Nolan Wells' high school football coach, Tracy Lampley, is breaking his silence on the death investigation ... and he doubts race was involved.
Tracy joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday ... and we asked him if there were racial tensions at their Mississippi high school.
Nolan's coach says that's not the vibe he gets ... telling us the students "grew up together" and "played together."
What's more, Coach Tracy says Nolan got along with everyone ... remembering him for his big smile and big personality. He says people gravitated towards Nolan.
Sam Asghari says he's not looking for personal glory in his acting career ... he's more interested in using his celebrity to push for the good of mankind ... namely, human rights in Iran.
The model and actor joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to discuss his new movie "The Gentleman Thief" starring John Travolta, and he dove into a relatively new subject ... politics -- specifically, the ongoing situation in his home country.
If you don't know ... Sam was born in Tehran and moved to the United States in the mid 2000s when he was 12 -- and he says seeing the oppression in the country has made him more politically aware.
Attorney Ben Crump seems to think the state of Mississippi is trying to sweep the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells under the rug ... and he's not going to let that happen.
Ben joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and the attorney was adamant the contradictions in Nolan's case can't justify investigators ruling out foul play ... especially because of Mississippi's history of "racial killings where no one was held accountable."
Ben ... as well as Nolan's parents ... decided to have Nolan's body flown from Mississippi to D.C. for an independent autopsy ... wanting to distance the case from MS authorities ... with the parents saying they "are not trusting people who are affiliated with Mississippi law enforcement."
Former USMNT star Herculez Gomez feels we are headed in a bad direction if President Trump is seemingly calling in favors to FIFA President Gianni Infantino ... because that could mean other world leaders might be inclined to do the same.
Check out the clip ... we spoke with the sports commentator on "TMZ Live" today to ask him what he made of Folarin Balogun's red card suspension ... and he's concerned to say the least.
Not only does he feel FIFA has "opened up Pandora's Box" by entertaining Trump's call to Infantino ... but he also feels this whole situation has brought the United States back to being "that ugly big brother ... that bully," which completely undermines the good work the nation has done as hosts of the World Cup and as a team on the pitch.
Rick Ross crashed "TMZ Live" today with enough diamonds to light up the studio ... and enough jokes to keep "Hervis" on the ropes.
Watch the antics, they're hilarious ... Rozay stopped by to chat about his upcoming "Port of Miami" 20th anniversary tour, but before the conversation could get too serious, he was already calling Harvey "Hervis" -- a nickname Rick has long reserved just for our fearless leader.
Harvey fired right back, giving Rick grief over the tour's dress code -- and from there, the interview turned into one long laugh ... with lots of bling.
How's this for patriotism ahead of the big 250th birthday ... a HOA in a San Diego area neighborhood is warning homeowners to remove their American flags or get dinged with fees ... but two households are holding firm.
Chris and Amy Cook, and Terri Collins are the California homeowners who are fighting back against their HOA's flag ban ... and they joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and told us why they won't take the stars and stripes down.
It's truly incredible ... the HOA's position is the American flag represents "a political or affiliative view which degrades the common area" ... and the homeowners tell us it's baffling.
