Family

Josh Gordon's lawyer says the NFL receiver's most recent drug relapse was sparked by his brother's tragic death ... but has gotten the help he needs and is back on the right path.

The troubled 29-year-old was indefinitely suspended from the NFL back in December 2019 after failing another drug test ... adding to the long list of drug penalties since 2013.

But, Gordon is ready to prove he's back to 100% ... reportedly filing for reinstatement on Thursday.

While details surrounding Gordon's suspension weren't made available at the time, his lawyer, Adam Kenner, has revealed the devastating event that triggered the slip-up.

"Josh had a lapse because of his brother's death," Kenner said via Tom Pelissero. "That set him back. But since that time, he has realized how important it is for him to take the right steps, do what's proper, and understand how to manage these issues."

"He's installed the right team around him to make sure he's on the right path. He understands he's been given every chance. He looks forward to making the most of this."

Details on Gordon's brother's death weren't made public ... but Josh addressed his passing in a since-deleted Instagram post shortly after his death in November, saying, "Can’t put it all into words just yet, but today was one of those harder days to face."

"I love you big bro. I’m gonna miss you. This win was for you, thank you for being the best older brother any kid could have."

Meanwhile, Josh had been training like a maniac recently and posting the photos to IG.

One thing's for sure ... he still looks like he's in stellar shape.

George Floyd's name seems to be heading toward foundation status -- 'cause his family is already making moves to lock up the rights to something called just that ... TMZ has learned.

George's brother, Philonise Floyd, recently applied to trademark the phrase "The George Floyd Foundation" -- and if he gets it, he'll be able to use it to teach and advocate.

Philonise is looking to put "The George Floyd Foundation" on downloadable software for mobile phones that educate on police reform, downloadable media files featuring documentaries about George and other digital materials like DVDs, and audio and video files.

He also wants to feature "The George Floyd Foundation" on a website dedicated to police reform, as well as downloadable documents and PDFs with information on the topic too.

But, there's more -- if Philonise gets this trademark, he'll also be able to slap that phrasing on COVID-19 face coverings, sweatshirts and T-shirts, baseball caps ... and even charitable fundraising events to support families who've fallen victim to police brutality.

Philonise also reveals in the application that he and the fam aim to conduct business seminars on social justice and police reform. So, yeah ... it looks like they're going for the works here in terms of starting a full-blown nonprofit for their deceased relative.

Rayshard Brooks' death at the hands of police won't be in vain, and will lead to lasting changes in Atlanta ... at least that's how his family is viewing his legacy.

One of Rayshard's cousins, Decatur Redd, tells TMZ ... the family thinks the felony murder charge brought against the officer who fired the fatal shots is a start, and makes it feel like Rayshard died for a reason.

Decatur says charging Garrett Rolfe, the fired cop who fatally shot Rayshard in the back, won't bring back his cousin, but it could help Georgia enact its first hate crime bill.

As we reported ... Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced 11 charges against Rolfe Wednesday, including felony murder and multiple acts of aggravated assault.

Decatur tells us family members had trouble sleeping leading up to the announcement, because they feared Rayshard's killer would not be charged, which he says would have reopened lots of wounds in Atlanta.

That all changed, of course, after the D.A.'s announcement, and he shared the emotions of that moment.

The felony murder charge wasn't the only shock to the family. Decatur says it was heartbreaking to hear Rayshard didn't get timely medical aid -- and to see Rolfe kicked him as he lay dying.

Breonna Taylor's mother can't wrap her head around why her daughter's killing at the hands of cops seems to be getting swept under the rug, and she says it's past time for answers.

Tamika Palmer and her attorneys, Lonita Baker and Ben Crump, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and dug right into what they see as the city of Louisville stonewalling them on Breonna's case.

Breonna's mom says there are a number of factors behind the case's snail-like pace ... but she doesn't understand the reason for the holdup, or why her legal team's demands and deadlines are not being met by the police and Mayor.

Baker says their request for crucial docs pertaining to the investigation -- an official autopsy, the Mayor's internal communications and personnel files for the cops involved -- are not unreasonable, and the Kentucky Attorney General is on their side.

It's interesting ... Baker tells us officials might be thinking they can cover up Breonna's death because the plainclothes officers who served the fatal "no-knock" warrant were not wearing body cams.

But, Baker explained why there's good reason to believe the cops DO have footage they've refused to turn over, or release to the public.

