Kids

The H.S. wrestler who was forced to cut his dreadlocks before a wrestling match is happy the referee behind the incident was punished... but his attorney tells TMZ Sports the guy should be BANNED for LIFE.

Alan Maloney was suspended 2 seasons by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association on Wednesday ... after telling the 16-year-old Andrew Johnson (who is black) to either cut off his dreadlocks or forfeit a Dec. 2018 match.

The wrestler's attorney, Dominic Speziali, tells TMZ Sports Johnson and his family "welcome" the punishment and call it a win "for the progress of civil rights in New Jersey" ... but feel it could have been more significant.

"The results of the [Division of Civil Rights]'s investigation leaves no doubt that repeatedly disgraced referee Alan Maloney was flat-out wrong in his abhorrent treatment of Andrew."

"It is our opinion that any individual with such a storied history of race-based incidents and continuing questions about his credibility should not face a limited suspension of two-years, but should be permanently barred from officiating."

The family also points out that the investigation determined Maloney lied about the reasoning behind the dread cutting when he claimed Johnson had "tape or rubber bands in his hair" ... which multiple witnesses told investigators was not true.

"With today's announcement, we hope that no athlete going forward will be forced to sacrifice their identity for the opportunity to compete."

Florida native Reed Alexander was only 13 years old when he landed the recurring role as the kooky critic, Nevel Papperman -- who is constantly obstructing Carly's show to score a smooch -- on Nickelodeon's technically-advanced kids comedy, "iCarly."

Reed Alexander shared screen time with other kid stars including Jennette McCurdy as the cohost and closest homie, Sam Puckett, Nathan Kress as the tech support friend, Freddie Benson, Jerry Trainor as the big bro and parental figure, Spencer Shay ... and of course Miranda Cosgrove as the show's star, Carly Shay.

Alexander was also in two episodes of "Will & Grace."

The high school wrestling referee who told a black wrestler to cut his dreadlocks in order to compete has been suspended for TWO SEASONS over the incident, officials announced.

As we previously reported, referee Alan Maloney (who is white) told 16-year-old Andrew Johnson (who is black) to either cut off his dreadlocks or forfeit a Dec. 2018 match.

Johnson -- who was only given 90 seconds to make his decision -- opted for the haircut ... and video of the shameful moment went viral.

Now, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has said the incident has been investigated in association with the NJ division on Civil Rights and they agreed on a 2-year suspension.

"Student athletes should be able to compete with each other on a level playing field," Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement.

"Racial discrimination in the enforcement of the rules of any sport is inconsistent with the spirit of fair play. The Division on Civil Rights' action today makes it less likely that any student athlete will have to endure discrimination that not only undermines fair competition but also violates our state laws."

Rachel Wainer Apter, a division director for the civil rights division, labelled Maloney's actions as "discrimination" and "a persistent form of anti-Black racism."

"This guidance makes clear that employers, housing providers and places of public accommodation cannot police Black hair. And the [decision] will ensure that high school athletes across the State can focus on being their best, not worrying that their hair will subject them to differential treatment based on race."

For his part, Maloney has always insisted he was simply enforcing state rules pertaining to hair and did nothing wrong.

An org named after Sandy Hook and dedicated to fighting gun violence just sent a powerful message as kids head back to school ... depicting a school shooting on camera.

Sandy Hook Promise debuted a new PSA Wednesday called "Back-to-School Essentials," which starts out like your average back-to-school big box-style ad, plugging everyday products that kids use on campus.

As the PSA plays out, it spirals into a twisted scene of violence ... depicting a school shooting, with students touting their products and then using them to escape and survive.

Some of the images shown here are incredibly upsetting. You see kids being shot in the background and falling to the ground, kids bleeding from gunshot wounds ... and kids ready to stab a shooter with pencils and scissors. Perhaps the most powerful moment is when a girl hiding in a bathroom stall is texting, "I love you mom." As she plugs her excitement over having her "own phone to stay in touch," she cries in fear.

