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Alabama players: Do any of these 3 things, and Nate Oats will bench you

Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats has instituted a zero-tolerance policy that leaves zero room for interpretation.

Want to play? There are three things you must do. Want to get subbed out? Then don’t do any of them.

He made clear what not to do. Don’t …

Give low effort
Ignore the scouting report
Turn the ball over

If you do any of those things, get ready to get subbed out. Prepare for a spot on the bench. That policy was in full effect Saturday at Coleman Coliseum, and No. 4 Alabama went on to defeat No. 17 Kentucky 96-83 at Coleman Coliseum.

It prevented a three-game losing streak after the Crimson Tide had lost to Auburn and Missouri in the past week. Alabama (22-5, 11-3 SEC) struggled in both games to start well, so Oats put his zero-tolerance subbing policy into effect immediately to try to spark his team early against Kentucky (18-9, 7-7).

About one minute into the game, Oats subbed out Labaron Philon for Aden Holloway. About 90 seconds into the game, Oats subbed out Holloway and Grant Nelson for Philon and Jarin Stevenson.

Tone set. Message sent.

“That’s the way it’s going to be moving forward,” Oats said. “I’m tired of the guys not being locked into the scouting report. If you grade our effort levels 1-10, it’s not like we’ve got anybody giving four, five, six, but there’s levels to this thing. We can’t be giving an eight or nine. We need a 10. We’ve just got to the challenge the guys.”

This policy didn’t lead to Alabama preventing the opposing team from taking an early lead (Kentucky went up 20-9), but the Crimson Tide rebounded and took over to win. Plus, the policy has made clear what Oats will be prioritizing down the stretch and that he will not tolerate anything else.

“He’s just holding you accountable,” Mark Sears said, “and you’ve just got to accept it and be coachable and understand what he’s doing.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

General

Barry Dunning scores 46 points, but South Alabama loses at Texas State in OT

A near-record performance by Barry Dunning wasn’t enough for South Alabama to beat Texas State on Saturday, or to remain in first place in the Sun Belt Conference.

Mark Drone’s driving layup with 0.5 seconds left in overtime gave the homestanding Bobcats a 93-92 victory at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, offsetting Dunning’s career-best and school-record-tying 46 points. The loss dropped the Jaguars (19-10, 11-5 Sun Belt) into second place in the conference standings, a game behind James Madison, with a week left in the regular season.

Dunning, a junior from Mobile, had given the Jaguars a one-point lead at 92-91 on a three-point play with 5.9 seconds remaining. But the Bobcats worked the ball down the floor against a South Alabama defense trying not to foul, and Drone got to the rim and converted the game-winner.

South Alabama didn’t have many options for a miracle shot with less than a second remaining, and Jayden Cooper was well short on a desperation heave at the buzzer. It was redemption for the Bobcats (14-14, 8-8), who lost 70-65 to the Jaguars in Mobile a week ago.

“I love my guys, but we didn’t deserve to win,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said in his post-game comments to SportsTalk 99.5 FM. “We didn’t guard. We’ve hung our hat on our defense all year. We played one of the best offenses in our league, on the road Wednesday, and guarded our tail off (in a 60-56 win at Arkansas State).

“And we’ve been doing that, and we came in here today, we just didn’t guard. I’m just disappointed. Again, I love my guys, but we let this one go.”

Dunning — who also had 34 points against the Bobcats last week — scored just 11 in the first half on Saturday. However, he went off for 27 in the second half — connecting on five of his career-best nine 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes of regulation — and scored eight of the Jaguars’ 10 points in overtime.

Dunning’s 46 points ties a 51-year-old South Alabama program record, set by Eugene Oliver vs. Southern Miss in 1974. His point total was one off the Sun Belt mark of 47 by Appalachian State’s Ronshad Shabazz vs. Louisiana-Monroe in 2019, and is tied for the second-most by an NCAA Division I men’s player this season (Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 49 vs. Texas-Rio Grand Valley on Nov. 6; UMass’ Rahsool Diggins also had 46 vs. Fordham on Jan. 15).

Dunning finished the night 13-for-20 from the field, 9-for-12 from 3-point range and 11-for-11 from the free-throw line in a losing effort. The former Mr. Basketball at Mobile’s McGill-Toolen Catholic School transferred to South Alabama last summer after spending one season each at Arkansas and UAB.

