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Ex-Portland Trail Blazers president and current Jordan Brand chairman Larry Miller is sharing his darkest secret with the world ... admitting he killed a man when he was 16 years old, and hid it from his closest friends -- including Michael Jordan -- until recently.

Miller detailed the September 1965 incident in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week ... saying he was a "gangbanger" seeking retaliation after a friend was stabbed and killed in West Philadelphia ... so he downed a bottle of wine, grabbed his gun and went on the hunt for a rival gang member.

Miller says he ended up shooting and killing the first person he saw -- 18-year-old Edward White -- despite not knowing if the man was even involved in his friend's killing.

"That’s what makes it even more difficult for me, because it was for no reason at all," Miller told the outlet. "I mean, there was no valid reason for this to happen. And that’s the thing that I really struggle with and that's -- you know, it’s the thing that I think about every day."

"It’s like, I did this, and to someone who -- it was no reason to do it. And that’s the part that really bothers me."

Miller was arrested shortly after ... and ended up spending many years behind bars until he was 30.

Once he got out, Miller then became a massive success in the business industry -- he was hired by Nike in 1997 and served as Jordan Brand's president from 1999-2006 before joining the Blazers. He later returned to his previous position with Nike/Jordan in 2012

Miller says he's spent the past few months slowly sharing his secret with his inner circle ... and from MJ to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the responses he's received have been positive.

Now, Miller is hoping to use his story to leave a positive impact on today's youth ... and is fighting to get second chances to those who also fell on hard times.

Life has officially imitated art as William Shatner made history by becoming the oldest person ever to go to space.

Captain Kirk and crew hopped on Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule Wednesday morning and successfully blasted off into space ... never mind a couple of delays due to "vehicle readiness." Shatner himself said he got more nervous with each delay.

The 90-year-old and the other 3 crew members experienced 4 minutes of weightlessness before the capsule ultimately parachuted and landed safely in the west Texas desert at exactly 9:59 AM CT. Shatner gave a thumbs up before exiting the capsule.

Jeff Bezos opened the hatch, poked his head inside the capsule and greeted the newest astronauts. Shatner was second to exit and he said "Wow" before hugging Bezos.

Shatner started describing his experience to Bezos but he was briefly interrupted when Bezos popped open a bottle of champagne. Shatner turned down the bubbly. He later became visibly emotional and poetically described the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

He said, "What you have given me is the most profound experience I could imagine. I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. It’s extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope I maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it. It’s so much larger than me, and life." Shatner also urged Bezos to make this experience widely available ... even if it means using 3D technology.

Shatner's crew included Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers, former NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen and software mogul Glen de Vries.

We got our first look of Shatner in the space suit moments before liftoff ... and though the suit wasn't as silky smooth as what he wore on the Enterprise all those years ago, he still looked pretty damn good. He's seriously 90?!?!

Bezos drove the space travelers to the launch site in a Rivian electric pickup truck, Shatner was stuck with the middle seat, but didn't seem to care.

Shatner became the oldest person to ever go up into space ... beating out 82-year-old test pilot Wally Funk ... who joined Bezos, his brother, Mark, and recent HS grad Oliver Daemen, when they took Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule up for its premiere launch in July.

As you'll recall ... that initial crew went up to space for about 15 minutes, reached an altitude of 66.5 miles, floated around for a bit in zero-gravity while playing with ping-pong balls ... then came back down for safe landing.

Shatner's civilian flight will be very similar, but our sources say the mission will be also filmed for a documentary. Any moment now we'll have video of Shatner & co. inside the capsule.

Gabby Petito's body has been held and studied for a month to determine how she died -- and now that we know, her family is finally allowed to go get her and lay her to rest.

The late 22-year-old's parents are reportedly heading to Wyoming Wednesday morning from the east coast -- where they'll retrieve her remains, have her cremated ... and then return to New York this weekend with her ashes.

It also sounds like law enforcement will brief her mom, father and stepfather on the latest updates in the case.

The family has reportedly said they won't be commenting on anything to the media until they're back in NY -- although, Gabby's mother did speak out against the Laundrie family lawyer Tuesday after he called her death a "tragedy" upon release of the autopsy findings.

You'll recall ... the Teton County coroner publicly announced Gabby's cause of death, which took quite a long time to conclusively uncover. Turns out, she was manually strangled to death at the hands of a person.

The coroner noted that Gabby's homicide seemed to be carried out in "a lot of anger" -- while also pointing out her body had been left out in the wilderness for at least 3 for 4 weeks before she was finally found last month.

Of course, the one person law enforcement still wants to talk to -- but can't seem to find -- is Gabby's fiance, Brian Laundrie ... who's considered to be the prime person of interest in the case, and one of the last people to have seen her alive.

