12:33 PM PT -- Nationals star infielder Ryan Zimmerman has also elected to sit out the MLB's 2020 season over health concerns ... this according to multiple reports.
UPDATE
His teammate, pitcher Joe Ross, has opted out as well ... according to MASN.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mike Leake is the first MLB player to officially opt out of the 2020 season ... with his agent confirming the news Monday morning.
The 32-year-old -- who nearly had a perfect game last season -- released a statement via Danny Horwits ... saying he will not be participating in the league's shortened 60-game plan next month.
"During this global pandemic, Mike and his family had many discussions about playing this season," the agent told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
"They took countless factors into consideration, many of which are personal to him and his family."
Horwits continued ... "After thorough consideration, he has chosen to opt out of playing in 2020. This was not an easy decision for Mike."
The agent did not reveal the reason Leake decided to sit out the season ... but more players are expected to follow leading up to next month's training camp.
"He wishes the best of luck and health for his Diamondback teammates this season and he's looking forward to 2021."
Leake's been a solid pitcher in the league since he made his debut in 2010 ... and won 12 games for the Mariners and Diamondbacks last year.
The coronavirus pandemic is keeping the curtain closed on Broadway ... at least through the end of the year.
The Broadway League announced Monday all Broadway performances in New York City are on hold for the next 6 months and beyond due to COVID-19.
While there is no exact date for the curtain to open on Broadway, producers say they are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased to performances through Jan. 3.
The Broadway League says it's just not safe to host throngs of fans for indoor performances in the pandemic -- not to mention the cast, crew and orchestra -- so things remain in a holding pattern.
As you know ... Broadway has been shuttered since March 12, and the shutdown was previously extended through June 7 and then Sept. 6.
Now, all of 2020 is a wash for Broadway. Break a leg ... next year?!?
It's been almost 4 months since Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 ... but his sense of smell is still MIA.
The Utah Jazz star was one of the first cases of coronavirus in pro sports when it was confirmed on March 11 ... leading to the shut down of the 2019-20 NBA season.
One of the common symptoms is loss of smell and taste -- and the 28-year-old Frenchman is telling L'Equipe he still isn't fully recovered in that sense.
"The taste has returned, but the smell is still not 100%," Gobert said in French.
"I can smell the smells, but not from afar. I spoke to specialists, who told me that it could take up to a year."
Remember, Gobert was the guy who famously joked around about COVID-19 ... jokingly touching a bunch of microphones and other recording devices at a press conference before he formally tested positive.
3:06 PM PT -- The concert venue where Chase Rice packed the house has responded to the disaster from Saturday night, and they basically say ... we did what we could, and we'll try harder next time.
UPDATE
The Brushy Mountain Group tells TMZ ... "All local requirements were abided by for the recent concert, and numerous precautions were taken. We drastically reduced our maximum venue capacity of 10,000 to 4,000 maximum capacity (lower than the state’s advisement of 50%) with less than 1,000 in attendance Saturday night providing ample space in the outdoor lawn area for fans to spread out to their own comfort level."
UPDATE
They add, "All guests were given temperature checks prior to entering the venue and free hand sanitizer was provided to everyone at entry. All vendors and staff were advised to wear masks and gloves when interacting with guests, and bandanas were available for purchase on-site." They go on to say they were unable to further enforce physical distancing their signage recommended, and are looking at alternatives for future shows ... including adding stanchion dividers, implementing a drive-in style arrangement, or just postponing concerts outright.
Chase Rice got back to touring this weekend -- and to kick things off ... the guy allowed thousands of people to flood a concert venue, with ZERO regards for coronavirus safety.
The country singer held his first show in a while Saturday night at former prison-turned-event center called the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. It usually can hold 10,000 bodies for a concert, but this weekend ... only 4,000 were allowed through.
Still, that proved to be more than enough heads to pack in tight and cluster together for Chase's return to the stage. That's exactly what happened, something he filmed himself.
As you can see, swarms of people are too close for comfort -- not practicing even the slightest hint of social distancing -- and practically NOBODY is wearing a face mask, Chase included. It's more about the people on the ground though -- they're the ones truly at risk.
It also doesn't help that Chase was leading them in a sing-along moment -- which probably exacerbated any type of potential 'rona molecules already flying through the air. And, of course -- like many other parts of the country -- COVID-19 cases are spiking in TN as well.
Weirdly enough, the Brushy Prison's site says it clear as day that they'll be adhering to social distancing -- but it looks like they must've missed their own memo come showtime.
