Controversial S#!T

Draymond Green is praising the NCAA for backtracking on its controversial Rich Paul Rule ... telling TMZ Sports "they did the right thing!"

Earlier this week ... the org. reversed its new requirement for agents to have a bachelor's degree in order to rep college athletes looking to test the waters in the NBA Draft (while maintaining eligibility) ... after TONS of backlash.

We spoke with Day Day -- one of Rich's many NBA superstar clients -- about the move ... and it's clear he's in favor with the reversal.

"They did what was right. Rich applied that pressure to 'em, though!!" Green says.

Draymond doesn't think the initial criteria had anything to do with race ... but could impact people looking to follow the agent's footsteps.

President Trump does NOT cheat on the golf course ... so says golf legend John Daly, who golfed with POTUS this week.

Trump's honesty on the golf course has been called into question many, many times in the past ... with former golf partners like Samuel L. Jackson and Oscar De La Hoya flat out saying they witnessed Trump cheat.

Rick Reilly even wrote a book -- a freakin' book -- about Trump's alleged cheating.

But, John Daly -- who's been friends with the Prez for years and golfed with him at Trump National in NJ on Monday -- tells TMZ Sports, it just ain't true.

"It's funny how these people say, 'does he cheat?' Well, when he goes out and plays, if he hits a bad shot, he might hit a Mulligan, but he doesn't count it when we're playing the match."

For those not down with the golf lingo ... a mulligan is essentially a redo after a bad shot.

The 2-time Majors winner doubled down, and called out someone else who was in the Oval Office.

"It's just amazing that people call him a cheat in golf. You wanna call a cheat in golf? I'll tell ya, Bill Clinton, he took a Mulligan on putts, chips, when I played with him."

"I don't think Bill Clinton could've broken 100. At least the President, Mr. Trump, he can shoot 80. 78 to 84, probably."

There's more ... Daly gives us his U.S. Presidents golfer power rankings -- and tells us what him and Trump discussed on the links.

Art really does imitate life -- the "Empire" crew is firing up its cameras pretty much exactly where their former star, Jussie Smollett, insists he fell victim to a racist and homophobic attack.

FOX had a bunch of crew members from the show setting up a shot Tuesday in Chicago ... literally within a stone's throw from where Jussie says the Osundairo brothers gave him a clobbering, poured bleach on him and left a rope around his neck.

The set is literally in the shadow of Jussie's apartment building ... it's the high-rise with the reflective windows.

There are only stand-ins in these pics, but it's clear "Empire" is getting ready to shoot something. No word whether they're incorporating elements of Smollett's real-life drama into the show -- but this can't be a coincidence ... they've gotta know the significance of the location.

You'll recall ... Jussie said he got jumped around 2 AM on his way home from grabbing a sandwich, just near his apartment building on the 300 block of East North Water Street.

That's where the "Empire" team had set up camp. To give you a visualization ... here's a side-by-side of the block where the attack allegedly happened, and where production trucks are now parked.

Of course, Jussie was eventually accused of lying and making the whole thing up, and got indicted by a grand jury too. He was cleared of all criminal charges though in a tit for tat with Cook County State Attorney's Office -- but he's not out of the woods yet.

The City of Chicago is suing him for the cost of the investigation and then some, and Jussie's currently in the middle of trying to fight it.

A school Bill and Melinda Gates have supported by donating millions of dollars is being sued over a horrific bullying incident, which allegedly left a 12-year-old boy with permanent brain damage.

TMZ has obtained video of the incident, which is extremely difficult to watch. It was shot at the Animo Westside Charter Middle School in L.A., near LAX.

The boy's mother is suing the school and Green Dot, the org that oversees the school. The Gates are not being sued.

You see the boy right outside the school, when a bully from the school punches him and then puts him in a chokehold, which seems to last around 20 seconds. Notice in the video ... a staffer walks by but seems unconcerned by what is happened right next to her. She never helps ... just walks away.

The boy goes limp, apparently losing consciousness, and the bully becomes alarmed ... realizing what he had done.

The bully then helps the injured student by bringing him inside one of the buildings so he can drink some water. The boy then goes limp again and then loses consciousness. A staffer brings him into an office and lays him out on the floor. The blinds close and the paramedics arrive.

