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NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart's sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are revaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups in business. The changes announced by the world's biggest retailer followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The risk associated with some of programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump's incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a prominent gay rights index . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches -- the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President -- are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the November survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associated at Pew called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI," Glasgow said. "The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Last fiscal year, Walmart said it spent more than $13 billion on minority, women or veteran-owned good and service suppliers. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America's top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart's announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart's need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company no longer has explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer's ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart." Walmart's announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including Ford , Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” He said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have “record participation” of more than 1,400 companies in 2025."By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans in the U.S. Congress are discussing a two-step plan to push ahead on President-elect Donald Trump's agenda when they take control of both chambers next year, potentially starting with border security, energy and defense before turning to tax cuts. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, whose Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority, laid out a plan in a closed-door party meeting on Tuesday that included a call from Trump himself. It aims to use a parliamentary maneuver to bypass the chamber's "filibuster" rule that requires 60 senators to agree to advance most legislation. According to the Senate plan, the first bill would focus on Trump's agenda for border security, energy deregulation and defense spending, while the second would extend tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed during the first Trump presidency, which are due to expire next year. Thune told reporters that the plan amounted to "options, all of which our members are considering." To enact Trump's agenda, the Senate will have to work closely with the president-elect and the House of Representatives, which is expected to have a razor-thin Republican majority. "We were always planning to do reconciliation in two packages. So we're discussing right now how to allocate the various provisions, and we're making those decisions over the next couple of days," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, who joined Senate Republicans at their meeting. "There are different ideas on what to put in the first package and what in the second, and we're trying to build consensus around those ideas," Johnson told reporters. The speaker also said that he believes Congress in coming weeks will pursue a continuing resolution, or CR, that would fund federal agencies into March. Current funding is set to expire on Dec. 20. Before moving a first reconciliation bill, the House and Senate will need to agree on a budget resolution to unlock the "reconciliation" tool they plan to use to bypass the filibuster. Aides said senators hope to do that by the end of January and then move quickly to complete the first bill by March 31. "We have the trifecta for two years. About 18 months is all we're really going to have to really get things done," Republican Senator Mike Rounds told reporters. Democrats also leaned heavily on reconciliation to pass legislation when they held control of both chambers during the first two years of President Joe Biden's term. Republican Senator Rand Paul, a fiscal hawk, raised concerns about the plan's cost. "This is not a fiscally conservative notion," Paul said. "So at this point, I'm not for it, unless there are significant spending cuts attached." Extending Trump's tax cuts for individuals and small businesses will add $4 trillion to the current $36 trillion in total U.S. debt over 10 years. Trump also promised voters generous new tax breaks, including ending taxes on Social Security, overtime and tip income and restoring deductions for car loan interest. The tab is likely to reach $7.75 trillion above the CBO baseline over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog group. