TMZ Sports - Page 50

Colin Kaepernick has been told flat-out he can't get an NFL tryout unless he quits kneeling ... and Common says that ain't right, especially not in this country.

"This is America so he gotta be free to express himself," the rapper said.

"You gotta allow human beings to be human beings ... they express themselves and then go play the game."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the Seahawks straight-up 86'd a planned workout with Kaep 'cause he refused to stop his kneeling protests.

Common says he gets why NFL teams are requesting that Colin stand -- they got a business to run -- but it's still a damn shame that's the only reason "a great quarterback" can't do what he loves.

"Hopefully ... Kaepernick will make his choice and he'll be able to play in the league."

Conor McGregor is on a collision course to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov -- and it ain't gonna end well for the Irishman ... so says Tyron Woodley.

"If they fought 100 times, i think Khabib would win 99," Woodley said on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

"Conor would not be able to stop him from doing what he does."

Woodley essentially believes the publicity from the bus attack will only draw more interest in a Conor vs. Khabib fight somewhere down the road ... so, don't be surprised if they square off eventually.

There's more ... Woodley also tells us if he's scared to train Floyd Mayweather after someone ambushed the boxer's entourage Monday and opened fire.

He's also weighing in on the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal with Khloe Kardashian and punching himself in the face for his freestyle performance on "The Breakfast Club."

Make sure to check out "The Beatdown" every Friday on the TMZ Sports YouTube channel.

Dr. J doesn't think the baby Philadelphia 76ers have to wait to get to the top of the NBA mountaintop ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the team can win it all THIS SEASON.

Philly is playing OUT OF THEIR MINDS RIGHT NOW, having won 16 games in a row. Despite that dominance, most experts still think the team is too young to take the whole enchilada THIS SEASON.

"Based on how they're playing now, they can go all the way."

BTW, Dr. J is part of the last team to hoist the O'Brien in Philly, so it's a huge vote of confidence for the young guys.

Hank Baskett is taking the high road in his divorce from Kendra Wilkinson ... defending her against haters, and admitting he's fully open to reconciliation.

The normally reticent ex-NFL player opened up on the split when we saw him Friday afternoon at LAX, and told us he hasn't lost all hope on reuniting with Kendra. They've kept things amicable -- after Kendra filed divorce docs, Hank filed his response asking for the same things she did.

They were also together last weekend at their daughter's soccer game.

Hank says he's not pissed about the divorce these days, it's more the conclusions people jump to about Kendra that's got him heated.

Albert Belle is off the hook for allegedly shaking his genitals at a 15-year-old girl while peeing outside of a soccer stadium ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Belle was arrested in Scottsdale, AZ on March 24 and charged with 2 counts of indecent exposure (1 felony, 1 misdemeanor) after officials said he shook his penis at a man and his daughter while relieving himself next to an SUV.

Cops said 51-year-old Belle reeked of alcohol and had been yelled at by the family to stop urinating in public because there were kids present. Belle allegedly responded by shaking his dong at them and yelling at them to stop looking.

Now, officials tell us ... both indecent exposure charges have been dismissed -- but we don't know why.

Belle had also been arrested for DUI during the incident -- but officials never moved forward with that charge.

The OKC Thunder commentator who said Russell Westbrook was "out of his cotton-picking mind" is being punished for his terrible choice of words ... the team just announced.

Brian Davis, the play-by-play guy for Fox Sports Oklahoma, has been suspended for Game 1 of the Thunder-Jazz playoff series ... after making the racially insensitive call in OKC's regular-season finale.

Davis maintains he didn't mean to offend anyone -- but says he's cool with the suspension 'cause it was a pretty stupid thing to say.

“It is with great remorse and humility that I accept this suspension for the insensitive words I used during Wednesday’s broadcast. While unintentional, I understand and acknowledge the gravity of the situation."

Todd Gurley ain't wasting any time recruiting the newest top WR in free agency -- sending a message to Dez Bryant, "Come to the Rams!"

"I'd love to have Dez, man," Gurley told us at LAX moments after Bryant was released from the Dallas Cowboys ... "He's a beast!"

Fun Fact: Gurley and Bryant have the Jay-Z connection, they're both repped by ROC NATION Sports and who knows ... it could pay off in a big way for the Rams.

This clip is awesome ... you gotta see when Gurley spots a fan rocking his #30 jersey in the terminal and stops dead in his tracks to dap the guy up. It's pretty great.

Plus, Gurley also weighs in on Colin Kaepernick ... saying he hopes the QB gets another shot in the league.

NFL star Aldon Smith is being transferred from county jail to an inpatient substance abuse facility after officials say his blood alcohol level registered at .40.

TMZ Sports spoke with San Francisco District Attorney spokesperson Alex Bastian who said Smith is currently being moved. We're told the facility is located in California. Officials believe Smith clearly suffers from alcoholism.

No word on how long Smith is expected to stay in the facility. His next court hearing is May 3.

As we previously reported, Smith was arrested on domestic violence charges stemming from a March 3 incident with his then-fiancee.

As part of his bail, the judge ordered Smith to stay completely sober and wear a SCRAM alcohol monitoring device.

But, things went sideways last Friday when the device showed his B.A.C. was at .40 ... which is an alarmingly high number. In fact, many studies show a .40 could lead to a coma or even death.

An American pro boxer literally wore Trump's border wall on his shorts for a fight -- then got the LIVING CRAP BEAT OUTTA HIM by his Mexican opponent!!

Rod Salka was trying to make a political statement Thursday night vs. Francisco Vargas during Golden Boy's ESPN event in Indio, California ... steppin' into the ring with brick-patterned trunks in red, white and blue, with his waistband reading -- "America 1st."