“It’s incredible,” Riley said of Dunning. “He just hit shots, shots after shots, got to the free-throw line, made his free throws. … He was unbelievable. He’s one of the best players in this league. Really good player to come on the road and do that.

“It’s pretty special. I wish we could have got a win to go with it.”

South Alabama now sits in a three-way tie for second in the Sun Belt with Arkansas State and Troy, with two regular-season games remaining. The Jaguars would win any three-way tie with those two teams, and also have the head-to-head tiebreaker on first-place James Madison.

The Sun Belt tournament begins March 4 in Pensacola, Fla. The top two seeds get a bye all the way to the semifinals, while seeds 3 and 4 automatically reach the quarterfinal round.

Dunning didn’t have much help on Saturday, at least on the offensive end. Elijah Ormiston was the only other South Alabama player in double figures scoring with 12, and was the only other Jaguar to score in overtime.

Texas State went up by four at 90-86 on Coleton Benson’s 3-pointer — his fifth of the game — with 36 seconds left in overtime, but Dunning answered with his own trey to make it a one-point game with 26 seconds to play. Benson then made the first of two free throws, with Texas State big man Tylan Pope getting the rebound on the second but then throwing the ball away for a turnover with 20 seconds left.

That set up Dunning’s 3-point play, where he drove to the basket for the layup while being fouled, then made his free throw to put the Jaguars up one, however briefly. But then came Drone’s game-winner.

“(Drone) drove it a little into the floor and we never caught him,” Riley said. “We obviously picked up guarding, but the whole game, we just … we were not who we needed to be defensively.

“And it showed with their percentages and how many points they scored. I mean, they scored 46 points in the second half. That never happens. So, it’s disappointing. We’ve got to learn from it.”

South Alabama led by as many as seven points in the first half and five in the second half, but could never put Texas State away. A key sequence came just after Dunning connected on three free throws to put the Jaguars up 77-73.

However, Benson was fouled on his own 3-point attempt, also making all three to make it a one-point game again. The teams then traded buckets and free throws in the final minutes before Pope’s tip-in tied it with 15 seconds to play.

South Alabama had three shots to win the game in regulation, but none would fall. Dunning’s putback rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.

Tyrel Morgan led Texas State with 20 points, though he played much of the second half in foul trouble. Benson scored 19, Joshua O’Garro 13, Drone 11 and Pope — who had a game-high 11 rebounds — also 11.

South Alabama is back in action at Southern Miss at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, then returns home to face Louisiana at 7 p.m. Friday.

General

Johni Broome’s career day sparks Auburn basketball’s second half surge vs Georgia

Two days after Auburn basketball launched a website for Johni Broome’s National Player of the Year campaign, the Tigers’ leading scorer proved again that it’s his award to lose.

Sitting one double-double away from a 50-year Auburn record, Broome’s 31 points and 14 rebounds puts him at 17 on the year. Also posting an Auburn career high in points, Broome shot perfect from the floor the entire second half.

“My teammates got me looks. My coaches got me in the right spots…. nothing crazy, just trying to get back to my normal self,” Broome said postgame.

Broome came out the gate dominating with 12 points and six rebounds at halftime. However, Auburn shot just 30% from the floor in the first half.

The Tigers bounced back shooting 59% in the second half as Broome scored 19 more points and added four assists to his stellar stat line.

“I think we just got back into the flow of things. A big part of that was [Johni Broome],” Miles Kelly said postgame. “Getting the ball into him and him just taking over the game, honestly.”

In the Tigers’ two victories this week they have hit a combined 10 made 3-pointers. Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara hit the Tigers’ only shots from beyond the arc in the second half.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl acknowledged the poor shooting week his team had but did not shy away from shining the light on his best player.

“That’s why he’s player of the year. Unbelievable poise. He plays at a great pace offensively and the fact that he’s patient, calculating and the fact that he attacked the rim like he did in this game so much,” Pearl said. “I mean, that was the biggest difference at the end of the day. We had 4 and they didn’t. And 4 played pretty good tonight.”

“We shot it so well on the road,” Pearl added. “I’m not really sure why that’s the case, but I’m going to look at it.”

Despite the shooting slump, Broome put the team on his back helping Auburn secure the season sweep against Georgia.

