Controversial S#!T

Tennis star Alexander Zverev was disqualified from the Mexican Open this week ... after he repeatedly attacked an umpire's chair during a wild meltdown.

It all started after the third set of Zverev and Marcelo Melo's doubles match against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara on Tuesday.

Zverev got frustrated after his opponents -- who had been leading in the final set -- logged an ace for match point ... which he felt shouldn't have counted.

That's when AZ totally lost it -- screaming expletives in frustration, storming over to the umpire's chair and smashing it with his tennis racket.

In the video, you can see one of Alexander's strikes almost catches the official in the foot. Fortunately, he wasn't hit as a result of the temper tantrum.

The incident came with a price ... as the ATP Tour announced Zverev will not be allowed to compete in the remainder of the tournament.

"Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco," the tour said in a statement on its official Twitter account.

Silver lining?? Zverev gave his destroyed racket to a fan in the crowd. Souvenir!!

It's possible the ATP tour could discipline Alex further ... and a suspension could be on the table for the world's #3 tennis player.

Phil Mickelson says the insensitive comments he made recently about a new Saudi golf league were taken "out of context and without my consent" ... but the golf star is still issuing a mea culpa nonetheless.

Phil broke it all down in a lengthy statement on his social media page Tuesday ... just days after he admitted to supporting the formation of a new Saudi golf league, despite what he called the country's "horrible record of human rights."

"We know they killed (Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights," Mickelson said, according to The Fire Pit Collective.

"They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape how the PGA Tour operates."

Phil went on to say that he believed the new Saudi league -- which was reportedly trying to sway top American golfers with millions of dollars in cash -- could force big and necessary changes on the PGA Tour.

While Phil said Tuesday the comments were "off record" and out of context -- he admitted that the words were offensive and regrettable regardless.

"It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words," Mickelson said in his statement. "I'm beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this."

He continued, "My intent was never to hurt anyone and I’m so sorry to the people I have negatively impacted. This has always been about supporting the players and the game and I appreciate all the people who have given me the benefit of the doubt."

Phil then hinted he could take a step away from the game for a while following the controversy ... saying he "desperately" needs "some time away."

Juwan Howard has been punished for smacking an opposing coach during a wild altercation over the weekend ... with Michigan reportedly banning the guy from the Wolverines' sidelines for the rest of the regular season.

Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel just reported the news ... one day after Howard kicked off a brawl at the end of the Michigan vs. Wisconsin game by taking a swipe at Badgers assistant Joe Krabbenhoft.

The ban would effectively be a 5-game suspension for Howard ... as the Wolverines have just five contests left before they play in the postseason Big 10 Tournament.

As we previously reported, Howard told media members following the altercation that he got aggressive because Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard had put his hands on him first.

"I think that was very uncalled for, for him to touch me," Howard said after the game, "as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another. So, that's what ended up happening."

Many had speculated Howard would be banned for longer -- and, considering the melee ended up being very, very ugly, some thought it could cost the 49-year-old his job.

Michigan, meanwhile, is 14-11 this season.

Evangeline Lilly has a word or 2 for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- that he should have a word or 2 with the striking truckers.

The "Ant-Man" star went in pretty hard on the PM, telling the Bridge City News, "Why won't you sit with them? They have asked to meet with you, Prime Minister, medical experts, top scientists, doctors, nurses, parents, grandparents, intelligent, loving, concerned citizens?"

Lilly, who was born in Alberta, went on ... "If you're so convinced of your own reasons for the mandates, sit down and walk the leaders of a group of 2.3 million protesters across the country who represent many millions more across the nation, and explain it to them and ask them to listen with open hearts and minds, and then reciprocate. Listen to what they have to say with a mind open to hearing things that might go against the ideas you are entrenched in."

Trudeau has shown zero tolerance for the truckers, who protested under the banner of the "Freedom Convoy," after they blocked a key artery that connects Canada with the U.S. They're largely protesting vaccine mandates, but Trudeau has gone to great lengths to choke their resources to end it, even declaring a national emergency.

Billie Eilish isn't letting a threat from Kanye West change her playbook at concerts -- she's still making sure her fans are safe and sound, and didn't hesitate to stop her show again ... this time in NYC.

The singer was performing at Madison Square Garden, when at one point she took a breather, and then asked the crowd to do the same -- bringing down the energy in the room.