The PSA ends with a harrowing message about back-to-school season ... "It's back to school time and you know what that means. School shootings are preventable when you know the signs."

Britney Spears is expected to show up in court Wednesday for a conservatorship battle that multiple sources have described as "a fireworks show."

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney's mom, Lynne, will ask the judge to terminate Jamie as Britney's conservator. Currently, Britney's care manager, Jodi Montgomery, is the temporary conservator per Jamie's wishes, and he's expected to retake the reins on January 20. But, we're told Lynne thinks Jamie is no longer fit to continue in that role.

A critical piece of evidence is expected to be unveiled during the hearing -- the report by a court-appointed evaluator who spent months gathering evidence on the care Britney has received. The evaluator looked at Britney's primary doctor, Dr. Timothy Benson, who died unexpectedly on August 24, suddenly at age 48. We're told the evaluator put Dr. Benson and Jamie under a microscope, but so far it appears only the judge knows what's in the report.

The good news for Jamie ... the D.A. just rejected a child abuse case against him for the August 24 altercation he had with Britney's eldest son, 14-year-old Sean.

The bad news for Jamie ... he's still under a restraining order that prohibits him from having any contact with either of Britney's 2 children.

And, there's more bad news for Jamie ... we're told Britney's furious at him over his confrontation with Sean where he allegedly laid hands on him. Our sources say Britney hasn't spoken to Jamie since the incident. And, we're told there's a "strong likelihood" Britney will show up in court and support Lynne, with whom she's gotten close with over the last 6 months.

But, there's this ... we're told Lynne will not ask to become Britney's conservator. We know Lynne did not object to Jodi Montgomery as the temporary conservator, but we don't know how she would feel about making it permanent.

Someone involved in the case tells TMZ, there will be "major surprises" in court.

Stay tuned.

Ex-Blink-182 singer Tom DeLonge and his wife are NOT staying together for the kids ... he's calling it quits after nearly 2 decades of marriage.

According to docs obtained by TMZ ... DeLonge filed for divorce in San Diego County Superior Court after 18 years of marriage to Jennifer DeLonge. They've known each other since high school and got married on May 26, 2001 in San Diego. They have 2 kids together ... 17-year-old daughter Ava and 13-year-old son Jonas.

As for why they're splitting up ... the founding Blink member cited "irreconcilable differences." They list December 29, 2017, as the date of separation. He's asking for joint legal and physical custody of their kids.

As far as spousal support ... he wants the court to figure it out later.

Michael Strahan is going to war with one of his ex-wives over child support -- and the ex-NFL superstar just arrived to court in Manhattan for a hearing on the issue.

Our sources connected to Michael say he is NOT behind on his child support payments to his ex-wife, Jean Muggli Strahan. However, she is presumably seeking to increase his monthly payments.

The standoff is between Michael and Jean -- his second ex-wife -- who have twin daughters together, Sophia and Isabella, who are now almost 15 years old. Jean and her attorney Shannon Simpson, from the law firm Cohen Clair, was also present for Monday's hearing.

Michael is obviously doing very well for himself -- following his lucrative Hall of Fame career in the NFL, he's now hosting "Good Morning America" and 2 other shows on ABC. It seems likely Jean is seeking an increase based on his increased income.

Michael and Jean married way back in 1999, but they split in 2006, and the divorce was nasty. Their divorce proceedings dragged on for months, and the judge eventually awarded Jean $15.3 million and set Michael's child support for their daughters at $18,000 per month.

Cristiano Ronaldo admits he was "embarrassed" over news coverage of allegations that he raped a woman in a Las Vegas back in 2009 ... saying he tried to hide the stories from his kids.

"I remember one day I was at home in the living room with my girlfriend watching the television to see the news and they speak about 'Cristiano Ronaldo this and that,'" Ronaldo told Piers Morgan on "Good Morning Britain."

"I listened to my kids coming down the stairs and I changed the channel because I was embarrassed."

"I just changed the channel for Cristiano Jr. not to see that they speak bad about his father about a very bad case."

"It makes me feel so bad to be honest."