What's even stranger about all this is that a handful of other venues for Chase's upcoming concerts are actually drive-in type facilities, which would ease concerns we see here. So, was this s*** show of safety just a flub or a one-off? Hard to say for sure right now.
At any rate, we've reached out to Chase's team for comment ... so far, no word back.
The Fat Jewish is tired of seeing people's janky-ass fingernails at socially-distanced parties, so he's inviting New Yorkers to pamper themselves ... on his dime!!!
We got the Instagram icon in Brooklyn, where he was giving out free manicures to folks on the street ... and his operation looks like it could be a future model for coronavirus-safe nail salons.
The Fat Jewish says he's seeing lots of funky fingernails in the Big Apple ... which is, of course, collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, he put on his thinking yarmulke cap and came up with this nail salon on wheels.
It's pretty cool ... you just wait in line with your face covering, 6-feet apart, of course, walk up to the PPE-laden nail technician, stick your neglected hands through a couple holes in the glass and voila!
President Trump's campaign staff reportedly told arena staff members to remove social distancing signs before they opened the doors, and there's video showing folks doing just that.
The story was reported by the Washington Post and Billboard -- with the former citing sources familiar with the situation ... and the latter getting one of the venue's main overseers on record. The VP of ASM Global -- the company that manages the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa -- told the magazine that Trump's campaign had, in fact, given the order.
The VP, Doug Thornton, says the campaign instructed them to stop labeling every other seat with "Do Not Sit Here, Please!" stickers, which the arena staff had already done to nearly every row. The place sits 19,000 -- so, at least 9,500 were presumably used.
There was even video captured and posted by WaPo that shows a few men with badges going around and actually removing those stickers. It's shot from a distance, so it's hard to make out what the stickers say, but it seems pretty clear they were the ones in question.
It's unclear if these guys are Trump staffers or arena staffers. In any case, it's a smoking gun.
This is insane, considering the BOK Center was actually trying to do the right thing and take safety precautions ... only to be thwarted by the man's own team come showtime.
Of course, if you saw the rally live -- not to mention the people lining up to get in before doors opened -- you know it was already a 'rona danger zone. Now, the place ended up being mostly empty inside, especially those upper rows. Still, those that were there did pack in like sardines, and now, we appear to know why -- at least partially, anyway.
The Trump campaign did not comment on the sticker removal.
Jabari Parker just told the world he'd contracted coronavirus -- and less than 3 days later, the guy doesn't appear to be in isolation ... but rather, he's playing tennis in public.
The Sacramento Kings star was spotted Saturday in Chicago's Longfellow Park, where he was rallying with a buddy on the other end of the net ... all smiles, and without a mask. Mind you, he'd just announced a few days earlier that he had test positive for COVID-19.
It's hard to say what we should make of these photos of him seemingly doing just fine in light of that. On the one hand, it's kind of a bad look -- but also, it might be perfectly understandable ... as we don't know the exact status of his recovery at the moment.
In his statement through the Kings, Jabari said he found out his diagnosis "several days ago," but didn't specify when or how long he's been quarantined in Chi-Town. You'd like to assume he's on the tail end of his 14-day isolation here, but we just don't know.
Another somewhat troubling sign -- sources tell us Jabari was recently seen out at a restaurant there in the Windy City. Again, unclear if he's all better now or still sick.
In any case, we've reached out to his rep for clarification -- so far, no word back.
A Trader Joe's was the backdrop for an explosion of anger by a customer who felt it was her right to shop without a face mask.
The woman came to the San Fernando Valley store Friday wearing a mask ... the manager tells TMZ. At some point, as she was shopping the mask disappeared from her face. She says she has a breathing problem and that's why she took the mask off, but her lungs were filled with anger as her voice billowed through the store.
Either way ... we're told employees approached the woman and asked her to cover her face, but she refused. At that point, she goes insane, suggesting this was some sort of conspiracy by Democrats.
She was ordered to leave the store -- which she did.
BTW ... Los Angeles is having a huge spike in coronavirus cases. Also, you go to a grocery store you have to wear a mask. Period.
UFC's Dan Hooker admits he was initially "hesitant" about fighting in Nevada over the weekend due to the looming COVID threat ... but says he trusts Dana White to keep everyone safe.
30-year-old Hooker -- the #5 ranked UFC lightweight -- hails from New Zealand ... where the COVID numbers are incredibly low.
In fact, New Zealand has essentially been unscathed by coronavirus ... with only 1,170 confirmed cases, and 22 deaths.
To compare, the U.S. has more than 2.5 million confirmed cases ... with 126,000 deaths.
Nevada alone has roughly 11 times the number of cases as all of NZ.