Not just that ... but BE also asked folks who were near the front row to step back and give each other room, again keeping their well-being at the front of her mind prior to proceeding with whatever song she had next.

Doesn't sound like too many people minded ... in fact, based on the reactions we can hear on camera -- it seems they might've actually appreciated it and sounded more than happy to oblige.

Billie finally asked if everyone was all good ... and after that, she started to strike some chords on her guitar, getting the crowd pumped once more.

You'll recall, she did something very similar a few weeks ago in Atlanta -- when she brought her concert to a full stop over a fan who appeared to be in distress ... even going so far as to offer her an inhaler she had on hand.

Billie also said she likes to guarantee her fans are safe at her shows ... which was widely perceived as a shot at Travis Scott, even though she never explicitly said his name. Ye, for sure thought it was a jab, and threatened to pull out of Coachella -- where Billie's also headlining -- if she didn't apologize to Travis.

An up-and-coming rapper from the ATL is drawing a line in the sand over who can and can't claim her turf -- and by default ... kinda ostracizes A LOT of big names that rep her home.

The young MC is Omeretta The Great, and she's got a new single out -- "Sorry Not Sorry" -- that has folks from the Greater Atlanta Metro Area in a full-blown tizzy about who's actually from there, and who's not.

You gotta see what Omeretta considers "Atlanta" -- she kinda turns it into a local geography lesson, getting very specific.

On the NOT ATLANTA list: Forest Park, Lindbergh, Roswell, Gwinnett and Clayton County, Lithonia, Decatur and much of the north and south parts of town (like College Park and East Point, for example).

While she doesn't exactly spell out where her city limits are exactly, it seems like OTG might be relying on zoned districts that officials/cops use to map out Atlanta proper.

If true, then there's a good handful of legendary artists that she's divided into two camps -- those with actual ATL roots, and those without.

Based on what she's saying here, one could surmise that she might think rappers and singers like Ludacris, OutKast, Monica, Young Joc, 2 Chainz and others are NOT from Atlanta. They mostly grew up in the outskirts, to the south of the main city or elsewhere.

By the same token, Omeretta also seems to be saying the Migos aren't from Atlanta, as they hail from Lawrenceville (part of Gwinnett Co.) -- which is less controversial, since that's low-key far from Atlanta itself.

Those who could be safe in Omeretta's eyes ... Future (Kirkwood), Lil Baby (Oakland City), T.I. (Bankhead) and Gucci Mane (East Atlanta). Their stomping grounds seem to be within actual Atlanta borders, as it were.

Now, as you might imagine ... the response from "Atlanta Twitter" is fierce ... with many actually agreeing with Omeretta, and others saying she's being way too territorial for no freakin' reason. Also of note, she went and shot this video at Truist Park -- about 10 miles north of downtown -- which isn't lost on people ... and appears to contradict her point.

None of the icons mentioned above appear to have responded to Omeretta’s in-or-out club headcount just yet ... but wouldn't it be something if they did, and actually made a song about it???

Kanye West has set his sights on a new target ... Kris Jenner's BF, and he's gone in hard.

Ye posted a diatribe against Corey Gamble, insinuating he and Kris Jenner broke up, saying ... "God has a plan to remove the Godless Corey needed to never be here anyway." And THAT was just for starters.

He says Corey's a nice person but not a great person ... someone who, as he puts it, "became the tv version of a father figure."

Kanye seems to have beef over Corey muscling in on Kim Kardashian, saying, "He once told my wife he knew what music she should be listening to. So when I seen him a week later I had him removed from my daughter's birthday party."

And, then he blames Gamble for pushing Kim to the left, saying, "He got my wife linked with the liberals in a deep way. That was his Job For some reason I always felt he worked for DuPont or some organization in that pedigree."

And, then he dismissed Gamble, saying, "Now he's off to his next mission. His job is done."

Now the turn ... Ye embraces Kris -- the woman he once called Kris Jong-un -- saying, "It's on purpose I love Kris. This woman is a hero and she's done what she's had to do to protect her family and make sure they prosper even if it meant telling everyone not to listen to me. I respect her grind her hustle and her mind. Kris is one of the best ever to do it."

Just another day ...

Bill Maher delivered a devastating blow to celebrities, companies and woke American culture for turning a blind eye to the horrendous abuses in China ... mostly to make a buck.

Maher lasered in on freestyle skier Eileen Gu, an American who chose to join Team China for the Beijing games. As he puts it, "She chose to represent a totalitarian police state over America." He also notes she's made $23 million from a ton of endorsements in China.

