Football

Washington Redskins head coach Ron Rivera says he will support his players kneeling during the national anthem this season ... this, after star running back Adrian Peterson announced his plan to protest.

"It's their choice, it's their decision and I support it because its in our constitution and that's what our military personnel fought for. For our rights," Rivera told the media on Wednesday.

Coach adds he educated himself on the issue prior to signing Eric Reid (who knelt with Colin Kaepernick while on the 49ers) to the Carolina Panthers in 2018 ... saying he even read the Constitution, Bill of Rights, the Amendments, and the oath of office to get a better understanding.

Rivera says he had an eye-opening conversation with Reid that explained what the protest stood for ... and now he's totally cool with the movement.

It's an important stance -- just last week, Peterson said he's "without a doubt" going to kneel this upcoming season after the death of George Floyd.

Reggie Bush's dissociation with USC is dissolving ... the school is expected to formally end his ban from the program this month after 10 YEARS of exile.

Bush was famously banished from having an affiliation with his alma mater way back in 2010 ... after an NCAA investigation determined the former RB received improper benefits during his time at the school.

As we previously reported, there was a major NCAA rule change recently which basically reduced any major disassociation to a 10-year disassociation.

USC interim athletic director Dave Roberts pointed out that June 2020 would mark the 10-year mark ... and hinted the school would like to bring Bush back.

And now, according to ESPN, that's exactly what's happening -- with the two sides "in the process of finalizing an agreement that would allow [Bush] to be reinstated."

As we previously reported ... after Bush was busted, USC was hit with mega sanctions, including the loss of scholarships and being stripped of its 2004 national championship.

Reggie was also ordered to give back his 2005 Heisman Trophy.

Bush has been very vocal about the ban over the years, lamenting that USC had to pay so harshly for it all.

"It was a horrible feeling, one of the worst feelings in the world," Bush just told The Athletic last month. "It felt like I died when I had to hear that there weren’t gonna be scholarships for kids because of me or because of something connected to me."

"I'm still not over that. It’s just something you learn to live with."

It's unclear how and exactly when SC will re-welcome back Bush ... but former Trojans like LenDale White -- who's been campaigning to get Reggie back for YEARS -- will no doubt be thrilled nonetheless.

NFL superstar Richard Sherman is taking aim at Jerry Jones for his lack of a public statement amid the Black Lives Matter movement ... saying straight-up the Cowboys owner's "silence speaks volumes."

Sherm told the San Francisco Chronicle this week a message from the most powerful owner in the NFL could do wonders for the fight for social justice ... and he's definitely noticed how the 77-year-old has sat out of the game so far.

"It’s not pulling [NFL owners] like it is the rest of the country,” the 49ers cornerback said. “Because if it was, then they’d speak."

"Jerry Jones, especially, has no problem speaking up any other time about anything else. But when it’s such a serious issue, and he could really make a huge impact on it with a few words, his silence speaks volumes."

Of course, Jerry's team has been very vocal in the wake of national protests following George Floyd's death ... Dallas' social media account released a video last week condemning racism.

Several players -- including star QB Dak Prescott -- have also released statements on the matter and pledged to donate serious cash to the cause.

But, Jones did NOT appear in the team's vid ... and has yet to have a public statement attributed to him -- and the NFL world has definitely noticed.

In fact, former Cowboys star Dez Bryant even tweeted over the weekend he wished somebody had taken Jones -- and his son, Stephen, plus Jason Witten -- to the public protests in Dallas.

Al Sharpton just unleashed the Holy Spirit on Roger Goodell at George Floyd's funeral in Houston -- blasting the NFL commish for his "empty apology" and demanding the league to get his job back!

A charged-up Sharpton said it's "nice" seeing how people have rallied around and encouraged protests against police brutality and racial injustice ... but he's not impressed with the video Goodell posted on Friday admitting the league bungled the way it handled peaceful protesters like Kap.

"The head of the NFL said, 'Yeah, maybe we were wrong. Football players -- maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest.'"