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Stephen Coates and Shri Navaratnam)HUMBOLDT, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man was convicted Thursday of killing two men and wounding a third in a shooting at a high school basketball game three years ago. Jadon Hardiman, 21, was found guilty in Gibson County of charges including second-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses, district attorney Frederick Agee said in a statement. He faces up to 76 years in prison at sentencing in April. Hardiman, of Jackson, attended a basketball game between Humboldt and North Side high schools on Nov. 30, 2021. Then 18, Hardiman entered the Humboldt gymnasium's crowded concession area and pulled a semi-automatic .40 caliber handgun, prosecutors said. He fired three shots at Justin Pankey, a 21-year-old former Humboldt basketball player. Pankey was hit one time and died within seconds, Agee said. A second bullet hit Xavier Clifton, a former North Side student and basketball player, who was standing in the concession line. Clifton was shot in the neck and paralyzed. He died in March 2022. A third shot struck another man in the back of the head. He survived. “Many people were placed in fear of imminent bodily injury by Hardiman’s shooting, as shown by video footage of their fleeing into the gym, into bathrooms, and other areas of the school,” Agee said. Hardiman ran away and drove to Jackson, disposing of the murder weapon along the way, the district attorney said. The U.S. Marshals Service contacted his family, and he was arrested the next day. Agee said the shooting "frightened every adult, student, and child present, who were only there to support their team and enjoy a good game.” Hardiman's lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
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OMAHA — Creighton did it again. In an in-state women’s college basketball series with Nebraska largely dictated by what happens beyond the 3-point arc, the Jays rallied with six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to beat No. 21 Nebraska 80-74 on Friday at Sokol Arena. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Jays made four straight 3-pointers. The Jays were 6 for 9 on threes in the fourth quarter and 13 for 29 for the game to give Nebraska its first loss to the season. The Jays outscored Nebraska by 24 points on 3-pointers. Creighton has won three straight in the series. Lauren Jensen had a game-high 31 points for the Jays with four 3s. Morgan Maly, a senior from Crete, scored 18. Alexis Markowski worked really hard for Nebraska, finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds and calling for the ball inside where she often had an advantage. Britt Prince added 20 points in the first game against her hometown school. Nebraska led 55-52 to start the fourth quarter. For the final 10 minutes, one of the questions was how much did Markowski have left? And also, could the Huskers defend the 3-point line just a little longer? The Jays made two of their first three 3-point attempts to start the quarter to regain a 60-57 lead. Molly Mogensen had the first one, and Jensen the second for her fourth of the game. When Mogensen made another three the Jays led 72-66. The Jays sealed the deal when Prince missed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left and the Jays made their free throws. Nebraska led 22-19 after the first quarter. It was an entertaining start. The game started with Markowski going at Maly inside the paint, the Nebraska natives who played in the same club in Lincoln. There were five combined 3-pointers, with three for the Jays and two for Nebraska (each from Prince). Creighton used a 13-2 run that included three 3-pointers to take a 15-8 lead. But Nebraska got back in it with a steal and layup from Allison Weidner and a take to the basket from Callin Hake. Creighton added two more 3-pointers in the second quarter, but Nebraska was able to keep a lead at halftime 37-35. Reach the writer at 402-473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com . On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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DENVER — So you're the most valuable player of that annual Thanksgiving Day backyard flag football game. Or played tackle football on any level. Or ran track. Or dabbled in basketball. Or toyed with any sport, really. Well, this may be just for you: USA Football is holding talent identification camps all over the country to find that next flag football star. It's "America's Got Talent" meets "American Idol," with the stage being the field and the grand prize a chance to compete for a spot on a national team. Because it's never too early to start planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its Summer Games debut. Know this, though — it's not an easy team to make. The men's and women's national team rosters are at "Dream Team" status given the men's side has captured six of the last seven world championships and the women three in a row. To remain on top, the sport's national governing body is scouring every football field, park, track, basketball court and gym to find hidden talent to cultivate. USA Football has organized camps and tryouts from coast to coast for anyone ages 11 to 23. There are more than a dozen sites set up so far, ranging from Dallas (Sunday) to Chicago (Dec. 14) to Tampa (March 29) to Los Angeles (TBD) and the Boston area (April 27), where it will be held at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. The organization has already partnered with the NFL on flag football initiatives