Bill ticked off some of the horrendous human rights abuses in China, including genocide. He then wondered out loud why Americans -- in particular celebs -- who show outrage for abuses at home are either silent about the abuses in China or say something critical and then apologize.

He recalls NBA GM Daryl Morey who tweeted a few years ago he stands with Hong Kong -- a country whose freedom is being crushed by China. LeBron James fired back that Morey had to be "educated." And, what does Maher think is behind LeBron's jab -- $$$. Maher notes the NBA has a $1.5 billion deal for TV rights in China, then saying of LeBron ... "I got some shoes to sell."

And, then Maher led in hard on John Cena, who once called Taiwan a separate country from China. Point of fact, it is, although it's pretty clear China wants to change that. So, Maher noted 34% of global box office is generated from China, and Cena's a big movie star ... so then Maher played Cena's video, apologizing to the Chinese for saying what he said. BTW, Cena apologized in Chinese. Wait till you hear Bill's joke about small balls.

He goes on and on ... the remake of "Top Gun" has scrubbed the Taiwanese flag from the bomber jackets.

Netflix is turning the page from Dave Chappelle's 'Closer' controversy by staying in business ... with Dave Chappelle, and rolling out new comedy specials with his fingerprint all over 'em.

Dave and the streaming platform announced a new standup comedy series Friday called, "Chappelle's Home Team" ... which will focus on comics handpicked by DC himself. The first of 4 episodes are set to drop February 28, featuring Earthquake.

Remember, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos refused to remove "The Closer" last year when LGBTQ groups, and others, accused Chappelle of transphobia and staged several protests at Netflix HQ.

Sarandos said the company fully supported all comedians' right to express themselves ... and stood by Dave. The new specials are proof positive of that continued partnership, which has been extremely profitable for both parties.

He's released 10 standup specials on Netflix since 2016 and, by some reports, has made north of $200 mil.

No, Patrick Mahomes did NOT just ban his fiancée and own brother from attending his games next season ... 'cause TMZ Sports is told a report saying so is a load of crap.

A wild rumor started making rounds on social media Friday ... claiming the Super Bowl champ sat Brittany Matthews and Jackson down after the season and asked them to avoid Chiefs games as a result of all the "distractions" the duo has caused over the years.

Of course, Matthews and Jackson have been polarizing figures -- Britt's passionate cheering and champagne-spraying ... and Mahomes' TikTok dances and water-pouring incidents have drawn a ton of criticism.

But, our sources tell us the convo simply never happened ... and Patrick can't wait to have his loved ones cheering him on in 2022.

Mahomes was forced to defend Brittany from the Twitter trolls recently ... calling haters "weird" for constantly bashing his wife-to-be.

Matthews has turned all the hate she's gotten into a positive ... by selling "Team Brittany" shirts, with part of the proceeds going to charity.

Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend's swollen testicles are making the rounds on social media once again ... this time resulting in Minaj on the losing end of a pretty hilarious Twitter burn.

It all started with a Nicki tweet on Wednesday that read, "Nothing like watching someone speak confidently about something they know nothing about."

The Philadelphia Dept. of Public Health clearly felt a certain way about the post, replying to Nicki with the 👀 emoji and a screenshot of Nicki's tweet from Sept. 2021 which read, "My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you're comfortable with ur decision, not bullied."

As we reported, Nicki took a TON of heat for the tweet at the time, even Dr. Fauci weighed in on the claim ... saying if it had actually happened, it was a one-off and shouldn't deter people from getting vaccinated.

Nicki still hasn't said whether or not she's gotten the vaccine. She was recently spotted at a Lakers game where guests are required to either have the shot or proof of a negative test.

Lewis Hamilton says there was zero chance he was going to walk away from Formula 1 in protest after getting screwed over at the end of the 2021 season ... saying it was tough to swallow, but he's ready to "attack" again.

The racing superstar addressed all the speculation surrounding his future at the Mercedes car launch on Friday ... saying, "Well, I never ever said that I was going to stop."

"I love doing what I do, and it is such a privilege working with this large group of people when you really feel like you're part of a family and part of a team and you're working towards that common goal."

Hamilton was rumored to be plotting his exit from F1 after the controversial finish at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December ... when his hopes at another title were crushed due to the mishandling of a safety car with 5 laps to go.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was able to catch up and beat Hamilton due to the botched call by race director Michael Masi (who was fired over the issue on Thursday) ... preventing the Mercedes driver from passing Michael Schumacher for most F1 titles.

