Drugs & Alcohol

LeBron James isn't playing in the NBA Finals, but he's definitely playing AT them ... as he was spotted chilling courtside in Phoenix ... with a full bottle of Tequila!!! Hardcore playing.

King James was quite the sight Saturday night during Game 5 -- he had the bottle of booze between his legs, sitting on the court. Fans know LeBron typically gets his way on the court, but this seemed ridiculous. Ever try bringing your own liquor into a game? Don't.

Of course, if you're LeBron it's a different story, and the bottle of Lobos 1707 was more for business than drunken fun, we're guessing.

As we've reported ... LBJ and several other NBA players are investors in the brand. There's a reason the Lakers star had the label out toward cameras. Smart business, man.

His teammate Anthony Davis and Warriors star Draymond Green are also investors in the booze.

LeBron's pal, Chris Paul, and the Phoenix Suns lost the game and now trail 3-2 in the series -- but LeBron came out the winner off the court.

And yeah, he probably enjoyed a shot or 2 himself to celebrate "Space Jam: A New Legacy" hitting theaters.

A pro baseball game turned ugly Thursday night ... when players charged at fans in the stands after some spectators allegedly threw beer at them.

The wild scene all went down in a Frontier League game at Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls, NJ ... when the New Jersey Jackals vs. Sussex County Miners tilt had to be paused due to a near-brawl in the stands.

The incident was all captured on video ... and it's crazy -- 'cause players from both teams bum-rushed at spectators, nearly igniting a huge fight in the seats.

You can see in the clip, players were all the way up in the 2nd and 3rd rows, getting in the faces of fans ... and it appeared the guys were just moments away from letting fists fly.

Fortunately, other players were able to hold aggressors back ... and play resumed without any real, major tiffs blowing up.

As for why it all happened ... it was $1 beer night at the stadium -- and one witness said a fan had no problem throwing some suds at players during a break in the action -- 'causing the athletes to explode.

Whitney Collings -- one of the early members of TV's "Bad Girls Club" -- died from a toxic mix of booze and hard drugs ... including fentanyl and cocaine.

According to her death certificate, obtained by TMZ, Whitney's immediate cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, cocaine, alcohol and clonazepam ... which is a prescription medication used to prevent/control seizures and prevent panic attacks.

Whitney died at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Boston. The manner of death is listed as accidental and she was buried in Peabody, MA on December 10.

Interesting side note: Her occupation is listed as sales in the cannabis industry. Recreational weed is legal in Massachusetts.

TMZ broke the story ... Whitney died on December 3 at the age of 33. Her mother revealed the news on Facebook, saying "I am completely broken and will never get over this. Life is so unfair. She was kind with a big heart."

A 911 caller says Richard Sherman drank two bottles of hard alcohol and was threatening to kill himself before he was arrested on Wednesday ... new police audio, obtained TMZ Sports, reveals.

In the call, which was 4 minutes in length, a woman who ID'ed herself as Sherman's wife told dispatch the NFL star was "drunk and belligerent and threatening to kill himself."

The woman was frantic -- breathing heavily and speaking quickly -- and was pleading for dispatch to send officers to her home in Washington right away.

"I need officers here now!" the woman can be heard saying on the call. "He's trying to leave now. In the house, he was being aggressive. He was wrestling with my uncle. He's threatening to kill himself. He has sent text messages to people saying he's going to hang himself."

"And, he's saying that if the police show up -- please don't shoot is what I'm asking."

The woman continued, "He said if the police show up, he'll try to fight them."

The woman then can be heard saying she was worried that Sherman was going to leave the home ... telling dispatch, "It's Richard Sherman! Like, ma'am, this is, like, a f***ing emergency! I need officers here now!"

It should be noted the 911 dispatcher appeared annoyed and frustrated multiple times with the woman on the call ... telling her at one point, "Listen to me! I'm handling this! You need to stop telling me that!"

The caller eventually told the 911 dispatcher that Sherman had drank 1 bottle of vodka and 1 bottle of Hennessey ... and was concerned for everyone's safety.

As we previously reported, Sherman was arrested a short time following the call ... after cops say he tried to break into his in-laws' home in Redmond, Wash.

Sha'Carri Richardson is missing one golden opportunity at the Olympics, but that's now opened the door to a very green opportunity ... and yeah, that's a double entendre.

The good folks over at Dr. Dabber -- a vaping org specializing in all things weed -- have extended a cannabis-laced olive branch to the U.S. sprinting star ... it's a high-paying job that doesn't really require a whole lot of physical labor.

