Drugs & Alcohol

Multiple players on the USC football team tell TMZ Sports they feel "betrayed" and "let down" by Steve Sarkisian -- claiming they're extremely disappointed in his decision to sue the school.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Sark wants more than $30 MILLION from USC, claiming the school wrongfully fired him because of his alcoholism, which is recognized as a disability in California.

But the football players we spoke with are not sympathetic to Sark's plight -- telling us Sark is not practicing what he preached.

"I felt betrayed," one key player told us ... "He always talked about accountability and now he's not taking accountability for his actions."

We're told the team was relieved when Sark was cut from the program -- but many people feel like the ongoing legal war will only be a distraction that could hurt the program down the road.

The way Kyle Richards sees it, the best way for Kim Richards to avoid falling of the wagon again is to continue showing up for her 'Real Housewives' tapings.

Kyle was on TMZ Live on Tuesday and we asked if she'd thought it might be better if Kim did NOT come back to the show ... since there's frequently alcohol around when they shoot.

Stitches is clearly vertically challenged ... hitting the pavement for a second time in just a couple of days.

The rapper posted this video, bemoaning his latest run-in. As everyone knows, Game's manager, Wack 100, knocked him out cold Thursday night after Stitches came to the club looking for a fight.

He says he's going to snort his own pain remedy ... which could get him 3 to 5.

Tiffany Thornton's husband, former MTV star Chris Carney, was so wasted before Friday's fatal car crash ... he probably didn't think twice about getting in a car driven by a guy who was liquored up.

People at The Tavern in Little Rock tell us, Chris started off with beer and moved to the hard stuff. We're told he was slamming shots of Fireball Whiskey and doing Vegas Bombs to the point he couldn't stand up.

Chris was in no position to judge the sobriety of the driver, his friend Ezekiel, who we're told had been drinking beer and downing some shots.

As we reported, Carney and Ezekiel died early Friday after their SUV drifted off the road and struck a tree. We're told neither were wearing seat belts.

Chris struggled with alcohol over the years but his mom tells us she believed he had been sober for a year.

Scott Weiland had semi-strict rules in place to prevent him from falling off the wagon during his tour, but there was a gaping hole in the plan.

TMZ got hold of a backstage rider from Weiland's management team, which requires "sober stage hands" for his shows.

Members of the Wildabouts got a full stocked bar in their dressing rooms -- everyone except Scott. They got whiskey, vodka and beer. Here's what's curious ... the rider says Scott gets a bottle of Pinot and a bottle of organic vodka.

Scott was a hardcore addict and just about every respectable addiction expert out there says addicts should stay away from drugs and alcohol. It's weird Scott -- who fought a losing battle for much of his adult life -- was provided booze that could trigger a relapse.

Our sources say the no-drug policy was jettisoned once the band was on the road, and that explains how cocaine ended up in Scott's bedroom on the tour bus.

The apparent relapse was underscored by accounts we got from some big musicians, who say Scott was "drunk texting" them over the last few days of his life.

Ex-USC football coach Steve Sarkisian has finally surfaced -- and he looks like the picture of sobriety ... just 2 months after hitting rock bottom.

Sark was leaving NikeTown in Bev Hills, looking lucid, healthy and upbeat ... drastically different from the guy who drank himself out of a job earlier this year.

Check out the clip ... Sarkisian says he'll still be rooting hard for his Trojans when they take on Stanford in the PAC 12 championship Saturday ... but wouldn't give a prediction as to who will win.

Scott Weiland's bandmate Tommy Black has been arrested for possession of cocaine on the tour bus where Scott died.

Police say they found a small quantity of a suspected controlled substance that field tested positive as cocaine in the bedroom where Scott was found.

They also found another small amount of the same substance in an area of the bus occupied by Black ... who is a guitarist for Scott Weiland and The Wildabouts.

Black was arrested and booked for 5th degree felony possession of drugs.

If we gave you 100 guesses as to the one thing Eazy-E had before every show ... you'd never get it.

Jerry Heller -- former manager of N.W.A. -- was leaving Craig's when our photog asked him a few N.W.A. questions, which he surprisingly answered. Remember, Heller is suing over how he was portrayed in "Straight Outta Compton."

Scott Weiland's wife says her husband was clean when he died.

Jamie Weiland tells us her husband had not been doing any drugs for years ... although she admits he has been drinking socially.

Our sources say drugs were found on the bus, but Jamie insists they were not Scott's.

Jamie says there was a pact among the band not to do drugs ... at the very least that pact seems to have been broken by someone on the bus.

As we reported, several prominent musicians have told us they were alarmed over the last 4 days, saying Scott had been deep into crack cocaine ... something Jamie vehemently denies.

Jamie, who says she was touring with the group but left them a week ago, says, "He [Scott] was the best he has ever been."

