Basketball

The Cavs might have lost, but Donovan Mitchell was winning after the game -- hitting up an L.A. hot spot with his beautiful girlfriend ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

Cleveland lost just its second game of the season against the Clippers on Monday ... falling 117-119 and snapping an 8-game winning streak, despite Spida's 30-point effort

26-year-old Mitchell and his lady, Tinara Westbrook, decided to get over the loss at The Nice Guy in West Hollywood ... enjoying a peaceful meal late into the night.

The 3-time All-Star and hair entrepreneur have been going strong this year ... making their romance "Instagram official" back in September.

Spida is off to an insane start in his first season in Wine & Gold ... averaging 31.2 points, 6 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game.

Westbrook was in attendance for the Cavs vs. Clippers game at Crypto.com Arena ... and she had some pretty good seats for the matchup.

Kyrie Irving will not lose his NBA career over his most recent controversy ... so says Julius Erving -- who tells TMZ Sports there's just no way teams won't give him another chance.

"The owners are greedy," Dr. J said out at LAX this weekend. "He's going to end up in the league playing for somebody, no matter how toxic he is."

There are many in Association circles that would disagree -- with some believing after he tweeted a link to an antisemitic film and then refused to apologize over it for several days, he's too radioactive to the roster at this point.

But, Erving -- an NBA legend -- tells us he believes that's just simply not the case.

"As long as he's young enough to score those buckets, and do what he does, be Kyrie, he's going have a job," he said.

Irving is currently serving a suspension from the Brooklyn Nets over it all that the team says will last at least five games -- although no one within the org. has guaranteed he'll be back with the team this year.

Erving clearly believes if the Nets somehow cut ties with the point guard, his career would resume elsewhere -- and it would do so fairly quickly.

Ultimately, the former 76ers star gave Irving some advice going forward.

Ex-NBA star Ben Gordon was arrested again this week ... after he allegedly attacked two McDonald's security guards in Chicago.

TMZ Sports has learned ... 39-year-old Gordon was taken into custody around 3:30 AM on Friday. Chicago PD says the 2004 third-overall pick was being escorted out of the Mickey D's when he got physical.

Police say Gordon struck a 29-year-old male guard in the face and threw him to the ground ... before shoving a second 21-year-old male guard to the ground as well.

It's unclear why Gordon was being kicked out of the restaurant in the first place.

Gordon was booked for two counts of misdemeanor battery -- cause bodily harm and make physical contact -- as a result of the alleged altercation. The two guards declined medical attention.

The arrest comes less than one month after Gordon was accused of punching his 10-year-old son in the head at an airport for dropping a book.

Shortly after making bail in that arrest, Gordon was taken into custody in connection to an open assault case for a 2020 incident in Manhattan.

Gordon won an NCAA Championship at UConn in 2004 ... and averaged 14.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the Association.

Kyrie Irving may have gotten suspended for promoting a movie based on antisemitic themes, but there's still a large platform that's not only carrying the movie, it's making a profit as well.

"Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" is listed on Amazon for users to rent at $10.99 or purchase for $48.99. We've reached out to Amazon, asking if the company has any plans to limit access or remove the film altogether, and have gotten no response.

While the criticism Kyrie has received for promoting, and at first, refusing to denounce the antisemitism in the film has been justified ... there's been little to no public outcry for Amazon to yank the flick.

In fact, Amazon's listing for the film even includes a "Watch and chat with others" feature -- which it does make available for other TV/movies -- but it just makes it that much easier for the hate to spread.

What's more -- on Friday, both the Brooklyn Nets and Anti-Defamation League asked Jeff Bezos and the leaders at Amazon to remove the movie.

As we reported, Kyrie is currently serving at least a 5 game suspension after the Brooklyn Nets said Thursday, "We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity - but failed - to clarify."

Just a few hours after the Nets announcement, Kyrie attempted another apology, saying, "To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post ... I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize."

Nike is pressing pause on its endorsement deal with Kyrie Irving ... and now his signature shoe is being shelved.

The shoe giant announced Friday it was suspending its business relationship with the NBA star, explaining ... "At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism."

Nike also says it will no longer launch the Kyrie 8 basketball shoe, adding ... "We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone."

As you know ... Kyrie's faced a ton of backlash ever since tweeting out a link to an antisemitic film last week.

Nike isn't the first to come down on Irving. The Nets announced Thursday they were suspending him at least 5 games after he refused to outright apologize for promoting the film. The Nets said Kyrie will not be allowed to play for the club again until he "satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct."

The point guard finally issued a lengthy mea culpa on his social media after being suspended, but folks are questioning his sincerity.

The woman who initially accused Eric Bledsoe of roughing her up during an incident last month ultimately ended up refusing to cooperate with authorities ... this according to prosecutors.

