Controversial S#!T

Team USA hero Suni Lee says her Instagram followers are still banned from commenting on pics of her BF following the hate she's gotten for being in an interracial relationship ... telling TMZ Sports she's going to keep that section disabled.

As we previously reported, the gold medalist recently opened up about receiving hurtful messages from members of the Hmong community after going public with her USC football player boyfriend, Jaylin Smith ... saying, "they support me when it’s beneficial for them never when it comes to my happiness."

We spoke with the Hmong-American Olympic hero about the situation at LAX on Monday ... and she says it's time for people to change their views on interracial relationships.

"It should be normalized," Lee tells us while rocking her BF's #19 USC gear ... adding she's very happy in her relationship, no matter how others feel.

Suni says she'll continue to prevent the haters from leaving nasty comments on her relationship pics ... but points out there's also been some good to come of it.

"I've also gotten a lot of support and I'm really thankful."

An NFL fan was captured on video yelling an anti-gay slur at Patrick Mahomes' brother before the Chiefs took on the Broncos on Sunday.

The incident went down at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver ... when Jackson Mahomes and Patrick's fiancee, Brittany Matthews, were down on the field taking pregame pictures and videos.

You can hear in footage from the scene, a fan in the stands clearly yelling for Jackson with a homophobic slur repeatedly.

"Hey, Ma-H**o!" the fan screamed. "Ma-H**o!"

The offensive comments were so loud, Brittany actually heard them ... and yelled back at the man several times, "That's rude!"

It's unclear if there were further interactions between the Mahomes family, the fan and stadium security.

The Miz shouldn't expect an honorary key to Philadelphia anytime soon ever ... 'cause the WWE Superstar just took a giant dump on the City of Brotherly Love, telling fans he totally gets why 76ers star Ben Simmons wants out of dodge.

WWE's "Monday Night Raw" was in town at the Wells Fargo Center -- the Sixers home arena -- when The Miz addressed fellow star wrestler, Edge, and chose to take a dig at Philly.

"After looking at this crowd I can say with the utmost conviction that I stand with Ben Simmons," Miz said. "I too would give up $33 million dollars just to not play in this crap city."

"I mean have you seen yourselves," he continued, "Can you blame him?"

The Miz -- one of WWE's best heels -- was met with a barrage of boos from thousands of people in the audience ... something the former WWE champion is accustomed to.

Of course, the Simmons saga is a sensitive issue for the city and organization. The 25-year-old hooper has yet to step foot on the court for a game ... and the season is halfway over.

Ben and the Sixers have been involved in a nasty back-and-forth ... with the All-Star forward telling the org. he would sit out the entire season -- and forfeit the $33 million owed to him -- if they did not meet his trade demands.

Novak Djokovic is making sure he's ready for next week's Australian Open despite uncertainty he'll be allowed to remain in the country -- hitting practice courts hard Down Under on Tuesday.

The tennis superstar was spotted getting in a lengthy workout at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne ... hitting balls and sweating just six days away from the start of the big tournament.

Of course, Djokovic needs all the practice he can get ... considering he was cooped up in a hotel for nearly a week after Australian authorities tried to bar him from entering the country.

Djokovic and law enforcement feuded over his COVID-19 vaccination exemption status ... but after the 34-year-old won a key appeal on Monday, he was let into the country so he can gear up for The Open.

And, by the looks of things, Djokovic seems to be ready to defend his title. In the photos, Novak appears to be in good shape.

Djokovic is still not 100 percent certain about his status for the event ... Australian authorities are still exploring the possibility of canceling his visa a second time -- which could lead to a three-year ban from the country for the tennis player.

Antonio Brown appears to be showing some regret over his infamous, shirtless breakup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ... admitting his wild outburst was unprofessional and unnecessary.

AB touched down in Los Angeles Monday afternoon after a week of living it up in NYC ... and just hours after his flight to the west coast, he hit up hotspot Craig's for a bite to eat with his new buddy, Kanye West.

