Football

A whopping SEVEN Michigan State players have been hit with criminal charges for their alleged roles in a stadium tunnel fight with Michigan players following a loss last month.

The Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office just announced the charges ... saying they're now looking to prosecute Spartans cornerback Khary Crump, linebacker Tank Brown, defensive end Zion Young, safety Angelo Grose, defensive back Justin White, defensive end Brandon Wright, and pass rusher Jacoby Windmon over the Ann Arbor altercation.

Five of the players -- Brown, Young, Grose, White and Wright -- are facing one count of misdemeanor aggravated battery. Windmon is facing one count of assault and battery.

Crump, meanwhile, was charged with one count of felony assault.

The charges were handed down after a lengthy investigation into the Oct. 29 incident ... where multiple MSU players were seen on video roughing up a couple Wolverines after a disappointing 29-7 loss at Michigan Stadium.

One of the videos showed Spartan players punching and kicking a UM player. Another clip appeared to show Crump swinging a helmet at Wolverines defensive back Gemon Green.

According to Green's attorney, Green suffered a concussion and other injuries in the incident.

All MSU players were suspended from the team indefinitely following the altercations.

Zach Wilson has officially been relegated to the pine.

The New York Jets are benching the 23-year-old -- the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- following a string of poor performances ... and a press conference that appeared to upset some of his defensive players.

ESPN's Adam Schefter just broke the news ... saying Jets head coach Robert Saleh informed his team of the decision during a meeting Wednesday morning.

Either Joe Flacco or Mike White is expected to be the new starter going forward.

Wilson had been playing awful in the last few weeks, and, to make matters worse for the QB, he appeared to ruffle some of his teammates' feathers when he said after the abysmal loss to the Patriots that he didn't feel like he had let his defense down.

Both star corner Sauce Gardner and defensive end John Franklin-Myers liked a tweet slamming Wilson for not taking accountability ... although the two said afterward they did it on accident.

Suuuuuure.

Despite the dysfunction under center, the 6-4 Jets remarkably still have a shot to make the playoffs this year.

The post-Wilson era -- at least for now -- starts Sunday ... when NY plays Chicago.

Brandon Marshall will now have the New England Patriots logo etched into his arm FOR LIFE ... and it's all 'cause of a silly bet he made with Julian Edelman last week.

The two former wideouts placed the wager on the set of "Inside the NFL" back on Friday -- two days before their ex-teams went head-to-head at Gillette Stadium.

The deal was simple -- if the Jets win, Edelman gets NY ink. If they lose, Marshall gets branded.

As you know, the Patriots pulled out the win Sunday with an improbable, last-second 84-yard punt return ... and when it came time for Edelman to collect this week, Marshall paid up.

The 38-year-old, who made the Pro Bowl with the Jets in 2015, sat in a chair on the "Inside the NFL" set and took the needle to his right forearm.

Edelman gloated about it all afterward on his social media page ... writing, "A bets a bet. And @bmarshall is a man of his word. Thanks for saving me @patriots."

In even better news for Julian -- the Patriots don't play the Jets again this season, so it appears he's safe from any sort of retribution from Marshall.

Then again, the former wideout did play for the Dolphins as well -- and they are slated to play against New England on Jan. 1.

The Arizona Cardinals reportedly fired their offensive line coach/running game coordinator for groping a woman in Mexico City ... just hours before the team played against the 49ers.

ESPN, citing sources, reported Wednesday morning Sean Kugler was accused of inappropriately touching a female on Sunday night. The outlet reports Mexican authorities were made aware of the allegations, and then told the Cardinals of it all. Kugler was fired a short time later and sent back to Arizona on Monday morning.

The Cards had arrived in Mexico on Saturday night for the big game against S.F. on Monday. The team went on to lose the contest, 38-10.

Arizona officials have yet to confirm the report ... in announcing the firing on Tuesday, head coach Kliff Kingsbury would only say Kugler had been involved in an off-field "incident."

Kugler had been on the Cardinals' staff since 2019.