The lack of body cam footage so far, Baker says, is why Americans should consider pushing for all police to not only wear body cams but to be forced to keep them rolling during all contact with the public.

The investigation into Breonna's death stands in stark contrast to the legal responses following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd ... and Crump says it's high time the people who killed her are criminally charged too, and he has a strong message for the Mayor and AG.

Rayshard Brooks' family and friends honored him Monday night during a moving memorial service in his Atlanta neighborhood.

The event in southwest ATL, which lasted about 4 hours and saw 300 to 400 people show up to pay their respects, was held about 10 minutes away from the Wendy's parking lot where cops shot and killed Rayshard.

The police even stopped by for a minute, but they left before stepping foot outside their squad car.

Rayshard's family wanted the service to be a very positive, peaceful event celebrating his 27 years on Earth ... and it was. Folks were drinking, hugging and generally having a good time, but the tears were still flowing.

Family, friends and neighbors took turns holding the megaphone and sharing stories about Rayshard ... including a heartfelt speech from his cousin, Jymaco Brooks.

Mourners lit candles in front of his portrait and released balloons into the air, while also leaving trinkets at the base of the painting.

The details of Breonna Taylor's killing are being swept under the rug and hidden from public view by top city officials like the mayor ... so says her family's legal team.

Attorneys repping Breonna's fam tell TMZ ... a hard deadline came and went Friday, at which point the Louisville Metro Police Department and the City itself -- at the direction of Mayor Greg Fischer -- were supposed to produce crucial docs pertaining to the investigation.

Specifically, we're told her lawyers asked for an official autopsy report, personnel files for the cops involved in her death, and the Mayor's internal communications about all this too.

Her legal team says NONE of the docs were produced as of Monday -- after over a month of stonewalling and what they characterize as a refusal to comply with their open records requests. The attorneys tell us they believe this is due to an attempt to cover up her death.

They do note the City tried claiming there was a misunderstanding in the back of forth of their requests -- but even after that, the attorneys say they still came up with only a few of the requested documents.

The team writes, "We intend to seek all sanctions available for these blatant and willful violations of CR 45 (a KY subpoena rule). Meanwhile, we present this information so that the public is able to see the lengths that the city will go to in order to withhold the truth and keep Tamika Palmer from learning the facts surrounding her daughter’s murder."

It's interesting ... Breonna's family attorneys are strongly echoing what Beyonce herself said in an open letter to Kentucky's Attorney General -- that the process has stalled, and that his office needed to take over ASAP, while committing to transparency along the way.

Rayshard Brooks' family members say fake GoFundMe pages soliciting donations on their behalf have sprung up all over the crowd-sourcing site ... and they want 'em gone, immediately.

One of Rayshard's cousins, Decatur Redd, tells TMZ ... he and his other relatives have spotted a ton of fraudulent pages in recent days for Rayshard and/or "his family." He says it's a frustrating nuisance for the real family, because they've only approved one true GFM.

We're told Decatur reached out to GoFundMe to get these phony pages taken down, but hasn't heard back, so he's warning the public -- do NOT fall for these opportunistic rip-off pages.

We reached out, and GoFundMe says it's aware of the situation, and keeping an eye out for fakes pages. From the looks of it, some of them have been deleted already.

It also looks like the legit page is amassing the majority of donations -- upwards of $105k and counting. The phonies have a small fraction of that, so it seems most of the public is hip to the game.

Decatur also told us he wants Garrett Rolfe, the now ex-cop who shot and killed Rayshard, to be charged with murder. He stopped short of saying what he deserved as punishment, telling us it'll be up to a judge if Rolfe gets charged and or convicted.

As far as the Wendy's getting burned to the ground ... Decatur says he doesn't condone it, but admits it felt cathartic when he saw video of it. He described it as a release ... almost like the start of his healing.

It goes without saying ... Rayshard's killing has hit Decatur incredibly hard -- he was seen openly weeping and had to be held back during Monday's emotional news conference.

Rayshard Brooks' family members are talking about his killing in public for the first time since he was gunned down Friday night ... and we're streaming their remarks live.

The Brooks family is coming to the podium in Atlanta, where they'll discuss losing their loved one needlessly and senselessly at the hands of 2 police officers ... one of whom opened fire on Rayshard, shooting him twice in the back, as he attempted to flee arrest in a Wendy's parking lot.

In the body cam footage, you see Rayshard was cooperative with the officers after they found him sleeping in his car. He explained he'd just come from a relative's birthday party where he admitted to having a drink or two ... which led to field sobriety testing, and the cops attempting to arrest him.