But, before he went inside, the Super Bowl champ had a quick convo with the camera guys about his bizarre departure from last Sunday's game ... and he seems to wish he had handled himself differently.

"It probably wasn't necessary or professional," AB said ... all while keeping a smile on his face.

It's an interesting admission -- AB had previously been giving the middle finger to the Bucs since the breakup ... claiming they were trying to force him to play with an ankle injury prior to his exit.

Despite all the drama, AB has shifted his focus to music ... and has been linking up with some huge names like Fabolous after his season ended.

As for why he dined with Kanye? Rumor has it the rap legend wants to collab with AB on a track.

Senator Marco Rubio is still trying to wrap his head around the Miami Dolphins firing of (ex-) head coach Brian Flores ... telling TMZ Sports he was "just as surprised as anybody."

"I don't know what happened inside that building you know," Rubio said. "I was just as surprised as anybody. I don’t think anybody was expecting that today."

The U.S. Senator from Florida -- who was born in Miami -- told us he didn't want to speculate on what went wrong with the Dolphins ... but he believes something transpired that ultimately led to the demise of Flores.

"I'm not in that building, but something was going on inside there," Rubio said. "People not getting along -- whatever it was. I can't tell you."

Flores -- who was in his third year with the team -- got off to a shaky start this season ... losing 7 of the team's first 8 games. But, Miami rebounded -- winning 7 straight games, and 8 of their last 9.

Still, they canned him.

The silver lining for Flores ... Rubio tells us he doesn't expect he'll be out of work long, and speculates he could wind up with the New York Giants.

But, don't get your hopes up just yet Giants fans -- much-maligned GM, Dave Gettleman, retired ... but it appears head coach Joe Judge will be with the team for at least another season.

Finally, we asked Marco if Tom Brady has surpassed Marino as the greatest athlete to ever play in Florida ... and while Rubio wasn't ready to go that far, he did have high praise for the 7x Super Bowl champ.

Novak Djokovic has just been set free Down Under -- a judge ruled in his favor in his visa appeal case, clearing the way for the tennis star to compete in the Australian Open next week.

Djokovic had been in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne the last few nights ... after Australian government officials canceled his visa shortly after his arrival in the country last Wednesday.

Authorities argued Djokovic did not meet the proper requirements to be formally granted an exemption to Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.

Djokovic, though, argued he did meet all the criteria ... saying he had been infected with COVID last month and therefore did not need to be vaccinated.

At a visa appeal hearing in an Australian courtroom on Monday -- a judge overturned the government's decision, pointing out that the 34-year-old had received vaccine exemption status from Tennis Australia and two medical panels prior to his arrival.

"The point I’m somewhat agitated about is what more could this man have done?" the judge said in the courtroom.

The judge's decision now paves the way for Djokovic to compete in The Open, which begins on Jan. 17.

"I'm pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation," Djokovic said in a statement on Twitter following the decision. "Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete @AustralianOpen."

"I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans."

There could still be more hurdles for Djokovic to leap ... Australian authorities have suggested they could still cancel his visa once again.

If that does happen, and Djokovic is deported, he could be faced with a 3-year ban from the country.

It remains unclear what the likelihood of a second cancellation is.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez probably regrets heading down to Florida last week -- because she just caught a case of coronavirus a full 7 days later ... and is apparently hurting.

The New York congresswoman announced Sunday that she'd come down with 'rona, saying she's received a positive test result -- but not really saying when exactly. She says she IS experiencing symptoms ... and is now recovering at home.

Her office's statement notes AOC is double vaccinated, and that she received her booster shot in the fall. And for good measure, she encourages everyone to get vaccinated and to follow all CDC guidelines.

That last part is catching a little bit of backlash at the moment ... seeing how the Representative was just down in the Sunshine State for New Year's with her boyfriend, where she appeared to be mostly maskless ... while hobnobbing with kinda big crowds, which included the likes of Billy Porter, among others at a drag show brunch event.

