TMZ Sports - Page 50

Antonio Brown says he's quitting the NFL because the league is corrupt and has screwed him out of millions of dollars.

Brown just tweeted up a storm, saying, among other things, "Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up!"

What he's saying ... the Patriots signed him to a $15 mil deal with a $9 mil guaranteed signing bonus. But, here's the catch. The $9 mil was reportedly spread out over the season, and he was cut after just one week, and he's not gonna see most of that cash.

But, Brown went further and took aim at the Patriots' owner, Robert Kraft, firing this shot ... "Kraft got caught in the parlor AB speculations fired different strokes folks clearly." In other words, he's saying there's a double standard for him and the NFL bigwigs. Brown saying Kraft was charged with a crime and he was not, and the NFL hasn't punished Kraft.

He's also pissed because the NFL is investigating, and while that probe continues, he's poison to every team in the league.

This is absolutely awesome ... WWE star Lacey Evans did NOT break character for one iota of a second while being pulled over by cops in Canada. Now, THAT is nasty.

The southern belle wrestling personality recorded an encounter she had with police in Edmonton, Alberta over the weekend -- where she was being given a ticket for allegedly speeding down the highway. To non-WWE fans, it might've come off as intense.

In the video that Lacey posted to her own social media, you can see her get pretty testy with the relatively friendly and polite officer. Oh, Canada ... never change.

As he comes back to her car to hand her the ticket, Lacey goes off on him ... demanding to know whether he even knows who the hell she is. It's hilarious ... he definitely doesn't.

Lacey accepts the ticket with some major attitude, even go so far as to drop her signature catchphrase ... telling the cops he's "nasty" for doing what he did. The guy tells her to have a good day, and she fires back by wishing him a terrible day.

He ends leaving it as politely as he started, welcoming Lacey to Edmonton with a wave and smile. Lacey captioned her tweet, " 1.Canada is terrible. 2. You know Exactly who I am. 3. You will be speaking to my lawyer. #YaNasty." True to form, we must say.

Lacey's known for saying "nasty" A LOT on WWE, whether she's kicking ass in the ring or lecturing rambunctious co-workers from the stage. Talk about commitment, huh?

Warren Moon has a message for Donovan McNabb ... you WILL be a Hall of Famer -- so stop campaigning for it!!!

D-Mac stirred up the football world just a few months ago when he told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airing weeknights on FS1) that he belongs in Canton.

Moon saw the interview ... and wishes McNabb had been a little more neutral on his stance -- saying there's ZERO need for D-Mac to plead his case.

"I think he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame," Moon told the guys. "If you look at his numbers and what he did over the course of his career -- he went to four NFC championship games, he went to a Super Bowl."

But, Warren added, "I just think when you start campaigning for this, it's not a good look."

McNabb was just named one of 122 finalists for the 2020 Hall of Fame ... and he immediately took to Twitter saying, "Let's make sure we go out and vote. 'Fly Eagles Fly.'"

Moon thinks that's just unnecessary, saying, "I wish he would have never made any comments about it."

Think wrestling is a bunch of phony hogwash?? Gather 'round, naysayers, 'cause it's 💀HORRIFYING REAL INJURY STORYTIME 💀 ... starring WWE superstar Xavier Woods!!

The storylines may be scripted ... but The New Day member tells TMZ Sports he once had a REAL gnarly injury experience ... and it involves his teeth making contact with a foot.

"One time, I got kicked in the face and my 2 front teeth flattened up against the top of my mouth and it broke my gum in half."

Umm ... OUCH?!

What's crazy about all this ... is Woods says he wanted to keep wrestling after it happened, but he was warned, "You're gonna bleed everywhere!!"

As if this story wasn't cringe enough ... here's what happened after.

"The doctor had to put her foot on the armrest of the chair, put her fingers up underneath my teeth and just pull them back into place before they could numb anything."

😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲

Again ... OUCH!!!!!!!!

Woods says he got stitched up and now has a new pair of pearly whites, thanks to the accident.

"That was pretty terrible."

Milwaukee Bucks Owner Wes Edens obviously isn't afraid of commitment ... because he just told our cameras he's ready to make a lifelong pact with his star, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"We want to be a part of his life for the rest of his basketball career."

