Controversial S#!T

The "Athlete Of The Year" isn't Super Bowl champ Tom Brady or gold medal-winning gymnast Suni Lee ... it's Simone Biles, according to Time Magazine, who ironically receives the accolade for NOT performing.

It's a controversial pick (check Twitter) by Time ... who selected the 24-year-old, 4x Olympic gold medalist as the recipient of the prestigious honor.

Of course, Biles pulled out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after struggling with mental health issues, including the "Twisties" -- where a gymnast becomes disoriented in the air (dangerous when you're tumbling in the air) -- causing her to pull out of the Games.

At the time, Biles tearfully explained her decision to withdraw, explaining she was seeing a therapist to help battle her "demons," saying "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being."

Biles was widely celebrated by fellow athletes and fans across the country for putting a spotlight on mental health.

However, there were also detractors who say Biles flat-out quit on her team and country ... insisting there's nothing to celebrate.

Count teammate Suni Lee -- who recently was named "Athlete Of The Year" by Sports Illustrated (along with swimmer Caeleb Dressel) -- firmly on the side of those who say Biles positively changed sports forever.

“What Simone did changed the way we view our well-being, 100%. It showed us that we are more than the sport, that we are human beings who also can have days that are hard. It really humanized us.”

And, Biles is adamant she wouldn't change a thing about how she handled Tokyo.

“I was torn because things weren’t going the way I wanted," Simone told Time, saying, "But looking back, I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

This is dumb.

UFC superstars Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz -- who made a living off being fearless and smashing faces in the Octagon -- are in their feels over comments made about each other's commentating skills ... and the whole thing is incredibly petty.

Of course, Cruz recently blasted DC's fighting analysis at UFC 269 media day ... saying he mutes the TV when Cormier is on the mic, claiming he doesn't do his homework or watch enough film.

DC confronted the Dominator in a one-on-one sit-down on his YouTube channel Wednesday night ... calling out his fellow fighter for making the comments in public, instead of in private.

"You say so many things privately that I would never say publicly," DC said. "You and I say things privately that we would never say publicly."

Cruz responded by saying there's no "rule" against what he said ... claiming it was meant to hold him accountable and be taken as constructive criticism.

As for how much film DC watches, he admits he doesn't take as much time as Cruz does when preparing to call a fight ... but adamantly denies not being prepared to provide commentary.

But, the criticism wasn't one-sided -- when Cruz asked DC to share his own thoughts, Cormier said he felt Dominick's analysis can be a bit dry.

DC even goes as far as to say Cruz was "wrong" to make the comments in public ... adding, "As a colleague, a professional courtesy, you don't do that to your teammates. You don't go publicly. Those things you don't say in the public."

Overall, both guys make it clear they're still cool despite the beef ... which means the whole thing was pretty trite.

The Canadian Football League has suspended an Argonauts exec for his involvement in the wild brawl between Toronto players and Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans on Sunday ... after he slapped a spectator and allegedly used a homophobic slur.

"The Canadian Football League has suspended indefinitely John Murphy, Toronto Argonaut Vice-President Player Personnel, following an investigation into his physical and verbal altercation with fans following last Sunday’s Eastern Final," the league announced Wednesday.

The CFL added the investigation into the incident is still under investigation.

As we previously reported, the altercation happened at the end of the Argos' playoff loss to the Ticats, when a few Toronto players hopped a railing and got physical with fans after someone allegedly spit beer in a player's face.

In a video of the altercation, Murphy appears to make contact with a fan who flipped him off during the scrap ... and using the homophobic f-word towards someone else.

The prosecutor in Jussie Smollett's case raised a lot of eyebrows during his closing argument, by using the phrase "monkeyed around" while referring to the famous defendant.

Prosecutor Dan Webb was trying to make a point that Jussie kept a noose around his neck for a long, long time until police showed up at his apartment. He told the jury Jussie "monkeyed around" with the rope.

The phrase led to groans from Jussie's family ... with several of them shaking their heads in disgust. The jury heard and saw all of this play out ... and it certainly didn't score points for the prosecution that tried to prove the alleged racial attack on Jussie was fake.