Granted, a lot of the photos and video of her in Miami (sans a mask) are outside -- which, by traditional wisdom at this point, seems to help.

Still ... considering AOC has been a strong proponent of strict 'rona protocols, many found it interesting she'd fled to a state whose governor she's been critical of in his handling of COVID.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is far from the first member of Congress to contract COVID -- Sens. Warren and Booker also announced they'd tested positive not too long ago.

President Biden paid tribute to his late congressional colleague, Harry Reid, this weekend -- continuing a tradition of funeral-going that the Washington Post appears to take issue with.

The former Nevada senator, who died last week, was honored Saturday in his home state through a memorial service ... one which featured major speakers from the Democratic party, including Biden himself, former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others.

46 delivered remarks about what Reid meant to American politics, as did Obama and the rest ... but just a day earlier, WaPo published a story that was all about how Biden has spent much of his presidency doing exactly this -- with what sounds like critical tone, no less.

The story is titled "Biden, funerals and a bygone America." The text itself details how consoling families of the fallen, especially old friends of his, is very important to JB ... and how some aides apparently avoid trying to stop him, as they've found it futile to do so.

The sentiment of the story -- despite never quite stating it explicitly in the body itself -- is that Biden's constant grieving is a bit of a turnoff and somewhat of a time-waster ... which was hit home in a since-deleted tweet by the Post that they initially used as a caption.

It read, "Biden, who heads to Sen. Harry M. Reid's memorial Saturday -- his seventh as president -- uses funerals to honor his friendships and make a point about bipartisanship. Not everyone thinks it's the best use of his time."

Almost immediately, the Post started getting a massive amount of backlash -- including from Press Sec. Jen Psaki -- and they deleted the tweet, later saying it didn't accurately represent the scope of the story.

That's still up for debate to many ... who wonder, what's the point of this story??? According to critics, the whole purpose of writing this was to highlight what WaPo perceives as Biden being out of touch/overly optimistic in trying to cling to a political dynamic of the past.

When the Lord said, "Let there be inflation," that pretty much gave Christian landlords the green light to raise rents without guilt ... that seems to be Dave Ramsey's take, anyway.

The financial guru radio host -- who's also a devout evangelical -- took this stance earlier in the week ... and it's getting a lot of backlash now from people who think the very nature of booting a tenant because they can't afford the rent anymore is ... not very Christ-like.

Not so, according to DR ... who gave his thoughts on the subject after a fan wrote in talking about his inner turmoil regarding raising prices on his properties, and reconciling that with his faith.

It's an interesting premise (if you're religious) ... the viewer says he feels he's technically responsible for displacing someone if he chooses to evict -- and thinks that makes him a bad Christian. But, Ramsey takes the opposite view ... saying that's total nonsense.

Check out the full clip for the entire context -- in which Ramsey and his cohost say there are circumstances where you don't have to be a cold, hard capitalist -- but for the most part ... they seem to agree that there's nothing un-Christian about adapting to the marketplace.

Of course, not everyone agrees with DR and co., including some prominent Christians ... who feel like, yeah, being a landlord that's willing to put someone out on the street DOES make one a crappy steward of Christianity.

One pastor writes, "We are absolutely responsible when our actions displace others from their homes. The Son of Man had no place to rest His head, and it sounds like Dave wouldn't give him one for even a penny under what he thinks 'market value' is."

Novak Djokovic's attorneys say Australian border officials screwed up when they denied the tennis star entry into the country ... claiming he had COVID-19 last month, meaning he didn't have to comply with the vaccine mandate.

Attorneys for the 34-year-old tennis superstar filed docs with an Australian court on Saturday, according to the NY Times, arguing officials went against the advice of their own immunization advisory group when they canceled Novak's visa, believing he received a bogus exemption allowing him to skirt Australia's strict vaccine mandate.

