NCAA

LeBron James is giving his stamp of approval to the actors who played him and his high school teammates in an upcoming movie ... saying the talented group of guys knocked it out of the park.

The NBA superstar and the rest of the St. Vincent-St. Mary "Fab Five" squad attended the "Shooting Stars" premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday ... and King James was super complimentary of the final product as he addressed the crowd before the start of the flick.

James admitted it was a weird experience for him, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee and Dru Joyce III to see their lives played out on the screen ... but said the cast perfected every last detail.

"You guys did an unbelievable job," James said.

Of course, the Peacock project -- produced by Bron's SpringHill Entertainment -- is based on the book James released alongside Buzz Bissinger in 2009 ... which focuses on James and Co.'s journey to winning high school state championships.

First, an NCAA championship ... up next -- a collab with J. Cole?!?

LSU hoops star Flau'jae Johnson says she's hoping that's exactly the way her life will play out ... telling TMZ Sports that after helping the Lady Tigers win a title, she's now got her sights set on making music with the "All My Life" rapper.

"J. Cole," she told us this week out at Sirius XM in Los Angeles, "that's my dream!"

If you're unfamiliar -- in addition to being one of the best women's basketball players in the country ... Johnson is also a rapper -- and a very talented one at that.

In fact, the 19-year-old is so good on the mic ... she's already signed with Roc Nation -- and Lil Wayne even said during her NCAA tournament run in April that he wanted to work with her in the near future.

While Johnson was for sure fired up about that -- she said this week she'd be all-in on a duet with Cole too ... and she's confident that it will happen!!

"He ain't reach out yet," she said with a smile, "but it should be coming soon."

For now, Johnson says she's got music on the way with rapper 2Rare.

As for how she's planning on balancing basketball and rap going forward -- the SEC Freshman of the Year says it'll take a lot of a discipline ... but she's sure LSU head coach Kim Mulkey will ensure that all happens.

"Coach don't play," Johnson said. "So I gotta stay tight."

Former UCLA defensive coordinator Bill McGovern -- who coached linebackers in the NFL for nearly a decade prior to his time in Westwood -- died on Tuesday following a battle with cancer, his family announced.

He was 60 years old.

In a statement, UCLA officials said the longtime football coach -- who transitioned from Bruins' defensive coordinator to director of football administration earlier this year while fighting cancer -- passed away at his California home with his loved ones by his side.

"Early this morning we said goodbye to our beloved father and husband Bill after his long and difficult battle with cancer came to an end and today," the McGovern family said in revealing the sad news, "we would like to thank the entire UCLA community for all of the love and support you gave to Bill and our entire family during this very difficult struggle."

McGovern was hired by UCLA head coach Chip Kelly in 2022 ... after piling up an impressive résumé in the NFL.

From 2013 to 2019, he worked for the Eagles and Giants. In 2021, he had a role on the Chicago Bears' staff.

In his coaching career, McGovern also had stops at UMass, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Nebraska and more. He's currently on the ballot to potentially be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

High school hoops star Mikey Williams has lost his partnership with a sports technology company, TMZ Sports has learned ... one month after he was arrested in Southern California.

As we previously reported, Williams -- who committed to play for the Memphis Tigers last November -- was jailed on April 13 after authorities alleged he was involved in a shooting near his San Diego County home in March.

Lace Clips, one of the first companies to ink the basketball player to a name, image and likeness deal, told us they will no longer work with Williams after the arrest.

"We are not continuing our partnership with Mikey Williams," said Jonathan Nussbaum, the president of Lace Clips.

Nussbaum also claims that Williams wasn't holding up his end of the bargain after they gave him a multiyear contract in 2022 ... adding that their relationship was deteriorating even before his arrest.

"He is not someone that will be associated with our brand going forward," Nussbaum said.

We're told Williams' partnership with the sports tech company -- which makes wearable smart activity trackers that attach to shoes -- will cease at the end of May.

Scary moment during the LSU women's hoops team's visit to the White House on Friday -- freshman forward Sa'Myah Smith passed out during President Joe Biden's speech ... but thankfully, head coach Kim Mulkey says she's doing okay.

The incident happened just minutes ago ... when Biden was at the podium honoring the Tigers' historic NCAA title win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in April.

The White House's stream of the ceremony showed several players suddenly look toward the middle of the group as Biden spoke .. and seconds later, staffers rushed onto the stage.

The stream was quickly cut off, but the audio was still running ... and you can hear Biden say, "Folks, it's okay."

After a brief delay, the stream was live again ... and Coach Kim Mulkey provided an update on Sa'Myah's status.

"For those of you who are concerned, Sa'Myah is fine. I'll assure you of that," Mulkey said at the podium.

"She's kind of, right now, embarrassed. She doesn't want to leave. She wants to stand with us, but she needs to be checked out."

After everything calmed down, LSU star Angel Reese handed Biden and the First Lady custom Tigers jerseys ... and even gave Jill Biden a hug.

