Fired

Texas Tech's women's basketball head coach, Marlene Stollings, was fired Thursday ... after multiple former players claimed she created a toxic culture and was straight-up "evil and manipulative."

More than 10 ex-Red Raiders made the allegations in a USA TODAY report this week ... with some saying Stollings was so abusive, they described some of her acts as "torture."

Several of the women claim Stollings (who took the head coaching job in 2018) and her staff berated them constantly, calling players things like "trash," "disgusting" and "fat pig."

Other former players say Stollings forced them to play through injuries ... and even developed a heart rate monitoring system for games in which players were punished if they dipped below a certain level for just a few minutes.

Things were allegedly so bad, 12 of 21 players had left the program over the past 2 years -- including 7 recruited under Stollings.

One ex-Red Raider, Emma Merriweather, says during a meeting with Stollings' strength and conditioning coach ... she was forced to step on a scale and then berated over her weight.

"I was just so embarrassed," Merriweather said of the incident. "I think that might have been the most embarrassing moment of my life."

Merriweather claims she went on to have a panic attack later in the day over it all.

"A lot of these girls had never experienced depression or extreme anxiety before they came to Tech and they experienced it with Marlene,” Merriweather said. “Coach Marlene was evil and manipulative and vindictive in a quiet watered-down manner, so you can’t outwardly say, 'This person is evil.'"

"That woman is a millionaire off being evil."

Other players say Stollings' strength and conditioning coach made sexual comments toward them ... and one former Red Raider accused the man of touching her inappropriately under the guise of a recovery exercise.

Earlier this week, Stollings had released a statement defending her team's culture, saying, "Our administration and my staff believe in the way we are building and turning this program around here. Our student athletes are developing a disciplined approach both on and off the court."

Initially, school athletic director Kirby Hocutt defended Stollings' program as well ... but in a statement Thursday night, he said he was firing the 45-year-old coach, and promised to reveal more details in a news conference Friday.

Nick Cannon is at his wit's end over his anti-Semitic comments and his apology for them -- he clearly feels he's in a no-win situation, and now some fans are concerned about his well being.

"The Masked Singer" host let his frustrations out Thursday night, saying ... "I hurt an entire community and it pained me to my core, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Then I watched my own community turn on me and call me a sell-out for apologizing."

He added ... "Goodnight. Enjoy Earth."

An hour later, he followed that up, tweeting ... "Y'all can have this planet. I'm out!"

As you know ... Nick came under fire for pushing anti-Jewish rhetoric on his "Cannon's Class" podcast, which resulted in ViacomCBS dropping him. Instead of apologizing, he initially stuck to his guns and was defiant.

But he changed his tune after a discussion with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, and posted a lengthy apology for his "hurtful and divisive words."

Nick's frustration is clear from his Thursday night tweets -- after initially getting backlash for the anti-Semitic remarks, he's now getting backlash for apologizing. It's interesting ... you could read the apology backlash as a reflection of just how much anti-Semitism there is out there.

Some fans online took Nick's tweets as a sign he might harm himself.

Nick Cannon says his eyes have been opened to the horribly anti-Semitic things he said, and he's offering an apology -- one that might have saved his 'Masked Singer' gig.

24 hours after Viacom cut all ties with Nick for anti-Semitic remarks he made on his podcast, he says, "First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin."

He continued, "They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naive place that these words came from."

If you missed it, Nick defended Griffin -- aka Professor Griff, ex-Public Enemy member -- over comments he made in the late '80s about Jews spreading wickedness around the world.

On the podcast, Nick supported Griffin ... saying he couldn't be anti-Semitic because black people are the real Semites. He also said Griffin was speaking the truth, and repeated long-held -- going back to Hitler -- stereotypes about Jews controlling banks and much of the world's wealth.

While he got tons of backlash online -- in addition to the Viacom axing -- Nick says several rabbis, including Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, have also tried to educate him. As he put it on social media ... "I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement."

Late Wednesday, FOX -- home of "The Masked Singer" -- said it had been in talks with Nick regarding the podcast and felt he was "clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate." The network said, based on that convo, it would move forward with him.

Cannon also vowed he is now committed to strengthening the bond between black and Jewish cultures going forward. He says he's also taken down the Professor Griff episode of his podcast.

