Controversial S#!T

Bills punter Matt Araiza will NOT be participating in Buffalo's final preseason game ... after a woman made serious rape allegations against him in a lawsuit earlier this week.

22-year-old Araiza -- AKA the "Punt God" -- was originally slated to suit up and play in the Bills' matchup against the Carolina Panthers on Friday night ... but before kickoff, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the team reversed course and will sit him down.

The decision comes following a civil lawsuit in which a woman accused the former San Diego State star of raping her with his SDSU football teammates during a Halloween party in October 2021.

In the suit, the woman -- who's 18 now but said she was 17 at the time of the incident -- claimed she was sexually assaulted by the punter (who was 21 at the time) and two other Aztecs football players for over an hour at his SD home.

The Bills released a statement on Thursday ... saying the team was aware of the allegations and was investigating the situation.

Araiza's attorney denied the allegations in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying, "It's a shakedown because he's now with the Buffalo Bills."

"There is no doubt in my mind that Matt Araiza ever raped that girl," the attorney added.

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jake Fraley was so pissed with Phillies fans on Thursday night, he straight-up screamed at the guys and eventually told them to "shut the f**k up!"

It all went down at Citizens Bank Ballpark during the Reds' tilt with Philadelphia, when at some point during the contest, Fraley had clearly heard enough from chirping Phils fans.

Video from the scene shows Fraley and a man wearing a navy blue shirt that read Philadelphia Fire Department jawing back and forth with each other, exchanging cuss words.

Then, after Fraley told the guy he didn't want a problem with him ... he said to the group of people in the seats, "Shut the f**k up!" before he walked away from the situation.

The fans kept telling Fraley he got the wrong guy, with one man repeatedly yelling, "It wasn't me!"

Jake, however, clearly wasn't buying the explanation, and seemed infuriated over it all. Luckily for all parties, cooler heads prevailed before things escalated.

Former "Zoey 101" star Alexa Nikolas is deeply concerned about Nickelodeon's child stars because she "didn't feel safe" when she was there -- so she's at the studio's front door trying to change things.

Alexa was taking matters into her own hands Thursday when we caught up with her during a protest outside Nick's Burbank headquarters. The network's been under fire since former "iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy released a memoir about alleged abuse from higher-ups at the company.

She recalled being pressured to drink at 18, getting unwanted massages from an exec and being offered hush money.

Alexa tells us, she didn't feel Nickelodeon had her best interest in mind, and calls her entire experience there "traumatic."

Unfortunately, she says the stories of alleged abuse are all too familiar to many other kid stars.

She says all Nick stars who have ever felt offended deserve an apology.

On top of that, Alexa says time's up for NDAs -- non-disclosure agreements -- which she says silence children and prevent them from getting help when needed.

Going forward, she hopes the company can redeem itself, but she points out Nick has yet to respond to the allegations from Jennette or herself -- nor has it announced any action will be taken.

Alexa is certain of one thing ... there's zero chance she'd ever attempt to patch things up with Nickelodeon or her former co-star Jamie Lynn Spears. Tension between them started years ago when they're were still working together, and apparently it's only worsened with time.

Not exactly filling out your underwear?? Don't worry, Tom Brady's here to help ... revealing his secret to looking fresh in your skivvies -- and all ya need is boxers and a tube sock!!

File this under things we didn't expect to write about today ... but, here we are.

Brady just restocked a bunch of Brady brand boxer briefs and briefs this week ... and in an effort to sell more products, Tom's company has been pumping out photos of chiseled underwear models who look amazing.

Newly retired Rob Gronkowski, 6'6" tall and ripped, also got in on the fun, modeling the Brady undies alongside GF Camille Kostek. Gronk, like the other models, looked flawless.

But, what about us "normal-looking guys?" Tom's got our bac- ... err, nuts.

"So the Brady underwear just restocked and I've been posting a bunch of pictures. And these guys, pretty ripped, pretty jacked. Taking it to a new level. So for the rest of us, us normal-looking guys, I came up with the Brady brand mirror picture starter pack."

And, then came this!

Step 1: Take your Brady underwear.
Step 2: Take your sock (you'll only need one of them here).

There won't be any football this year for one high school in Pennsylvania ... after the season was canceled over "disturbing and upsetting" videos of an alleged hazing incident involving the team.

Dr. Chelton Hunter, superintendent of Middletown Area High School, said in a letter the alleged incident happened August 11 at MAHS ... when members of the football team were in the turf room for "heat acclimation practice sessions."

Cell phone video, apparently taken by players, shows two teammates who appear to be restrained by a group of fellow students ... and the boys are being poked in the buttocks area with a muscle therapy gun and other athletic equipment.