"Well, don’t apologize -- give Colin Kaepernick his job back!"

Sharpton continued, "Don’t come with some empty apology. Take a man’s livelihood?! Strip a man down of his talents?! Then four years later when the whole world is marching, all of a sudden you go and do a FaceTime talking about you sorry?!"

The Rev. said if Goodell is REALLY sorry, he should "repay the damage you did to the career you stood down ... because when Colin took a knee, he took it for the families in this building."

NFL superstar Von Miller is ready for the league to take the next step in its pledge to support social justice ... urging owners to make a peaceful protest policy and "walk the walk."

Miller made the statement in a powerful and emotional letter for TIME.com on Tuesday ... saying while he appreciated Roger Goodell's video last week, he said there's still more work to be done for the league.

Specifically ... seems Miller wants every NFL player to have the right to kneel during national anthems without the fear of backlash or future blackballing from league ownership.

"While it’s great that the NFL made an official statement in support of Black Lives Matter and the right to peaceful protest," Miller said, "it will ultimately be up to the team owners to put league policy into action and walk the walk."

Von never mentions Colin Kaepernick by name, but it's obvious he's referencing the QB and other players like Antonio Cromartie, who believe teams conspired to blackball them for taking a knee during the national anthem.

Miller seemed hopeful the NFL and the nation as a whole will continue to make the right steps toward social equality ... writing, "This time may be different. I pray that it is different."

"This time, many of the protesters are not black," Miller said. "This time, the entire country is engaged. This time, the entire world has taken notice. We have really begun to talk with each other, not just “at” each other."

NFL superstar J.J. Watt and Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien are among those mourning George Floyd's death on Tuesday ... with several members of the team attending the funeral service in Houston.

The Texans coach spoke at length last week about his frustrations over Floyd's death ... and vowed not to hold any off-season activities so players could attend the service.

Watt -- alongside former teammate D.J. Reader -- paid their respects to Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church ... as well as Texans chairman Cal McNair and other staffers.

Watt recently spoke out following Floyd's death ... saying, "I've seen the video and I think it's disgusting. I don't understand how that situation can't be remedied in a way that doesn't end in his death."

Rob Gronkowski and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are stepping up BIG for a local high school's football program ... joining forces to replace the team's equipment and storage shed after a tragic fire.

A blaze broke out on Blake High School's campus in Tampa last month ... with an estimated $15k-worth of supplies destroyed, according to tampabay.com.

The team said it would be nearly impossible to replace all the equipment in time to prepare for the 2020 season ... saying it simply isn't in the school's budget.

But, there's GREAT news for the Yellow Jackets -- the 31-year-old tight end and the Bucs are teaming up to get the program back on its feet ... with Gronk announcing their decision to help out in a WWE promo-style video on Instagram.

"Hey everyone, last week we heard about an unfortunate incident in Tampa where a fire burned down a high school storage shed full of their team's football equipment," Gronk says in the vid. "Sadly, they lost it all."

"Well, the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation and my new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are all about helping youth reach their full potential."

"So, we're gonna do just that. To the Blake High School Yellow Jackets, you're getting a brand new storage unit and new football equipment to replace everything that was lost."

Gronk gives the team a bit of encouragement ... and even hints he may hit up a practice with his Bucs teammates.

A bunch of Tigers will be flooding the booths in Baton Rouge this November ... 'cause LSU head coach Ed Orgeron says ALL of his players decided to team up and register to vote.

The leader of the reigning national champs revealed the team's decision on the "Off The Bench" show on ESPN Radio Tuesday morning ... saying he's working alongside his players to come up with ways to fight the issues they face every day.

"We had a great team meeting with our football team and I talked to them about specific stuff that was going on in the world today," Coach O said.

Orgeron added the team's leadership committee -- consisting of 12 players and several coaches -- came up with the idea to make their voices heard by hitting the voting booths.

"One of the solutions that they came up with as a group and to represent the team, that we're gonna register to vote. The guys wanted to take action."