Some legendary musicians were in touch with each other 4 days before Scott Weiland died ... worrying he had fallen off the wagon again, and was deep into crack cocaine.

Our music sources say Scott had NOT slipped back into heroin abuse -- something that had plagued him during much of his adult life. But we're told crack, as well as heavy drinking, were front and center in the days before he died.

One source -- a huge rock star -- got a call before TMZ broke the story ... from someone connected to Scott who said he had died at around 7:30 PM of a drug overdose. Authorities in Minnesota have not confirmed this with TMZ.

One day before his death, Scott was on SiriusXM talking about his tour ... and challenging ISIS.

6:20 AM PST -- An official statement on Weiland's Instagram page says the singer passed away in his sleep.

Rock star Scott Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota ... TMZ has learned.

Weiland was on tour with his band Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts ... they were supposed to play the Medina Ballroom tonight, but the show was cancelled. A source connected to the band tells us Scott was found Thursday night on the bus around 9 PM.

Police surrounded the bus, which was parked outside a motel in the town of Bloomington, MN. The Hennepin County Coroner now has Weiland's body.

The former lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver famously battled substance abuse for years. We're told he died in his sleep but it's unclear what caused his death.

Scott was 48.

Floyd Mayweather says DRUGS are to blame for Oscar De La Hoya's recent attack on the boxer -- claiming Oscar must be screwed up in the head for picking such a public fight.

Mayweather appeared on DJ Whoo Kid's "The Whoolywood Shuffle" show and addressed De La Hoya's scathing letter to Floyd ... in which Oscar called him boring and said boxing is better off without him.

"I’m just saying the reason why he’s probably going after me it could be because of the drugs ... because of the jealously."

De La Hoya famously completed a stint in rehab in 2013 for drug and alcohol abuse -- and has admitted a problem with cocaine in the past.

But Mayweather clearly feels the drugs took a toll on Oscar -- insinuating that it messed with his brain so much, he clearly doesn't realize what he's doing.

Lamar Odom's fave hookers from that Nevada brothel where he nearly died ... have cleared their good names, and they're back on the job.

TMZ has learned Ryder Cherry and Monica Monroe returned to Love Ranch South earlier this week. As we reported, they'd been banished by owner Dennis Hof who suspected they were less than truthful about what went down with Lamar.

But Hof says he recently conducted a "thorough investigation" and now buys what the girls are selling regarding their party with Odom. He also says AMEX had a change of heart recently, and released its hold on the $75k charge Lamar made for ... services rendered.

As for biz, it's good. We're told there are already more than 20 clients asking to "party" with Lamar's chicks. Ryder capitalized on her notoriety by tweeting Lamar on Tuesday. Sell, sell, sell ...

Donovan McNabb is now Inmate #T231133 ... 'cause the ex-NFL star has officially begun his jail sentence in Arizona stemming from a DUI arrest back in June, TMZ Sports has learned.

We've confirmed McNabb has turned himself in to begin his 18 day sentence ... sporting a fresh Nike jacket.

A judge ordered Kate Major go straight to rehab after she was busted for threatening to slash someone's throat during a flight -- and it's pretty clear she was wasted before getting on the plane.

According to the criminal complaint, Michael Lohan's estranged wife started trouble before the flight took off ... bitching about having to put her seat forward. The situation quickly escalated in the air -- a witness told a crew member Major was harassing a passenger and was possibly drunk. Kate allegedly yelled the witness' wife was a "bitch," and then threatened to "slit her throat."

Flight attendants moved Kate to a different seat to keep an eye on her. When she asked for a glass of wine, the flight attendant refused. So, Kate whipped out her phone and started recording the flight attendant.

The last straw came when she allegedly threw the phone and then rushed at a flight attendant. A passenger had to step in to hold her back -- and that's when the pilot decided to divert the plane to New Orleans.

Kate was arrested at the airport and booked for interfering with flight crew members, a federal offense with a very stiff penalty -- up to 20 years in prison.

Lamar Odom is in desperate shape medically, but legally we're told he may get cut a break.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the Nye County D.A. in Nevada is backing off the statements made by the Sheriff, who said there was a strong chance Lamar would be prosecuted for cocaine possession.

TMZ broke the story, Lamar's blood revealed he was high on coke when he fell into unconsciousness at the Love Ranch brothel.

Our sources tell us the D.A. now says they will consider Lamar's medical condition and mental state in deciding whether to charge him. We broke the story, Lamar is barely able to speak and cannot walk. His cognitive functions are also severely impaired.

Fact is ... the D.A. really isn't cutting Lamar a special break, because we did some checking and couldn't find a single case in Nye County where someone was prosecuted for cocaine possession when they landed in the hospital with severe damage.