Drugs & Alcohol

Multiple ESPN staffers tell TMZ Sports they're in complete shock over John Skipper's sudden resignation and admission of substance addiction ... with everyone we spoke with telling us he was extremely well-liked.

We spoke with people from all facets of ESPN -- current talent, producers and past employees -- and the sense we get is that no one saw this coming.

As one current ESPNer tells us, "People are just stunned ... a lot of us truly respected him."

"You will be hard pressed to find anyone with a negative word about him."

Another staffer told us, "I'm shocked. I liked the guy a lot."

Moments ago, Dan Le Batard went on the air on his ESPN show and got emotional talking about how much Skipper has meant to him.

Bombshell from ESPN ... longtime president John Skipper has suddenly resigned -- and says it's to focus on a secret battle with "substance addiction."

"Today I have resigned from my duties as President of ESPN," 61-year-old Skipper said in a statement.

"I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem."

"I have disclosed that decision to the company, and we mutually agreed that it was appropriate that I resign. I will always appreciate the human understanding and warmth that Bob displayed here and always.

"I come to this public disclosure with embarrassment, trepidation and a feeling of having let others I care about down.

"As I deal with this issue and what it means to me and my family, I ask for appropriate privacy and a little understanding.

"To my colleagues at ESPN, it has been a privilege. I take great pride in your accomplishments and have complete confidence in your collective ability to continue ESPN's success."

9:53 AM PT -- The Essex County Prosecutor's Office tells us Artie pled guilty to possession of 81 small bags of heroin worth $300-$500. In exchange, prosecutor's dismissed a possession of cocaine charge.

Artie Lange's life is at stake ... and that's why friends are getting him on a private jet to rehab after appearing in court Friday.

Artie's attorney, Frank Arleo, tells TMZ ... Artie pled guilty to possession of a controlled dangerous substance at a hearing in Essex County court in Newark, NJ. TMZ broke the story ... Artie was busted after missing a court date about his May drug arrest.

Artie is headed to an in-patient drug rehab program at an undisclosed location. Artie's set to be released from jail in a matter of hours and he'll hop on a private jet paid for by 2 comedian friends, who are rallying to save Artie's life.

DJ Khaled's famous son is just a 1-year-old, but he's already mastered the art of ordering bottle service ... 'cause yeah ... baby bottles count too!

The mega rapper/producer hit up the grand opening of The Hideaway bar Wednesday night in Fort Lauderdale, and brought Asahd along for the turn up. Don't worry it was a family event -- the bar's owned by the bro of Khaled's fiancee, Nicole Tuck.

The kid's getting this VIP thing down! We're told he chilled in the back of Dad's Range Rover on the way to the club -- soaking up cartoons and sipping -- and the whole fam bounced by 11 PM.

Asahd out!

Just 4 days before Damontre Moore was cut by the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL defensive end was in a crazy street brawl in Texas ... and it sounds like someone fired a gun.

TMZ Sports obtained footage from the Oct. 20 incident outside of Bottled Blonde beer garden -- where 25-year-old Moore was getting into it with a group of guys.

One witness tells us the fight was over a woman -- but the details are unclear.

What we do know ... Moore tries to fight two guys -- and ends up getting jumped pretty bad. One guy puts Moore in a headlock while 2 other guys swing on him.

Eventually, Moore gets out -- and tries to jump through the sunroof of a Porsche to try and punch the fleeing attackers. As the car peels out, you can hear what sounds like a gunshot.

Cops were called to the scene at 2:10 AM for possible shots fired -- but everyone left, so no arrests were made.

Moore was a member of the Cowboys at the time of the incident -- but was cut 4 days later, reportedly for "football reasons" ... to make room for another player on the roster.

We reached out to Moore and the Cowboys for comment -- so far, no word back from either.

For a couple of first time parents, George and Amal Clooney pulled off a veteran mom-and-pop move when they handed out some pretty exclusive noise-canceling headphones to first class passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to England.

The gorgeous couple was with their 6-month-old twins, Alexander and Ella, on a British Airways flight this week ... and pulled off the preemptive strike in the event the twins started crying.

We're told George handed out some wireless headphones worth $350 featuring the Casamigos Tequila logo. The headphones are limited edition and hail from George and Rande Gerber's "House of Friends" ... an exclusive stash handed out to people close to them. The headphones are definitely a keepsake because only George and Rande have them.