Of course, Ronaldo is talking about allegations made by Kathryn Mayorga -- who claims CR7 brought her to his penthouse hotel room in June 2009 after a night of partying and forcibly raped her.

Mayorga went to police after the incident but didn't name Ronaldo in her report. She later cut a deal with Ronaldo in which she would sign a confidentiality agreement in exchange for $375k.

In 2018, Mayorga broke the terms of the deal by filing a civil lawsuit against the soccer star -- claiming he and his team bullied her into signing it in the first place. The civil case is still active.

Officials in Vegas investigated the allegations but ultimately decided NOT to bring criminal charges against Ronaldo citing lack of evidence.

Saquon Barkley is jumping in to save the day for a dissed Giants fan ... he just invited the little kid who was roasted by DeMarcus Lawrence to a game in November!!!

11-year-old Kamil Bautista -- a NY fan living in McAllen, Texas -- drove 9 hours with his family to watch the Cowboys play the Giants in Dallas last weekend.

But, after the game when he was searching for autographs from players outside the stadium ... Lawrence blew him off, telling him his Barkley jersey was the wrong team!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Kamil's father, Jorge Bautista, who told us the whole situation sucked ... and said Jerry Jones should sit down with Lawrence to explain to him that wasn't right.

Well, Barkley saw the whole situation ... and guess what??? HE WANTS TO HANG OUT WITH THE KID NOW!!!

Sources close to the situation tell us Barkley reached out to the Bautistas this week and invited them to their Nov. 10 game against the Jets in New York.

We're told Barkley is flying them out and will give them a meet-and-greet experience as well as VIP treatment at MetLife Stadium.

Oh, and we're told the kid will almost certainly get some autographs from the team too!!!

Meek Mill is back at his old elementary school, passing out hundreds of backpacks to students and hooking up their teachers with much-needed supplies.

Meek swung by his alma mater, James G. Blaine Elementary School, Friday afternoon in Philadelphia to personally hand out the goods, and the kids went crazy as they got their new gear.

The rapper teamed up with Puma, and together they're giving away over 500 backpacks filled with school supplies to kids in need. Meek's also doling out 30 classroom packs to all the teachers at the school, making sure they've got everything to meet their pupils' needs this school year.

As you know ... Meek's worked wonders in his old Philly stomping grounds since walking out of prison in 2018, and just last month, he lifted the curtain on a refurbished basketball court in his old hood.

Backpack donations are kinda becoming Meek's thing ... last year, he helped pass out 6,000 backpacks at James G. Blaine elementary.

DJ Khaled is about to add another executive producer to the family ... he and his wife are expecting their second child together.

Khaled announced the big news Thursday, and safe to say he's super pumped to add to his growing family ... calling his wife's pregnancy a blessing and saying he's more musically inspired than ever.

As you know ... DJ Khaled absolutely LOVES being a father and doting on his kid, so much so, he made his first son Asahd a friggin' executive producer on his 10th studio album, "Grateful," when the kid was only 4 months old!!!

Asahd is almost 3 years old now, and he won't be an only child for long ... he's about to have a baby brother. No word on a name for the little man, at least not yet.

Congrats, and we can't wait to see how many albums Khaled's baby boy produces before learning to walk. The bar's been set pretty high.

Kobe Bryant is continuing to explain himself after calling out a 7th grade girl on Instagram for missing a youth basketball game for a dance recital ... saying he did the same thing when he was a kid.

... and there's video proof!!!

Here's a 12-year-old Kobe -- in the green hat -- dancing his face off to "Ice Ice Baby." Nice moves.

Kobe included the caption, "When I was 12, I skipped basketball for two weeks so I could dance in a school show. I’m all about diversifying while young, then locking in on your passion."

What's interesting is Kobe is trying to dance his way out of the hot seat over the caption he posted on Wednesday ... in which he calls out a girl from his daughter's youth basketball team for attending a dance recital instead. Kobe updated the caption after catching hell online but the Internet sees all.

Here's the original caption ...

