TMZ Sports - Page 50

NBA legend Paul Pierce is being sued over an alleged marijuana deal gone bad -- accused of screwing over the guy he hired to build and run his grow house!

"The Truth" is being sued by Kenneth Johnson -- who's been described as a "master grower" when it comes to cannabis.

In his suit, Johnson claims Pierce hired him back in 2016 to "design and develop a warehouse to cultivate cannabis from inception to completion."

Johnson claims Pierce offered him $10,000 per month -- and required him to move out to L.A. ... not a bad gig, right!?

But, soon after they got started, Johnson says Pierce cut his pay to $4,000 -- claiming they couldn't afford the full rate until after there was product to be sold.

Johnson claims things got worse from there ... claiming Pierce and his company "cut corners" and didn't even get the weed plants into the warehouse until late 2018.

Even then, Johnson claims Pierce refused to pay him his promised $10,000 monthly rate -- insisting they wouldn't have the funds until after the first marijuana harvest.

Things finally came to a head in Nov. 2019 -- Johnson claims he still wasn't getting his full pay so he left the company ... while Pierce's operation still owed him more than $42k in unpaid wages!

Now, Johnson's suing for back pay -- plus unpaid overtime, missed meal period violations and more.

The weed biz ... it ain't all fun and games!

Not even the toughest dudes in the NFL can escape the wrath of COVID-19 ... with Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett admitting the virus "kicked my butt."

The 24-year-old defensive end spoke out about his experience with the coronavirus with reporters on Friday ... saying he was hoping to be asymptomatic -- but that wasn't the case.

Garrett -- who missed the last 2 games after testing positive -- says he dealt with a fever, aches and lost his sense of smell.

"I was in pain. It wasn't great," Garrett said. "It kicked my butt ... Now I’m back,"

The Defensive Player of the Year hopeful says he expects to be back to 100% in time for the team's crucial matchup against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

"I'm not here to make a cameo appearance or a second-rate arrival. I'm here to do the job that I was doing before. I don't think there will be any drop-off."

Disgusting moment at a high school football game in Texas -- where a top player violently exploded on a referee AFTER he had already been ejected ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

It all went down Thursday night right after Edinburg High defensive end Emmanuel Duron was ejected from the game following a late hit penalty against an opposing player in the 2nd quarter.

After the ref announced Duron was disqualified from the game, Duron -- wearing #88 -- sprints back on the field and blasts the ref with a full-speed blindside tackle, sending the official crashing to the ground.

Multiple Edinburg High coaches and players had raced out to try and stop Duron's attack, but they were too late.

The ref was in obvious pain -- and remained on the ground for several minutes. He was later evaluated in an ambulance, according to The Monitor's Andrew McCulloch, who was reporting at the game.

Several police officers escorted Duron off the field -- but it's unclear if he was formally arrested and booked for a crime.

We're reached out to cops and the school district for information -- we'll let you know when we hear back.

Duron is a junior defensive tackle and all-around top athlete. He's scored a rushing TD as a running back and also kicked a 51-yard field goal earlier this season.

He's also a high school wrestling star, whose coach had said to reporters back in March that he's among the best in the state and a clear favorite to win a state title.

Tragic news from Washington Nationals catcher Tres Barrera and his wife, Lindsey ... the couple just announced their baby boy passed away during delivery last week.

"2020 has been a tough year for many, but it has definitely beaten us more than anything before," Tres said on Instagram on Friday.

"On Sunday November 29,2020 my wife delivered our son at 7:12 am. Unfortunately our God decided he needed him in heaven before he was able to take his first breath."

He continued ... "The emotion, the pain, are all things that one can not describe. As we mourn the loss of our baby boy, our faith remains strong and we will continue to take strides one day at a time in His name."

Tres and Lindsey -- who tied the knot back in January 2018 -- shared the news of the pregnancy back in September ... saying they couldn't wait to meet the "little man."

Tres praised Lindsey's strength through the challenging time ... saying, "I am most proud to call my myself the husband of my wife Lindsey. She is the strongest person I know and she will forever be my hero."

"Forever our angel ... Kaius Lee Barrera"

Goodbye, Stadio San Paolo ... hello, Diego Maradona Stadium!!