Now sitting at 13-1 in SEC play, Auburn has two more regular season home games. With the clock ticking on his college career, Broome’s only goal now is chasing immortality.

“This whole season, one our mottos have been to make history,” Broome said. “And that’s individually, or as a team. If God’s willing, I’ll be able to break it.”

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].

General

3 takeaways from Alabama basketball’s bounce-back win over Kentucky

Alabama basketball bounced back from two consecutive losses on Saturday, beating Kentucky 96-83 in Tuscaloosa. The win was a big one for the Crimson Tide, which is still looking to secure a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

The win moved UA to 22-5 on the season, 11-3 in SEC play. The Tide return to action Tuesday at Coleman Coliseum, facing Mississippi State.

Before that, here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win.

Right track

Entering Saturday’s game, Alabama needed to get out of a tailspin. A week ago, the Crimson Tide had a real chance to win the league title, a dream likely crushed by losses to Auburn and Missouri.

UA hasn’t lost three games in a row since December of 2023. It still has motivation late in the season, with NCAA and SEC Tournament seeding on the line.

And on Saturday, against a top 25 team, Alabama returned to form. Mark Sears, who had played his best game of the season in the loss to Missouri, led the way against the Wildcats, finishing with 30 points, four rebounds and four assists.

After falling behind early, the Crimson Tide retook the lead in the first half and never again trailed. As the game dragged late, Alabama stayed in control, playing much better basketball than it had over the past week.

With No. 21 Mississippi State, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 2 Florida and a rematch with No. 1 Auburn on the horizon, a win to get things moving in the right direction was sorely needed.

Better start

Alabama’s previous two losses shared a common theme. The Crimson Tide got down big early.

Against Auburn, the Tigers went up 9-0, and went on to win by nine points. At Missouri, a 12-0 deficit that resulted in a 12-point Crimson Tide loss

“We gotta come out like we’ve got our hair on fire,” UA head coach Nate Oats said Friday. “Like the season’s riding on the line. Because there’s a lot still riding on this game. It’s NCAA Tournament seeding. It’s SEC tournament seeding. It’s giving yourself a chance to still be in it if things fall certain ways at the end of the year.”

Alabama managed to score the first two points of the game, but still didn’t get off to much of a start. Kentucky was up 16-9 at the first timeout, and led by as much as 12 during the first half.

However, the Crimson Tide came through big late in the half. Sears led the team with 15 points in the first 20 minutes, and Aden Holloway had 12.

Eventually, Alabama went on a 20-4 run, regaining the lead. When the teams headed to the locker room, UA led 47-40.

Sears SZN

Throughout the 2024-25 season, Sears has been up and down. He famously was benched against LSU, with Oats saying he went with the players who could give him the best defensive effort.

Oats also didn’t seem pleased with Sears following the Tide’s loss to Auburn. However, the Muscle Shoals native has rebounded over the past two games.

In Alabama’s loss to Missouri, Sears went for 30 points, which Oats said was perhaps his best performance of the year. He followed it up in a big way against Kentucky.

Sears was supposed to be the Crimson Tide’s superstar this season, but struggled at times. If he can continue his recent strong efforts, it could help Alabama return to top form as the teeth of its SEC schedule continues.

General

How Auburn basketball’s offense led it to another win despite cold outside shooting

Auburn men’s basketball made 27% of its 3-pointers against Georgia, but that didn’t stop the Tigers from winning 82-70 behind a 53-point second half.

How did the Tigers do it?

A 31-point performance from National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome helped, but for a second straight game Auburn was a force on the offensive glass. The Tigers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second chance points, a big stat in what finished as a 12-point game.

Just like he did in scoring, Broome led the way on the glass too, grabbing 14 rebounds, eight of them coming on offense.

Head coach Bruce Pearl said after the game that Broome’s performance down the stretch was the difference in the game. The box score would agree with that claim, but he wasn’t the only one who contributed on the glass.

Dylan Cardwell and Ja’Heim Hudson each grabbed three offensive rebounds. Miles Kelly had just one, but pulled down eight total rebounds, an impressive number for a player whose role lies largely on the perimeter.

“It’s super important,” Kelly said after the game. “Offensive rebounding gives us second-chance points. I mean, we’ve got guys like Johni, Dylan, Chaney [Johnson] crashing the glass… [Chris Moore], [Hudson] crashing the glass every time. So, it just gives us another opportunity on offense when we’re struggling from beyond the arc.”

