TMZ Sports - Page 2

Jemele Hill is urging the media to not let Jerry Jones off the hook amid his racial controversy ... saying LeBron James was completely right to call out reporters for not giving the Dallas Cowboys owner similar coverage as Kyrie Irving.

Hill joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" to discuss the Lakers superstar's postgame message on Thursday ... and she believes Black figures and athletes are constantly criticized to a much harsher degree in the media.

"This is not to say that there should be no room for accountability, of course," Hill says. "But it seems that it just is nonstop, and over and over and over again and it's constant."

Hill says Jones' "curious kid" explanation for attending a desegregation protest as a 14-year-old in 1957 is insufficient ... and claims his influence as an NFL owner is another reason why he wasn't pressed to explain his stance further, when Kyrie was asked repeatedly about whether he was antisemitic.

"I think the difference in [Jerry] and Kyrie in the treatment is not only a failure by the media, it's also a difference in power," Hill said.

"Kyrie, he's a 'worker' in the NBA. Jerry Jones is an owner, and as an owner he gets to dictate the rules of engagement, so to speak. He also doesn't have to answer to the media as often as Kyrie Irving does."

The Atlantic reporter points out there is a legitimate reason for journalists to ask LeBron about Jones' attendance at the '57 event ... especially considering his history as a diehard Cowboys fan and his previous comments denouncing the team's handling of the national anthem demonstrations.

Jemele suggests the situation would be handled completely differently if something like the Jones photo controversy happened in the NBA ... simply because the players run the league instead of the owners, and they wouldn't let it fly.

Ab-Soul’s having an eventful stay in NYC -- having a run-in with Jay-Z, and a cool courtside experience with Kevin Durant and co.

The TDE rapper inadvertently became part of the action Wednesday night as he watched the Brooklyn Nets play the Washington Wizards -- and he was NOT caught slipping in 4K when a loose ball bounced his way.

Soulo skillfully managed to catch the rock from his courtside seat and, most importantly, did not spill a drop of his drink!!!

Later that evening, still cool as a fan with a drink in hand ... he was surprised when Jay-Z greeted him as he walked into a lounge. Jay even proclaimed him the "young god" of rap!!!

The two later flicked it up in a booth, sparking collab rumors for Soulo’s upcoming album “Herbert,” which drops on December 16, but he still hasn’t unveiled his feature list yet.

TMZ Hip Hop reached out to TDE President Punch to see what, if anything, is in the works. We'll let ya know if we hear back.

Former Nebraska Cornhuskers interim head coach Mickey Joseph was arrested for strangulation and domestic assault after an alleged altercation on Wednesday ... Lincoln Police announced.

LPD says officers responded to a domestic service call from Joseph's home in Lincoln around 2 PM ... and after an investigation, the 54-year-old was arrested at a separate location and taken to jail.

Nebraska's athletic director Trev Alberts released a statement on Joseph's arrest ... announcing he has been placed on administrative leave.

"I was made aware of the charges against Coach Joseph and given the nature of the allegations and based on University policy he has been placed on administrative leave," Alberts said. "We will have no additional comment at this time."

Joseph took the reins for the Cornhuskers after Scott Frost's firing in September 2022 ... going 3-6 as interim head coach.

Matt Rhule was announced as Frost's replacement on Saturday ... and had high praise for Joseph, who's slated to be Nebraska's wide receivers coach and associate head coach under the new regime.

Before he got into coaching, Joseph was a standout running back. He was Louisiana's Gatorade Player of the Year in 1987 and a First Team Parade All-American.

He played for legendary Nebraska coach Tom Osborne in Lincoln ... where he started 9 games, rushing for 1,091 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Florida Gators quarterback Jalen Kitna shared an image on a popular social media messaging platform of an adult male having sex with a pre-pubescent female ... this according to cops.

The Gainesville Police Department spelled out the highly disturbing allegations in an arrest report, obtained by TMZ Sports, on Thursday.

In the docs, cops say they received a tip back on June 23, claiming that a Discord user with the account name "jjkit7#8147" had uploaded the image just two days prior, on June 21.

Cops say after launching a thorough investigation, they found out the account belonged to Kitna -- and claim he had also shared another image on June 21 of a pubescent juvenile female exposing herself as well.

According to the docs, Kitna shared the photos during a chat with two separate Discord users.

During one of the alleged conversations, after sharing the image, the person on the receiving end wrote to Kitna, "Wait what. Dude. Are they under 18. Bruh. Nooo."

The docs do not say whether or not Kitna replied.