and programs. The numbers have been through the roof, with engagement on social media platforms increasing by 86% since flag football was announced as an Olympic invitational sport in October 2023. The participation of boys and girls ages 6 to 17 in flag football last year peaked at more than 1.6 million, according to USA Football research. "We pride ourselves on elevating the gold standard across the sport," said Eric Mayes, the managing director of the high performance and national teams for USA Football. "We want to be the best in the world — and stay the best in the world." Flag football was one of five new sports added to the LA28 program. The already soaring profile of American football only figures to be enhanced by an Olympic appearance. Imagine, say, a few familiar faces take the field, too. Perhaps even NFL stars such as Tyreek Hill or Patrick Mahomes, maybe even past pro football greats donning a flag belt for a country to which they may have ties. Soon after flag football's inclusion, there was chatter of NFL players possibly joining in on the fun. Of course, there are logistical issues to tackle before their inclusion at the LA Olympics, which open July 14, 2028. Among them, training camp, because the Olympics will be right in the middle of it. The big question is this: Will owners permit high-priced players to duck out for a gold-medal pursuit? No decisions have yet been made on the status of NFL players for the Olympics. For now, it's simply about growing the game. There are currently 13 states that sanction girls flag football as a high school varsity sport. Just recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles helped pave the way to get it adopted in Pennsylvania. Around the world, it's catching on, too. The women's team from Japan took third at the recent word championships, while one of the best players on the planet is Mexico quarterback Diana Flores. "Could flag football globally become the new soccer? That's something to aspire to," said Stephanie Kwok, the NFL's vice president of flag football. This type of flag football though, isn't your Thanksgiving Day game with family and friends. There's a learning curve. And given the small roster sizes, versatility is essential. Most national team members need to be a version of Colorado's two-way standout and Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter. Forget bump-and-run coverage, too, because there's no contact. None. That took some adjusting for Mike Daniels, a defensive back out of West Virginia who earned a rookie minicamp invitation with the Cleveland Browns in 2017. "If a receiver is running around, I'm thinking, 'OK, I can kind of bump him here and there and nudge him,'" Daniels explained. "They're like, 'No, you can't.' I'm just like, 'So I'm supposed to let this guy just run?!' I really rebelled at the idea at first. But you learn." The competition for an Olympic roster spot is going to be fierce because only 10 players are expected to make a squad. The best 10 will earn it, too, as credentials such as college All-American or NFL All-Pro take a backseat. "I would actually love" seeing NFL players try out, said Daniels, who's also a personal trainer in Miami. "I'm not going to let you just waltz in here, thinking, 'I played NFL football for five years. I'm popular. I have a huge name.' I'm still better than you and I'm going to prove it — until you prove otherwise." Around the house, Bruce Mapp constantly swivels his hips when turning a hallway corner or if his daughter tries to reach for a hug. It's his way of working on avoiding a "defender" trying to snare the flag. That approach has earned the receiver out of Coastal Carolina four gold medals with USA Football. The 31-year-old fully plans on going for more gold in Los Angeles. "You grow up watching Usain Bolt (win gold) and the 'Redeem Team' led by Kobe Bryant win a gold medal, you're always thinking, 'That's insane.' Obviously, you couldn't do it in your sport, because I played football," said Mapp, who owns a food truck in the Dallas area. "With the Olympics approaching, that (gold medal) is what my mind is set on." It's a common thought, which is why everything — including talent camps — starts now. "Everybody thinks, 'Yeah, the U.S. just wins,'" Daniels said. "But we work hard all the time. We don't just walk in. We don't just get off the bus thinking, 'We're going to beat people.'" Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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( MENAFN - Live Mint) (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Disaster. Flop. Average. If you had to bet on a Bollywood movie's fate in 2024, those would have been your three best options in a year set to end with a 30% to 40% drop in box-office collections. The world's most prolific film industry is desperately hoping for a better 2025. And so are the city's cops: When the theaters go empty, the body count starts to rise on the streets of Mumbai. That's what the 1990s were like - and everyone's dreading a repeat of lawlessness in India's financial capital. The fears are far from exaggerated. Baba Siddique, a local politician and real-estate developer who enjoyed close friendships with celebrity actors, was gunned down in October as he was about to get