"We have no cases actually in New Zealand and then coming over here I was a little bit hesitant to know about the safety precautions," Hooker tells us.
So, Hooker had a serious decision to make when White offered him the chance to fight Dustin Poirier on June 27 to headline UFC Fight Night at the APEX center in Vegas.
Hooker says he was reluctant to fly right into the COVID hornet's nest ... but ultimately he swayed after learning about the UFC's intense screening process.
"I feel comfortable. I've been here for 3 days and soon as we arrived, we got tested. Getting tested again [Friday], we get temperature checks every morning and they got security at every single door making sure that people can't come and go," Hooker says.
"I'm very confident in the precautions that the UFC has in place."
Now, Hooker is focused on Poirier -- the #3 ranked UFC lightweight ... and a win could put Hooker in the mix for a title shot.
FYI, Hooker is on a tear at the moment ... winning 7 of his last 8 fights over guys like Gilbert Burns, Paul Felder and Al Iaquinta.
2:56 PM PT -- CleanAir EXP CEO, Tim Bender, tells TMZ, “We are committed to developing and providing advanced air and surface purification systems for homes and businesses. No air purification system, including ours, can universally prevent coronavirus (including COVID-19) infections."
UPDATE
He continues, "On June 23, we updated our website to further emphasize the coronavirus surrogates used in our laboratory testing and made all lab reports available. We encourage following hygiene guidelines in the manner ordered or suggested by government authorities.”
The Arizona church that hosted President Trump's rally and the company it claimed had tech to kill COVID-19 just got a tongue-lashing from the state's top prosecutor.
Arizona's Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Dream City Church and CleanAir EXP ... telling them they're misrepresenting what CleanAir's technology can actually do -- claiming they haven't shown any scientific proof to back up the claim that it neutralizes 99.9% of viruses that are "COVID-19 surrogates."
The AG's office says it is "aware of no scientific research or public health authority certifying any kind of air treatment product as a means of preventing COVID-19 infections." As we reported, the Dream City Church bozos, Brendon Zastrow and Pastor Luke Barnett, made a video claiming CleanAir EXP's tech could zap away the virus.
A day later, CleanAir EXP chief strategy officer, Tim Bender, told TMZ ... Zastrow and Barnett went overboard and flat-out exaggerated about CleanAir's product.
The AG also said, "the church was placed on notice that misrepresentations and false promises related to the safety of church facilities may violate the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act."
As we reported ... tons of Trump supporters packed the venueearlier this week, with virtually none of them wearing masks or socially distancing.
The U.S. Department of Justice is calling out the "Exempt" cards folks claim allow them to get away with not covering their faces in public ... because the cards are fraudulent.
An alert was issued by the feds Thursday warning of the phony face mask flyers, urging the public to "be aware regarding fraudulent postings, cards, or flyers on the internet regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the use of face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
The alert made it clear the cards were not issued by the government and not endorsed by it ... despite the appearance of the Dept. of Justice's seal.
U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin warned ... "Do not be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle. These cards do not carry the force of law. The 'Freedom to Breathe Agency,' or 'FTBA,' is not a government agency."
We'd like to say, "Yeah, no duh" ... but way too many people on social media seem fooled, as they circulated the cards this week as if they were legit.
The U.S. Attorney adds to check out the ADA website for official and correct info about the American Disabilities Act, and the CDC still encourages the use of facial coverings in public.
Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein will NOT join his team in the Orlando bubble when the NBA season resumes ... and it's all because he's got a kid on the way.
The 26-year-old -- the 6th overall pick of the 2015 Draft -- has a baby due in July with his partner and clearly doesn't want to miss that experience, according to The Athletic.
Plus, Florida is experiencing a surge in positive COVID-19 tests ... so it also seems Willie doesn't want to put himself in harm's way while preparing to parent a newborn.
Cauley-Stein was only traded to the Mavs back in January -- and has just played in 13 games with Dallas.
The Mavs are the 7th ranked team in the Western Conference playoff standings -- which means they'll be included in the playoffs.
The regular season resumes on July 30 -- but Mavs players will report on July 8. If the Mavs make a run to the Finals, they would be in the bubble environment all the way until October.
Can you really blame Cauley-Stein for his decision?
Roberto Duran -- the boxing legend who famously battled Sugar Ray Leonard in the '80s -- has been hospitalized with COVID-19, his family confirms.
The 69-year-old was admitted to a hospital in Panama City, Panama on Thursday ... but the good news, he seems to be doing okay so far.
"My father's tests have just arrived and confirm that he is positive for COVID-19," Roberto's son, Robin Duran, posted on IG.