This isn't the first time the prosecutor got schooled for a racial misstep. Just 2 days ago Jussie called him out in court for reading some of his texts and using the full n-word. The prosecutor actually backed down and had Jussie read the texts.

Jussie Smollett was clearly good pals with the Osundairo brothers -- or at least one of them, as evidenced by these photos showing them hanging out several times in the months before the alleged attack.

TMZ got a hold of photos showing Jussie and one of the O bros in friendly settings on at least 3 separate occasions -- all before Jan. 29, 2019, when JS claims he was attacked by Ola and Abel (Bola) Osundairo.

One pic shows Jussie with Bola mere days before the incident -- they were together, with a third guy, at the Electric Hotel in Chicago on Jan. 19, 2019 ... and everyone looked chummy.

Another shot shows Bola and Jussie yet again, this time on Sept. 28, 2018, when they hit up LiqrBox. They also recorded a video together while in the Chicago hotspot.

There's yet another photo of Jussie and Bola from July 2018 at Joy District Chicago.

Interestingly, Bola's brother, Ola, isn't in any of the pics. Jussie testified this week Ola weirded him out as he got to know both of them.

Of course, Jussie also testified he and Bola had gotten intimate at a bathhouse, and even made out a few times. Bola denied he'd ever been in a relationship with Jussie.

Ultimately, the jury will have to decide who to believe -- the brothers or Jussie -- when it comes to almost every aspect of their interactions. If they buy Jussie's version more than the Osundairos, he's got a good shot at acquittal.

Jussie Smollett interrupted his own courtroom grilling to make an interesting request -- that the prosecutor does not use the n-word in full ... because he found it offensive.

The "Empire" actor stopped prosecutor Dan Webb -- who's white -- during his line of questioning during cross-examination Tuesday, and flat-out asked the guy to stop repeating the slur while quoting messages Jussie had sent to the Osundairo brothers on the day of the alleged attack.

Jussie said in court, "Can you spell or say the n-word out of respect for every African American in this room? You've been saying that word a lot."

Webb made a compromise ... asking that Jussie read the messages himself, which he apparently did. One of the messages Jussie read himself was from Abimbola, which said ... "N**** finally made it just landed haha."

After cross, Jussie stepped down ... and the defense rested its case. Closing arguments are expected to begin tomorrow.

Kyle Rittenhouse says he's no longer a fan of LeBron James ... saying the Lakers star's shade toward him during his trial "really" ticked him off.

"I liked LeBron," the Kenosha shooter said Monday on The BlazeTV's "You Are Here" show. "And, then I'm like, 'You know what, f*** you, LeBron.'"

If you missed it ... LBJ mocked Rittenhouse after the 18-year-old gave an emotional testimony on the stand during his homicide trial last month.

Rittenhouse fought back tears while explaining how the Aug. 25, 2020 shootings in Wisconsin unfolded ... and then he got so choked up, the judge actually paused the court proceedings for several minutes.

LeBron, though, didn't believe Rittenhouse was actually remorseful or even crying at all ... writing in a social media post, "What tears????? I didn't see one."

"Man knock it off!" James continued. "That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court."

LeBron added several crying emojis to the post as well.

When Rittenhouse finally spoke publicly about James' comments -- he made it clear, he now despises the NBA superstar over it all.

"I was a Lakers fan too before he said that," Rittenhouse said. "I was really pissed off that he said that."

American Airlines is on the hot seat for booting a couple off a flight after they got into an argument with 2 flight attendants that turned physical -- all while the mother was cradling their 7-week-old baby.

As you can see in the video -- shot Sunday on a flight from Charlotte to Philadelphia -- the mother was trying to explain her side of things to a flight attendant who came over after the initial argument ... which was all over a different AA staffer asking her to stand up to let another passenger get to his seat.

The father was recording video of the convo until a third flight attendant approached from behind and smacked the phone out of his hand. That's when things got way more heated, and the couple was eventually removed from the plane.

While in the Charlotte airport terminal, the mother involved in the incident says she did nothing wrong and was met with aggression and unfair treatment from the start.

Sources familiar with the situation say that the family was removed from the flight, and AA booked them on a later flight to Philly. A spokesperson for American Airlines tells TMZ... "We are investigating the incident and working to understand what took place."

