TMZ Sports - Page 50

Trina Braxton's not conflicted at all -- she supports the rights of the LGBT community ... AND she supports the rights of folks who want to gobble down some Chick-fil-A.

We got the "Braxton Family Values" star outside Publik Draft House in Atlanta Wednesday night and first asked her about the fast food chain being closed during the Super Bowl ... despite having a primo location inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

She says Chick-fil-A fans like herself know the restaurant's always closed on Sundays -- no exceptions -- so just deal with it. It's their prerogative.

Trina also tells us it's her prerogative to eat at Chick-fil-A -- despite its history of supporting anti-gay groups -- because she personally supports LGBT rights. Eating a delicious chicken sandwich isn't going to change that ... for Trina, anyway.

10:07 AM PT -- Cook says he had a pair of Louboutin shoes, an additional pair of shoes AND some dress pants stolen -- ESPN's Dianna Russini reports.

7:36 AM PT -- A rep for the TSA tells TMZ Sports ... they've already launched an investigation into Cook's allegations and are hoping to get some answers ASAP.

We're told officials have reached out to Cook and are hoping to speak with him soon to get more information about the alleged crime.

Oakland Raiders TE Jared Cook claims TSA employees STOLE several valuable items out of his luggage at the airport on the way to the Pro Bowl ... and he's calling 'em out on video.

"The great folks at TSA went through my bag and stole my shoes and some of my clothes," Cook told Vegas Sports Daily at the Pro Bowl practice in Orlando.

Cook says the items were worth a "pretty good amount of money."

You can see in the clip Cook is pretty upset -- and he's blaming the alleged crime on the government shutdown.

"I guess when you're forced to find work or find money to come in from somewhere for your family, you take it out on the people that you serve."

He added, "When you don't feed your dogs, they go licking on your bones -- so that's what they're doing."

We reached out to the TSA for comment and we're told they're looking into Cook's allegations. However, TSA responded to Cook on Twitter saying, "This deeply concerns us. We take these allegations very seriously."

31-year-old Cook had a monster season in 2018 -- one of the few bright spots for the Raiders -- putting up 68 catches for 896 yards and 6 TDs.

Cook has made more than $37 million in his NFL career -- and is expected to sign a pretty big contract before the 2019 season.

So, even though it SUCKS to have your stuff get jacked (allegedly) ... at least he can afford to buy new gear.

Kevin Durant blew off practice with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday -- BUT IT WAS FOR A GREAT REASON -- the guy just opened his new after-school facility in Maryland!

KD had made a $10 MILLION donation to the project last year -- to cover "construction and operating expenses" for the center in Prince George's County ... where Durant is from.

Durant had teamed up with College Track to create the facility. The mission is to help kids from low-income areas get the resources they need to get to college.

On Wednesday, Durant met with some of the kids from the inaugural 69-person class -- and everyone seemed super excited!

The NBA superstar talked about the project to the Washington Post ... describing it as the "full circle stuff that you dream about."

Hue Jackson was so furious after getting the axe from Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam after a Week 8 loss to the Steelers, he cussed at his boss and threw him out of his office.

This is all according to an explosive new ESPN report which says ... if you couldn't tell ... things were a MESS behind the scenes in Cleveland this year.

Haslam reportedly went to Jackson's office to deliver the news after the team had chalked up another loss -- sending their record to 2-5-1 on the season.

When Haslam told Jackson that the team had "quit" on him and the Browns were firing the head coach, Jackson reportedly said, "Get the f*ck out of my office."

So, why such anger in a moment EVERYONE saw coming?

According to the report, Jackson's position is that Haslam had given him a vote of confidence behind the scenes -- telling him the team would be firing offensive coordinator Todd Haley, not Jackson.

When Haslam decided to move on from Hue on October 29 ... Jackson didn't see it coming (despite an overall 3-36-1 record with the organization) and lost his cool.

The article also paints Haslam as a guy who's in over his head -- who was adamant on selecting Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft over Teddy Bridgewater because "something about Bridgewater's handshake rubbed Haslam the wrong way."

Of course, Manziel flamed out of the league while Bridgewater ended up being a pretty solid QB (despite injuries).

