Police

The NBA players are getting back to work ... and so is Kenny Smith.

The "Inside the NBA" co-host is returning to Atlanta right now to rejoin Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Ernie Johnson ... just days after walking off the set.

As we previously reported, an emotional Smith removed his mic and left the studio Wednesday -- live on TV -- in a show of solidarity with the NBA players who boycotted Wednesday's playoff games over the Jacob Blake shooting.

At the time, Smith said, "As a black man, as a former player ... I think its best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight."

Fast forward to Friday .... and Smith was at LAX, getting on a plane to fly back to work.

When asked if the walk-off was a spur of the moment decision, Kenny explained, "I don't know if it was spur of the moment. But, I think it didn't feel right to be there."

"I think it was a good time for me to join the march. I didn't want to just sit there and be a talking head. And, I thought it was important to make a statement that I wanted to participate in it instead of just talking about it."

Smith was also asked if he supported the players ending the "boycott" and resuming the playoffs.

"I support what the players are doing either way. I think the message is it shows a unified power," Smith said.

"I think we are in a really interesting time of eradicating the production and consumption of racism. So, now when you allow someone to say, 'Hey, I'm going to stop doing something that is not only enjoyable but is financially rewarding to a lot of people' shows the power of what the NBA can do and sports in general."

A Minneapolis cop is recovering after he was knocked down to the ground when an apparent looter threw a garbage can lid ... hitting the cop squarely in the neck.

The incident went down Wednesday night as people flooded the streets following a false report of a fatal police shooting of a Black man ... and just 3 months after George Floyd died there.

Check out the video -- which was broadcast on Facebook Live -- showing apparent looters making their way inside a Walgreens as a wave of others floods the streets. You see a cop calmly walking back to his patrol unit when, out of nowhere, a garbage can lid strikes him on his neck ... knocking him down. He radios for help and a couple cops show up to provide aid.

A police spokesperson said the cop suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The trouble started after false rumors quickly spread about cops fatally shooting a Black man. The Minneapolis PD tweeted -- and then deleted -- video they say shows a murder suspect turning the gun on himself as cops closed in on him. The tweet included, "No officer weapons were fired. This is a tragedy for our community that is still hurting."

The Minneapolis PD later tweeted and explained it like this, "[On Wednesday] MPD posted a video in order to dispel rumors that caused significant public safety concerns for our city. After receiving feedback from the community, we have removed the video due to the graphic nature and out of respect to the individual, his family and the community."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that community activists quickly mobilized to spread word that this was NOT a police shooting and didn't warrant a protest. But, clearly few heeded to that message ... because 33 people were arrested.

The Milwaukee Bucks didn't just boycott for Jacob Blake -- they reached out to his family and sent an autographed jersey to lift their spirits.

"I'm from Chicago, but now I am truly a Milwaukee Bucks fan," Jacob's father, Jacob Blake Sr., said on CNN.

"They reached out to my son, sent him a jersey that was signed by the whole organization ... that made him smile."

Blake was shot in the back 7 times during an incident with the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He's paralyzed from the waist down -- but his father says he's still handcuffed to his hospital bed.

With so much negativity still swirling around him, Jacob's father says he's committed to only bringing positivity to the bedside ... and credited the Bucks for helping him out.

"The thing that made him smile was the Milwaukee Bucks. That made him smile."

Jacob Sr. says he's a former athlete and what makes the gesture from the Bucks even more special is the fact they're currently in the playoffs,

"I understand the sacrifices those young men made, and I understand that it's playoff time and they're making these sacrifices."

Rand Paul was surrounded by a crowd of protesters shouting at him about the killing of Breonna Taylor ... which led to a tense scene as police escorted him away.

The Kentucky Senator and his wife, Kelley, were leaving the Republican National Convention Thursday night in D.C. when they were confronted by the large group ... who reminded him there's still been no justice for Breonna.

Demonstrators were peaceful as they yelled "Say her name" and "Her name is Breonna Taylor" at Paul, but at one point, an officer used his bicycle to ram a protester ... and the man retaliated by pushing back.

It was an incredibly tense moment, but it didn't escalate from there as Paul and his wife left safely -- but immediately after the incident, the Senator claimed he was attacked.

He tweeted ... "Just got attacked by an angry mob of over 100, one block away from the White House. Thank you to @DCPoliceDept for literally saving our lives from a crazed mob."

Speaking of attacked ... Breonna was shot and killed by Louisville police in her own home back in March. There have still been no arrests.