A substitute teacher in Texas was given the boot after "treating" his students to a karaoke version of Britney Spears' "Toxic."

The sub was "teaching" students at Bowie High School when he dimmed the lights and broke out the karaoke machine which he brought with him from home. He then unleashed a light show and exercised his vocal cords.

It did NOT go well. Honchos at the school gave him the boot, saying he wasn't following "best practices." Unclear whether that meant not singing at all or singing "...Baby One More Time."

Hilarious that the school district noted the teacher was not arrested!!!

Also hilarious ... a school district spokesperson said, "I've heard worse Britney Spears covers, but the lights are a bit much."

Two Bills players were so incensed with a reporter's question following their loss to the Patriots ... one of them asked the media member straight up, "What are we doing, bro?!"

Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde -- two of Buffalo's best defensive backs -- took the podium after losing 14-10 to New England ... and it didn't take them long to become upset with a media member.

The journalist in the crowd asked the two if they felt "embarrassed" after losing the game -- 'cause, after all, the Patriots won it despite only throwing THREE TOTAL PASSES.

"I mean, what kind of question is that?" Poyer said.

"Boy," Hyde added. "What are we doing, bro?!"

The reporter, though, stood by his question -- which enraged Poyer and Hyde even more.

"All right," Hyde said. "Keep that, keep that -- all right."

Poyer eventually ended up answering the question ... but seemed to railroad his offense in the process. Hyde, meanwhile, never answered it -- choosing instead to tell the reporter, "We'll remember that."

The Patriots, meanwhile, sure were having fun over the weird way in which they won the massive AFC East showdown ... with Matthew Judon playfully clowning Mac Jones for his unique night under center.

"Hats off to the offense," the star New England pass rusher said. "Really everybody. Probably besides Mac. He really didn't do nothing besides hand the ball off."

Drake won't be partaking in the upcoming Grammy Awards -- despite being nominated -- because the guy just pulled his submissions ... TMZ has confirmed.

The rapper has withdrawn his 2 Grammy nominations -- one for Best Rap Album in "Certified Lover Boy" and another for Best Rap Performance in "Way 2 Sexy" -- after having gotten nods about two weeks ago.

A source close to Drake tells us the decision was made by Drake and his management team,  and the Grammys board respected it. Variety was first to report Drake's withdraw.

He's obviously no stranger to the award ceremony -- having racked up multiple wins over the years, including one in 2019 -- but Drake has also publicly noted he isn't a fan of accolades like this ... saying they're virtually meaningless.

He was also one of the first to speak up after The Weeknd was snubbed by the ceremony, saying, "I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards."

Of course, this move might have more to do with his involvement in Astroworld Fest than his stance on awards -- the guy's been relatively low-key since the tragedy, especially since he's been named in a few of the lawsuits that have surfaced thus far.

The United States will not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, President Joe Biden and the White House announced Monday.

The decision to withdraw from the Olympic games is a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The Biden administration told reporters in November that they were "considering" a diplomatic boycott of the '22 Beijing Olympics ... and after allegations of forced labor and human rights abuses in China's western region of Xinjiang continued, #46 put his foot down.

Psaki said at a White House briefing Monday that Biden was sending a "clear message" that the U.S. will not tolerate the alleged human rights abuses in China ... adding that things cannot be "business as usual" there.

The move from the White House is a deviation from the norm ... it's tradition for the U.S. and other nations to send high-profile delegates to represent their respective countries at the games. Biden's wife, Jill Biden, participated in this past summer's Olympics in Tokyo.

As for U.S. athletes ... they'll still be allowed to compete in the Olympics -- and Psaki said they'll have the Biden administration's "full support." Psaki, though, said the administration would not be "contributing to the fanfare of the games."

Travis Scott doesn't believe he should be tied to litigation when it comes to the tragedy that happened at Astroworld ... which is why he's asking a judge to nix one of the lawsuits against him.

The rapper just filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, denying the claims against him by a guy named Jessie Garcia, who's alleging he was in the crowd at the festival. Trav's asking that his suit be dismissed with prejudice ... specifically, as it pertains to TS himself, his company (Jack Enterprises) and his foundation/label (Cactus Jack).

