Controversial S#!T

Jerry Jones says the Cowboys might be backing off his "toe the line" national anthem kneeling policy ... with the Dallas owner telling media members Wednesday he's considering a new rule.

The 77-year-old, who has famously threatened to cut players if they kneel during the pregame song, now says he's going to have an open dialogue with his team over the policy.

Jerry told reporters he's currently trying to find a way that pleases both protesters and staunch flag supporters when it comes to the team's newest anthem kneeling rule.

"Somewhere in between there," Jones said, "as we get together with our team, as we discuss with the team, somewhere in between there is how we're going to handle it."

Jerry says he's been in contact with several powerful people over how the Cowboys should move forward with the policy ... saying both past and current U.S. presidents have shared their feelings with him on the matter.

"I have talked to literally double handfuls of very, very engaged people," Jones said. "I have had input from ex-presidents, I've had input from presidents."

"I've had input from a cross-section of our players, former players and I will continue to have input. This is a very serious matter."

Absolutely laugh out loud scene on Tuesday's episode of "Hard Knocks" ... Rams coach Sean McVay blasted his players for crappin' in the team's porta-potties -- telling them straight up, "Have a little bit more social awareness!"

Here's the deal ... the Rams set up portable Johns on their Los Angeles practice fields for training camp so guys could take piss breaks during workouts.

But McVay, in a team meeting recorded by HBO's cameras, says dudes were violating rules by poopin' in the toilets ... and coach wasn't happy with that AT ALL!!!

The rant was hilarious ... "Don't be the guy that takes a sh*t in the porta-potties!" McVay said.

"I went in there and I about threw up," he added ... "That's to take a piss! Don't take a sh*t in the porta-potties! All right!"

For their part, Rams players could not stop laughing about the whole situation ... cameras caught superstar Aaron Donald nearly in tears over it all!!

Danica Dow's days on "Vanderpump Rules" are numbered, IF her costars get a say -- they want her out due to allegations she got violent with an ex-BF ... TMZ has learned.

Sources on the show tell us a majority of the cast -- including longtime stars on the series -- think Danica's potentially dangerous and more trouble than she's worth after the court drama between her and Brett Willis, this past week.

We're told other members of the cast have seen volatile behavior from her that makes them think Brett's allegations could be true. Specifically, our sources say she was seen pushing Brett while they were working at SUR and shooting season 8 of 'VR.'

We're told cutting Danica out now wouldn't hurt any storylines -- she was a new character this year and wasn't playing into the bulk of drama.

It's unclear what producers are thinking about Danica or Brett's fate on the show. He's also been a very minor character who was only introduced through Danica.

As we reported ... Brett ran to court last week claiming multiple instances of Danica allegedly using violence upon him, including clawing up his neck, biting his arm and ripping his clothes. On the flip side, she alleged he broke into her house to damage her belongings.

Judges signed off on both of their requests to have the other stay away from each other -- but it sounds like the 'VR' cast is believing him more than her.

Ex-Patriots lineman Matt Light says you won't catch him out in public covering his face ... claiming science proves there's no need to wear a COVID-19 mask.

"I respect anybody's decision to wear a mask or not wear a mask," Light said on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. "The science is real clear on masks, right? There's no need to interpret it whether it helps saves lives or not, it doesn't."

FYI -- Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said just last month he believed the pandemic could be controlled in 8 weeks tops if everyone wore a mask ... but doesn't seem the Super Bowl champ is convinced.

"It has no real effect. It makes you feel comfy and warm inside maybe but it doesn't do anything in the grand scheme of things."

Light says he's frustrated with how politicians have required people to wear masks in public or face potential fines ... adding the threat isn't as serious as it's being made out to be.

"I think we're better than that. I think this country was founded on principles that don't just say, 'hey, when somebody tells you to do something, even if you look around and know there's not a fire, don't believe them when they say there's smoke'. Like c'mon, we're better than this."

Light says despite disagreeing with the protocols, he DOES take the virus seriously ... but requiring everyone to wear a mask is not the answer.

"I understand that there is a bug out there. There's a virus and it is causing harm on certain people, no doubt but it does not warrant what we're looking at right now. The data clearly points to that."

There have been more than 5 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. ... with more than 161k deaths.

Donald Trump says he's rooting for the NFL season to happen as planned -- but ONLY if the players stand for the national anthem.

Trump appeared on "Outkick the Coverage" and was asked about the challenges the NFL is facing with the COVID pandemic.

"They want to open and they want to open badly and they’ve been working with government," Trump said.

"I would say this, If they don’t stand for the national anthem, I hope they don’t open."

"But, other than that I’d love to see them open and we're doing everything possible for getting them open."

Trump then went off about why he believes the kneeling protest is disrespectful to "our flag and our country."

FYI, Colin Kaepernick and other kneelers have repeatedly said the demonstration is to put a spotlight on police brutality and social injustice ... but Trump is still not buying that explanation.

