TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ex-Philadelphia Eagles star Hollis Thomas says his firing from his gig on a Philly sports radio station may have been racially motivated ... and a lawsuit is at least crossing his mind.

The 45-year-old former defensive tackle (who spent 10 seasons with the Eagles) made regular appearances on 94.1WIP -- until recently. Many wondered what happened -- and on Tuesday he went on Josh Innes' podcast to explain.

Long story short ... Hollis says he caught flack from WIP for appearing on Green Legion Radio, which WIP considers to be a competitor.

Thomas also says the station was upset because he didn't make a scheduled promotional appearance for the station ... but Hollis says the station didn't give him the details about the appearance until he was already booked to do something else.

Thomas says he was a part-time employee and felt he was allowed to take side gigs for extra money.

"Don't act like you all-in on Hollis Thomas. Because if you're not all-in with me, I'm not all-in with you."

Thomas also suggested a racial component to his firing.

"I could sue for discrimination because I am the only black guy up there .. and it looks real bad when you single out the one black guy who's just trying to make a little bit of cheese."

Innes, who is white, told Thomas not to sue because it would be a bad look for him. Thomas didn't completely dismiss the idea.

Andre Emmett was held up at gunpoint and then tried to run for his life before he was chased, shot in the back and killed in Dallas ... new video shows.

The Dallas Police Dept. released footage captured by a Ring Doorbell near the murder scene showing the ex-NBA player and BIG3 star apparently being pulled out of his car by gunmen on Monday morning.

It all went down at Emmett's home in Old East Dallas where you can see a group of men yelling at the 37-year-old while he sits in his silver Range Rover.

As they approach the car, Emmett clearly knew he was in imminent danger and immediately tried to run away from the scene ... but one of the men pulled out a gun and opened fire.

Antonio Gates is going to bat for his ex-teammate ... telling TMZ Sports the Chargers need to pay Melvin Gordon ASAP -- and they need to give him Ezekiel Elliott money when they do!!!

MG has been sitting out this season in hopes of getting a fat new deal ... and the Bolts have struggled without him -- going just 1-2 in their first 3 games.

Gates says the solution is just to pay Gordon, telling us when we got him out at Avra in Bev Hills this week, "Melvin Gordon is the answer. They need to get Melvin Gordon back."

As for how much Dean Spanos should pay the star RB ... Gates says the deal belongs in the same stratosphere as the 6-year, $90 MILLION contract that Zeke just got from the Cowboys.

"He means a lot to the Chargers and to our organization," Gates says. "You can sense that as the season gets going, the absence of him is starting to have more effect."

Gates -- the Chargers' all-time receptions leader -- says it's obvious to him the team is really missing Gordon when it gets down in the red zone, saying, "He's big time."

But, don't worry Chargers fans ... Gates says he believes the deal will all get worked out soon, telling us, "I think he's going to get paid."

Tim Tebow's taking his upcoming wedding as serious as one of his workouts ... 'cause the ex-Heisman Trophy winner was sweating his face off practicing his moves with his fiancee!!

The former NFL first-round pick showed off his waltzin' skills with Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters ... and he also flashed a healthy sweat that could be seen through his pink shirt.

Don't worry ... Demi-Leigh -- Miss Universe 2017 -- didn't seem to mind the perspiration ... in fact, she shouted out the guy for improving!!!

"Getting better," she wrote ... "one step at a time."

Unclear if the couple is planning on making this their first dance at their wedding ... but the celebration appears to be coming up soon.

Remember, the two got engaged back in January ... and their posts about their upcoming wedding have REALLY started to heat up.

Which means ... only a few more weeks left with that v-card, Timmy!!!

Ex-NFL lineman Kendrick Norton -- who lost most of his left arm in a July 4 car crash -- now believes the accident was meant to be ... because he's in a position to help so many other people.

It hasn't even been 3 full months since the crash that ended his NFL career and changed his life forever ... but Norton is in great spirits and launching his non-profit organization, Kendrick Norton's Angels Initiative.

The 22-year-old former Miami Dolphins player says the organization is aimed at helping young amputees and their families in various ways ... from upgrading prosthetics, helping to make homes handicap accessible, spearheading blood drives and more.

What Norton is doing is nothing short of amazing -- and he strongly believes this is his purpose in life.

"The more I get out there and the more I help, the more I feel like this was supposed to happen. This was my calling."

Norton later told us he feels like this is all part of God's plan for him.