It's interesting ... Viacom said Nick was unwilling to apologize when they contacted him about his podcast comments and, in fact, said that was a big part of why they were cutting ties.

It's unclear, at this point, if his mea culpa will change anything for Viacom. Nick had demanded the company give him ownership of his show, 'Wild 'N Out.'

Nick Cannon's firing back at ViacomCBS after it dropped him for making anti-Semitic comments -- and he's now claiming it's the media giant that's being divisive, not him ... and he has a list of demands.

"The Masked Singer" host responded to Viacom's decision Wednesday morning, saying, he's "deeply saddened" the company "misused an important moment for us to all grow closer together and learn more about one another" and, instead ... he claims it's trying to "make an example of an outspoken black man."

Cannon vows to not be bullied or silenced, and says Viacom "does not understand or respect the power of the black community."

As we reported, Viacom cut bait with Nick over his comments on his podcast "Cannon's Class" ... where he openly espoused Anti-Jewish, and clearly divisive, rhetoric from Minister Farrakhan. He got a ton of backlash online, and then Viacom dropped the hammer, but Nick alleges the pot's calling the kettle black.

Cannon says ... "I honestly can’t believe that Viacom has such poor council that would allow them to make such a divisive decision in the midst of protests and civil uprising within our current pandemic. Truly an unwise decision."

He goes on to say he hoped his comments could lead to reconciliation and he could "use this moment to show healing and acceptance" ... but claims Viacom has no interest. He also accuses the media giant of banning all advertising that supported George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Nick acknowledges he's had an incredibly successful past with Viacom -- including his Nickelodeon days and the creation of 'Wild 'N Out,' but says the company is "now on the wrong side of history."

He did apologize "if I have furthered the hate speech" ... but also makes it clear he's gonna fight for "full ownership of my billion-dollar 'Wild ‘N Out' brand that I created, and they will continue to misuse and destroy without my leadership! I demand that the hate and back door bullying cease and while we are at it, now that the truth is out, I demand the Apology!"

A total of 4 Aurora PD officers are out of a job after the interim police chief fired 3 Friday over a photo scandal ... in which the cops reenacted a chokehold at the site of Elijah McClain's violent arrest that led to his death.

Chief Vanessa Wilson canned 2 of the 3 cops in the picture -- Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich -- after the third officer, Jaron Jones, resigned earlier this week. Jason Rosenblatt, the officer who received the photo in a text, was also fired for replying with a "ha ha" ... according to Wilson.

The 3 cops posed for the selfie October 20 ... near a memorial to McClain, who died after an arrest in August 2019 in which he was put into a carotid chokehold and lost consciousness, and was later given a strong sedative.

Elijah, who was simply walking home with an iced tea he had just purchased, suffered 2 heart attacks on the way to the hospital and lost brain function. He died days later.

Police released 2 photos of the cops clowning around at the memorial site in October. The one where they appear to reenact the chokehold given to McClain was reportedly sent to Rosenblatt to cheer him up.

Shortly after it was announced an investigation into McClain's death was going to be reopened, an internal investigation was launched over the photo. The officers in question had been on paid administrative leave since June 25.

An Alabama cop is out of a job after he thought it'd be a good idea to depict a black man in the crosshairs of a rifle scope in answering what to do about armed protesters.

The Hoover Police Department canned the guy this past week after the chief, Nick Derzis, became aware of his subordinate's deeply disturbing Facebook post ... which cropped a photo used as the launch image of an article and superimposed it under a rifle scope filter.

The photo that was now square in the crosshairs ... a black guy with a shotgun standing at the foot of a car. The original photo was the primary art for a story about how armed protesters are still standing guard at the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was gunned down in Atlanta. The second half of WSBTV's headline also read, "What Now?"

This officer's response ... putting the photo under a scope -- as if to fire upon the guy -- while adding a caption that read, "Exhale. Feel. Pause. Press steadily. That's what's next."

His boss placed him on administrative leave as soon he saw it, but reportedly gave the guy -- who'd been on the force there for nearly 5 years -- a solid 2 days to explain himself. After giving his response, the chief made the decision to terminate him outright.

Derzis said, "This type of conduct will not be tolerated in our department an is not representative of the professionalism expected by all of our officers. We’re not going to allow one officer to tarnish the reputation of the Hoover Police Department."