A top H.S. quarterback recruit's use of the n-word will not spell the end of his football career ... so says ex-NFL star Jamal Anderson, who tells TMZ Sports he's confident the teen will get another scholarship offer.

Marcus Stokes -- a four-star athlete from Allen D. Nease High School in Florida -- had his full ride to the Univ. of Florida pulled on Sunday ... after he posted a video of himself rapping the n-word in his car.

He apologized for it all, calling it "hurtful and offensive to many people" -- but some have wondered if it, and the Gators' subsequent punishment for it, would mean he'd no longer have a chance to play college ball anymore.

When we got Anderson out at LAX this week, he told us he's sure another school will give him another shot ... saying, "Man, he's a kid still."

"You've got to have time to grow and make mistakes and learn and make amends for the mistakes that you make," the former Atlanta Falcons running back said. "So, I wish him all the best and I hope that it all works out for him."

Anderson tells us Stokes' coaches, teammates, friends and peers will help him rebound from it all ... explaining if those around him continue to report he had no racist intentions with his actions, it'll be easier to forgive.

"When you look at the reports of the people that actually know him," Anderson said, "The people that are actually around him, there's nothing like that."

As if Cleveland's season couldn't get any worse -- some rando allegedly broke into FirstEnergy Stadium and took a joyride on the field just days before the Browns' next home game ... resulting in a bunch of damage.

The incident reportedly went down early Tuesday morning ... forcing the Browns' grounds crew to rush to repair the grass before Sunday's matchup against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Pictures captured by News Channel 5 show tire marks throughout the field ... with a road roller working to improve the home turf.

Luckily, the team told the outlet the damage is superficial ... which means there's a good chance Sunday's game will go down without any hiccups.

Police believe the joyride occurred after someone broke into the stadium and got ahold of a golf cart. The whole thing is currently under investigation.

“We are aware of the incident that occurred early Tuesday morning at FirstEnergy Stadium and have provided the Cleveland Division of Police with all relevant information," the team said in a statement.

"Based on our internal evaluation, there was some superficial damage to the playing field that our grounds maintenance team is currently working to repair."

Here's further proof Big Ten football is taken VERY seriously in Ohio -- droves of newborns in the state this week have been wrapped in "Beat Michigan" swaddles ... as the Buckeyes prepare to play the Wolverines in a huge game this weekend.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center was the facility providing the anti-Michigan paraphernalia to the babies -- with, of course, parents' permission -- and while Wolverines fans may not enjoy it so much, it's adorable as hell.

The kids got red blankets with the words "Beat Michigan" inscribed in them -- with the M crossed out. They were also gifted some Buckeye-colored beanies.

Some proud, cheesin' parents posed with the Ohio State-clad kids ... and, surely, they're hoping those smiles stay on their faces on Saturday afternoon in Columbus.

The game goes down at noon -- and with both teams coming in with 11-0 records ... it almost certainly means a spot in the College Football Playoff is on the line.

A couple L.A. Chargers fans turned on each other during the Chiefs game on Sunday night ... whaling on one another's faces at SoFi Stadium -- as their favorite team played on in the background.

Video, obtained TMZ Sports, shows that a man in a Joey Bosa jersey appeared to have started the melee ... when he threw a couple of punches at a guy in a row below him.

Unclear what caused the altercation to break out -- but soon after the first blow was thrown, another man got involved ... and all hell broke loose.

At least three guys traded haymakers for roughly 30 seconds, before other fans jumped in to slow down the action.

One witness tells us neither police nor stadium security guards ever arrived to check in on the situation ... but, fortunately, the parties left on their own without further incident.

Antonio Brown is continuing to cross the line in his feud with Tom Brady -- this time, he posted a clearly photoshopped nude pic of Gisele Bündchen on social media.

The troubled ex-NFL receiver shared the image to his Snapchat on Monday ... showing Gisele's face edited on top of another woman's naked body.

A caption was not included, so there's no explanation behind the decision to take another shot at Brady's ex-wife. The slide was later deleted ... but screenshots of AB's post quickly made rounds on Twitter.