That is what Edens told our cameras when we got him out in New York City promoting his new tequila, Cincoro -- which he launched with other NBA owners including Michael Jordan ... adding that it is not just the MVP's game that makes him want to basketball marry him, but his makeup as a man.

"He's an amazing guy, he's amazing to the organization, he's amazing to his family."

Here's the thing ... it seems like the love goes both ways, the nearly 7-feet-tall Greek Freak recently said he wants to have a career like Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan ... staying in one place forever.

Donald Penn's got a new home in the NFL ... and now he's trying to get rid of his old home in L.A. ... 'cause the Washington Redskins lineman is selling his $5.2 million mansion!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 36-year-old Pro Bowl tackle is parting ways with his 8-bedroom, 11-bath Encino pad ... which comes with a private home theater and a freakin' walk-in shoe closet!!

If that ain't enough, the 11,000-square foot place also has a game room, private gym and a sauna ... as well as 2 private guest suites.

Oh, yeah ... AND it's got a pool!!

Penn was an undrafted free agent out of Utah State ... but grinded his way to a 13-year career with the Vikings and Raiders ... and made more than $60 MILLION along the way.

So, why did he have a home in L.A.? Penn was born and raised in SoCal ... and was a star standout at St. Bernard HS.

Claressa Shields still has Amanda Nunes squarely in her sights, and has taken steps to make the fight a reality ... telling TMZ Sports she's met with an MMA coach and her manager talked to Dana White.

Shields -- who's only 24 years old -- is a beast. She holds belts in 2 weight classes, and is looking to make history as the fastest fighter to be a champion in 3 different divisions.

Vasyl Lomachenko accomplished the feat in only 12 fights ... if Claressa wins her October 5 fight with Ivana Habazin, the record is hers.

That's not the only history Shields wants to write ... when we talked to Claressa on Friday, she told us she's seriously considering taking up MMA ... with the end goal being a Nunes superfight.

"I'm really a hard worker, and I'm dedicated to the craft. I eat right, I don't drink, I don't smoke. When you have an athlete like that, and I'm young, I can really pretty much do anything right now," Shield says.

"It has been thoughts to actually start training. I've actually sat and talked with an MMA coach. Shit can get serious real quick."

In order to make this happen ... Dana White -- who previously told us he's open to the idea -- needs to be on board, and Claressa says her manager has already talked to the UFC honcho.

Shields isn't just gonna jump from the boxing ring into the Octagon and fight Nunes, she says she needs to develop her ground skills ... and take a few warm-up matches.

Ex-Patriots receiver Malcolm Mitchell says he's turning to poetry to help his mental health after retiring from football ... saying the art form is "soothing."

Mitchell signed a 4-year deal in New England back in 2016 and helped the team win a Super Bowl that season. But, the 27-year-old battled injuries every year after that, and eventually retired last March.

Now, he's telling TMZ Sports he's become a writer ... and poetry has helped him transition from being a violent football player to an artist.

"It's soothing," Mitchell says. "I was talking to a reporter the other day about the mental health aspect of retiring from something you've been doing your whole life."

"Like, imagine if you couldn't do this anymore? You'd be stuck, right?"

Mitchell is currently finding HUGE success in the writing world ... he helped author the popular children's book "The Magician's Hat" -- and he's got a picture book on the way too.

But, he says poetry has become a real passion for him ... telling us, "Introducing that in a creative way is something that entices me."

Antonio Brown is back home after a turbulent past few weeks and an effective firing from the New England Patriots -- and he doesn't look too happy about it

The embattled wide receiver was seen exiting his private jet Saturday as he touched down in Miami -- where he owns a home. As he walked the runway, AB had an incredibly pained look on his face ... which is understandable after everything that's happened.

BTW, he was wearing Supreme gear here up top -- not Nike, which just dropped him this past week amid the mounting allegations. He also carried a Louis Vuitton briefcase.

While he looked pretty down in the dumps when he got back to Miami, AB was trying to put on a brave paid face before leaving the airport in New England ... posting a photo of himself sitting on top of a Rolls-Royce with the caption, "The Journey #Iknowimspecial #Whytheyplaying." Looks like he snuck in some Nike after all in his footwear.

