Fights & Feuds

Kevin Garnett is absolutely eviscerating Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor ... essentially saying he can take any olive branch and shove it -- and calling him a "snake motherf***er."

So ... what's the beef??

When Garnett made his return to the Wolves back in 2015, he mentioned to coach Flip Saunders he wanted to eventually take on a front office or ownership role with Minnesota one day.

After Saunders passed away later that year, Taylor brought Tom Thibodeau on board to lead the team ... a move KG thought was not honoring his plans with Saunders.

"Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip," KG told Shams Charania. "For that, I won’t forgive Glen."

"I thought he was a straight-up person, straight up businessman, and when Flip died, everything went with him."

KG says he LOVED his 14 seasons in Minnesota and his teammates, fans and the rest of the organization ... but there's no way in hell he's gonna reunite with Taylor.

"I’ll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart."

"But, I don’t do business with snakes. I don’t do business with snake motherf***ers. I try not to do business with openly snakes or people who are snake-like."

Of course, Taylor congratulated KG on making the Hall of Fame recently ... and when Garnett was asked if he'd be down for a jersey retirement ceremony in Minnesota -- the answer is a big, fat NO.

"Glen knows where I’m at, I’m not entertaining it."

Conor McGregor is going after Khabib Nurmagomedov again ... this time blasting The Eagle for "chickening out" of his UFC 249 fight with Tony Ferguson later this month.

"The fact of this matter is, both Tony and Khabib where engaged in a game of chicken here towards the fight bell," The Notorious said Thursday. "With Khabib chickening out first."

Of course, this is the FIFTH time the Khabib-Ferguson fight has been canceled over the years ... and Conor is now deeming Tony the winner after Khabib's latest withdrawal.

"Khab scurried out of the U.S to home, and amid the crisis. Very high risk," McGregor said. "Congrats Tony."

Nurmagomedov clearly ain't laughing at Conor's ribbing ... the UFC star said Wednesday he had legitimate concerns about fighting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In fact, Khabib expressed frustration over the pressure he's been receiving to fight.

"Famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements in order to limit the spread of the disease," Khabib wrote, "to save people, and Khabib is the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free will and train flying around the world, for the sake of fight?"

Khabib added that he was super disappointed ... but it ain't like Conor cared.

"I am in shape to fight right now!" McGregor said. "At the beginning of all this, I said to myself -- I’m happy I don’t have an official fight booked."

"If I did, I would have consumed all the incorrect data to support me taking part in the bout, and I would have followed through, competed. And won."

The last time Conor fought Khabib back in 2018, it wasn't even close -- the Dagestani dominated McGregor and ultimately got him to tap out in the 4th round.

George Foreman counseled Deontay Wilder after his crushing loss to Tyson Fury ... telling TMZ Sports he's the only man who understands what the Bronze Bomber's feeling -- 'cause Muhammad Ali humbled him the same way during "The Rumble in the Jungle."

We were talking to the 71-year-old boxing legend when he revealed he recently talked to Wilder following his devastating February 22 TKO loss at the hands of the Gypsy King.

"I had a nice conversation with Wilder, nice conversation with him."

Why, you ask?

Well, Foreman says he knows EXACTLY how Deontay feels ... 'cause like with Fury, Ali handed George his 1st L and took his belt in Zaire in 1974 -- the "Rumble in the Jungle" -- one of the most famous sporting events in the history of the world.

"We talked because I was in a position where I lost unexpectedly with the title in Africa. Only I know what he's going through," Foreman tells us.

The Hall of Famer continued, saying ... "He's gonna have to live with [the Fury loss] but I can show him how to live with that and come back better. We talked a lot on those lines."

FYI -- Foreman was 40-0 when he lost to Ali. DW was 42-0-1 when he lost to Fury. Both boxers were champs.

Shortly after the loss, Wilder exercised a rematch clause in his contract ... setting the fighters up for a trilogy fight later this year.

Despite clearly wanting revenge, many experts say taking the fight is a terrible career move for Deontay -- as they don't think he can beat the slick-moving 6'9", 273-lb. heavyweight.

Straight nonsense in Foreman's mind, 'cause he says Wilder can 100% beat Fury ... and it'll actually be pretty simple.

"Not only beat him, [Wilder] can do it easily," George says, adding ... "Give him another chance. He'll show you."

Foreman's living proof a comeback's possible (although he never got a shot at running it back with Ali) ... he became heavyweight champ again 20 years later.

With Big George's help, Deontay will attempt to do the same ... but he ain't trying to wait 2 decades.

Kamaru Usman wants to go all "Deliverance" on Jorge Masvidal at UFC 249 -- saying he wants the fans to hear Masivdal "squeal like the pig that he is."

Both Kamaru and Jorge have said they're down to step up and fight in the main event at UFC 249 in April -- after Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that he's stuck in Russia and likely won't be able to fight Tony Ferguson.