Orgeron spoke out after the killing of George Floyd in an interview with Sports Illustrated last week ... saying, "My players and former players are hurting, and they let me know they’re hurting."

Roger Goodell has been a key figure behind the scenes in helping NFL players in their fight for social justice ... so says former NFL star Anquan Boldin, who's now praising the commish for his efforts.

The ex-Arizona Cardinals receiver broke it all down on 'The Daily Show' with Trevor Noah this week ... explaining Goodell has had his and others' backs when it comes to lobbying for equal rights.

Boldin says Goodell has taken trips with the NFL Players Coalition -- a group established by the league to help address social issues -- to key meetings over the years, and Boldin says he's grateful for it.

"When we're asking for support of the NFL, it's not just monetary," Boldin says. "It's coming to us when we have these meetings with congressmen and senators and those that are in positions of power because then those conversations change because there are a lot of owners in the NFL that can guarantee that some of those people are in the seats that they're in because of their support."

"When we ask the NFL to lend us your platform, it's coming to these meetings with us. It's understanding what exactly it is that we're fighting against."

Boldin added, "I can tip my hat to Roger because he's come along on several of those occasions. He's come along with us when we've spoken to people in position of power. He's come and tried to see, while we were doing court hearings, like what's the process."

Anquan says that's huge ... because having a guy who wields as much power as Goodell in their corner changes perceptions.

"I can give him kudos for trying to understand what exactly it is that we're talking about, trying to step outside of his self and put his self in our shoes and understand the issues that we're screaming about."

As we previously reported ... Goodell said last Friday he'll do even more for NFL players -- admitting to bungling the kneeling protests and vowing to do better going forward.

Reche Caldwell will be laid to rest on June 20 in Tampa, Florida ... the ex-NFL wide receiver's mother tells TMZ Sports.

The service will take place at First Baptist Church of West Tampa -- with the viewing taking place the day before.

We spoke with Deborah Caldwell who tells us the family has been flooded with calls from family and friends offering love and support in the wake of Reche's death.

They're also well aware -- and very appreciative -- of the notes on social media from Reche's ex-teammates like Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Bill Belichick and others.

When asked what fans could do to help out ... Deborah told us Reche has a 13-year-old son who plans to go to college one day. She's hoping to set up a college fund so people can donate if they wish. We'll update this post once that has been done.

As we previously reported, Reche -- a 2nd-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft -- was shot and killed outside of his home in Tampa on Saturday night.

Cops are investigating -- and have said the shooting does not appear to be a random act of violence.

The Cook is leaving the building in Minnesota ...

Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook has officially begun his contract holdout with the Vikings ... and, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he ain't stopping it until he gets a new, "reasonable" deal.

Cook played out the first 3 seasons of his rookie contract in Minnesota with huge success ... piling up more than 2,000 rushing yards despite injuries limiting him to just 29 games.

But, he clearly isn't willing to go back out for Minnesota for the final year of his rookie deal ... with Schefter reporting the RB is now done with all team workouts until he puts pen to new paper.

The move is pretty surprising ... remember, TMZ Sports just spoke with Dalvin in March out in NYC, and he sure didn't seem like a guy gearing up for a nasty contract negotiation.

Then again, the 24-year-old IS severely underpaid ...

Cook is set to make just $2 million this season ... whereas other top RBs like Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott and Le'Veon Bell are slated to make over $13 mil.

Unclear what numbers Dalvin is looking for in the new contract ... but it's safe to say $13 million is probably the STARTING point.

If the Vikings ain't able to meet those demands ... is it officially Alexander Mattison season in Minny?

Philadelphia Eagles stud Malik Jackson is callin' BS on Drew Brees' apology ... saying the QB only reneged on his comments because of the backlash he received.

... and now, the defensive lineman says he's gunnin' for the Saints star when they play in 2020.

Jackson spoke with 6abc's Jeff Skversky over the weekend ... and he said point-blank he doesn't think Drew is actually sorry for his stance on kneeling during national anthems.

