NFL

His FATHER was a baseball star. HE was a baseball star. But Ken Griffey Jr.'s son WON'T carry on the MLB legacy 'cause he chose football instead ... and KG2 tells TMZ he's totally cool with it.

Turns out, Ken's kid Trey Griffey is a freshman wide receiver for the University of Arizona ... and Ken's in L.A. to watch the Wildcats take on USC tonight.

But when we asked if he was a little disappointed that his 6'3", 190 pound kid won't be following in his Major League footsteps, Ken gave a pretty heartfelt reply.

"He loves football ... and as a parent, I've got to be supportive of that," Ken told us ... adding, "You can't tell your child what to love and not to love."

But that's not all ... we also asked Ken about his kid's chances of making the NFL, if he considers himself the greatest HR hitter of his generation, and his encounter with Charlie Sheen.

NFL star Major Wright just got into serious heat over his side hustle -- AFRICAN DIAMONDS -- and now he's being chased down by a couple of scary loan sharks.

Here's the short of it ... when he's not playing ball, Wright operates a diamond trading company called TDW Diamonds, and allegedly borrowed $75,000 last year in order to purchase raw South African diamonds (ranging from 21-31.5 carats).

Problem is ... the lenders are saying they still haven't been repaid, and the interest rate is borderline mafia-level.

According to their lawsuit, lenders Jimmy Michel and Marc Geffrard claim Wright promised to repay the loan PLUS 100% interest by March 2012 ... a total of $150,000 ... but that never happened.

It's now been more than a year and Michel and Geffrard say they still haven't been paid. They're suing for the full $150,000 plus even more interest.

P.S. -- the loan sharks are gonna get screwed because under Florida law, if anyone charges more than 18 percent on a loan, they forfeit their right to collect any interest at all. So, by (allegedly) signing a dumb contract, the two footballers may have outsmarted the sharks in the end.

Ex-New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez just took the witness stand for the first time in his high-profile murder case ... and told the court he's not mentally ill.

During the hearing, the judge peppered Hernandez with a barrage of questions about his overall health and mental state. Hernandez -- who was pretty composed on the stand -- insisted he's A-OK.

Hernandez has pled not guilty to the murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd.

San Francisco 49ers superstar Aldon Smith has reportedly been hit with 3 felony charges for possession of ASSAULT WEAPONS ... stemming from a shooting at his home back in 2012.

Smith -- who's currently in rehab following a DUI last month -- was stabbed at a party at the NFL star's 8,000 square foot home in San Jose, CA. Two other people were shot that night.

The identity of the shooter is unknown -- but officials do say there were several guns found in Smith's home, including 3 kinds of assault rifles (below) which are illegal in California ... and an unregistered .45 handgun.

According to cops, Smith fired the handgun into the air several times during the party, but did not hit anyone. They say the unknown shooter later used the same handgun.

Authorities also say they found several magazines of ammunition in Smith's bedroom.

Just two weeks ago, the two alleged shooting victims filed lawsuits against Aldon -- but never accused the football player of firing the shots that struck them that night.

Everyone knows the Jacksonville Jaguars SUUUCK ... including owner Shahid Khan, who scoffed at the idea of signing Tim Tebow ... and told us his team needs A WHOLE LOT of good players.

Khan -- one of the richest men in America -- was leaving the Ritz-Carlton in Washington D.C. yesterday when we asked him if he would consider adding Tebow to his pathetic roster.

Khan's response -- laughter -- followed by, "Ah, we need a lot of good players, OK."

Then, something even more shocking happened -- SHAHID GRABBED A NEWSPAPER.

He talked the talk, but now 49ers safety Donte Whitner is walking the walk ... officially filing an application with the court to legally change his last name to "Hitner," TMZ has learned.

Donte has been talking about making the move ever since the NFL fined him $21k for an illegal hit on a Rams wide receiver earlier this season.

But now, we've learned ... on Tuesday, Whitner sent his attorney Larry Zukerman to file the official request at Probate Court of Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

In the doc, Donte explains that he wants to make the change because it will be beneficial to his career as a pro football player and in other business ventures.

Adam "Pacman" Jones was found not guilty today of punching a woman at an Ohio nightclub ... and surveillance video of the whole confrontation may be what saved his frequently arrested ass.

A judge ruled in Jones' favor in the misdemeanor assault case stemming from the June 5 incident ... where he appeared to punch, or at least slap, the alleged victim as she stood in an outdoor area of the club.

But the attorney for the Cincinnati Bengals cornerback argued Jones was only acting in self-defense because the woman had hit him with a beer bottle.

The surveillance video clearly shows her making the first move -- and although prosecutors claimed Jones started everything by calling the woman and her friends "fat and ugly" ... that wasn't enough to convict.

Translation -- the judge told the woman to follow 3rd grade rules: Sticks and stones ...

TMZ has obtained video proving Braylon Edwards didn't just attack a man outside of a Detroit nightclub this weekend ... he delivered one of the biggest CHEAP SHOTS we've ever seen.

The video begins with the 6'3", 218-pound unemployed wide receiver chewing out a photog who allegedly shot footage of Braylon pushing someone else around outside the nightclub.

After Braylon screams at the guy, the photog starts to walk away ... but Braylon chased after him, and while the photog had his back turned, Braylon reached down and ripped his ankles out from under him ... sending the photog flying face first into the pavement.

