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High school basketball superstar Maori Davenport will be ALLOWED to play in her game Friday night after a judge called off her suspension.

Davenport's story became national news when athletic officials in Alabama ruled her ineligible after learning she received an $857 check from Team USA basketball for playing in a tourney back in August. The check covered lost wages and expenses.

The check was sent to Davenport as the result of a clerical error -- she never sought out the payment.

Davenport initially cashed the check under the assumption it was a standard operating procedure for people playing for Team USA. When the organization realized the error, they asked for the money back and she returned it the next day.

Still, officials in Alabama believed cashing the check violated the rules -- and deemed her ineligible for her senior year.

It's a big deal considering 6'4" Davenport is one of the best players in the country -- and committed to attend Rutgers next year.

Huge stars like Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Billie Jean King and more spoke out in Davenport's defense -- calling the suspension ridiculous and insisting she did nothing wrong.

An emergency motion was filed in Pike County Circuit Court and on Friday the judge decided to repeal the suspension -- pending the outcome of a hearing on the matter.

Translation, Davenport can play with her high school team for now.

Enes Kanter says he won't be bullied into silence by the President of Turkey -- saying jail threats against him and his family are only inspiring him to be MORE critical of Recep Erdogan.

The NY Knicks star is doubling down on his decision to remove himself from a team trip to the U.K. -- claiming he's more susceptible to Erdogan's hit squad overseas.

"If I'm in America, I'm safe. I feel very safe," Kanter told CBS News. "But, if I step outside of America, it will be a very dangerous situation."

Kanter says he's been under fire from Turkish officials for years for insulting Erdogan publicly -- even calling the guy the "Hitler of our generation."

Other U.S. officials, including Rep. Peter King, have told TMZ Sports ... Kanter's fears are warranted because Erdogan is a bad dude and runs Turkey like a police state.

Kanter has been labeled a terrorist for his comments -- and says officials have even locked his father as retribution.

"If you speak out against Erdoğan, that means you're a terrorist. If he cannot put you in jail, then he will take your family away and put them in jail and say, 'if you don't stop running against me, then I'm gonna keep your family in jail.'"

"That's what he's trying to do, did that to me, that he tried to put my dad in jail, so he thought that I was gonna stop talking, that made me even talk about this more so the world can see it."

As we previously reported, ex-NBA player Hedo Turkoglu -- who's also from Turkey -- ripped Kanter on social media ... saying his claims against the President are baseless and reckless.

Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey -- aka "doink doink" -- says he still feels HORRIBLE after that game-losing field goal in the playoffs ... which is why he's steering clear of Twitter.

Smart.

The 26-year-old appeared on the "Today" show Friday morning and said he can still barely believe he missed that 43-yarder against the Eagles with time winding down in the 4th quarter.

"I'm disappointed," Parkey said ... "I let the fans, my teammates and the whole organization down."

"But, I'll continue to keep my head held high because football is what I do, it's not who I am."

Of course, Parkey was booed off the field after missing that kick -- and the hate online has been ruthless.

"I haven't been on social media or anything like that," Parkey said.

He added, "I feel worse than anybody about missing that kick because I wanted to make it more than anybody ... but at the end of the day, I'm gonna hold my head high."

We got Parkey leaving the show and asked him if he felt safe going back to Chicago -- and the good news, he doesn't seem worried.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have apparently had enough of the first property they bought together ... because they're already trying to unload their NYC love nest, only 10 months after scooping it up!

We've confirmed the celeb couple is listing their kick-ass 4,000 sq. ft. Park Ave pad for a cool $17.5 million, as first reported by the NY Post. You'll recall ... J Lo and A-Rod bought the 3 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom apartment back in March, dropping $15.3 million on their first real estate purchase together.

As for why they're already unloading this primo location -- in the world's tallest residential building, btw -- think family planning. We're told the couple's on the hunt for something a little more modern family friendly ... remember they have 4 kids between them.

Antonio Brown's time in Pittsburgh appears all but over ... 'cause Steelers owner Art Rooney II doesn't expect the NFL superstar to be on the team next season.

A.B.'s been at the center of controversy in Steel City after getting into heated exchanges with teammates, skipping practice, getting benched for a crucial game during a playoff push AND reportedly requesting a trade ... just to name a few incidents.

Rooney says the team will NOT cut Brown, but made it very clear the Steelers aren't afraid to move on from their top receiver ... and said it would be "hard to envision" he's with the team come training camp in July.

"There’s not much we can do right now. We have time to make a decision,” Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“We’ll look at all the options. We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table."

