Atlanta Falcons

Roddy White was BLINDSIDED when he got the cuffs slapped on him during a traffic stop earlier this month ... telling cops he had no idea he was driving on a suspended license.

"I never got anything in the mail or anything," the Falcons legend says as he's being arrested.

It's all on police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows the ex-Atlanta WR telling Gwinnett County police he straight-up had no clue he missed a court date earlier this year.

You can see in the clip White is shocked to learn of the offense, saying, "Why is my driver's license suspended? Can you tell me why?"

As we previously reported ... White was pulled over in Atlanta on April 12 after officers say he dangerously crossed double lines to enter the carpool lane on I-85.

When cops ran Roddy's name in the system -- they found he had a warrant out for his arrest stemming from a court date from a November 2018 traffic violation that he blew off.

White was hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and processed. His car, an Audi A8L, was impounded.

Atlanta Falcons legend Roddy White was arrested in Georgia earlier this month -- after he was pulled over for a stupid carpool lane mishap ... and cops noticed a warrant out for his arrest.

Gwinnett County police officers say they saw the 37-year-old WR crossing the double lines to enter the carpool lane on I-85 on April 12 -- a big no-no -- and claimed Roddy's bonehead move put other drivers in danger.

During the stop, cops ran Roddy's name in the system and that's when things went from bad to worse ...

Turns out, there's a warrant out for Roddy -- who allegedly blew off a court date from a previous legal situation.

Cops say Roddy's driver's license had also been suspended -- so, he was arrested and hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and processed. His car, an Audi A8L, was impounded.

Unclear what the previous violation is ... but it seems to be another traffic-related incident since his license was suspended.

The whole thing sounds VERY similar to the case of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette -- who was arrested in Florida earlier this month when a routine traffic stop revealed a warrant and suspended license too.

In Fournette's case, he had failed to pay a speeding ticket -- and then failed to show up to court. When he was stopped on April 11, cops handcuffed him at a car wash and took him in.

Fournette later paid the fine and now the case is closed. Seems like White will have a similar outcome.

We reached out to Roddy for comment -- so far, no word back.

Steve Sarkisian says he's super excited to return to Tuscaloosa ... telling TMZ Sports he can't wait to get back to work as the offensive coordinator at Alabama.

Sark had a stint under Nick Saban as an offensive analyst back in 2016 -- where he helped the Tide get all the way to the National Championship game against Clemson.

After the '16 season, Sark was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons -- but he was let go at the end of the 2018 season.

Enter, Saban ... who swooped in and hired Sarkisian back as the new O-Coordinator -- and the 45-year-old coach tells us he's "fired up" about the job.

"I'm excited man," Sark told us at LAX ... "It's a great opportunity!"

When asked if he's still hoping to get back to the NFL one day, Sark told us, "Ya never know. Just focus on the job you have now. I'm fired up to have it."

And, he's already talking like a mini-Saban -- we asked if he's got his sights set on avenging the championship loss to Clemson and Sark told us, "Just take it one day at a time, man. You know the process at Alabama."

11:57 AM PT -- A rep for Banks tells TMZ Sports the allegations are simply not true -- adding, "Evidence exists that proves this false."

Ex-NFL player Brian Banks -- who was famously exonerated in a previous rape case -- is facing new allegations of sexual assault in a lawsuit ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Banks is being sued by a woman who claims the former Atlanta Falcons player hired her to clean his apartment in Feb. 2018 -- and while she went to work, he pulled out his penis and started masturbating in front of her.

In her suit, the woman claims Banks showed her porn on his computer and asked her to join in -- and when she refused, he got up and started forcing himself on her.

The woman claims Banks forcefully kissed her breasts and began groping her butt. She also claims Banks forced her to touch his penis while she "repeatedly" asked Banks to stop and let her go.

Eventually, the woman left -- and now she claims she was so traumatized, she can no longer clean homes out of fear she might be assaulted or raped.

She's suing Banks for $10 MILLION for assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

We reached out to Banks for comment -- so far, no word back.

Brian's story is famous -- he was a high school football phenom when a classmate accused of him of rape in 2002. He eventually served 5 YEARS in prison.

But, after he was released, the accuser admitted she LIED -- and a judge overturned the conviction in 2012.

Banks resumed his football career and even signed a contract with the Falcons in 2013.

NFL yacht wars are in full effect ... 'cause just like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder, the mega-rich owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, just bought a superyacht -- for $180 MILLION!!!

The brand spankin' new 240-ft. yacht -- with 11 cabins holding 23 guests plus 33 crew -- is named DreAMBoat (AMB are Blank's initials) ... and it's insanely beautiful.

There's a swimming pool and hot tub on the ship's deck -- plus a bunch of other bells and whistles -- and Blank's private quarters also has its own private hot tub.

A luxury yacht company called Oceanco built the boat ... and we're told 76-year-old Blank was VERY involved in the process -- flying to the Netherlands several times to meet with the ship makers.