Police say they eventually executed a search warrant over it all at Kitna's Florida residence on Wednesday ... and seized his phone. According to the documents, an ensuing search of the device revealed he was in possession of three more child sexual abuse images, depicting two nude pubescent juveniles in different poses.

As we reported, Kitna was arrested and booked on five separate child pornography charges. He was granted bail on Thursday at a hearing, after his famous father -- former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna -- testified in court.

The Univ. of Florida, meanwhile, has suspended the 19-year-old from the football team in wake of the arrest, calling the allegations "extremely serious" and ones that the school has "zero tolerance" for.

Jon Kitna was in a Florida court room on Thursday morning ... guaranteeing a judge that if his son was granted bail in his child pornography case, the former NFL star would make sure the 19-year-old returned for every required hearing going forward.

Jon wore a tie and a checkered suit for the proceedings -- which went down less than 24 hours after Jalen Kitna was arrested in Gainesville for possession of child porn -- and he ensured over and over again that he and his wife would follow every rule and regulation imposed on their son if he was released from custody Thursday.

Jon, along with his wife, emphatically told the judge that Jalen would live with them in Texas ... as long as the Florida Gators quarterback was out on pre-trial release.

The former Dallas Cowboys signal-caller's testimony apparently helped his son ... as the judge ultimately set the younger Kitna's bond at $80,000. In making the ruling, the judge ordered that Jalen must not use the Internet and must not have unsupervised contact with minors.

Jalen appeared very somber during the hearing ... at times burying his head in his hands. He said little, except for when acknowledging questions from the judge.

Court records show the teenager has been formally hit with five felony charges in the case.

As we reported, Jalen has been suspended from the Florida football team following his arrest ... with the school saying in a statement, "These are extremely serious charges and the University of Florida and the UAA have zero tolerance for such behavior."

Nia Long is finally breaking her silence on the cheating scandal involving her fiancé, suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka -- saying she was devastated when the news broke two months ago ... and still is.

As we previously reported, Udoka -- hired as the Celtics HC last year -- was shelved for the entire 2022-23 season in September ... after having an inappropriate relationship with a female staff, violating team policy.

Long -- who got engaged to Udoka in 2015 and has an 11-year-old son with the coach -- hasn't spoken publicly about the scandal until recently doing an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face," the actress said, "when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public."

"It was devastating, and it still is."

The "Friday" actress -- who did not discuss her relationship status with Udoka -- also called out the Celtics for not reaching out when they revealed the personal details of the scandal.

"If you're in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing.”

In spite of that, Long said she had "a tribe of women and men" instead ... protecting and comforting her through this difficult time.

Plus, Long is looking forward to directing her first film ... and it's a love story.

"I have to commit myself to that because I think sometimes when so much is happening, it takes your breath away and then it’s like you’re holding your breath, and you feel this angst and this panic of constantly being in fight-or-flight survival mode," Long said.

Deshaun Watson shut down any non-football related questions prior to his first start as a Cleveland Brown ... saying he was advised to not get into his suspension and the numerous sexual misconduct allegations made against him.

Watson met with reporters on Thursday -- the first time since his 11-game suspension ended this week -- and anyone looking to hear the quarterback address the controversy surrounding him was left without answers.

"I understand that you guys have a lot of questions, but with my legal team and clinical team, there's only football questions I can address at this time," Watson said at the Browns' facility in Berea.

Of course, many want to hear from Deshaun ... especially considering there have been new allegations made against him following his suspension.

Several accusers are slated to attend his debut at NRG Stadium ... but that's something he wouldn't really touch, either -- Watson simply said he was "not worried about the atmosphere" and his focus was being the starting quarterback.

The 27-year-old also declined to speak about specifics regarding his mandatory treatment.

Watson did show love for the Browns, his trainers, teammates and the fanbase for their support during his time away ... and gave a special shout-out to Jacoby Brissett for leading the team in his absence.

"I wanna thank, most importantly, Jacoby," Watson said. "The big brother he's been to me and everyone in that locker room. The passion, the grit, the leadership he has shown these past weeks, everyone done see it. He's the ultimate guy that everyone wants to follow."

Antonio Brown has found himself in more legal trouble ... an arrest warrant has been issued for the ex-NFL star -- after he was allegedly involved in a domestic battery incident earlier this week.

According to the Tampa Police Dept., Brown and the alleged victim got into a verbal altercation around 1:30 PM on Monday at a home in South Tampa.

The dispute, according to cops, later became physical ... when Brown allegedly hurled a shoe at the woman.