Rayshard was begging the officers to let him go and allow him to walk home, which was no more than a few blocks away. The cops refused though, and insisted on taking him in.

As we reported, while wrestling with the officers, Rayshard took one of their tasers -- a non-lethal weapon -- and seemed to point it at them while running away. That's when the cop open fired 3 times. The autopsy results show he was struck twice in the back, and the medical examiner ruled it a homicide.

Atlanta's mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, decried the killing ... and accepted the resignation of the APD Chief of Police in response. One of the officers involved in the shooting, Garrett Rolfe, has been fired ... the other cop was placed on administrative leave.

LiAngelo Ball is catching up with Wiz Khalifa in the race to ink his whole body ... with the hooper revealing a MASSIVE new back tat on Friday.

Remember, not so long ago ... LaVar Ball was LIVID when he found out the oldest Ball bro was tatted in a hilarious scene on their "Ball In The Family" reality show.

21-year-old Gelo's only gotten closer to the needle ever since by adding 2 arm sleeves to his body art ... and now, an insanely huge back piece to complete his upper body.

Ball hit up celeb artist Herchell Carrasco -- who's done work for people from 6ix9ine to Kyle Kuzma -- for the job ... and he says it took a whopping 20 HOURS to complete.

The piece shows a grim reaper holding a royal flush with the message, "Bet On Myself, Beat The Odds."

Worth noting -- Carrasco, AKA RockRollG, is the same artist that covered Lonzo's BBB logo tat earlier last year ... as well as LaMelo's big chest piece.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's son was arrested Wednesday after cops say he stabbed his Orange County neighbor multiple times, TMZ Sports has learned.

28-year-old Adam Abdul-Jabbar -- who appeared on "Celebrity Family Feud" with his famous father back in 2017 -- has been booked on 1 count of assault with a deadly weapon, records show.

Cops tell us ... officers responded to call about a stabbing on June 9 around 10 PM in San Clemente, CA.

"The suspect, who is the neighbor of the victim, was arrested without incident," a police spokesperson tells us.

Cops say the victim transported himself to the hospital "with multiple non-life-threatening injuries."

According to his booking sheet, Abdul-Jabbar stands 6'7" and weighs 180 lbs. He has since been released from custody, cops say.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials tell us.

Kylie and Caitlyn Jenner got all gussied up to grab a meal together ... and it looks like they made it a table for 4.

Kylie and her friend, Harry Hudson, were joined by Caitlyn and her friend, Sophia Hutchins ... and the ladies all looked super fashionable Wednesday night as they were spotted leaving Nobu Malibu.

The chic yellow duster really made Kylie stand out, while Caitlyn's dress was also a bold choice ... with some 'Tiger King' vibes.

It's been a while since we've seen Kylie hanging with her dad, but it didn't take long for them to meet up after California lifted its stay-at-home restrictions and restaurants have opened back up.

While dinner with her youngest daughter is notable, it would be a much bigger deal if Caitlyn and Khloe were out together. You'll recall ... they don't see too much of each other these days.

Vanessa Bryant got tattoos to honor Kobe and Gianna back in February -- and she's now sharing video of the ink sessions.

Vanessa hit up tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado for a house call to put two different pieces on her body.

First, a tribute to Gianna on her wrist.

"Shoutout to @nikkohurtado for coming over and helping me get my Gigi’s sweet message transferred on me. #throwbacktoFebruary," Vanessa said.

Unclear exactly what the message says.

Next, a tribute to Kobe on her neck.

"I wanted my boo boo's @kobebryant sweet message transferred on me."

"@nikkohurtado came through for me. Thank you! #inked #messagetransfer #BooBoo #throwback #tattooinmyhallway #QueenMamba #MambaMentality."

Vanessa did not reveal specific details about the two tattoos -- meaning, we don't know what the messages say -- but obviously, they are deeply meaningful to her.

Kobe and Gianna -- along with 7 others -- died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA on January 26.

Several people close to Kobe -- including LeBron James and Anthony Davis -- also got tattoos to pay tribute to the NBA legend.

After Vanessa posted the tattoo footage, a bunch of her famous friends weighed in with positive messages including Khloe Kardashian.

"So special beautiful," Khloe wrote.

Eric Garner's mother says George Floyd's death is largely responsible for an anti-chokehold bill finally getting passed in NY -- making it a bittersweet victory for her after years of fighting for it.

