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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn't hold back when talking about Deshaun Watson on Tuesday ... calling the Browns' star quarterback's behavior "egregious" and "predatory."

Reporters talked to Goodell on Tuesday at a meeting to approve the sale of the Broncos ... with the commish being asked why the league is appealing Watson's six-game suspension.

“Because we’ve seen the evidence,” Goodell said.

“[Judge Sue L. Robinson] was very clear about the evidence," Roger told reporters, adding ... "There were multiple violations here, and they were egregious and it was predatory behavior."

The commissioner continued ... "Those are things that we always felt were important for us to address in a way that’s responsible," the statement read.

Of course, the NFL announced Wednesday they were appealing the 6-game suspension handed down to the former Texans QB.

The NFL Players Association has been critical of the decision to appeal ... saying the league should respect the ruling. But, Goodell flat out says the appeal is their right, so they took it.

“As you know, it’s part of the CBA that two parties had the right. Either party could certainly challenge and appeal that, and that was something we thought was our right to do, as well as the NFLPA," Goodell said.

"So we decided it was the right thing to do.”

Actor Steven Seagal, a vocal supporter of Vladimir Putin, showed up at a Russian-controlled prison camp ... the site of an explosion on July 29 that slaughtered at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners.

Seagal seems to be surveying the wreckage ... eyeballing some of the shrapnel that killed the Ukrainians. There were hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners in the camp at the time of the blast.

Putin bestowed Russian citizenship on Seagal back in 2016 ... this after Seagal spoke out in favor of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Seagal is been vocal in his support of Putin, calling him "one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader alive today."

Ukrainian military officials have accused Russia of intentionally moving prisoners to the facility, knowing it would be the site of an attack.

As for Seagal, he was banned back in 2017 from entering Ukraine territory.

ESPN reporter M.A. Voepel -- who's been covering sports for the outlet for more than two decades -- has come out as transgender ... saying Tuesday, "I'm transitioning to male."

Voepel said he decided to open up about his true self this week because he's slated to receive the Naismith Hall of Fame's Gowdy Award next month -- an honor recognizing media members who have made great contributions to basketball -- and he wanted to be there "as authentic self."

"Fear can keep us paralyzed for decades, especially when we think we will lose all that is dear to us, including career," Voepel said.

"At some point, you realize you need to have faith that your happiness/well-being is worth pursuing, and also have faith in other people's kindness and grace. Grateful for a company that supports all of its employees, for terrific family and friends, and for societal progress."

Voepel, who formerly went by Mechelle Voepel, added, "Please feel free to call me Voepel, MV, Michael, Mike; I’m good with them all."

Voepel has had a huge career with ESPN after initially joining the company in 1996 ... covering the WNBA, women's college basketball, volleyball and much more.

"I may look and sound a little different," he said. "Glad to be who I've always been inside. Dedication to covering women’s sports, a lifelong joy as well as job, and admiration for all involved -- players, coaches, execs, fans, referees, colleagues -- that stays exactly the same. Thanks!"

Immediately following his announcement, several ESPN personalities congratulated him ... including T.J. Quinn, who wrote, "Proud to have you as a colleague."

Ex-NFL star running back Marshawn Lynch was arrested in Las Vegas on Tuesday ... after cops claim he was driving under the influence.

LVMPD says 36-year-old Lynch was pulled over near the Las Vegas Strip on Fairfield Avenue and West Utah Avenue around 7:25 AM on Tuesday. Sources tell TMZ Sports he was driving into curbs on the side of the road before the traffic stop.

After speaking with Lynch, cops believe he was driving under the influence ... and was taken to jail.

Lynch did not submit to a breathalyzer, but we're told he had his blood drawn.

Marshawn played for 12 seasons in the league ... winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks in Feb. 2014.

Lynch -- who played for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders during his career -- is a 5-time Pro Bowler and 2-time NFL rushing touchdown leader.

In the regular season, he had 10,413 rushing yards, 85 rushing TDs, 2,214 receiving yards and 9 receiving TDs.

Off the field, Lynch co-owns the Beasts of the Fan Controlled Football league ... and Bay Area Panthers in Indoor Football League.

It's not the first time Lynch has been arrested for DUI -- in 2012, he was busted after cops determined his blood alcohol level was above the .08 limit while driving in Oakland.

Story developing ...

