NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to be bracing for more players to opt out of the Antwon Rose helmet tribute ... and the team is okay with that.

After lineman Alejandro Villanueva decided to honor a deceased Black military hero instead of the 17-year-old ... other players began speaking out about the Rose tribute.

Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey said he didn't know enough about Antwon Rose before the team decided on the helmet tribute -- claiming he was given "limited information" about the situation.

Also, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said the decision to honor Rose was made by "people upstairs" in the organization ... not the players.

The controversy ... the Steelers initially pushed the narrative that Rose was shot and killed by police during traffic stop for seemingly no reason.

What was missing from the story on the Steelers' team website was the fact Antwon was allegedly involved in a drive-by shooting before the police incident ... with the victim of the drive-by claiming Rose was the triggerman.

Obviously, that part of the story rubbed some Steelers players the wrong way -- since some of them only learned about that AFTER wearing the helmet decal on "Monday Night Football."

We reached out to the Steelers organization to find out if the team would continue its original plan to wear Rose's name on helmets and hats for the entire 2020 NFL season. Here's what they said back to us ...

"We acknowledge there could be changes this Sunday for players relating to helmet decals. That will be an individual decision."

In other words, it sounds like some of the players will no longer wear the decal starting this weekend.

Emmitt Smith says if he were still playing today, he'd take a knee for the national anthem ... saying he's been a victim of social injustice despite being an NFL legend.

The Dallas Cowboys all-time leading rusher spelled it all out in a lengthy interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, saying he wishes he'd been more vocal about racial equality when he played in the '90s.

"I have been a victim of it," Emmitt said of social injustice. "It’s not like I am talking because something happened to George Floyd. Something happened to me more than one time, a couple of times it happened right here in Dallas."

Emmitt didn't elaborate on the alleged racist incidents, but continued ... "I’m talking from experience, not something I read in a book and saw on CNN.”

Emmitt once famously took a knee at Texas Stadium in 2000 ... but it was to defend the Cowboys' midfield logo -- which had just been celebrated on by then-49ers star Terrell Owens.

The move cemented Smith as a Dallas icon ... and Emmitt says he wishes he had done the same thing when it came to protests during the anthem.

“Why not?" Smith said when asked if he'd kneel if he were playing today. "If I can defend the star, I definitely can defend the right for everybody to have equal justice."

Smith's son, EJ Smith -- a star H.S. football recruit who's set to play at Stanford whenever the Pac-12 kicks off again -- has already knelt for the anthem during his H.S. career, and Dad seems proud as hell of that.

In fact, Smith is advocating for more players to take knees ... and he's sending a strong message to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to continue to let it happen.

"Jerry needs to cut it out," Smith said of the owner's previous stance that kneeling disrespected the flag. "He needs to cut it out. Don’t distort the message because of the flag. It is bigger than the flag."

Awesome Chadwick Boseman tribute from NFL star Jarvis Landry ... the Cleveland Browns receiver rocked a pair of custom "Black Panther" cleats with the late actor's face on them.

Landry donned the pieces for the Browns' game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday ... and they were clearly good luck, 'cause Landry's squad earned a much-needed win.

The cleats were pretty amazing ... they were all-black Nikes with no laces that featured spikes and an image of Boseman in his Black Panther costume.

"Chadwick Boseman 1976-2020" was also inscribed on the left shoe near Boseman's face.

Landry commented on the footwear just before he took the field in them Thursday night ... writing, "Rest easy" and adding an emoji of the "Wakanda Forever" arm sign.

Jarvis is just the latest sports star to pay tribute to the actor -- who died last month at 43 years old after a battle with colon cancer.

Patriots QB Cam Newton threw up the "Wakanda Forever" sign after a TD last week ... and in the MLB, several players -- including Braves star Marcell Ozuna -- did the same after home runs.

Browns fans gonna Browns ... even during a pandemic!

Check out this footage of a brawl in the stands at the Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals game on Thursday night ... where the combatants don't seem to care about COVID-19.

Unclear what started the incident at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland ... but you can clearly see security working like hell to try and break things up as quickly as possible.

The silver lining ... everyone seemed to be wearing masks! So, at least there's that!

Only 6,000 fans were allowed into the stadium to watch the game due to social distancing policies in place -- and all 6,000 reportedly had to sign a "health promise" saying they would not enter the facility if they were sick.

The "pledge" also says fans will wear masks, social distance, etc. Wonder if it said anything about fighting?!

The good news ... the Browns players seemed to channel that fighting spirit on the field -- defeating the Bengals in a 35 to 30 victory.

Kroy Biermann says he doesn't give a crap what "uneducated" people think about his daughter, Brielle, sitting on his lap in a photo, and his wife's reaction is even harsher.

