Controversial S#!T

Kyrie Irving has been ripped to shreds over his COVID-19 vaccine stance, but John Salley is coming to his defense ... telling TMZ Sports he tips his hat to the Nets star for standing up for what he believes in.

We spoke with Salley -- who won 4 NBA titles -- out in NYC this week ... and the former Detroit Piston spoke glowingly about Irving, who faced immense backlash this year for refusing to get the jab.

"I think Kyrie Irving is the premier athlete -- professional," Salley said. "I think he's conscious. I think he thinks it through. I think it's very important that people pay attention too, he's not into the lies, the glitz. He's into taking care of his body."

Salley said he knows Irving is into science and does his own research, but because his stance differs from the views of mainstream society ... people hate Kyrie because of it.

"I'm the biggest Kyrie fan," Salley added. "Everything he does, I take my hat off to him."

Of course, Kyrie received a lot of heat for his personal decision to remain unvaccinated despite being forced to miss games ... drawing criticism from the likes of Howard Stern and Chris Rock.

But, Salley isn't in the same camp -- he says the Nets did the right thing by standing by Kyrie amid the vaccine drama this season.

"You have a guy who didn't get the virus, and everybody who talked about smack about him got it really bad," Salley said. "He had a very strong immune system."

It's unclear if the Nets -- or Nike -- will commit to a long-term relationship with Irving in the future ... but either way, Salley thinks the 30-year-old is an exceptional talent.

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler is very upset about the direction of our country after the latest mass shooting ... and now he's protesting the national anthem.

Gabe says he's breaking from baseball tradition and plans to no longer join players and coaches on the field before games for the playing of the national anthem.

The Giants manager told reporters Friday in Cincinnati before his club played the Reds, "I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country."

In a post on his personal blog earlier Friday, Gabe reflected on the Uvalde school shooting and the response across the sporting world.

Gabe wrote ... "The day 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives."

The all-too-familiar response is not sitting well with GK, who adds ... "We didn’t stop to reflect on whether we are actually free and brave after this horrific event, we just stood at attention."

Gabe says his father taught him a lesson early on in life, and he's applying it to his anthem protest.

"When I was the same age as the children in Uvalde, my father taught me to stand for the pledge of allegiance when I believed my country was representing its people well or to protest and stay seated when it wasn't," Kapler writes. "I don't believe it is representing us well right now."

Gabe says he tried to protest the anthem earlier this week, but it didn't materialize.

"My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn’t listen," he wrote. "I wanted to walk back inside; instead I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn’t want to call attention to myself. I didn’t want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn’t understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves."

Gabe says after a few days of reflection, he decided on his anthem protest.

The National Rifle Association is scrapping its benefit concert in Texas ... with performers dropping out left and right, the show will NOT go on.

Country music star Jacob Bryant was the only remaining act for the NRA concert in Houston, which was scheduled for the organization's annual conference, and he announced Friday the show has been axed.

Jacob made the announcement on Twitter as he was being pressured on social media to join the ranks of other performers who dropped out in the wake of this week's tragic mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.

As we reported ... the first domino was "American Pie" singer Don McLean, who decided the day after the Uvalde school shooting, which claimed the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers, he would not perform on the NRA stage. Don said it would be disrespectful to perform.

Next, "Broken Lady" singer Larry Gatlin pulled out Thursday, saying he could not perform at an NRA event in good conscious, saying he supports the 2nd amendment but wants background checks for gun purchases.

Jacob was the last man standing after T. Graham Brown, Lee Greenwood and Larry Stewart followed suit ... and it appears the hammer came down Thursday, though there has yet to be official word from the NRA.

The trial of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard is in its final stages with closing arguments set for today, and the jury will then begin the Herculean task of trying to figure out who's telling the truth and who's lying.

Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson is issuing yet another mea culpa ... this time, apologizing to Jackie Robinson's family for any issues he may have caused them following his controversy with Tim Anderson.

As we previously reported, Donaldson was suspended 1 game by the MLB for calling Anderson "Jackie" multiple times during a Yanks' tilt with the White Sox this past weekend.