It's yet another example of AB burning his Brady bridge to a crisp -- he's completely turned his back on his former teammate in recent months, despite TB12's continuous support throughout his off-field troubles.

Brown has also posted several times about Brady's divorce from Gisele after 13 years together ... including a pic hugging Bündchen after the Bucs' Super Bowl win in 2021.

He also went the bad photoshop route another time ... by putting his face onto Brady's body as Gisele had her arms wrapped around him.

AB seemingly tried to expose Brady by sharing a text conversation from 2021 last week ... in which the 7-time champ called Brown out for acting like "a young immature man that is selfish, self serving, irrational and irresponsible."

The UVA vs. Virginia Tech game has been canceled ... in wake of the tragic shooting on the Cavaliers' campus earlier this month.

The ACC made the ruling late Monday evening, saying the Nov. 26 matchup will not go down as planned ... after UVA players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry were shot and killed on a bus after returning from a class field trip on Nov. 13.

According to the conference, ACC officials and both Virginia schools had a say in the decision.

"The ACC and Virginia Tech continue to support UVA following the devastating tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of three members of the Cavalier football team -- Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry, and injuries to students Mike Hollins (also a Virginia football student-athlete) and Marlee Morgan."

This is the second game that's been canceled since the tragic incident -- last weekend's UVA vs. Coastal Carolina contest was also called off.

Both UVA and Virginia Tech's seasons are now over.

Mats were nowhere to be seen on the sidelines during the Chargers vs. Chiefs game on Sunday night ... just days after a Broncos player sued L.A., claiming the previous use of the ground coverings at SoFi Stadium caused him to tear his ACL.

The mats had been there for the Broncos vs. Chargers game back on Oct. 17 -- and during a special teams play in the overtime period of the contest, outside linebacker Aaron Patrick stepped on them and blew out his knee.

In a lawsuit filed on Nov. 15, he claimed it was a mistake by the Chargers, ESPN, the NFL and others to allow the mats to be placed so close to the playing field ... explaining all parties should have known they presented a dangerous hazard for players.

He sued for unspecified damages, including lost bonuses and future earning potential.

On Sunday -- the first Chargers game at SoFi Stadium since the suit was filed -- no mats were present in any area of the field.

It should be noted the game was an NBC broadcast, not an ESPN one ... but cords and cables were either covered in a different way, or carried by officials.

Unclear if the Chargers imposed the changes as a result of the suit ... they declined to comment due to the pending litigation.

Patrick's attorney, William M. Berman of Berman & Riedel, tells TMZ Sports he and his client still aren't happy with the changes ... saying, "The guys holding the cables/wires were still in too close proximity to the field, creating what we believe to still be a very dangerous condition."

Roquan Smith has only been a member of the Ravens for a few weeks ... but the former Bears linebacker is already making his presence felt in the community, handing out Thanksgiving food to Baltimore families ahead of Turkey Day.

The 25-year-old -- traded from Chicago to Baltimore last month -- showed up with his teammates at a local elementary/middle school to hand out food to 200 families, per WBALTV.

The outlet says Smith and other Ravens pulled their money together to purchase turkeys and side dishes for the families to enjoy on the annual holiday.

Baltimore shared videos Monday of Smith and the team packing boxes of food into cars as families came to pick up the items in time for Thursday's celebration.

Smith and his teammates did more than just hand out birds, though ... they took time to interact with community members -- and Roquan even offered to take a pic with a little kid eager to meet him.

The youngster had the warmest smile as he stood next to the linebacker ... and even said "cheese" while throwing up the peace sign as he posed for the camera.

Navy football players are going to be looking gooooooooood for their game against Army this year -- the school just revealed it'll be wearing NASA-themed uniforms for the classic rivalry ... and they're awesome!!

The helmets, jerseys, cleats and gloves will feature nods to astronauts -- as the school looks to pay homage to the 54 Naval Academy graduates who went on to become space explorers.