It’s a similar formula to how Auburn finished off a win over Arkansas Wednesday night. The Tigers shot 4-for-24 from 3-point range in that game, but grabbed 13 offensive rebounds compared to Arkansas’ four.

Auburn’s offensive rebound percentage now ranks 29th out of 364 Division I teams, helping maintain the Tigers’ cushion as KenPom’s No. 1 offense.

When asked about the offensive rebounding after Saturday’s game, Pearl explained not only what it means for the offense, but schematically how that strength is worked into the offensive gameplan.

“In the framework of our offense, we have backside rebounding built in,” Pearl said. “When you got Chaney, Dylan on the backside rebounding, and you got Johni with the ball in the post, you put three shooters out there, a kindergartner can figure out how to score with that.”

On a day where Auburn shot 6-for-22 from 3, that strategy was enough to win by 12 against a team ranked in the KenPom top 50. In a game where Auburn knocks down three or four more triples — something the group is more than capable of — that margin can swell.

Long range shooting won’t always be consistent. Some teams will run you off the 3-point line and on some nights the open shots just won’t fall.

However, there’s a lot less variance in rebounding when you’re committed to crashing the glass. And for an offense that can hurt you in a variety of ways, that effort will travel in March.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

General

Immigrant rights advocates rally against deportations, bills filed in Alabama

Marchers for immigrant rights rallied in Birmingham Saturday. Four or five people, one carrying a bullhorn, led a procession carrying a banner that said “All are welcome,” as the long line of people chanted slogans in English and Spanish, at Railroad Park on Saturday.

“(The last month) has been an ongoing act of terrorism across the state,” Allison Hamilton, executive director of Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said to the crowd before the march.

“We have seen so many people being deported, being detained or just being harassed. We see people with ICE at their doors at 3 in the morning, banging on their doors while their kids are sleeping, terrifying them.”

Two months after President Trump took office with the promise of mass deportations, Alabama has not yet seen mass arrests of undocumented immigrants, but advocates say ICE arrests have increased. State lawmakers have filed a flurry of legislation in recent weeks targeting immigrants.

A family attending the immigrant rights march in Birmingham on February 22, 2025Sarah Whites-Koditschek

Members of the crowd carried handmade signs like “My Mom fought for my future, now I will fight for her,” “Immigrant lives matter” and “Do you call yourself a Christian?”

After several speakers addressed the crowd, the group lined up behind a banner to march down the side of the park.

At the farthest end of the route, marchers paused traffic at an intersection to cross the street, eliciting enthusiastic honks from a few drivers and cheers in response from the crowd. A worker wearing a beanie drove by on a municipal street sweeper and pumped his arm.

Brian, 15, attended with his parents who immigrated from Mexico. While he and his brother are citizens, he said, his father, a construction worker, and his mother, a housekeeper are not. He said that hurts and feels unfair.

“We don’t do nothing bad. We’re good people,” he said. “Start talking about other people that are doing bad,” he said referencing criminals and drug cartel members. “Talk about them, not us. Leave us alone.”

Brian said he did not know what he would do if his parents were deported. His father, Juan, 49, said in Spanish that he is worried.

“The system is broken,” he said. He and his wife have been here for 27 years and would like to become documented. “We’ve paid our taxes, we’re dedicated to our work and we’re good neighbors,” he said.

Anna Sato, 28, teaches English as a second language, and her husband is an immigrant. Her Christianity was a motivator for attending the rally.

“The law has made it really difficult for people to even do it the ‘right way.’ And so it’s just about understanding that people are people, and we have to get to know their stories and who they are and why someone came to the country.”

In recent weeks, state lawmakers have filed legislation to criminalize transporting undocumented immigrants, a bill that was amended to exclude language about harboring immigrants after criticism that it was worded similarly to a fugitive slave law.

Lawmakers are considering bills to create an international wire transfer fee that would potentially fund law enforcement or English as a second language costs. Other bills proposed would create a 48-hour detention period after an arrest to check immigration status and require fingerprints and DNA samples be collected from undocumented people arrested for any reason.