Haslam also reportedly nicknamed ex-VP of football operations Sashi Brown, who is black, "Obama" because of his Harvard degree ... which made people in the Browns organization uncomfortable and came off as racial stereotyping.

Brown, however, did not find the nickname disrespectful.

L.A. Mayor and likely Presidential candidate Eric Garcetti is promising a party for the ages if the L.A. Rams win the Super Bowl.

We got Garcetti, who was on his way to Washington D.C. where he's the keynote speaker at the United States Conference of Mayors, and he was pumped up about the Rams as any fan in the City of Angels.

Garcetti, who was a key player in the negotiations that ended the L.A. teachers strike, is likely going to throw his hat in the 2020 ring, and soon.

Terrell Davis tells TMZ Sports if CBD was around when he was playing for the Denver Broncos ... his Hall of Fame career would have lasted a lot longer than it did.

TD famously broke into the league as an immediate superstar in 1995 ... rushing for more than 6,000 yards in his first 4 seasons.

But, a knee injury ultimately sapped him of his prime years ... forcing him to play in just 17 games in his final three seasons and retire at just 29 years old.

Now ... Davis tells us if CBD was around back then -- he's confident his career would have been saved.

"I believe so, because any time you can help your body heal -- you can take out the swelling, the inflammation and you can do it in a way that's natural -- I feel like absolutely it would have assisted in that."

Davis says he knows this because he's a regular user of the drug ... and, in fact, he is coming out with his own CBD product called Defy that is set to launch this spring.

Ezekiel Elliott was involved in an altercation with a HUGE celebrity DJ in Vegas early Monday morning -- with the DJ going off about the incident on video after the fact ... and it's intense.

But, sources connected to Zeke tell us ... the Cowboys star is adamant he wasn't the one in the wrong.

Here's what we know for sure ... Zeke and Dak Prescott were partying at Drai's After Hours at The Cromwell Hotel and Casino where DJ Franzen was hanging out.

DJ Franzen is a huge force in hip-hop -- he's tight with guys like Jay-Z, T.I. and Big Sean ... and Drake even gave him TWO shout-outs in TWO different songs ("The Motto" and "Elevate").

Sources connected to Franzen tell us ... he walked over to say hi and that's when Elliott and some of his crew got aggressive and things started to pop off.

One Franzen source tells us ... Dak walked over to the DJ and attempted to smooth things over -- but it was already too late ... Franzen felt disrespected and decided to go off on social media.

"Can you believe Ezekiel Elliott tried to pick a fight with me?!" Franzen said in an IG video first spotted by SportsGossip.com ... "Man, F*CK THE COWBOYS!!!"

"Get the f*ck up out of Vegas man," he added ... "You are never allowed in my section again, you little bitch."

He finished with this message -- "If y'all know Ezekiel Elliott, you tell em DJ Franzen said 'F*ck you ... you little bitch ass motherf*cker.'"

Our Zeke sources tell a different story ... claiming Franzen came over in an aggressive manner and was talking trash about the Cowboys.

One source put it this way, "He was trying to provoke Zeke."

Antonio Brown ... we mustache you a question -- what's up with the dental drapes, man??

The NFL superstar posted a selfie with his son, Auto, on Wednesday ... showing off a bright, new multi-colored dread look ... complete with a bleach blonde caterpillar above his upper lip.

Of course, A.B.'s no stranger to head-turning looks ... remember, he had the Nino Brown/Lego head 'do a few years ago ... and his fashion style is among the most unique in the league.

For a guy who dressed up as a hippo and sang "My Prerogative" in front of a bunch of people, we shouldn't be surprised.

Saints superstar Michael Thomas is STILL salty over the way his team's season ended ... posting a pic on social media Wednesday calling next week's Big Game, "Super Bowl LIE."

The entire city of New Orleans has been up in arms since the refs blew a potentially game-winning pass interference call at the end of the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

In fact ... Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise tells TMZ Sports commissioner Roger Goodell should force the Rams to replay the Saints this weekend 'cause of the robbery.

Thomas clearly agrees ... 'cause he took to IG this week to post a meme that transformed the Super Bowl LIII logo into a "Super Bowl LIE" one.

