Department has been working collaboratively with the NCAA to review a matter concerning our football program,” athletic director Trev Alberts said in a prepared statement. “We appreciate the dialogue we have had with the NCAA and cannot comment further on specifics of this matter.”

Citing unidentified sources, The Action Network report said Nebraska has “significant video footage” confirming practice violations occurred in the presence of Frost and other assistants.

The NCAA has interviewed Frost, current and former staff members, administrators and football players, and Frost has hired an attorney. The alleged violations occurred in the last 12 months.

The report comes less than two weeks before the Huskers open Frost’s fourth season with a game at Illinois. Frost, who quarterbacked the Huskers to the 1997 national championship, returned to his alma mater after being named national coach of the year for leading Central Florida to a 13-0 record in 2017.

Frost has struggled at Nebraska, going 12-20 in his first three years and never finishing higher than fifth in the Big Ten West. The program has had four straight losing seasons, its most in a row since the late 1950s.

Frost is under contract through 2026, and his current buyout is $20 million.

The NCAA investigation includes Nebraska’s impermissible use of experts running special teams drills, according to The Action Network. Analysts are not among the 10 full-time on-field assistants and are not allowed to speak with players.

A year ago, the NCAA disallowed organized workouts because of the pandemic. According to the report, Nebraska allegedly relocated its strength workouts to an undisclosed off-campus location to avoid detection at the direction of Nebraska’s strength and conditioning staff.

Frost and former Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos had been vocal in wanting to play in 2020 after the Big Ten initially canceled its season. The Big Ten reversed course and set up an eight-game conference-only schedule starting in late October.

The special teams analyst, Jonathan Rutledge, was fired in January. Moos unexpectedly announced his retirement in June. Gerrod Lambrecht, Frost’s chief of staff, resigned two weeks ago.

Read More

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No quarterback since Tony Rice has delivered the goods Notre Dame’s fanatical following has longed for since 1988 — a national championship.

Not Rick Mirer, not Kevin McDougal, not Ron Powlus, not Brady Quinn, not Tommy Rees, not Everett Golson, and not the winningest Irish starting quarterback of them all — Ian Book, who twice led coach Brian Kelly’s team to the College Football Playoff..

When No. 9 Notre Dame opens its season Sept. 5 at Florida State, Book’s successor — Jack Coan, a graduate transfer from Wisconsin — will be asked to end the drought.

“Going into our opener, (Coan) gives us the best chance for success,” said Kelly, who begins his 12th season four victories short of passing Knute Rockne’s 105 wins at the school.

The 22-year-old Coan, who beat out sophomore Drew Pyne and true freshman Tyler Buchner, is eager for his chance at Notre Dame, where he once was offered a lacrosse scholarship.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d end up here after going to Wisconsin,” said the 6-foot-3 1/4 , 223-pound former prep star from Sayville, New York.

In 2019 as a junior, Coan completed nearly 70% of his passes for 2,727 yards and 18 touchdowns against five interceptions during a 10-4 season for Paul Chryst’s Badgers that ended with competitive losses to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship and Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

Coan was expected to be the starting quarterback last season, but suffered a right foot injury in early October that required season-ending surgery. He transferred to Notre Dame in January.

“It’s just a dream come true,” Coan said. “It’s not something I’m going to take lightly.”

Rees, now Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, believes Coan won’t.

“He came here for a reason,” Rees said. “He’s put in the work; he’s done everything we’ve asked from him and more. But Jack keeps it pretty close to the chest. He’s a guy that’s very poised, very thoughtful in how he reacts. And he’s excited – he’s eager for his opportunity.”

His teammates are eager for Coan to lead them.

“You wouldn’t think Jack coming from Wisconsin would step in and be the leader he is,” said running back Kyren Williams, who rushed for 1,125 yards and 13 touchdowns and had 35 receptions for 313 yards. “I’m excited to go to work with him every day.”

UP FRONT

With four-fifths of last year’s starting offensive line now working in NFL camps, senior Jarrett Patterson returns as center after speculation had him possibly moving elsewhere. A preseason All-American, the 6-foot-4 1/2 , 307-pound Patterson missed the end of 2020 season and all of spring recovering from foot surgery and is being reacquainted with his teammates who include 6-foot-2 1/2 , 310-pound grad transfer guard Cain Madden.

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

Williams will be spelled in the backfield by sophomore Chris Tyree, senior C’Bo Flemister, and true freshmen Audric Estime and Logan Diggs, who have been impressive. Sophomore Michael Mayer returns after a breakout year to head a deep tight end group.

The wideouts will be led by Avery Davis, seniors Joe Wilkins Jr. and Lawrence Keys III, impressive freshman Deion Colzie and two seniors returning from injury-plagued 2020 seasons – speedsters Braden Lenzy and Kevin Austin Jr.