We got Kroy, Brielle and Kim Zolciak-Biermann Thursday at LAX, and asked them about the recent online backlash to Brielle posting a pic of herself sitting on Kroy's lap while celebrating his birthday.

The disgusting comments were pretty swift, and typical for the Internet, with trolls wondering if Brielle slept with her stepdad. Ya couldn't blame Kroy if he's pissed about it, but watch ... he's surprisingly calm and cool. Kroy told us he knows its just "ignorant" idiots with too much time on their hands.

Brielle, though, was still visibly heated, and told their haters to "get a f**king job." She also wanted everyone to know -- Kroy's an incredible man and father.

Remember, Kroy -- who married Kim back in 2011 -- filed paperwork 2 years later to legally adopt Kim's 2 daughters from a previous relationship.

Colin Kaepernick is still in very high demand -- at least when it comes to his jersey.

Nike offered up a special limited edition CK7 jersey on its website early Thursday morning -- and within seconds, they were sold out!!!

The jersey -- called The Icon 2.0 -- commemorates the 4 year anniversary of Colin's kneeling demonstration in the NFL.

If the jersey looks familiar, it's because LeBron James wore the "triple back" uni on his way to Game 5 of the Lakers' playoff series with the Houston Rockets last week.

The jersey retails for $150 a pop -- but minutes after they flew off of the Nike shelves, they were being offered up on resale sites like StockX and eBay for 3 times the original price!

In fact, one sold on StockX for $400 already -- several more are being offered up in the $400 to $500 range.

It seems like the type of sales blitz that went down for the special Colin Kaepernick Air Force 1 sneaks back in 2019.

Colin posted about the special Nike jersey -- saying, "Four years ago, I took a knee to protest against systemic racism and social injustice. It was that day that the number on my jersey would come to represent something greater than football, something greater than me."

"Since then, the number 7 jersey has become a symbol for advancing the liberation and well-being of Black & Brown communities. Thank you for staying True."

Kaepernick seems to be doing well off the field -- his Nike merch is in high demand and he's been ranked as the top free-agent QB in the Madden 2021 video game.

Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Maurkice Pouncey is expressing remorse over wearing a helmet tribute to a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by police ... saying he didn't know the whole story.

"I want to personally clarify what transpired this past Monday night in regard to having Antwon Rose's name on the back of my helmet," Pouncey says.

"I was given limited information on the situation regarding Antwon, and I was unaware of the whole story surrounding his death and what transpired during the trial following the tragedy."

Remember, on Monday the Steelers announced the entire team and coaching staff would honor Rose on helmets and sideline hats for the entire 2020 season.

Here's the explanation from the Steelers official team website:

"On the night of June 19, 2018, the car Antwon Rose Jr., who is black, was a passenger in was pulled over by the East Pittsburgh Police. While the driver was being handcuffed on suspicion of being involved in an incident that happened earlier that evening, a frightened Rose fled from the car. The cell phone video a bystander captured showed Rose running, and then you could hear gunshots and see as he was fatally shot in the back three times by a white East Pittsburgh Police Officer."

The "incident" that occurred earlier that evening was a drive-by shooting -- and the victim who was shot told cops Antwon was the trigger man.

The officer who shot and killed Antwon was later found not guilty of all criminal charges that were filed against him -- including 1st-degree murder.

Pouncey is clearly uncomfortable honoring a person who may have been involved in a drive-by shooting ... and says, "I should have done more research to fully understand what occurred in its entirety."

Moving forward, Pouncey says, "I will make my own decision about what to wear on the back of my helmet."

"Make no mistake, I am against racism and I believe the best thing I can do is to continue helping repair relationships between the police and their communities. System racism issues have occurred in our country for too long, and that needs to stop."

Pouncey's teammate Alejandro Villanueva made headlines this week when he decided NOT to honor Antwon -- instead writing the name of an Army Sgt. who was killed while serving in Iraq.

Villanueva is an Army Ranger and felt it was more appropriate for him to pay tribute to Alwyn Cashe, who died while rescuing soldiers from a burning vehicle that was rocked by an explosive device.

Odell Beckham says he found a silver lining in the COVID pandemic ... quarantine forced him to slow down and take care of himself.

The 27-year-old Cleveland Browns wide receiver explained how he found "peace" during the lockdown ... unable to live out his usual life of partying, traveling and doing all the other rockstar stuff he does.

"It was crazy to say this in the weirdest way, it was the first time I had ever felt at such a peaceful place," Beckham said about the COVID quarantine to Maverick Carter during an interview for Uninterrupted.

"I just felt like it was a weight lifted off -- like I'm just chillin, getting my mind, my body, my soul right."