The couple was traveling cross-country together through much of the summer, and had squabbles along the way -- most notably in August, when cops in Moab, Utah responded to a report Brian had struck Gabby.

While the Dodgers were fighting for their playoff lives against the Giants Tuesday -- their fans in the stands were fighting each other, landing punches in a wild skirmish that was all caught on video.

At some point during L.A.'s playoff game with San Francisco at Dodger Stadium ... several fans got into an altercation in a walkway at the venue that turned violent.

In the footage, you can see two men -- both dressed in Dodgers gear -- argued with each other ... before one of the men unloaded a right on the other's face.

All hell then broke loose, 'cause the two guys began wrestling with each other and throwing more punches.

Eventually, another Dodgers fan came in and threw a huge haymaker that appeared to land flush.

Finally, after several seconds of fighting, security guards raced into the fracas to break it all up.

It's unclear if anyone was injured ... or if any arrests were made.

As for the action on the field -- the Dodgers won their fight with the Giants, 7-2, and will now face their rival in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Thursday.

"Mean Girls" star Jonathan Bennett's so down to give the 2004 classic another go-around ... and that's so fetch!!!

We got Jonathan out Tuesday afternoon in Hollywood where he surprised guests on the TMZ celebrity tour bus by hopping on. He told the passengers he wants to make happen what everyone seems to crave ... a reunion of the cast in one way, shape or form.

Check it out ... Jonathan -- who, of course, played Lindsay Lohan's BF, Aaron Samuels -- says he doesn't care if the reunion comes in the form of a reboot as a series, prequel or sequel.

Jonathan says the film brought a lot of happiness to LOTS of people ... not to mention all the classic memes and quotes. ICYDK ... October 3rd is unofficially "Mean Girls" Day thanks to the film's most famous scene. ☝🏽

Jonathan knows fans are split ... some think it's better to leave well enough alone, but others are all about the reboot. The doubters have one receipt ... "Mean Girls 2" -- which didn't feature the OG cast -- went straight to video in 2011.

Tina Fey, who wrote "Mean Girls," is also writing the script to "Mean Girls the Musical" film.

Dave Chappelle cracking jokes over the LGBTQ+ community is fair game, and should NOT be censored in the slightest -- so says a transgender comedian, who's backing the dude.

Flame Monroe -- a Black trans comic -- tells TMZ she's not in favor of taking Dave's new Netflix special, "The Closer," off the service ... because she says in the world of comedy, nothing is off-limits -- and she simply doesn't believe in censoring standups.

Watch her explanation here, because it's very interesting. Obviously, Flame has a multi-dimensional perspective to offer -- from race to gender identity, and also her chosen craft -- and the one she feels most strongly about is a comic's right to joke freely.

That jibes with what Damon Wayans told us just the other day on this whole debate. He, too, seemed more focused on the comedy side of things ... rather than the LGBT vs. Black comparisons Dave raised in the special.

Flame goes further ... praising Dave as "great," while also saying she believes he's brought people together in a way -- to have a much-needed dialogue.

Bottom line ... Flame seems to be OK with Dave using Netflix's platform to speak his mind -- and clearly believes that outweighs the actual inflammatory content itself.

Tyga is voluntarily turning himself in to LAPD to face allegation he got physical with his ex-girlfriend -- who's posted images of her alleged injuries ... and we're told it's possible he could be hit with a felony.

TMZ broke story ... the rapper was planning to have a sit down with cops Tuesday morning to explain his side of the story after Camaryn Swanson accused him of roughing her up during an early Monday morning dispute at his house.

We're told Tyga's decided to turn himself in, and a charge of felony domestic violence is on the table.

We got Tyga, who wasn't willing to chat, on his way inside the station ... he refused to answer any questions about what happened.

As we first reported, sources close to Tyga say Camaryn showed up at his house around 3 AM and started acting belligerent at the door. We're told Tyga let her inside and the yelling continued.

As for what happened next? Camaryn claims he hit her and says she has bruises to prove it, while also saying she's prepared to stand up for herself.

The cops also saw what she's showing off -- apparent visible marks on her face -- and they took a report over it. Officers tried to talk to Tyga at his house on Monday, but he refused.

Now, though, he's facing the music ... and might end up having to answer for this in court.

The house where Sabrina Spellman and her witchy aunts cooked up mischief on TV has been summoned anew -- hitting the market in real life ... at a cost that'll make ya scream.

You might recall seeing the exterior of this Victorian home a lot during the original run of the 1990s comedy series -- it was where Melissa Joan Hart, Beth Broderick, Caroline Rhea and Salem (the cat) resided in the made-up Massachusetts town of Westbridge. Well, now the actual crib is for sale!!!

It's being listed by its mortal owners for a whopping $1.95 million in the New Jersey city of Freehold. Here's the weirdest part though ... the real estate agent is advertising it as an office building instead of an actual place to live -- which sorta makes sense considering the layout.