It's Case Keenum's 10th training camp, and if there's one thing the veteran quarterback has learned ... it's the value of a good prank during the dog days of camp!

The Bills' backup QB decided to have a little fun at the expense of his teammates as they prepare for the start of the season, dressing up as a fan, and bugging players for autographs.

"I'm going to see today how many autographs I can get from my teammates," Keenum said in a video posted to the Bills social media page.

34-year-old Keenum looked the part ... he rocked a Bills shirt, sunglasses and a tan bucket hat. Case was able to snag a few autographs ... and his undercover person was so good, he nearly got wideout Isaiah McKenzie twice.

Luckily, when Case approached McKenzie for a second time, he realized it was Keenum.

The disguise was so good, Keenum was nearly kicked out by a security guard who told him he was in an area he wasn't permitted.

But, the highlight of the video came when star QB Josh Allen curved Keenum's request for a signature.

"Josh, Josh, Josh," Keenum screamed as the 6-foot-5, 238-pound quarterback emerged from the tunnel. "Ay, you're my favorite player, man. You're my favorite player, man," Keenum said.

"I love you, Josh," he continued as he handed the Bills' signal caller a marker to sign his football.

Allen did a double-take ... and recognized it was Keenum. The two exchanged smiles and laughs about it all, with Allen playfully mushing his fellow QB.

Touching moment in a Little League World Series regional tournament on Tuesday -- a batter comforted an opposing pitcher after the kid accidentally drilled him in the head with a fastball.

The scene all went down in the first inning of the Texas East vs. Oklahoma matchup in Waco, Texas ... when Isaiah Jarvis was at the plate squaring off with Kaiden Shelton.

On the third pitch of the at-bat, a fastball got away from Shelton, and plunked Jarvis right in the side of his forehead.

Jarvis immediately crumpled to the ground in pain -- but he was able to shake it off after his helmet absorbed most of the blow.

Shelton, though, was so rattled by the wild pitch, he broke down on the mound. Video from the stadium shows he was in tears, and needed a few moments to collect himself.

That's when Jarvis walked over from first base to tell him he was fine. Field microphones also picked up the Little Leaguer adding, "Hey, you're doing just great."

Shelton ended up leaving the pitcher's mound to go play in the infield -- but Jarvis' gesture was clearly appreciated by everyone watching, including the game's announcers.

The Padres didn't show much fight on the field on Monday night, but their fans in the stands certainly did ... as several men got involved in a wild fracas out in right field.

The melee happened at some point during San Diego's lifeless 1-0 loss to the Giants at Petco Park -- when four people got into a tiff.

It's unclear what started the altercation, but video shows it got violent in a hurry ... when one fan in a Padres jersey attempted to Sparta-kick a man down a row of stairs.

The guy, though, somehow ended up staying on his feet -- and then he dragged the Padres supporter down the stairs himself.

Eventually, two other guys jumped into the fray and began throwing punches.

The men traded blows for a few seconds -- before a bevy of security guards raced into the action to break it up.

Awful news in horse racing ... jockey Taiki Yanagida -- known as "Tiger" -- has passed away days after he fell and was trampled during a race in New Zealand.

Taiki was only 28.

The accident occurred last Wednesday during the last race at Cambridge Jockey Club ... when the Japanese jockey fell off his horse, Te Atatu Pash, about 250 meters from the post, where the race begins, according to the NZ Herald.

Yanagida -- who lost his helmet in the fall -- was rolled on by his own horse and then trampled by another following closely behind.

The jockey suffered serious brain and spinal injuries and was transferred to the Waikato Hospital where he was placed into an induced coma.

Unfortunately, Yanagida never recovered ... he died on Tuesday. Taiki is the first jockey to die in a race fall in New Zealand since 2016.

"He was such a wonderful young man," Yanagida's racing manager, Ted McLachlan, told the Herald.

"It really is a tragedy and so hard to watch what his mother and sister here have had to go through.

"This will really hurt the other people in the industry because Taiki was so popular."

Yanagida raced in New Zealand for several years and rode over 160 winners since 2017.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing CEO Bruce Sharrock also expressed great sadness at the loss.

"Our deepest sympathies are with Taiki’s family – his mother Kayano, sisters Chiaki and Ayano, and his grandmother," Sharrock said.

"We share their grief at the loss of such a talented, friendly, and well-liked young man."

