San Francisco 49ers

Former SF 49ers star Chris Borland is getting MAJOR support from his family for his decision to walk away from the NFL over head injury concerns -- with his mom telling TMZ Sports, "I'm extremely proud of him."

Borland's decision made headlines all over the country -- especially since he was a rising star in the league, only 24 years old, and left nearly $2 million on the table by not finishing out his contract.

But his mother Zebbie says Chris didn't take his decision lightly -- noting that he consulted with his parents and other family members before deciding to walk away from the league.

"He made the decision the other day. He's been here [Dayton, Ohio] a ton and on the road visiting his friends and siblings and the decision was made amongst the family."

"Right now he and his dad are handling the situation going forward and deciding on what his next steps will be."

As for how Chris' decision will affect other family members who want to play football, Zebbie says ... "I know Chris' 4-year-old nephews will end up playing sports soon, I'm sure he won't discourage them from playing football, I think he will work with them and provide knowledge."

If you thought Vernon Davis was a beast ... WAIT'LL YOU SEE WHAT HIS NEW DOG CAN DO!!!!

The SF 49ers tight end just bought an adorable Belgian Malinois for his family -- and is in the process of training it to serve as a home protection dog.

It's cute. It's friendly. It will rip your arm out of the socket if you screw with it.

Vernon's training the dog with his pal Jas Leverette at Cali K-9 Solutions -- who's been training police dogs, protection dogs and your friendly neighborhood pets for years.

Leverette tells us Vernon's been working with the dogs at the facility for a while (including the one in the video above) -- and has a natural talent for it.

"Vernon just has a way with the animals. He could be a trainer if he wanted to."

Leverette says Vernon had been looking for a new dog for a while ... and fell in love with the Belgian Malinois because of its temperament and "disposition to be a great protector."

"In this area, there's a lot of home invasions. It's an epidemic," Leverette says ... "This dog offers protection for his family."

All the fellas looking to get their ladies in the mood this Valentine's day, we at TMZ Sports got you covered ... 'cause 3-time NFL Pro Bowler Antoine Bethea is here to play "Love Doctor" to all of your questions.

You gotta hear Antoine break the game down ... he talks champagne, rose petals, hand made cards and even let's us in on what the ladies should be doing for the guys on V-Day.

With their team in peril, nothing brings a quarterback and a tight end together like a photo shoot with a hot Sports Illustrated bikini model.

SF 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick and Vernon Davis hooked up with Samantha Hoopes for a photo shoot for Levi's jeans ... and despite the crappy weather, Hoopes looked like she was ready for the beach.

As for Colin and Vernon, it looked like there was some friendly competition for Sam's attention -- and they even threw some friendly zingers at each other.

It doesn't appear Samantha has a BF ... but it seems she has a thing for football players ... and Colin happens to be single.

Jim Harbaugh had a strong fan base in own locker room ... with a bunch of S.F. 49ers players telling TMZ Sports they loved their former coach ... and explaining why he'll be sorely missed.

Carlos Hyde (RB), Marcus Cromartie (DB), Marcus Martin (C) and Kenneth Acker (CB) were all out at The Grove in L.A for lunch ... when we asked if there were any hard feeling toward Harbaugh, who just left S.F. for the top job at the University of Michigan.

"Harbaugh was a good coach," Cromartie said.

Martin agreed ... saying, "We was thankful for Coach Harbaugh. He did a lot of good things for us."

But the best part of the video ... check out their reaction when we ask how they feel about Johnny Manziel.

Tom Brady is fired up for his alma mater to hire Jim Harbaugh -- claiming the move would be nothing short of "awesome."

Brady called in to WEEI in Boston today -- and when asked about the possibility that Harbaugh takes the head coaching job at the University of Michigan, Brady was all about it.

"If Michigan could get that type of coach, it would be incredible," the Patriots QB said.

"To have a great coach like that lead a program is awesome."

If Ray McDonald is pissed off about getting cut from the San Francisco 49ers -- he did a bang up job of hiding it outside his attorney's office.

The defensive lineman let out a massive yawn as he strolled to his car after meeting his lawyer in San Jose Friday -- 2 days after he was named a suspect in an alleged rape investigation ... and subsequently 86'd by the Niners.

Ray's pretty chill -- especially for a guy facing his second criminal investigation in 6 months, and suddenly out of work.

Watch ... Ray's got a friend with him who says new information will be "coming out soon." Unclear if he's talking about Ray's future in the NFL ... or the alleged rape case.

The San Francisco 49ers are done dealing with Ray McDonald and police reports -- they've cut him from the team on the heels of him being named a suspect in a rape investigation.

General Manger Trent Baalke just held a news conference, saying the decision to drop McDonald was not solely based on the latest investigation, but instead it was due to a "pattern of poor decision making."

Baalke said a "plan was put in place" with Ray and the alleged rape case went "against that plan."
He didn't elaborate but it sounded like the team had warned McDonald -- after the alleged domestic violence incident with his fiancee in August -- to keep his nose clean, or else.

He added this was a team decision, and had nothing to do with the league.

Baalke said he was "extremely disappointed" ... but stressed it wasn't about guilt or innocence, and McDonald deserved to have his day in court.

12:10 PM PT -- San Jose PD says Ray is officially a suspect in the rape investigation -- and the alleged victim said she was "possibly sexually assaulted" on Monday.

49ers star Ray McDonald was served with a search warrant by police officers investigating a rape allegation.

