TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jay-Z made a not-so-subtle statement on the season opener of 'SNL' ... with his Colin Kaepernick jersey.

Jay and Damian Marley were the musical guests and performed "Bam" from his "4:44" album.

It's an "unofficial" jersey but the message is clear ...  it's all about Black Lives Matter and the national anthem kneeling controversy.

Chris Darden thinks once a double murderer, always a double murderer ... and that's why he thinks the Florida Attorney General may have a point in trying to block O.J. Simpson from moving to the Sunshine State.

We got the famous O.J. prosecutor at LAX Friday and -- even though O.J. was acquitted -- Darden still calls him a double murderer. He worries for unlucky parents who might end up living next door to Simpson.

Darden has no faith O.J. has been rehabilitated in the last 9 years behind bars.

Alison Brie finally came face-to-face with the badasses who inspired her hit pro-wrestling show, "GLOW" ... and she was "SO starstruck!" Also sweaty.

It all went down at WWE No Mercy this past weekend ... when Alison and her co-stars hit up Staples Center to take in the #1 wrestling biz in person.

Before the show, Brie and co. met up with the real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling backstage ... and you can tell the actresses had MAD respect for the OGs.

Alison: “I’m starstruck. I’m SO starstruck!"

Former GLOW superstar Eileen "MTV" O’Hara: "I'm so excited I'm sweating!"

Alison: "I'M SWEATING!"

MTV told us WWE planned the meetup -- flying her and the real GLOW girls into L.A. -- but kept it a surprise. She hopes they can all chill again.

As for Brie ... she's already training for Season 2 -- and we don't mean reading lines.

Just the other day, she put ex-WWE superstar Chavo Guerrero Jr. down for the 3-count.

And the new UFC welterweight champion of the world -- O'SHEA JACKSON JR.!!!

Not really ... but Ice Cube's son looked the part at LAX ... struttin' around with what he says is one of Tyron Woodley's UFC title belts!

O'Shea told us he won it in "an ass kickin' contest" at first ... but when our photog didn't buy it, he admitted the real-life champ hooked it up.

The backstory -- Tyron played one of Cube's boys in "Straight Outta Compton" ... which led to him and O'Shea (who played Cube) becoming boys off set.

So when OSJ asked T-Wood if he could swag out with the strap, the champ obliged.

We reached out to Woodley to see if there was more to the story ... but all he would tell us is, "O'Shea is my homie."

Word.

Kirk Cousins' days in Washington are likely numbered -- so says Redskins legend Mark Rypien, who tells TMZ Sports the front office screwed the pooch by not locking Kirk down before the season.

"I think they should've signed him to a long-term deal," Rypien said.

Mark was leaving Michael's restaurant in NYC ... and told us why he thinks Washington may have really blown its chance to keep Kirk in D.C. for the long haul.

To be fair, Kirk says it's Jesus who's urging him to shut down the long-term contract -- he wants to be on 1-year deals because he feels that's God's divine plan.

Can't argue with God, right Mark?

Chad Johnson says the NY Giants should be very careful on how they handle Odell Beckham Jr. -- because if they get on him too hard for the dog pee celebration, it's gonna mess up his head.

Look, Chad says Odell is special ... and if going crazy on the field helps him dominate, so be it. The worst thing you can do is neuter him ... get it?

We also asked if it's time to fire Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati -- after the team's 0-3 start.

Former Lakers coach Byron Scott can add his name to the list of L.A. celebs who've had their homes burglarized ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources close to Scott tell us ... his Hermosa Beach pad was hit Friday night by suspected burglars. We're told the perps made off with Byron's watches, and many of his girlfriend's high-end purses and shoes. Law enforcement says they entered through a patio door, and took about $200k worth of the goods and cash.

We're told nobody was home at the time and everyone's okay.

Just last week, singer Jason Derulo's L.A. home was broken into by multiple people and looted -- the perps made off with $300k in cash and jewelry.

The NBA has circulated a memo warning players if they don't stand for the National Anthem they do so at their own peril.

According to the memo, obtained by ESPN, "the league office will determine how to deal with any possible instance in which a player, coach, or trainer does not stand for the anthem."

The memo goes on to say the rule is compulsory ... teams "do not have the discretion to waive" the rule.

It's interesting ... the memo doesn't say it will discipline players who don't stand but it's clearly designed to inhibit them from breaking ranks.

The memo does not address players, coaches and owners locking arms before the Anthem is played.

Paula Deen is an accomplished chef, so it's no surprise she knows how to handle a hot potato ... kneeling during the National Anthem.