"The video shows players fully clothed. It did not appear that any student’s body was physically penetrated," Dr. Hunter said in the letter on Monday.

"The video is difficult to watch as this is a completely unacceptable, offensive, and highly inappropriate act."

The superintendent continued ... "This incident is disturbing and upsetting, and we understand both the desire for more information and a call for action."

On Aug. 12, several players were kicked off the team ... and a few days later, head coach Scott Acri resigned.

But, after new video of more alleged hazing from the same location turned up, the school district decided to cancel the Blue Raiders' upcoming season on Wednesday.

"In light of this, we have made the decision to cancel the 2022 football season," Dr. Hunter said, "I know this decision will be met with many different opinions and emotions and will impact many students and families."

"The kind of hazing that occurred in our facilities with this team is reprehensible. It simply cannot and will not be tolerated. We know we must work to address the culture of this team, educate our student body about hazing, and put programs in place to help us ensure that this kind of atmosphere is never allowed to exist in our school facilities."

Dr. Hunter also revealed the new footage has been shared with the Lower Swatara Township Police Department and says those involved will be disciplined per school policy.

Unlike Lia Thomas in the women's swimming pool, Caitlyn Jenner says she's throwing her support behind a trans golfer in her fight to make the LPGA Tour -- claiming "golf is a totally different game."

Hailey Davidson, a 29-year-old who underwent gender reassignment surgery last year, has been attempting to get her LPGA Tour card this summer. She's so far been unsuccessful, but it's created plenty of backlash nonetheless, with critics -- as they did in Thomas' case earlier this year -- calling it unfair to women in the sport.

But Jenner joined Fox News on Wednesday afternoon and said she's backing Davidson's quest to be the first transgender woman on the Tour -- saying it's simply a different situation than Thomas'.

"Every sport is different," said Jenner, who's previously been very critical of Thomas' journey to compete in the women's pool. "Golf is a totally different game [than swimming]. It is a game of touch and feel."

Jenner argued that brute strength and the potential to hit a ball further makes little-to-no difference in golf ... saying, "It is about your ability around the green."

"I don't think she's in a position where she's going to be dominating on the LPGA Tour," Jenner added.

The LPGA Tour changed its rules more than a decade ago to allow golfers who were not born female to compete. And Jenner said she thinks it should stay that way, noting current pro female golfers whoop her and other men regularly on the course.

"To be honest with you," Jenner said, "those girls are so good. The top girls on Tour can beat probably 99.9 percent of the men out there. They're that good."

Davidson, who reportedly last competed as a male in a 2015 tournament, said in a statement Wednesday that despite not yet earning her Tour card ... she isn't giving up in the fight anytime soon -- no matter what her detractors say.

"All the people who commented about me having an advantage over biologically born women have no idea how great these women are at their craft or it what it takes to be an elite golfer," she said.

Dennis Rodman won't be getting involved in the Brittney Griner case after all -- the Hall of Famer has reportedly decided not to travel to Russia ... after the U.S. government strongly advised against his plans.

Rodman claimed earlier this week he had permission to go to Russia to try to get Griner -- who was sentenced to 9 years in prison earlier this month -- back on U.S. soil ... saying he knew president Vladimir Putin "too well."

It's no secret -- Rodman is well-connected overseas ... especially with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, so the ex-Bulls great was trying to see how much international pull he really had.

But, the folks at the White House made it clear if the Worm planned to go, he would not have D.C.'s blessing ... with State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying, "He would not be traveling on behalf of the U.S. government."

In fact, the government felt Rodman's involvement might mess up the U.S.'s current negotiations with Russia to get Griner out ... so ultimately, the hooper decided to take a back seat.

Griner has been behind bars since she was arrested for having cannabis oil in her luggage at the airport. The U.S. has remained adamant she's being wrongfully detained.

For John Boyega, the best thing about acting is getting to play characters who are fundamentally different from who he is in real life ... and he only wants roles that fit the bill.

John joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us why he's not a fan of restricting who actors can and cannot play based on heritage, identity, sexual orientation, etc.

The way John sees it, actors are people who play other people ... and the profession was never supposed to be about portraying a character that is super similar to the actual actor.

While there's been some backlash recently about James Franco being cast to play Fidel Castro and Ana de Armas portraying Marilyn Monroe ... John says haters are getting it all wrong, and actors shouldn't let audiences define who they are.

John says he makes it a priority to find casting directors and producers who want him to transform into a role ... and he says his upcoming movie, "Breaking," is a prime example.

JB is returning to the big screen after taking a break from acting during the pandemic ... and explains why it's important for those in his profession to avoid burnout, and tells us why a hiatus is not as glamorous as it sounds.