In official documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, authorities said a 30-year-old woman called cops in Lost Hills, Calif. on Oct. 26 -- claiming Bledsoe had slapped her after she had knocked his phone out of his hand following a dispute.

However, according to the docs, when investigators arrived on scene ... the woman -- who they say had redness on her face -- "told deputies that she did not get into a physical altercation with the suspect, and she did not want to give additional information about the incident."

Bledsoe was still arrested, and booked on a charge of misdemeanor domestic violence.

But, according to the docs, when the woman was pressed further about the incident by a follow-up investigator, "she stated she would not cooperate with the prosecution of suspect."

Officials added in the docs that the woman "later emailed the investigating officer reiterating that she was not desirous of prosecution."

Prosecutors formally dropped the case on Oct. 28 ... with officials saying in the documents that the woman's "inconsistent statements about whether there was a physical altercation" played into the decision.

Kevin Durant thinks the Brooklyn Nets should have shut up and let Kyrie Irving dribble ... saying the organization should have not gotten involved in his teammate's antisemitism controversy.

He does, however, say he trusts the organization to make the right decision when asked about Kyrie's 5-game suspension.

KD spoke with the media on Friday about the Nets' decision to punish Kyrie over inadequately addressing the decision to post a link to a movie riddled with antisemitic beliefs ... and he feels like it was none of the team's business.

"I ain't here to judge nobody or talk down on the life or how they feel with their views and things," Durant said. "I just didn't like anything that went on. I felt like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization."

Durant also took a jab at the media ... saying outlets were quick to spark outrage after Kyrie posted the tweet.

"Everybody has an opinion on the situation, and we're hearing it nonstop."

As we previously reported, Kyrie has been under fire for several missed opportunities to apologize and denounce antisemitism ... which resulted in his suspension and a fiery statement from NBA commish Adam Silver.

The Nets also voiced their dissatisfaction when handing down the suspension ... saying, "Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team."

Kyrie eventually released his latest attempt at a mea culpa on Thursday ... which still wasn't enough for some critics.

Nets GM Sean Marks spoke about Irving's most recent comments on Friday ... saying it's a "step," but there's still more that needs to be done.

Marks also said the Nets never considered waiving Irving ... but it's clear the team is not happy.

Shaq has advice for Kanye West -- get your affairs in order before commenting on his ... after Ye took a shot at O'Neal on social media.

The interaction started when Kanye tweeted ... "Shaq is in business with Jamie Salter. Jaimie first said he's 50/50 with David Beckham and 50/50 with Shaq. I said "Jamie . . . There’s no such thing as 50/50 in business . . . Who has the extra 1 percent for the control and voting rights."

Ye continued ... "Jamie then said he's actually got the 51 percent on both those deals   We as the creators and talent get so caught up in our vanity that we don’t read or understand the fine print  Like Dave Chapelle said, we need to stop giving up control over our own names and our likeness."

Jamie Salter is a Canadian billionaire ... and his company, Authentic Brands Group manages Shaq's name and likeness. Jamie previously said ABG bought 50% of Shaq's future earnings. The company also owns more than 50 brands, many very large. O'Neal is one of the company's largest shareholders.

The tweet didn't sit well with Shaq, who responded to Kanye, writing, "Believe me you don't know me like that. Worry about your business, and to quote the once great Kanye west " I got more money than you, so why would i listen to you" take my advice get your family business in order. Have a great day brother."

It all seemingly started when Shaq (and Charles Barkley) ripped Kyrie Irving for publicizing the controversial film, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" Shaq said the NBA superstar was "not conscious" and didn't care who he offended.

Naturally, West took issue with Shaq's criticism of Irving, writing on Twitter, "They make us bully ourselves because of our business alignments."

Ye has evidently taken a liking to 30-year-old Kyrie ... showing support for the Nets hooper by posting a photo of him on social media.

Both men have been accused of being antisemitic.

Kyrie Irving is finally apologizing for tweeting out a link to an antisemitic film ... though many fans are questioning the sincerity of the Brooklyn Nets star's mea culpa.

The 30-year-old wrote out the "I'm sorry" in a lengthy post on his Instagram page late Thursday night -- one week after he promoted the film "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!"

He began by admitting he made a mistake in pedaling a movie that contained "anti-Semitic statements, narratives, and language that were untrue and offensive to the Jewish Race/Religion."

He then apologized to people of Jewish faith for his actions -- something he had refused to explicitly do despite having multiple opportunities in the days after he pressed "send" on his tweet.

"To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post," he wrote, "I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize."

Some have found the line to be insincere -- believing it to be nothing more than "I'm sorry if I offended you" rhetoric.

Kyrie then apologized for not explaining the parts of the documentary that he actually agreed with ... another line with which fans took umbrage -- considering the entire film is laced with antisemitic tropes.