"Here’s our fourth place 'winners' picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time."

"From the original 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now) a player who's team in our area folded and a player who's family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing te players from the ground up. That journey continues. #Mambas."

Kobe later updated the caption to explain himself ... saying the photo is 2 years old and the girl now lives and breathes basketball:

"The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time, meaning she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine. Now? She eats sleeps and breaths the game. So from this original group of 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee."

The backlash continued ... so Kobe continued to explain himself online.

Jeremy Renner's ex-wife has filed legal docs to strip him of all child custody ... and even require a monitor for visits.

Sonni Pacheco filed legal docs seeking to change their previous agreement, which gives them joint custody over 6-year-old Ava. Pacheco does not say what triggered her move, but the 2 have had a long, difficult history.

Sonni has claimed in the past Jeremy's gun collection put their daughter at risk. She said one of the weapons was out in the open, behind a bar. Jeremy claimed at the time the guns were always under lock and key.

Paul Mooney's sons are speaking out for their father -- whom they claim is "not well" enough to do so himself -- against allegations regarding Richard Pryor's own son.

Daryl and Dwayne Mooney -- who also do stand-up -- spoke to Comedy Hype about Richard's former bodyguard, Rashon Kahn, claiming Paul had sex with Richard Jr. ... and that Senior put a million dollar bounty on Paul after finding out.

They deny the allegations flat-out and say that whatever Rashon's peddling in 2019 is nothing but gossip and hearsay. They emphasize the fact Richard Jr. himself has yet to say Paul's name.

If Richard Jr. does come out and accuse Paul by name -- which he didn't do with us in NYC a few weeks ago -- Paul's sons say they'd hear him out, and deal with the allegation accordingly. But, to hear it from a bodyguard years later ... they call BS.

Daryl and Dwayne also discuss why Paul was a no-show at a recently booked appearance at a comedy club in Atlanta, and explain their father has lost some of his mental faculties.

DeMarcus Lawrence is clapping back at everyone attacking him for snubbing a little kid's autograph request ... saying he has zero regrets about telling the boy, "Get the right jersey, son!"

Lawrence and the Dallas Cowboys beat the hell out of the Giants on Sunday ... and after the game, a little kid in a Saquon Barkley jersey tried to get the superstar's autograph.

But, Lawrence just kept on walking, and eventually told the kid straight-up, "Get the right jersey, son!"

Video of the incident went viral, with people blasting Lawrence for not signing ... but he defended his actions Tuesday, saying, "suck it up."

"It’s crazy how you fans want to attack me for not signing for a kid," Lawrence said. "It’s more than one kid that come to the game with Cowboys jerseys and never get to meet any player."

"So if I’m honest with my own kids I will never treat your kid better than mine so suck it up. #SorryNotSorry."

Lawrence has been one the best players in the NFL over the last couple seasons -- he just signed a 5-year, $105 MILLION contract with the 'Boys earlier this year.

There's a $20k education fund to help the children of the woman killed in the fatal Kevin O'Leary boat crash, and the campaign was set up by the son of the other victim killed in the incident.

Alex Poltash, whose father Gary died in the tragedy, is the man behind the GoFundMe for Suzana Brito's three children -- 12-year-old Liam, 11-year-old Ruby and 9-year-old Cash. Alex says the money is going into an education fund for the kids, and it's a way to carry on his dad's legacy.

The way Alex sees it ... his father was a true believer in the power of education, and the crowdfunding effort is an appropriate way to honor his pops, who was friends with Suzana.

We broke the story ... Kevin's boat was involved in a fatal crash last month on Lake Joseph in Ontario, Canada. Two people were killed and 3 others were injured.

Multiple sources with knowledge tell us, police are looking at whether the boat that was hit had its navigation lights on. Kevin insists they were not on, but we're told people on the other boat insist the lights were on, Kevin's boat was going too fast and the driver -- Kevin's wife -- wasn't paying proper attention.

Suzana, a 48-year-old single mother, died in the hospital after suffering horrific injuries in the wreck.