Brown then "also attempted to evict the victim from the residence and locked her out of the home" during the incident, cops said.

According to FOX 13, the woman shares children with Brown.

Records, obtained by TMZ Sports, show a warrant for Brown's arrest was put out on Thursday morning. The charge is listed as a misdemeanor domestic violence battery.

What's interesting ... court records also show the Tampa Police Dept. attempted to get a risk protection order against Brown on Tuesday, though a judge denied the petition.

U.S. soccer superstar Christian Pulisic wants everyone to know his gonads are perfectly intact ... telling reporters his World Cup injury was legitimately a "pelvic contusion" -- and not a made-up term for sore testicles.

Pulisic was injured after colliding with Iran's goalkeeper during his game-winning goal for Team USA on Tuesday ... forcing him to miss the second half of the match.

The 24-year-old midfielder was hospitalized after the contest ... but updated his supporters with a selfie, saying he'd be ready to take the pitch on Saturday against the Netherlands.

Based on the area of contact during the incident, many believed Christian's "pelvic contusion" diagnosis was just a code word for getting hit in the family jewels ... but now, all that speculation can be put to rest.

"I didn't get hit in the balls," Christian said with a laugh. "I'm alright. It was very painful. That bone is there for a reason to protect you and I hit it well. I was sore."

Christian says he's still taking it one day at a time ... but is doing "everything in my power" to be back in time for Saturday's match.

Gaylord Perry -- the legendary MLB pitcher who won two Cy Young Awards in his career -- has died.

The Hall of Famer sadly passed away at his home in Gaffney, SC on Thursday morning of natural causes, the Cherokee County Coroner said. He was 84 years old.

Perry made his MLB debut with the San Francisco Giants back in 1962 -- and quickly became an ace, making an All-Star Game in 1966. He gained national fame for throwing spitballs ... and later used the baseball-doctoring technique to help him throw a no-hitter in 1968.

Perry went on to win the Cy Young Award in the American League with Cleveland in 1972, and then in the National League with the San Diego Padres in 1978.

He was the first pitcher ever to earn the honor in both leagues.

Perry finished his 22-year career with a 314-265 record, 3.11 ERA and 3,534 strikeouts. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Following his playing career, he became the baseball coach at Limestone College in Gaffney. He eventually retired from the role in '91.

Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins remembered him as "a great friend and a great teammate" following the news of his death on Thursday.

"My thoughts go out to the Perry family," Jenkins said. "We’ll miss you Gaylord."

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse was ejected after completely going off on referees during their game on Wednesday ... so bad that he had to be escorted off the court by security!!

The former NBA star -- who started coaching Vandy in 2019 -- went berserk after his center Liam Robbins received a tech for tapping his head while celebrating a dunk in the 2nd half of their away game at VCU.

You can see Stackhouse furiously calling out the refs over the call ... receiving a tech for the blowup, which of course pissed him off even more.

That's when Stackhouse got in referee Bart Lennox's face right in the middle of the court ... and it got so intense that Vandy's coaching staff had to restrain him.

That was enough to get Stackhouse ejected ... and escorted to the locker room by security.

The 48-year-old spoke about the incident during his postgame press conference ... saying the officials need to do better overall.

"I thought tonight's game was poorly officiated," Stackhouse said.

"Kids gon make gestures during the course of the game when they have big plays. I felt like that was one that shouldn't have been called on my guy at that juncture in the game."

To make matters worse, the Commodores lost 70-65 to the Rams ... but Stackhouse isn't placing the blame at his player's feet.

"I don't think that tonight's loss was self-inflicted. I felt like this was a poorly officiated game, and they need to be better."

The Lakers might need to switch up their promotional giveaways at this point ... 'cause yet another fan sank a half-court shot at Wednesday's game -- resulting in a $25,000 payday!!

The unbelievable moment went down during a break in the action at Crypto.com Arena ... when the man selected for the MGM Rewards Big Shot Jackpot pulled up from deep -- and drained the shot!!

The dude fell to his knees to soak in the moment ... before getting back up and hyping the crowd.

It's a helluva shot, but it's even more insane considering what went down at Tuesday's game.

Remember, a fan went ballistic just two days ago after succeeding in the same challenge ... which came with a fat $75k check. The bucket had the Lakers players going wild ... with Anthony Davis giving the guy a big hug.

The probability of this happening AGAIN is so slim ... especially when most participants can't even make it to the end of the court, let alone come close to nailing the shot.