Donaldson said he intended the remark to be in jest -- saying he thought it was an inside joke he had with Anderson stemming from comments that the Chicago shortstop made in a 2019 interview.

Anderson, though, said he found it very offensive, and Donaldson later said he was sorry for it all.

On Thursday, the New York slugger issued another apology, this time to Robinson's wife and family.

"I would also like to apologize to Mrs. Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson family for any distress this incident may have caused," Donaldson said in a statement. "Jackie was a true American hero and I hold his name in the highest regard."

In his statement, the 36-year-old reiterated he meant no disrespect to Anderson by the comments.

"I stated over the weekend that I apologized for offending Tim and it was a misunderstanding based on multiple exchanges between us over the years," he said.

Amber Heard says she's no stranger to threats against her life, but she says the death threats are on the rise ever since she and Johnny Depp went to court.

Amber was back on the stand Thursday for day 23 of the trial with her ex-husband ... sobbing on the stage as revealed she gets thousands of death threats every single day from folks who don't like what she has to say about Johnny.

She alleged Johnny's not doing anything to stop the internet trolls who are targeting Amber, insinuating he's almost encouraging it ... and says she just wants Depp to leave her alone.

It's been an emotional testimony from Amber ... she started crying when answering questions about how the drama with Johnny ruined her acting career, and says in those rare moments when she is on a movie set, there are tons of triggers from the allegedly abusive relationship that can derail production.

As we previously reported, the head of DC movies testified earlier this week that Amber's lack of screentime in 'Aquaman 2' had nothing to do with her relationship with Depp.

Jimmy Kimmel now has an answer for why his emotional monologue calling out the Texas governor about the school shooting got preempted in Dallas.

According to the local station, WFAA ... it was an innocent technical error caused by an automated system -- but you can understand why Jimmy himself was demanding answers Wednesday night for why his powerful message was partially cut off.

Jimmy opened his show with a nearly 9-minute appeal for lawmakers, like Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and all lawmakers to enact gun reform in the wake of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde ... where 19 students and 2 adults were killed.

It was poignant, powerful and extremely critical of Texas politicians ... which is probably why JK immediately got word when folks in Dallas noticed they didn't get to see all of it. Kimmel tweeted he was trying to get answers.

WFAA says the machine that airs its commercials was erroneously triggered because their newscast, which precedes Kimmel's show, ran late ... due to coverage of the Uvalde tragedy.

Most Congress members are pawns in the hands of gun lobbyists, according to former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner ... which is why she's calling on another group to make gun reform happen.

We got the outspoken Ohio politician at LAX, and she gave us way more than her 5 cents about Congress' reaction -- or lack thereof -- to the tragic Texas mass shooting that killed 19 elementary school children and 2 adults.

Nina ripped elected officials for playing footsy with gun lobbyists, and insists politicians do have the power to stop gun violence, but instead they make decisions based purely on money and power.

You can see and feel just how fed up Turner is with politicians who refuse to act -- and now she wants mothers across the country to unite and demand action from lawmakers.

While we've seen lots of officials making speeches since the Uvalde tragedy -- she's calling BS, saying we need results instead of rhetoric.

And, as far as Beto O'Rourke confronting Texas Governor Abbott during a news conference ... Nina says that was genuine, and also a bit of theater. But, as she explains ... it's necessary theater!

In a powerful final plea, she says there's only one way to break gun lobbyists' hold on Congress ... "If the mamas get together, we'll shut this whole thing down!"

Jussie Smollett's new project will hit the streaming screen for his first time since the actor was allegedly attacked in Chicago ... and he's got a super-powerful Hollywood friend in his corner.

Jussie and Monami Productions head Mona Scott-Young were spotted out in NYC earlier this week. Sources with direct knowledge tell us the two met to discuss Smollett's upcoming "B-Boy Blues" -- which was announced will stream on BET+.

Mona tells TMZ, "“B-Boy Blues is a beautifully bold, funny, heartwarming bro-mance and I was thrilled to partner with Jussie to help this wonderful film gain greater exposure."

