Controversial S#!T

Jared Goff does NOT suck -- this despite throwing for just 78 yards last weekend ... so says ex-NFL coach Dick Vermeil, who tells TMZ Sports the Rams QB is still worth the FAT contract he just signed!!

"I still believe that Goff is a fine player," Vermeil says ... "I wouldn't let one game influence the overall evaluation of how good a quarterback this guy is."

Goff inked a massive, $134 MILLION deal in early September ... but he hasn't quite lived up to that huge contract through the six games this season.

The Rams are just 3-3, Goff has 7 interceptions to just 7 TDs ... and the 25-year-old threw for less than 80 yards in a blowout loss to the 49ers on Sunday.

But, Vermeil -- who coached Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl in 1999 -- says he ain't ready to push the eject button on Goff just yet.

"Criminy," Dick says, "the best people have bad games. And many times when they go bad there's more reasons than just the quarterback."

Vermeil says the Rams' defense hasn't been good this season ... and their running game hasn't helped much either, and that's all led to issues for Goff.

But, when it comes to the contract L.A. gave him ... Dick says nobody in the organization should be panicking about those figures right now.

Todd Chrisley thinks his daughter sold him down to the river to a Georgia tax official -- but she's calling BS ... saying the only reason they talked was to run interference for her child.

Sources close to Lindsie Chrisley tell TMZ ... her father is dead wrong by assuming she gave up dirt on him and the family to Joshua Waites -- the Director of the Georgia Dept. of Revenue's Office of Special Investigation, whom Todd is now suing.

We're told that, contrary to Todd's claims, Lindsie was only in communication with Josh to protect her 6-year-old son, Jackson, from seeing the ugliness of it all.

Case in point ... we're told Todd got served legal papers at his home back in 2017 while Lindsie and Jackson were both there, and she was uncomfortable having the kid around that scene. Therefore, we're told she stayed in touch with Josh for updates on when he and the Dept. would be coming around ... in order to keep the boy away.

In fact, our sources tell us that Lindsie is adamant ... she never EVEN met the guy in person.

Sen. Ted Cruz has a blistering message for LeBron James ... "kissing up to Chinese communists and tyrants and apologizing for murderers, that's not a good look."

The U.S. Senator from Texas went off on LeBron over the NBA star's comments on China ... saying it sounds like Bron's "more interested in money and making bucks" than standing up for human rights.

"I don't have a problem with [athletes speaking out on politics]. What I have a problem with is when they don't know what they're talking about and they end up defending tyrants."

Cruz is obviously referring to LeBron's repeated condemnation of Daryl Morey's pro-Hong Kong tweet. Bron said the Rockets GM was "not educated" on the topic before creating an international incident.

But, Cruz says if ANYONE needs to be educated, it's LeBron -- "I would encourage LeBron to learn a little bit about the people of Tibet, learn a little bit about Falun Gong the religious persecution and the torture and the horrific human rights abuses that occur in China."

"This is not the time to try to crucify LeBron's character. We all know who LeBron is."

That's ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson going to bat for his pal, LeBron James ... telling TMZ Sports Bron ain't the kowtowing sellout some people are making him out to be.

Look, Jackson admits LeBron probably could have handled the China situation better ... but thinks people need to stop hatin' and consider all of the GOOD stuff Bron does for people.

"He's done so much off the court. We can't let this one incident when we knew he was coming from a good place [destroy his reputation]. He was coming from a good place, he might not know everything he's talking about but we know LeBron, and it's never coming from a bad place. I would stand to say that."

Of course, LeBron has been under fire for condemning Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey -- and suggesting the guy "wasn't educated" when he sent his controversial pro-Hong Kong tweet.

LeBron James is FINALLY talking about the Daryl Morey tweet that sparked an international incident ... saying the Rockets GM simply "wasn't educated" about China before he posted his pro-Hong Kong tweet.

"I think that's another situation that should stay behind closed doors," LeBron told the media.

Remember, LeBron and the Lakers were in Shanghai to play the Brooklyn Nets in an exhibition game last week when the backlash over the tweet began.

Chinese officials essentially blackballed the Houston Rockets immediately -- taking down signage, pulling merchandise and blocking TV networks from airing games.

But, now LeBron is back in the U.S. ... and he's calling out Morey for what LeBron is describing as a selfish tweet.

"We all talk about this freedom of speech. Yes, we all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others and you're only thinking about yourself," LeBron said.

Muhammad Ali's ex-wife -- who was married to him during his Vietnam War protest -- says she wishes LeBron James would have stood up for the people of Hong Kong, because that's what Muhammad would have done.

