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Colin Kaepernick's former 49ers teammate says it was Chip Kelly who punted the elephant out of the room after the QB's first kneeling protest ... with Jeremy Kerley telling TMZ Sports the coach couldn't have handled the situation any better.

"I love Chip for it," Kerley says.

The ex-S.F. wideout tells us shortly after Kaepernick began his protest of social injustices during 2016 NFL national anthems ... Kelly didn't allow things to get awkward.

In fact, Kerley says the former Niners head man brought the team together almost immediately and gave Kaepernick the floor to speak his mind to the locker room.

"For Chip being able to do that, I think that was pretty cool for him to kind of take the elephant out the room and remove all doubt," Kerley says. "I think that was pretty cool, I love Chip for it."

"It kind of removed all doubts and stuff in the locker room and we just bonded, like we were close and it was fun."

Kerley tells us because of Chip's actions ... the 49ers were able to have a blast in 2016 -- and the receiver says even though they finished 2-14, it was his favorite year of his 8-season career.

"To play with Kaep -- a lot of people forget, Kaep was a ballplayer," Kerley told us.

Jeremy says Kaepernick still has the goods to play in the NFL ... adding, "I think it's definitely time for him to jump back on the field and for people to accept him back on the field."

As for Kerley -- who hasn't played since he was with Buffalo in 2018 -- he says he's still leaving the door open for an NFL return ... but tells us he has a pretty sweet job in the meantime.

Morgan Ketzner is here to help you float through your 4th of July weekend with these hot shots … complete with stars and stripes string bikini and sequined scrunchie, while hanging topside on Lake Elmo.

When the 26-year-old boatin' babe isn’t showing off on her instagram account or modeling on Sports Illustrated and Maxim, she can be spotted riding her horse named Bobby and trying out her super tan sea legs paddleboarding, wakeboarding and captaining boats around the land of 10,000 lakes.

This year’s Summer Hot Shots are coming to you a little differently … we have teamed up with smoke shows from around the world to create some eye-popping photos galleries with a DIY flare (social distancing, duh!) for your viewing pleasure.

It's happening (or so it seems) ... Kanye West is running for President, and he says he's doing it sooner than later -- as in RIGHT NOW!!! At least that's how it sounds, anyway.

Ye made the announcement out of nowhere Saturday on Twitter, saying ... "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! #2020Vision"

Funny enough, he immediately got the support of one the biggest names in tech -- one Elon Musk, who replied, "You have my full support!" Interestingly, the two of them had just hung out a few days prior to Kanye's declaration ... and they seem like total besties.

Now, back to politics for a sec. It's not completely crazy that Kanye is announcing this bid for the White House -- he's publicly toyed with the idea several times in the past ... perhaps most notably at the 2015 MTV VMAs. Hell, folks thought he'd run in 2016.

Of course, since then ... Kanye has dipped his toe in and out of politics and political talk to much criticism -- and in some cases, to praise. Just depends on who you talked to. And yes, the guy's voiced his support for President Trump many times over since 2016.

If he's serious here -- and it's hard to tell if he is or not -- it would appear he's willing to go head to head with DT in a general election. We should note though, KW has NOT filed to run this year with the FEC, which is a requirement for anyone getting into the race.

The Yankees' truncated season got off to a rough start this weekend during batting practice -- one of their pitchers took a baseball to the noggin by one their hardest-hitting sluggers.

Righty Masahiro Tanaka was tossing to Giancarlo Stanton Saturday at Yankees Stadium during the team's first summer workout before they officially play ball later this month. During one of his pitches, Stanton hit a line drive right back at Tanaka ... and it nailed him.

The ball struck Tanaka in the head, knocking off his hat and sending him flying to the ground. Stanton immediately regretted it as he crouched in disgust and worry. The training staff rushed out to attend to their pitcher, and were eventually able to get him to his feet.

As bad as the hit looked on camera, it would appear the guy's gonna be alright -- which is kind of a miracle. The team says, "RHP Masahiro Tanaka was hit in the head with a line drive during today’s sim game. He is currently alert, responsive and walking under his own power." They added that he would undergo further evaluations/testing at a nearby hospital.

4th of July is proving many Americans don't care coronavirus cases are spiking again, which is in line with the White House's new messaging ...  just live with it.

A handful of water-based venues -- including a water park and two lakeside blowouts -- brought out droves of people this holiday weekend in Wisconsin, Missouri and Michigan ... all of which are seeing their own surges in confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses.

That didn't matter to these folks though -- they were ready to get wet and wild for Independence Day, and you can tell by how little mind they're paying to safety precautions.