Yeah ... Francisco wasn't having that. "El Bandido" BATTERED the 35-year-old Pennsylvanian over the next 6 rounds -- leaving him bloody and bruised before Salka's corner threw in the towel between rounds.

Guessing POTUS ain't too happy about his wall getting torn down on national TV.

Brooke Hogan says Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson getting through TT's cheating scandal is gonna be hell on earth ... but NOT 'cause of Khloe's reality show!

Brooke is a huge reality TV star herself (she's starring in MTV's "The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars") -- so we asked Hulk's daughter if "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" reportedly airing out Khloe and Tristan's dirty laundry is a bad call.

Hogan told us the show might actually HELP by humanizing their situation ... and said a bigger issue is Thompson's jam-packed NBA playoff schedule.

"It's gonna be hell for Khloe ... a guy that travels is hard."

"My mom dealt with it, I've dealt with it ... it's definitely not easy especially after a cheating thing," Brooke told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1).

In other words -- with Tristan gone from Cleveland half the time, it ain't gonna be easy to make things right with KK.

The UFC rising star being hailed as "The Next Jon Jones" says he's sick and tired of it ... and wants everyone to know he's an original.

We got undefeated 185-pounder Israel Adesanya before his second UFC fight this Saturday on FOX ... and he told us why being measured up with one of the GOATs is a diss, not a compliment.

"I don't want to be anyone's second banana or in anyone's shadow."

"Not all black people look the same, contrary to popular belief," Adesanya told TMZ Sports.

Izzy says the only reason Jones isn't being compared TO HIM is 'cause he broke in with the UFC first ... and once fans see more of "The Last Stylebender," they'll know what's up.

To be clear, Izzy ain't holding it against Bones -- and says he'd actually love to meet up and swap skills.

Larry King says the whole "cotton-picking" controversy surrounding an OKC Thunder announcer is being overblown -- in fact, Larry says he'd take the expression as a compliment.

"That statement's been around forever," King told us on his way out of Craig's in West Hollywood ... "'Cotton-picking mind' was probably an adjective."

King -- a huge sports fan -- then showered praise on Russell Westbrook (who was at the center of the controversy) for being a beast on the court and said, "I would take it as a compliment."

"That's like saying 'You're crazy,'" ... "What about people with mental health problems?"

"So, if you say to someone 'You're crazy,' you're offending every mental health patient in America."

Larry does say there is one popular term that IS offensive that he would like to see be changed ASAP.

Cam Newton did a really cool thing in Atlanta on Thursday ... rolling through a DICK'S Sporting Goods store to help a bunch of Special Olympics athletes crush a $200 shopping spree!!!

We're told there were 17 athletes at the store -- all local kids (from the same area where Cam grew up) ranging in age from 5 to 18.

Each athlete got $200 to spend in the store ($3,400 in total) -- from shoes to training gear or jerseys -- and Cam made sure each kid got the best stuff!

In fact, when one of the athletes (a Golden State Warriors fan) was having trouble deciding between a Steph Curry jersey and a Kevin Durant jersey ... Cam helped the guy make up his mind.

Wanna guess which one he chose?

According to YG ... frozen yogurt, fresh-fallen snow, a baby's butt, and 1,000-count Egyptian cotton sheets are all harder than the NBA -- 'cause the rap superstar tells TMZ Sports the league is completely soft.

So soft, he thinks he could play.

We got YG out at the South Beverly Grill ... and after we asked him for his MVP of the soft-ass league, he told our guy the Association is NOTHING like it used to be back in the '90s.

In fact, YG ripped all the guys who were complaining about Russell Westbrook padding his stats by allegedly stealing rebounds ... saying Russell just has more heart.

"They play softer than a mother f**ker," YG said ... "I feel like I could play in the NBA with all these soft ass n****s."

Please, somebody give YG a 10-day.

Saquon Barkley was rockin' a NY Giants sweatshirt to a Pennsylvania barber shop and TMZ Sports has the photos.

Of course, there's a lot of buzz that the former Penn State running back is being targeted by the Giants -- who have the #2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Is it a good sign for NY Giants fans? Sure ... but don't go celebrating just yet.

Sources close to Barkley tell us the sweatshirt was a gift given to him from the Giants when he met with the team -- and it just happened to be laying around when he needed a shirt to go get a haircut.

FYI -- we're told players are often given team swag during pre-draft visits.

In other words ... Barkley's position is that he'd still be happy to be drafted by any team.

But S.B. is widely considered the best RB in the draft -- and ya gotta think Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. are gonna be stoked when they see these pics.

Conor McGregor was an awesome rags to riches story ... before he went nuts and attacked a damn bus -- so says UFC star Justin Gaethje.

We spoke with Justin -- one of the top fighters in McGregor's 155-pound division -- and he told us Conor's an extreme example of broke fighters who get too much, too soon.

"McGregor wasn’t rich 5 years ago. Now, you put $100 million in his pocket and you see how it changes people," Gaethje told TMZ Sports.

"It’s a crazy world, this MMA game -- especially being at the top in the UFC."

With that in mind, Justin does NOT wanna see McGregor banned from fighting. He'd rather kick his ass, personally.

"He’s gonna pay multi-millions of dollars to people and that’ll be punishment enough."

There's more -- Gaethje told us why Khabib Nurmagomedov's no more of a champion than Conor ... and put an expiration date on his own MMA career (and it's sooner than you think).

Justin also dished on his scrap with Dustin Poirier this Saturday at 'UFC on Fox 29' ... and considering his last bout was 2017's Fight of the Year, we suggest you tune in.