TMZ Sports spoke with Khalilah Ali -- who was married to the boxer from 1967 to 1976 -- and she says she was his adviser for his biggest protest ... refusing to fight in the Vietnam war.

Khalilah says she's aware of China's issues with the NBA -- and the pro-Hong Kong tweet sent by Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey -- but says she'll ALWAYS support people "who are standing up for their rights."

So, when Khalilah heard LeBron's comments -- which condemned Morey's tweet -- it was clear to her Muhammad would have handled the situation MUCH differently.

Listen to the audio, Khalilah essentially says powerful people like LeBron and Muhammad should stand up for people fighting for their human rights.

Terrell Owens says the Dallas Cowboys could be 9-3 by the end of November ... IF Jerry Jones would just fire Jason Garrett already!!!

"I guarantee if he made a change right now, it would probably re-liven, rejuvenate that locker room," Owens says. "If they get rid of him, they may go on a six-game winning streak!"

Owens -- who trashed the hell out of his former coach on Twitter over the weekend -- elaborated on his disdain for JG on 95.7 "The Game" on Tuesday.

TO says it's blatantly obvious to him that Garrett has lost the Cowboys' locker room ... and a viral clip of Dallas players ignoring the coach's high-five attempts proves his point.

"Clearly, he doesn't have the heartbeat of that locker room," Owens says. "I'm telling you, if they got rid of Jason Garrett today, tomorrow -- these guys are going to play lights out."

Owens -- who played receiver for the Cowboys in 2007 and 2008 when Garrett was the offensive coordinator -- says he has no idea why Jones insists on keeping the guy around.

"Maybe Jason Garrett has something on Jerry Jones," Owens joked. "Some personal information that if he cuts him, maybe he's going to be whistleblower or something!"

NYPD has a new set of Cuba Gooding Jr.'s fingerprints after booking the Oscar winner on a new charge ... one prosecutors are still keeping under wraps.

Cuba was processed Tuesday morning, ahead of his scheduled arraignment Tuesday afternoon. While that was going on, his attorney, Mark Heller, was in front of the Manhattan courthouse and said Cuba had surrendered to cops.

Heller also took several jabs at the prosecutors, insinuating they only tacked on this additional charge after coming up short on evidence in the initial case -- the alleged groping at a rooftop bar. He also groused at prosecutors moving both cases to New York's Supreme Court because it allows them to start the case all over, and delay Cuba from getting his day in court.

The Manhattan D.A. has remained tight-lipped about what exactly the new alleged victim is claiming. The charge will be revealed at Tuesday's arraignment, and we're told Cuba will plead not guilty.

Andrew Cuomo used the n-word -- while reading a quote from the NY Times -- to illustrate his point about racism against Italian-Americans.

New York's Governor was being interviewed Tuesday on WAMC radio when the topic turned to Indigenous Peoples' Day -- which was celebrated Monday -- and he steered the discussion to slurs used against Italians in the U.S. over history.

Referring to a NYT op-ed published over the weekend ... Cuomo said southern Italians, or Sicilians, were called "quote-unquote and pardon my language, but I’m just quoting the Times: ‘n****r wops.’ n-word wops, as a derogatory comment."

North Korea faced off with South Korea in a historic soccer World Cup qualifier ... but nobody saw it -- 'cause North Korea didn't allow fans in the stadium OR a TV broadcast.

The meeting between the two teams on Monday -- which ended in a 0-0 tie -- was surreal ... it was reportedly the first match between the two national squads in Pyongyang EVER.

But ... North Korean officials reportedly put massive restrictions on who could view the game -- with no TV coverage, no fans in the stands and no journalists allowed.

Check out the pics ... it's straight-up eerie.

Of course, North Korea and South Korea have a tense relationship ... the two countries are technically still at war -- and reports say everything surrounding the match was strained.

According to international reports ... the South Koreans were forced to leave their cell phones at the South Korean Embassy -- and communication to and from the game was nearly impossible.

As for fans who wanted to follow the match ... their only option to watch it live consisted of brief posts about the match on FIFA and Asian Football Confederation websites.

But, North Korea will reportedly hand over a DVD of the game to South Korea this week so it can broadcast the match to its fans on tape delay at a later date.

Backlash over the blacked-out match has been strong in South Korea ... with many fans upset over the lack of coverage.

Enes Kanter has a message for LeBron James -- "FREEDOM IS NOT FREE."

Moments after LeBron broke his silence on the situation with China, the Turkish-born Boston Celtics player went to Twitter to express his disgust, as illustrated by the green "sick face" emoji.