The offer is for Sha'Carri to become an ambassador of sorts -- or, more accurately, one of Dabber's "doctors."

Check out the offer, obtained by TMZ, which lays out the responsibilities ... and her whopping $250k compensation.

The company says, "Considering your talent and grace over these past weeks, we would love to offer you the opportunity to work with our team as a spokesperson for Dr. Dabber. This entails testing our award-winning dab rigs and vape pens as a resident 'doctor.'"

It's unclear how long of a partnership Dabber has in mind -- but either way, it's a sweet chance to make some easy dough ... and to kinda stick it to the Olympics for DQ'ing her over a positive THC test.

Win-win, really -- but no word yet if Sha'Carri will accept.

Sacha Baron Cohen is pissed at a cannabis company he claims is plastering his "Borat" character on one of its giant billboards ... and now he's suing over it.

The actor filed suit against Solar Therapeutics, where he alleges the company is using his famous persona to sell medical marijuana in Massachusetts ... where Borat's face appears on the advertisement, next to one of his trademark lines, "It's nice."

Well, Sacha doesn't think it is.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sacha claims Solar Therapeutics is pulling a fast one by using Borat on the ad -- which stands next to an interstate -- because he has no connection whatsoever to the company.

In fact, Sacha says he doesn't even smoke weed -- a major bummer to many "Borat" fans, we suspect -- and would never join an ad campaign for pot. No offense to those who do indulge, we're sure.

Sacha is going after the cannabis company for at least $9 million in damages ... and he wants the court to block Solar from using his name, image and likeness to hawk its products.

A driver in Ohio got in serious trouble when he tried to avoid a weed bust by swallowing the green, and he's damn lucky the state trooper who pulled him over knows the Heimlich.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the crazy traffic stop went down in Portage County, when Trooper Charles Hoskin pulled over Stephan R. Elash for speeding. Police say he also wasn't wearing a seat belt, but that was the least of his worries

As you can see in Hoskin's dash cam footage of the July 3 stop ... he realizes Elash is having trouble breathing, so he tells him to step out to try to dislodge what's caught in his windpipe.

After a few Heimlich thrusts, the driver tries to throw up, but it's still not working. That's when Trooper Hoskin had to really apply some force ... which saved Elash's life.

You can see the driver admit he swallowed a gram of weed, and apologize to the officer. EMS checked him out and he was okay, medically. Legally? Well, he was cited for speeding, failure to wear a seat belt -- and yes, hit with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession. It's still illegal in Ohio.

After Elash's stop, the Ohio State Highway Patrol issued an important, though pretty obvious, warning -- "Don't try to swallow a bag of drugs prior to getting pulled over in an attempt to keep a trooper from finding them."

Tekashi69 is a reputation slayer ... so says a Japanese tattoo artist in a new lawsuit claiming the rapper jacked his name and defamed him by calling him a heroin addict.

The tattoo artist, Takashi Matsuba, filed legal docs in NY claiming his reputation is in danger thanks to Tekashi69. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Matsuba claims 6ix9ine "has created confusion and the false public perception that" Matsuba is associated with Tekashi69. He says he’s not.

Matsuba says the confusion is easy to see … the rapper’s moniker is substantially similar to Matsuba's first name. Only 1 letter's different.

Matsuba says in the Hulu documentary "69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez" ... there's a scene where the tattoo artist's name "TAKASHI MATSUBA" is superimposed on the screen. He claims the director's then heard saying "Peter's roommate, a Japanese tattoo artist named Takashi would inspire Danny's new persona, Tekashi69."

Matsuba also has beef with Showtime, claiming the documentary on that channel defamed him in the March documentary "Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine."

Matsuba says Tekashi's heard in the doc saying, "There was this tattoo artist named Takashi from our neighborhood. And he was this heroin addict. He did heroin to create. He did it to get himself in his little world. He did it to be himself. And that’s where I got the name Tekashi from. And that’s who I am.”

Matsuba says the quote is false and defamatory because he has never used heroin.

The tattoo artist says the quote is damaging to his profession because "tattooing requires the use of needles, and heroin is connected in the public’s mind with hypodermic needles.”

Matsuba says he demanded producers to edit the documentary to remove his image, name and likeness from the Hulu doc ... but says they've refused. He's suing for damages.

Christina Haack's new relationship is all thanks to smoking TOAD venom -- an experience that helped her re-center, figure things out ... and land a new man.

