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NBA player Glen "Big Baby" Davis says he knew Alton Sterling -- the man killed on video by police in Baton Rouge -- and tells TMZ Sports he was a "Great guy" who "wouldn't hurt a fly."

Davis -- who grew up in Baton Rouge -- met "Big Alton" years ago and would sometimes give him CDs to sell to help promote Davis' music. Davis says it wasn't just promotion, but it was a way to help Alton make a living for his family.

Davis says the two got to know each other -- and he has nothing but glowing words for the 37-year-old.

"Great guy, big personality. CDs were his way to make income to support his family. Not a guy who would use violence at all."

Sterling's shooting has reignited the national conversation about police brutality, and with protests in Baton Rouge threatening to spiral out of control ... Davis urged athletes from the area to get involved to help keep the peace.

Chelsea Manning, who's serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified military documents, was in a prison hospital and our sources say it was the result of a suicide attempt.

We're told the incident occurred early Tuesday at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas prison. We do not know specifically what Manning did in her cell, but one source tells TMZ she tried to hang herself.

Prison officials tell TMZ although she has been released from the hospital she is being "monitored."

Manning was convicted on 20 counts of espionage, for passing classified docs to WikiLeaks.

Manning transitioned from male to female behind bars.

Colin Kaepernick says the police killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge is nothing short of a modern day lynching -- saying, "Another murder in the streets because the color of a man's skin."

37-year-old Sterling was shot dead in the parking lot of a convenient store Tuesday night by a police officer. Sterling was selling CDs. The person who called police said Sterling had a gun and was making threats.

Cops pinned Sterling to the ground -- and that's when someone shouts, "He's got a gun." One of the officers opened fire on Sterling, shooting him in his chest and back. He died at the scene.

The incident has infuriated people all over the world ... including the San Francisco 49ers QB.

"This is what lynchings look like in 2016!" Kaepernick wrote.

"Another murder in the streets because the color of a man's skin, at the hands of the people who they say will protect us."

"When will they be held accountable? or did he fear for his life as he executed this man?"

The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on leave. Mass protests have already begun in Baton Rouge.

Two guys who had to watch their ex-boyfriends' marriage proposal go viral ... are now crushing the dreams of Internet cupids, proving fairy tales do NOT come true, usually. Deal with it.

The guys, Matt and Jacob, became a thing on social media when they tweeted about the proposal that went down during London Pride.

If you missed it ... a London cop (Matt's ex-fiance) stopped in the middle of the parade, got down on one knee and asked his bf (Jacob's ex) to marry him. The proposal was shared more than 15 million times on Twitter, so Matt and Jacob quickly caught wind ... and couldn't resist tweeting.

Jacob and Matt tell us they were flooded with comments from people who thought it would be poetic justice if they got together -- but Matt says he has a new BF, so he's not looking.

They say they did exchange DMs, but simply to discuss their exes' engagement. Jacob says he'd be down to grab a pint with Matt, but that's it.

The University of West Virginia football program -- players, coaches and staff -- is stepping up to help the victims of the devastating flooding that's already killed at least 20 people.

The state has been hit hard by massive thunderstorms that have knocked down trees and power lines. Several people, including children, have been swept away and killed in the fast moving waters.

The Mountaineers announced the team will host a water and goods drive Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium -- hoping to get essentials to people in need.

"Our players will be there helping load the donations onto the truck." Alex Hammond, Associate AD for football operations tells TMZ Sports.

"We wanted to be able to do our part. We wanted to utilize our facility and building to let people bring their donations down to us."

A Tony Robbins' motivational seminar went haywire in Dallas when more than 30 people who walked on hot coals had to get treated for burns.

According to reports ... 5 people were hospitalized Thursday night, while the rest were treated on-site for burns to their feet and lower legs. Tony had encouraged attendees to walk the coals in order to conquer their fears. It's a common thing at Robbins' events.

Tony's people tell TMZ ... 7,000 guests walked across the coals and only five "requested any examination beyond what was readily available on site."

At least one attendee blamed the burns on a lack of focus -- some people were reportedly taking selfies. This also happened at a 2012 event in San Jose.

A$AP Rocky tried but failed to break up a fist fight involving his famous stylist Ian Connor.

The slugfest went down in Paris during Fashion Week -- of all things -- and Connor was fuming about something that happened inside fancy clothing store, Colette.

Check out the video ... Connor appears to throw the first punch before Rocky steps in to stop the madness.

Well, he tried ... but the fight eventually spilled into the street.