into his car. A member of the gang that claimed responsibility said in a Facebook post that“Bollywood, politics, and property dealings” were behind the murder. Organized crime and the show business of Bombay - as the megalopolis was known until 1995 - have been joined at the hip for a long time. The Golden Age of Indian Cinema that began around the country's 1947 independence from British rule had a 20-year run. Politics took a cynical turn in the late 1960s, and popular culture began to reflect the loss of idealism. Bollywood scripts shed the social concerns of a young republic and became the escapist fantasy the world knows today. By the early 1970s, India was releasing hundreds of Hindi-language films. Banks wouldn't finance them. That's where the likes of Haji Mastan came in. One of Mumbai's most powerful dons at the time, Mastan was a sucker for glamor. Dressed in all white, the stylish boss became something of a private-equity player for the entertainment business when he began to finance movies for his actress lover. The mob had eked out its initial capital from the docks of Bombay, smuggling gold and electronics. As it reinvented itself for a more open economy in the 1980s and 1990s, bootlegging and extortion gave way to money-laundering, trafficking in drugs and guns ... and more cinema. Dons were no longer satisfied with a profit share, a 2003 report by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies noted. They wanted“partnership by becoming producers and getting overseas rights for film and music distribution.” Leading this change was Dawood Ibrahim, a policeman's son who rose to prominence as the city's most feared mobster in the post-Mastan era. Dawood began operating from Dubai in the mid-1980s, but his syndicate, known as the D Company, is believed to have carried out the assassination of the founder of T Series, a music-production powerhouse, in 1997. That murder, as well as a subsequent attempt on the life of a producer - whose son Hrithik Roshan was the reigning teen heartthrob - shook the industry. Ibrahim's suspected involvement in the deadly 1993 terror attack on Mumbai, in which 257 people were killed in a series of bomb blasts across the city, provided urgency to the cleanup. Bollywood has an entire crime noir dedicated to so-called encounter specialists, who would, instead of apprehending underworld operatives and producing them in court, simply execute them. One of my personal favorites is Ab Tak Chhappan, or “56 So Far,” a reference to the kill count. Just when it looked like the city had escaped from that cycle of violence, there are fresh signs of unease. In February 2021, a car packed with explosives was found parked outside the home of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest tycoon. An elite detective - a former“encounter specialist” - is awaiting trial in that case. While denying the ex-cop's bail petition last year, a court said his aim was to spread terror in the mind of the Ambani family. Siddique's murder has deepened the foreboding. Police have invoked a harsh 1999 law designed to crush organized crime. But cops don't know the underworld's current level of engagement. “We must have made 20 to 25 films and earned profits, too,” Chhota Shakeel, an Ibrahim aide, had bragged in a 2001 interview, after authorities busted a high-profile case of the mafia's movie-financing operations.“Instead of extorting money from film personalities, we thought we would do business with them.” Have the proceeds of crime seeped in again, slipping through the veneers of Bollywood's corporatization? It's an important law-enforcement question. As the Indian investigative journalist Swati Chaturvedi wrote recently,“Nowhere else in the world does a film industry of this size face such organized threats.” The repercussions go beyond showbiz. Lawrence Bishnoi, the leader of the group suspected of murdering Siddique, has been accused by the Canadian police of colluding with Indian government agents to kill and harass members of the country's Sikh diaspora. A gangster who's at the center of a diplomatic spat - and at the same time threatening to eliminate Salman Khan, one of India's biggest film stars - adds a new dimension to the threat. Arthouse Indian cinema has always felt smothered by kitsch. That has only gotten worse in recent years with right-wing propaganda films competing with the usual song-and-dance and action routines. But now Mumbai is losing control even on its signature over-the-top entertainers. Studios in the southern city of Hyderabad can lay claim to two of the biggest hits in a dull year.(1) That is just like 1984 when the Mumbai industry's dalliance with crime had begun to get serious. Meanwhile, the acclaimed drama All We Imagine as Light, nominated for two Golden Globes and the winner of this year's Cannes Grand Prix, is struggling to find exhibitors at home. A second-generation Mumbai producer recently sold half of his studio to Adar Poonawalla, the billionaire vaccine maker who earned handsome profits during Covid-19. The pandemic marked a crucial intermission. It fueled demand for original content people could stream at home on Netflix, Amazon Prime and homegrown apps like Hotstar when cinemas were under lockdown. Now everything is open, and yet audiences are so bored of the insipid fare on screens big and small, they're neither out for a movie night, nor clicking through big-budget web dramas. When everything starts bombing for Bollywood, things take a sinister turn in Mumbai. More From Bloomberg Opinion: (1) Pushpa: The Rule -- Part 2, made in Telugu and dubbed into five other Indian languages, is an action thriller about a violent sandalwood smuggler. It has beaten Kalki 2898 AD, another Telugu-language movie, as the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024, according to IMDb. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia. Previously, he worked for Reuters, the Straits Times and Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg/opinion MENAFN26122024007365015876ID1109033456 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Defending the run has been one of the Green Bay Packers’ weaknesses over the last several years. Not so much lately, though. Green Bay limited San Francisco to 16 carries for 44 yards in a 38-10 rout of the 49ers on Nov. 24, with two-time All-Pro Christian McCaffrey gaining 31 yards on 11 attempts. Four nights later, the Packers beat Miami 30-17 by holding the Dolphins to 39 yards on 14 carries. It was the first time since 1995 — and only the second time since 1950 — that the Packers had allowed fewer than 45 yards rushing in back-to-back games within the same season. “I think we’re playing harder and harder each week,” first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “And that’s how you play good defense.” That defense needs to be at its best Thursday as the Packers (9-3) close a stretch of three games in 12 days by visiting the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions (12-1), who have the NFL’s highest-scoring offense thanks in part to a rushing attack featuring the speedy Jahmyr Gibbs and the physical David Montgomery. “Gibbs is a great running back,” defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. “I really think the offense really starts with him, honestly. He can do everything — receive, in-and-out runner, can do stretch, duo plays. We’ve got to have all hands on deck with Gibbs. And then Montgomery, he’s a great complement to him. He can do everything, also.” RELATED COVERAGE Browns get 497-yard performance from QB Jameis Winston and lose anyway in season long gone sour Analysis: Getting benched may have been best thing that happened to Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson Broncos head into bye on three-game winning streak and chasing first playoff spot since 2015 season The Lions were the first team since the 1975 Miami Dolphins to rush for at least 100 yards and a touchdown in each of their first 11 games. The streak ended on Thanksgiving when the Lions rushed for 194 yards but didn’t have a touchdown on the ground in a 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears. Green Bay outrushed Detroit 138-124 in the Packers’ 24-14 loss to the Lions on Nov. 3 at Lambeau Field. Montgomery rushed for 73 yards while Gibbs ran for 65 yards and a touchdown. Gibbs has 973 yards this season, which ranks fourth in the NFL. The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . Montgomery ran for a combined 192 yards and four touchdowns in the Lions’ two games against the Packers last season. Green Bay’s run defense has come a long way since. The Packers have allowed 106.6 yards rushing per game this season, which ranks eighth in the league. The Packers haven’t closed a season in the top 10 in run defense since 2016 and have finished outside the top 20 in four of the last six years, including 26th in 2022 and 28th in 2023. “I think Haf’s doing a good job of mixing up the fronts and some of the coverages, but really it’s ultimately about tackling, swarming, getting many hats to the football,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “And our guys have really embraced that style of play.” The Packers are yielding 4.2 yards per carry to rank seventh in the league after finishing 22nd or worst in that category each of the last three seasons. They haven’t closed a season ranked in the top 10 in yards allowed per carry since 2017. Hafley says the improvement starts up front. “The interior part of our D-line has done such a good job these last few games,” Hafley said. “They really have. They’re hard to block. They’re staying in their gaps. They’re tearing off of blocks, and it’s the same thing with those defensive ends. They’re setting edges, they’re forcing the ball back inside, they’re getting off blocks and then we’re tackling and we’re running to the ball and there’s multiple people to the ball. “And when you turn on our tape right now and when you freeze it, you see that. You see a lot of guys around the football. And then you’re not afraid, right? Like if I have an open-field tackle and I know eight other guys are coming, I’m going to take my shot because I know if I miss, it’s going to be, ‘Bang, bang, bang,’ we’ve got three or four other guys there, and we’re starting to play faster.” Green Bay’s defense has the Lions’ attention. “They’ve been playing well,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “I mean, they have, really, all season, and nothing has changed.” ___ AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