Immigrant Rights March, Birmingham, Alabama, February 22, 2025Sarah Whites-Koditschek

Gene Lankford, 63, a retired pastor from Helena, said he joined the march because he believes immigrants make a positive contribution to the economy and it is wrong to target them.

“I believe no human being is illegal, and our country has a contradiction in using immigrant labor to fill a need but not wanting to have the immigrants be here.”

Lankford said the Bible teaches to love strangers

“The stranger in the Bible means the foreigner,” he said.

Leonor Vásquez González, 56, a Spanish professor at the University of Montevallo, also teaches English to non-speakers.

She sees that sometimes her students need help but they feel afraid to speak up.

“I’m here to support them and to show them that not everyone is against their families being together.”

General

Discover Alabama’s most adorable Mardi Gras parade where the dogs steal the show

The Mystic Mutts of Revelry, one of the few all-canine parades during the Mardi Gras season in coastal Alabama, drew more than 300 participants this year.

It is the largest fundraiser of the year for The Haven, a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter in Fairhope. The afternoon Mardi Gras walking parade has taken place since 2004. Entrants pay a $35 fee to participate (for one person and one dog), $10 for additional kids and adults.

“It grows every year, weather permitting,” said Joline Beedy with The Haven and an organizer of the parade. She was pleased with the outcome of the weather, which was mild and comfortable – perfect for a canine parade.

“People dress up,” Beedy said. “It gets bigger every year.”

This year’s parade also had a theme: Real Housedogs of the Eastern Shore.

“Everyone loves pets,” Beedy said. “Dogs bring out the best in everyone. It’s a walking parade, great for kids and wagons, strollers and beads.”

General

3 takeaways from Auburn basketball’s home win over Georgia

No win in the Southeastern Conference is easy and every victory in college basketball’s closest league to the NBA deserves some sort of celebration.

Auburn men’s basketball beat Georgia 82-70 Saturday afternoon, but it was the second game in a row the Tigers had problems with a team from the bottom half of the SEC, a week after beating then No. 2 Alabama on the road.

Late free throws stretched the margin, but similar to Arkansas, Georgia had a chance to win in the final minutes.

Auburn still took care of business, though, improving to 13-1 in conference play and inching closer to a third SEC regular season championship under head coach Bruce Pearl.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:

Slow start

Continuing the trend from Wednesday’s 67-60 win over Arkansas, Auburn’s offense left a lot to be desired early in Saturday’s game.

The Tigers started the game slow, scoring 29 points and averaging .967 points per possession in the first half.

Turnovers weren’t as much of a problem against Georgia as they were against Arkansas, but the offense looked out of sorts at times. Open looks were hard to come by, Auburn had issues finishing at the rim and a good number of open shots wouldn’t fall.

Part of that is a credit to Georgia’s defense. The Bulldogs came into the game ranking 12th in the country in 3-point defense and 35th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency ratings.

The slow start didn’t flip the outcome of this game, but it’s something the Tigers can’t afford to make a habit of going into March.

Johni Broome makes his case for Player of the Year

Auburn beat Georgia by just two in the teams’ first matchup in January, a game in which the Tigers were without star center Johni Broome.

Pearl said before the game that having Broome back would give the team a boost on both ends of the floor, and that seemed to be the case in Saturday’s rematch. The All-American finished with a season-high 31 points and 14 rebounds, leading the team in both categories.

Broome carried Auburn’s offense for stretches during the game on a day where an individual lift was much needed at times.

The performance comes one game after Auburn launched a website campaigning for Broome to win National Player of the Year, but what he did on the floor Saturday made his case clear.

Second half offense was the difference

With all negatives things you could say about Auburn’s offense to start the game, the Tigers deserve credit for their improvement after the break.

Auburn did a good job of getting to the basket in the second half, getting some open dunks, but also getting to the free throw line 22 times. That was needed, given the Tigers shot 27.3% from 3-point range.

The increased production started and ended with Broome. Nineteen of his 31 points came in the second half, and he made all seven of his field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes.

Feeding Broome and consistently getting to the basket and free throw line finished with Auburn scoring 53 points in the second half and shooting 59.3% from the field.

That was crucial in half where Georgia also significantly increased its offensive output, scoring 46 points and shooting 46.7% from the field. The slow start obviously wasn’t ideal, but the second half proved why Auburn is still the country’s most efficient offensive team, even on a day where shots weren’t falling from deep.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

General

Oklahoma’s Duke Miles loses teeth after diving for ball

Oklahoma’s Duke Miles lost some teeth Saturday while diving on the floor for a loose ball Saturday in a 93-87 win over No. 21 Mississippi State.