Taco Bell might have a supreme problem on its hands ... after firing one of its longtime employees for wearing a Black Lives Matter face covering.

Denzel Skinner was fired after 8 years on the job as a shift leader at a Taco Bell in Youngstown, Ohio after he refused to take off his BLM face covering.

He was told by a supervisor he couldn't wear the face cover but he was adamant Taco Bell's policy says nothing about face covers with messages on them. The one stipulation -- face coverings had to be clean. Skinner explained in a Facebook Live video that he wore the face cover because the surgical masks provided by the joint to employees proved inadequate in warm conditions.

Skinner explained the Taco Bell's air conditioning had not been working ... keeping things hot inside. He said it was extremely difficult to breathe while wearing the surgical mask.

When he walked out, Skinner says a manager told him if he walked out he'd get canned. And, he did. As for why he wore a BLM face covering, Skinner said it was in support of protesting police brutality following George Floyd's murder. He said it was important to speak up.

Taco Bell honchos said in a statement that due to mask shortages, employees are allowed to use their own mask or face covering. The joint said it was "disappointed to learn what took place in Youngstown. We are working with our franchisee that operates this location to understand what happened."

They continue, "While our policies at restaurants do not prohibit Team Members from wearing Black Lives Matter masks, we are working to clarify our mask policy so this doesn’t happen again."

The University of Kentucky just axed its entire cheerleading coaching staff over allegations of hazing, heavy boozing and public nudity.

"The advisor and the coaches failed to stop a culture of hazing, alcohol use and public nudity at off-campus activities where they were present," UK said Monday in a statement.

"Our students deserve more responsible leadership, and the University of Kentucky demands it."

So, what happened?

The school launched an investigation after allegations of debauchery at a cheerleader retreat back in February at Lake Cumberland.

Team members allegedly engaged in nude routines -- including topless and bottomless basket tosses into the water from a dock.

School officials say the activities were carried out while under the supervision of team coaches.

The school also says team members slammed alcohol during boat parties -- and several members required medical treatment.

Another incident went down in Tennessee, according to the school ... where members were ordered to perform dirty chants while wearing uniforms without underwear.

Head coach Jomo Thompson -- along with assistant coaches Ben Head, Spencer Clan and Kelsey LaCroix -- were all fired as a result of a 3-month investigation.

Two police officers who busted Stormy Daniels during her 2018 strip club gig in Ohio are outta work for what police now admit was a bogus arrest.

The Columbus Police Department announced its decision Thursday after it found officers Steven Rosser and Whitney Lancaster violated rules when they arrested Stormy on 3 counts of illegal sexually oriented activity. The department also said the officers lied during an internal investigation about the basis for their sting operation.

As you might remember, Columbus PD hauled in Stormy for motorboating an undercover cop. Ohio has strict laws on touching strippers. Stormy's attorney at the time, Michael Avenatti, accused officers of setting her up and alleged the arrest was politically motivated -- she'd gone public about her alleged affair with Donald Trump.

City officials ultimately determined Ohio's no touching law should have only applied to regular performers and NOT Stormy, a guest performer.

Stormy's charges were dropped within 24 hours, but she later sued the department and won a $450,000 settlement. The controversy also resulted in the police department disbanding its controversial vice squad following a federal corruption investigation.

The federal probe determined Rosser lied about the purpose of the strip club sting ... saying he was searching for an underage stripper. The search never happened, and instead, they arrested Stormy. Two other officers were suspended for the arrest.

Panera Bread got burned by one of its own, according to a former employee who says she got canned for posting a Tik Tok of the restaurant's mac and cheese ... in all its frozen glory.

The video was posted last week and showed someone place a plastic pouch of frozen (😢) mac and cheese in boiling water, remove it and then pour it into a bowl to be served.

Some Panera customers teed off on the clip ... leaving pissed off comments about the chain not dishing freshly cooked fare. Others were more realistic and chalked it up to being standard ops for a fast-food chain.

Dana White says BJ Penn will never fight in the UFC again after brawling in the street in Hawaii -- advising the Hall of Famer that he needs to get his personal life in order.