Jesse Jackson is not just applauding the Democratic sit-in ... he firmly believes it's picking up where the Civil Rights Movement left off in the '60s.

The Rev was on Capitol Hill Thursday morning -- before the demonstration was suspended -- when he explained why he thinks the Dems can't back down on demanding at least a vote on gun control legislation ... no matter how much backlash they get for it.

Disney has lifted the ban on its beaches 8 days after the deadly alligator attack ... and is employing a new security protocol to avoid another death.

We're told in addition to the fences and warning signs ... Disney is now going to staff employees at their resort beaches to watch over guests and make sure they stay out of the water.

Furthermore ... the beaches will only be accessible during the day and must be cleared an hour before sunset.

As we previously reported ... Disney closed beach access after 2-year-old Lane Graves was attacked and killed.

The 21-year-old fan who was pushed off an upper level deck at Oracle Arena during Game 7 of the NBA Finals is in intensive care and fighting for his life ... this according to his father.

The victim is Salvator Bimbo -- a Golden State Warriors fan who traveled from L.A. to see the game with his brother.

Bimbo's father says a fight broke out at the game and a rival fan grabbed Salvator by the legs and pushed him over a railing.

"My son’s cheekbone is smashed, his nose, his upper-eye, his head, his brain,” Salvator's father told KRON4.com.

"He’s leaking from his ears blood. Not very good. He’s a beautiful young man. Did not deserve this.”

Salvator's family started a GoFundMe page to help with medical costs. They're also begging anyone with information about the suspects to come forward.

So far, no arrests have been made.

The alligator that killed a 2-year-old boy vacationing at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort has been trapped and killed ... so far as law enforcement can tell.

A rep for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission tells TMZ they captured 6 gators in the Seven Seas Lagoon, all of which matched the description of the killer. They say they're confident one of them killed the boy, but since his wounds didn't contain any gator DNA ... it's impossible to make a 100% match.

Adding to their confidence ... officials say they haven't spotted or trapped any other gators matching the description of the killer since June 16.

The Olympic torch relay took a horrific turn when a Brazilian soldier shot and killed a jaguar that had just been involved in the torch ceremony.

The female jaguar, named Juma, was photographed in the town of Manaus as the torch passed through on its way to Rio, and the whole thing went off without a hitch.

But according to reports, shortly after the ceremony the sedated big cat -- normally captive at a zoo -- bolted for freedom as it was being placed back in its cage. When Juma approached a soldier, he fired the fatal shot.

The Amazon Military Command said the killing was in line with safety procedures.

Talk about a tragic omen -- Brazil's Olympic team mascot is a yellow jaguar, known as Ginga.

Tim Tebow, Shaq, Johnny Damon and Kaka helped to lift a few spirits in Orlando this week -- visiting several Pulse shooting victims in the hospital ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Omar Mateen demanded America stop bombing Syria and Iraq during phone calls to police, and said he was killing in the "name of God the merciful."

The FBI just released a heavily redacted transcript of the 911 call, placed at 2:35 AM ET, he made from inside Pulse nightclub. He said, "Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God. I let you know, I'm in Orlando and I did the shootings."

The FBI says he frequently spoke in Arabic, and all of that has been redacted.

He later had 3 conversations with police negotiators where he identified himself as an "Islamic soldier" ... and said he was there because of the bombing of Syria and Iraq. He also threatened, "There is some vehicle outside that has some bombs, just to let you know."

Mateen added, "You people are gonna get it, and I'm gonna ignite it if they try to do anything stupid."

Disney finally fenced off the Seven Seas Lagoon on Friday and posted proper alligator warnings ... nearly 3 days after Lane Graves' tragic death.

Construction workers encircled the lagoon with poles and strung ropes between them on the same shoreline where the 2-year-old was attacked.

"Beach Closed" signs remain up and they've added other signs warning of gators and snakes too.

Walt Disney World Resort Vice President Jacquee Wahler says the new signage is temporary while they work out permanent, long-term solutions.

Wahler says they're also "reinforcing training with our Cast for reporting sightings and interactions with wildlife and are expanding our communication to Guests on this topic."

Hilton Grand Vacations Club is apologizing for sending an email urging members to "take a bite out of Orlando" just hours after 2-year-old Lane Graves' body was retrieved from Disney's Seven Seas Lagoon.

Hilton reps tell us the email was written and scheduled for distribution far in advance of Tuesday's horrific alligator attack. They became aware of the poor choice in words when people began blasting them on social media.

According to HGVC, "a bite" was in reference to the new Mako hypercoaster at the nearby SeaWorld whose mascot happens to be a shark.