The lawsuit -- filed by attorney Ben Meiselas of Geragos & Geragos -- claims the boy suffered a seizure shortly after the incident and he now has permanent brain damage. According to the lawsuit, he suffered a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury -- a lack of oxygen to the brain. He now has significant learning disabilities and will likely need treatment for the remainder of his life.

The boy's mother told LAPD she did not want to press criminal charges against the bully because he was "a mere child." All she wanted was him expelled from the school, but according to the lawsuit he was not removed from the school and the lawsuit claims, he "continues to pose a threat to the safety and lives of other students."

The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages.

Jay-Z -- one of Colin Kaepernick's biggest supporters -- is teaming up with the NFL for a music and social justice campaign ... this according to reports.

The partnership is with Hov's Roc Nation company ... in which the rap mogul will be the league's "live music entertainment strategist" ... including working together on the league's Inspire Change activism campaign, according to The New York Times.

Here's where it gets interesting -- just last year, Jay-Z called the NFL out, dissing the league in a song called "APESH*T" ... where he rhymed about turning down the Super Bowl halftime show to show solidarity with Kaepernick.

The role will make Jay a consultant for the show he so publicly rejected.

It's clear the league is trying to make amends for all the backlash it received in the handling of the national anthem demonstrations ... and a man with Jay-Z's reverence and influence will certainly help him do that.

As for the Inspire Change initiative ... it was created earlier this year to "create positive change in communities across the country."

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo went nuclear on a guy who called him a derogatory name, threatening to beat his ass.

Chris was in NY Sunday when a guy approached him and called him "Fredo" ... the insulting name of a character in "The Godfather" ... a name that connotes weakness.

Chris is from a proud Italian family and it set him off, challenging the man, threatening ... "I'll f***in' ruin your sh*t. I'll f***in' throw you down these stairs."

Cuomo told the guy ... the name "Fredo" is as offensive to Italians as the n-word is to African Americans.

He's a popular anchor who's made a name for himself as a fair-minded guy, but everything dissolved into abject rage as he scoffed at the guy who claimed -- clearly falsely -- that he thought Chris' name was Fredo.

It escalated even further -- Chris was clearly looking for a fight ... challenging the guy to take a swing at him.

He did not anchor his show Monday night ... CNN says he was scheduled to be off.

President Trump's administration thinks it'd be a good idea to tweak this country's motto on incoming immigrants to something more specific ... self-sufficiency or GTFO.

That's not a stretch from what a prominent member of DT's cabinet said on NPR Tuesday when asked about his boss' new policy change for immigrants that use public benefits ... and how that reflects the Statue of Liberty plaque of taking in anyone and everyone.

According to Ken Cuccinelli -- the acting Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services -- that slogan should be updated to read, "Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet, and who will not become a public charge." Seriously, he said that.

ICYMI, Trump and co. wanna make it harder for folks who legally migrated to the U.S. -- but aren't citizens yet -- to obtain permanent status if they receive food stamps, Section 8 housing or Medicaid ... effectively squeezing 'em out. It's called the "public charge" rule.

If you need a refresher on what Emma Lazarus' sonnet says -- here's the most important part ... "'Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!' cries she With silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'" It was mounted in the lower level of Lady Liberty's pedestal in 1903.

As part of her efforts to prove she is NOT legally married, Geena Davis wants her wedding video excluded from the case, because -- wait for it -- she says it's been heavily edited.

We know. It's a wedding video. Aren't ALL wedding videos edited? Bear with us.

As we've reported, Geena and her estranged husband, Dr. Reza Jarrahy, are at loggerheads in their divorce -- he wants spousal support and a split of their property, and she doesn't want to pay because she says they were never legally married.

In new docs, Geena says the video of their September 1, 2001 ceremony is suspect because it's not an "accurate representation" of what went down that day. For instance, she says Father Robert Smith was speaking and mid-sentence he's cut off and it jumps to Reza's father speaking -- proving "footage appears to be missing."

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Geena claims Reza's attorney admits the audio on the tape has been manipulated ... and therefore it can't be used as evidence in their case.

Now, Geena doesn't get specific about how it could be misleading -- she doesn't say their "I dos" were dubbed. Then again, she doesn't say they weren't ... but she's concerned the video could be "distorted and misleading" to the court.

TMZ broke the story ... Reza's attorney, Steven Kolodny, grilled Geena during a deposition about her appearance on Oprah where she gushed about her marriage and her "husband." Geena was forced to admit under oath she had lied to Oprah.

