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Johnny Manziel says Baker Mayfield's drunken arrest shouldn't define him -- because it's just a part of being a star QB in college.

"Look, he got in a little bit of trouble last year but that's just part of being in college," Manziel said on the "Comeback SZN" podcast with Barstool Sports.

Manziel says most star QBs are "gonna go out, they're gonna have some drinks and one night you're gonna drink too much and somethings gonna happen that shouldn't have happened."

"It's just the way that things go."

Manziel is clearly referring to Baker's February 2017 arrest -- when he was arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and fleeing after Mayfield tried to run from cops.

Manziel doesn't think it's a big deal. We'll see if the NFL teams agree.

The head of the NFL Players Association says NFL owners only care about one thing -- money.

DeMaurice Smith -- executive director of the NFLPA -- was speaking at George Washington University when the issue of Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling demonstration came up.

Smith pointed to the fact Kaep hasn't been hired and said his unemployment shows how players and owners have completely different priorities, according to the GW Times.

"You have Colin fighting for the things he was fighting for, and to tie a loop on it, none of the owners are ever going to be involved in that," Smith said.

"They don’t care. The owners don’t care about anything but money."

Avicii was struggling with major issues at the time of his death ... which his family is now strongly insinuating was a suicide.

The superstar DJ, whose real name was Tim Bergling, was found dead last week in Oman, and while there's been no cause of death released ... his family just released a statement referring to his struggles to find meaning in his life once he finished touring.

Here's the full statement:

Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions.
An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress.
When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most – music.
He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness.
He could not go on any longer.
He wanted to find peace.
Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight.
Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed.
The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive.

Obviously, the passage ... "He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace" ... seems like a reference to Avicii taking his own life. Authorities have ruled out foul play in the 28-year-old's death.

Meanwhile, Avicii was commemorated in his native Sweden where a choir performed "Wake Me Up!"

Nick Diaz says the Floyd Mayweather shooting was "f*cked up" -- especially because he knows a couple of guys in Floyd's entourage who were in the van during the attack.

"That was my boy that got shot I think," Diaz said before sending a message to the guy -- "I hope you feel better, you got shot."

As we previously reported, Mayweather's longtime TMT bodyguard, Greg La Rosa, was hit in the leg when a gunman ambushed Floyd's crew in Atlanta. Greg is recovering and should be okay.

Diaz said there's really nothing Mayweather's team could have done to prevent the shooting -- explaining, "Sometimes it's just gonna go down."

"When it goes down, it goes down."

Stormy Daniels is demanding she and her attorney have a say in the government's case against Donald Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen.

Stormy and Michael Avenatti filed a motion to intervene which, if granted, means she would be able to participate in Cohen's case. You'll recall the feds seized a ton of documents from Cohen's office, and it appears Stormy thinks some of them could relate to her dealings with Trump and Cohen.

In particular, the "hush" agreement she's fighting to have invalidated would likely be included in Cohen's files. The documents could include her privileged communications with her attorneys which she might not want to go public.

John Cena says he's emotionally devastated after his breakup with fiancee Nikki Bella ... saying, "I love Nicole with all my heart and the split's tough."

The WWE superstar says he was expecting reporters to ask him questions about the split while promoting "Bumblebee" at CinemaCon in Vegas ... and decided he's ready to talk about it.

"It's a tough time but that's life," Cena said ... "We all go through highs and we all go through lows."

"I'm gonna get through it. I love her. I'll always love her."

"The fact that my heart hurts for her ... I know I was in love. So, I'll always have that."

Cena and Bella dated for roughly 6 years and he proposed at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

7:09 AM PT -- Allen spoke with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith -- fessed up to the tweets and explained he was "young and dumb."

Smith says Allen insisted the "If it ain't white" line was a reference to an episode of "Modern Family" -- and was not meant to be racist.

Allen also claims at least one of the N-word tweets was a reference to a Rick Ross song.

Allen told Smith there's no excuse for the tweets and he understands posting that stuff was wrong -- but says his teammates know he's not a racist person.

Josh Allen -- one of the top QBs in the NFL Draft -- is apologizing for dropping the n-word on Twitter years ago ... saying he was "young and dumb."

The tweets surfaced Wednesday night ... one day before the draft -- and Allen had posted them to his real, authentic account back when he was in high school.

Some of the tweets ...

"i dont think you n**gas want a troubled son!" -- June 14, 2012

“N**gas Trying To Get At Me" -- February 12, 2013

"Bout to show up these N**gas at pong" -- February 26, 2012

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster might be off the hook soon for felony domestic violence charges ... because his ex-girlfriend just recanted her story.

Elissa Ennis released a statement through her lawyer Wednesday, essentially taking back her accusations against Foster stemming from a February incident.

Ennis reportedly claims Foster "did not strike her, injure her or threaten her," and adds that her injuries were "the result of a physical fight with another woman, and that Foster tried to end his relationship with Ennis after he learned of the fight."

She also claims there's video of the fight that proves Foster is innocent of the charges against him. Her lawyer adds that Ennis "was extremely upset and told him if he broke up with her she would 'trash his career.'"

As we reported, Foster was charged with felony domestic violence for allegedly dragging Ennis by her hair, physically throwing her out of the house, and punching her in the head 8 to 10 times ... which hospitalized her.

Meek Mill getting out of prison doesn't mean he's out of the clutches of the criminal justice system ... at least that's how he's viewing his situation 24 hours after getting released on bail.