At the Noah's Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells, WI, hardly anybody was 6-feet apart from each other as they packed the wave pool. And, masks were out the window, obviously -- studies say they're ineffective if they get wet, so a lost cause right off the bat here.

Elsewhere in Missouri ... the same bar adjacent to Lake of the Ozarks -- Backwater Jack's -- forged ahead with their planned Fourth of July blowout, which they dubbed No Ducks Given. Between Friday and Saturday, the place once again resembled a sardine can.

And, in Michigan, another lake shindig was well underway Saturday ... Diamond Lake in Cass County was packed to the gills along its shores with partygoers raging the day away.

We've seen this behavior all throughout the spring and early summer -- ever since America was put on high alert and states went on full-blown lockdowns. While the shelter-in-place orders seemed to flatten the curve, there has been an explosion of new cases in the wake of reopening.

And yet ... the bad and dangerous behavior continues, despite what the CDC and other health officials have to say. The question ... what's next? Welp, President Trump's administration seems to have an answer, according to a new report anyway. It's simple ... live life at your own risk. Thing is ... he's been putting people -- his own supporters -- in harm's way by holding reckless rallies with no social distancing and few masks.

NBC News reports that big wigs in Trump's cabinet are ramping up for the new messaging to the American people ... that the virus is here, and we gotta press forward regardless.

What started out as a peaceful and community-led performance in Missouri quickly turned violent for no reason ... this after a grown man punched out a little kid.

This heinous act went down Friday night in Cape Girardeau, MO, a little after 11:30 PM, when two young kids were performing on a street corner ... busting some moves to music they had playing on a speaker, while filming themselves live from a nearby camera.

Soon enough, a man joins them and starts popping and locking too. His name is Micheal 'Crank' Curry, the one who posted the video. He tells TMZ these two kids are students of his -- he runs a local dance studio -- and they do this all the time without any issue.

The three of them were going back and forth for a while, until the taller of the two boys -- who's said to only be 12 years old -- got up to dance, only to get viciously attacked.

In the middle of his performance, a black CRV-type car pulls up alongside them, and a man hops out the passenger side. The kid notices him, but doesn't think anything of it as the guy dances along with them and inches even closer ... masking his true intentions.

When he's right next to the boy, he swings wildly and hits the side of his head, knocking him clean to the ground. Micheal screams out in shock and tries chasing him. The guy scurries back to the car and they take off ... Micheal comes back to attend to the kid.

Bystanders rush over quickly to help him up -- you can tell he's badly injured, but still tough as hell considering he was able to get up on his own two feet.

Micheal tells us the victim's name is Ethan, but he goes by Eman. The boy was taken to a local hospital, where Micheal says he was treated for a concussion and a bad nose bleed. Eman doesn't know who punched him or why -- it was a random act of violence.

If you're an Angeleno, don't be surprised to see a massive display of Trump and Confederate pride blazing down your street any moment now, 'cause one is on the way.

A parade of lifted trucks was spotted Saturday, all departing a Smart and Final parking lot in Santa Monica ... one after another in what seemed like an endless line of diesels. They all had flags flying from their beds too -- Trump 2020 ones, Confederate battle flags and U.S.A. flags too, of course. It's clear ... these folks were making a statement -- a statement of day's past.

Eyewitnesses tell us there were at least 75 trucks packed into the lot, and we're told this seemed planned and staged. Each truck had at least two people, so the number of bodies rolling these puppies out was in the triple digits ... upwards of 300.

The good news is that right out the gate, there wasn't too much of a scene or ruckus ... unless you consider the noisy departure itself to be rowdy. It kinda is, frankly.

A paragliding instructor in Turkey just took his business to new heights with a stunt that's sure to attract daredevils and couch potatoes alike -- 'cause he's got a two-for-one special that appeals to both.

Hasan Kaval rigged a sofa and a TV to one of his paragliders this week ... and then proceeded to take flight off a cliff, while capturing the whole thing on camera. What happens next is a lazy adrenaline junkie's dream -- doing something dangerous and thrilling, while being able to relax and take a load off at the same time. Genius!

Now, the man himself showed us how it's done with a full-blown airborne demo. While the couch was in the sky (above the water below), he kicked off his shoes and swapped them for slippers, started eating chips and drinking soda ... and watching 'Tom & Jerry' to boot.

And, get this ... the guy wasn't even properly strapped in!!! No matter though, at least to him. Hasan landed the couch safely (somehow) and said afterward with a straight face that he felt secure and relaxed the entire time. Granted, he does this for a living!

