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Carl Nassib -- the only openly gay player in the NFL -- was granted a day off by the Raiders on Wednesday ... after his former head coach, Jon Gruden, was ousted for spewing homophobic comments in emails.

Las Vegas Raiders general manager, Mike Mayock, just told reporters Nassib requested the "personal day" following the departure of Gruden ... explaining, "He just said he's got a lot to process."

"There's a lot that's been going on the last few days," Mayock said of Nassib's situation. "And, of course, we support that request."

Mayock added that he's already spoken with Nassib multiple times in wake of Gruden's exit ... and is planning to meet with him later Wednesday as well.

Mayock did not elaborate on if he expected Nassib to play Sunday when the Raiders take on the Broncos.

As we previously reported, Gruden stepped down as Raiders head coach after emails from the 58-year-old containing anti-gay rhetoric surfaced this week.

Some of the messages included the vile words "f*****" and "queer."

Nassib has yet to publicly comment on it all ... but he did say just a few weeks ago that he avoided going public with his sexual preferences sooner because, among other reasons, he "didn't know if guys would be supportive or not."

Ex-Portland Trail Blazers president and current Jordan Brand chairman Larry Miller is sharing his darkest secret with the world ... admitting he killed a man when he was 16 years old, and hid it from his closest friends -- including Michael Jordan -- until recently.

Miller detailed the September 1965 incident in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week ... saying he was a "gangbanger" seeking retaliation after a friend was stabbed and killed in West Philadelphia ... so he downed a bottle of wine, grabbed his gun and went on the hunt for a rival gang member.

Miller says he ended up shooting and killing the first person he saw -- 18-year-old Edward White -- despite not knowing if the man was even involved in his friend's killing.

"That’s what makes it even more difficult for me, because it was for no reason at all," Miller told the outlet. "I mean, there was no valid reason for this to happen. And that’s the thing that I really struggle with and that's -- you know, it’s the thing that I think about every day."

"It’s like, I did this, and to someone who -- it was no reason to do it. And that’s the part that really bothers me."

Miller was arrested shortly after ... and ended up spending many years behind bars until he was 30.

Once he got out, Miller then became a massive success in the business industry -- he was hired by Nike in 1997 and served as Jordan Brand's president from 1999-2006 before joining the Blazers. He later returned to his previous position with Nike/Jordan in 2012

Miller says he's spent the past few months slowly sharing his secret with his inner circle ... and from MJ to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the responses he's received have been positive.

Now, Miller is hoping to use his story to leave a positive impact on today's youth ... and is fighting to get second chances to those who also fell on hard times.

Colin Kaepernick is still not giving up on his dream of returning to the NFL ... saying he's still up at 5 AM and training 5 or 6 days a week in case a team finally calls.

The quarterback -- who hasn't played a down in the league since the 2016 season -- made the revelation in a recent interview with Ebony ... explaining he still has a goal of winning the Lombardi Trophy.

"I am still up at 5 a.m. training five, six days a week," Kaepernick said, "making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again."

The 33-year-old last played for the 49ers on Jan. 1, 2017 in a loss to the Seahawks ... and never signed on with a team again after that.

Kap claimed repeatedly that he believed the league was blackballing him over the way he started kneeling demonstrations during pregame national anthems.

In fact, the QB sued the league a few years ago ... and the parties settled out of court. The NFL didn't publicly admit to blackballing Colin.

But, in his recent interview, Kaepernick made it clear he still believes teams are avoiding him over it all ... adding that he hopes his training will "expose" the situation.

"You're gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way," Kaepernick said. "And you’re gonna expose yourself by that, but it won't be because I'm not ready or not prepared."

In the meantime, Kaepernick said he's also focused on other aspects of his life -- like his production company, charity work ... and even acting.

Colin said he's been working with acting coaches and wants to have more on-screen roles in the future -- explaining it all feels similar to quarterbacking.

Hope you have a strong stomach ...

Deion Sanders is showing how his foot is healing after having surgery 3 weeks ago -- by posting a gnarly photo of the bloody surgical wound.

Remember, the Jackson State football coach went under the knife in September for a dislocated second toe that he's had since his NFL playing days ... with the doctor saying "it's gotten worse" over the years.

The procedure went off without a hitch ... and the Hall of Famer was told to keep off his left foot for the next six weeks.

Halfway through recovery, Coach Sanders wanted to give a super-gross update on how things are going ... and if you can get over the gruesome stitch job, it's good news for the legend!

The 54-year-old posted a photo via IG -- you can see the stitches going up and down the first and second toe on his left foot pulling the bloody skin together ... and it's pretty gnarly!