The headphones were also accompanied by a note apologizing ahead of time in case the kiddos started bawling or getting loud. Talk about knowing your audience.

Artie Lange is sitting in a NJ jail again, but it's not for drugs this time -- it's for missing a court date ... about a drug arrest.

Cops busted the comedian Tuesday evening at his home in Hoboken, NJ for failing to appear in Essex County court. He was supposed to face charges of heroin possession and drug paraphernalia from his arrest in May.

Artie took quite the mug shot this time around -- still rocking what looks like a busted, or infected, nose. He'd posted a pic over the weekend where it looked like he'd been punched in the face, with a cryptic message about fearing nothing.

He's still sitting in jail, waiting to see the judge.

Lil Peep's fatal overdose is prompting the Drug Enforcement Administration to jump on the case, and we're told it has everything to do with one specific drug ... Fentanyl.

Sources close to the investigation tell TMZ ... the DEA will assist local authorities in Tucson where the rapper overdosed on Fentanyl and Xanax. More specifically, the DEA's main objective is finding out who provided the powerful opioid.

We broke the story ... cops are interested in texts allegedly sent from a woman named Mariah Bons ... who we're told went to the rapper's tour bus to see him before he died.

She allegedly sent a text to a friend that reads, "Gbc [Lil Peep] high af because of me and my friend lol."

The DEA's been all over the nationwide opioid epidemic, and also got involved after Prince died from a Fentanyl overdose. In Peep's case, cops suspect he ingested Xanax laced with Fentanyl.

Ex-NFL star Terry Glenn crashed his truck into a concrete divider on a Texas highway after apparently tailgating at the Dallas Cowboys game ... according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The Irving Police Dept. has now released crash photos and incident reports from the Nov. 20 crash that killed the former WR and left his fiancee severely injured.

Cops say Glenn was driving his Ford F250 around 12:18 AM when he hit the entrance to the toll lane and flipped. Neither Glenn nor his fiancee were wearing seatbelts.

When cops arrived, they found Glenn unconscious on the ground, barely breathing with a slight pulse. He had a massive wound on the back of his head.

Glenn's fiancee suffered injuries to her face and a possible broken collarbone.

Cops say Glenn was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead short time later.

Glenn's fiancee told police she and Terry attended the Cowboys game in Arlington earlier in the evening. You can see tailgating supplies, including a cooler, chairs and BBQ charcoal, scattered around the crash scene.

Glenn's fiancee admitted she had been drinking earlier in the day -- but "was not clear" if Glenn had consumed alcohol, too.

Officials conducted toxicology tests on Glenn's body -- so far, no word on the results.

Cops say no alcohol was recovered at the crash scene, however investigators did find a "marijuana grinder and bottle."

Glenn's clothing was taken as evidence.

TMZ Sports also obtained several 911 calls made by witnesses detailing the scene in the moments after the crash.

Glenn was 43.

Chris Bosh's mom tells TMZ Sports allegations she's trafficking drugs out of the Texas home owned by her NBA star son are ridiculous and untrue ... but acknowledges there is a rift with Chris.

We spoke with Frieda Bosh and her son, Joel Bosh, about the police raid on the home where she lives in DeSoto, Texas ... in which cops claim they found evidence connecting Freida's house with a drug trafficking operation.

Frieda says she "built" the home with Chris roughly 12 years ago -- but since then, their relationship has deteriorated and he's been trying to evict her. Frieda says the two haven't spoken in 5 years.

To combat the eviction, Frieda says she's had to hire lawyers -- and has been forced to rent out the home to various tenants to cover the pricey legal bills.

Long story short ... Frieda says the person who brought trouble to the home is a former short-term tenant -- and she had NOTHING to do with his alleged illegal activity.

FYI, cops believe crack cocaine and heroin were being trafficked out of the home. No arrests have been made, but we're told that could happen soon.

Joel Bosh says he's been trying to help his mom work things out with Chris -- but his priority is helping her clear her name in the drug trafficking case because he believes she's 100% innocent.

Hannibal Buress seemed like he was trying to do the right thing before getting busted for disorderly intoxication ... 'cause he asked a cop to order him a ride home.