There's no way in hell Antonio Brown retires from football over his helmet issue ... so says Bill Romanowski, who tells TMZ Sports you're NUTS if you believe the star WR is even considering it.

"Anybody that thinks Antonio Brown is gonna retire is cuckoo," the NFL legend says ... "The guy loves the game of football."

Brown is in a massive feud with the league over his favorite Schutt helmet ... with the NFL barring the superstar wide out from wearing the headgear he's donned for the past decade.

In fact, ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported Brown is so pissed about the ban ... he's threatening to quit playing if he can't get his way.

But, when we spoke to Romanowski -- who's spent some time with AB this summer -- he told us there's no chance Brown hangs it up, saying, "I think he truly loves being a Raider right now."

"He's excited to help bring a Super Bowl to the Raiders."

As for the Nutrition 53 founder's stance on the whole ordeal ... Romo clearly thinks it's BS on the league's part, saying Roger Goodell and Co. need to just let the guy use the helmet.

The NCAA is caving to the major backlash it got over its new agent certification criteria ... amending the bachelor's degree requirement to rep certain college players.

The organization had been under fire since the memo was sent out to agents last week ... when it announced that any college player looking to test the NBA waters would only retain eligibility if they had an approved agent with a degree, 3 years of experience with the NBPA and passed an in-person test.

The requirements were dubbed the "Rich Paul Rule" by many -- given the super agent does not have a college degree -- and everyone from LeBron James to Chris Paul spoke out against it.

But, it's all over now ... 'cause the NCAA is amending the rule to coincide with the NBPA's criteria.

"We have been made aware of several current agents who have appropriately represented former student-athletes in their professional quest and whom the National Basketball Players Association has granted waivers of its bachelor’s degree requirement," the NCAA said in a statement ... while insisting it wasn't singling out Paul.

"While specific individuals were not considered when developing our process, we respect the NBPA’s determination of qualification and have amended our certification criteria."

The new requirement states that an agent must "Have a bachelor’s degree and/or are currently certified and in good standing with the NBPA."

A$AP Rocky's first live show since his arrest overseas proves he still has swagger, showmanship and bravado -- but he's also been humbled, and his fired-up fans gave Sweden an earful.

Rocky performed Sunday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, where he was headlining the annual Real Street Festival -- which also featured Cardi B, Future, Migos, 2 Chainz, Big Sean and lots of other superstars. A$AP brought out some special guests himself -- A$AP Ferg, Tyler the Creator, and YG were just a few.

In this footage from his set, A$AP shared some of his experiences in Sweden with the crowd and thanked them for continued support.

You can tell the audience wasn't happy over his predicament ... they literally chanted "F*** Sweden" at one point in the show, and Rocky didn't try to stop them. He did clarify that he's got nothing against Swedish people, though -- sounds like some Swedes there were holding it down and demanding his release, just like folks here at home.

Before he bowed out, Rocky asked the crowd to pray for him before a verdict is reached this coming Wednesday in his assault case -- which wrapped up about 10 days ago, giving Rocky a chance to finally fly home.

He was ecstatic to be home, and has been keeping busy with some of his staunchest supporters in the days he's been back.

Rich Paul is finally addressing the NCAA's new agent criteria that's been dubbed the "Rich Paul Rule" ... saying the new requirements have NO impact on his business ... but could prevent people from following in his footsteps.

The NBA super agent published an op-ed in The Athletic on Monday ... breaking down the new policy (which requires a bachelor's degree to rep players testing their NBA waters without losing eligibility) and explaining how it hurts anyone trying to be the next Rich Paul.

"NCAA executives are once again preventing young people from less prestigious backgrounds, and often people of color, from working in the system they continue to control."

"In this case, the people being locked out are kids who aspire to be an agent and work in the NBA and do not have the resources, opportunity, or desire to get a four-year degree."

Paul DOES agree with 2 of the 3 requirements ... saying he supports requiring 3 years of experience and a written test in order to represent players testing the market.

"However, requiring a four-year degree accomplishes only one thing — systematically excluding those who come from a world where college is unrealistic."

Paul suggests the NCAA work with aspiring agents with a one-year program or mentorship, instead of rejecting them completely.

"The barriers to entry for the next Rich Paul are already high enough."

Faye Dunaway was an absolute disaster onstage before getting canned from a play producers hoped to take to Broadway -- and now we know why she won't be part of the production, "Tea at Five," if it gets there.