Oh, and when LeBron pointed out that he and his team had a "difficult week" dealing with the fallout of Daryl Morey's pro-Hong Kong tweets while the Lakers were in China, Kanter essentially had this to say to Bron, "Boo hoo!"

Wanna buy the house that sits on the lot where John Wayne Gacy murdered 33 people??? Not exactly genius marketing, sure, but the pad's hit the market and it's getting a lot of buzz.

The house, where police made the grisly discovery of 29 rotting bodies back in 1978, was bulldozed a year later. Seven years later, a new house was built on the lot. It's a modest home and there's not a hint of the horror that preceded it.

The 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house is in the Chicago burbs. It's 2,500 square feet and the lot itself is just under 9,000 square feet. It's going for $459k.

It's marketed as a "beautiful brick home" with an updated kitchen that overlooks a huge backyard. It's been dubbed a must-see house. No mention of its connection to one of America's most prolific serial killers.

The white cop who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in her own home over the weekend is sitting in a jail cell right now ... this after outcry from the community.

Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean was booked on a murder charge Monday, according to online records from the Tarrant County Corrections Center. It appears Dean is still in custody as of this writing -- with his bail set at $200,000.

It's unclear how exactly he was taken into custody, but Dean's arrest comes hours after he turned in his resignation ... and reportedly refused to cooperate with the investigation. This all comes after he gunned down Atatiana -- a black woman -- while in her own home.

Dean was responding to a welfare call at around 2:30 AM Saturday after a concerned neighbor said they saw her door open. In body cam video released by the Forth Worth Police, you see an officer -- reported to be Dean -- creep up to a window in her backyard ... and almost instantly fire a shot after seeing Atatiana approach from inside.

He quickly told her to put her hands up, but barely gave her any time to respond ... and he also did not identify himself as a police officer. Atatiana was reportedly playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew in the house ... again, her own property.

She succumbed to her wounds and died in her bedroom.

Of course, the city of Fort Worth was outraged by the killing ... with even the Mayor calling for justice over the situation. In an open letter, Betsy Price apologized to Atatiana's family and demanded answers from the Police Department.

The cat's outta the bag -- Zoe Kravitz is playing Catwoman in the new 'Batman' movie ... which is interesting, considering she was allegedly too "urban" for Christopher Nolan's take.

The news broke Monday, with multiple outlets reporting that Zoe had landed the role after testing out some scenes last week opposite heartthrob Robert Pattinson -- who's donning the cowl next in Matt Reeves' "The Batman" ... which is hitting theaters in 2021.

The ironic thing about Zoe's casting here is that she told Nylon back in 2015 that she couldn't even get an audition for Nolan's last Batman flick, "The Dark Knight Rises," which she attributed to her race. That's not out of the clear blue sky either.

Zoe said she was basically blocked from even reading for a small role in the movie, allegedly being told that somebody had said they weren't "going urban" with the last installment.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is now being accused of another incident of sexual misconduct -- the 5th such allegation -- and he's going to face a new charge for it, this week in court.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ several other women have recently come forward to make new allegations of sexual misconduct against Cuba. We're told one of them is a woman making a claim about Cuba from October 2018.

While the D.A.'s kept details of the allegation under wraps ... it's expected to come out Tuesday when Cuba is arraigned on a new charge. Cuba's attorney, Mark Heller, tells us his client will plead not guilty.

Heller also says the new accuser never pressed charges immediately following the incident, and he claims she only came forward after seeing Cuba's arrest this year. He further claims, her attorney tried to settle the case, but Cuba "declined to be shaken down."

We're told cops are also investigating 3 other alleged incidents -- from 2008, '13 and '15 -- but there are no charges, as of now, related to them.

Netflix and "When They See Us" creator Ava Duvernay are being sued over the police interrogation technique depicted in the film because its creator claims the movie got his method all wrong.

A former cop named John Reid claims in his lawsuit ... the Emmy-winning film defamed him by saying his method was used to squeeze statements out of the Central Park 5 suspects.

In particular, he points out a scene from episode 4 where a detective and someone from the D.A.'s Office are discussing the interrogation of the suspects. The prosecution staffer says to the detective, "You squeezed statements out of them after 42 hours of questioning and coercing, without food, bathroom breaks, withholding parental supervision. The Reid Technique has been universally rejected. That's truth to you."

In the lawsuit, Reid says the technique he created specifically does not teach withholding parental supervision, denying interview subjects any of their rights or making threats of physical harm. He claims it specifically calls for extra caution when interviewing minors.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Reid questions Duvernay saying, "We did our research" before making the film by inviting law enforcement personnel to discuss the case. Reid claims if that were true -- Ava would have learned his technique disavows the type of things depicted in the movie.