As we reported ... Antonio was released by the Patriots Friday after a whirlwind of bad news for him, including a lawsuit alleging rape and sexual assault ... a Sports Illustrated story detailing more alleged sexual and behavioral misconduct ... as well as a reported attempt to contact one of his accusers with menacing texts.

Despite one good outing, it looks like the Pats had seen enough ... cutting him loose before Sunday's game against the Jets. AB's an unrestricted free agent now, and the NFL is still investigating the claims against him, not having come to a conclusion yet.

There's a ton of money in Esports ... and there could be GOLD in video games soon too ... 'cause Fortnite superstar Ninja says gaming WILL be in the Olympics -- it's just a matter of time.

Of course, Esports is bigger than ever -- the prize pool for the Fortnite World Cup was $30 MILLION in July (shout-out to 16-year-old gamer Bugha, who took home $3 milli for winning).

Ninja doesn't think the sport's done growing ... 'cause he says gamers will be representing their country on the sticks VERY soon.

"For me, I just think it's going to be time," Ninja tells TMZ Sports. "I think that obviously, the younger generation enjoys Esports and enjoys watching video games. Eventually, that's what they're gonna want and that's what the TV people are gonna want to show and represent."

"Just give a little bit of time and Esports will be there."

As for how soon it can happen, we ask if it can happen in time for the 2028 Games in L.A. ... and Ninja says he "wouldn't put it out of the question."

The UFC is creating a REAL custom "Baddest Mother F**ker" belt for the upcoming Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal fight ... and Dana White says it ain't cheap!!!

"I think it's gonna be like $50,000," White tells TMZ Sports.

Of course, the whole thing came about after Nate Diaz defeated Anthony Pettis in August and, during a post-fight interview, declared himself the 'BMF' champion of the world.

"We're fighting for the baddest mother f**ker in the game belt and that's mine," Diaz said after the Pettis fight ... "So, I'd like to defend it against Jorge Masvidal."

White liked the idea and the UFC is running with it -- in fact, White says Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has already agreed to present the belt to the winner of the fight on November 2 at UFC 244, which will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City!!!

A brutal injury to Ben Roethlisberger's throwing elbow will NOT end his career ... so says Plaxico Burress, who spoke with his ex-teammate and tells TMZ Sports, "He will be back next year."

Big Ben blew out his arm during the Steelers game against the Seahawks on Sunday ... and at 37 years old -- some are wondering if that's the last game we'll ever see the guy play.

But, Plaxico -- who was a Steeler with Roethlisberger in 2004 -- says he talked to Ben this week ... and came away from their conversation encouraged the QB will be back just fine.

"We share a special relationship," the ex-receiver says. "I know that this won't be his last hurrah. He's not built like that. He's going to come back healthy and ready to play."

As for Burress' message to Ben, he says he told the QB straight-up, "Stay strong."

We also spoke with Plaxico about the other QBs in Ben's famous 2004 NFL Draft class ... and you've gotta hear his thoughts on Philip Rivers.

HINT: Plaxico LOVES the Chargers star!!!

By the way, if you're wondering what Burress is up to these days -- he says he'll be competing with Michael Jordan soon ... in the tequila business!!!

Jake Paul wants to beat the living dog snot out of Soulja Boy ... but it's not out of hate -- it's because the YouTube superstar wants to make him relevant again!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Paul about calling out Mr. "Pretty Boy Swag" for an epic celeb boxing match ... and he says it may not happen because Soulja Boy is SCARED of getting KO'd!!!

But, 22-year-old Paul tells us he's actually trying to HELP Soulja out ... 'cause he thinks the fight will give him major clout and give him a new audience.

"I grew up a Soulja Boy fan and, so after I knocked him out, I'd be like, 'yo, respect, let's do a song together, bro!'"

Jake beat up fellow YouTuber Deji via TKO last year ... and he's been itching to get back in the ring ever since -- calling out anyone from FaZe Banks to Dillon Danis.

As for Soulja, he's been flirting with stepping into the ring for years ... and even famously came close to fighting Chris Brown in 2017, before Breezy backed out.

Paul says the 29-year-old rapper has nothing to be embarrassed about if he loses ... 'cause he thinks Soulja would be the underdog.