"He wont fight again. That's it. That's a wrap" White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

TMZ Sports broke the stories ... 40-year-old Penn has been at the center of TWO street fights in Hawaii over the past few months. Most recently, he got knocked out in a slug fest outside the Lava Shack on the Big Island in a fight captured on video.

So, was the Lava Shack fight the last straw for Dana?

"It's not even that this was the last straw, it's ... I didn't love him continuing to fight anyway, but when you have the relationship that he and I have and he's getting me on the phone begging me for another fight, begging me for another opportunity, it's hard for me to turn him down."

"But, after what I saw on that video, BJ needs to ... he needs to focus on his personal life, get himself together before he worries about fighting again."

Penn is on a 7-fight losing streak in the UFC -- but Dana had said he would let Penn take one last fight against Nik Lentz later this year. Clearly, that's not happening now.

As for BJ, he claims he was NOT the aggressor in either Hawaii street fight -- and insists he was trying to DIFFUSE the situation outside the Lava Shack before things escalated.

"What I saw in that video was sad," White added ... "And, I love the kid and I hope he gets his life together."

Michael Madsen's recent DUI charge is already costing him a big payday -- even though he hasn't been convicted, he's been 86'd from a movie.

Sources close to production on the upcoming flick, "Chronicle of a Serial Killer," tell TMZ ... Michael's reps were notified Thursday he's been canned from the cast. That's no small loss for Madsen, who was supposed to earn $100,000 for gig.

We broke the story ... Michael was just charged with 2 misdemeanors for DUI after smashing his Land Rover in Malibu last month. Our sources tell us that's the reason he's getting booted from the movie.

Filming begins next month in NYC, and we're told production is worried Madsen won't be around to shoot ... because he could be heading to jail. Michael's a repeat DUI offender, and mandatory sentencing guidelines mean he could get anywhere from 4 to 364 days in county lockup ... if convicted.

It's kinda ironic ... Michael was cast to play an NYPD officer in 'Serial Killer,' a psychological thriller/drama co-starring Tara Reid, DMX and Brendan Sexton III.

A replacement is already in the works. We're told James Russo just signed on to the cast ... most likely to fill Michael's role.

Hue Jackson was so furious after getting the axe from Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam after a Week 8 loss to the Steelers, he cussed at his boss and threw him out of his office.

This is all according to an explosive new ESPN report which says ... if you couldn't tell ... things were a MESS behind the scenes in Cleveland this year.

Haslam reportedly went to Jackson's office to deliver the news after the team had chalked up another loss -- sending their record to 2-5-1 on the season.

When Haslam told Jackson that the team had "quit" on him and the Browns were firing the head coach, Jackson reportedly said, "Get the f*ck out of my office."

So, why such anger in a moment EVERYONE saw coming?

According to the report, Jackson's position is that Haslam had given him a vote of confidence behind the scenes -- telling him the team would be firing offensive coordinator Todd Haley, not Jackson.

When Haslam decided to move on from Hue on October 29 ... Jackson didn't see it coming (despite an overall 3-36-1 record with the organization) and lost his cool.

The article also paints Haslam as a guy who's in over his head -- who was adamant on selecting Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft over Teddy Bridgewater because "something about Bridgewater's handshake rubbed Haslam the wrong way."

Of course, Manziel flamed out of the league while Bridgewater ended up being a pretty solid QB (despite injuries).

Haslam also reportedly nicknamed ex-VP of football operations Sashi Brown, who is black, "Obama" because of his Harvard degree ... which made people in the Browns organization uncomfortable and came off as racial stereotyping.

Brown, however, did not find the nickname disrespectful.

Baron Davis says he wants to see Earl Watson be UCLA's next head coach ... and if that happens -- the ex-NBA superstar says he'll be an assistant on the staff ... FOR FREE!!!

B-Diddy is one of the greatest UCLA Bruins ever ... and tells TMZ Sports the former Suns head coach and ex-UCLA player is the right man to replace Steve Alford in Westwood.

In fact, Baron wants to see Earl coach the team so badly ... he says he'd be down to be on Watson's staff -- and UCLA wouldn't even have to pay him!!

"If Earl Watson was the head coach, I would coach for free. I would do whatever for free."

Of course, lots of ex-UCLA players agree with Baron ... guys like Matt Barnes and Lonzo Ball have already made it clear Earl would be their choice for the job too.