The scoring continued for LeBron James and Co. ... with the Purple & Gold running away with the 128-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

LeBron James went after media members following the Lakers' win on Wednesday night ... blasting them for not asking about the racial controversy engulfing Jerry Jones -- while wondering why they were so "quick to ask us questions" about the Kyrie Irving drama earlier this year.

The NBA star unleashed the scolding unprompted after reporters had just finished peppering him with questions about L.A.'s 128-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

"I got one question for you guys before you guys leave," the 37-year-old said. "I was thinking when I was on my way over here, I was wondering why I haven't gotten a question from you guys about the Jerry Jones photo."

Of course, 'Bron is referring to the 1957 picture that resurfaced last week ... showing the Dallas Cowboys owner as a teenager standing with a group of white classmates who were trying to prevent six Black students from entering an Arkansas school.

"When the Kyrie [Irving] thing was going on, you guys were quick to ask us questions about that," James said ... before continuing, "When I watch Kyrie talk and he says, 'I know who I am, but I want to keep the same energy when we're talking about my people and the things that we've been through,' and that Jerry Jones photo is one of those moments that our people, Black people, have been through in America."

"And I feel like as a Black man, as a Black athlete, as someone with power and a platform, when we do something wrong, or something that people don't agree with, it's on every single tabloid, every single news coverage, it's on the bottom ticker. It's asked about every single day."

As you know, Kyrie came under fire earlier this month after he tweeted out a link to an antisemitic film. He refused to apologize for it for days ... and, as a result, the Brooklyn Nets guard was suspended for eight games. LeBron addressed the issue multiple times, saying his former Cavaliers teammate "caused some harm to a lot of people" ... but claimed the punishment was excessive.

Jones, meanwhile, has been under siege the last few days ... after The Washington Post published the controversial photo of him last week. The 80-year-old, though, has avoided any punishment from the NFL ... while denying any participation in barring the black students from the school. He said he was simply a curious observer.

He added during a Monday radio interview, "I think the key thing is, for me, is that it's a misread if you think that I don't recognize how monumental those days were."

Terry Bradshaw's family show, "The Bradshaw Bunch," won't be returning for a 3rd season, TMZ has learned, and the reason has to do with Terry's health.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the E! show was renewed for a third season and filming was supposed to begin last March, but around that time Terry informed producers he had a serious health condition, which demanded his full attention.

At the time, we're told Terry didn't give specifics on his diagnosis but he let producers know he couldn't move forward with the show. In the end, our sources say the Bradshaws and E! mutually decided to not go forward with the series. The network has never disclosed the show was canceled.

Last month, Terry revealed on NFL on FOX he went in for an MRI for what he thought were neck issues ... and that's when doctors discovered a tumor and diagnosed him with Merkel cell carcinoma -- a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer.

Terry had been diagnosed with bladder cancer in November 2021, during the airing of the second season of the show.

The series, which was filmed at the family's ranch in Oklahoma, was centered around the 4-time Super Bowl champ, his wife Tammy and their 3 daughters.

Prince William and Kate Middleton spent their first night in the U.S. at a Celtics game, as one Royal controversy has exploded and another is on the way.

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge were front and center at the Celtics game Wednesday night against the Miami Heat -- they're in town for Friday's Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony ... created by William to find solutions for global warming.

When they popped up on the jumbotron, there was a smattering ... maybe more than a smattering of boos. Now we all know that's the way Boston fans roll, but their appearance came just hours after William's Godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, stepped down from her Royal duties after asking some racist questions at an event.

And, then there's Harry and Meghan ... hours after the game Netflix dropped a trailer for their upcoming documentary, and it's clear as day they're going after the fam. Harry says, "No one sees what goes on behind closed doors. I had to do everything I could to protect my family."

The two brothers will NOT see each other during William's 3-day stay in the States. So much for a reconciliation after the Queen's death.

The controversial, antisemitic film Kyrie Irving shared on Twitter -- "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" -- is not being removed from Amazon ... says company CEO Andy Jassy.

"As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable — objectionable and they differ from our particular viewpoints, Jassy said, who is Jewish, at The New York Times' DealBook Summit in New York City.

Jassy's comments come in the face of the retail giant facing public backlash for still carrying the book and film on its platform, which Irving shared last month.

"The reality is that we have very expansive customer reviews," he continued ... "For books with a lot of attention — especially public attention — customers do a good job monitoring other people."

Jassy told the New York Times it's a slippery slope when deciding what type of content should no longer be sold on the platform ... adding instances where violence or pedophilia is being encouraged is more "straightforward."

Of course, Jassy's comments aren't going to sit well with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), who publicly campaigned for Amazon to join Barnes & Noble in taking the book/film down.