Controversial S#!T

The "Civil War" in Oregon has officially ended.

Univ. of Oregon officials announced Friday their school's rivalry games with Oregon State will no longer be called the "Civil War" over "inclusivity" concerns.

"We need to make this change to align the words and symbols we use around athletic endeavors with our shared campus values of equity and inclusivity," UO President Michael H. Schill said in a statement.

Added UO athletic director Rob Mullens, "We must all recognize the power of words and the symbolism associated with the Civil War. This mutual decision is in the best interests of both schools."

A new name for the rivalry has yet to be revealed.

According to the Ducks, former QB Dennis Dixon was the catalyst behind the name change ... and in a video he released Friday, the 35-year-old says he got the blessing of UO legend Jonathan Stewart to push forward for the name change.

"I am happy to see two universities coming together to drive change, an everlasting change," Dixon said. "I'm excited to be part of this change. Thank you to all who have put their time and effort into this."

The move is just the latest in a series of efforts by colleges to make their campus' sports more in line with the fight for social justice.

A Championship league soccer team is backtracking big time after they used a cardboard cutout of Osama Bin Laden to fill seats at a game this week ... yeah, BIG PROBLEM!!!

Leeds United had banned live fans from attending games during the COVID-19 pandemic ... but welcomed supporters to send in photos which they would place in the seats to simulate a crowd.

Someone sent in Bin Laden -- and NO ONE CAUGHT IT.

So, when Leeds took the field to play Cardiff City at Elland Road stadium on Sunday ... there was the world's most hated dead terrorist sitting right in the front row.

A spokesperson for Leeds United told BBC the team "will ensure there are no more offensive images" used in the future.

And, to add insult to embarrassment, Leeds lost the game 2-0.

Of course, the real OBL was killed by U.S. Navy SEALS during a raid on his compound in 2011.

Joe Exotic's former zoo in Oklahoma is being investigated over concerns for the welfare of its animals -- specifically the lions -- but Jeff Lowe says everything's being done right to take care of them ... but it's a challenge.

TMZ's learned a whistleblower provided PETA with photos and video of lions at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park -- which Lowe took over after Exotic -- suffering from severe flystrike ... a condition in which flies bite and lay eggs on other animals and destroy their skin.

The photos show lions at the zoo with bloody ears with the tips severely damaged, and also covered in flies. Flystrike can be very painful and even deadly to animals if not treated.

Lowe tells TMZ the animals are being treated, though, as flies have been a constant problem at the zoo for years ... because it's located near a big horse farm.

Lowe says the GW Zoo spends thousands a month on medications for the lions, tigers and other animals, along with fly repellent. Problem is, Lowe says most repellents can also be harmful to the animals ... so they have to be careful.

He says this is just one of the many reasons he's moving the animals to his new zoo, Tiger King Park, as soon as possible.

Still, PETA has asked the USDA to conduct a welfare check on the animals, which local law enforcement reported is already being done after receiving numerous calls about the issue.

The Oklahoma Department Of Wildlife Conservation tells us it conducted a welfare check of the native animals at the zoo -- including bobcats, mountain lions and bears -- and found the animals to be in good health and described the situation as in "good shape."

The USDA is responsible for the exotic animals, however. We reached out to the agency about its investigation ... so far no word back.

Faith Hill is calling on Mississippi lawmakers to change the state flag ... she says the Confederate symbolism sends a terrifying message, and it's time to be removed.

The country singer made her plea to the Mississippi state legislature Thursday night on social media, ahead of Friday's potential vote to change the flag, saying ... "We have to realize that this flag is a direct symbol of terror for our black brothers and sisters."

A Mississippi native, Faith says it's time to change the state flag, which features an image of the Confederate battle flag. She says, "I understand many view the current flag as a symbol of heritage and Southern pride ... it is time for the world to meet the Mississippi of today and not the Mississippi of 1894," when the state legislature first voted on the current flag.

A change could be made as soon as Friday, state lawmakers who want to remove the Confederate imagery say they appear to have enough votes to make the change.

Faith says she wants, "ONE NEW FLAG, one that represents ALL of the citizens of Mississippi."

Stay tuned ...

An NC racetrack owner is being called "horrific", "shameful" and even a downright racist ... and it's all because he advertised the sale of "Bubba Rope" in the wake of NASCAR's noose incident.

Here's the deal ... Mike Fulp, a 55-year-old who owns 311 Speedway in Stokes County, NC -- threw up an ad on Facebook earlier this week for "Bubba Rope."

In the post -- which has since been deleted -- Fulp wrote, "Buy your Bubba Rope today for only $9.99 each, they come with a lifetime warranty and work great.’’

The ad was immediately hit with backlash ... with people outraged over the insensitivity, considering everything Bubba Wallace had just gone through regarding a garage rope pulldown at Talledega Superspeedway over the weekend.

A spokesperson for NC Governor Roy Cooper ripped the post apart in a statement to the Winston-Salem Journal, saying, "This incident of racism is horrific and shameful."

"North Carolina is better than this.''

Hundreds of people also took to social media to blast Fulp ... calling him a racist and threatening to boycott his track's events.

Multiple attempts to reach Fulp for comment by multiple news outlets have been unsuccessful.

Per the Winston-Salem Journal, NAACP officials are now looking to see if bringing criminal charges against Fulp over the post is a possibility.

"It is horrible that someone would post something of that nature," Reidsville NAACP chapter president Jeff Crisp said. "It's just absolutely unnecessary in these times of tension."

An event at Fulp's 311 Speedway, titled "America We Stand" on Facebook, is still scheduled to take place Saturday night.

Jenna Marbles -- one of YouTube's original vloggers with more than 3 billion views -- has apologized for past content and announced she's quitting her channel.

Jenna posted an 11-minute video to her more than 20 million subscribers on her YouTube channel and offered a tearful apology for content that included impersonating Nicki Minaj in blackface, rapping a racist song and slut-shaming.

One of the hot topics Jenna talked about is the amount of videos she has switched to private over the years. Jenna said, "I get it. We're at a time where we are purging ourselves of anything and everything toxic ... I've definitely done things in the past that weren't great. I'm not completely unproblematic. I've tried my best to grow up."

More specifically ... Jenna apologized for a 2011 video she posted showing herself in blackface. She said she never meant to do blackface and admits it was wrong after hearing from people who found her skit offensive. She says she learned from it and never repeated it.

Jenna said, "I'm unbelievably sorry ... I wish it wasn’t part of my past.” As for the racist rap song and the slut-shaming, Jenna said, "It doesn't need to exist. I shouldn’t have ever said that. I’m embarrassed that I ever made that, period."

She says, "for now I just can't exist on this channel," and added ... "I want to hold myself accountable, and it’s painful to do it. I’m ashamed of things I’ve done and said in my past. But, it’s important."

A "Karen" in Sacramento got her ass handed to her when she stupidly accepted a challenge to call a black woman the n-word ... and it's all on video.

The heated exchange unfolded this week at a convenience store in California's capital, where a middle-aged white woman started arguing with the black woman   ... and it quickly turned racial and violent.

It's unclear what started the confrontation ... the white woman insisted she'd only said "excuse me" -- but the black woman heard something different, so tempers were already high. Then, "Karen" dropped the n-word.

The black woman promised to beat the hell outta the white woman if she used the slur again and, for some reason, "Karen" took her up on the dare and said it ... loud and clear. That's when the punches flew ... haymaker after haymaker putting the racist woman down on her ass.

On social media, the black woman's husband is claiming she was arrested for assault. We haven't been able to confirm that yet.

The crazy scene is similar to another racist "Karen" getting slapped earlier this month inside a Phoenix gas station.

Bad as that was ... the Sacramento incident is way more violent.

One of the largest supermarket chains based in the Southeast is considering dropping its name after nearly 100 years ... a move triggered by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sources at Winn-Dixie tell TMZ ... the supermarket chain -- billed as a southern heritage brand serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi -- is considering changing its name because, just like The Chicks, it deems the term "Dixie" as problematic due to ties to the old south and its way of thinking.

We're told the grocery chain doesn't have a name picked out just yet, but based on the folks we spoke with it looks like it may only be a matter of time before making a switch. If the grocery chain does make a change, it'll come on the heels of The Chicks dropping "Dixie" from its name.

As for the official response, a Winn-Dixie spokesperson tells TMZ ... "At Southeastern Grocers, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive culture and community that promotes belonging, inclusion and diversity. As such, we stand against racism and support the Black Lives Matter movement across our country."

Disney's making waves after announcing its iconic Splash Mountain ride will be re-themed after the studio's first Black princess in "The Princess and the Frog."

The Mouse House announced Thursday its Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort parks will overhaul Splash Mountain -- which opened in 1989 -- and tell the story of the studio's first Black princess from the 2009 animated film.

Disney said, "We pick-up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure -- featuring some of the powerful music from the film -- as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance."

Disney says this has been in the plans since last year and maybe even longer. So, why the change? It has everything to do with Splash Mountain's connection to a racist 1946 film, "Song of the South," which has been criticized for years for its depictions of Southern Black men and how it nostalgically views the antebellum South.

In fact, Disney executive chairman Bob Iger has said in the past the film "is not appropriate in today's world." The film has also never been made available on VHS, DVD nor on the streaming platform Disney+.

Disney has not given a timeline on when these changes will take place.

Three Wilmington PD officers in North Carolina have been canned after a video recording revealed "extremely racist" comments and disturbing conversations.

The 3 cops -- Cpl. Jessie Moore, Kevin Piner and Brian Gilmore -- were fired Wednesday for violating standards of conduct and using inappropriate jokes and slurs ... including Piner saying he's ready for a Civil War to wipe Black people off the map.

The racist comments came to light during a monthly inspection video audit in which footage from Piner's patrol car was reviewed, including convos between Gilmore and him ... and Moore and him.

While talking with Gilmore, Piner began criticizing the department, saying its only concern was "kneeling down with the black folks." He then got a call from Moore, in which Moore used a racial slur to describe a woman and a Black magistrate ... about whom he also used a gay slur.

Piner later expressed to Moore that he feels a civil war's coming and he plans to buy an assault rifle to "go out and start slaughtering them (expletive)" Black people. He added ... "I can’t wait. God, I can’t wait."

Piner also said civil war is necessary to "wipe them off the (expletive) map. That’ll put them back about four or five generations." Moore told Piner he wouldn't do that and called him "crazy."

Police say the 3 officers admitted it was their voices on the video recording and didn't deny the content, but denied being racist and blamed the comments on the stress of the job in wake of George Floyd's killing and subsequent protests.

While announcing the officers' terminations, Police Chief Donny Williams said ... "When I first learned of these conversations, I was shocked, saddened and disgusted. There is no place for this behavior in our agency or our city and it will not be tolerated."

Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach were part of a group of nearly 50 people who met with the Mississippi state legislature on Thursday ... calling for the Confederate symbol to be removed from the state flag immediately!

Kiffin is the head football coach at Ole Miss. Leach runs the program at Mississippi State -- but both are on the same page when it comes to the Confederate battle flag image on the MS state flag.

Other coaches and athletic directors from other colleges in Mississippi were also in attendance on Thursday -- all hoping they can persuade lawmakers to remove the image for good.

Earlier this week, Miss. State star RB Kylin Hill said he would no longer represent the state if the flag wasn't changed -- and other players have echoed his statement.

After Kiffin attended Thursday's conference, Hill said the move "Put a smile on my face."

Kiffin spoke with ESPN about the decision to attend the event ... saying, "We removed the flag from our campus five years ago, so we've made it clear that it doesn't represent who we are at Ole Miss."

"Today is another big step in doing our part to move the state forward and ensure a more welcoming environment for everyone. This is extremely important to me and to our players. Time to change!"

In related news, the SEC and NCAA both announced conference championships and other postseason games will not take place in Mississippi until a change is made to the state flag.

House Speaker Philip Gunn seemed to get the message on Thursday ... saying, "The image of our state is at stake here. The nation is watching. They want to know what we stand for."

NASCAR has released a photo of the rope found in Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday ... and yeah, THAT'S A NOOSE.

Of course, NASCAR has said the rope had been fashioned into a noose by an unknown person back in October 2019. Investigators determined it was NOT made as a specific threat to Wallace, who is Black.

The FBI -- which also worked the case -- says their agents have also determined Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime.

NASCAR says the item is a garage pull rope. Wallace says he's raced out of hundreds of garages in his life and has never seen one fashioned as a noose until Talladega.

In fact, NASCAR president Steve Phelps said Thursday his organization thoroughly searched all 29 NASCAR tracks -- which includes 1,684 garage stalls -- and only ONE of the ropes was fashioned into a noose: "the one discovered Sunday in the No. 43 [Bubba Wallace] garage stall."

Phelps added, “As you can see from the photo, the noose was real, as was our concern for Bubba."

He added, "With similar emotion, others across our industry and our media stood up to defend the NASCAR family. Our NASCAR family. Because they are part of the NASCAR family, too. We are proud to see so many stand up for what’s right.”

Earlier this week, Bubba praised the FBI and NASCAR for "acting swiftly and treating this as a real threat."

"I think we’ll gladly take a little embarrassment over what the alternatives could have been," Wallace added.

Bubba admits he's had an emotional few days but he's relieved "that the investigation revealed that this wasn’t what we feared it was."

"Make no mistake, though some will try, this should not detract from the show of unity we had on Monday, and the progress we've made as a sport to be a more welcoming environment for all."

After the results of the investigation were made public, Wallace spoke with CNN's Don Lemon about the backlash he had been receiving --  saying, "I'm mad because people are trying to test my character."

"The image that I have and I have seen of what was hanging in my garage is not a garage pull. I've been racing all my life, we've raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that."

"It was a noose," Wallace continued ... "whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose."

"So, it wasn't directed at me but somebody tied a noose. That's what I'm saying."

Wallace says he's still very grateful to NASCAR for supporting him -- and now feels more motivated than ever to win.

"This will not break me. None of the allegations of being a hoax will break me or tear me down."

"It will piss me off, absolutely. But, that only fuels the competitive drive in me to shut everybody up."

The Dixie Chicks are dropping "Dixie" from their name and will now be just "The Chicks" ... and the change is 100% a response to the nationwide protests of systemic racism.

While the Texas-based band has yet to publicly announce the name change, the group's Twitter handle is now @thechicks and the band made the same change on their cover photo, which features album art for their upcoming project, "Gaslighter."

The band's official website is also now, TheChicks.com, and simply says, "We want to meet this moment."

The name change obviously comes in the middle of the Black Lives Matter movement, with other iconic brands and bands changing their names and dropping anything deemed racially insensitive.

If you aren't aware, Dixie is a nostalgic name for the old South ... and the band has been under mounting pressure recently to ditch the word.

As we reported ... another country act, Lady Antebellum, changed its name to Lady A earlier this month and apologized for turning a blind eye to the original name's link to slavery.

Steyn detailed the horrific aftermath of allegedly being shot at close range with a rubber bullet by an LAPD officer ... saying he was left with a ruptured testicle, passed out and almost bled to death in the streets.

Bloom later claimed Steyn got shot when he went to help a fellow protester, and that he received no aid for his injuries from law enforcement around him.

Steyn went on to describe a discussion he had with his daughter the night before the incident, in which he told her no matter how powerful the government or police are ... we can always march peacefully to fight for our rights, and that he won't let corrupt police continue to kill people.

Bloom also called for the use of rubber bullets by the LAPD to be severely curtailed or banned, and never shot at close range. She says her legal team has filed a complaint with the Inspector General and Internal Affairs as the first step of filing a lawsuit for Steyn ... and she's seeking witnesses who were at the May 30 protest.

The protester who allegedly took rubber bullets fired by LAPD officers to his scrotum is about to unveil his lawsuit against the cops ... and call for major reform.

Bradley Steyn -- along with his attorney, Lisa Bloom -- is about to address the media in front of LAPD headquarters ... and TMZ will be live streaming.

Steyn -- a renowned South African anti-apartheid activist -- is expected to detail his account of alleged police brutality encountered during a May 30 protest over the death of George Floyd in L.A.'s Fairfax district ... and announce legal action.

He claims he was roughed up by cops who shot him with rubber bullets at point-blank range in the inner thigh and genitals ... severely injuring him. He ended up losing a testicle.

Steyn and Bloom say they will call for "specific reforms."

The press conference is scheduled to begin Thursday at 10 AM PT.

Guy Phillips -- the Scottsdale City Council member who mocked George Floyd's final words and got blasted by Arizona officials -- is apologizing, claiming he meant no disrespect.

The councilman addressed a crowd of anti-mask protesters Wednesday by wearing a mask and saying "I can't breathe" ... before removing it to disgusting cheers.

Of course, those were the 3 words Floyd repeated as he pleaded with the Minneapolis cops who were kneeling on his neck and back as he died.

Phillips' comments were swiftly blasted on social media, including by AZ Gov. Doug Ducey who called them "Just flat out wrong. Despicable doesn't go far enough." Ducey also suggested Phillips should lose his position for mocking Floyd's death.

Scottsdale Mayor W.J. "Jim" Lane also expressed his disappointment and said he hoped Phillips would recognize his fault and sincerely apologize.

Phillips is trying to do both, we guess. He's now saying ... "It was a stupid and insensitive comment that I shouldn’t have made, and I had no intention of disrespecting anybody."

He also directed his apology to the Floyd family, saying George "didn't deserve what happened to him, and I by no means was trying to make light of it by saying I can't breathe in a mask. Please accept my sincerest apology and that goes out to anyone who became offended."

And, just a reminder ... the councilman made his "stupid" comments at a rally against wearing face masks in a state and county with one of the nation's highest COVID-19 infection rates.

Could Colin Kaepernick's NFL return be as few as a couple weeks away???

The answer could be yes ... because "multiple" teams and at least one head coach have legitimate interest in signing the QB before the start of the season, according to NFL Network reporter Michael Silver.

The plugged-in journalist said on the league's owned NFL Network on Wednesday, "I have talked to one head coach who is absolutely interested" in Kaepernick.

The holdup? Silver says it's all about the coronavirus pandemic ... and the lack of the ability for teams to physically workout Colin for a tryout at their facilities.

"Colin Kaepernick, who has not played since 2016, finds himself in the same situation that Cam Newton and Jadeveon Clowney do," Silver said, "which is a team that would be ready to sign him would want to work him out."

Of course, Kaepernick did famously hold his own workout last year -- which was on video ... but Silver says teams would still like a front-row view this summer before putting pen to a new contract.

The NFL reporter adds, "There could be a chance that something happens when teams are able to get that part of it done."

Unclear when teams will be allowed to host free agents for tryouts ... but training camps do open July 28 -- so seems that date is nearing.