DreAMBoat just touched the water for the first time earlier this week ... and will soon undergo sea trials -- where they'll make sure she's seaworthy. Dutch Yachting got footage of the action.

The yacht company expects to deliver the boat to Blank in time for this Summer.

Blank is just the latest NFL owner to drop hundreds of millions of dollars on a mega yacht ... Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder threw down $100,000,000 on a 305-ft. yacht that has its own freakin' IMAX theatre.

Not to be outdone ... Cowboys owner Jerry Jones dropped $250 MILLION on a 357-ft. yacht with 2 helipads, steam room, full gym and a massage room -- which he named after his wife of over 50 years and counting, Gene Jones.

Now, add Arthur to the NFL owners yacht club.

Blank amassed his reported $4.8 BILLION (according to Forbes) by co-founding Home Depot in 1978 ... making him one of the wealthiest owners in the NFL.

He purchased the Falcons for $545 million in 2002 ... and they've made the playoffs (and 1 Super Bowl) since he assumed control of the organization.

The Falcons have quadrupled in value and are now estimated to be worth $2.1 BILLION.

Remember that disgusting bone-snapping injury Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert suffered in 2018???

Dude's doing MUCH better now ... crushing foot drills with a big smile on his face as he preps for his big comeback in 2019!!!

TE suffered a gruesome injury on Sept. 30 against the Falcons, when he got pummeled by linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who awkwardly fell on Tyler's right ankle and snapped it sideways.

Relive the experience below (or don't. We wouldn't blame you one bit. It's so nasty).

Eifert appears to have put the horrific experience behind him ... rippin' through a set of drills in a workout vid he posted Thursday.

"Looks a lot better than the last time you saw my ankle! #LETSGO," Eifert says.

Bow Wow was more than willing to talk after his arrest Saturday morning for allegedly beating a woman ... but what he wants to talk about has nothing to do with the incident.

We got Bow Wow Saturday night leaving Magic City Strip Club in ATL and he said on the advice of his lawyer he couldn't say anything about the incident.

As TMZ reported ... Bow Wow and the woman were both arrested after they allegedly got in some sort of physical altercation at 4:15 AM Saturday in Atlanta. The woman claimed Bow Wow assaulted her. He claimed it was the opposite.

Bow Wow was booked for Battery with Substantial Physical Harm ... despite the fact cops told us the injuries were "minor." He was released on $8k bail.

5:44 PM PT -- Falcons head coach Dan Quinn released a statement to TMZ saying, "We were recently made aware of the situation involving Takk in Los Angeles earlier today. Any time a situation occurs that is or could be related to mental health issues we take it very seriously. We will do everything we possibly can to support and assist Takk as our players' mental and physical well-being are always our top priority."

Atlanta Falcons defensive end Takkarist McKinley was detained by police in L.A. on Tuesday and is undergoing a mental evaluation following an incident at a hotel ... TMZ Sports has learned.

McKinley was with a friend at a high-end hotel around noon when something happened and the friend became concerned about McKinley's well-being. We're told the friend called police for help.

We're told cops spoke with McKinley who agreed it was in his best interest to get help -- and he cooperated and left with police. We're told McKinley was NOT arrested or booked for any crime.

The 23-year-old was selected in the 1st round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of UCLA and had a solid rookie season for the Falcons -- posting 20 tackles and 6 sacks.

McKinley famously brought a framed picture of his late grandmother to the stage at the NFL Draft and explained that he had made a promise to her on her deathbed that he would make it to the NFL.

Story developing ...

The times they are a-changin' ... which is why a legendary NFL wide receiver thinks Julio Jones and Antonio Brown should team up to win it all.

TMZ Sports got Cowboys HOF'er Michael Irvin outside of Catch in Weho Friday night, and he tells us he'd like to see the Falcons WR and the Pittsburgh WR -- who's on the outs with the Steelers -- get together to win a Super Bowl ... because neither one of 'em has won anything yet.

We broke the story ... Jones rejected the notion of A.B. coming to Atlanta, saying his team was good as is. But, Irvin thinks if LeBron can hook up with D. Wade, and Durant can hook up with Steph to get a ring ... Julio should be a little more open to the idea.

How dope would a 1-2 punch of Julio Jones and Antonio Brown look in Atlanta?!?!

Not that dope ... according to Julio himself -- who tells TMZ Sports he and the Falcons actually don't want to see that at all.

"Nah, man. We tight over here. We good over here."

Of course, the pairing will be possible in what appears to be a matter of days ... seeing as A.B.'s antics have pretty much ended his time in the Steel City.

But, don't expect Julio to openly recruit the stud wideout to the Falcons once that happens ... 'cause when we got Julio out in L.A. -- he seemed to want no part of it.

Why?? Sure seems like Jones thinks the baggage Brown would bring to the locker room wouldn't be worth his insane production on the field.