As we previously reported, Norton (a 7th-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft) was battling for a roster spot with the Dolphins when he crashed his truck on July 4 with his girlfriend, Kira, in the vehicle.

The two have since launched a YouTube page chronicling life as an amputee. It's pretty inspiring stuff.

Mark Rypien's wife was on the ground gasping for air and choking after the former Super Bowl MVP struck her ... and it's all on new police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Rypien and his wife got into an argument in their car on a busy street in Spokane, Washington on June 30 when Rypien says things got physical.

The 56-year-old -- who won two championships with the Redskins in the late '80s and early '90s -- claims his wife, Danielle Rypien, struck him in the head with a cell phone and poured water on him while he was driving. He also claims she covered his eyes while they were on the road and, when he got scared, he hit her.

In video previously obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see Danielle spill out of the car onto the ground and collapse onto a grassy area of a nearby bank parking lot.

New police video shows what happened next ... cops interrogated Rypien and his wife over the incident, and the former QB admitted to striking her.

"She was covering my face up when I was driving and I was scared and I just said, 'Get away from me!'" Rypien said.

Cops say they also noticed the driver's seat was wet -- seemingly corroborating his story that Danielle had poured water on him.

When the cops asked why she was coughing and choking ... Rypien added, "She just had the wind knocked out of her when I kind of threw her hand off me."

"She was covering my face up and I was scared we were going to get into a wreck."

Cops questioned both Rypien and his wife for the next few minutes over the incident ... but Danielle appeared to refuse to tell officers what really went down -- saying she was worried about what would happen to Mark if he went to jail.

"He raises money for cancer and it will hurt his reputation," she told police.

She also told cops Rypien is "sick" -- suffering from head trauma sustained during his days in the NFL.

Eventually, cops decided to arrest the ex-QB ... telling Rypien that, since he admitted to hitting Danielle, "I do not have any choice but to place you under arrest for domestic violence."

The video also shows cops acknowledging Rypien as a "pretty high-profile person" -- and discussing how to handle the situation appropriately.

Rypien was eventually charged with misdemeanor domestic violence ... and after fighting the case in court throughout the summer, he eventually got the charge dismissed on Aug. 30.

According to court docs, Rypien was able to get the charge dropped because he "acknowledged the event and is pursuing counseling."

For his part, Rypien released a statement after the court's ruling, saying, "In light of the dismissal of the misdemeanor assault charge against me, I want to express my appreciation to the citizen callers who reported this incident and to the officers involved for their efforts to protect Danielle on the day of this incident."

"I also appreciate the professionalism of the officers, jail staff, court personnel and the prosecutor's office in having treated me with respect and civility through a very difficult process."

Yankees legend David Cone is calling Domingo German's domestic violence investigation a "sad" situation ... and tells TMZ Sports losing the pitcher is going to really affect NY.

"It's sad," Cone says. "The whole thing is sad. I don't know what the details are, but it really hurts the Yankees."

German was placed on Administrative Leave by the MLB last Thursday after an allegation of domestic violence was reported to the league.

No police report was filed in the incident ... and details of the accusation are still unclear -- but what is known is German seems VERY unlikely to pitch again in pinstripes this season.

Cone obviously thinks that's a pretty big loss for the Yanks ... 'cause the 27-year-old was 18-4 with 153 strikeouts in 143 innings -- and NY's pitching staff ain't exactly the best.

But, good news for Yankees fans ... Cone seems pretty confident CC Sabathia can pick up the slack, 'cause he tells us the guy is 1st-ballot Hall of Famer with an unreal resume.

"I think he's one of the best pitchers of his generation," Cone says.

Jeremy Stephens called Yair Rodriguez the homophobic f-word during a heated altercation at their hotel in Mexico just one day after their UFC fight fell apart ... and it's all on video.

In footage obtained by IndiscutidoLA, you can see Yair and his entourage approach Stephens in the lobby ... and while it seems harmless at first, things escalate quickly.

We heard Jeremy tell Yair "Let's run it back." Then, Yair says something about Jeremy's eye. Next thing we know, Stephens shoves Yair in the chest and all hell breaks loose.

Yair tells Stephens -- "F**king p***y, bro. You're gonna have to live with that for the rest of your f**king life."

Stephens replies, "Let's run it back."

Yair says the fight should have happened the day before -- "How bout yesterday?!?"