Jacob Blake's dad says he spoke to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for a full hour and he found it comforting because it felt like he was talking to family.

Blake's father, who's also named Jacob, says he and Blake's mother's were nervous at first to talk with the Democrats' Presidential ticket ... but says Biden and Harris calmed them down. The elder Jacob said, "I don't think people understand the worry of a mother. That's her baby."

He revealed how the conversation went down Friday morning on CNN's "New Day" ... saying it felt "like I was speaking to my uncle and one of my sisters -- literally, literally." Jacob's father added, "It felt like they knew what was going on. And, they didn't act like they were in a hurry to go anywhere. They spent time with us."

When asked if President Trump has reached out, Jacob said, "That's a negative." Trump also never mentioned Jacob Blake's name during his RNC nomination acceptance speech.

Jacob's father, who referred to Biden and Harris as President and Vice President, also touched on his son's leg being shackled to his hospital bed.

As we reported ... Blake's dad was furious after finding out his son was handcuffed to his hospital bed during a Wednesday visit. He questioned why that was even necessary since Jacob's paralyzed from the waist down after taking 7 shots to the back from a cop. Jacob's father said his son asked, "Why did they shoot me so many times?"

Jacob's dad pointed out ... "He can't go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?"

Rayshard Brooks' widow can't be more thankful for LeBron James and the rest of the NBA taking a stand with their boycott ... and she's hopeful true change is on its way.

Tomika Miller tells TMZ ... she beamed with pride after the Lakers and the rest of the NBA teams decided to boycott Wednesday's playoff games to bring attention to police brutality following the shooting of Jacob Blake and the 17-year-old who allegedly shot and killed 2 protesters in Kenosha, WI.

Tomika says there's a huge difference between her taking a stand at her workplace versus the NBA -- and several MLB, WNBA and MLS teams for that matter -- boycotting games. The size of the platform matters, and she says it brings a bigger spotlight on the plight of Black Americans.

Tomika said the players' actions let people like her know the "little people" are not forgotten by the privileged. As you know by now, Tomika's husband, Rayshard, was shot in the back and killed in June after cops found him asleep at the wheel at an Atlanta drive-thru.

When officers tried to handcuff him, a struggle ensued -- Brooks grabbed an officer's taser and ran before he was shot in the back 3 times. Making matters worse ... the family lawyer says cops waited more than 2 minutes to even check on Brooks once he was down.

Blake also was shot in the back ... 7 times at point-blank range by Kenosha, WI police officer Rusten Sheskey.

One of Floyd Mayweather's top business associates is so outraged over the recent police shootings, he wrote up a new police reform proposal in the hopes of fixing the system.

Brent Johnson is the CEO of One Entertainment -- and handles international business deals for Floyd Mayweather. He also has a law degree.

Johnson has drawn up a 6 point document titled, "Amendment Proposal for American Police Policy Reform" which lays out his plan.

AMENDMENT 1 – Zero Tolerance for Racial Bias and Violence Against Minorities (5-5-5 Plan)

Any officer who has 5 confirmed incidents involving racial bias within a 5-year period will be hit with a nationwide ban on employment in law enforcement, in any capacity, across the country.

AMENDMENT 2 – Racial Representation In The Police Population (The 70% Rule)

The 17-year-old arrested in the fatal shooting of 2 Jacob Blake protesters in Kenosha allegedly killed at least one unarmed man, and could get life in prison for murder ... along with 4 other felony charges.

The criminal complaint against Kyle Rittenhouse was released Thursday, and it says the first person the Illinois teenager allegedly shot, Joseph Rosenbaum, "appeared to be unarmed for the duration of video" reviewed by investigators.

Prosecutors say Rosenbaum appeared to throw an object at Rittenhouse before the fatal shooting, and a second video apparently shows the object in question was nothing more than a plastic bag.

The complaint also says Rosenbaum leaned in toward Rittenhouse -- apparently trying to reach for his gun according to a witness -- and then fell to the ground after 4 loud bangs. Then Rittenhouse got on his cellphone to make a call, and prosecutors say he was overheard saying, "I just killed somebody" as he ran away. He's been charged with first-degree reckless homicide for Rosenbaum's death.

Rittenhouse is also charged with first-degree intentional homicide (murder in most states) of Anthony Huber. Prosecutors say Huber -- seen with a skateboard in several videos -- approached Rittenhouse, who was lying on his back, and appeared to reach for Rittenhouse's gun. According to the complaint, Rittenhouse fired a round, sending Huber staggering away before collapsing to the ground and dying from a gunshot wound.