The "Flip or Flop" star revealed she's got a new boyfriend, Joshua Hall, who she says she met in the spring when she was in a "state of fear or fight-or-flight" and after she smoked toad venom to get rid of her anxiety. Anyway, they immediately hit it off.

Haack says the trippy experience helped her "reset" her brain and brought her into a better headspace ... something she credits to being able to work on finding love once again.

Christina also addressed her haters, who took shots at the mother of 3 getting back into the dating world so soon, saying ... "So yes 'another relationship' and guess what. I’m 38 -I’ll do what I want."

Like we told you ... Christina and her ex, Ant Anstead, announced they were separating in September, before she filed for a divorce a few months later. It was finalized just last month.

They first linked up in 2017 while she and her "Flip or Flop" costar, Tarek El Moussa, were going through their own split at the time.

Lil Baby and NBA star James Harden have been stopped by police in Paris ... with a report claiming the rapper was arrested for weed.

Harden and several other men were swarmed by cops during an apparent search on the popular Avenue Montaigne. In one video circulating on social media, the Brooklyn Nets superstar can be heard saying he doesn't understand what's going on as cops begin to search him.

One photo shows an officer holding what appears to be a vaping device ... unclear who it belongs to or whether is contained the alleged marijuana.

Baby was seated in the back of a police van and appeared to be handcuffed ... local reports say he was among 3 people arrested for some sort of marijuana-related charge. The report said the vehicle the men were traveling in was pulled over and officers could smell marijuana. There were allegedly 20 grams of weed discovered.

We reached out to the Paris Police Dept. who would only tell us the incident was currently an active investigation.

Lil Baby and Harden are in the French city for Paris Fashion Week.

Patrick Mahomes ain't pleased that USA Track & Field officials left Sha'Carri Richardson off the Olympic roster this week ... calling the snub "pretty ridiculous."

The NFL superstar explained his thoughts on the matter Thursday on "First Take" ... clearly believing USATF should've added Richardson to the team, despite her recent positive marijuana test.

"She put in the work," the Chiefs quarterback said. "Even though she made a mistake -- like we all make mistakes in whatever way that is -- but to give her an almost extra ban, to not let her be at the Olympics at all, it's pretty ridiculous to me."

As we previously reported, Richardson tested positive for pot after the Olympic Trials last month ... and was subsequently hit with a 1-month ban as punishment.

The penalty -- while wiping away her opportunity to race in the Tokyo Olympics' 100-meter sprint -- still was set to end in time for her to potentially run for USA in the 4x100-meter relay.

But, USATF officials announced Tuesday they were still leaving her off the team ... explaining, "All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances."

Mahomes called B.S. on all on Thursday, though ... saying, "For her to be left off, after all the hard work and dedication that she's put into the sport, and for her to be one of those bright young stars for the USA, it's just disappointing."

Sha'Carri Richardson's Olympic dreams are officially crushed following her failed drug test ... 'cause U.S. Track & Field officials left the fastest woman in America off the 4 x 100m squad.

... this despite the fact that her 30-day suspension will end BEFORE the relay race is scheduled to begin.

Of course, 21-year-old Richardson recently tested positive for marijuana after the Olympic Trials last month ... and accepted the 1-month ban.

Despite a ton of outrage (weed is still illegal?), USOC officials stood by the punishment.

But, not all hope was lost ... Sha'Carri was going to miss the 100-meter race, but still could've been included on the 4 x 100-meter relay team.

That is until today when track officials announced Richardson would be left off the team ... meaning she will NOT be running in a single race at the Tokyo games.

As for the test she flunked ... Richardson says she recently found out her biological mother died, and she used marijuana as a way to cope with the stress and pressure.

For what it's worth, use of recreational pot is legal in Oregon -- where the trials were run.

USATF released a statement on the decision Tuesday afternoon ... saying it's "incredibly sympathetic" towards Richardson's situation ... but it would be "detrimental to the integrity" of the organization to bend the rules a week before the Games.

"All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances," the statement read.

USATF praised Richardson for owning up to her actions and agrees that the World Anti-Doping Agency's guidelines need a makeover ... but until then, athletes gotta play by the rules.

George Jung -- the prolific cocaine smuggler portrayed by Johnny Depp in the film "Blow" -- died of kidney failure due to advanced liver disease, and as you'd probably imagine ... his hard-living played a major role.

According to George's death certificate ... George's immediate cause of death is listed as hepatorenal failure due to alcoholic cirrhosis. In other words, his organs succumbed to his chronic alcohol abuse. The manner of death is listed as natural causes.