Hamilton says it took some time to get over the incident with the help of his loved ones.

"There's no feeling quite like it," he added. "I needed to ... it was obviously a difficult time for me and it was a time where I really needed to take a step back, focus on being present. So, I had my family all around me and created great moments."

"It eventually got to a point where I decided I was going to be attacking again coming into another season with Toto [Wolff] and [teammate] George [Russell]."

Side note -- Mercedes' 2022 car is looking 🔥🔥🔥!!!

While there was a ton of speculation surrounding Hamilton's future, Wolff says he was never concerned about having to replace Hamilton in 2022.

Several members of the Arizona State football team were so upset that their quarterback, Jayden Daniels, was hitting the transfer portal ... they raided his locker, and talked smack while they did it.

Daniels -- who was the Sun Devils' QB1 for most of the last three seasons -- made his intention to leave ASU known on Thursday ... and you can see in video, the news clearly pissed off his teammates.

ASU defensive lineman Travez Moore caught their reaction on camera -- showing several players rummaging through Daniels' locker while shading the guy.

"Clear that n***a s*** out!" a player can be heard saying in the clip.

"He out of this bitch," another player said. "N***a suck anyway!"

The video was deleted off Moore's IG a short time after it was posted -- and Daniels has not yet made a public comment about it.

Elon Musk has blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ... comparing him to Hitler.

Musk was triggered by Trudeau exercising his emergency powers to stop protesting truckers -- powers that include stopping supporters from donating crypto to the truckers -- by posting a meme of Adolf Hitler with the caption, "Don't compare me to Justin Trudeau ... I had a budget."

The comparison drew the ire of lots of folks and orgs, including the American Jewish Committee, which responded, "Musk may believe posting a meme comparing Justin Trudeau to a genocidal dictator who exterminated millions is an appropriate way to criticize policies he disagrees with. It is not. It never is. Musk must apologize and find other ways to voice his displeasure."

Others are saying, "It disrespects the memory of all victims & hurts many people," and "Unfollowed. Not funny."

Don't hold your breath for an apology from Musk.

Rockmond Dunbar is taking Disney and 20th Television to federal court over his ouster from "9-1-1" ... accusing the studios of discriminating against him based on his race and religion.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Rockmond claims he was the only Black male lead actor on the TV show and his dismissal severely damaged his career.

In the docs, Rockmond claims he submitted paperwork seeking both a religious and medical exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine, and says producers assured him they wanted him to remain on the show and his schedule would be adjusted to accommodate him being unvaccinated.

Instead, Rockmond claims he was barred from the set and assured his character's storyline would show him leaving temporarily, keeping open the possibility for him to return down the road.

But Rockmond claims that never happened either ... in his suit, he says Disney and 20th Television fired him in retaliation and refused to pay him the hundreds of thousands of dollars he says he's still owed.

What's more, Rockmond claims the studios not only refused to accommodate his vaccine exemption requests, but also deliberately made it sound like he was an anti-vaxxer ... and he says he essentially became persona non grata in Hollywood.

Rockmond's going after the studios for money, and he wants an injunction barring the studios from discriminating against anyone based on race or religion when it comes to vaccination policies.

We reached out to Disney and 20th Television ... so far, no word back.

Eric Dickerson says one of the first steps the NFL needs to take following Brian Flores' lawsuit is to hire a new, Black commissioner.

The Rams legend did an interview with OSDB on Wednesday ... and told them he truly believes change in leadership could lead to more Black coaches in the league.

"We’re being told basically that we’re good enough to play the game, but that we don’t have the brainpower to coach the game," Dickerson said. "The only way this is going to change is at the top of the power structure."

In his lawsuit ... Flores alleged teams were racist in their hiring practices -- claiming owners were only interviewing him and other Black candidates to satisfy league rules before going on to hire white coaches.

Dickerson made it clear he believes the lack of Black head coaches in the league is a problem ... and he said in addition to changing out commissioners, adding Black owners could help things.

"A shift in power is the only thing that will change the way it is," E.D. said. "You’re not going to make everyone happy, and I understand that. That’s not how life works, but we need to make real progress."

The former running back pointed toward the NBA as an org. the NFL should model itself after -- saying he believes its structure at the top has led to more diversity in its coaching ranks.