The guard dove for a loose ball with Mississippi State’s Riley Kugel and hit his face on the floor.

According to CBS Sports, Oklahoma trainer Seth Tisdale told the Sooners radio broadcasters that Miles chipped two teeth.

“Our team dentist was in (the locker room) when I went to do radio,” OU coach Porter Moser said postgame of Miles’ status, per the report. “His teeth aren’t that pretty right now. He was doing fine when I left. He was just hustling, diving for a ball.”

Miles actually checked back into the game minutes later.

eremiah Fears had 27 points and a career-high 10 assists, and Oklahoma defeated No. 21 Mississippi State 93-87 on Saturday to snap a five-game losing skid and revive its NCAA Tournament hopes.

Fears, an 18-year-old freshman, made 7 of 12 field goals and 11 of 14 free throws. It was one of his most efficient performances overall and his second-best scoring effort of the season.

Jalon Moore scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and Sam Godwin had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Sooners (17-10, 4-10 Southeastern Conference).

Josh Hubbard scored 19 points and KeShawn Murphy added 16 for Mississippi State (19-8, 7-7), which was coming off wins against ranked opponents Mississippi and Texas A&M.

Mississippi State led 37-34 at halftime, despite 15 points from Fears.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

General

International news agency sues Trump administration

Alabama journalism experts said The Associated Press is taking a stand for the First Amendment by suing the Trump administration.

“Penalizing free speech because the government doesn’t like the speech is antithetical to the First Amendment,” said Chris Roberts, an associate journalism professor at the University of Alabama and a board member on the Society of Professional Journalists’ National Ethics Committee.

The AP, a global news organization, filed a lawsuit against three Trump administration officials on Feb. 21.

The suit was filed in Washington, D.C.’s U.S. District Court 10 days after the White House blocked the agency’s press access.

“The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government,” the lawsuit states. The defendants are White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“The Constitution does not allow the government to control speech,” the plaintiff’s attorneys said in the complaint. “Allowing such government control and retaliation to stand is a threat to every American’s freedom.”

The AP said this suit is about the “unconstitutional effort” to force them to change their popular style guide to say “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico. Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the Gulf in January.

“We’ll see them in court,” Leavitt said. The White House removed AP’s credentials from the White House press office and Mar-a-Lago as well as their usual spot on Air Force One. The organization can remain on White House grounds.

AP said this is a “targeted attack” on its “editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment. This court should remedy it immediately.”

“We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” Trump said Tuesday. Trump’s executive order to change the country’s largest mountain to Mount McKinley from Denali is recognized in the stylebook.

About 40 news organizations, including conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax, urged the White House to reverse its policy.

“We strongly condemn the campaign underway in Washington to penalize independent reporting on the government and its activities,” said the Society of Professional Journalists in a joint statement.

“This disturbing challenge to journalistic independence is part of a troubling pattern that extends well beyond the White House press corps,” the statement said.

This is a bipartisan First Amendment issue, according to Roberts, who said that because the AP is an international organization, they need to use what is accepted by global audiences. They’ve changed Mt. Denali to Mount McKinley, but they have to use the Gulf of Mexico while also acknowledging Trump’s name change, he said.

“They made a very thoughtful decision, and they explained themselves,” Roberts said. “The other piece of this is now you’ve got a government agency telling a news organization the words it must use or it will be penalized by the government.”

Besides regaining press access, Roberts believes the lawsuit sends a message supporting free speech.

“No matter whatever your political leaning is, this could happen to you,” he said.

Rebecca Ivic-Britt, an associate professor of health communication at the University of Alabama, said the lawsuit is a “dramatic” turn and “points to a larger concern in terms of how information is framed that can really lead to undermining public trust in the media.”

“While it’s not surprising, it’s deeply disturbing,” Ivic-Britt said. “I just worry about all of these rapid changes with the current administration and those larger implications that they have.”

In the complaint, the AP said the non-profit organization, founded in 1846, is “one of the world’s oldest and most trusted news organizations.” The media agency said they have received 59 Pulitzer Prizes and reach four billion people daily.