"I think he's only apologizing because people came for him and people are disagreeing with him," Jackson said, "and he understands that his base in Louisiana, there’s a lot of black people."

Jackson has been highly critical of Brees since the day the 41-year-old made his controversial comments ... blasting him nearly every chance he's gotten.

In fact, Malik said he has the Dec. 13 Saints-Eagles game circled on his calendar ... because he says he can't wait to get back at Brees then.

"I'm going to have a lot to say," Jackson said. "Hopefully, I don’t get too wild with it, but I don’t understand how you could say that when you have people blocking for you who are black, catching balls from you who are black and people that are running the ball for you who are black."

Brees has issued THREE separate statements expressing remorse for his comments ... and even his wife wrote one as well.

Colin Kaepernick is still training EVERY DAY -- busting his ass as if he'll be on an NFL roster in 2020, sources tell TMZ Sports.

We're told 32-year-old Colin has not broken his routine -- he's still hitting the gym and the field daily -- and as one source close to Colin put it, "He's in the best shape of his life."

Of course, Colin held a workout in 2019 to show NFL teams he still has a cannon for an arm and the mobility that made him famous ... but he wasn't signed.

Many, including Kap, believe he was blackballed from the league for his kneeling demonstration (he hasn't been on a roster since the 2016 season) ... but things appear to be changing.

As we previously reported, NFL commish Roger Goodell admitted the league bungled the way it treated peaceful protesters in the past ... and even though he didn't name names, it was obvious he was talking about Colin and other kneelers.

So, the million-dollar question ... will an NFL Team finally pull the trigger and sign a QB who's a proven winner???

Warren Moon recently told us he thinks Kap would be a great fit in Seattle. Others think he would do well in New England.

Carlos Hyde -- who played with Kap for 3 seasons in San Francisco -- also thinks it's time for the QB to return ... saying the NFL can prove it's serious about their new stance on protests "by signing Kap back.''

"I think if they sign Kap back, that'll show that they're really trying to move in a different direction," Hyde told reporters on Monday. "Kap was making a statement 4 years ago about what's going on in today's world and the NFL didn't bother to listen to him then."

Shannon Sharpe had a change of heart about Drew Brees -- now saying the QB deserves a 2nd chance ... just days after blasting the NFL star on national TV.

Remember, Sharpe called for Brees to retire and walk away from pro football forever on his FS1 show "Undisputed" after Drew condemned NFL kneelers during an interview with Yahoo Finance.

"It wasn't what he said," Sharpe said Thursday ... "it was how he said it. He was defiant. I will NEVER respect the man."

But, after Sharpe went scorched-earth on Drew, the QB picked up the phone and talked things out with Shannon ... and apparently, he made a real impact.

Shannon says Drew understood he messed up -- and has vowed to educate himself on the topic so he can try and redeem himself.

Sharpe says he lectured Drew on why the protest is NOT about disrespecting the military -- but rather putting a spotlight on police brutality and racial injustice in America.

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."

Terrell Owens was at the front of a Black Lives Matter march in West Hollywood on Saturday leading the crowd in chants ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

"What do we want? JUSTICE! When? NOW!!"

"Say her name. BREONNA TAYLOR!"

"Say his name. GEORGE FLOYD!"

Those were just some of the chants T.O. led as the group marched through WeHo. Some protesters held up black power fists, others carried signs.

The march started at Pan Pacific Park and went through Beverly Blvd. all the way to La Cienega Blvd.

There is a heavy police presence but so far, everything is peaceful, sources at the protests tell TMZ Sports.

No looting, no violence ... just passionate people making their voices heard with the help of an NFL Hall of Famer.

Owens has been very outspoken on social media -- encouraging NFL stars to speak out in support of Colin Kaepernick and others who took a knee.

Of course, earlier this week several NFL players demanded the league admit they bungled the handling of the kneeling protests -- and Friday afternoon Roger Goodell did just that saying, "We were wrong."