The City of Naples has announced it will officially change the name its soccer stadium to honor legend Diego Maradona, who spent 7 years playing there.

Maradona -- who passed away at age 60 on Nov. 25 -- led the Napoli team to 2 Serie A titles during his run with The Blues from 1984 to 1991.

(Watch some of the highlights below, just NASTY stuff).

Despite the fact he's from Argentina, Maradona clearly made an impression on the locals -- who fell in love with the guy.

In fact, just HOURS after Diego's death ... Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris proposed the resolution to rename the stadium after Maradona.

The resolution went to the Naples City Council, which ultimately voted to approve the name change ... which should now officially happen soon.

Agent Zero says Russell Westbrook can have #0 in D.C. if he wants it ... 'cause Gilbert Arenas is giving his official blessing to let the new Wizards star wear his old number.

Russ was traded to Washington in a swap with John Wall earlier this week ... and the team introduced Brodie on social media with edited pics of the guard wearing a #4 jersey (the same digit he wore in high school).

So ... why change from the number he had his whole NBA career?? Arenas is easily one of the best players in franchise history ... and no one has donned #0 since he left the team in 2010.

But, that could change this season ... with the 3-time All-NBAer offering up his beloved number to the 2017 MVP on Thursday.

"'0' is all u Brodie 🙏," Arenas said on Instagram. "it will be a honor 💯"

James Harden with the ultimate birthday assist ... because he just hooked up rapper Lil Baby with an insane $300,000 gift bag!!!!

Lil Baby turned 26 this week -- and to celebrate, his good pal, James, turned up with a designer Prada bag loaded with goodies.

"Prada bag 'cause he Prouda' me," Baby said of Harden's gift.

Inside, a bunch of honey bun pastries -- surrounded by a "honey bun," which is slang for $100,000 IN CASH!!!!

(Get it, honey bun -- like a bundle of hundreds?)

There's more ... Baby also pulled out a Richard Mille watch, which appears to come with a $200,000 price tag.

Harden was all smiles as Lil Baby opened up his gifts -- and man, was he stoked!!!

"Don’t Play With Him," Baby posted on IG about Harden ... "How the f*cc I get a bag full of honey buns with a honey bun an a Richard Millie!! Mannn [James Harden] brooooo wtf!! An I’m drunk."

Lil Baby and James Harden have been friends for a while -- most recently vacationing together with some pals on Turks & Caicos.

As for James, he can afford to smother his friends in luxury -- he's reportedly made more than $224 MILLION in his NBA career.

Formula 1 Driver Romain Grosjean is getting brutally honest about the fiery crash he survived at the Bahrain Grand Prix over the weekend -- saying he honestly thought he was going to die.

"For me it wasn’t quite 28 seconds, it felt more like a 1 minute 30," Grosjean said.

In fact, Grosjean says there was a moment when he was stuck in his car where he began to accept his fate.

"All my [muscles] relaxes," Grosjean said in a candid interview with Sky Sports ... "[I'm at] peace with myself thinking, 'I'm dead.'"

"I will die. Which part is gonna burn first? Is it the foot? The hands? Is it going to be painful? Very strange feeling."

As we previously reported, Grosjean lost control and slammed into a barrier -- causing his car to explode into a ball of flames.

During the fiery incident, Grosjean told Sky Sports he began to think about his family -- and that's what ultimately motivated him to escape to safety.

"I thought about my kids and I thought, 'No I cannot die today.'"

Grosjean says he finally found the strength to escape the burning car -- and he was whisked away to safety.

After he was rescued, Grosjean says it was important he showed the world he could walk on his own power.

“It was key that there was some footage of me walking towards the ambulance. Even though I’d walked out of the fire, I needed to send another strong message that I was okay."

After the incident, Grosjean made a video from his hospital bed thanking the responders and medical staffers who saved his life.

"If you want to get some legitimacy in the game, fight somebody with a name!"

That's former boxing superstar Antonio Tarver -- who famously defeated Roy Jones Jr. TWICE -- calling out Jake Paul for a sanctioned fight!

"I want to fight him, because I want to show him there are levels to this," Tarver tells TMZ Sports.

FYI, Tarver is 52 years old and hasn't fought in 5 years. Jake is 23 and coming off a highlight-reel knockout of Nate Robinson.