That's when Stephens hurls the f-bomb ... "You poked me in the eye, f****t. You poked me in the f**king eye."

Yair repeats the slur back to Stephens and continues to mock him.

Stephens says, "I'll see you soon motherf**ker. Trust me. I'll see you soon."

As we previously reported, Jeremy and Yair were the main event at a UFC fight on Saturday -- but the fight was called off after the first few seconds when Yair hit Jeremy with an accidental eye poke.

Lenny Dykstra is out. Screech is in.

TMZ Sports has learned Dustin Diamond has agreed to replace Lenny Dykstra and fight Bagel Guy Chris Morgan in a Celebrity Boxing match this weekend in New Jersey!

As we previously reported, Dykstra pulled out of the event this week because he's focusing on an unrelated lawsuit.

So, Celeb Boxing promoter Damon Feldman reached out to the former "Saved By The Bell" star and we're told 42-year-old Diamond agreed almost immediately!

Now, the fight is on ... the two will clash at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City on Sept. 28.

Screech is 6'0" tall and 45-year-old Morgan is listed at 5'0".

As for Bagel Guy, Chris Morgan has been training his ass off ... working with UFC stars like Chris Weidman and Al Iaquinta.

Unclear if Dustin has been training but he's been involved with celeb boxing in the past -- fighting Ron Palillo -- aka Horshack from "Welcome Back, Kotter" back in 2002. Dustin won the fight after knocking Palillo down a few times.

Ya gotta think the experience will give Screech the advantage.

Unemployed NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown isn't spending his Tuesday getting ready for a game -- he just walked into a Miami office to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit where he's accused of trashing a luxury apartment.

As we previously reported, AB is being sued by the owners of The Mansions at Acqualina in the Miami area, where he was accused of wrecking his $35k-per-month unit and not paying for the damages.

Brown allegedly leased the place from Feb. 2018 to July 2018.

In the lawsuit, the condo owners claim they found broken or defaced furnishings -- including a leather couch, silk-covered sofas and appliances. They also claim AB damaged the walls and flooring so badly, they needed to repaint the place.

Brown has previously denied the allegations and vowed to fight the case. In fact, Brown filed a counterclaim against the condo claiming his unit was burglarized in April 2018 due to lack of security at the complex. Brown filed multiple police reports claiming the burglars entered his place without permission and stole $80k in cash and a 9mm firearm while he was out of town.

AB arrived for his deposition on Tuesday morning with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, by his side -- along with his attorney, Darren Heitner.

The former New England Patriots star was dressed in a black tracksuit and was smiling and using his phone to record the media throng waiting for him as he arrived.

In other words, he didn't seem worried at all.

If The Mansions sounds familiar, it's the same place where Brown was accused of going on a furniture-throwing tirade back in 2018 ... and almost smashing a 22-month-old child.

Brown was sued by the family of the kid who says Brown was launching furniture off his balcony and only missed hitting the child and his grandfather by "a mere foot or two."

Brown struck a settlement with the family -- agreeing to put money in the kid's college fund and also donate to a charity.

How's this for a fashion crossover?!?!

Louis Vuitton just dropped the first images of the custom travel trunk they designed for the most coveted trophy in Esports ... the "League of Legends" Summoners Cup!!!

The trophy is awarded to winner of the world championships in Paris in November along with a $1 MILLION cash prize!

Now, LV is getting into the gaming world ... partnering up with Riot Games (the company behind LoL) to create the official case of the Cup.

Here's how LV is describing the case ...

"The bespoke trunk, the first of its kind for an esports championship, will feature both traditional Louis Vuitton savoir-faire along with cutting-edge, high-tech elements inspired by the League of Legends universe."

"In addition to the Trophy Case, Louis Vuitton has designed unique champion skins and a capsule collection designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Women’s collections, along with other League of Legend digital assets."

No word on how much the case is worth on the open market -- but a special Louis Vuitton x Supreme trunk recently sold for $70,000!!! So, yeah ... this is a valuable item for sure!

The 2018 "LoL" world title went to Invictus Gaming, a team from China. The runner-up was Fnatic, a team based out of the UK.

There was ZERO chance Odell Beckham was going to get Michael Crabtree'd on Sunday night ... 'cause the star WR straight-up refused to wear his chain against Aqib Talib!!

If you somehow missed it ... Talib and Crabtree had an EPIC beef a couple years ago -- with Talib snatching Crab's gold chain on TWO separate occasions in 2016 and 2017.