Rooney isn't completely shutting the door on reconciling with Brown ... he thinks making up is possible, but unlikely.

Tim Tebow is one step closer to swiping that V-card ... he just got engaged to his insanely attractive beauty queen girlfriend, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters!!!

"Thank you for saying YES and making me the happiest man in the world," Tebow posted.

"You’re the love of my life, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Demi-Leigh -- the 2017 Miss Universe winner -- also commented, saying, "Any dreams I’ve ever had, you’ve exceeded them all! I love you and I can’t wait to spend forever with you!"

Demi-Leigh is 23 years old. She's from South Africa. The two have been dating for a while and she recently went home to Florida with him to celebrate the holidays ... a big sign a ring was on the way.

Congrats!!!

Two USC fans have been charged for allegedly vandalizing UCLA's on-campus statue and now face up to 3 YEARS in JAIL.

Louis Torres (19) and Willie Johnson (18) allegedly hit up UCLA's campus on Nov. 13 -- just days before the Trojans' rivalry game with the Bruins -- and sought to violate the bear statue.

Officials say the two men doused the statue in Trojan-colored paint ... and also inked the letters "SC" into the landmark's pedestal.

It's interesting ... 'cause in preparation for the big game -- UCLA officials actually boxed up the bear ... which means the vandals had to go the extra mile to get to it ... physically prying open the box to get to the statue.

Reports estimate the vandalism caused $15,000 worth of damage ... and now, officials say both suspects could face up to 3 years in jail, if convicted.

This ain't the first time the Bruin bear has been subject to USC antics ... back in 2009, it was also doused in red and yellow paint -- which caused a reported $20,000 of damage.

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!!

McKenzie Milton -- the UCF QB who nearly lost his right leg after a gruesome on-field tackle -- is making incredible progress in his recovery ... already leg pressing on the injured knee!!!

The Golden Knights superstar took a shot to his leg in a game against South Florida on Nov. 23 ... and the carnage resulting from the hit was gnarly.

Milton dislocated his right knee completely ... and nearly lost the leg after blood flow to the injury site had ceased.

But, McKenzie underwent successful reconstructive knee surgery ... and is clearly now on the right track to being 100 percent again -- 'cause dude's already hitting the leg press!!

"Thanking God for the miracles I see everyday in my life. Went from almost losing my leg to leg pressing 40lbs in a little over a month," Milton wrote on social media.

"Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. God is definitely at work..it’s gonna be a long process but it’ll be one hell of a story."

Lonzo Ball was a human highlight reel Wednesday night ... and he had his biggest little fan in the front row cheering him on the whole time!!

Zo's baby mama, Denise Garcia, brought 5-month-old Zoey -- decked out in her own little Ball jersey -- to the Lakers vs. Pistons game at Staples Center ... and they picked a great one to go to.

Ball had a handful of incredible plays in his 11-assist game that had everyone -- including Baby Baller -- going crazy. The Lake Show ultimately beat Detroit in a 113-100 butt-kicking.

We broke the story ... Zo and Denise welcomed Zoey into the world back in July.

Unclear if this was Zoey's first time watching her daddy at work ... but it's great to see the fam together after the whole "deadbeat" drama.

Other celebs at the Laker game include Charlize Theron, model Kaia Gerber and Andy Garcia.

But, if Lonzo plays like this every time his daughter's in attendance ... expect to see her a LOT more from now on.

Cristiano Ronaldo claims the former U.K. "Celebrity Big Brother" star who publicly accused him of emotionally abusing and threatening her is lying ... insisting he's never even met the woman.

As we previously reported, fashion model Jasmine Lennard went off on social media this week -- claiming she had secretly dated Ronaldo for a decade and was subjected to all sorts of disgusting behavior, including death threats.

Lennard even posted audio clips she claimed captured Ronaldo making offensive comments -- but there's one huge problem, Ronaldo claims the voice on the tapes is NOT him.

"Mr. Ronaldo has no specific recollection of meeting Ms. Lennard 10 years ago or at any point," his legal team tells TMZ Sports.

"He has not had a relationship with her and he has not had any contact with her, whether in the last 18 months as Ms Lennard suggests, or otherwise."

"The voice notes posted by Ms Lennard on social media are not of Mr. Ronaldo. Mr. Ronaldo will take appropriate legal action in due course."

Floyd Mayweather has one helluva watch collection -- 41 time pieces in total -- including a crown jewel, the $18 million "One and Only."