"They can protest in other ways, they shouldn’t protest our flag or our country," Trump said.

"If the NFL didn’t open, I'd be very happy if they don’t stand for the flag and stand strongly ... .I'd be very happy if they didn’t open."

"That being said, I'd love to see them open."

Trump also went after the NBA for what he sees as hypocrisy -- players, coaches, refs and more kneeling during the national anthem while not speaking out against human rights violations in China.

"Well I haven't noticed them sending things back at me," Trump said in reference to the NBA players ... "But I will say I wouldn't be that surprised."

"Some are very nasty, very very nasty and frankly very dumb but I haven't noticed that."

Trump added, "But I will say this, the way they cater to China, the way they bow to China it's a disgrace frankly and they make a lot more here than they do from China."

Remember, several players recently said they wouldn't care if Trump stopped watched NBA games as a result of the kneeling demonstrations. Trump didn't address those comments directly.

Donald Trump is campaigning hard for college football -- urging programs NOT to cancel the 2020 season.

And, he's on board the #WeWantToPlay movement, which is being led by his old fast-food buddy, Trevor Lawrence.

"The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled," POTUS tweeted Monday ... adding the hashtag, "#WeWantToPlay"

Trump made the comments while quote tweeting the Clemson QB's demands for a college football season.

As we previously reported, Lawrence -- along with other top college football stars -- spelled out a list of demands in order for the players to be on board with a 2020 football season.

Among the demands ... "Universal mandated health and safety procedures to protect college athletes against covid-19 among all conferences throughout the NCAA."

"Give players the opportunity to opt out and respect their decision."

Trump and Lawrence go way back -- remember, Trevor's Clemson football team was invited to the White House back in January 2019 to celebrate their national championship season.

Trump was widely mocked for the fast-food catering, but Lawrence had nothing but praise for POTUS on the way out ... saying the food was "awesome."

Dan Snyder claims a fired ex-employee is taking bribes to feed information to a foreign-based website that's out to get him, and now he's naming names in court.

The Washington Football Team owner is calling out Mary Ellen Blair, whom he describes as a former executive assistant in the team's offices. In docs filed Monday morning, Snyder claims Blair -- who was first demoted and then fired in 2017 -- contacted a current team employee in late May or early June to say a Washington Post story was coming out that would "not [be] good for Dan." Snyder insinuates she used stolen information, such as team contacts, to fish for negative information for that story.

BTW, The WaPo story that came out on July 5 claimed "minority owners" of the Washington Football Team are pissed at Snyder and wanted to sell their stakes.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Blair contacted team employees again in early July, and said another big story was coming out claiming Snyder did "dirty and illegal" things.

He claims Blair told one employee, you'd "probably make a lot of money" for info on Snyder. Sources connected to Snyder tell us he also has recordings of Blair and multiple affidavits indicating she actually offered bribes to contacts.

Snyder, who's hired high-powered attorney Joe Tacopina, says the employee didn't take the bait, and points out the WaPo story that was published July 16 alleged sexual harassment in Team offices ... but he was not accused.

However, around that time meaww.com did post stories alleging Snyder was involved in sex trafficking and tied to Jeffrey Epstein. As TMZ Sports first reported, he's filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the site, and now wants a judge to allow him to dig into Blair's recent contacts, her finances ... and especially her housing.

Snyder claims she's lived in a swanky apartment for years -- despite being in "dire financial straits" -- and says within the last 60 days she upgraded to an even higher-end home.

Rudy Giuliani believes Kanye West secretly wants Donald Trump reelected, and the former NYC Mayor seems to be saying Ye could spoil Joe Biden's chances.

We got the President's personal attorney Sunday in NYC and asked whether he thought Kanye's campaign could shake up the election. Rudy's hesitant to weigh in on Ye's bonafides ... but he does say Mr. West is still a fan of 45.

Rudy goes way further ... insinuating Kanye could be a surrogate for Trump to get the black vote. RG says Kanye is expressing the dissatisfaction African Americans feel about the way they've been treated and ignored for decades, specifically by Democrats.

Kanye has made it clear -- at least publicly -- he's not a spoiler ... that he's in it to win it. Nevertheless, in a close state, Kanye could become a deciding factor if he maintains 2% of the vote or higher.

Remember ... there are multiple reports Republican operatives are working to get Ye on the ballot in various states, including the swing state of Wisconsin.

President Trump reportedly lobbied the Governor of South Dakota to have his mug added to Mount Rushmore, which might explain his 4th of July rally at the site.

Gov. Kristi Noem gifted DT a mini replica of the national monument on July 4th -- with his face carved in next to the other iconic four presidents -- as a joke-y way to make up for the fact she couldn't do it for him in real life ... this after his aides called her asking about it.