The voice behind Capitol Records’ very short-lived artificial intelligence rapper project is speaking out … and he’s actually thankful the label treated the contract like toilet paper.

Real-life rapper Kyle The Hooligan hit Instagram following Capitol’s decision to end its FN Meka deal and says the creators -- Factory New heads Anthony Martini and Brandon Le -- ghosted him after getting everything they needed to power the character … like the ability for it to use the N-word.

Kyle says Factory New approached him with the idea with promises of equity and percentages, but then went M-I-A on their culture vulture mission.

He admitted to waiting for FN Meka to become a success before he could recoup massive damages ... but says he'll happily settle for performing at its funeral instead.

News of Meka's signing went wide on Monday, but by Tuesday the label backpedaled ... apologizing to the Black community for the obvious rapper stereotypes -- gaudy jewelry and glorifying prison life -- built into the character's appearance and lyrics.

Kyle is calling the cancelation karma … as are several other notable figures in the music industry.

We spoke to hip hop superproducer Hitmaka Wednesday on "TMZ Live," and he blamed Capitol’s “capitalistic” mindset for letting FN Meka thrive. He added that if the label allowed its employees -- particularly those of color -- to speak up, it might not have this mess on its hands.

Starz' hit strip club series "P-Valley" is, notably, losing a couple of famous fans -- Lil Duval and Plies are going viral for hating on the show's gay sex scenes, but one of the stars says the rappers' critiques are BS.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Nicco Annan at Dash Radio ... he plays Uncle Clifford on the show, and his character has an ongoing sexual relationship with a rapper named Lil Murda, played by J. Alphonse Nicholson.

That plotline on the show is what set off Plies and Duval's complaints, but Nicco told us he thinks they're living under a rock, and it's time they crawl out from under it.

What he meant is simply that both men -- whether they know it or not -- have relatives, friends and work associates who are part of the LGBTQ community ... and "it's time they started to see them."

ICYMI ... Lil Duval lashed out at Starz for not having a "gay advisory" for straight viewers who aren't accustomed to seeing gay sex scenes.

And, just last week, Plies claimed scenes involving Nicco and J. Alphonse "traumatized" him, and he vowed never to push play on another "P-Valley" episode.

Nicco thinks Duval and Plies weren't really offended by "P-Valley" ... but they knew their reactions would make headlines.

Tyson Fury is still calling for harsher penalties for knife crime in the UK in the wake of his cousin's tragic death ... insisting officials should straight up castrate perpetrators.

The boxing superstar didn't mince words when expressing his outrage on talkSport on Wednesday ... demanding government officials do more to deter knife crime in his home country after his cousin was stabbed to death following an altercation outside of a bar earlier this month.

"What the government needs to do about this knife crime, anyone caught with a knife or stabbing someone needs castrating," the 34-year-old fighter said.

"It cost as a government too much money to house them in a prison. It costs them 50-to-60-grand a year to put these scumbags in jail. Castrate the little bastards. Castrate them."

Fury initially sounded off on the matter on his Instagram page on Sunday -- just hours after his relative, 31-year-old Rico Burton, was killed in Manchester.

Fury called for a big crackdown then -- but he expounded on it all on Wednesday ... saying people who are caught even carrying knives should be locked away behind bars for "5-to-7 years."

"We're supposed to be one of the safest countries in the world," he said. "But yet we can't go down the street with a watch on or anything because we're going to get stabbed."

"The government needs to make this tougher on these little cowards who carry knives and weapons."

He added, "What little scumbag coward needs to carry a knife around with them in our country?"

Capitol Records is pulling the plug on its AI rapper FN Meka, and calling the unconventional and controversial signing an insensitive move on their part -- in retrospect, that is.

The label went public with Meka's contract on August 12, but Tuesday it did a complete 180° … apologizing to the Black community for not thinking things all the way through.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Factory New, the company that concocted FN Meka, was virtually blindsided by the news, learning of their shredded contract just moments before Capitol announced it was cutting ties.

We’re also told by label sources ... some angry staffers blame Capitol’s lack of diversity for the deal getting a greenlight, in the first place. One source claims the label has very few senior-level Black executives running departments.

FN Meka -- an artificial intelligence rapper with computer-generated lyrics -- featured overly exaggerated African-American tropes ... which triggered a major backlash.

Many fans and pundits took issue with the AI entertainer (or its creators) using the n-word, and romanticizing run-ins with police.

The virtual rapper’s debut single “Florida Water” single actually features Gunna, who is currently incarcerated.

We recently spoke to Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony about the situation ... who felt the dawn of the AI rapper is not only inevitable, but ultimately bad for human rapper job security down the line.

The two Atlanta police officers involved in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks will not be criminally charged ... this according to the special prosecutor in the case.

