BASKETBALL

76ers Markelle Fultz out with nerve disorder — Markelle Fultz, a guard for the Philadelphia 76ers who has struggled to stay on the court and endured heavy criticism for ongoing shooting woes, has been diagnosed with a nerve disorder. The team announced Tuesday that the injury, which could explain many of his basketball issues, would sideline him indefinitely. Fultz, 20, has battled injuries in the two seasons since he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, and has not played since Nov. 19. He also missed 68 games last season. In a statement updating Fultz’s status, Dr. Daniel Medina, the Sixers’ president of athlete care, said that after a series of consultations with specialists across several disciplines, Fultz had received a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome. A statement provided to ESPN by Fultz’s agent, Raymond Brothers, went further, saying that the diagnosis was neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, which Brothers said “affects nerves between the neck and shoulder resulting in abnormal functional movement and range of motion, thus severely limiting Markelle’s ability to shoot a basketball.” The team and agent said Fultz’s condition would be treated with physical therapy, and ESPN’s report indicated Fultz could be back on the court in three to six weeks. This condition, which the Mayo Clinic says involves a compression of the brachial plexus, “a network of nerves that come from your spinal cord and control muscle movements and sensation in your shoulder, arm and hand,” is typically more associated with baseball players. A host of big-name pitchers, including Matt Harvey, Josh Beckett and Chris Carpenter, have received a similar diagnosis.

FOOTBALL

49ers long snapper Nelson suspended for PEDs — San Francisco 49ers long snapper Kyle Nelson has been suspended 10 games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Nelson will miss the final four games of this season and the first six in 2019 under the suspension handed out Tuesday. He will be able to participate in the offseason program and preseason games before resuming his suspension. Nelson says he believes the positive test came from a legal supplement. He says he is looking into what supplement caused the positive test and says he will seek legal action against the manufacturer when he finds out. Nelson has spent the past five seasons in San Francisco, playing all 76 games. He has also played for the Chargers and Washington in his seven-year career.

Former Seahawk and Beaver sentenced — Prosecutors say former NFL cornerback Brandon Browner has been sentenced to eight years in prison for trying to kill his ex-girlfriend after breaking into her Southern California home. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office says the former Oregon State star was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to attempted murder as part of a deal with prosecutors. The 34-year-old also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a child. The judge ordered Browner to stay away from the victim and her two children for 10 years. Browner, who won Super Bowls with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, was arrested in July. Investigators said Browner broke into the apartment, chased and dragged the woman and then tried to smother her in a carpet.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Olympic gold comes 6 years later — When Christine Girard was presented with the gold medal in weightlifting from the 2012 Olympics, there was a podium, a Canadian flag and an anthem sung by a choir. In the audience were Olympians, officials, friends and family. Included among them were her three children, none of them yet born in 2012. That is because the presentation of the medal came on Monday, more than six years after the competition. In London, Girard lifted a total of 520 pounds, good for third place in her division. It was the first medal ever for a female Canadian lifter. But in 2016, Maiya Maneza of Kazakhstan and Svetlana Tsarukayeva of Russia were disqualified after retesting of their samples revealed performance-enhancing drugs. Girard became the retroactive gold medalist. At the National Arts Center in Ottawa, about 100 people gathered for a 20-minute ceremony during which Girard finally got her gold medal. “It was a win of our values, a win for clean sport,” Girard said.

— From wire reports