Antonio -- who famously starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon in "Rocky Balboa" -- says he was VERY impressed with Jake's performance and thinks a fight with Paul would be super entertaining and a lot closer than most people think.

"When you look at Jake Paul's ability, you would be crazy not to believe he's much better than his 2-0 record indicates," Tarver says.

Paul has been calling for fights with guys like Conor McGregor and Dillon Danis ... but Tarver says if he's serious about a career in boxing, he needs to fight a BOXER.

"For whatever reason, God looked down on me and gave me a second shot at this thing. And I made a promise, I'm going to make the most of this opportunity."

Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst is opening up on his battles with drugs, alcohol and depression ... calling his 2016 attempted suicide "the best and worst thing that's ever happened in my life."

Hurst first started to acknowledge his mental health issues in 2013 when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system.

The 27-year-old says he relied on drugs and alcohol to cope with panic attacks ... and after being unable to control his pitching due to his hand constantly shaking, ended up pursuing a football career at the University of South Carolina.

"I can't really explain it," Hurst said in a video posted by the Falcons on Thursday. "It's hard to unless you go through it."

"But depression, you feel like nobody's there, despite my family being so close. They're willing to do whatever, but when you're in that head space and you're in that dark spot, you feel alone."

"You feel like nobody's there, nobody cares. So I guess for me, in those years, that's why I turned to drinking."

In January 2016 -- after a night of heavy drinking -- Hurst attempted to take his own life ... and woke up in a hospital the next day.

"It was the best and worst thing that's ever happened in my life," Hurst says. "Because when I made that decision, when I was in that hospital room, kind of reflecting on everything I had done, I made a promise to myself. I was like, I'm not going to do this again."

Hurst immediately gave up drugs and alcohol and became a star for the Gamecocks ... becoming a first-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in 2018.

Now, Hurst is using his platform to help those going through similar situations ... creating the Hayden Hurst Family Foundation to raise mental health for young people.

Here they are ... the Arizona 49ers!!

Okay, technically they're still the S.F. 49ers -- but they officially practiced in their new "home" stadium in Arizona on Thursday for the first time since they were forced out of the Bay Area over COVID rules.

Just a few days ago, the 49ers were told they would no longer be allowed to practice or play games at their home facility in Santa Clara after county officials placed restrictions on activities to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.

So, the Niners and NFL reps worked with the Arizona Cardinals to practice and play for the foreseeable future in Glendale at State Farm Stadium ... and so far, it seems the team is OK with the new set up.

The 49ers got in some drills and workouts Thursday ... just a couple days before they'll take on the Buffalo Bills on "Monday Night Football" at the stadium next week.

The Niners will stay in Arizona the following week for their Dec. 13 game against Washington Football Team ... before hitting the road to play the Cowboys in Dallas on Dec. 20.

The team will be back in Arizona for a "road" game against the Cardinals on Dec. 26 -- so, yeah, get ready to call Glendale home for the Niners for quite some time!

The Niners are a longshot to make the postseason -- they're 5-6 -- so a home playoff game in Glendale is unlikely.

Pretty good situation for the 49ers all things considered -- especially with the weather ... it's gonna be 70 and sunny this weekend!

Vickie Johnson has reportedly accepted the head coaching job for the Dallas Wings -- ending the WNBA's year-long drought without a Black woman in a head coaching position.

Johnson has head coaching experience -- she led the San Antonio Stars back in 2017, before the team moved to Las Vegas and hired Bill Laimbeer to run the team.

She's served as an assistant coach with the Stars under Laimbeer ever since.

But now, 48-year-old Johnson will take over in Dallas for Brian Agler -- who was fired back in October after the team went 8-14 in 2020, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

Johnson was a pretty solid player back in the day -- she was the 2nd-round pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft and was a 2-time All-Star before retiring in 2009.

The WNBA did NOT have a single Black woman as a head coach during the 2020 season, which has raised eyebrows considering an overwhelming majority of the players in the league are Black women.

In fact, of the 144 players in the league in 2019, 127 reportedly identified as Black or women of color, according to SB Nation.

Three-time Pro Bowler, Donald Penn, says he ain't callin' his NFL career quits just yet ... the offensive lineman tells TMZ Sports he's ready to play if a playoff team needs him!!