A little COVID fallout didn't stop hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut from breaking his own record this year -- despite the fact there was no crowd -- 'cause the guy did just that and then some.

JC took top honors (again) Saturday at the annual July Fourth Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest -- which saw the dude down 75 dogs in 10 minutes ... beating his own previous benchmark of 74 from last year. It's his 13th title total ... so basically, a G.O.A.T.

During the festivities, he also hit another food vacuum milestone -- his 1,000th career dog! The feat wasn't without its hiccups (damn near vomit fests), but he held off 'til the end.

BTW, Joey wasn't the only making history this weekend -- there's a women's champ too ... the one and only Miki Sudo, who downed 48.5 franks ... which easily beat the competition.

This year's event was unique in that there were no ticketholders or spectators (aside from the eaters' own teams, of course) ... which made for a somewhat muted performance. There was also plexiglass between the competitors -- so pretty distance friendly we'd say.

The only downside to Saturday's dog chugging event was that Joey did NOT live up to his promise to TMZ Sports earlier in June, when he said he'd hit 77 dogs no problem.

Here's why dogs are King of the pet world -- they just mind their business and carry float on ... literally so during the Fourth of July.

Someone filmed their pooch enjoying a nice summer day in the backyard -- perched up on a bed of pool noodles and gliding across the water without a stir or bark to ruin the serene scene. It also comes across a rubber ball, but not even that jacked its chill mood.

Now, we don't know if the owner put the pup onto the noodles, or if it found its way on there itself after a quick dip. We'd like to think the latter, but even if this was staged for the photo-op ... we still stan. The end result is just too good to poo-poo.

Unclear when this was first captured, but it circulated online right in time for the holiday ... and it's probably what a lot of us need to see right now -- namely, something peaceful.

Take a lesson from Chachi here -- yes, we've taken the liberty of naming this awesome canine -- and enjoy the Fourth for what it is. A day to kick back, be free ... and scratch the fleas off too while you're at it.

Donald Trump's idea of a 4th of July celebration was igniting a culture war, as 7,500 of his followers exposed themselves to a massive coronavirus outbreak.

Check out the crowd at Mount Rushmore ... ZERO social distancing, per the Governor herself, who believes crowding together is a symbol of freedom. In fact, the chairs were zip-tied together because of fire code regulations. Masks were few and far between and the crowd sat for hours, cheering and doing the things that spread the virus.

And, speaking of the virus ... it's hitting close to Trump's home. Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, has tested positive.

As for the President ... his focus was on America's awakening, which he clearly thinks is a bad thing. Of the protesters, he said they are trying to "end America" by engaging in a  "merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children."

Carole Baskin is making lots of dough with personalized messages ... but making sense of what she said -- well, that's a whole other thing.

She recorded this message for a guy who goes by Robin Hood 702 ... a guy who apparently has worked with authorities on various cases. 702, btw, is the area code for Vegas.

Listen to what she says ... Carole is making reference to the MGM lion. Well, there have been rumblings a tiger or 2 may make its way to Vegas for one of the shows, but here she's talking about a lion never being "tattered" so those dots don't connect.

She also mentions David Chesnoff, a prominent lawyer who has Vegas wired, but she never explains what she means when she says he's hold up in the Penninsula.

And, then she mentions Patty Glaser, a super-powerful L.A. lawyer. Again, connecting the dots is damn near impossible.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Joel McHale send you into a state of confusion ... Take a really good look around and see if you can spot the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The comedian was spotted out while shopping at a farmers market in Los Angeles, CA recently ... And we have made a few changes to this snap! Put your detective skills to the test and see if you have what it takes to spot the differences between these two super similar shopping shots!

Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters died after going into cardiac arrest ... TMZ has learned.

The Grammy-winning Motown artist's cause of death is listed as cardiopulmonary arrest ... this according to her death certificate obtained by TMZ. Bonnie -- real name Patricia Eva Pointer -- died on June 8 at 3:37 AM. The doc lists her as divorced, and an entertainer in the music industry for 50 years.

According to the doc ... there were other underlying issues she'd been battling for about a decade, including liver disease.

TMZ broke the story ... Bonnie, one of the OGs of the wildly popular group of sisters in the '70s, died earlier this month. Her sister, Anita, told us, "It is with great sadness that I have to announce to the fans of The Pointer Sisters that my sister, Bonnie died this morning. Our family is devastated, on behalf of my siblings and I and the entire Pointer family, we ask for your prayers at this time.”

Bonnie's best known for her cover of "Heaven Must Have Sent You," which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart. She earned a Grammy for Best Vocal by a Duo or Group in the country category for their hit, "Fairytale."