Djokovic's lawyers say Australian health officials previously suggested recent COVID infections could exempt travelers from needing the vaccine. Novak's lawyers say their client had COVID in mid-December ... and should've been granted entry.

In fact, the attorneys say border officials "radically and fundamentally" misapplied guidelines set forth by the immunization health officials.

FYI, it wasn't publicly known that Djokovic had COVID in December 2021. However, it was known he contracted the virus in June 2020.

Of course, the defending Australian Open champ had his visa canceled when he landed in Melbourne on Thursday. Novak opted to appeal the decision, so rather than instantly being deported, he was taken to a quarantine hotel run by government officials.

Novak's family says he's being held captive ... while Australian officials have insisted the #1 tennis player in the world can leave whenever he wants.

Even before Djokovic touched down in Melbourne, his impending arrival kicked off a raging debate in the country ... with many upset, believing the tennis star was going to get preferential treatment.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison even got involved ... vowing to investigate the medical exemption Djokovic received, in order to check its legitimacy.

Djokovic has a hearing on Monday ... where his fate will be determined. If the cancelation of the visa is upheld, Novak won't only have to worry about missing this year's tournament. He could be banned from entering Australia for several years.

The lawyer for Travis McMichael claims the judge in the case was pressured by the President, former Presidents and celebrities to hand down the harshest sentence.

Attorney Jason Sheffield tells TMZ, he believes the die was cast from the jump, saying the "decision-makers" were under a microscope. He says he's referring to the police, prosecutors, judge and jury.

Sheffield says anyone who voiced sympathy for his client was criticized and threatened, adding, "So the decision-makers face the same fate if they don't acknowledge the narrative that has been perpetrated by Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, as well as the national media, former presidents Obama, Trump and [current President] Biden, and top-level sports athletes and entertainers."

All 3 defendants were convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Travis and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after the judge described their lack of remorse and callousness. William "Roddie" Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Sheffield calls the sentence "scripted, because nobody wants to be on the other side."

Former President Barack Obama said of the case when he spoke at an HBCU graduation ceremony during the pandemic, "We see it when a Black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn't submit to their questioning. Injustice like this isn't new."

Donald Trump called the cellphone video showing the horrific murder "very disturbing."

President Biden's statement ... "Ahmaud Arbery's killing -- witnessed by the world on video -- is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country."

Aaron Rodgers is going after yet another member of the media ... this time, he eviscerated a Boomer Esiason report that said he was planning to boycott the Super Bowl if the Packers make it.

"Dumbest f***ing story ever," Rodgers said.

Esiason -- a former NFL star who's now an analyst and WFAN radio show host -- went on his morning show Friday and said a trusted source told him Rodgers is planning something diabolical for SB week if Green Bay gets there.

On the show, Esiason had his co-host read a text in which he claims a source said Rodgers will "threaten the NFL by saying he won't play in the big game or next season if they don't eliminate some of the COVID-related rules."

Esiason claims the text went on to say ... "He's told Jordan Love to be ready ... Super Bowl week will be set on fire and send [Roger] Goodell in a frenzy navigating the situation."

Rodgers got word of the report a couple hours after it dropped -- and sent out a tweet with laughing emojis.

"#fakenews," he said. "#boycottfakenews."

Rodgers then played around with Packers' third-string QB Kurt Benkert over the report ... adding, "Were you just mad I only told @jordan3love to be ready and not you?? #grudge #boycottvideogames"

Antonio Brown's bridge-burning clearly didn't end on Sunday with his departure from the Bucs -- 'cause on Friday, he took some major shots at Tom Brady that could signal the end of that relationship too.

The embattled wide receiver joined the "FULL SEND PODCAST" this week ... and it didn't take long for him to begin shading his former Tampa Bay quarterback.

Brown said he was annoyed with Brady over his "prove-it" contract with the Bucs, explaining he thinks the signal-caller should have helped him get paid like Rob Gronkowski.