36-year-old boxing legend Sergey Kovalev just answered a question the whole pugilistic world has been asking for a while ... spilling the beans on when EXACTLY he's hanging up the gloves.

Kovalev has a huge fight against Canelo Alvarez on Nov. 2 -- a fight he says holds a special place in the pantheon of his career.

"Now, I can say this is the biggest fight. I'm already 36 years old. I understand that this is like a fight for legacy."

It's a tall task, he's facing a fighter seven years younger, who hasn't lost since 2013 ... but when we spoke to Sergey he seemed confident.

He also seemed confident ... certain, actually ... of when he'd finally hang the gloves up for good, a question people have been asking him since a pair of losses to Andre Ward a couple years ago.

Kovalev has rebounded since then, but still has a time in mind and he told our guy.

As for Canelo, we spoke to him too and he told us exactly how he's eating to make up that two weight-class difference ... and you'd be surprised.

And, probably disappointed.

Deontay Wilder's rich, famous and a heavyweight champ ... something he's not: anywhere near done knockin' dudes out -- 'cause his fiancee tells TMZ Sports he plans to fight til he's 40!!!

We talked to Telli Swift earlier this week in L.A. ... and with Wilder's 34th birthday coming up next month, we asked how much longer the Bronze Bomber plans to fight.

"Deontay's gonna go until he wants to stop. He says 40, but who knows. If his body allows him to."

"At least [40]."

FYI, Wilder's widely regarded as the hardest puncher in the world ... and has a record of 41-0-1 with 40 knockouts.

Telli also cleared up her man's immediate fighting future.

Deontay's supposed to rematch Luis "King Kong" Ortiz later this year ... but the fight hasn't officially been announced, leading to speculation it ain't gonna happen.

Swift says they're wrong ... 'cause it's 100% goin' down.

"It's happening. It's happening in November."

The New England Patriots have just parted ways with Antonio Brown after a new NFL investigation into concerning text messages.

"Thank you for the opportunity @Patriots #GoWinIt," Brown posted on Twitter ... adding, "The marathon continues."

He also posted a photo with Tom Brady on Instagram, "Love ya champ. That was fun!"

Brown was only an official member of the Pats for 11 days.

The Patriots issued a statement saying, "The New England Patriots are releasing Antonio Brown. We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time."

The writing was certainly on the wall ... Patriots head coach Bill Belichick shut down a press conference Friday morning because he was sick of answering questions about the WR.

As we previously reported, the Patriots signed Brown on Sept. 7 -- hours after he was cut by the Oakland Raiders following multiple issues with Raiders executives.

Brown didn't sign his contract with the Pats until Sept. 9. His deal was a 1-year contract worth up to $15 mil with a $9 million signing bonus.

Days after Brown signed his deal with the Pats, a woman named Britney Taylor filed a lawsuit against AB accusing him of forcible rape in 2018, along with 2 allegations of sexual assault in 2017.

Brown has denied all wrongdoing and vowed to explore his own legal options. Brown was not arrested or charged with a crime in that case. Taylor never went to police.

Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated published a report containing allegations from a 2nd woman who accused Brown of sexual misconduct.

Brown later sent that woman menacing text messages in which Brown directs associates to look into the accuser's family. He also sent a pic of the accuser's children.

The NFL was contacted by the woman's attorney and immediately launched an investigation.

Despite the investigation, Belichick suggested the team was planning on using Brown on Sunday when they take on the NY Jets.

Brown played 24 snaps for the Patriots in his debut with the team against the Dolphins last weekend. He saw 8 passes from Tom Brady, catching four of them for 56 yards and a TD. He also had one rushing attempt for 5 yards.

AB has been a superstar in his career on the field, he's logged at least 100 catches and 1,200 receiving yards in each of the last six seasons.

In his 10-year career, Brown's scored 75 receiving touchdowns ... putting him in a tie for 34th all-time in NFL history.

As for the Raiders, Oakland cut bait with Brown after a string of bizarre behavior including a weird injury in a cryotherapy chamber and issues with his helmet.

Brown also secretly recorded Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and posted the audio online.

The last straw seemed to be when Brown publicly called out Raiders general manager Mike Mayock after the team fined him for missing multiple team activities.

The question now ... will another team take a chance on Antonio Brown -- or is his NFL career finished?

Story developing ...