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Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior criticized La Liga on Saturday for its inaction toward addressing racist behavior.

"Racists continue to go to stadiums and watch the biggest club in the world up close and La Liga continues to do nothing..." he wrote on Twitter (h/t The Athletic's Jacob Whitehead).

"I will continue with my head held high and celebrating my victories and those of Madrid. In the end it's MY fault."

Os racistas seguem indo aos estádios e assistindo ao maior clube do mundo de perto e a @LaLiga segue sem fazer nada…
Seguirei de cabeça erguida e comemorando as minhas vitórias e do Madrid.
No final a culpa é MINHA. 🤙🏿 pic.twitter.com/5ztuTjP4s6

— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) December 31, 2022

His comments came after he was the target of racist abuse during a 2-0 win over Real Valladolid on Friday.

La Liga issued a statement to Whitehead defending its handing of racism allegations, saying, "Hate speech has no place in LaLiga."

"We are investigating last night's match and will work with the clubs and appropriate authorities to identify and prosecute anyone guilty of hate speech," the league stated.

"As for yesterday's events, LaLiga is still investigating but has already identified racist insults from some individuals (not groups) in videos uploaded to social media, which will be the subject of an official complaint as in previous cases."

Racist abuse by fans isn't a problem isolated to Spain, but it has remained a persistent issue for years. This isn't the first time Vinicius has been victimized, either. Prior to Madrid's 2-1 win over rival Atlético Madrid in September, Atlético supporters chanted, "Vinicius is a monkey" as they entered Cívitas Metropolitano.

La Liga's approach to addressing allegations of racist abuse also came into sharp focus in April 2021, when Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby said he had been racially abused by Cádiz defender Juan Cala. Diakhaby's teammates walked off the pitch in solidarity, and he didn't return to the match when it restarted.

La Liga said days later it didn't find evidence that Cala used a racist slur toward Diakhaby.

In a statement, Valencia said, "The fact that no evidence has been found does not mean that it didn't happen."

"Our aim is to see a change, to see an appropriate response to such a grave incident, to see a movement to change the regulations and attitudes when facing these types of problems that may arise," the club stated. "It was an unprecedented episode in football, but we are convinced that it will serve to promote a real change in the regulations."

The Athletic's Dermot Corrigan and Adam Crafton laid out how the incident was emblematic of structural issues within La Liga and Spain.

BYU offensive lineman Sione Veikoso was killed in a construction accident in his home state of Hawai'i on Friday.

On behalf of the entire BYU Football family, our thoughts and prayers are with Sione's family and friends during this extremely difficult time.

Rest in Love Sione. God be with you till we meet again. pic.twitter.com/Bn0oW4kylY

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) December 31, 2022

"We are extremely saddened to learn of the tragic death of one of our brothers, Sione Veikoso," head coach Kalani Sitake said in a statement. "His passing is heartbreaking to all of us. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family as we share in their grief. Our love for you is forever, Sione!"

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported a 15-foot retaining wall at a home in Kailua collapsed and trapped three construction workers.

Veikoso was one of three people trapped under the rubble. Firefighters rescued two of the workers, who were in serious but stable condition. Veikoso was pronounced dead at the scene.

"He was a gentle giant who loved his family," said his cousin Joshua Kava. "He was reliable and caring."

The 6'7", 305-pound redshirt freshman began his college career at Arizona State after completing a mission in Brazil for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He transferred to BYU in July and appeared in the Cougars' 52-26 win over Utah Tech on Nov. 19.

BYU beat SMU 24-23 in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 17. Veikoso's family told the Star-Advertiser he was to fly back to school next week.

Amid the Los Angeles Lakers' struggles this season, superstar forward LeBron James knew he had to take matters into his own hands, leading to a 47-point effort in a 130-121 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, James suggested that he had to take his offensive production to the next level in order to get the Lakers back on track, saying: "I've been scoring 30 and it hasn't worked, so ... try 40. And we got a win. It's math."

Making the performance even more impressive is the fact that LeBron pulled it off on his 38th birthday.

Friday's win was a huge one for L.A. since it had lost five of its previous six games while Anthony Davis has been on the shelf with a foot injury.

The Lakers improved to 15-21 with the victory, leaving them in 13th place in the Western Conference, three games out of the final postseason play-in spot.

Los Angeles has a chance to be a playoff contender if AD can get healthy and James can continue playing at the level he showcased Friday, but it won't be easy for the 38-year-old veteran to continue pouring in 40 points per night.

LeBron has been his usual spectacular self when healthy and in the lineup this season, though, averaging 28.5 points. 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists, in addition to shooting 50.6 percent from the field.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham called James "nothing short of phenomenal" and "amazing" for what he did against the Hawks, especially when considering how long he has been performing at an elite level.

Per McMenamin, the 18 years and 278 days between LeBron's first and most-recent 40-point efforts in an NBA game surpassed the record previously held by the legendary Michael Jordan.

James playing as well as he is at 38 is almost unprecedented in the annals of NBA history, but it is essentially a necessity in order for the Lakers to have any hope of making the playoffs.

A trade to shake up the supporting cast ahead of the deadline could get the Lakers closer to contention, but even then, LeBron and Davis will undoubtedly be the key to how far L.A. goes this season.

Manny Pacquiao is returning to the boxing ring.