Travis is issuing a "general denial," which is a legal term in civil suits that allows one to submit one blanket response to all the allegations against them.

In other words, Travis is making clear that the deaths and injuries are not his responsibility, and he's asking the judge to toss the suit against him and his entities.

BTW, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Travis is planning to issue a similar response for every civil suit against him -- and trust us, there are many. He might be able to do it in one fell swoop though -- last week, there was a motion filed to combine all 275 cases that have been filed thus far into one "multi-district litigation," which would consolidate many of the suits.

The reason for the ask is because a lot of the claims are eerily similar ... so just for efficiency, they're asking one judge be assigned to the case. The court has yet to rule.

Several members of the Toronto Argonauts went into the stands to confront fans on Sunday -- with one player actually throwing a huge haymaker at a man who got in his face.

The wild scene all went down at the end of the Argonauts' playoff loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, when a few Argos players leaped over some railing and got into an altercation with patrons.

According to witnesses, some fans had spilled drinks on the players, causing the initial commotion, and you can see in footage shot by bystanders, things quickly turned violent.

A fan dressed in Hamilton Tiger-Cats gear ran into Toronto defensive back Chris Edwards, who then threw a looping right hand at the man's face in response.

Argonauts wide receiver Dejon Brissett then jumped in to try to break things up, pushing the fan into a wall.

Fortunately for everybody involved, security quickly stepped in ... subduing the fan and allowing the Toronto players to return to their locker room.

It is now clear what forced CNN's hand in firing Chris Cuomo -- the guy was accused of sexual misconduct this week ... this is as he was already on thin ice.

Attorney Debra S. Katz came forward Sunday to reveal she'd been retained by a woman who wanted to go public with an allegation against the ex-anchor ... something she was apparently inspired to do after hearing about his involvement in his brother's own scandal.

She says while Gov. Cuomo's mess played out in public, Chris came on the air for his own show and said, "I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that." Katz adds, "Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo’s on-air words and disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN."

According to NYT, the woman -- who is remaining anonymous for now -- is a former junior colleague of Chris' from another network, and her claims are unrelated to Gov. Cuomo.

Katz goes on to describe how she contacted CNN on Wednesday -- a day after he'd been suspended -- to report her client's allegations against Chris ... and by Friday, she says she was already in discussions with the network to provide evidence and making the woman available for an interview with CNN's outside counsel.

She finishes by saying, "My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women. She will continue to cooperate with CNN’s investigation into her allegations. Given the nature of her allegations, she wishes to remain anonymous, and we ask that you respect this decision."

The calls for Justin Bieber to scrap his Saudi Arabia performance appear to have fallen on deaf ears -- because the guy just went through with it ... this despite mounting criticism.

Bieber just hit the stage Sunday all the way over at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in SA, where the F1 Grand Prix is taking place ... and where he was scheduled to headline among a slate of other performers, with his name by far being the biggest.

Sources tell us JB was hired by F1 to do the event, but he wasn't the only act to perform ... David Guetta, Tiesto and A$AP Rocky all had shows -- and Lewis Hamilton won the race.

JB seemed pretty pumped for the performance ... with videos of him backstage surfacing online. Looks like he was shaking off some pre-show jitters, as you can hear the roar of the crowd just beyond the curtain.

Eventually, he made his way out to adoring fans, pointing at them for the grand entrance ... with at least one cameraman in tow. He was rocking a red outfit, apparently a jersey of some sort.

After that, he ran through a number of his songs ... including "Deserve You," "Somebody," "Hold On" and more. Unclear how long his set ran -- but it's pretty obvious the spectators were satisfied with the performance ... as Bieber seemed to give it everything he had.

BTW, he doesn't appear to have taken this long trip solo -- there's video of him and his wife, Hailey, moseying around on Saturday ... a day before showtime. Hailey was masked up and wearing a hat, seemingly trying to go incognito ... while JB just bared his face in full.

Of course, Justin's decision to carry on with the gig is disheartening to many -- especially those who were actively campaigning for him to nix the whole thing altogether ... including the widowed fiancee of one Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote an open letter for him to reconsider.