"So quarantine, as funny as this sounds, was probably the best thing that ever happened to me."

Back in May, just 2 months into the lockdown, Beckham posted a video showing his rehab progress following a surgery to repair a sports hernia.

At the time, Beckham said he was focusing on getting his body back to 100%.

"I've been playing for 23 years, so for me, I'm trying to put it all back together in seven months."

He also made a prediction for the 2020 NFL season -- "I would honestly say this is probably going to be one of my best seasons. Bigger, stronger, faster ... this is my time."

Former Ohio State football star Anthony Gonzalez is FIRED UP for the Big Ten's return to the gridiron ... telling TMZ Sports another year of the sport could change kids' lives!!

The ex-Buckeye -- who became a congressman after a successful NFL career -- told us out on Capitol Hill in D.C. on Wednesday he couldn't imagine where he would be today if something had canceled his last year of the sport.

"I'm thrilled for the players, honestly," Gonzalez said. "Look, my last year at Ohio State, honestly, it changed my life."

Gonzalez played three seasons at OSU from 2004 through 2006 ... and used a big final season on campus to become an eventual first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Gonzalez says without that last year ... he might not have had an awesome pro football career -- let alone be a congressman now.

Anthony says the fact that the Big Ten is now allowing its players to have the opportunity to follow down a similar path really brings a smile to his face.

"We've got a lot of kids who are going to get an opportunity to live out their dream," Gonzalez said.

The conference announced Wednesday it's officially targeting Oct. 24 for its opening weekend of games.

"He doesn’t want to hit anybody!"

Tiki Barber just went OFF on Saquon Barkley ... ripping the New York Giants star for his poor pass blocking ability -- and wondering out loud if it's going to cost the RB playing time in the future.

Tiki -- speaking on his "Tiki + Tierney" show this week -- said after watching Barkley and the Giants over the last few seasons ... it's become clear to him Saquon doesn't want to pass protect.

And, according to the ex-NYG star, that's a HUGE problem.

"He might not be an every-down back," Barber said. "He cannot pass protect, and it is starting to become glaring."

It's pretty shocking commentary from Tiki ... given Barkley is considered the best player on the Giants' roster by far -- but Barber says if Saquon doesn't shape up, he could see his minutes cut.

"I learned this early on in my career, because I was a third-down back before I was a star running back," Barber said. "If you can’t block, you can’t be on the field on third down."

"You just can’t, because you know those are high blitz and dog downs."

For Barkley's part ... New York coaches might not mind he's not the best blocker in the world -- dude has 23 total touchdowns in 30 career games.

Saints WR Emmanuel Sanders says Drew Brees cried HARD during his apology to the team in the wake of his controversial anthem comments ... and now, Sanders says N.O. players have moved on.

The 33-year-old revealed on ESPN's "First Take" on Wednesday that he was initially pissed back in June when Brees said anthem kneelers were "disrespecting the flag."

But, Sanders claims the Saints had a team meeting over it all shortly after the QB's comments ... and he says Brees apologized vehemently through a mountain of tears.

"As he talked, the more and more he talked, you just see a guy with just tears rolling down his face," Sanders said.

"I mean, I've never seen that. You could just tell that he was hurt by his comments and the things that people were saying about him because he was unaware of it."

Emmanuel added, "I mean just tears flowing down his face."

Sanders says after that team conversation ... Saints players knew that Brees understood his mistake -- and have since moved on.

"We understood where he was coming from and we were able to move past it," Sanders says. "I don't see any weird energy going on in the locker room."

Dez Bryant is calling out Mike Ditka for his latest anti-protest rant ... saying the legendary football coach's hatred of national anthem demonstrations is "feeling entitled at its finest."

Ditka has been EXTREMELY outspoken about NFL players' protests ... initially telling TMZ Sports back in July that anyone who does anything other than stand for the song should "get the hell out of the country."

The former Chicago Bears head coach doubled down on those comments to Newsmax TV this week ... still saying he wants to give the boot to players who protest.

Enter Dez ... who says somebody needs to have a conversation with Iron Mike ASAP to break down for him what the protests are really all about.

"Somebody need to go have a sit down with Mike Ditka," the former Dallas Cowboys star said., "no arguing But explain to him what’s going on...feeling entitled at its finest."

Of course, players who have been demonstrating during the anthem have long said the protests have nothing to do with the flag or the military ... but rather the social injustices in America.

Dozens of athletes continued the protests in the first week of the NFL season this past weekend ... with the first-ever Dallas Cowboys player, Dontari Poe, taking a knee for the song.

"Get on your knees you f**king slave."

That's only part of an insanely racist and disturbing message NFL star Budda Baker says he received after his game Sunday ... and the text to the Arizona Cardinals player was absolutely vile.

