Stephen A. Smith is attempting to explain controversial comments he made about Lane Johnson's sudden retirement this week after the ESPN star caught heat for questioning his reasons for walking away.
"I'm sorry when I was on television this morning," SAS said on his YouTube show, continuing, "people misconstrued me minimizing mental health, hell, I had mental health issues," the ESPN star explained.
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The explanation came after the ESPN star pondered if the future Hall of Famer was actually hanging up his pads over mental health issues ... or if it was because the Eagles have sucked on the field.
Eleven days after the Clippers owner called the NBA's Kawhi Leonardsalary cap investigation a "witch hunt" and promised to fight the stiff penalties in court, the billionaire has totally reversed course, saying he'll comply with the league's punishment.
In fact, the former Microsoft CEO says the team has already cut the massive $30 million check.
"This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets. I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner."
Sydney Sweeney is getting into the sports prediction market ... and she's doing it with a little skin in the game ... in more ways than one.
The "Euphoria" star is joining Novig, a new sports trading app and prediction market, as a strategic partner and equity holder ... and she's the face of their first national ad campaign ... which, unsurprisingly, is leaning into her sex appeal.
Sydney stripped down buck naked for the ad blitz ... including one shot where she's bent over with a basketball on her back, a tennis ball behind her knee, a football on her feet, and a soccer ball in her hand.
WNBA boss Cathy Engelbert is heading for the exit ... the league's commissioner will retire at the end of the year after a firestorm of controversy plagued this season.
Engelbert, at the helm for seven seasons, will step away at the end of the year, TMZ Sports has confirmed.
Her time at the top of the league was a mixed bag.
The W grew in many ways, from viewership and attendance to lucrative media deals. They're also expanding, with six more teams joining the league by 2030.
But many of the gains have been overshadowed by controversy.
TMZ Sports caught up with the retired NBA player-turned-podcasting star at Ryan Garcia's open workout in Los Angeles this week ... and Barnes weighed in on one of the league's most polarizing hoopers.
“A lot of people wanna say his dad got him drafted, and that may be true, may not be true,” Matt told us. “But Bronny has a lot of talent, and I just thought if he would’ve stayed just one more year, he could’ve did it on his own.”
The NBA just unloaded on the Los Angeles Clippers, snatching five first-round draft picks, fining them $30 million, and suspending owner Steve Ballmer for an entire season!
The stiff punishment was all part of the league's investigation into whether superstar Kawhi Leonard circumvented the NBA's salary cap rules ... as a way to get compensation that wasn't on the books.
"The NBA announced today that the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard have been penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)," the league said.
Aaron Donald is officially back in the NFL ... and the Los Angeles Rams just assembled a defensive nightmare by pairing him with Myles Garrett.
Donald is coming out of retirement and rejoining the Rams on a one-year, $20 million deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The move ends months of speculation surrounding the future Hall of Famer ... and gives L.A. one helluva pass-rushing duo after the Rams landed Garrett in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland earlier this summer.
The WNBA has no plans to ban former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom from coming to games as a fan ... even though he was ejected from a Chicago Sky game after a heated exchange with Natasha Cloud.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the plan inside the league is to try and move on and let the controversy die. We're told the league felt a ban wasn't warranted because Enes didn't set foot on the court and he didn't do anything else that was egregious.
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As TMZ reported ... Natasha was livid with Enes -- who was wearing a black shirt that read "woman noun adult human female" -- when they started jawing during the third quarter Sunday as he sat near the court.
Jeanie Buss is fighting like hell to keep the Los Angeles Lakers in the family ... but all five of her siblings are making it clear they're ready to move forward with selling their remaining ownership stake.
Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss released a statement in response to Jeanie's plans to contest the sale on Tuesday ... and they certainly haven't changed their minds, saying they "remain united in that decision."
"We intend to move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process," the statement said, according to Shams Charania.
Rick Ross is putting on his boss hat -- and dropping some straight-up career advice on LeBron James!
The Miami rap legend and die-hard Heat fan sat down with TMZ Sports in NYC this week and made it crystal clear where King James should take his talents next ... a return trip to South Beach.
And, not necessarily for rings or highlights (not only, at least) ... but for the bag.
Floyd Mayweather is being sued by a boxing promoter who claims they paid the legendary pugilist $4.65 million in advance money for mega fights against Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao ... only for Floyd to walk away from the deals.
According to the explosive lawsuit filed Thursday in New York and obtained by TMZ Sports, CSI Entertainment claims they paid millions for exclusive rights for two major Mayweather bouts.
The first, they say, was for an exhibition fight vs. Iron Mike ... followed by a rematch with Manny, where Floyd would be risking his unblemished 50-0 undefeated record.
The most luxurious sport in the world just took it to another level -- Gucci will be the title sponsor for the Alpine F1 team starting in 2027.
The Italian fashion house and racing organization shared details on the partnership on Wednesday ... saying as of next year, it will be known as the "Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team."
Gucci Racing says it will be all about "performance, precision, discipline, and excellence at the intersection of luxury and sport."
17 million people tuned in to Jake Paul's MVP MMA 1 card Saturday night, and co-founder and CEO Nakisa Bidarianis giving a State Of The Promotion after the event ... addressing everything from whether Gina Carano should've been in the cage with Ronda Rousey to the UFC's decision to drop big Conor McGregor return news during the event!
"Tremendous success. Unprecedented for someone to come into a sport that has an endemic reference brand like the UFC and to perform the way that we did," Bidarian told BabcockWednesday afternoon.
"It speaks to obviously our partner in being Netflix, speaks to the fighters on the card, but also speaks to MVP,Jake Paul, who is the biggest brand in combat sports under the age of 30, unequivocally, and all of that magic coming together and our ability to execute. So very, very happy with the outcome."
Nakisa believes it was a smash hit ... begging the question, will MVP do MMA again?
Dianna Russini’s former “Scoop City” podcast co-host, retired NFL quarterback Chase Daniel, is breaking his silence on her scandal with Mike Vrabel.
Chase, who played 14 seasons in the NFL, was asked about Dianna during Thursday's episode of "The Jim Rome Show" and he said ... "Look, that’s something that’s unfortunate in many different ways. We haven’t really chatted about it. We haven’t done any of that, so I’m going to leave that there. That’s their business."
Diannaleft the podcast and her gig at The Athletic in April after the first batch of photos showing her and the married New England Patriots head coach were published.
Congressman Jonathan Jacksonsays college athletes shouldn't just dominate on Saturdays and Sundays ... they should use their transfer power to fight for civil rights, too.
Jacobcaught up with the Rep. from Illinois Friday on Capitol Hill ... where Jackson unloaded on states he believes are rolling back voting rights protections -- and argued athletes should respond by bolting for schools elsewhere.
Watch the video ... Jackson specifically called out Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama ... saying if state lawmakers are "going to take African-Americans' voting rights and their representation away," athletes should use freedom of choice and hit the transfer portal.
Jeanie Buss is used to watching the Los Angeles Lakers win ... and, now she's looking to bring that winning magic to the city's mayoral race -- throwing all her support behind Spencer Pratt.
According to paperwork filed by Pratt's campaign ... Buss made an $1,800 donation to Pratt for Mayor 2026 just last week.
Buss probably had more than $1,800 lying around in her couch cushions -- remember, she and her family agreed to sell a majority stake in the franchise to Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter for $10 billion last year -- but, $1,800 is actually the most people are allowed to donate to a political candidate in the race.