George died on May 5 in Lowell, MA, and he was cremated 2 days later. Interestingly, his occupation is listed as storyteller/teacher/education. If you've seen the movie, that's not entirely inaccurate.

TMZ broke the story ... George had been experiencing kidney and liver problems before his death. He had been in home hospice care and died with his wife, Ronda, and friend, Roger, by his side.

George served 20 years in prison for running drugs for the Medellin Cartel. He was known as "Boston George" and infamously helped notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar smuggle planeloads of coke into the U.S.

At the time, Escobar's cartel was reportedly responsible for 80% of the world's cocaine.

President Biden has weighed in on Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension from competing in the Olympics -- and he dished out a tough love response ... basically saying, she knew better.

JB was down in Michigan Saturday for an event ahead of 4th of July ... and he was asked by CBS WH reporter Bo Erickson if he thought Richardson facing a one-month ban from competition due to a positive THC test was fair ... and Biden essentially said, sadly yes.

You can watch the clip yourself to see how he put it in his own words -- but the Prez didn't make any bones about it ... telling the press that everyone knows the rules going in, so it kinda is what it is on the punishment end. He did leave room for debate, however.

Check it out ... Joe says whether the weed rule should stay intact or not is an entirely different discussion -- but under the current guidelines, he suggests the punishment fits the crime. With that said, he did give Richardson props ... saying he was proud at how she responded.

Sha'Carri did an interview shortly after the news broke that she'd been temporarily DQ'd ... telling Savannah Guthrie she ingested marijuana recently, this after learning her biological mother had died and learning about it at a presser. Sha'Carri owned up to the mistake with her chin high -- but also seemed to indicate that the so-called "rules" were draconian.

An Australian reporter made unfounded claims of doping/steroid use against U.S. sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson and the late Flo Jo ... all because they used acrylic nails.

Claire Lehmann -- founder of Quillette, and contributor to the Australian -- stirred the pot late Friday with a few controversial tweets ... the first of which was aimed at Richardson, whom she suggested was using PEDs because of what she perceived as "strong nails & hair."

She wrote, "Not sure whether the nails are real or fake, but in case you didn’t know very strong nails & hair can be a side effect of steroid use." Lehmann also attached a photo of Richardson -- who was just suspended from competing for a month after a positive THC test.

What people quickly pointed out was ... Richardson uses wigs, and her nails are fake -- so Lehmann's speculation was completely unfounded, and frankly ... downright ignorant.

She wasn't done yet, though -- the journo continued her meritless attacks, only this time ... she went after the late Olympic legend, Florence Griffith Joyner. Lehmann alleged that Flo Jo, too, was doping during her historic record-breaking run in the '80s -- again citing the acrylic nail factor (which was again steeped in error). However, CL went further ... roping in Flo Jo's death, falsely attributing it to drug use, despite the facts clearly disputing that.

Lehmann wrote, "Flo Jo, obvious drug user, had the nails. She died in her sleep at age 38 because that’s what a lifetime of drug use does to the body (and why it’s supposed to be banned from elite sports)."

Several people were quick to point out that -- based on Flo Jo's own autopsy from 1998 -- her cause of death was officially attributed to suffocation due to an epileptic seizure ... which ended up being tied to a congenital brain abnormality that made her prone to seizures.

Also, important to note ... Flo Jo never produced a positive drug test.

Despite the facts flying in her face ... Lehmann hasn't taken down the tweets, and is currently experiencing the wrath of Twitter, with multiple users accusing her of racism ... not to mention defamation on behalf of Flo Jo and Richardson. Even Cardi B has weighed in.

Track star Sha'Carri Richardson took responsibility for taking to weed which is a violation of Olympic rules, but goes on to say she did it after suffering emotional trauma.

Sha'Carri appeared on "Today" Friday and said squarely, "I want to take responsibility for my actions, I know what I did. I know what I'm supposed to do, [what] I'm allowed not to do and I still made that decision."

She then asked for a little understanding ..."Don't judge me because I am human."

Richardson came in first in the 100-meter race last month at the U.S. Track and Field Trials, but she later tested positive for marijuana and was stripped of her win and it's now unclear if she'll be barred from participating in the Tokyo Olympics.  She was a favorite to win, which would be the first U.S. gold medal for the event since 1996.

As for why she crossed the line and used weed, she explained the day she did a reporter came up just before the trials and told her her mom had died.

A reporter had told her her biological mother had died right before the trials.