TMZ has obtained show reports from "Tea at Five" and they spell out exactly how the Oscar-winning actress bombed in her starring role. Let's just say the opening performances in Boston -- gotta work your way up to Broadway -- went about as bad as possible.

According to the reports, Faye brazenly asked for lines in front of a live audience, stopped the show to complain about lighting, and railed on backstage staff from the moment she walked into the theater.

It's pretty incredible ... the show reports say Faye used an ear piece to get lines fed to her, but still managed to screw 'em up!

And, get this ... the reports also say Faye exclaimed, "Where am I? Line?" As for why she was flubbing so badly -- she asked someone sitting in the front row to take a hat off their knee because it was distracting her. Stupid hat!

Faye was ultimately canned from the production, which is no longer Broadway-bound. Not yet. Instead, it's going to London's West End next year. No word on Faye's replacement.

To be fair, she actually got a favorable review from one Boston publication. Officially, the Hollywood legend was fired for allegedly slapping crew members and throwing objects at them -- NOT for forgetting her lines.

Shaggy thinks Blueface should keep slaying as many Thotianas as he can ... provided he does one, super important thing.

We got Shaggy Friday leaving SiriusXM's headquarters in NYC and asked about Blueface's Ric Flair/Wilt Chamberlain-esque big boast. ICYMI ... Blueface told legendary radio DJ Big Boy earlier this week that in the first 6 months of 2019 ... he'd already banged more than 1,000 chicks.

Ya gotta see Shaggy's reaction. True or not ... Shaggy's happy for Blueface but he offers the rapper some sage advice when it comes to laying down the pipe. Shaggy's not worried if Blueface slips one past the goalie.

Priyanka Chopra heard an earful from a frustrated fan who called her a hypocrite for seemingly advocating for peace ... but clearly choosing sides in the India-Pakistan conflict.

The tense moment went down Sunday in L.A., where Priyanka was attending the Beautycon event and fielding questions from the crowd during a Q&A. A woman, who called herself Ayesha and identified as Pakistani, says it's difficult to hear her talk about humanity, when she clearly feels a certain way about recent violence in her home region.

The woman called Priyanka out for a tweet she posted in February that translated to "Long live India" -- the same day an Indian fighter jet bombed a militant training camp in Pakistan.

She went in on Priyanka, saying ... "So, it was kinda hard hearing you talk about humanity, because as your neighbor -- a Pakistani -- I know you're a bit of a hypocrite." The woman points out that Priyanka is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and that in her eyes ... the tweet was encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan.

Security rushed over and yanked the mic away from the woman, but she continued with her thoughts ... saying she was a longtime fan of hers and her Bollywood career.

Priyanka's response has raised some eyebrows, as she asks if the woman is done venting ... and then chastised her for yelling. Before that though, Priyanka said she has many friends from Pakistan, and that war's something she's not really fond of -- but she is patriotic.

Priyanka says we all have to walk a middle ground, but then told the girl not to embarrass herself by making such a scene ... adding, "we're all here for love."

The actress caught flak initially after sending out her tweet, with some calling for her to resign from UNICEF, which many believe is supposed to be neutral in international squabbles.

Jeffrey Epstein's death may never be conclusively determined, because we're told standard practice in the area where he was detained is that cameras do not point inside cells.

Sources familiar with the correctional facility in question tell TMZ, there are cameras in the Special Housing Unit -- the SHU -- but SOP is that cameras do not point into the cells. We're told cameras capture, among other things, the doors to each cell to determine if anyone walks in or out, but they don't point inside.

One source familiar with the facility says the drill is for guards to pass by each cell in intervals ranging from 15 to 30 minutes depending on the circumstances.

Unless there's a one-off cell with a camera pointing inside -- and we're told there have been rare situations where this is the case -- the time and manner of his death may never be captured.

Our sources did, however, make it clear ... since Epstein was taken off suicide watch there were plenty of ways he could have hung himself. There are sheets, blankets, t-shirts and there are objects -- including beds -- on which the items can be tied to facilitate suffocation.

Our sources all agree on one thing ... the fatal flaw was taking someone off suicide watch days after they believe he may have attempted to take his own life. It is baffling, disturbing and suspicious that medical professionals and officials at the correctional center would clear someone as high-profile, notorious and important as Epstein.

Epstein's death Saturday morning appears to be a suicide by hanging, but no one in an official capacity has categorized it as such.