All told, prosecutors charged Rittenhouse with 5 felonies -- the 3 others are 2 counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

That last count was for allegedly shooting Gaige Grosskreutz, who prosecutors say appeared to be armed, and suffered one non-lethal gunshot wound.

The NHL is following the MLB, NBA, WNBA and MLS' lead ... with the league officially postponing games following the Jacob Blake shooting.

"After much discussion, NHL Players believe that the best course of action would be to take a step back and not play tonight’s and tomorrow’s games as scheduled," the league announced Thursday.

The decision comes after several players -- including Matt Dumba and Evander Kane -- criticized the league's response to the boycotts sweeping the sports world.

The NHL says they support the players' wishes ... and will make up the games starting Saturday.

NHL continued ... "Black and Brown communities continue to face real, painful experiences. The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work remains to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion centered on diversity, inclusion and social justice.

As we previously reported ... the NBA kickstarted a massive movement on Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks elected to stay in the locker rooms in protest ... and have since agreed to continue the season.

"We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment," the NHL added.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has reversed course -- and WILL resume playing a major tournament on Friday after initially opting out in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting.

Earlier this week, the 22-year-old champ announced she would no longer participate in the Western & Southern Open semi-finals match, scheduled for Thursday.

At the time, Osaka explained ... "Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman. And, as a black woman, I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis."

"I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction."

After her statement, Osaka says she spoke with reps for the WTA and USTA -- and has decided to resume playing,

"As you know, I pulled out of the tournament yesterday in support of racial injustice and continued police violence," Osaka said in a statement Thursday.

"I was (and am) ready and prepared to concede the match to my opponent. However, after my announcement and lengthy consultation with the WTA and USTA, I have agreed at their request to play on Friday."

"They offered to postpone all matches until Friday and in my mind that brings more attention to the movement."

There's still hope the NBA players and league execs can work out a plan to save the season ... with players compiling a list of "actionable items" they want the NBA to endorse in order to proceed.

A high-ranking NBA source tells us ... the feeling among several players is they will lose their biggest platform if they stop the season.

Of course, a stoppage won't affect the impact of superstars like LeBron James ... but we're told the majority of players see real value in being able to use the NBA platform to speak to the masses about social justice issues.

In fact, Draymond Green just posted about it -- saying, "The notion that athletes should just stop working but no one else in the world should stop is baffling to me."

"Why stop doing the very thing that offers you the biggest platform to speak for those that look like me/a lot of us?"

"To do that is to actually give up the platform to speak for them, because without us using our platforms which is afforded by the influence of the sport, it actually stops us from echoing what those in the back are saying."

So, the hope is both sides can reach a compromise -- with players coming together after a tense Wednesday night meeting in order to put together a list of demands for the league.

Obviously, the NBA wants to proceed -- there’s so much money at stake. And, from what we understand, the league execs and owners are meeting Thursday morning to figure out a way to work out a deal with the players.

As we previously reported, the Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to boycott on Wednesday when they refused to take the floor for Game 5 of their playoff series with the Orlando Magic.

Other teams followed suit ... until the league officially announced that all games would be rescheduled to a later date.

We're told the league had already planned for possible COVID-related postponements ... so they're not super worried about getting back on schedule.

But, word is ... play almost certainly will not resume Thursday -- everybody still needs some time.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth went on a disgusting rant in 2018, suggesting that 5 arrested suspects -- all Black -- were "not worth saving" and should be locked up for life ... all over a retail theft and car chase incident.

Sheriff Beth -- who's in the public spotlight following the shooting of Jacob Blake and subsequent riots in Kenosha that led to 2 people being killed -- used the phrase "these people" multiple times as he described how he believed they should be "warehoused" ... so as not to allow the men to procreate.

The Sheriff went on to say it's time to stop being politically correct -- and though he specifically claimed race was not a factor -- he insisted "these people" should be put away for good.

Later in his speech, Beth said ... "In this country, in this community, in this state, we have to get to the point where we will no longer put up with the garbage people that fill our communities. They are a cancer to our society."

The case that got Beth so riled up was a retail theft in a mall that led to a car chase and a 2-car crash. At the time, Beth said he was so angered because the suspects hit another car being driven by a 16-year-old who just got his license ... though nobody was seriously injured.