Believe it or not, Jussie had actually started work on the project prior to the 2019 hate crime hoax -- but it had been delayed for obvious reasons.

Our sources say Mona agreed to be involved in "B-Boy Blues" back when it first launched, and wanted to remain on through the end -- despite what Jussie had experienced personally.

We're told Mona has played a significant role in getting the movie onto BET+ and out to audiences for Jussie -- who directed and produced the project.

As for "B-Boy Blues" -- it's already won awards, including the Narrative Feature Fan Favorite Award at the 2021 American Black Film Festival -- and will be released as part of BET+'s Pride Month programming.

Josh Duggar has been sentenced to 12 and a half years behind bars after being found guilty in his child porn trial ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, the "19 Kids and Counting" star was found guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. According to prosecutors, some of those images were minors under the age of 12.

The possession charge was vacated because of an agreement between Duggar's legal team and the court, so he was only sentenced for the receiving child porn charge.

Duggar's legal team have previously stated they'll appeal.

The trial went on for two weeks and featured the testimony of digital forensic analysts and other witnesses. One family friend claimed Duggar confessed to molesting children, during tearful testimony.

You'll recall ... the feds raided his office at the car dealership where he worked in Arkansas, back in November 2019. Federal agents seized his computer, his iPhone and MacBook from inside the RV.

Duggar's lawyers asked the court to send him to prison for five years.

Norman Powell was harassed by a white woman behaving erratically who berated the Clippers star and told him he was "not American" ... all while NP streamed the encounter on social media.

It got so serious, police were called ... and the woman was handcuffed and taken away by Las Vegas cops.

It's unclear if she was arrested ... and if so, on what charge.

The 28-year-old former 2nd-round draft pick out of UCLA was in Sin City working out at a local gym ... when Norman says the stranger stormed through the door, saying she'd gotten into a fight and needed help.

"She came here the first time and was saying she got in a fight," Powell said during the live stream. "We told her to leave out the back. She left, she was gone for about 15, 20 minutes, came back, staying in the gym calling us un-American, saying we need to go back, calling us p***y, a whole bunch of s**t."

Norman and his group warned the woman that police were on the way, but she called their bluff -- a mistake.

Multiple cops eventually arrived and the woman -- her identity is currently unknown -- was placed in cuffs.

In fact, Norman says the woman yelled "I can't breathe" while police had her pressed against the squad car.

"That is crazy to me, man. That s**t is not funny, man," Powell said, exasperated.

Powell told officers the woman was acting incredibly strange.

"We was trying to get her to leave," he added, "and then she was trying to take her pants off and take a s**t or piss on the floor. And that's when we pulled her out like, we can't have that."

Norman is a solid player in the NBA -- he averaged 21 points a game in 2022.

Story developing ...

Two of Deshaun Watson's 22 accusers are voicing their disgust over the quarterback's new $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns ... claiming the team only cares about his talents, not the disturbing claims made against him.

Massage therapists Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes are set to appear on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on Tuesday ... and will detail their alleged experiences with the Pro Bowl quarterback while also reacting to the guaranteed deal he signed with the Browns in March.

"It’s just like a big screw you," Solis told Soledad O'Brien in a preview of the show. "That's what it feels like. That, 'We don't care. He can run and throw, and that's what we care about.'"

Hayes added, "It was sick to me ... I felt like he's being rewarded for bad behavior."

As we previously reported, Solis addressed media members in April, speaking about her alleged experiences with the QB ... and saying she is a "survivor."

Tony Buzbee -- the attorney for all 22 accusers -- said he believes the Browns and the NFL simply do not care about what Watson allegedly did during massage sessions.

While Watson declined to appear on the show, one of his attorneys, Leah Graham, explained why the public should believe her client over 22 women.

"It's 22 women," Graham said. "It's one lawyer. There's only one lawyer who was willing to take these cases. And, as we know from Ashley Solis' deposition, Mr. Buzbee was not the first, probably not the second or third lawyer she went to, but he was the only one to take her case."

"Why?" she added. "Not because it had merit, but because he would use these cases to increase his social media following and quite frankly to get on shows like this one."

Watson has adamantly denied any wrongdoing -- in his introductory presser with Cleveland media, he stated he "never assaulted any woman, I never disrespected any woman."

The whole episode will air Tuesday night.

Johnny Depp is back on the stand for questioning in the nasty back-and-forth trial between him and his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Heard's legal team just called Johnny back to answer a series of questions, as we reported, he already testified a few weeks back ... but Amber's accused the actor of additional things -- including assault -- which he will now get to answer to.

Johnny's return to the stand may cause the trial to go even longer than expected.

As we've reported, the allegations leveled against both sides have been extreme ... during her testimony, Heard claimed Johnny had sexually assaulted her with a glass bottle.

Of course, both have very different stories when it comes to the infamous bed poop incident. Depp claims it appeared to have come from a person, and Amber blamed Johnny's dog -- who had an irritated bowel after getting into his weed stash.

Depp's fans have come out in waves to support the actor through the trial, camping out and lining up outside the Virginia courtroom hours before court starts. Things got so crazy, the local sheriff had to create restrictions on just how early fans could show up.

Kate Moss took the stand in Depp vs. Heard Wednesday ... and squarely told a radically different story from the one Amber Heard told the jury.

Kate and Johnny Depp were a couple in the mid-90s, and Amber had said on the stand ... she was on a staircase with Johnny and claimed Johnny swung at her, and she says she immediately thought of a rumored incident between Johnny and Kate so she felt she knew what was coming and swung at him.

Amber was insinuating Johnny had gotten violent with Kate, but today, on rebuttal, Johnny's lawyer called Kate, who testified by video ... she's in the U.K.

Kate recounted an incident when she and Johnny were at a hotel. He left the room first and she followed. Kate said it was raining and she slipped down the stairs, injuring her back. She says she cried in pain and Johnny came rushing back, carried her inside the hotel room and got her medical attention.

Kate testified ... Johnny never got physical with her ... didn't push her or otherwise assault her. Kate says it was an accident and Johnny was there at the ready to help her.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was absolutely livid before his team's playoff game Tuesday night ... pleading with politicians across the nation to do something after a mass shooting at an elementary school left at least 19 children and 2 adults dead.

"When are we going to do something?" 56-year-old Kerr started off his impassioned speech. "I'm tired. I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there."

"I'm tired of the moments of silence. Enough!" he added.

Kerr then went on to rip senators who refuse to vote on HR8 -- a bill that requires a background check for every firearm sale -- accusing the politicians of choosing to hold onto power instead of protecting the lives of children, the elderly and churchgoers.

"I'm fed up. I've had enough," Kerr said. "But, I want every person here, every person listening to this to think about your own child, your own grandchild, or mother, father, sister, brother. How would you feel if this happened to you today?"

An 18-year-old gunman opened fire on students and faculty at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday ... leaving at least 19 kids and 2 adults dead.

Kerr slammed the representatives in Congress for "holding us hostage" by choosing to not vote on the HR8 bill -- which he says 90% of Americans favor background checks -- and prioritizing politics over human lives.

"It's pathetic. I've had enough," Kerr said right before he stormed off the podium. But, Kerr wasn't only the notable figure to sound off in wake of the heinous tragedy that took place in Uvalde yesterday.

WNBA star Natasha Cloud, who plays for the Washington Mystics, urged people to write to their local and federal representatives in an effort to see change in the wake of the senseless tragedy that occurred.

Cloud called on government officials to implement sensible gun laws, so that an event like this doesn't happen in the future, and expressed she was tired of the system caring about money and profit over people and lives.

Will Smith continues to lay low, missing out on an event to highlight the cast of "Bel-Air" -- the revamped version of 'Fresh Prince' -- which of course, was the launching point of Will's career.

NBC continued its FYC event in Hollywood Tuesday, a promo for the network's shows and to create some Emmy buzz. Jabari Banks, who plays a young Will Smith in the show, Coco Jones, Adrian Holmes and more all attended the event ... but Will, who is an Executive Producer on the show, was nowhere to be seen.

We should note ... Will, Jada and their son Jaden all attended the show's premiere back in February.