One side of the players' headgear will have a painting of Navy alum Bruce McCandless II, who took the first untethered spacewalk back in 1985. The other side will have NASA's logo on it with a moon in the background.

The jerseys, meanwhile, will be white and red ... with, according to the school, markings that mimic the NASA spacewalk suit.

Players' shoes will be all white, of course, to symbolize astronaut moon boots.

The team got its first look at the kits inside a meeting room on Monday -- and, not surprisingly, the guys LOVED what they saw.

"One small step for man...One giant leap for Navy Football," the team tweeted after unveiling the unis.

Zach Wilson might be side-eyeing some of his defensive teammates (and they him) after multiple players, including Sauce Gardner, liked a tweet calling out the quarterback following the team's heartbreaking loss to the Pats on Sunday.

After the soul-crushing 10-3 loss, Wilson told reporters he didn't feel like the offense owed the defense, who were spectacular (like they've been throughout the year), anything ... which raised many eyebrows.

The Jets punted 10 times ... one more time than Wilson had completions (he was 9-for-22 for 77 yards). Plainly put, Wilson and the Jets' offense was putrid against New England.

"You don't owe your defense anything @Zach Wilson," wrote Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who also posted a video of Wilson overthrowing a wide-open receiver.

Lewis' tweet made its way to at least a few Jets defenders ... Sauce and defensive end John Franklin-Myers were caught liking the post.

Of course, fans and media immediately pounced on idea of beef between the two units ... something the first-round draft pick and NFL star tried to quell.

"I swear I didn't mean to like this tweet. I only found out because yall started tagging me. We gon' be straight!" Gardner tweeted.

He attempted to further clarify ... writing "If I liked it purposely, I just wouldn’t of said anything,"

"I always mistakenly like tweets on here, but y’all made sure y’all caught this one. Y’all toxic on here."

Franklin-Myers, like Sauce, also seemed to feign ignorance, writing, "I ain't mean to like that tweet! We got faith in Zach for sure! Ya'll stop looking for problems, we got 7 games left to ball."

One of the best high school football players in the country had his Florida scholarship offer pulled this weekend ... after he was seen on video rapping the n-word.

Marcus Stokes posted the quick, two-second clip on his social media page last week -- appearing to show the quarterback recruit singing, "Welcome back, n***a."

Almost immediately afterward, the Nease H.S. athlete, who's white, received backlash for it ... and on Sunday, the Univ. of Florida made the decision to pull their offer from him.

Stokes had been committed to attending the school since early July.

"I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted a video of it on social media," Stokes explained on his Twitter page on Sunday.

"I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say. It was hurtful and offensive to many people, and I regret that."

Stokes continued, "I fully accept the consequences for my actions, and I respect the University of Florida's decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football."

Stokes had a great junior season at Nease -- but struggled in his senior season this year. Still, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound dual-threat QB was rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports ... and the 14th-ranked signal-caller in the nation.

Stokes had received offers from several other schools -- including Penn State, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech -- during his H.S. career ... though it's unclear if those scholarship offers now still stand.

Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman, watching at home with an injury, missed the wild ending between his team and the Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" ... all because he broke his TV during the game!!

The Kansas City wideout -- who's on the IR with an abdominal injury -- was live tweeting during the game, and at one point said the drama was too much for him to watch, and he almost threw his remote at the TV.

Almost.

But, Hardman finally gave in to his emotions as the Chiefs and Chargers continued to exchange blows, writing, "Update I threw the remote at the TV! Now I gotta go get a new TV."

As proof, Hardman posted a pic of his TV, and judging from the damage, he appears to have gotten it good.

Hardman's squad, trailing the Chargers for most of the night, ended up winning due to some late-game magic from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Mahomes, who threw three touchdowns to Kelce, connected with the superstar tight end for his final TD pass with 31 seconds left ... putting KC ahead, 30-27.

Hardman, expected to be out at least four games, has only been in the NFL for four seasons ... but the 24-year-old shouldn't have any issue replacing the TV (especially at those Black Friday prices!).

Better hurry up, though ... Chiefs play in 6 days!