For starters ... this "house" is located in a business section of Freehold, and it actually has a small parking lot behind it. The inside is more office-y than home-y ... even though there are rooms -- they're not traditional bedrooms, per se ... and do seem more suited for a staff.

And yet ... there's a freaking kitchen inside -- so, we suppose any future would-be employees can cook up lunch on their break??? Whoever designed this place way back when didn't seem to know what they wanted it to be ... but in any case, it's going for a bundle.

If you're not inclined to plunk down nearly $2 mil for this pad/edifice ... you can rent it in two parts -- the front house goes for $9,750/month, while the back end's $3,200/month.

The Rolling Stones have lost their appetite for "Brown Sugar" ... or at least their appetite for dealing with woke blowback -- they're retiring their classic tune due to its slavery depictions.

The Stones are 5 shows into their "No Filter" tour but a journalist noticed the band has not played the track at all in that span. That's huge ... considering "Brown Sugar" is reportedly the Stones' second-most performed song over the last 50 years ... at 1,136 times.

The issue is the 1971 track is all about the slave trade -- specifically, slavers raping enslaved Black women -- and shockingly, that's something many fans of the song don't even realize.

The opening verse is, "Gold Coast slave ship bound for cotton fields. Sold in the market down in New Orleans. Scarred old slaver knows he's doin' all right. Hear him whip the women just around midnight."

And, of course, the famous chorus goes ...  "Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good. Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should."

But, Keith Richards told the L.A. Times the song isn't glorifying slavery. The guitarist said, "I'm trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn't they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But, they're trying to bury it. At the moment I don't want to get into conflicts with all of this s***."

While the Stones might legitimately be trying to document the horrors of slavery, it sure doesn't come across that way when Mick Jagger and stadiums full of fans jump, clap and sing-along with those lyrics.

Anyway, it's not totally dead. Mick added, "Sometimes you think, 'We'll take that one out for now and see how it goes.' We might put it back in."

Translation: If, by some miracle, Mick and Keith outlive woke culture they'll play "Brown Sugar" again.

Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks Demi Lovato needs a reality check, because their belief that using the term "aliens" is derogatory doesn't make any sense ... for many amusing reasons in his eyes.

The famed astrophysicist seems just as befuddled as almost everyone else over Demi's stance against calling otherworldly beings "aliens" -- Demi prefers saying "ETs" -- and even more so ... he thinks Lovato's being very presumptuous.

For starters, Tyson points out humans really haven't had any interactions with space aliens, so how the heck do we know what they're thinking or feeling? DO they even feel?!?

Also, Tyson wonders how Demi knows aliens would even be offended by the term -- unless there's a Rosetta Stone for English on the mothership!!!

Neil acknowledges Demi is being considerate -- to a fault perhaps -- and while he totally supports not calling human beings aliens, he's missing Demi's point. For once, we're on the same level with someone as brilliant as Neil!!! Feels good.

If you missed it, Demi made their controversial thoughts known during an interview promoting their new Peacock special called 'Unidentified' ... saying, "I think that we have to stop calling them aliens because aliens is a derogatory term for anything." TMZ broke it down on the latest episode of our podcast.

Jeff Fisher is calling BS on Jon Gruden ... saying the coach was dead wrong when he claimed in an email that the NFL forced him and the Rams to draft Michael Sam.

Fisher released a lengthy statement late Tuesday night refuting Gruden's claim that Roger Goodell was the one who pressured the head coach to pick Sam in the 7th round of the 2014 NFL Draft due to the pass rusher's sexual orientation.

"As a head coach for over 20 years," Fisher said, "we drafted or didn't draft players based on a variety of qualities. Their sexual orientation would never -- and should never -- play a part in the decision-making process."

Fisher added, "The NFL never encouraged or discouraged me regarding the selection of a potential prospect."

In one of Gruden's many crass emails sent between 2011 and 2018 that were made public this week ... Jon wrote to a Washington Football Team exec that he believed Goodell urged Fisher to take Sam because he was gay.

In the email, Gruden used an anti-gay slur to describe Sam.

Fisher said in his statement he's still a big supporter of Sam's ... and praised the courage it took for him to go public with his sexual preference.

"I continue to support Michael, and his decision to come out as the first draft eligible openly gay player in the league," Fisher said. "It took courage to serve as a role model for those competitive football players who may also happen to be gay."

Sam played in all four of the Rams' preseason games in his rookie year ... but was cut just before the regular season began. He later signed a contract to join the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad, but was cut after just a few weeks there as well.

Too Short is circling back to apologize for a convo he had with Saweetie that made a lot of people accuse him of being a colorist, and in addition ... he's adding context to his remarks.