At a news conference Tuesday, special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis announced he is no longer pursuing criminal charges against officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan.

Remember ... Brooks was fatally shot in June 2020 after the officers tried to arrest him in a Wendy's parking lot, setting off protests resulting in the fast food joint being burned to the ground.

Cops say Brooks fell asleep in the Wendy's drive-thru line and when police responded he struggled with the officers, grabbing one cop's Taser and attempting to run away. Brooks was shot to death after officers claimed he pointed the Taser at Rolfe's head, firing once and missing.

Both cops were subsequently hit with criminal charges, including aggravated assault. Rolfe was also charged with felony murder.

Now, prosecutors say their review of the case finds Rolfe and Brosnan acted in accordance with Georgia law, concluding the use of deadly force was reasonable.

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is being sued by the woman he had booted from his Wimbledon match for allegedly getting wasted and distracting him ... with the fan instructing her attorney to file a defamation lawsuit in court!

Anna Palus, a fan who was ejected from Nick's July 10 finals match in London, released a statement Tuesday, saying she plans to take the 27-year-old Australian to court for what she claims was a damaging characterization.

As we previously reported, Kyrgios complained to the refs during his match against Novak Djokovic, saying Anna looked "drunk out of her mind" and kept talking to him while he was playing.

When asked by the chair umpire to identify the woman who was distracting him, Kyrgios famously said, "She's the one who looks like she's had 700 drinks."

Anna claims she and her family suffered "very substantial damage and distress" due to the incident ... and now, they're going after Kyrgios for the alleged harm he's caused.

"During the course of the final, Nick Kyrgios made a reckless and entirely baseless allegation against me," the statement read. "Not only did this cause considerable harm on the day, resulting in my temporary removal from the arena, but Mr. Kyrgios’s false allegation was broadcast to, and read by, millions around the world."

"The need to obtain vindication and to prevent [the] repetition of the allegation are the only reasons for taking legal action. Any damages recovered will be donated to charity," the statement continued.

Kyrgios lost the final to Djokovic in four sets.

Ultimately, Anna says she hopes Kyrgios will reflect on the harm he's caused her and her family and offer a "prompt resolution" to address the situation.

A Black Little League World Series player was, indeed, not the only one wearing cotton on his head during an MLB game on Sunday night ... a new photo shows a white player had the toy stuffing placed in his hair as well.

The photo, taken by someone who appeared to be just feet away from the Little Leaguers who were playing with the stuffed animal's filling during the MLB's Little League Classic game in Williamsport, Penn., was posted to social media on Tuesday morning.

In the pic, you can see a white player and a Black player both had cotton on the top of their heads. The Twitter account that shared the picture said the kids were simply trying to mimic a fellow Little Leaguer, who's gained fame for a white hairdo.

"Many of the teammates were participating, Black and white," the Twitter user said as a caption on the photo. "They were imitating the stud pitcher from Hawaii who has an awesome white-dyed Mohawk."

The user also shared a video of the Black player smiling and flexing while showing off the cotton on his head.

As we previously reported, several members of the Davenport, Iowa, Little League team -- who are white -- took the stuffing out of giveaway toys at the stadium during the Red Sox vs. Orioles game and placed it on a Black teammate's head.

Viewers were outraged over the imagery -- which was shown for nearly 30 seconds on ESPN's broadcast of the game -- but Little League World Series officials said in a statement Monday they were assured there was "no ill-intent" behind the actions.

"After speaking with the team, as well as reviewing photos, multiple players on the Midwest Region team were taking part in this while enjoying the game," officials said. "As only one player appeared on the broadcast, Little League International understands that the actions shown could be perceived as racially insensitive."

"We have spoken with the player's mother and the coaches, who have assured us that there was no ill-intent behind the action shown during the broadcast."

Gary Busey flatly denies he sexually assaulted anyone, and believes his accusers made up the entire story.

Busey was in Malibu Monday and the photog asked if he had any regrets about how he acted during the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey over the weekend, Busey said he had zero regrets, because he did nothing wrong.

Busey was charged with several counts of criminal sexual contact and harassment ... this after he allegedly put his face close to a woman's breasts and asked where she got them. The woman claims he attempted to unlatch her bra strap. Another woman claims he grabbed her butt. Cops also got a call from a man who claimed Busey grabbed his daughter's butt as well.

Busey told the photog "nothing happened." He said the whole interaction with the women lasted less than 10 seconds and they made up the story after the fact.

Busey also claims he has witnesses ... a photog and another person, his partner, who will back up his story.

The photog asked if it's possible he could have acted inappropriately but was unaware ... he said there was no chance of that.

Busey is supposed to be arraigned August 31.