An assistant coach for the Denver Broncos is facing a felony assault charge after being accused of punching a police officer in the face at Denver International Airport.

Outside linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault on a police officer and booked into the Denver jail on Sunday, according to jail records. A judge set a $5,000 bond on Monday.

The Broncos issued a statement saying, “We are aware of a situation involving Michael Wilhoite that occurred Sunday and are in the process of gathering more information.”

According to a police affidavit, Wilhoite pulled up to the airport’s drop-off lane Sunday afternoon and left his vehicle unattended. A uniformed police officer approached Wilhoite when he returned and told him he couldn’t do that.

Wilhoite told the officer to shut up and bumped his chest into the officer, who shoved Wilhoite back, according to the affidavit. Wilhoite then punched the officer in the face, knocking him down, and returned to his truck, according to the police affidavit.

The officer used a Taser on Wilhoite as he entered his vehicle to drive away and Wilhoite was subsequently arrested, according to the affidavit.

Magistrate Arnie Beckman set a $5,000 bond for Wilhoite at Monday’s hearing.

“These are routine, everyday interactions that thousands of people get through successfully at the airport without assaulting a police officer,” Beckman said in court, according to the Denver Post. “That a routine, everyday encounter turned violent is concerning to the court.”

The Associated Press left a message Monday with Wilhoite’s attorney seeking comment.

Wilhoite, 38, joined the Broncos’ coaching staff in 2023 after previously working for coach Sean Payton in New Orleans as a defensive and special teams assistant in 2019-20.

Unnamed team proposes banning tush push

One NFL team is proposing an end to the tush push play the Philadelphia Eagles have used so successfully at the goal line and in short-yardage situations, including during their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.

According to NFL Network and the Washington Post, league executive Troy Vincent said Monday that a team submitted a proposal to ban the play, a modified quarterback sneak where two teammates behind Jalen Hurts push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown. Vincent didn’t identify the team.

NFL owners could vote on the proposal when they meet next month in Florida.

snowboarding

White’s new snowboard league starts next week

After opening in Aspen, Colorado, next week, Shaun White’s new halfpipe league will travel to the mountain in China where he closed out his career at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The Snow League announced the remainder of its four-stop, opening-season schedule Monday, which includes a trip in December to the Secret Garden snowpark in Zhangjiakou, China, followed by a return to Aspen in February 2026, then the season finale in Laax, Switzerland, after next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics.

The opener is set for March 7-8 at Buttermilk outside of Aspen.

White’s final run came at Secret Garden, where the three-time gold medalist finished fourth to cap off his fifth Olympics on an emotional day on the halfpipe.

After retiring, he set out to create a league that would bring together the world’s top riders, whose sport has long lacked a well-defined circuit and has also struggled to offer top prize money at many of its marquee events.

The Snow League is offering a $1.6 million prize pool, with $370,000 for each event and $160,000 to the league’s champions after all four events.

College basketball

Men’s basketball team safe after bus fire

Members of the IU Indianapolis men’s basketball team are unhurt and back home Monday, a day after their bus caught fire on Interstate 275.

The school posted a message on X on Sunday that all team and staff members were safely evacuated from the bus, which experienced a mechanical issue on the Jaguars’ trip home following a loss at Northern Kentucky. The team completed the trip home after being picked up by a second bus.

Pictures posted on social media show the charred remains of the bus on the shoulder of the highway with only the carriage partially intact. The bus windows were gone and the fire burned through the roof.

BRIEFLY

NFL >> The San Francisco 49ers signed offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who played at Saint John’s in Collegeville, Minnesota, to a one-year contract for 2025 that likely puts him in the mix to compete for the starting job at left guard next season.

NHL >> The Detroit Red Wings freed up $3.6 million in salary cap space by trading goalie Ville Husso to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. The Red Wings received future considerations.

NHL >> Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras has been suspended three games without pay for a hit to the head of Detroit’s Michael Rasmussen.

tennis >> Mirra Andreeva rose to a career-best No. 9 in the tennis rankings on Monday, making the Russian the first 17-year-old in the WTA’s Top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007. Andreeva moved up five spots thanks to her title Saturday in Dubai, where she beat past Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Marketa Vondrousova en route to becoming the youngest player to claim the trophy at a WTA 1000 tournament.

Figure Skating >> Nathan Chen, Nancy Kerrigan and Peggy Fleming are among a bevy of figure skaters added to the cast of a benefit event this weekend in Washington, D.C., for victims of the midair collision and crash outside Ronald Reagan International Airport. Olympic hopeful Isabeau Levito and reigning ice dancing world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who are favorites to win gold at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, are also scheduled to be part of the “Legacy on Ice” tribute on Sunday.

— From news services