The 5 suspects, aged 16 to 23, were all from Milwaukee and were all charged with felony retail theft and obstruction.

Beth addressed the media Wednesday following a deadly night in Kenosha, in which 2 protesters were shot and killed by an armed suspect. Cops later arrested 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse in connection with the incident.

The Sheriff suggested Rittenhouse was part of a group of people who asked to be deputized in order to help police patrol the area, something Beth said he wouldn't do because of the liability and chaos it can cause ... as evidenced by what happened Tuesday night.

The Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers have also canceled their Thursday practices.

Several NFL teams -- including the NY Jets and the Indianapolis Colts -- are canceling practice Thursday so players can focus on social justice issues.

Just one day after multiple NBA teams refused to take the court for their Game 5 playoff games as a "boycott" to show outrage over the Jacob Blake shooting, NFL players are also taking action.

The Washington Football Team is among those canceling team activities Thursday.

Head coach Ron Rivera says the decision came after a conversation with new team president Jason Wright.

"Jason Wright and I worked this afternoon to develop a response that has the right balance between the business of football and being truly thoughtful about the social injustice we witnessed with this latest incident in Wisconsin."

"We went to Mr. Snyder with our plan for tomorrow and we were given his complete support and approval."

Rivera says the plan is to return to football on Friday -- but Thursday will "be about reflection instead."

"In place of our practice at FedExField, the players, coaches and football staff will meet as a football family and we will continue our open dialogue on the issues of racism and social injustice in our country."

Not all NFL teams scrapped practice Thursday -- the Ravens, Giants, Patriots and Buccaneers proceeded as scheduled.

The Ravens explained, "Our team decided to practice this morning. After practice, the team will come together for a meeting to discuss and work on a plan for continued social justice reform efforts."

Jacob Blake's children who witnessed him being shot are understandably shaken to the core -- and the process of healing will begin sooner than later ... TMZ has learned.

Jacob's uncle, Justin Blake, tells us the three kids who saw their dad shot 7 times in the back are in desperate need of professional help, and the family is already looking for an appropriate therapist or team of therapists.

So far, Justin says they've reviewed two services which make sense for them, and they'll decide as a family which route to go in a matter of days. Fact is ... the kids are extremely emotional, and waiting will only exacerbate the situation.

The kids haven't visited their dad since the shooting, because the family says it would be too traumatic. As for FaceTiming their father, we're told it hasn't happened yet ... even that would be too difficult for the kids to handle. The only ones who've seen Jacob in person thus far are his own parents.

Jacob's children -- including the other three -- are all being cared for by his relatives.

Jacob's father says the 3 children are scarred for life after what they've been through. Remember, they were no more than a few feet away inside the car when a cop unloaded at least seven rounds into their dad's back. Jacob is now paralyzed from the waist down, though hopefully, it's not permanent.

Raw emotion from NY Mets player Dom Smith -- who just couldn't hold back the tears while talking about Jacob Blake ... and it's powerful stuff.

For the first time this season, Smith took a knee during the national anthem -- right before the Mets took on the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

After the game, 25-year-old Smith said he's been feeling "very emotional" lately about events like the Jacob Blake shooting -- and wanted to make a statement to the world.

But, when he was pressed about what's been "most difficult" for him over the past few days, Smith couldn't fight back the tears.

"I think the most difficult part is to see like people still don’t care," Smith said.

"For this to continually happen, it just shows the hate in people’s hearts. That just sucks, you know?!"

"Being a Black man in America is not easy."

The Mets won the game 5 to 4, but Smith didn't play particularly well. He went 0-4 but later explained he "just wasn't there [mentally]."

Porsha Williams will have a new storyline on the upcoming 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' series ... her activism and arrests protesting Breonna Taylor's death will be heavily featured.

Production sources tell TMZ ... producers want to shine a light on Porsha's fight for social justice as much as possible in the new season, because Bravo knows viewers would be riveted by Porsha's commitment to racial justice.

As we reported ... Porsha was arrested in July during a Breonna Taylor protest outside the home of Kentucky's Attorney General, with cops hauling her off Daniel Cameron's front lawn in zip ties. She was hit with a felony charge, which was later dropped.

Porsha was arrested again Wednesday at another Louisville protest demanding justice for Breonna.

Our sources say there were no 'RHOA' camera crews on the ground when Porsha was busted -- the pandemic made it impossible to send a crew. Producers will rely on raw cellphone footage to tell her story.