Obviously, Odell saw all the drama ... and wanted NO part of it when the Browns took on the Rams -- because he told Talib on the field Sunday, "I had to not wear my chain tonight!"

Don't worry, Talib didn't take it as an insult ... he actually laughed about it and said to Beckham, "Stop that sh**, O!"

But, while Odell's chain might have survived the night ... his game didn't exactly -- Talib shut down the receiver, allowing only six catches for 56 yards.

Tough trade-off.

By the way, Talib and Crabtree eventually squashed their beef at a Texas Go-Kart track last March ... with the guys having a long heart-to-heart outside the place.

We're told the two bro-hugged after chatting and the drama is now dead.

Think Nelson Agholor has bitterness toward a Philadelphia hero who clowned him after saving babies from a fire???

HELL NO ... the Eagles wide receiver is straight-up impressed -- and wants the dude to get VIP treatment at a Philly game soon!!!

Here's the deal if ya missed it ... Hakim Laws heroically helped kids flee from a burning building over the weekend, and afterward, he shaded the hell out of Agholor.

"I see a guy hanging out the window screaming that his kids were in there,” Laws told CBS 3 in Philly.

"My man just started throwing babies out ... and we was catching them, unlike Agholor and all his mishaps."

Of course, Nelson's had the dropsies for the Eagles in the past two weeks ... he blew the chance at a game-winning TD pass vs. the Falcons in Week 2 and had a few more mistakes in a loss to the Lions on Sunday.

But, Agholor took Laws' shade in stride ... and asked Twitter to help him find the guy, saying, "Thank you for being a hero in the community, would like to invite you and your family to the next home game."

AWESOME!!!

This is pretty great ... skate superstar Nyjah Huston is sick of keeping his awards in a room at home, so he turned his newest trophy into a modified booze cup and hit the bars!!!

The 24-year-old just clinched the 2019 Street League Skateboarding championship -- the 5th time he's won the title -- and celebrated by raging with friends.

It started off as a house party ... but things escalated quickly -- with Huston and his pals hitting Poppy nightclub in L.A., one of the hottest spots in town.

By the way, who parties on Monday night?! 24-year-old millionaires. That's who.

But, the best part about the clip ... Huston has taped a red Solo cup to his prize so he could drink from it -- kinda like the NHL's Stanley Cup.

Huston -- along with some of his famous pals, including Faze Banks -- then proceeded to rage their faces off inside the club.

Pretty epic actually.

They passed the trophy around the place. Everybody had a blast. Nobody got arrested or in trouble!! Overall, great night!!

He was also super cool with our photog on the way out of the club ... showing off his Solo cup'd hardware.

The Washington Redskins could definitely use some help in the WR department ... but Joe Theismann is warning his former team -- STAY AWAY FROM ANTONIO BROWN!!!

"I don't care who you need. I don't care what you need ... the answer would not come up 'Antonio Brown,'" Theismann told TMZ Sports.

"You can give me multiple choice on anyone you want, the one that would not come up would be 'Antonio Brown.'"

For his part, AB has said that he's done with the NFL ... and has re-enrolled in online classes at Central Michigan to kill the time.

Theismann says Brown does "unbelievable" things on the field ... but it's just not worth the baggage that comes with it.

"I wouldn't want to be on a team with him," Theismann tells us. "A lot of questions that I would be asked during the course of the week would be about him. It becomes a distraction to be perfectly honest with you."

"There's so much that's going on around his life that it just makes it really tough to say 'I just want to go to work every day and worry about myself.'"

We also ask Theismann about Washington's chances at making the playoffs ... and he is extremely optimistic.

Hey ... someone's gotta be.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling ain't just a beast on the gridiron ... the Green Bay Packers stud WR is a killer on the sticks too -- telling TMZ Sports he could be a pro gamer!!!

The 24-year-old has become Aaron Rodgers' second-favorite target this season ... and after he scored a 40-yard TD on Sunday, he busted out a famous Fortnite dance in the end zone.

So, when we spoke with him on Monday ... we had to ask, what was the inspiration for that???

That's when Valdes-Scantling told us he's a huge gamer ... and he's so good -- he thinks he could be up there on stages with Ninja and FaZe Censor!!!

"I definitely think I'm good enough to play professionally," Marquez says.

Of course, Valdes-Scantling has a pretty good career going for himself in Green Bay ... and tells us there's ZERO chance of him leaving football for pro gaming.