Baker received the message apparently as a response for his low hit on SF star George Kittle over the weekend ... and it was so awful, Baker wrote of it, "All you can do is pray for ppl like this."

In the message, which Baker shared publicly on social media, a fan with the username "niners8" called the NFL safety a "monkey" and directed the n-word at him 3 times.

In the message, the fan also appeared to threaten Baker ... writing, "Yo gon get a bounty on yo f**kin monkey ass head you f**kin dirty n****r."

Baker was clearly disturbed by the text ... saying of it all, "Im all good with opposing fans talking trash. But This right here man..."

Baker has yet to speak with media members over the message ... but it's a clear reminder of why the NFL and its coaches and players have participated in so many demonstrations this season.

The league has written "end racism" in all of its teams' endzones ... while dozens of players have continued to kneel during the national anthem to bring attention toward racial inequality.

In fact, the Pittsburgh Steelers held up a massive banner during the anthem before their game on Monday night that read, "Steelers Against Racism."

Baker -- a 2-time Pro Bowler -- is one of the best players in the NFL ... who just signed a mega, 4-year, $59 MILLION contract extension with Arizona.

Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Alejandro Villanueva honored a fallen military hero on his helmet Monday night ... despite a prior team announcement saying all players had agreed to honor someone else.

Alejandro is an Army Ranger who began his NFL career in 2014 after serving 3 tours of duty in Afghanistan.

And, when he took the field on Monday night to play the NY Giants, he had the name Alwyn Cashe written across the back of his helmet.

FYI, Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn C. Cashe was killed by an improvised explosive device while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005, according to the Military Times. He was only 35.

Sgt. Cashe -- who was married with a 12-year-old daughter at the time of his death -- was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat.

As for the Steelers, the team had previously announced that all players would honor someone else on their helmets this season ... Antwon Rose II, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2018. He was only 17.

Here's what the Steelers had posted on the official team website before the game on Monday:

"On the night of June 19, 2018, the car Antwon Rose Jr., who is black, was a passenger in was pulled over by the East Pittsburgh Police. While the driver was being handcuffed on suspicion of being involved in an incident that happened earlier that evening, a frightened Rose fled from the car. The cell phone video a bystander captured showed Rose running, and then you could hear gunshots and see as he was fatally shot in the back three times by a white East Pittsburgh Police Officer."

The team has said players and coaches were "united as one" to wear Antwon's name on their helmets and hats for the entire 2020 season.

So far, no comment from Villanueva about his decision to break from the team to honor Cashe -- and unclear if he plans to do it again in Week 2.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was NOT upset one of his players knelt for the national anthem ... in fact, he says he was actually pleased with the way his team handled it.

Defensive lineman Dontari Poe became the first person in team history to kneel for the pregame song Sunday ... and cameras appeared to catch Jones anxious over the scene.

But, speaking Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan for the first time since the demonstration ... Jones says he actually really liked the way Poe and the rest of the Cowboys handled the situation.

"I thought our players, I thought they gave it the sensitivity," Jones said. "They showed respect to Poe's decision there."

Of course, the comments are a complete 180 from just a few years ago ... when Jones threatened to fire any player who didn't stand "toe on the line" for the anthem.

Jones, though, had vowed to relax his stance before this season ... and he clearly kept that promise to his team this month.

"All in all," Jerry said, "I thought our team was very real, very genuine in the way it approached it."

Unclear how Cowboys players plan to handle the song going forward ... but seems Jones is fine with the demonstrations if others choose to join in.

Tennessee Titans star LB Rashaan Evans says he's sorry for uncorking a violent right hook to the dome of a Broncos player ... and he's now vowing to make up for it next week.

If you missed it ... during a play in the 1st quarter of the Titans-Broncos game Monday night -- Denver tight end Jake Butt got into it after the whistle with Evans.

The two tangled up ... and Evans was so heated about being grabbed -- he straight-up threw a Mike Tyson-like haymaker right to Butt's face.

Fortunately, Butt had his helmet on and didn't suffer any injuries ... and, as a result of throwing the punch, Evans was ejected.

The linebacker said after the Titans' win he felt so badly about being disqualified -- he apologized to his teammates and promised he'd learn from the situation for next week.

"It was basically an overreaction after the play," Evans said of the punch. "A little bit after the whistle, there was a little tussle and I ended up overreacting by hitting him."

"But at the end of the day, man, I’ve got to keep playing, get ready for next week and basically make up for it."

Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel added he wasn't pleased with Evans for the shot as well ... saying he hopes the 24-year-old learns from it.

FYI ... Evans is one of the Titans' best players -- the 2018 first-round pick started all 16 games for the team last season and logged 111 total tackles.