Finally, Irving wrote, "I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust or perpetuate any hate." Some have blasted him for this comment as well. The question -- is he really acknowledging the Holocaust happened, or is he saying he's sorry he offended Jewish belief that it happened?  There's a huge difference between the two.

Irving's apology came just hours after the Nets announced the point guard would be suspended for at least five games over the situation. The team said in a statement he will not be allowed to play for the org. again until he "satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct."

The Anti-Defamation League is refusing to accept Kyrie Irving's donation ... with its CEO saying in a statement Thursday the org. is giving back the $500K that the Nets star donated this week.

Jonathan Greenblatt made the announcement on his Twitter page -- just minutes after Brooklyn suspended the point guard for at least five games.

In his statement, Greenblatt said that after Irving refused to specifically apologize for tweeting out a link to a film that contained antisemitic rhetoric despite having multiple opportunities to do so ... the ADL "cannot in good conscience accept his donation."

"We were optimistic," Greenblatt said, "but after watching the debacle of a press conference, it’s clear that Kyrie feels no accountability for his actions."

Irving initially made the donation on Wednesday evening ... with the Nets saying they'd match his pledge. A statement came attached to the announcement of the contribution, with Irving appearing to express remorse for his tweet.

But, things only got worse after that -- despite having several chances to straight-up apologize or completely denounce antisemitism, Kyrie refused.

"I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from," Irving said when asked if he held any antisemitic beliefs.

He also would not explain what parts of the film he disagreed with ... saying, "I think some of the criticism of the Jewish faith and the community for sure. Some points made in there that were unfortunate."

The ADL isn't alone. NBA commissioner Adam Silver -- who is Jewish -- unloaded on Irving for his comments ... saying he was "disappointed and" would be meeting with him in person over the matter.

Irving has since been suspended at least 5 games ... with the Nets saying they're "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."

It's unclear if the ADL will accept the Nets' $500k donation that came along with Kyrie's contribution.

The Nets have suspended Kyrie Irving for at least 5 games after the team says the NBA superstar repeatedly failed to fully apologize for promoting an antisemitic film, with the org. saying he's "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."

The team released a statement Thursday night announcing the move ... a week after the 30-year-old, 7x NBA All-Star tweeted about a film, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!"

“Over the last several days, we have made repeated attempts to work with Kyrie Irving to help him understand the harm and danger of his words and actions, which began with him publicizing a film containing deeply disturbing antisemitic hate," the Nets said.

"We believed that taking the path of education in this challenging situation would be the right one and thought that we had made progress with our joint commitment to eradicating hate and intolerance.”

The Anti-Defamation League says the "film promotes beliefs commonly found among antisemitic and extremist factions of the BHI movement."

However, despite the joint statement Wednesday night where Irving acknowledged hurting the Jewish community and pledging $1 million ($500K from Kyrie, Nets), many people, including commissioner Adam Silver were unmoved by Kyrie's words.

On Thursday, he met with members of the media, and again refused to directly apologize.

“We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge specific hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity — but failed — to clarify.”

This morning's media session was clearly the last straw for the franchise ... which has been struggling on the court, as well.

“Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."

FYI, Brooklyn has one of the largest Jewish populations in America.

The Nets continued ... "We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct and the suspension period served is no less than five games.”

The Nets will play the Washington Wizards Friday night in D.C. Irving will not be on the floor. If he serves the minimum suspension, he'd be eligible to return against the Lakers on November 13th in Los Angeles.

But, given Kyrie's hesitation to say sorry, that's a giant IF.

The LA County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ Sports ... "We believe this resolution was the best avenue to hold Mr. Bridges accountable for his conduct. We also understand through the victim’s representatives that the victim wanted an expedited resolution of the case."

"The victim and her representatives were consulted about the proposed resolution and agreed with the outcome of the case. The District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Victim Services remains ready to aid the victims in this case."

NBA free agent Miles Bridges will not spend another second behind bars in connection to his domestic violence case -- he reached a deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to one felony charge.

But it's not going to be a walk in the park for Bridges -- he will spend three years on probation as a result of the deal ... and there are a lot of requirements he will have to follow.

Bridges is required to go through a year of domestic violence counseling and parenting classes, participate in 100 hours of community service, and submit to weekly narcotics testing -- with the exception to marijuana with a doctor's prescription.

On top of all that, Bridges is prohibited from owning guns and ammunition or any other dangerous weapon.

Bridges will also have to follow a 10-year protective order ... which means he must stay at least 100 yards from the mother of his children, Mychelle Johnson, and make zero contact with her.

Bridges and Johnson will maintain custody of his two kids, but any exchange or visitation must be done through a third party.

It's a punishment that's sure to upset many of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's critics ... who have accused the prosecutor of being soft on violent crime during his tenure.

Johnson agreed to and approved the agreement.

LAPD arrested Bridges on June 29 ... after he was accused of beating Johnson with their two kids present.