Other Saints have been vocal about the controversial ending too ... tight end Ben Watson posted on his social media saying, "It’s not fair. I’m angry for a number of reasons. And we are all incredibly disappointed. But we will not be shaken!"

BlocBoy JB is following suit with a lot of other artists by filing his own suit against the creators of Fortnite for allegedly stealing a dance he popularized ... TMZ has learned.

BB JB just sued Epic Games -- the company behind Fortnite Battle Royale -- for allegedly ripping off his dance the "Shoot" and throwing it into their game with a different name ... the "Hype" dance.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, BlocBoy claims he's the creator of the dance, and that Epic Games didn't get permission to use it in Fortnite. Once again, he claims that while he hadn't registered a copyright on the dance when Fortnite used it ... he says he's in the process of locking it down now.

He's being repped by David L. Hecht and Sandy Lal.

Lots of other rappers and social media figures have filed similar suits -- including one Alfonso Ribeiro, who's got beef with the "Carlton" dance being used in the game, as well as Backpack Kid, who claims the game creators stole his move, "The Floss" -- and they all seem to have the same claim ... we popularized a dance, and therefore its ours.

Good luck, fellas.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft ain't mincing his words -- saying Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL ... period.

Of course, there were reports last week that Brady walked into the Patriots practice facility and declared himself the "baddest mother f*cker on the planet."

So, when we saw Kraft leaving John Jay College in New York we had to ask for his thoughts.

"We're lucky to have the greatest quarterback in history," Kraft said with a smirk on his face.

Earlier in the day, Kraft had teamed up with Jay-Z, Meek Mill and 76ers owner Michael Rubin for an event to launch the Reform Alliance, which is focused on overhauling the probation and parole system in America. The goal is to free 1 million people over the next 5 years.

And, since he's become tight with Meek, we asked if the Pats would be playing Mill's hit, "Dreams and Nightmares," if they win the Super Bowl this year ... to which it sounds like he says, "Of course."

The issue with that ... "Dreams and Nightmares" was essentially the theme song for the Philadelphia Eagles last season (when they beat the Pats in the Super Bowl).

Rep. Steve Scalise -- the House Minority Whip -- says the NFL NEEDS to replay the Saints-Rams NFC Championship Game ... telling TMZ Sports they gotta to do it THIS Saturday!!!

We got the Louisiana congressman out in D.C. when he said the NFL blew the ending of the Saints game so badly ... Roger Goodell needs to re-kickoff the matchup this weekend.

"Frankly, they should play a makeup game. If the Saints played the Rams on Saturday, I think it'd be the highest-watched sports event all year."

Of course, Steve's beef with the game stems from the obvious missed pass interference call late in the 4th quarter of Sunday's thriller.

Scalise tells us he expects the NFL to right that issue in time for next season ... saying the league has too much technology for that to happen again.

Henry Cejudo is SO crazy about Nikki Bella ... he's telling TMZ Sports he'd straight-up kick John Cena's ass in a ladder match to win her love!!!!

Before the backstory ... let's look at the tale of the tape:

Ok, here's the deal ... we spoke with the UFC superstar just days after his huge victory over T.J. Dillashaw ... when he confirmed he's got the BIGGEST crush on one half of the WWE's famous tag-team duo.

Earlier this week, Cejudo told ESPN's Ariel Helwani he developed a thing for Bella after meeting her on the flight to NYC for the Dillashaw fight. She made a video saying she was interested ...

Now, Cejudo tells us he's so infatuated with Nikki ... if it came down to wrestling with her ex-BF in the squared circle -- he'd do it ... AND COME OUT VICTORIOUS!!!

"Is that even a question? Do you smell what The Messenger is cooking?!" Cejudo tells us.

"I'm talking about a ladder match. I'll be the first one to get off that damn ring. And then, I'll be waiting for Bella right at the corner, man!"

Of course, Nikki doesn't seem like she'd mind that one bit ... she took to Twitter on Tuesday to respond to Henry's advances, saying she wants to have a "celebratory wine" with him soon!!!

Translation ... it's GREAT to be Henry Cejudo these days!!!