Meek sat down with Lester Holt for NBC's 'Nightly News,' and rather than celebrate ... the Philly rapper explained why he doesn't feel free and hasn't since he was a teenager.

Michael Cohen has given notice to Stormy Daniels ... she's not getting any information from him under oath, because he's pleading the 5th.

Cohen filed a declaration with the court in Daniels' case, saying, "Based on the advice of counsel, I will assert my 5th amendment rights [against self incrimination] in connection with all proceedings in this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney ..."

Cohen is asking the court to put the civil case on ice while the FBI investigates. In his declaration, Cohen notes the FBI executed 3 search warrants on his residence, office and hotel room and seized various electronic devices, and it all relates to the civil action filed by Daniels.

The woman who claims Gareon Conley raped her at a Cleveland hotel last year has filed a lawsuit against the Raiders player ... claiming she was mentally and physically hurt during the alleged incident.

FYI, Conley -- 22 years old -- was never arrested or charged with a crime ... and adamantly denies any wrongdoing.

In the lawsuit -- filed earlier this month in Cuyahoga County Court in Ohio -- the accuser alleges Conley "physically touched and engaged in the sexual contact" and "sexually assaulted, battered and raped" her after meeting and partying at a nearby bar.

As a result, the suit alleges the woman "sustained serious physical, psychological, emotional and mental injuries."

In addition to Conley, his management group and the hotel have also been named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Russell Simmons and one of the women who accused him of sexual assault are no longer headed to court ... the lawsuit's been dismissed.

Jennifer Jarosik sued Simmons for millions of dollars, claiming he'd sexually assaulted her after she denied his advances. According to docs, the suit was dismissed Wednesday morning. It was dismissed with prejudice ... meaning she can't refile.

Typically, that's a sign there's been a settlement. Reps for Simmons had no comment.

The dismissal comes a couple weeks after Simmons filed a pretty strong response to the lawsuit, claiming Jennifer had sent him text messages and nude photos after the alleged assault.

The great Lithuania experiment is over ... because LaVar Ball is pulling his 2 sons off BC Vytautas after just 3 months.

LaVar told Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas he's bringing both LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball back to Los Angeles.

The move comes after Vyautas announced the Ball bros would not be playing in Wednesday's game.

LiAngelo is currently nursing an ankle injury. LaMelo has been dealing with a back issue.

According to Urbonas, LaVar said his beef is with the coach ... and not Lithuania, the Lithuanian people, or the organization.

"We're not going to waste our time no more," Ball reportedly said ... "Coach ruined everything and he’ll have to pay the price that Melo is not coming back.”

LiAngelo has already declared for the NBA Draft -- but what happens if he doesn't get selected? He could always join LaVar's new semi-pro league.

And what about LaMelo? He could join, too.

Kanye West doesn't care what 'mob' mentality says, he loves President Trump ... even though he doesn't agree with all of his politics.

Kanye declared his allegiance to Trump's "dragon energy" ... in response to DJ Ebro saying Ye had confessed to loving Trump.

As you know, Kanye's not one to run from a controversy, and instead he fully leaned into POTUS, saying ... "You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does."

Kanye added, he's got love for Hillary Clinton, too.

Remember, he publicly embraced Trump right after his election ... and even went to visit him at Trump Tower.

It's pretty clear Kanye's gonna like whoever Kanye wants to like. It's just what Kanye does.

Seems Robert Kraft's bromance with Donald Trump is over ... because the Patriots owner reportedly slammed the President during an October meeting with NFL owners, players and league execs.

It all went down at NFL headquarters ... where NFL commish Roger Goodell called the group together to discuss how to handle the fallout from Colin Kaepernick's kneeling demonstration.

After Eagles defensive end Chris Long told the owners Kaep "should be on a roster," Kraft stood up to address the "elephant in the room ... this kneeling."

"The problem we have is, we have a president who will use that as fodder to do his mission that I don’t feel is in the best interests of America," Kraft said according to the NY Times.

"It’s divisive and it’s horrible.”

Surprising words considering Kraft and Trump have been close pals for years.

1:29 PM PT -- Sources close to SJP tell us the actress was hit with several additional requests from the company after she'd already signed an original deal. We're told none of the new demands were in the first contract.

Our sources say the new requests included -- 50 Instagram posts a year, bring Kat Florence to 4 events per year, wear the jewelry to 24 events per year PLUS at all award shows, wear one piece to all magazine shoots AND do 12 International magazine interviews per year discussing the jewelry.

A rep for SJP tells us, "Kat Florence reneged on their contract with SJP. They have refused to compensate her after fulfilling her contractual obligations and continue to use her image for advertising and publicity to promote their brand."

Sarah Jessica Parker made a multi-million dollar deal to launch a new line of jewelry, but hasn't come close to holding up her end of the bargain ... according to a new suit.

Jewelry designer Kat Florence claims she and SJP teamed up in October 2015 to promote a new line of jewelry, design a special line of high-end products named after them ... and open 3 luxury shops in Europe with Parker's help in opening at least one of them.

Problem is, according to the docs, SJP signed a $7.5 million deal -- which was supposed to be for a 5-year commitment -- and began bailing on it almost immediately after the ink dried.

Florence claims Parker informed her she wouldn't be able to promote anything for 5 months because she was filming for her show, "Divorce," refused to attend jewelry events but promoted other personal ventures ... and refused to attend the launch of the London store, saying she was too busy.

As a result, the special line of SJP jewely was allegedly never launched and the London shop had to close.