We got Paula Friday night in WeHo leaving Craig's, and she clearly didn't want to go near the kneeling controversy, which was originally a Black Lives Matter protest. Paula was skewered a few years back after stories surfaced she had used the n word, so it's no surprise she zipped it.

She did, however, volunteer hubby Michael Groover was super upset over the protest.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Gerald McCoy isn't your normal jock -- he's not afraid to geek out and hit up a comic book convention ... especially when there's a chance to meet his childhood idol.

McCoy met Marvel legend Stan Lee at MegaCon Tampa Bay Friday, and as you can see ... he was ecstatic about it. He posted his photo with Stan and wrote ... "Ladies and Gentlemen I present the GOAT."

Gerald was a fan favorite on the past season of HBO's "Hard Knocks," known for his fun, quirky antics and for being a superhero buff ... with shoes, socks and tons of memorabilia to prove it.

And hopefully a meeting with his hero will have some healing powers ... McCoy's questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Muhammad Ali would have been in full support of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem ... because his ex-wife tells TMZ Sports "he would've been right there with them."

Khalilah Ali -- who was married to the boxing legend from '67 to '76 -- says it brought tears to her eyes to watch all the players kneel "in unity" last weekend ... and thinks Muhammad would've been proud to see the protest he started continuing to this day.

Kim, Khloe and Kylie will make you a small fortune if they all pop out a bunch of baby boys ... but the odds are STACKED.

The gambling site BetOnline.ag -- one of the biggest gambling sites -- will pay out $3,300 for your $100 bet if they all give birth to boys. But as TMZ's reported ... Kim's surrogate is having a girl and Kylie's telling friends she's having a girl. So ... good luck with that.

But there are some safer bets:

+300 if they all have girls

+1400 if Kim's baby begins with K

+450 if Tyga tweets congrats to Kylie

Former boxing champ Mia St. John is technically retired ... but says there's one fighter who could lure her back into the ring -- UFC superstar Cris Cyborg!

One catch, though -- it's gotta happen at the Playboy Mansion.

We got Mia -- a former Playboy cover girl -- the day after Hugh Hefner's passing ... and she showed Hef mad love for exposing her to the world.

But when the convo turned to her career ... MSJ told us she was officially done -- UNLESS she gets offered a match with Cyborg at Hugh's legendary crib.

Cris says she wants to box, and Mia was in the first-ever mansion fight (yeah, Hef had those) ... so, maybe?

If it doesn't go down ... St. John's got another fight -- against the system she blames for her son's death.

Stevie Wonder is telling TMZ Sports exactly what the national anthem protests mean to him ... and why taking a knee does NOT disrespect the flag.

We asked Stevie about the NFL movement sweeping the country ... and he told us that it's a fight for respect and unity -- two things Donald Trump wasn't preachin' when he told NFL owners to fire their "SOB" players.

"People want to be respected ... the constitution's about everyone being respected," Stevie said.

"It's about stopping all this ... putting one group against the other group."

As for criticism that kneeling ain't patriotic -- "People have died for the flag -- everyone, every culture, every ethnicity -- so it's not about not valuing the flag."

FYI, the legendary singer joined the protest last weekend ... dropping to his knees in back-to-back concerts.

Matt Barnes says he's blessed to have won a ring with the Warriors ... but tells TMZ Sports the whole thing was "bittersweet."

Matt grinded 15 YEARS for a 'chip -- and says it was an "amazing experience" being a part of one of the greatest teams in NBA history ... but the injury he suffered right before the playoffs really put a damper on things.

"It's bittersweet 'cause I wanted to be out there crying and bleeding and sweating with my teammates," Barnes said ... "I had to sit back and watch our team win the finals."

Makes sense -- Barnes is one of the toughest competitors in pro sports ... so you can understand how hard it must have been to sit back and watch even when his team was dominating.

Overall, though, Matt says the experience was dope.

Just like the after-parties.

A Legends Football League star says the league's decision to ban players from kneeling for the national anthem is totally unfair, even though she thinks kneeling is a weak form of protest.

TMZ Sports spoke to Ogom Chijindu, one of the biggest stars in the LFL -- mostly for twerking on an opponent -- who says she doesn't at all agree with the policy requiring players to stand.

"We're supposed to have a 1st Amendment right is that not correct? So for someone, anyone, I don't care who it is to tell me I have to sit, stand, kneel, or do any type of gesture I feel is inappropriate."

That doesn't mean Ogom would be kneeling even if she could ... telling us while she totally agrees with Colin Kaepernick's politics, she thinks kneeling is a subservient act.

"Who told Colin Kaepernick to start kneeling instead of sitting, I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not sugarcoating it, it was a white Navy S.E.A.L."

*Note -- it was actually an Army Green Beret