But, it hasn't stopped Prime Time from coaching the JSU Tigers -- he's been riding a golf cart and this dope custom 3-wheel scooter during team drills.

What happens in Vegas certainly shouldn't stay in Vegas -- at least when it comes to pregame hockey shows -- 'cause the Golden Knights unveiled a wild one on Tuesday, and it was INSANE!

Just minutes before the Knights opened their season against the Seattle Kraken ... the team showed off a virtual masterpiece on their ice to hype up the home crowd.

The show started with a giant octopus circling underneath the rink, while a knight mascot skated above it.

Eventually, the squid busted through and put the knight in danger ... and the optics of it all looked like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie.

The knight, of course, ultimately came out on top of the giant creature ... which sent the crowd into a frenzy and absolutely lit up social media.

The pregame juice seemed to help the Knights too ... 'cause Vegas ended up winning the season-opener against the Kraken, 4-3.

Derrick Rose just secured the first win at Madison Square Garden this season ... 'cause the hooper proposed to his girlfriend on the court -- and she said, "YES!!"

The Knicks guard shared the awesome news Tuesday night ... posting a photo of him and 26-year-old Alaina Anderson wining and dining privately at half court.

"Just got engaged in MSG nothing major!" Anderson said on IG. "A WIFE!!!! I love you!!!! 😍😍😍 MRS ROSE TO YALL LOL"

And, you can't help but notice the absolutely huge diamond ring on Alaina's ring finger!!

Alaina says she wasn't expecting it, even with the private dinner at MSG -- 'cause Rose gave her a promise ring the day before saying, "hopefully one day I can get you the real thing."

Very sneaky, D Rose!!

Rose wrote a poem to his future wife ... saying, "Believe the words that I will have your back and love u forever. When I FIRST saw you I told Ryan that we were gon be together."

"I will always love you becuz you go above and beyond. We built a beautiful family and a unbreakable bond. Thank you Queen."

The lovely couple has reportedly been together since his Chicago Bulls days in 2016 ... and welcomed their daughter, Layla, in 2018 and son, London, in 2019.

The NHL is damn near 100% vaccination status -- with commissioner Gary Bettman announcing just 4 players league-wide have not received the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Commish shared the big news prior to the start of the 2021-22 season on Tuesday ... applauding the "great collaboration and cooperation" between the players and players' association.

"Our vaccination rate is incredible," Bettman said. "4 players, not 4% of players. All of our officials are vaccinated. All of the personnel that come into contact with the players are vaccinated."

FYI, there are 32 NHL teams with roughly 23 players on each squad. That's 736 players ... and again, only 4 aren't vaxxed.

Bettman gushes over the whole league's efforts throughout the pandemic ... saying everyone was on board over the past 2 years -- including the bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, where there was not a single positive COVID-19 test.

"Everybody banded together to do the right thing," Bettman added. "Maybe that's why hockey is the ultimate team sport."

The league is still dealing with some issues surrounding the virus, however -- San Jose Sharks star Evander Kane is reportedly under investigation for allegedly submitting a bogus COVID-19 vaccine card.

On top of that, several Seattle Kraken players were placed in COVID-19 protocol before getting cleared to play in the franchise's first-ever game.

While the Dodgers were fighting for their playoff lives against the Giants Tuesday -- their fans in the stands were fighting each other, landing punches in a wild skirmish that was all caught on video.

At some point during L.A.'s playoff game with San Francisco at Dodger Stadium ... several fans got into an altercation in a walkway at the venue that turned violent.

In the footage, you can see two men -- both dressed in Dodgers gear -- argued with each other ... before one of the men unloaded a right on the other's face.

All hell then broke loose, 'cause the two guys began wrestling with each other and throwing more punches.

Eventually, another Dodgers fan came in and threw a huge haymaker that appeared to land flush.

Finally, after several seconds of fighting, security guards raced into the fracas to break it all up.

It's unclear if anyone was injured ... or if any arrests were made.

As for the action on the field -- the Dodgers won their fight with the Giants, 7-2, and will now face their rival in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Thursday.

Jeff Fisher is calling BS on Jon Gruden ... saying the coach was dead wrong when he claimed in an email that the NFL forced him and the Rams to draft Michael Sam.

Fisher released a lengthy statement late Tuesday night refuting Gruden's claim that Roger Goodell was the one who pressured the head coach to pick Sam in the 7th round of the 2014 NFL Draft due to the pass rusher's sexual orientation.

"As a head coach for over 20 years," Fisher said, "we drafted or didn't draft players based on a variety of qualities. Their sexual orientation would never -- and should never -- play a part in the decision-making process."

Fisher added, "The NFL never encouraged or discouraged me regarding the selection of a potential prospect."