The Bay Area hip-hop icon tells TMZ ... he's sorry if he offended anyone with his words from 2020 during an IG Live chat between Saweetie and himself -- noting it wasn't his intention to come off favoring lighter-skinned Black people over darker-skinned folks.

You'll recall ... Short Dog told Saweetie he loved interracial relationships, and had actually only fallen in love with mixed women. He didn't say he wasn't into non-mixed Black women, per se, but many made that leap ... and claimed his remark was anti-Black.

Well, TS is here to set the record straight ... further explaining what he was touching on in his OG comments -- namely, that the Bay Area is very diverse and that race simply isn't at the forefront of many folks' minds there ... be it for hate, division or anything else.

There's another point from his Saweetie talk that he clears up with us as well ... saying beauty -- and ugliness, for that matter -- is found in ALL walks of life, regardless of skin tone or shade.

Important to say, because initially ... it sounded like he was implying only mixed babies come out looking gorgeous -- as opposed to, perhaps, Black infants or any other race of babies. That's not the case, though, as Too Short says here in clear terms.

Ryan Russell, an openly bisexual NFL free agent, tells TMZ Sports he was sickened by Jon Gruden's racist and homophobic comments ... and the incident serves as proof the NFL has much work left to accomplish.

"I was deeply upset, shocked, appalled even that a leader of an organization, a leader of young men, football culture in general, would have so many negative, derogatory, hateful really, discriminatory things to say about so many different kinds of people," Russell says.

29-year-old Russell -- a 5th round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2015 -- has an interesting perspective. The DE announced he was bisexual in mid-2019.

So, despite players like Carl Nassib and Russ being open about their sexuality, has progress actually been made within the league?

Russell says yes.

"I think there's definitely been progress" ... just nowhere near enough.

"We're not done yet. There's much further we need to go, and much more we need to do. There's still work that needs to be done."

Of course, Gruden resigned days after the emails came to light. He's since been taken out of the Bucs' (where he won a Super Bowl) ring of honor. He's also been dropped by Sketchers -- his biggest individual sponsor.

As for Roger Goodell and the NFL's power structure ... Ryan has some advice on how to move forward.

"Putting 'End Racism' on the field in paint means nothing if it isn't painted within your staff, if it's not painted within the bread of your organization, your foundation," Russ tells us.

English actor Harry Melling was only 12 years old when he landed the small role as the muggle cousin Dudley Dursley -- who makes home life hard for Harry Potter before he starts his magical schooling at Hogwarts -- in the 2001 fantasy film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Melling continued to be included in the 'Potter' series ... photographed above in "Harry Potter and and the Prisoner of Azkaban" ... and shared the big-screen with A-listers like Rupert Grint as the school BFF, Ron Weasley, Emma Watson as the quick-thinking, Hermione Granger ... and of course Daniel Radcliffe as the magical young man, Harry Potter.

Harry made a resurgence in the streaming world when he was cast as the chess mate Harry Beltik in "The Queen's Gambit" last year.

MMA fighter Luis Pena -- aka "Violent Bob Ross" -- has been released by the UFC following his arrest for domestic violence last weekend in Florida, TMZ Sports has learned.

The UFC tells us they informed 28-year-old Pena's management team that his contract with the promotion has been terminated.

“UFC is aware of the disturbing allegations concerning the recent arrest of Luis Pena. Mr. Pena has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse issues and the organization has on multiple prior occasions attempted to help him get professional treatment," the organization told us in a statement.

They continued ... "At this time, UFC believes Mr. Pena needs to deal with the health and legal issues in front of him, and consequently has informed Mr. Pena’s management that his promotional agreement has been terminated.”

Pena -- a lightweight fighter who has a 5-3 record in the UFC (9-3 professionally) was arrested on Saturday after his live-in girlfriend called police and told them the UFC fighter had roughed her up, claiming he punched her during an argument.

LP was taken to a local jail on multiple misdemeanor charges.

In a 911 call we obtained, Pena's GF is heard telling the dispatch operator ... "I really need the cops to come and get him out now. I have scratches and bruises all over me from him, I need him gone. I'm done, and I need help, please."

Boosie Badazz was arrested, spent a night in an Atlanta jail and is already a free man after an incident that resulted in a fight at one of his shows … TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson at the Fulton County Jail tells TMZ ... Boosie was taken into custody Monday and charged with criminal damage to property, inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

We're told the rapper was released Tuesday afternoon after signing his own bond.

TMZ broke the story ... a Boosie performance earlier this month in Atlanta came to a screeching halt when a fight broke out on stage, and cops were called.

As we told you, the Atlanta Police Department responded to a vandalism call ... and cops said Boosie and his entourage had dashed on stage during the show, damaging items belonging to a production company and allegedly destroying property owned by the arena.