Chris Sale's awful season just got a whole lot worse ... the Boston Red Sox revealed on Tuesday he suffered a broken wrist in a bike accident over the weekend and is now done for the rest of the year.

Sale -- who was nursing a finger injury that he sustained after taking a line drive off his hand on July 17 -- had been riding his bike on Aug. 6 when the accident happened, according to the team.

The 33-year-old was diagnosed with a "right distal radius fracture" ... and the Sox said he had to undergo surgery on Monday in Massachusetts to fix the issue.

Sale will now miss the rest of the season, but Boston said it expects him to be ready for Spring Training next year.

This year is certainly one the lefty pitcher would love to forget -- after starting the season on the injured list with a ribcage injury, he had an infamous meltdown in a rehab assignment, and then broke his finger just a few days later.

Lance Armstrong is a married man -- he just tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend ... and the ceremony went down in a very familiar place for the former cycling star -- France!

Armstrong posted a bunch of photos Tuesday morning of the amazing event ... calling his special day with Anna Hansen the best "ever."

"It was an evening full of laughter and plenty of joyful tears," Armstrong said of the wedding ... before adding, "Hope you are all having an excellent summer - I sure as hell am."

The 50-year-old, who won 7 straight Tour de France crowns from 1999 to 2005 (but was later infamously stripped of the honors), initially began dating Anna back in 2008 -- and he said in his post Tuesday she's been his "absolute rock the past 14 years."

"Let me be clear," Lance wrote on his Instagram page, "I would not have survived [the 14 years] without you. I am so proud of the couple we have become."

The two have two children together -- and Lance said he was so happy both could attend their ceremony, calling it "so special."

"I love you immensely," Armstrong said to Anna in his post, "and will always be here for you and our family."

Serena Williams is moving on from the sport she's dominated for decades -- the superstar just announced she's "evolving away" from tennis after the U.S. Open.

The 40-year-old shared the news in an essay with Vogue on Tuesday ... saying it's time to move on and focus on other challenges -- raising a family and business ventures off the court.

"I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst," Williams said. "But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies."

"I’m going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you."

Serena currently has 23 individual Grand Slams and 14 in doubles alongside her sister, Venus. She won her most recent singles title while two months pregnant in 2017.

Serena is by far one of the greatest to ever do it ... and has changed the sport of tennis forever since making her debut in 1995.

In fact, she is the highest-earning female athlete of all time ... and was ranked 31st on Forbes' list of top earnings among all pros in 2022 with $45.3 million.

Her off-court ventures have proven to be just as successful -- in 2009, Serena and Venus became minority owners of the Miami Dolphins, making them the first black women to hold any ownership of an NFL team.

Serena is also one of the owners of the Angel City FC soccer team ... and earlier this year, committed millions in hopes of helping a big do buy Chelsea FC in London.

Recently, Williams started Serena Ventures, which raised $111 million in outside funding this year.

A movie about the Williams sisters' upbringing, "King Richard," was released in 2021 to positive reviews ... and earned Will Smith an Oscar for his portrayal of their father, Richard. Both sisters were executive producers for the flick.

Serena -- who gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in 2017 -- is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian ... and says she would like to have more children.

Serena wishes she had more time to say goodbye to the sport ... but given her goals of expanding her family, she's left with no choice.

"Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family," she added. "I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity."

The Juan Soto trade has now made the Padres so intriguing, even Kawhi Leonard had to make the drive down from L.A. to catch one of the new outfielder's games at Petco Park!!!

The Clippers superstar was spotted sitting in the front row of the Pads' contest against the Giants in San Diego on Monday night ... getting his first up-close look at Soto and the new-and-improved SD team with his own eyes.

Leonard -- who rarely makes public appearances -- showed up to the event with his fam decked out in Padres gear ... and munched on some French fries as he cheered on the home team.

Sadly for Kawhi, Soto and the rest of SD didn't do much ... they only recorded five total hits and lost the game 1-0.

But, don't be too upset for Leonard -- we're sure he found plenty to do after the game ... after all, he spent his college days in San Diego at SDSU, so the guy knows how to have a good time in America's Finest City no matter how the baseball team performs.

Soto and the Padres, meanwhile, will try to put on a better show on Tuesday night when they face the Giants again.