According to the NYT, Trump had some White House aides ring Kristi and co. up last year about the process of potentially adding a fifth presidential head on the side of Black Elk Peak. The calls from aides came AFTER Trump had told the Gov. himself during a White House visit that it was his "dream" to be featured on the structure ... which she laughed at.

Apparently, Donnie wasn't joking at all ... and had his people follow up on it, which appears to have prompted the strange make-up gift. Of course, the issue of adding a fifth face to Rushmore has been kicked around -- to no avail. It's said to be virtually impossible, as there simply isn't enough room to do it without compromising the whole thing.

Funny enough, the National Park Service says it's actually a question/request they get pretty often from a number of different groups -- so it's not just Trump's ego that's enormous. More importantly, Mount Rushmore was made to showcase America's birth and growth through its first 150 years ... at least that's how the OG sculptor Gutzon Borglum reportedly envisioned it.

Tech N9ine got on the mic for a bunch of never-ending partiers down in Missouri -- and the joint looked about as packed as any of their shindigs lately.

The rapper put on a homecoming show Saturday night at the Regalia hotel in Lake of the Ozarks -- he's from Kansas City, BTW ... so it was definitely a special occasion to have Tech come out and perform. He took to the stage in front of what we're told were upwards of 1,000 people.

That didn't seem to bother Tech N9ne though -- ditto for the concert promoters and the hotel folks hosting the event. As you can see ... it looks eerily similar to all the other Ozark water ragers we've seen of late. No masks, little distancing ... and just a whole lot of bodies.

Aside from the bad idea of hosting any type of large gathering like this -- indoors or out -- the fact Tech N9ne is in the mix here seems to signal something else that's fairly troubling ... the idea that in-person concerts are coming back with more regularity, slowly but surely.

We've seen some well-known artists over the past couple months performing to large crowds -- sometimes with blatant disregard for safety, and other times letting things get out of control despite their best intentions ... looking at you Chase Rice and the Chainsmokers.

Granted, Keith Urban seemed to have a bit more success with his own drive-in show -- in any case, it's clear artists are getting restless too and are trying to secure that concert bag.

Nick Cannon says America needs another Black man in the White House ... that's why he's team Kanye 2020.

Nick was at LAX Friday when the photog asked him what he thought of Ye's run. Answer: "I love it!"

Now, the photog took it a step further and asked if he'll still be with Kanye when he casts his ballot, and Nick gave the semi-emphatic "Yes." We say semi because there's clearly a slight smirk.

On another subject ... Nick was asked about his recent troubles over some anti-Semitic comments. Nick has been earnest in attempting to educate himself ... even meeting with rabbis.

Ex-MLB player Cody Decker says that Nazi salute at the Oakland A's game is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to anti-Semitism in pro baseball ... insisting the problem is MUCH worse than it seems.

Decker -- who is Jewish -- was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2009 and made his MLB debut in 2015. He retired from pro baseball in 2019.

In other words, Cody's been around the game a LONG time and has personally dealt with anti-Semitism ... a lot.

"I mean the amount of Nazis jokes I've dealt with throughout my entire career is pretty staggering," Decker says.

When it comes to Oakland A's bench coach Ryan Christenson -- who threw up a Hitler salute during Thursday's game -- Decker says things would have gone down much differently after the game if he was on that team.

"If I was in that locker room, what I’d have to go into that office and have to do with that coach?! We would have to have a very harsh conversation or we would have to shut the door and maybe throw punches because that's unacceptable. Plain and simple."

During our conversation, Decker describes several times he dealt with blunt anti-Semitism from other players, coaches and fans ... and it's downright ridiculous.

"If you think ant-Semitism is not rampant throughout baseball!? ... It's a very, very, very Christian sport and not all of the players that are very, very Christian are the brightest of Christians. That's not knocking Christianity by any stretch of the imagination, I'm just telling you what I've death with throughout my career by being called multiple Jewish slurs by fans, by teammates."

So, what should happen with Christenson?

"I think a fair thing would be a suspension," Decker says ... while suggesting an educational component to educate Christenson on the dangers of anti-Semitism.

COVID-19 isn't stopping the legendary Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, but with hundreds of thousands arriving ... it's gonna be near impossible for the bikers to avoid spreading the virus.

The small town of Sturgis, South Dakota is packed to the gills as Friday kicks off the 80th edition of the famous biker convention. They're expecting a quarter million people to ride through over the next 9 days, but these opening day images show face coverings are scarce.

Spotting a face mask in the crowds is like flipping through a "Where's Waldo." If you thought those Georgia high school hallways were alarming, Sturgis could be way worse.

Once parked, social distancing is gonna be tough for the bikers. People are jammed up like sardines in bars, and the streets are super crowded too. Yes, the fresh air helps, but there's a limit when establishments get filled.

At least the liquor stores are hawking "Full Throttle Hand Sanitizer."

The event is easily the largest gathering in America since the pandemic began, which raises another issue. Once the Sturgis rally ends ... people will ride off to another destination, and possibly trigger a spike.