San Jose PD went to McDonald's home Tuesday after talking to a woman who was getting treatment at a hospital for a possible sexual assault. Whatever the woman told police ... their investigation led them to McDonald's home.

Police have not named the Niners defensive lineman a suspect in the alleged rape ... and it's unclear what, if any evidence they found in his house.

11:54 AM PT -- The Menlo Park PD tells TMZ Sports ... cops detained two people involved in the incident -- and determined they were both intoxicated.

Cops say they tried to speak with key witnesses, including McDonald and Lloyd -- but they bounced before police arrived.

But get this, a hotel security guard told police he tried to stop the men from leaving ... but claims "he was purposely pushed out of the way."

The security guard later told police he did not want to pursue any action against the guy who pushed him.

As for the fight itself, cops say everyone involved has decided NOT to press charges.

Case closed.

9ers stars Ray McDonald and Brandon Lloyd jumped into action at a San Francisco-area hotel -- breaking up a FIGHT between a drunk guy and two women ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... McDonald and Lloyd were at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park around 2AM Friday when a man who appeared to be super drunk began shouting at the two women who had been hanging at the bar with the players.

Witnesses tell us ... the drunk man called the women "whores" ... which obviously didn't go over well. We're told things quickly escalated with the women eventually charging at the man in a violent manner.

That's when the NFL stars rushed in and broke things up ... and then left the hotel when they felt the women were safe.

Cops were called to the scene -- and they took a report on the incident after talking to witnesses at the hotel ... but we're told no charges have been filed against anyone.

San Francisco 49ers safety Antoine Bethea tells TMZ Sports the team was PUMPED to see Colin Kaepernick get in Sio Moore's face at halftime last week ... saying, "It fired the guys up."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Kaepernick got into a heated spat with Moore in the tunnel at last week's game ... with Moore calling the QB a "bitch ass motherf**ker."

"Kap is a grown man and he won't let ANYBODY disrespect him like that," Bethea says.

"The guys in the locker room love seeing when your leader steps up like that. It makes us all rally behind him and get ready for these last few weeks and fight to get in (the playoffs)."

Bethea chalks the whole thing up to the local rivalry and says the 49ers are already moving on from the incident.

"Trust me, we are not worried about Sio and what the Raiders are doing. They got the victory and we look forward to getting our team ready for next week."

With the Ray Rice sweepstakes officially underway, rapper The Game tells TMZ Sports he would LOVE to see RR on his favorite squad ... the 49ers ... but there's one big caveat.

Game -- rockin' a pretty freaky masquerade ball mask -- was leaving his birthday party at the Supper Club in Hollywood Friday night when he explained why San Fran could benefit from #27.

But while Game says he's happy to see Rice reinstated -- there are 2 big things that could get in the way of the 9ers bringing the running back to S.F.

Steve Young ... Jerry Rice ... Teri Hatcher -- they ALL have rings from Super Bowl XXIX -- even though one of them wasn't actually on the team.

The former "Lois & Clark" star WAS a cheerleader for the 49ers back in 1984 ... but in the video, she explains why she was allowed to enjoy the spoils of victory when the team beat the Chargers 10 years later.

FYI -- Teri just returned from NY where she gave a speech to the U.N. about eliminating domestic violence -- and encouraged people to wear orange ... the official color to unite women against D.V.

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald will not be charged with a crime for allegedly beating up his pregnant fiancee ... after cops say the victim refused to cooperate.

McDonald was originally arrested on August 31st on suspicion of felony domestic abuse after an incident at the NFL star's San Jose home.

According to the police report, the victim had "visible injuries" ... and an unidentified person who called 911 told authorities McDonald was "hitting her" and "trying to pull her out of the house."

But apparently, the Santa Clara District Attorney felt there was not enough evidence to convict McDonald -- and today announced no charges will be filed against the 30-year-old.

"Conflicting versions of the event, a lack of verifiable eyewitnesses and a significant lack of cooperation from Jane Doe, we cannot prove a crime occurred," a spokesperson for the Santa Clara D.A.'s office said.

"In this particular case, there were particular pieces of information missing ... We really don't know what happened between the two parties."

The fitness model who reportedly hooked up with Colin Kaepernick is now rumored to be messin' around with Trey Songz ... and Trey isn't exactly denying it.

The woman in the mix is Brittany Renner -- the self-proclaimed leader of the "Fit Thick Army" -- which has become a social media battle cry for ultra-fit women who embrace their curves.

So, when we saw Trey out in Hollywood this week -- we had to ask how he felt about Ms. Fit Thick ... and he responded with high praise.

He also had a chance to put the rumors to rest ... but didn't.

Which begs the question -- they bangin' or what?

Another "iCarly" star has a thing for a HUGE celebrity athlete -- this time, it's Miranda Cosgrove who tells TMZ Sports she thinks Colin Kaepernick is the hottest QB in the NFL.

The 21-year-old actress -- who plays Carly on the Nickelodeon show -- was rockin' her 49ers shirt through LAX yesterday when she told us Kap's not only attractive ... but he's "doing amazing" this season.

They've got a lot in common -- starting with the fact they're both super rich ... because Miranda (who also starred in "School of Rock" back in the day) was listed as the highest paid child actress in 2012. And Colin just signed a $126 million contract.

Of course, Miranda isn't the first "iCarly" star to show interest in a pro athlete -- last year, Jennette McCurdy dated NBA star Andre Drummond for a short time ... but that fizzled pretty quickly.