Gwen Carr spoke to us a few days after New York lawmakers passed the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act -- which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already said he'll sign into law -- and said it's a step in the right direction.

Gwen's been pushing for this bill since 2014, when Eric was killed -- and it will make it illegal for cops to use a chokehold or a similar restraining move, resulting in serious injury or death. Similar language has been in the NYPD rule book since 1993, but now it's on its way to becoming state law.

Gwen told us she feels George's death was the last straw that finally got local politicians to commit to passing the legislation -- as, she notes, his killing has reverberated even beyond Eric's story.

It's heartbreaking, because Gwen says she felt like she was hearing her own son from the grave listening to George plead with officers that he couldn't breathe. New York's State Assembly was also moved, because it passed the bill just 2 weeks after George was killed -- even though Ms. Carr had been lobbying for it for nearly 6 years.

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas are getting the hell outta Los Angeles -- but they ain't flyin' solo -- Ben's kids are comin' along too!

Ben, Ana and at least two of his kiddos were spotted boarding a private jet Wednesday on their way to what we're guessing will be some rest and relaxation. Ana's pooch even made the trip to make it a true bonding experience.

The private jet seems pretty practical during the age of COVID-19, plenty of legroom, personalized service and not to mention some serious social distancing from strangers.

It's unclear where the group is headed ... but the trip isn't the first time we've seen Ben's kids hang with his new gf. Violet, Seraphina and Samuel were seen on a neighborhood stroll with Ben and Ana just last month ... they also brought their dog for some exercise.

Drew Brees' wife says the family received death threats in the wake of the QB's anti-kneeling comments last week ... and now, she's joining in on apologizing for her hubby's words.

Brittany Brees penned a lengthy statement on social media over the weekend ... saying she and the NFL star didn't realize how their personal opinions about the flag affected others.

"WE ARE THE PROBLEM," Brittany said ... "Only until the last few days, until we experienced the death threats, we experienced the hate … Did I realize that these words were speaking directly to us."

Unclear if any of the threats were deemed serious by law enforcement. We're working on it.

Brittany continued ... explaining, "To say 'I don’t agree with disrespecting the flag' I now understand was also saying I don’t understand what the problem really is."

"I don’t understand what you’re fighting for, and I’m not willing to hear you because of our preconceived notions of what that flag means to us."

"That’s the problem we are not listening, white America is not hearing. We’re not actively LOOKING for racial prejudice."

Brittany insists she and Drew don't "have a racist bone in our body" ... and now, she's pledging to do more to help the black community in their fight for social justice.

"Somehow we as white America, we can feel good about not being racist, feel good about loving one an another as God loves us," Brittany said. "We can feel good about educating our children about the horrors of slavery and history."

"We can read books to our children about Martin Luther King, Malcolm X., Hank Aaron, Barack Obama, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and feel like we are doing our part to raise our children to love, be unbiased and with no prejudice. To teach them about all of the African Americans that have fought for and risked their lives against racial injustice. Somehow as white Americans, we feel like that checks the box of doing the right thing. Not until this week did Drew and I realize THAT THIS IS THE PROBLEM."

She continued, "To all of our friends and anyone we hurt we will do better ... We are sorry."

Tom Hanks is not only a beloved actor, he's a trusted fatherly figure, so a fan asked for his advice on a very important aspect of raising a child ... and Hanks delivered.

Zack Teperman is the president of a public relations firm and has a daughter, Chloe, who is 2 and a half. He tells TMZ he decided to send Hanks a handwritten letter in early May to get his thoughts on the classic "high-five, down low, too slow" trick.

Zack says he asked at what age it's appropriate to pull his hand away from his daughter, and included a photo of him and his girl mid-high-five.

A couple weeks later, he got a letter back from Tom -- a typed response to his question ... and it's just wonderful.

Hanks says in order to properly establish the tradition, you must first lock down the "High Five! Down Low!" combo with a kid to gain trust. As he puts it ... "A relationship is born.

Then, years later when the child has matured a bit and learned to poke fun at their father -- Tom estimates around the age of 7 or 8 -- the time has come to "answer that child in affectionate kind."

This is when it's appropriate to withdraw your hand on the "Down Low!" and hit 'em with the "Too slow" ... and then, Hanks says, the kid grows up.

Tom adds that he has 4 grown kids, so he's experienced of course, but his 3 granddaughters have yet to get the "too slow" treatment. Only a matter of time, though, because as he concludes ... "This stuff works."