DEFENSIVE DUDE

Despite the loss of several starters including Butkus Award winner and rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has several players with plenty of experience. The best of them is the 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior free safety Kyle Hamilton, who missed the spring after ankle surgery following a 2020 season during which he led the team in tackles.

“I remember last season (cornerback coach Mike) Mickens (who played and coached at Cincinnati) called me and said ‘We’ve got dude. We’ve got a dude that’s special here,'” Freeman said. “The things (Hamilton) does makes him look effortless. We can use him in so many different ways.”

CAPTAINS GALORE

There are seven team captains, including defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. When Kelly made the announcement to his players, they were wearing leis to honor Tagovailoa-Amosa, who was in Hawaii for the funeral of his father and joined his teammates virtually.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to serve my brothers,” tweeted Tagovailoa-Amosa, who wiped away tears.

SCHEDULE

Notre Dame, which played an Atlantic Coast Conference schedule last season and ended up 10-2, returns to its treasured independent status. This year’s schedule features five ACC foes, including No. 10 North Carolina (Oct. 30). There is also a game against Coan’s old team, No. 12 Wisconsin, at Soldier Field (Sept. 25), a home game Oct. 2 against Freeman’s old team, No. 8 Cincinnati, and a visit to Virginia Tech (Oct. 9). Longtime rival No. 15 Southern California visits on Oct. 23.

Read More

NEW YORK — R&B star R. Kelly is a predator who lured girls, boys and young women with his fame and dominated them physically, sexually and psychologically, a prosecutor said Wednesday, while a defense lawyer warned jurors they’ll have to sift through lies from accusers with agendas to find the truth.

The differing perspectives came as the long-anticipated trial began unfolding in a Brooklyn courtroom where several accusers were expected to testify in the next month about the Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer whose career has been derailed by charges that have left him jailed as he goes broke.

“This case is not about a celebrity who likes to party a lot,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez told the Brooklyn jury as she explained the evidence to be revealed at his federal trial. “This case is about a predator.”

She said he distributed backstage passes to entice children and women to join him, sometimes at his home or studio, where he then “dominated and controlled them physically, sexually and psychologically.”

The prosecutor said Kelly would often record sex acts with minors as he controlled a racketeering enterprise of individuals who were loyal and devoted to him, eager to “fulfill each and everyone one of the defendant’s wishes and demands.”

“What his success and popularity brought him was access, access to girls, boys and young women,” she said.

But Kelly’s attorney, Nicole Blank Becker, portrayed her client as a victim of women, some of whom enjoyed the “notoriety of being able to tell their friends that they were with a superstar.”

“He didn’t recruit them. They were fans. They came to Mr. Kelly,” she said, urging jurors to closely scrutinize the testimony. “They knew exactly what they were getting into. It was no secret Mr. Kelly had multiple girlfriends. He was quite transparent.”

It would be a stretch to believe he orchestrated an elaborate criminal enterprise, like a mob boss, the lawyer said.

Becker warned jurors they’ll have to sort through “a mess of lies” from women with an agenda.

“Don’t assume everybody’s telling the truth,” she said.

Defense lawyers have maintained in court papers prior to the trial that Kelly’s alleged victims were groupies who turned up at his shows and made it known they “were dying to be with him.” The women only started accusing him of abuse years later when public sentiment shifted against him, they said.

Kelly, 54, is perhaps best known for his smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly,” a 1996 song that became an inspirational anthem played at school graduations, weddings, advertisements and elsewhere.

The openings came more than a decade after Kelly was acquitted in a 2008 child pornography case in Chicago. It was a reprieve that allowed his music career to continue until the #MeToo era caught up with him, emboldening alleged victims to come forward.

The women’s stories got wide exposure with the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.” The series explored how an entourage of supporters protected Kelly and silenced his victims for decades, foreshadowing the federal racketeering conspiracy case that landed Kelly in jail in 2019.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn have lined up multiple female accusers — mostly referred to in court as “Jane Does” — and cooperating former associates who have never spoken publicly before about their experiences with Kelly.

They’re expected to offer testimony about how Kelly’s managers, bodyguards and other employees helped him recruit women and girls — and sometimes boys — for sexual exploitation. They say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly in the New York City area and elsewhere, in violation of the Mann Act, the 1910 law that made it illegal to “transport any woman or girl” across state lines “for any immoral purpose.”

When the women and girls arrived at their lodgings, a member of Kelly’s entourage would set down rules about not speaking to each other, how they should dress and how they needed permission from Kelly before eating or going to the bathroom, prosecutors say. Also, they allegedly were required to call him “Daddy.”

An anonymous jury made up of seven men and five women was sworn in to hear the case. The trial, coming after several delays due mostly to the pandemic, unfolds under coronavirus precautions restricting the press and the public to overflow courtrooms with video feeds.

The New York case is only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

Read More