He was facing three felonies as a result of the incident ... but as part of the deal, agreed to plead no contest to one count of domestic violence toward a spouse or other cohabitant. The other two charges were dismissed.

It's a huge break for Bridges ... who was facing years in prison.

Bridges was the 12th overall pick out of Michigan State in 2018. During his 4 seasons in the league, the former Hornets forward averaged 13.4 points, 5.6 boards, and 2.3 assists.

Prior to his arrest, the Hornets extended the star hooper a qualifying offer ... allowing the organization the right to match any offer made by another team. The offer was pulled following the incident.

A former therapist for the Spurs claims Joshua Primo exposed himself on 9 occasions, saying she intends to file a police report ... but JP's attorney adamantly denies the allegations, calling them "either a complete fabrication, a gross embellishment or utter fantasy."

Dr. Hillary Cauthen, a psychologist previously employed by the NBA franchise, along with her attorney, Tony Buzbee, held a news conference in Texas Thursday morning ... where they laid out their claims of indecent exposure.

"She didn't run to the press. She didn't run off and file a lawsuit. She instead tried to handle things in a way that she felt was appropriate -- in a way that would bring some real change in the Spurs organization," Buzbee said.

"Unfortunately, that didn't work out that way."

Buzbee says his client alerted the Spurs, but they failed to act.

As for the 19-year-old hooper's side of the story ... they haven't wavered, saying if Primo was exposed, he didn't know about it, and certainly didn't do it intentionally.

Primo's attorney, William J. Briggs II, released a statement laying out the facts as they see him.

Primo, the 12th overall pick in last year's draft, was released by the Spurs last week. At the time, the organization said, "It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua."

Joshua appeared in 54 games for San Antonio ... averaging 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Kyrie Irving is acknowledging the hurt he caused the Jewish community when he promoted a movie containing antisemitic ideas, saying he "meant no harm" ... and to prove he's serious, the NBA star says he'll donate $500K to fight hate.

The 30-year-old Brooklyn Nets star Tweeted a link to "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" last week ... and despite almost immediate backlash, Irving refused to back down, standing by his actions.

That is until Wednesday evening ... when the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie released a statement apologizing and announcing the large monetary donation.

“I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day," Kyrie said.

"I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles."

The 7x NBA All-Star continued ... "I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen. So from my family and I, we meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light."

Worth noting -- Kyrie does not flat-out say "I'm sorry," or, "I apologize" ... which has some people saying his statement and donation isn't enough.

Irving stopped short of completely condemning the ideas in the movie ... but it's certainly a big departure from his previous position.

Prior to tonight's announcement, Irving was getting destroyed everywhere from on TV, to social media, and even at Barclays. In fact, a group of fans protested Kyrie earlier this week ... wearing shirts that read "FIGHT ANTISEMITISM."

Brooklyn is home to one of the country's largest Jewish populations.

As for the money, the Nets are also chipping in 500 grand ... bringing the total to $1 million. The organization says they'll divide the cash among "causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities."

The team also says they'll work with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) -- which fights antisemitism -- to "develop educational programming that is inclusive and will comprehensively combat all forms of antisemitism and bigotry."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is unleashing on Kyrie Irving ... saying the Brooklyn Nets star's attempted mea culpa for sharing a link to a movie laden with antisemitic beliefs was a complete disappointment.

The commish addressed the controversy in a statement on Thursday ... and he didn't hold back.

"Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material," Silver -- who is Jewish -- said.

"While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize."

As we previously reported, Kyrie made a $500k donation to "eradicate hate" on Wednesday ... but stopped short of completely denouncing the contents of the "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" project.

"I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles," Irving said in the statement ... but did not clarify what parts he was distancing himself from.

Rob Dillingham, a 17-year-old consensus five-star basketball recruit and Kentucky commit, is leaving Kanye West's Donda Academy school ... and signing with Overtime Elite league.

Of course, Donda Academy has been engulfed in turmoil after West's repeated use of antisemitic remarks ... putting the future of the school/sports teams in flux.

Dillingham's exit from Donda Academy comes on the heels of Celtics star Jaylen Brown and Rams star Aaron Donald both parting ways from Ye's Donda Sports marketing agency.

The fallout unfortunately swallowed up the kids on the basketball team. Donda was recently pulled from a big tournament -- the Scholastic Play-by-Play tourney in December -- and, most recently, Morehouse College pulled the plug on a showcase in ATL.

Dillingham, a 6'2" point guard out of NC, is considered one of the top point guards in the 2023 class ... and was Donda's highest-rated player, so losing him is a huge blow.

Dillingham -- named Charlotte Observer Player of the Year -- is joining OTE at the perfect time ... the 6-team basketball league just inked a streaming deal with Amazon Prime.

Games start streaming Friday night ... meaning RD went from being on a team that was banned in places to potentially playing in front of millions.