"If Tom Brady's my boy, why am I playing for an earnest salary?" Brown said. "You my boy, though, right? Gronkowski is his boy, right? How much did he get paid? So, why is AB on a prove-it deal? Who's better than me over there? Let's be real!"

Brown also chided the Full Send guys -- and other members of the media -- for constantly praising Brady ... saying, "Brady can't do s*** by himself."

"But, you guys going to make it seem like he's just this heroic guy," Brown added. "Bro, we all humans. Bro, we're all dependent on somebody else to do the job."

Brown then railed against the QB over his targets in Tampa ... pointing out that Ben Roethlisberger threw him the football far more than Brady ever did.

"Does Tom Brady throw me the ball like Ben Roethlisberger?" Brown said. "Let's be honest."

Brown had claimed over the past few years that he and Brady had a good relationship ... with AB calling the quarterback his friend on numerous different occasions.

Julius Randle was so pissed with Knicks fans on Thursday night ... the star forward ran down the court and gave the sellout crowd the thumbs down gesture -- explaining after the game it was to meant to say "shut the f**k up."

"I really don't give a f**k what anybody has to say, to be honest," Randle said of the hand sign. "I'm out there playing. Nobody knows the game out there better than I do, compared to what everybody has to say."

"So, I really don't give a s***. I just go out there and play."

Randle -- who won the NBA's Most Improved Player award last season but has struggled to replicate the same play this year -- has had a rocky relationship with Knicks fans this season ... and it all came to a head during NY's game against the Celtics on Thursday.

Randle made a tough basket and then turned to the Madison Square Garden crowd and pumped his thumb downward.

And, even though the Knicks ultimately came back from a 25-point deficit to win the game, it was clear afterward that Randle is still furious with his fan support -- or lack thereof.

Randle's gesture was ultimately panned by the guys on "Inside the NBA" ... with Kenny "The Jet" Smith telling the Knicks vet that fans cheering and booing are a part of the game.

"Honestly, I wouldn't do that anywhere. New York -- that could be on Mars," Kenny said of Randle's gesture. "I'm not engaging in the 19,700 that's in Madison Square Garden. I'm engaging with the 12 dudes on that other team."

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a high-profile New York athlete rub sports fans the wrong way with a hand gesture -- just last summer, Mets shortstop Javy Baez gave fans at Citi Field the thumbs down after they booed the team during a slump.

Like Randle, Baez was also criticized for the move ... and he later issued an apology over it all.

Ashli Babbitt would not have died at the Capitol Riot if her husband was traveling by her side on the fateful cross-country trip ... at least that's how he feels about her death.

Ashli's husband, Aaron Babbitt, tells TMZ ... he did not accompany his late wife to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, because he was back in Cali running their business, but if he had gone with her they would have never stepped foot inside the Capitol.

Aaron says he would have had Ashli's back at the insurrection, but says they would NOT have stormed the building if they were together ... and he was shocked to see her inside.

As you know, Ashli was shot by Capitol Police during the chaos, draped in a Trump flag as she jumped up on a windowpane and tried to charge through.

Video showed her falling backward onto the marble floor and blood flowing from her body. She later died in a hospital from her injuries.

The way Aaron explains it ... neither of them like crowds first of all, so they wouldn't have been in the thick of the mob if he was there.

Aaron also says he would have noticed something bad was potentially about to happen, calling himself a vigilant person, and explaining why there were red flags he thinks he would have picked up on if he were there.

It's interesting ... Aaron says Ashli made the decision to fly to D.C. when they were celebrating Christmas in Cabo, and he learned she was actually inside the Capitol from a friend who called to say he saw her on TV and it looked like she had been hurt.

Aaron was happy to see Ashli's name trending on social media on the first anniversary of the insurrection, because he wants to keep her name alive. However, since she passed he says he's gotten hate mail and death threats, but he's become desensitized.