Masvidal has promised to "cut off" Usman's head if they do scrap -- but Kamaru, the reigning UFC welterweight champ, says he ain't afraid.

In fact, Usman says he LOVES the fact there will likely be no fans allowed at UFC 249 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) ... because he wants the fans to hear all of the sounds of combat.

"I want you guys to hear him squeal, squeal like a pig, like the little bitch that he is," Usman says.

"The weird sounds that he's gonna make once I'm elbowing and slicing up his face, once I'm dropping hammers on his face. I want you guys to hear that."

"Nobody in the stands no fans to cheer him on so he feels like he's somebody. nobody, just me and him."

"That's why I said I'll take that fight. I haven't been training but I'll take the fight because I wanted you guys to hear what I do to this guy inside."

The State of Idaho has formally banned transgender girls and women from competing in sports designated for females ... and rights groups are PISSED.

Here's the deal ... on Monday, Gov. Brad Little signed off on House Bill 500 -- also known as the "Fairness In Women's Sports Act."

The Bill says "athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex." It's aimed at sports leagues connected to the public school system.

In other words, people born with male reproductive organs -- who transition to female -- will not be allowed to compete in "women's" sports.

The issue has made tons of headlines over the past few years -- after transgender athletes began competing (and dominating) in events like weightlifting and track and field.

Some experts believe transgender women have a biological advantage because they were born male genes and bone structure.

But the ACLU believes the new bill is wrong and unconstitutional.

"The ACLU of Idaho condemns Governor Brad Little's decision to sign discriminatory, unconstitutional, and deeply hurtful anti-transgender bills into law."

"Leaders from the business, faith, medical, education and athletics communities will not forget this decision or what it says about the governor's priorities during a global pandemic. The ACLU will see the governor in court."

Boise State runner Lindsay Hecox -- a transgender woman -- spoke out against the bill on Monday saying, "it specifically targets people like me and all transgender female athletes and denies us the opportunity to compete in sports."

"Tanked" star Heather King fears her life is in danger if her ex is allowed anywhere near her ... so she wants a judge to order him to stay away.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Heather beelined it to court and requested a protective order against her estranged husband, Wayde. She claims he's been physically abusive to her for YEARS ... from allegedly slamming her against the wall to damn near knocking her unconscious.

In docs, Heather points to an incident earlier this month when she says Wayde came home and "told me to get the f*** out" before allegedly pushing and hitting her. Heather claims things got so bad their daughter had to yell at Wayde to get him to stop assaulting her.

Heather claims this is just one example of a pattern of abuse ... and she claims to have photos of her alleged injuries to back. Some of the photos show bruises and scratches allegedly suffered at the hands of Wayde, who she is in the middle of divorcing.

She alleges Wayde physically assaulted her on several occasions last year ... like when he allegedly strangled her in November and broke her finger in July. She claims Wayde "threw me against a wall so hard that he almost knocked me out." She says she was scared he was going to kill her.

The war between Claressa Shields and Laila Ali is even nastier BEHIND THE SCENES ... with Claressa revealing all the trash-talking messages they've been sending each other -- and it's WILD!!

Shields -- BY FAR the best active female boxer on the planet -- says she offered up an olive branch to Ali back in January, after Laila trashed her on 'Sway in the Morning.'

If you recall, 42-year-old Ali (24-0) said she would destroy Shields if they ever fought because Claressa isn't talented enough to hang with her.

During the interview, Ali claimed Shields had called her a bad businesswoman -- something Shields says she never said.

So, Claressa reached out in Laila's DMs to try and clear things up -- and a few months later, she got a pretty scathing reply from Laila.

"She goes, You are a real punk. Talking all that sh*t publicly but trying to make nice in private,'" Shields explained.

Here's another message Shields claims she got from Ali:

"I'm gonna teach you a whole lot of things that will make you a better fighter and person. Lesson #1: Learn to shut your mouth about money being there because it's not there until it's in an escrow account."

"I can see right through you and always have. So just be patient, and hopefully you will have the opportunity to try and knock me out. Even though you're not even hurting these soft girls you have been fighting."

WOW.

Claressa responded -- "I hurt everybody I fight. But the girls are way tougher now, and they don't go down now like they went down back in the day. Those bitches was soft."

Just watch the video ... Claressa spells out the whole thing -- and tells us she's dead serious about a big money fight with Laila if the two sides can agree on numbers.

The estranged wife of Orioles closer Mychal Givens claims the pitcher has abused her and made her life "a living hell" over the past 15 months ... and TMZ Sports has learned the MLB is aware.

Mychal, however, tells us the allegations are false ... and vehemently denies the claims.

Tiffani Givens -- whom Mychal has children with -- says on several occasions over the last year the MLB player has stalked her, sent her abusive messages and stole from her.

Tiffani -- who married Mychal in 2014 but is in the process of divorcing the pitcher -- spelled out a lot of the allegations in several Facebook posts ... and says cops have been involved frequently.