At the Rizin 40 event Saturday, the legendary fighter announced he signed a deal with the promotion that will have him compete in 2023.

𝐀 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓...

The Pac-Man, @MannyPacquiao himself will fight in the RIZIN ring in 2023 against a Japanese fighter 🇯🇵!

[ #RIZIN40 | @FiteTV PPV link in bio ] pic.twitter.com/iLPMIK9wRj

— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_) December 31, 2022

"I have agreed with Rizin to fight next year, the date will soon be announced and also my opponent that Rizin will choose," he said (via MMA Fighting's Damon Martin). "I'm open and excited to fight a Japanese fighter."

Rizin has partnered with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2018 and again this past September. Both of those bouts were exhibitions, so that will presumably be the plan for Pacquiao as well.

The 44-year-old hasn't fought professionally since August 2021, when he lost a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas. He had taken a two-year hiatus from boxing before that to focus on his political career in his native Phillipines.

Like Mayweather, Pacquiao has begun pivoting to lucrative exhibitions in lieu of padding his 62-8-2 career record. Most recently, he earned a unanimous decision over DK Yoo on Dec. 11.

The former eight-division world champion has expressed the hope of fighting Mayweather again to avenge his 2015 defeat but questioned whether the feeling was mutual.

"I don't think he will do a rematch with me," he told FightHype.com on Dec. 8 (h/t Bad Left Hook's Wil Esco). "I don't think so. What I thought is that he's scared to death to fight again, and that's my analysis and thought on the rematch with him."

For now, Pacquiao's attention will be diverted elsewhere since he said he'll oppose a Japanese fighter of Rizin's choosing. If the event proves to be a big enough spectacle, perhaps that will pique Mayweather's interest.

HEIGHT: 6'5"

WEIGHT: 275

HAND: 10"

ARM: 33 1/2"

WINGSPAN: TBD

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40-YARD DASH: 4.95

3-CONE: 7.46

SHUTTLE: 4.65

VERTICAL: 28.5"

BROAD: 9'2"

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POSITIVES

— Great size and strength for an NFL defensive end, and he has some pop in his hands to lock out offensive tackles one-on-one. Solid hand placement when taking on blocks too.

— Physical at the point of attack and sets the edge pretty easily with his upper-body strength.

— Refuses to get blocked by tight ends and can close the gap with them.

— Squeezes and comes straight down the line of scrimmage when unblocked on the backside of zone runs to make tackles near the line of scrimmage.

— Times the snap well on passing downs to help make up for some of his lack of acceleration on the line of scrimmage, and he takes good angles off the edge as a pass-rusher to beat tackles with slower feet.

— Has good leg drive when bull-rushing to help collapse the pocket against offensive tackles. Also does a good job of working to get on an edge and has a couple of good counters off the bull, like a cross chop, club over and rip move.

— Decent at turning speed to power as a rusher.

— Good pass-rushing motor to get coverage sacks, and he gets his hands up if he can't get to the quarterback to bat balls at the line of scrimmage.

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NEGATIVES

— Doesn't show a lot of athletic ability on the field and isn't quick-twitched.

— Subpar acceleration off the line of scrimmage, which becomes an issue when he doesn't time up the snap.

— Has a habit of stopping his feet on contact and stands up out of his stance too much for his height. He'll get washed out by double-teams and might struggle against more physical offensive tackles at the next level.

— Struggles to recognize and get underneath pullers as the spill player in run fits, he will get kicked out occasionally on the front side of power and counter.

— Hasn't shown many finesse moves he can win around the edge with as a pass-rusher at the next level, partially because he needs to be more accurate with his initial chops to get the offensive lineman's hands down when working a move.

— Not very bendy. His ankles aren't flexible.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 12 GM, 23 TOT, 11 TFL, 7.5 SK, 1 FF, 3 PBU

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NOTES

— DOB: April 22, 2001

— A 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, No. 396 overall, No. 27 SDE, per 247Sports' composite ratings

—Injuries: 2019 (hip, missed season); 2022 (leg, missed two games)

— 16 career starts, played behind Aidan Hutchinson (2022 second overall pick) and David Ojabo (2022 second-round pick)

— 2022 Honors: Second-team All-American (FWAA), Academic All-Big Ten, first-team All-Big Ten, Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year

— 2021 Honors: Academic All-Big Ten

— Father played offensive line at Florida State, and sister played basketball at Georgetown

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OVERALL

After being hidden behind a couple of top-50 picks last season, Mike Morris burst onto the scene and was one of the most physically dominant edge defenders in the country. He's aggressive at the point of attack and might have the best upper-body strength of any defensive end in this year's draft class.

Morris puts his power to good use as a pass-rusher and against the run, as he can collapse the pocket with a bull rush and can be hard to block one-on-one. However, the NFL Scouting Combine will be important for him, as he didn't show a ton of impressive athletic traits on the field.

Probably the biggest concern with the Michigan product moving forward is whether he has enough athletic ability and bend to win around the edge and add a finesse move or two to his pass-rushing arsenal.

That could make his scheme fit a little difficult, as he'll need to show more athleticism to play as an edge in an odd or even front, and he's not big enough to play as a 3-technique. Right now, his best fit is as a defensive end in an even front for a team that is looking for a power-rusher.

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GRADE: 6.9 (Potential Role Player/Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 100

POSITION RANK: DL14

PRO COMPARISON: Za'Darius Smith

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder