Controversial S#!T

Richard Sherman says Cam Newton's new Patriots contract is both "ridiculous" and "disgusting" ... and he's now going after the NFL for allowing it to happen.

"How many former League MVPs have had to sign for the min?" Sherman wrote Sunday night. "(Asking for a friend.) just ridiculous."

The SF 49ers superstar added, "A transcendent talent and less talented QBs are getting 15/16m a year. Disgusting."

Cam not only had to wait MONTHS to sign with the Pats after the Panthers cut him in the spring ... but he reportedly had to ink a deal with New England that'll only pay him $7.5 million IF he hits all of his incentives.

Sherm thinks that's just crazy for a guy with Hall of Fame potential ... even if injuries haven't allowed the 31-year-old to produce as well on the field the past few seasons.

"Check that against every QB slated to be a starter this season," Sherman said of Cam's recent struggles. "Let me know how that goes."

For his part, Newton didn't seem displeased with his signing over the weekend ... even if the contract is over HALF of the $20-plus million he used to make per season in Carolina.

NBA superstar Ja Morant says he went too far by reposting an anti-police statement to his social media pages ... and now, he's apologizing for it -- saying, "I know there are good cops '12' out there."

If you missed it, somebody edited Morant's Memphis Grizzlies jersey so it spelled out "F**k 12" ... and Ja reshared it on Instagram with the caption, "nah fr tho."

Morant also posted it on Twitter, writing there, "want dat on my jersey fr."

But, Ja's endorsements of the image -- which came after reports claimed the NBA is considering allowing players to replace their jersey names with messages in their return to action next month -- was met with immediate backlash.

And, just hours after he reshared the pics, he took them down and issued a mea culpa.

"I want to first apologize for reposting something that didn't clearly and accurately convey what I wanted to share," Morant said.

"My post was intended to focus on the bad cops who get away with the murder of unarmed Black men and women, and those who continue to harass peaceful BLACK LIVES MATTER protestors."

Ja continued, "I know there are good cops '12' out there. I know some, and a few are family. I am thankful to the cops at Murray State who took care of me, and the cops who continue to watch over me with the Grizzlies."

"We NEED good cops to step up and make sure others cops are not abusing their power."

In the apology, Morant went on to call for justice for Breonna Taylor, and added, "There have been too many Black lives taken by police that could have been prevented."

"You may see me as just a basketball player and I may lose fans for taking a stand, but I won't stay silent."

Rod Woodson says it's the color of his jacket -- not his skin -- that's keeping him from getting a coaching gig in the NFL ... telling TMZ Sports he feels the league's head coaches don't want Hall of Famers on their staff.

"They want one alpha in the room," Woodson says. "And, I'm not a real alpha where I want somebody's job. I just want to -- I just love talking ball."

Woodson says he's been angling for a full-time assistant coaching role in the league for a while now ... but claims he's having issues getting hired due to his Hall of Fame resume.

The Pittsburgh Steelers legend -- who was inducted in Canton back in 2009 -- says it ain't just him, either ... claiming other Hall of Famers like Ed Reed are experiencing similar problems.

"I think it'll be more difficult for Hall of Famers to get in it and stay in it," Woodson says, "just for the fact that most of the coaches don't like that respect leaving that room or that area and going to somewhere else."

Rod tells us it ain't a work ethic issue either ... he claims he's willing to punch the clock from 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM!!

"Is that not enough grind?!" Woodson says.

FYI, Rod says to his knowledge, there's only one Hall of Famer coaching in the league right now -- and that's Mike Munchak, the Denver Broncos' O-line coach.

By the way, we also spoke with Rod about the 2020 Hall of Fame class' postponement ... and he's crushed that the guys have to wait one more year for their ceremonies.

Cops in Aurora, CO came in like a military unit to forcibly remove -- not to mention pepper spray -- peaceful protesters who were watching a violin performance to honor Elijah McClain.

This went down Saturday in City Center Park, where a musical vigil had been planned to pay respects to Elijah -- who died while in custody of Aurora PD last year -- which was incredibly symbolic, seeing how Elijah played violin himself. At one point, the police had seen enough.

In the video, captured by a vigilant bystander, you can see the jarring juxtaposition play out live on camera. At first, you hear the violinists -- some of whom are said to have been underage -- beautifully playing in unison, and the next minute ... cops are storming the place.

The woman recording can be heard -- along with others -- openly yelling "No!" at what's about to happen next ... forcible removal and literally pushing the protesters out of the park, while shutting down the performance. Pepper spray started getting dispersed at one point too.

A reporter on the ground captured an even more surreal moment ... as cops were literally pushing up against protesters, a violinist on stage started playing soothing melodies.

The protesters stood their ground as long as they could -- several even formed a human barrier around the violinists to protect them from the police. Communal chants also erupted ...  with phrases like, "Why are you in riot gear? I don't see no riot here!"

Eventually, the protesters were forced to the parking lot ... but they didn't let that ruin the get-together. Some violinists followed along and continued on the pavement. The protesters even broke out in song, singing "Lean On Me" ... in what proved to be a powerful statement in response to the brutality they'd just gone through, for no reason at all.

If you're wondering what Aurora PD had to say about this, they claimed the crowd was getting unruly and some were even arming themselves and hurling projectiles at the squad. In the end ... the police say only 3 people were arrested for violating lawful orders after warnings were given.

Well, Donald Trump loves his white supremacists, because he just gave his stamp of approval on a protest where one of his loudest supporters is screaming "white power."

It's a bizarre demonstration/counter-demonstration ... a line of golf carts traversed streets around Sumter County, Florida with Trump supporters, as Trump protesters lined the streets.

You hear demonstrators, mostly seniors, boil over in anger ... there's no physical contact, but it's intense.

True-to-form Trump retweeted the video, saying, "Thank you to the great people of The Villages. The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!"

Sacha Baron Cohen did what he does Saturday ... he went undercover at a right-wing militia event and when he started belting out a hateful, racist song ... and the crowd was more than happy to sing along.

It went down in Olympia, Washington, at the "March for Our Rights 3" rally.

Sacha came as the honcho of a political action committee, or so he said ... according to the Daily Beast. He hired a security team so no one could cut him off mid-song.

Check out the video ... Cohen is decked out in overalls, fake facial hair as he began singing about injecting former President Obama, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the World Health Org. and others with the "Wuhan flu." You hear people in the audience join in. And then, he suggests an alternative ... "chop them up like the Saudi's do," and the crowd chimes in.

The rally was reportedly organized by the Washington Three Percenters. The reference to 3 percent is an unsubstantiated claim only 3% of the members of the American colonies fought in the War of Independence.

Not everyone at the rally was cool with the song .... one city councilman said this ... “He came on stage disguised as the lead singer of the last band, singing a bunch of racist, hateful, disgusting s***,” adding, “His security blocked event organizers from getting him off the stage, or pulling power from the generator.”

The councilman also claimed the crowd turned on Cohen and security whisked him away in a waiting ambulance. Nevertheless, listen to the clip ... there are plenty of folks singin' along.

President Trump's campaign staff reportedly told arena staff members to remove social distancing signs before they opened the doors, and there's video showing folks doing just that.

The story was reported by the Washington Post and Billboard -- with the former citing sources familiar with the situation ... and the latter getting one of the venue's main overseers on record. The VP of ASM Global -- the company that manages the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa -- told the magazine that Trump's campaign had, in fact, given the order.

The VP, Doug Thornton, says the campaign instructed them to stop labeling every other seat with "Do Not Sit Here, Please!" stickers, which the arena staff had already done to nearly every row. The place sits 19,000 -- so, at least 9,500 were presumably used.

There was even video captured and posted by WaPo that shows a few men with badges going around and actually removing those stickers. It's shot from a distance, so it's hard to make out what the stickers say, but it seems pretty clear they were the ones in question.

It's unclear if these guys are Trump staffers or arena staffers. In any case, it's a smoking gun.

This is insane, considering the BOK Center was actually trying to do the right thing and take safety precautions ... only to be thwarted by the man's own team come showtime.

Of course, if you saw the rally live -- not to mention the people lining up to get in before doors opened -- you know it was already a 'rona danger zone. Now, the place ended up being mostly empty inside, especially those upper rows. Still, those that were there did pack in like sardines, and now, we appear to know why -- at least partially, anyway.

An Alabama cop is out of a job after he thought it'd be a good idea to depict a black man in the crosshairs of a rifle scope in answering what to do about armed protesters.

The Hoover Police Department canned the guy this past week after the chief, Nick Derzis, became aware of his subordinate's deeply disturbing Facebook post ... which cropped a photo used as the launch image of an article and superimposed it under a rifle scope filter.

The photo that was now square in the crosshairs ... a black guy with a shotgun standing at the foot of a car. The original photo was the primary art for a story about how armed protesters are still standing guard at the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was gunned down in Atlanta. The second half of WSBTV's headline also read, "What Now?"

This officer's response ... putting the photo under a scope -- as if to fire upon the guy -- while adding a caption that read, "Exhale. Feel. Pause. Press steadily. That's what's next."

His boss placed him on administrative leave as soon he saw it, but reportedly gave the guy -- who'd been on the force there for nearly 5 years -- a solid 2 days to explain himself. After giving his response, the chief made the decision to terminate him outright.

Derzis said, "This type of conduct will not be tolerated in our department an is not representative of the professionalism expected by all of our officers. We’re not going to allow one officer to tarnish the reputation of the Hoover Police Department."

A Trader Joe's was the backdrop for an explosion of anger by a customer who felt it was her right to shop without a face mask.

The woman came to the San Fernando Valley store Friday wearing a mask ... the manager tells TMZ. At some point, as she was shopping the mask disappeared from her face. She says she has a breathing problem and that's why she took the mask off, but her lungs were filled with anger as her voice billowed through the store.

Either way ... we're told employees approached the woman and asked her to cover her face, but she refused. At that point, she goes insane, suggesting this was some sort of conspiracy by Democrats.

She was ordered to leave the store -- which she did.

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have resigned from the super-exclusive Bel-Air Country Club ... this after a war of sorts erupted over a decision to suspend but then reinstate the couple after they completed their sentence ... sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say the Board of Directors for the club unanimously voted to suspend Lori and Mossimo, but the suspension gets lifted when they serve their time.

The decision did not sit well with some of the members. Past President Michael Gallagher fired off a scathing letter to the board, obtained by TMZ, in which he says ... "This unprecedented board decision to allow felons to continue as members causes irreparable reputational harm to the Club and its members."

Gallagher goes on ... "BACC is a Club of gentlemen and gentlewomen. Gentlemen are not felons, and felons in turn are not gentlemen. You cannot be a member in good standing and guilty of a felony at the same time, it is a non sequitur."

And, he wasn't done ... "The board action, taken on behalf of the Club's membership, now establishes our Club as a place of refuge and comfort for known felons ... This matter is already well known in the golfing world, domestically and internationally, and our Club has become a laughingstock."

Our sources say the membership was deeply divided. Some members were supportive of Lori and Mossimo while others wanted them out for good.

We're told Lori and Mossimo did not want to be in the middle of a war among the members, so they have voluntarily resigned. We're told Mossimo joined because he's an avid golfer -- Lori golfs too, but not nearly as much. As we reported, Lori copped a plea deal and will serve 2 months in prison and Mossimo will serve 5 month.

What's also interesting ... Rick Singer, the mastermind in the college admissions scandal, was also well known to lots and lots of rich parents on the westside of Los Angeles. We don't know if other members of the club knew of Singer or used him, but at the very least, it would be incredibly surprising if Lori and Mossimo were the only members who were aware of Singer's exploits.

Gallagher said in his letter he was resigning. We don't know if he changed his mind after Lori and Mossimo resigned.

It's about time, but there's finally a serious effort to change the name of John Wayne Airport in Orange County because the actor was famously racist and homophobic.

The Orange County Democratic Party passed a resolution, calling out Wayne's "racist and bigoted statements" and demanding the O.C. Board of Supervisors rename the airport Orange County Airport.

It's pretty amazing folks have tolerated the name this long. Back in 1971, Wayne told Playboy ... "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people."

And, there was more ... "I don't feel guilty about the fact that 5 or 10 generations ago these people were slaves."

And, then the actor set his sights on Native Americans ... "I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them ... There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves."

And, Wayne went after gays, using a homophobic slur to refer to the 2 main characters in "Midnight Cowboy."

The airport was named after John Wayne in 1979 ... AFTER the Playboy interview.

Wayne, probably the most famous cowboy actor ever, died in 1979.

Mia Khalifa is looking different these days ... the ex-porn star turned sports blogger just dropped around $15,000 on a nose job, and TMZ has the first look!!!

We're told Mia went under the knife a week ago, getting a Scarless Nose Rhinoplasty courtesy of celeb Bev Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Deepak Dugar.

The bandages have finally come off, and as you can see ... Mia's new nose is a lot smaller, and pretty darn cute. Nice work, doc!

Our sources say Mia's nose job is a long time coming ... we're told she's wanted one since she was 14, because her schnoz was one of her biggest insecurities. Yes, people who bare all for the camera can still be insecure.

Of course, Mia's signature look became her nose, eyebrows and glasses, so she was hesitant in recent years to make a change ... but she finally decided to go for it.

She wins this one by a nose.

One of the largest American Indian groups in the country is declaring war on the Washington Redskins -- saying the team name is insanely offensive and NFL players should boycott.

Fawn Sharp -- president of the National Congress of American Indians (which represents more than 500 tribal nations) just went scorched earth on the franchise in an op/ed titled, "Who Will Become the Colin Kaepernick of Washington’s NFL Team?"

"The racial slur can no longer be removed by the complicit, indifferent, tone-deaf ownership of the franchise, because the stain they have fixed onto their own name and enterprises is now permanent," Sharp says.

"It is an insult that can no longer be retracted, a sin that can no longer be erased."

She continues, "Since it’s too late to give the team name up, it’s time for it to be taken."

"It’s time for the players to rip down that name like it was a statue of a Confederate general in their locker room."

WOW.

Sharp takes it further spelling out a plan of action for Washington players.

"I am calling for members of the NFL franchise in Washington, DC, to rise to the occasion and become heroes. All I ask is that you state the unequivocal moral truth: just as you would never play for the Washington [insert any other racial slur], you will no longer play for any team branded with a racial slur against Native Americans."

The U.S. Department of Justice is calling out the "Exempt" cards folks claim allow them to get away with not covering their faces in public ... because the cards are fraudulent.

An alert was issued by the feds Thursday warning of the phony face mask flyers, urging the public to "be aware regarding fraudulent postings, cards, or flyers on the internet regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the use of face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

The alert made it clear the cards were not issued by the government and not endorsed by it ... despite the appearance of the Dept. of Justice's seal.

U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin warned ... "Do not be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle. These cards do not carry the force of law. The 'Freedom to Breathe Agency,' or 'FTBA,' is not a government agency."

We'd like to say, "Yeah, no duh" ... but way too many people on social media seem fooled, as they circulated the cards this week as if they were legit.

The U.S. Attorney adds to check out the ADA website for official and correct info about the American Disabilities Act, and the CDC still encourages the use of facial coverings in public.

Not that you could tell from VP Mike Pence's latest coronavirus task force briefing.

The term "master" is officially canceled when it comes to describing bedrooms and bathrooms ... at least when you're searching for a home in Houston.

The Houston Association of Realtors is no longer using the word "master" to hype bedrooms and bathrooms on its Multiple Listing Service ... instead, the realtors are going with the word "primary."

The change in terminology, which happened quietly earlier this month, is already in place on HAR's property listing database ... and it came after several members demanded a review of the language, which some believe carries connotations to slavery.

According to HAR, the change has been raised and considered for several years ... and they are finally pulling the plug on "master." It's worth noting ... Houston has one of the nation's highest African-American populations.

Don't celebrate or scream into the void just yet ... HAR says the change is merely a suggestion, and does not constitute a ban of the term "master."

Other "masters" are already on the way out ... like the Court of Master Sommeliers, which says it will no longer use the word "master" before a wine sommelier's last name.

And, it begs the question, what's next on the chopping block?!?

There's The Masters golf tournament, Oprah's Master Class and Master's degrees to name a few.

More outlandish and offensive stuff from Formula 1 racing boss Bernie Ecclestone ... who is now pushing the narrative that Black people are more racist than whites.

Seriously. Here's his latest quote -- "In lots of cases, Black people are more racist than what White people are."

Okay, some background ... the 89-year-old racing legend was talking to CNN about Lewis Hamilton's social justice efforts in the recent months -- when things turned sideways.

It started out nice ... Ecclestone praised Hamilton saying he's "very, very, very talented as a driver and he seems to be now extremely talented when's he standing up and can make speeches."

"This last campaign he's doing for Black people is wonderful."

So far, so good.

But, when Ecclestone was asked about Lewis' new endeavor -- The Hamilton Project (created to help promote diversity in racing) ... things started to go off the rails.

"I don't think [The Hamilton Project] is going to do anything bad or good for Formula One."

"It'll just make people think which is more important. I think that's the same for everybody. People ought to think a little bit and think: 'Well, what the hell? Somebody's not the same as White people and Black people should think the same about White people.'"

He followed up with this gem -- "In lots of cases, Black people are more racist than what White people are."

When CNN pushed for specific examples, Bernie didn't cite any concrete evidence -- explaining it's something he's "noticed" over the years.

Oh really, Bernie?

When was the last time a white driver was racially taunted at a race?

It happened to Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and 2009 -- when a bunch of racists put on blackface to taunt Lewis at the Spanish Grand Prix wearing shirts that read, "Hamilton's Family."

There's obviously no shortage of examples, but you get the point.

Bernie has said a bunch of terrible stuff over the years -- famously praising Adolf Hitler in 2009 for being "able to get things done."

He also publicly supported Vladimir Putin's anti-gay policies and also sprinkled in some sexism ... saying women should dress in white "like all other domestic appliances."