The photog eventually got up and headed to a nearby police station, where he filed a battery report against the 30-year-old.

As for the extent of his injuries, we're told the photog denied medical attention, claiming he only suffered minor injuries.

After the incident, Braylon adamantly denied ANY WRONGDOING ... tweeting, "The reports are blasphemy. Was joking with friends and a guy was filming us. I asked him to delete it, he said no. He wasn't harmed at all."

Braylon's rep initially told TMZ ... the photog concocted the story in a shameless attempt to "take Braylon's money."

The photog tells TMZ ... he's pissed about the situation and plans to pursue his case all the way through.

Ex-Dallas Cowboys QB Troy Aikman needs just one more home in Dallas ... then he'll have one for each of his Super Bowl trophies ... cuz dude just dropped millions on ANOTHER swanky new mansion ... TMZ has learned.

The Fox Sports commentator paid $4.3 million for a 5-bedroom red brick home overlooking Turtle Creek Lake in the Highland Park area. One of the main selling points -- according to the listing -- DUCKS in the backyard. Obviously he's never had ducks in the backyard ... because they crap everywhere.

The neighborhood must be great ... because this is the 2nd crib he's bought there in the last 3 months --- in July, Aikman spent $4.25 million for a 10,000 sq. foot house not far away.

U.S. troops just scored a major military victory -- the right to watch NFL games again -- because the top dude at the Pentagon has done an about-face ... TMZ has learned.

We're told ... Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering certain furloughed employees at the Dept. of Defense to return to work ... and that includes the Armed Forces Network -- which had to stop broadcasting games because its staff was furloughed.

As we reported ... during Fox's football coverage yesterday, Howie Long slammed the government shutdown ... for curtailing the football broadcasts and damaging service members' morale.

Hagel says Pentagon officials decided they could end furloughs "for employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members."

The order is effective immediately -- the AFN is already getting its broadcast operations back up to speed.

Ex-Kansas City Chiefs superstar running back Larry Johnson no longer plays football ... but he DOES play strip clubs ... as a guest DJ ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple TMZ strip club sources ... yeah, we got those (a lot of those) ... tell us Johnson has been spotted manning the DJ booth at Tootsie's Cabaret in Miami several times this year.

We're told Johnson isn't the main DJ -- but every now and then, he'll take over the booth for a quick guest set ... and the crowd loves it.

For the record, Tootsie's is HUGE with pro athletes ... like Aaron Hernandez who allegedly shot his friend in the face after patronizing the club back in February. Good times ...

We called the Cabaret for comment on the DJ situation -- but unlike their dancers, management was tight-lipped.

Deion Sanders was hospitalized Sunday afternoon -- after landing at LAX and feeling a sharp pain in his gut ... TMZ has learned.

Prime needed immediate attention after arriving in Los Angeles -- and tells us he received assistance from two very helpful firefighters.

We're told the 46-year-old athlete is currently being checked out for kidney stones -- as well as possible appendix issues ... but still no firm answer on the cause.

Sanders couldn't have been in too much pain though ... since he had time to snap pics with the guys who helped him out.

Football legend Howie Long has a message for our government -- GET YOUR CRAP TOGETHER SO TROOPS CAN WATCH SOME NFL FOOTBALL!!

Long says ... due to the standoff in D.C., the Armed Forces network can't operate at full speed --which means no NFL for our soldiers.

The NFL Hall of Famer issued a pretty heartfelt statement about the situation during Sunday's NFL broadcast on FOX ... explaining how NFL broadcasts help our men and women in uniform:

"These games bring a welcome piece of home and a much deserved respite from the dangerous work [the troops] do protecting our liberty."

Long finishes up saying "regardless of politics" ... the whole "NFL on FOX" team wants the shutdown to end soon.

Warren Sapp’s claim that he funded a $5,000 bounty program during his playing days is starting to sound like BS … ‘cause one of his most high-profile teammates says he NEVER saw it happen.

Sapp went on Dan Patrick's show this week and said he “used to have $5,000 waiting for anybody who hit somebody and got a fine” during his time with the Buccaneers. He also claimed to have paid out the bounty “at least six times.”

But TMZ spoke with Keyshawn Johnson, who shared a locker room with Sapp for four years in Tampa Bay, and Key tells us he never saw 99 engage in any sort of Bounty activity.

“I didn't witness it, nor have I ever heard of it.” Keyshawn says.

NFL free agent Braylon Edwards has been named in a battery report -- after a photog told cops the ex-49er grabbed him by the ankles outside a Detroit nightclub ... and shook him upside down, TMZ has learned.

A rep for the Detroit PD tells us ... the guy who filed the report claims he shot video of Braylon pushing someone outside a club in Downtown Detroit -- and that's when things turned ugly.

Edwards allegedly told the photog he needed to look at the video -- but when he refused ... Braylon flipped him upside down Suge Knight style to the concrete.

The victim refused medical attention because he only had minor injuries ... and luckily, he held onto the phone containing the video.

The Prez was asked about the issues renewed controversy over the past few months ... and proclaimed nostalgia isn't a good enough reason to keep the name.

Saying if he were team owner ... there'd be serious discussion about changing it.

However, Barack doesn't think fans of the name are being racist -- they're just passionate for team history.

Obama joins a growing movement of people once again pushing for the change -- including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.