In one of Gruden's many crass emails sent between 2011 and 2018 that were made public this week ... Jon wrote to a Washington Football Team exec that he believed Goodell urged Fisher to take Sam because he was gay.

In the email, Gruden used an anti-gay slur to describe Sam.

Fisher said in his statement he's still a big supporter of Sam's ... and praised the courage it took for him to go public with his sexual preference.

"I continue to support Michael, and his decision to come out as the first draft eligible openly gay player in the league," Fisher said. "It took courage to serve as a role model for those competitive football players who may also happen to be gay."

Sam played in all four of the Rams' preseason games in his rookie year ... but was cut just before the regular season began. He later signed a contract to join the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad, but was cut after just a few weeks there as well.

Ryan Russell, an openly bisexual NFL free agent, tells TMZ Sports he was sickened by Jon Gruden's racist and homophobic comments ... and the incident serves as proof the NFL has much work left to accomplish.

"I was deeply upset, shocked, appalled even that a leader of an organization, a leader of young men, football culture in general, would have so many negative, derogatory, hateful really, discriminatory things to say about so many different kinds of people," Russell says.

29-year-old Russell -- a 5th round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2015 -- has an interesting perspective. The DE announced he was bisexual in mid-2019.

So, despite players like Carl Nassib and Russ being open about their sexuality, has progress actually been made within the league?

Russell says yes.

"I think there's definitely been progress" ... just nowhere near enough.

"We're not done yet. There's much further we need to go, and much more we need to do. There's still work that needs to be done."

Of course, Gruden resigned days after the emails came to light. He's since been taken out of the Bucs' (where he won a Super Bowl) ring of honor. He's also been dropped by Sketchers -- his biggest individual sponsor.

As for Roger Goodell and the NFL's power structure ... Ryan has some advice on how to move forward.

"Putting 'End Racism' on the field in paint means nothing if it isn't painted within your staff, if it's not painted within the bread of your organization, your foundation," Russ tells us.

MMA fighter Luis Pena -- aka "Violent Bob Ross" -- has been released by the UFC following his arrest for domestic violence last weekend in Florida, TMZ Sports has learned.

The UFC tells us they informed 28-year-old Pena's management team that his contract with the promotion has been terminated.

“UFC is aware of the disturbing allegations concerning the recent arrest of Luis Pena. Mr. Pena has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse issues and the organization has on multiple prior occasions attempted to help him get professional treatment," the organization told us in a statement.

They continued ... "At this time, UFC believes Mr. Pena needs to deal with the health and legal issues in front of him, and consequently has informed Mr. Pena’s management that his promotional agreement has been terminated.”

Pena -- a lightweight fighter who has a 5-3 record in the UFC (9-3 professionally) was arrested on Saturday after his live-in girlfriend called police and told them the UFC fighter had roughed her up, claiming he punched her during an argument.

LP was taken to a local jail on multiple misdemeanor charges.

In a 911 call we obtained, Pena's GF is heard telling the dispatch operator ... "I really need the cops to come and get him out now. I have scratches and bruises all over me from him, I need him gone. I'm done, and I need help, please."

First, Jon Gruden lost his job ... now, he's lost his biggest sponsorship too.

Skechers has terminated its contract with the former Las Vegas Raiders head coach ... after learning the 58-year-old wrote racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails from 2011 to 2018.

"Skechers is aware of the recent press reporting on the emails of Jon Gruden, which caused him to resign his N.F.L. coaching position," a spokesperson for the shoe giant said in a statement Tuesday.

"Upon learning of these developments, we immediately terminated Mr. Gruden’s endorsement contract and our affiliation with him."

Gruden had been one of the faces of Skechers, appearing in ads for the company for the past several months.

"Skechers believes in equality, fostering tolerance, and understanding for all people," the spokesperson said. "It is at the core of who we are as a global lifestyle brand and why we have a zero-tolerance policy for such behavior within our business including those with who we formally work with."

"We believe taking a stand against racist or derogatory comments and for inclusion of all is imperative."

The news comes just one day after Gruden was ousted from his role as Las Vegas head man following the news that he had hurled an anti-gay slur toward Roger Goodell and used other offensive language in multiple emails.

In announcing his parting of ways with the Raiders ... Gruden apologized for the messages, and added, "I never meant to hurt anyone."

The Raiders have named Rich Bisaccia as their interim head coach in wake of Gruden's departure.

Kyrie Irving will not be allowed to play or practice for the Nets until his COVID vaccine situation is resolved, the team announced Tuesday.

Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said in a statement that unless Irving gets vaccinated or the NBA provides him an exemption ... the star point guard will be barred from the team.

"Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant," Marks said.

"Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability."

Irving has not commented publicly on his choice to avoid the vaccine -- he told his followers on social media last month that was a "private" matter -- but he's made it clear through social media activity that he is, in fact, anti-vax.

Of course, due to New York City mandates, in order to play games and practice in NYC, players are required to be vaccinated.

So far, Irving has missed all of the team's workouts in NYC as well as the Nets' preseason games over the vaccine choice ... and it's now clear he won't be a part of any of the team's activities moving forward unless something gives.

"It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice," Marks said.

"Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals, each member of our organization must pull in the same direction."

It's been reported that Irving -- who's in the middle of a 4-year, $136,490,600 contract -- stands to lose MILLIONS based on the decision.

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury will literally go down as one of the greatest fights ever, according to Mike Tyson, who says both fighters "reached all time great status" on Saturday.

If you watched the fight this weekend, you surely see Tyson's point. The two giant heavyweights went at it from the start, each dropping the other fighter multiple times throughout the fight.

Fury ultimately prevailed ... KO'ing Wilder in the 11th.

"Fury vs Wilder fight will go down as one of greatest," Tyson said on Tuesday via Twitter, "Not for skill but for action and excitement. That fight was all guts, heart & determination," Tyson says.

"Everybody won Saturday night. The fight was bigger than the hype. Both of them reached all time great status."

Tyson doesn't stop there -- he also gives major kudos to Wilder's new coach Malik Scott, who replaced longtime trainer Mark Breland after the February 2020 rematch loss.

"Wilder’s coach Malik Scott won the night with great coaching. When you are an amateur you have a coach, they nurture you, guide you and are with you every step of the way."

"Once you turn pro you get a trainer. A trainer is in your life as long as the checks are coming."

"A coach is with you for the rest of your life. A coach feels every punch you take and give too."

NFL punter Marquette King -- who was cut from the Raiders after Jon Gruden allegedly took issue with his personality -- is hoping teams give him a second look in wake of the coach's email scandal ... saying he was never the problem in Oakland.

King -- an All-Pro in 2016 -- was released in 2018 after reports claimed Gruden wasn't a fan of his outspoken personality and over-the-top celebrations.

The 32-year-old is now speculating if there was a deeper reason behind the move in light of Gruden's misogynistic, racist and homophobic emails being leaked this week ... joining "TMZ Live" to share his reaction to the bombshell scandal.

"Once I found out, it was kinda like, now I really wonder what was the real reason why I did get let go," King said. "I'm still kinda curious about that, about why I got let go. It's just been a whole roller coaster full of emotions, period."

King -- who says he never even got the chance to meet Gruden before getting cut -- spent the past 2 years questioning who he is as a person and whether he really was an issue ... adding he found himself in a "really dark place" in the weeks following his release.

King insinuates Gruden created a narrative that made him untouchable to other teams ... and now that the coach is out of the league, it could lead to new opportunities.

Luis Pena's girlfriend claims the UFC fighter, known by many fans as "Violent Bob Ross," choked and punched her in the face before being arrested for domestic violence ... in a 911 call obtained by TMZ Sports.

"I wasn't trying to snitch, but since my boyfriend wants to be an asshole, he put his hands on me, and he's got to go," Pena's GF told an emergency dispatcher.

28-year-old Pena -- 9-3 in professional MMA (5-3 in the UFC) -- was arrested Saturday in Broward County, Florida after allegedly getting physical with his girlfriend.

According to legal docs, Luis is also accused of assaulting another woman who attempted to intervene after Pena allegedly got physical with his GF.

When asked by the 911 operator, Pena's GF said the fighter got physical with her, hitting her.

"He punched me in the face. But, he did this also 2 days ago, I have the mark, I have a band-aid on my back. I have everything to prove it, so I would like the police to come and remove him, so I can get my things and go the f*** home."

The woman tells the operator police previously responded to the residence over a call for the same incident, but she admitted she wasn't initially helpful.

"[Cops] were mad because I wouldn't cooperate because I didn't wanna snitch on him, but unfortunately, I have to now. I would like them to come back."

FYI, it's not the first time Pena has been in trouble with the law. Back in June he was arrested for robbery (this charge was later dropped) and battery after an alleged incident with his GF.

Regarding the alleged incident on Saturday, Pena is also accused of getting physical with a second woman who told police she was trying to help Luis' GF after she witnessed him hit her, according to legal docs.

During the 911 call, the GF referred to a restraining order that bars her and Pena from cohabitating together ... and with despair in her voice, she pleads for help.

"We have a no contact order, so technically we shouldn't even be living together. I really need the cops to come and get him out now., I have scratches and bruises all over me from him, I need him gone."