"Thank God he is not having symptoms beyond something similar to a cold."
Duran is NOT in intensive care or on a ventilator, according to his son ... but he is still under observation.
Duran's son also notes that his father already had a bad lung due to a 2001 accident in Argentina ... and because of that injury, they can't mess around with coronavirus.
"We just talked to the doctor and he tells us that the lungs are fine and there are no signs of serious damage."
"Let's continue to have faith that everything will turn serious injury well. I keep you informed."
Duran -- who was born in Panama -- was a monster in the ring ... winning titles in 4 different weight classes during his 33-year pro career!!
He retired with 119 fights under his belt ... racking up 103 wins and only 16 losses.
Of course, everyone remembers his fight with Sugar Ray -- Duran won their first bout in 1980 but lost the rematch later that year.
In his loss to Leonard, Duran refused to come off the stool in the 8th-round ... saying, "No Mas" -- which became one of the biggest moments in boxing history.
The two actually became friends after their fighting careers ended.
Duran later went on to become an actor and a singer -- and even had a role in "CSI: NY."
Congressman Neal Dunn says his FL constituents don't need masks or quarantine -- despite skyrocketing COVID-19 stats, he's ignoring science. Interesting, for a guy who's also a doctor.
We got the U.S. Representative Thursday on Capitol Hill, where he was chipper, defiant and smiling as we asked why he's not wearing a face covering, and why he doesn't think his constituents should either.
Dunn almost laughed off the idea of covering his face as he claimed he's immune from the novel coronavirus because he's already had it. Now, we should say the Congressman was a surgeon before getting into politics ... a fact he brandished while attempting to doctor-shame our photog.
However, he seemed ignorant of the fact no scientific study has proven whether there is immunity for people, like himself, who've already had COVID-19.
Science, schmience ... Dunn told us people are going way overboard, and he called masks and quarantine -- the "silliest thing" he's ever seen in America.
Seems kinda relevant that as we were talking to the Congressman ... Florida was racking up its second consecutive day of more than 5,000 new cases. While some lawmakers -- including Sen. Marco Rubio -- would like to see Gov. Ron DeSantis issue a statewide face coverings order ... Dunn ain't one of 'em.
He and our photog agreed on one thing -- face masks have been politicized, but Dunn's not blaming President Trump for that.
Jon Jonessays there's a silver lining to his March drunk driving arrest -- "it set me free in so many ways" -- and now he's focused on staying clean.
"It embarrassed me, it reality-checked me," Jones said on Steve-O's "Wild Ride" podcast ... "I've never been on camera drunk for the public to see like that."
"It was humiliating, and somewhat of a bottom for me -- and I'm ready to snap it into high gear."
As we previously reported, Jones was arrested around 1 AM on March 26 after cops responded to reports of gunfire in the Albuquerque area.
When cops found Jones alone in his Jeep, he appeared intoxicated and admitted to drinking earlier in the evening.
32-year-old Jones later plead guilty to DWI and was sentenced to 1 year probation, ordered to house arrest and forced to wear an ankle monitor.
During Steve-O's podcast, Jones said he's been thinking deeply about his life ever since his arrest ... and he's trying to cut out the bad influences who have led him astray in the past.
Jones also says the COVID-19 pandemic is helping him learn how to stay away from the party scene -- "detach from the nightlife."
"The coronavirus really helped though -- it helped me learn how to stay home on Fridays and Saturdays."
"Before the world got put on hold, I had this fear of missing out ... and coronavirus helped me realize 'Jon you're not missing anything out there.' And, anything that really matters is happening during the day time with your wife and kids."
Jones also talked about his work with the C.A.R.E. project -- which is raising money and support for communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in NM.
"I'm trying to create a life of more substance outside the UFC," Jones says.
Cinemark Theatres is dispatching essential workers to sanitize seats between movie screenings ... and it looks like hazardous labor to say the least.
Check out this video from the theater chain's location in West Plano, Texas ... where a very essential employee is spraying down each and every seat in the middle of a pandemic.
Cinemark is shouting the dude out on social media, telling Marc thanks "for sanitizing our auditorium seats before each movie. We appreciate you!"
But, folks on Twitter are saying what Marc really needs is more personal protective equipment. They say his thin face covering and basic glasses look like they aren't doing enough to prevent him from breathing in whatever he's spraying.
Cinemark Theatres is one of the few movie chains open for business in the pandemic, and the chain isn't requiring customers to wear masks, despite COVID-19 cases skyrocketing again across the country, and particularly in Texas.