Jay-Z, Meek Mill and a coalition of powerful voices have formed a new organization that they say will "fight different" for criminal justice reform ... and they've got $50 mil between all of them to get it started.

The rappers joined forces with the likes of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, Nets co-owner Clara Wu Tsai, Van Jones and others to launch Reform Alliance Wednesday, which they say will fight to get at least a million people out of jail over the next five years with a focus on probation and parole.

Meek kicked things off by recounting his harrowing story of being jailed for 5 months on a petty probation violation, and says there are countless people caught up in the system who are voiceless ... for whom he now wants to speak and fight.

He did an interview on The Breakfast Club last month, and outlined the parameters of what his support would look like.

The group announced Van would lead the effort as the CEO, and he gave a poignant speech saying Reform Alliance would amplify the social activists who've been pushing for this reform for decades now. He made clear that RA was not a bank, that it wasn't just going to hire a bunch of lawyers for people and that it wouldn't be reinventing the wheel of criminal justice reform.

On the contrary, Van says the org aims to change fundamental laws that are unjust and ass-backward, which incarcerate men and women for absurd lengths of time ... and cost taxpayers millions of dollars unnecessarily.

Jay also spoke on why he joined the board, saying that the issue of criminal justice reform affects everybody in one way or another. He also highlighted what a complete family unit can achieve even under the hardest conditions when education is at the forefront.

As you know, Meek has become a symbol for criminal justice reform following his 2-4 year prison sentence for probation violations in 2017, and he's been championing the cause ever since his hard-fought release on bail.

The movement's already been effective ... President Trump signed the First Step Act into law, earning huge praise from CNN's Van Jones.

Lindsey Vonn ain't throwing in the towel just yet ... but she's close ... saying she's still holding out hope she won't have to retire from skiing after suffering another major knee injury.

Vonn pulled out of the World Cup super-G run at Cortina in Italy on Sunday due to pain in her knee -- the latest in a spectacular career riddled with injuries.

Now, the 34-year-old Vonn -- the greatest female downhill skier ever -- is opening up about the reality she might have to hang up her skis for good.

"After a lot of physical therapy and time to clearly think things through, we have come to some conclusions about my knee," Vonn said on Wednesday.

"First, we discovered the reason I had so much pain and muscle shut down in Cortina was due to an impact injury to my peroneal nerve."

Vonn says the pain got worse each day and by Sunday "my lower leg was in a lot of pain and my muscles had completely shut down."

"Now that we know the problem the next issue is fixing it. So far we haven’t found a solution and as a result I will not be able to compete in tomorrow’s downhill training run. However, since this is a new 'injury' per say, I remain hopeful that we can fix it."

"I’m taking things day by day and we will see what happens."

6:48 AM PT -- Officials tell TMZ Sports ... Williams was initially pulled over for going 80 in a 50 on the Crescent City Connection Bridge.

During the stop, cops suspected he was intoxicated and tried to administer a breath test but Williams refused ... so he was arrested.

We're told he was booked for driving while intoxicated, speeding, improper lane usage and failure to use a turn signal.

A bad week just got worse for New Orleans Saints cornerback P.J. Williams -- who was arrested early Wednesday morning when cops say he was driving drunk in the Big Easy.

The 25-year-old -- a key player on the Saints defense -- was booked for drunk driving and careless driving at 1:10 AM, according to The Advocate.

After posing for a mug shot, Williams was released roughly 3 hours after his arrest. We're working on the details.

It's not the first time Williams has been arrested for drunk driving -- he was popped for DUI in Florida back in 2015 but the case was thrown out because police dash cam video failed to capture key moments from that arrest.

Williams was a stud back in college where he helped Florida State win the national championship playing with Jameis Winston back in 2013.

He later entered the NFL Draft in 2015 where he was selected by the Saints in the 3rd round.

Since turning pro, he's been a pretty solid player -- even picking off Kirk Cousins for a Pick 6 in the Week 8 battle this season against the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams played in 15 games in 2018 for the Saints -- posting 53 tackles, 1 interception and 1 sack.

He started in the NFC championship game against the L.A. Rams last weekend -- and had 8 tackles and broke up 1 pass in the 26 to 23 loss.