TMZ has obtained Hannibal's arrest affidavit from his Saturday night bust in Miami, in which the arresting officer describes what allegedly happened before he detained the comedian.

The officer says Hannibal approached him with blood shot eyes and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, and then asked the cop to call him an Uber. The officer says he refused, which caused Hannibal to become angry and belligerent.

The cop goes on to say Hannibal then went inside a bar, which the cop says he asked Hannibal to leave since he was too drunk. The two then made it outside, where the officer says Hannibal continued to hurl profanities at him and caused a crowd to form.

The cop says he asked him to leave 5 times before cuffing him.

Russia's ban from the 2018 Winter Olympics is the "best thing that happened" to the games ... so says Mohamed Hadid, who tells TMZ Sports it's the most effective way to keep athletes clean.

We spoke with the ex-speed skiier -- who represented Jordan in the 1992 games -- about the International Olympic Committee dropping the hammer on Russia earlier this week, and Hadid says athletes will learn their lesson to prevent doping in the future.

Bonus -- we did some digging and found a pic of Mohamed from the '92 games ... and we must say, the dude looks glorious.

Scott Disick is back to his old ways ... 3 sheets at 3:30 PM Friday in Miami.

Scott was holding on for dear life, first with gf Sofia Richie and then with his buddy David Einhorn, aka Papi.

Scott and Sofia are in Miami for Art Basel, but it looks like he was way more interested in entertaining himself and others at his hotel.

He's been traveling all over the world with 19-year-old Sofia, but he also comes back to L.A. to spend time with his kids.

Good luck.

The Texas home owned by NBA star Chris Bosh had all of the hallmarks of a traditional drug trafficking den ... from iron gates to security cameras -- this according to the cops who raided the joint.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Bosh's mother, Frieda, is listed as a suspect in an alleged crack cocaine and heroin trafficking operation based out of the home Chris owns in DeSoto, Texas.

Cops conducted an covert sting operation to obtain evidence -- which included sending an undercover officer to the home on Tuesday to snatch and grab trash bags that had been left outside of the home.

Officials say investigators sifted through the trash and found tons of evidence -- including baggies with cocaine residue, weed paraphernalia, burned joints and mail with Frieda's name on it.

As for the drug trafficking den -- cops say the home was guarded by a large iron fence and outfitted with security cameras ... "a common tactic for drug traffickers" for obvious reasons.

Cops say one of the suspects has a rap sheet that includes violent crime -- including an incident where he was arrested for allegedly shooting a guy in the face during a drug deal.

One law enforcement source tells TMZ Sports ... Chris is not suspected of any wrongdoing and his only real connection is the fact he owns the property.

So, how the hell did Bosh's mother get mixed up in such a dangerous situation? Unclear at this point.

Lil Peep died from an overdose of Fentanyl and Xanax, according to the toxicology report ... TMZ has learned.

The Pima County Medical Examiner conducted the testing and found the cause of death came from the "combined toxic effects of fentanyl and alprazolam." Alprazolam is generic form of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

There were a ton of other drugs in his system though. According to the report, obtained by TMZ, he tested positive for marijuana, cocaine and the painkiller Tramadol in his blood. His urine tested positive for all those drugs, plus other powerful opiates such as Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone (Dilaudid), Oxycodone and Oxymorphone. He had no alcohol in his system.

The M.E. says the death was accidental. It's known that combining Fentanyl and Xanax can cause respiratory distress, coma and possibly death.

As we reported, the 21-year-old rapper was found dead on his tour bus during a stop in Tucson, Arizona. He was unresponsive and they were unable to revive him.

DMX is getting out of rehab, but it's only temporary ... to treat his fans in Albany to a show.

A New York judge gave the rapper the green light to travel, with a drug counselor, to perform a concert Friday night -- then it's back to the rehab facility on Saturday. He was also allowed to host a Thursday night gig in NYC.

X's attorney, Murray Richman, tells us ... he's always required to travel to his shows with a rehab counselor and gets drug tested while he's on tour. We're told he's been granted release about 10 times during his rehab program and hasn't failed a test.

Richman says DMX covers all of the counselor's food and expenses while they're traveling together.

When we last saw DMX, it looked like rehab was doing his body good.