And, with the Rams recently losing left tackle Andrew Whitworth to a knee injury ... the dude says Sean McVay should hit him up!!!

"Why ain't y'all call me yet, man?!" Penn says. "McVay, come on, baby. You my dog! You know what I mean? Hit me up if you need me!"

Penn last played for the Washington Football Team in 2019 -- starting 15 games and performing well.

But, the 37-year-old didn't get the opportunity to latch on with an NFL team this year ... causing some to believe retirement might be on the horizon.

Penn, though, tells us he's still in game shape and ready to help a team make a run at a Super Bowl.

"I mean, it's crazy," Penn tells us. "Sometimes I watch and I'm like man, I look at some of these young cats out here and I'm like, 'Wow, like what are they doing?' I'm like, 'I can do that easily still in my sleep now.'"

Penn says if the opportunity is right -- like playing for a Super Bowl contender like the L.A. Rams -- he'd be down to sign a contract in a heartbeat.

"I'm still staying in shape, ready to go if somebody needs me," Penn says.

There's more ... we also spoke with Penn about his ex-teammates, Derek Carr and Dwayne Haskins -- and he tells us he's sure the two QBs are going to rebound from up-and-down seasons this year.

Odell Beckham is back in the gym and busting his ass just over a month after his devastating ACL injury ... and he's showing off his battle scars.

The Cleveland Browns superstar has been sidelined for the rest of the season after going down in the 1st quarter of the Oct. 25 game against the Cincinnati Bengals ... calling the situation "really f'n tough."

But, OBJ has vowed to bounce back better than ever -- and he's putting his money where his mouth is ... posting footage Thursday from a recent workout.

28-year-old Odell can be seen going through squats and catching drills ... and it's pretty impressive considering the dude had surgery just 3 weeks ago.

"Lord I swear I think I'm healed," Odell said on Wednesday ... as he walked comfortably out of the training facility.

It's been a tough time for Beckham -- who has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career.

The star receiver spoke out about his struggles in an Instagram post this week ... saying, "Ima be honest.... I been thru hell these last couple years n I just keep it pushin... this shxt ain’t for errbody!"

Ex-college football coach Lou Holtz will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, the White House announced.

The award is recognized as the "Nation's highest civilian honor," according to the White House ... usually given to someone who has "made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public endeavors."

So, why Lou? Here's what Trump's team is saying ...

"America recognizes Lou Holtz as one of the greatest football coaches of all time for his unmatched accomplishments on the gridiron, but he is also a philanthropist, author and true American patriot."

83-year-old Holtz is most well known for leading Notre Dame to a 12-0 record in 1988 -- when the Fighting Irish were crowned national champions.

His career record as a college football coach is 249-132-7 -- with 22 bowl appearances (he won 12 of them).

Outside of football, Holtz has been a staunch Trump supporter who campaigned for POTUS ... and even spoke at the Republican National Convention.

In fact, it was at the RNC when Holtz attacked Trump's opponent Joe Biden over his position on abortion -- saying the former Vice President is a "Catholic in name only."

During his presidency, Trump has given the M.O.F. to several sports legends -- including Tiger Woods, Jerry West and Roger Staubach.

John Wall is pouring his heart out to his fans in Washington D.C. after being traded to Houston ... thanking his supporters for treating him like family over the past 10 years.

The #1 overall pick in 2010 was just shipped to the Rockets in exchange for Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade on Wednesday ... officially ending his run in the nation's capital.

Wall -- who was beloved in the city and active in the community since joining the NBA -- was sure to thank his former home in an emotional tribute on Thursday.

"I came to D.C. as a skinny 19-year-old with big dreams and goals," Wall said.

"You embraced me and my family with open arms. You rocked with me from day one until now."

He continued ... "From a young rookie to an All-Star, I did my best to make you proud. Through good times like that Game 6 versus Boston, through injuries & rehab, I always felt the love from you."

"I appreciate you and will ALWAYS have love for D.C."

Remember, Wall continued to give back to the city despite trade rumors just weeks ago ... handing out 1,000 Thanksgiving meals throughout the community.

Wall says he'll always appreciate everyone in D.C. ... no matter what team he's suiting up for.

"I may not wear the jersey anymore but I will never forget what it meant to represent for y'all."