Ashton Kutcher hit up Dodger Stadium for a good cause ... and he arrived as his episode with Bear Grylls dropped, revealing he went through a serious health battle a couple of years back ... a battle that threatened his hearing and sight.

Before Ashton and Mila Kunis took to the stadium Monday night, the actor's episode of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge" showed the guy fought an autoimmune disease 3 years ago.

He tells Bear he battled vasculitis, which is a rare disease that inflames blood vessels, making it difficult for blood to flow.

While he says it was hard for him to see and hear, he decided to find the positive in it -- saying he's lucky to be alive and believes life is fun when you see obstacles as things designed to get you where you need to be.

Not long after the airing, Ashton and Mila were in Dodgers territory for Ping Pong 4 Purpose ... which is aimed to help turn at-risk kids and neighborhoods around, working with pitcher Clayton Kershaw and his wife Ellen's org, Kershaw's Challenge.

Ashton and Mila were just a few famous faces in attendance -- Will Ferrell, Mario Lopez, Lisa Leslie, Rob Lowe, Gabriel Iglesias, Brad Paisley, and Pete Wentz were there, just to name a few.

NBA star DeMar DeRozan gave fans an experience they'll never forget after balling out in the Drew League on Saturday -- posing for pics and signing autographs for them, and TMZ Sports has the video!!

The Chicago Bulls forward and his teammate, Patrick Williams, led the MMV Cheaters back from a 19-point deficit to come away with a 102-94 win over Young Citi ... large in part thanks to DeRozan's 36 points and 6 rebounds.

Williams added 14 points and 14 boards himself ... but it was DD who came away with the player of the game nod.

Fun fact -- Sunday was DeMar's 33rd birthday ... so the honor was an early present for him!!

DeRozan was super chill with fans hoping for selfies and signatures as he left the facility ... signing jerseys and smiling with fans before heading out.

The Drew League has been filled with huge names so far this summer -- remember, LeBron James played with DeRozan earlier this off-season ... as well as Trae Young and John Collins.

Longtime WWE executive John Laurinaitis -- recently caught up in a report alleging Vince McMahon paid hush money to former employees -- has reportedly been terminated by the promotion, according to PWInsider.

Laurinaitis -- a former wrestler who served in multiple roles with the company since 2001, including Head of Talent Relations -- was terminated recently, likely within the last week, per the outlet.

The split with Laurinaitis was handled quietly behind the scenes, the outlet reports ... and comes on the heels of McMahon's resignation as chairman and CEO of the sports entertainment conglomerate.

Laurinaitis's future with the company has been in doubt since The Wall Street Journal published the report ... accusing now 76-year-old Vince and John of engaging in inappropriate behavior with WWE employees.

Vince -- the face of WWE since 1982 -- has been accused of paying multiple women he allegedly had relationships with "hush money" ... in exchange for their silence.

"The board’s investigation, which began in April, has unearthed other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by Mr. McMahon and one of his top executives, John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations at WWE, the people said," a June WSJ article read.

Laurinaitis -- brother of late "Road Warrior Animal" Joseph Laurinaitis -- started as an in-ring performer with WWE ... before moving over to management.

As a result of WWE's investigation, Laurinaitis was removed from his role with the company ... and placed on administrative leave in June.

Aaron Rodgers wanted no parts of crass jokes about COVID-19, vaccines, and the deaths associated with the virus ... shutting down the attempts at humor in a hurry this week.

Rodgers appeared on Monday's episode of Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" -- and he was having a blast with the hosts of the show, Big Cat and PFT Commenter ... but the Packers star got serious quickly when the quips turned toward coronavirus-related deaths.

As Rodgers was speaking about the backlash he received for going public with his vaccine stance last year -- PFT joked, "How many people do you think you killed? What's your count?"

Big Cat added on, "How many grandmothers? Let's just do grandmothers."

Rodgers, who had been in a very playful mood the entire interview leading up to that point, said sternly, "I mean, I know you guys are f***ing around, but I don't find that part funny."

"I really don't," he added.

The trio changed topics moments later -- and the guys went on to laugh and joke with each other for another half an hour or so on the show.

There didn't appear to be any further awkward moments between the guys, and all three took a pic together following the conclusion of the interview.

The 38-year-old has been willing to discuss his thoughts on COVID and the vaccines repeatedly throughout the last 12 months ... and has said that while he's not anti-vax, he doesn't feel like anyone should have to be forced to take the shots.