As for the guys currently on Julio's team ... Jet spoke with us about Steve Sarkisian's firing and what he expects to see from new OC Dirk Koetter.

Gotta love Miami Beach ... Devonta Freeman sure does -- because ya can't walk 3 feet without bumpin' into a smokin' hot lady in a bikini!!!

The Atlanta Falcons running back was doing some conditioning drills on the beach when he stopped his workout to chat up a few pretty young things who caught his eye.

The 26-year-old superstar is a local -- he was a stud at Miami Central High School back in the day before taking a full scholarship to Florida State.

In fact, dude rushed for 2,208 yards and 26 touchdowns as a high school senior -- not too shabby, right?

Now, Freeman's RICH -- he signed a $41 million contract extension in 2017 ... which is why he left the workout in a sick Rolls-Royce!!

Ex-NFL star Jamal Anderson -- the guy who created the Dirty Bird dance -- was so zonked out of his mind during a Dec. arrest, he handed cops a bag of chips when asked for his I.D.

Cops were called to a gas station in the Atlanta area to respond to a limo driver who complained that Anderson stiffed him on a $50 ride around 5 AM on Dec. 23.

When cops arrived, Anderson was a mess -- stuffing his face with a bag of potato chips.

One of the officers asked for his driver's license, Anderson reached into his pocket and presented the cop a pack of cigarettes.

When that didn't work, Anderson offered up his chips. She didn't accept that as a proper form of identification either.

Anderson denied being intoxicated, but cops say he was hammered and arrested him for public intoxication. The limo driver declined to press charges over the $50 fare.

Cops also asked Anderson how he paid for the smokes and the snacks -- and someone inside the gas station said another patron ponied up the dough for the Atlanta Falcons legend.

Anderson was placed in cuffs and hauled to a nearby police station where he continued to profess his innocence.

The 46-year-old has had tons of problems ever since his NFL career ended back in 2001 -- he's been arrested multiple times for things like cocaine, DUI and exposing himself in a gas station.

Warrick Dunn says the NFL missed a huge opportunity by picking Travis Scott for its Super Bowl halftime show ... saying it shoulda been an Atlanta artist instead.

The former Falcons RB tells TMZ Sports he's got no issues with the "SICKO MODE" rapper ... but says an ATL legend could have had a much bigger impact during the SB show.

"Atlanta has its own unique feel," Dunn says.

Warrick tells us the plan from the start shoulda been to have Outkast be the headliner -- with other ATL music legends like T.I. and Jermaine Dupri joining them on stage.

"You show them the flavor of the history of all the great music that was produced that helped propel young careers today."

Dunn added that show could have "Showed America what really good music could be."

Bow Wow's gonna hate this ...

Ezekiel Elliott's keeping one of the most embarrassing moments of the rapper's life alive -- bringing back the #BowWowChallenge after destroying the guy's favorite team.

You remember the Bow Bow Challenge, right? When Shad Moss was mocked ruthlessly for posting a pic on social media implying he was flying on his own private jet ... when he really wasn't.

The scandal inspired a viral challenge of people clowning the rapper for lying. Good times.

The fad eventually died off ... but Zeke just brought it back after he worked the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

The running back grabbed Dak Prescott and his right tackle La'el Collins and pretended they were off to the P.J. while the rest of the squad hit the commercial airliner.

"So this how the team go home -- and this how we go home! Bow Wow Challenge, baby!!"

Mohamed Sanu honored comic book legend Stan Lee on his cleats during the Falcons game on Sunday ... and the final product would make the Spidey creator proud.

TMZ broke the story ... the man behind the Marvel Universe died last week at 95 years old after suffering several illnesses over the past year.

Sanu -- a huge superhero nerd -- paid homage to the guy who created icons like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and Black Panther with custom cleats which he busted out to use against the Dallas Cowboys.

The artist behind the shoe design is Dez Customz -- who has done work for other huge NFL stars like Leonard Fournette and Cam Newton.

The Falcons ultimately lost 22-19 ... but Sanu won the kick game for sure.

Mike Vick would be rockin' a Super Bowl ring on his finger these days if somehow one of his teams had managed to trade for Chad Ochocinco ... so says the legendary QB himself.

We got Vick and Chad promoting WinView out in Bev Hills when we asked the two what would've happened if they were on the same team ... and Vick couldn't help but dream.

"Man, I mean, to have him, I would have probably had a ring for sure," Mike says.

Chad seemed to agree, saying, "That woulda been dope."

So, why'd it never go down?? Chad was locked in with the Bengals and Vick was entrenched with the Falcons during their primes.

"He woulda never got traded and I woulda never got traded, so we woulda had to have been drafted at the same time," Vick says.

As for how their careers went without each other and if they warrant busts in the NFL's Hall of Fame ... both surprisingly didn't seem too worried about that just yet.

"I'm not one that really needed validation," Ochocinco tells us.

Added Vick, "You leave that up to the people."