In fact, when we reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office this week ... they told us officers have been called to Tiffani's home in Tampa, FL four times since March 2019 over domestic disputes.

The most recent one came just this week ... when on Wednesday, cops were called to Tiffani's house after she alleged Mychal broke in and stole items.

Cops tell us no criminal charges were filed -- they say since the two are married, it's a civil issue -- but Tiffani wrote of the incident, "He continues to be emotionally and mentally abusive to me and doing all of this today IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN."

"Pray for me guys I have tried EVERYTHING to maintain sane in this 15 months of hell and this sh*t is still continuing how does one deal with this for so long the emotional and mental toll this takes on you is absolutely draining and NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE AN OUTLET FOR THIS TYPE OF ABUSE."

We're told the MLB is involved in the situation ... however, it's unclear if league officials are investigating the 29-year-old pitcher for domestic violence.

For Mychal's part, his reps tell us, "Unfortunately, the parties are going through a divorce and recently concluded a two-day custody trial. The false Facebook allegations have already been taken down, but warrant a few points of clarification."

"The police have never found wrongdoing by Mr. Givens. The police have never detained him, nor charged him with anything. Instead, he peacefully collected his personal belongings and left the residence."

"Also, during the recently concluded two-day custody trial, nobody made any allegations of abuse of any kind. Mr. Givens vehemently denies the false Facebook allegations. Divorce is always an incredibly difficult, personal matter for everyone involved. He is pleased the divorce is being properly handled by the court."

Rob Kardashian's pushing back on Blac Chyna's insinuation he's a bad parent because Dream got burned in his care ... he says she's the bad parent.

Here's the deal ... Blac Chyna got the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services to investigate Rob after Dream suffered multiple burns at his home, and she claims Rob initially denied the second burn happened under his watch.

Now, Rob is firing back and blaming his former nanny while also chiding BC for trying to smear his name.

Rob's attorney, Marty Singer, tells TMZ ... Dream's health and well-being is Rob's top priority, and even though Dream did in fact get burned in two incidents with the nanny at Rob's home last month, Rob's confident DCFS won't find any safety issues at the home.

RK's legal team tells us the nanny is leaving his employment, and they say Rob treated Dream's incidents appropriately and told BC what happened.

Rob's attorney tells us it's "unfortunate that Chyna feels the need to publicly miscommunicate the situation and has once again wasted valuable public resources by calling first responders in a desperate attempt to smear Rob’s name in response to his ongoing lawsuit against her for full custody of their daughter."

And, get this ... Rob's attorneys say he has grave concerns about Dream's safety in Blac Chyna's care, and they say third parties have sent DCFS to BC's home for her treatment of Dream.

Dream's come back from her mother's house with many unexplained injuries -- rashes, cuts, bruises and a dislocated arm -- at least according to Rob.

Rob's also blasting BC for claiming to be concerned about Dream's safety when she was busy posting a video showing Dream on her older's back while they were bouncing on a trampoline.

As you know ... Rob and Chyna have joint legal and physical custody of Dream, but their both gunning for primary custody.

Boxing superstar Claressa Shields says Laila Ali is being RIDICULOUS in their fight negotiations -- saying Ali wants $5 MILLION despite the fact she "is not relevant in today's time!"

Remember, back in January ... 43-year-old Laila (24-0) went on 'Sway in the Morning' and said she would destroy Shields if they ever fought because Claressa isn't talented enough to hang with her.

Of course, undefeated Shields (10-0) -- the reigning WBO and WBC light middleweight champ -- disagrees ... and offered to settle things in the ring.

Now, 25-year-old Shields says she's still all the way down -- but it's Laila who's holding up the deal.

"I’ll do whatever to get a fight made with me and Laila Ali," Shields said on Twitter.

"She is the one asking for [$5 million] and also wants to be the A-side if we fight knowing damn well she is not relevant in today’s time!"

"I’m the current reigning world champion. So if she really wanted to fight, be Fair! Stop asking for insane split. It’s ridiculous."

Logan Paul tells TMZ Sports the Antonio Brown fight is officially dead ... and says his message to the NFL star after getting the news was simple -- 'I'm sorry you're a bitch."

Paul and AB had been hot and heavy in talks to get into a boxing ring later this year ... with DAZN officials even getting involved to try to promote the fight.

In fact, the two came face-to-face at a Super Bowl party in Miami last month ... and it seemed everything was pointing toward a mega-event.

But, Paul told us just a few weeks ago talks had broken down following Brown's arrest for allegedly attacking a moving truck driver ... and when we got the YouTube star at Il Pastaio over the weekend, he told us the fight is now officially off.

"It's not happening," Paul said. "He DM'd me, and he said something like, 'I'm expecting a national apology.' And I said, 'I'm sorry you're a bitch.'"

Paul added, "I really am. That dude needs help."