Seems Floyd was just bored on Wednesday and felt like stuntin' on all of us normies -- so he broke out the briefcases with his super expensive man jewelry ... and showed it all off.

"When I go on pay-cation for 30 days," Floyd said ... "I take 30 watches with me."

"But, you know what, if we add 10 more days, I take 10 more watches," he explained while opening a 2nd case.

And, then the big daddy ...

"But then, I say 'f*ck it. If I wanna bring out the one and only, then I'll take out the watch that costs $18 million."

The watch is technically called "The Billionaire Watch" -- made by Jacob & Co. back in 2015, it features 239 emerald-cut baguette diamond stones, each weighing up to 3 carats.

Floyd says he bought the watch last summer from a Japanese jeweler named Tadashi Fukushima -- and claimed he'd never buy any jewelry from anyone else ever again.

But, if he sees the right watch somewhere else ...

Floyd has made a ton of money during his pro boxing career -- $300 mil to fight Pacquiao, $300 mil to fight McGregor ... and $9 mil to fight Tenshin Nasukawa.

Michael Jackson's estate is slamming a new documentary making allegations of sexual abuse by the late singer ... by calling out the doc's producers for what it says is a clear attempt to exploit Michael when it premieres at Sundance.

MJ's estate tells TMZ ... “This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson."

The doc, titled "Leaving Neverland," is set to premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and it reportedly accuses Michael of sexually abusing two young boys.

The King of Pop's estate also says the "so-called documentary is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations. It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”

Baker Mayfield will be hittin' dingers for a cause this weekend ... signing on to join Christian Yelich, Charlie Sheen and more in a celeb softball game to raise money for CA fire and shooting victims.

Yelich -- along with Ryan Braun, Mitch Moustakas and Jared Goff -- created the California Strong campaign in the wake of the recent tragedies. They're all from California and decided it was their duty to help out.

Besides launching a website and partnering with the YMCA, the guys decided to host a celeb softball game to help raise money for people affected by the Borderline shooting in Thousand Oaks and the wildfires that ravaged the state.

It's all going down at Pepperdine University on Sunday, January 13 -- featuring huge names like Reggie Miller, Justin Turner, Mira Sorvino, Camille Kostek, Rob Riggle and Patrick Schwarzenegger.

The cause hits home for Yelich ... who told us last month he would consider donating his MVP trophy to his old hot spot, the Borderline Bar, where 12 people were killed in November.

Props to all involved.

L.A. Chargers defensive lineman Brandon Mebane rejoined his team Wednesday after taking time off to be with his hospital-stricken infant daughter, who passed away last week.

While still in the womb back in July, Mebane's daughter, Makenna, was diagnosed with a heart defect as a result of a chromosomal condition called trisomy 13.

The family moved to Omaha, Nebraska where Mebane's wife, Amena, and unborn child could be treated by doctors who specialized in the condition.

Makenna was born more than 1 month premature in November and later developed an intestinal infection known as Necrotizing Enterocolitis (also known as NEC) -- a fast-striking, devastating condition that can be fatal if not caught and treated immediately.

Doctors treated Makenna for weeks -- and Mebane used the team owner's private jet to travel to the last 2 regular season games when Makenna's health seemed to be stabilizing.

But unfortunately, her health took a turn for the worse earlier this month and she passed away on January 3.

Obviously, Mebane is devastated -- but says he plans to play in the Chargers' playoff game against the New England Patriots this weekend.

Malik Henry -- the star of "Last Chance U" -- is getting one more shot to play FBS football .. 'cause the QB is walking on at Nevada this season -- his new head coach just announced.

Henry -- a top high school recruit in 2016 who signed with Florida State -- flamed out with the Noles ... and transferred to Independence Community College in Kansas just months later.

Malik became a star at the school -- mostly for the drama that surrounded him on Season 3 of Netflix's uber-popular "Last Chance U" show.

He was often portrayed as the bad guy ... feuding with coaches and teammates and even being described by coach Jason Brown at one point as, "f*cking borderline being kicked out any minute."

Malik stuck with the school for two seasons ... but it appears his time at the program and on the show has ended ... 'cause Wolfpack coach Jay Norvell says Malik's joining the squad.

"He spent some time at junior college and probably has one last shot to get his career corrected and we're going to give that," Norvell told Nevada Sports Net.

"He needs a coaching staff that will love him and teach him how to do things the right way and in a system he can grow and develop, and that's something we feel like we have here at Nevada."

Playing time for Malik ain't gonna be easy ... Nevada's got a crowded and talented QB room -- but Henry does have two seasons to play at his new school.