It was an interesting moment for Reese and Jill. Remember, Reese was initially hesitant about going to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave after FLOTUS showed interest in inviting Iowa as well.

Reese later changed her mind ... and said she was excited to go along with Coach Mulkey, Flau'Jae Johnson and her teammates.

In fact, Reese, Flau'jae and Mulkey pulled up with some iced-out watches ... and showed 'em off while inside the White House.

The son of legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler -- Glenn "Shemy" Schembechler -- has issued an apology ... after he stepped down on Saturday from his new role with the Wolverines following the discovery of offensive behavior on his Twitter page.

In a lengthy mea culpa released late Sunday night, Shemy admitted to being "flippant" on the social media app ... after people had found he had "liked" multiple tweets that were insensitive -- and downright racist.

Some of the tweets that Shemy had put a heart on included ones that suggested Jim Crow laws benefitted Black people.

"By inexplicably and irresponsibly liking things on social media I owe an unabashed and unequivocal apology to my hundreds of friends and fellow coaches in the Black community, all communities, the University of Michigan, my father's legacy and my family," Shemy wrote in his apology statement.

"Any words or philosophies that in any way seek to underplay the immeasurable suffering and long-term economic and social inequities that hundreds of years of slavery and the 'Jim Crow' era caused for Black Americans is wrong."

"I was wrong," he continued. "We must never sanitize morally unsanitary, historical behaviors that have hindered the Black community, or any other community. There are no historical silver linings for the experience of our brothers and sisters."

Shemy had been hired by UM on Wednesday to be its assistant director of football recruiting. But, on Saturday, Jim Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel announced he'd no longer be in that role.

"We are aware of some comments and likes on social media that have caused concern and pain for individuals in our community," the two said in a joint statement. "Michigan Athletics is fully committed to a place where our coaches, staff and student-athletes feel welcome and where we fully support the University’s and Athletic Department’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion."

Shemy's Twitter account is now deactivated.

LSU women's basketball star Flau'jae Johnson is breaking her silence on her 9/11 rap lyric controversy ... apologizing for her song -- and vowing to do better moving forward.

Johnson was initially hit with backlash earlier this month ... when she made a reference to the Twin Towers in her remix to Latto's hit, "Put It On Da Floor."

In the tune, Johnson sang, "In this 911 blowing smoke just like them towers." The bar was a double entendre -- it was a play on riding in a Porsche ... and the 2001 terrorist attack that killed more than 2,000 people.

Many on social media called her out over it all -- saying it was insensitive ... and in an Instagram story video late Thursday night, Johnson finally addressed the issue.

"I just want to come on here and let ya'll know by no means would I ever intentionally try to disrespect or offend anyone," said the 19-year-old, who has a legitimate budding rap career off the basketball court.

"My whole goal in music is to push positivity and spread love. So, in no way shape or form would I ever intentionally try to disrespect or offend anyone."

LSU previously commented on the song earlier this week, saying Johnson "expressed sincere remorse for any possibility of a misunderstanding." The school added that the song's music video has since been pulled from the internet.

Johnson -- who wasn't born until 2003 -- insisted she'll "learn from this moving forward."

"I just thank ya'll for ya'll continued support," she said.

For more, tune into the TMZ Sports Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Forget Tigers -- at least, for one evening -- LSU gymnastics star Olivia Dunne was all about a horse on Thursday night ... hoppin' on a famous one to celebrate her appearance at the ACMs!!!

Livvy had no issues whatsoever climbing on Sheriff the Bar Horse while out in Dallas for one of the biggest nights in country music ... not even changing out of her ballroom gown to enjoy the moment.

Dunne appeared to have an absolute blast on the horse ... grinning from ear to ear as photogs snapped pics of the Tigers gymnast.

As for why the animal was out at the big country music awards show -- which went down at Jerry Jones' Ford Center -- Sheriff is famous in Dallas ... constantly being seen at local hot spots and Cowboys games.

Dunne, meanwhile, seemed to enjoy the rest of the night at the show outside of the ride on Sheriff ... even snagging a pic on the red carpet with former Team USA gymnast Nastia Liukin.

Kirby Smart is clearing the air on why Georgia won't visit the White House to celebrate its second consecutive national championship ... saying there's "nothing political about it."

The Bulldogs head coach addressed the decision to forego the tradition at the Regions Celebrity Pro-Am golf tourney in Birmingham, AL on Wednesday ... saying the time frame simply doesn't work for the program because it's hosting a football camp from June 6-8.

"Tough deal timeline-wise, it didn't work," Kirby said. "Number one time for recruiting for football coaches. When you've got 600, 700 kids coming to your campus, you can't take 200 people to the White House and have no one on campus."

He added, "The time just didn't work out. Nothing political about it, but I've been before. It's very educational. It's a great experience."

Smart said the White House usually extends the invite to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave right after the national championship game winner is crowned ... but that didn't happen this time, as POTUS was hoping to have Georgia visit on June 12.

Hiccups suck. Now, imagine having them for a year.

That's exactly what the legendary Bo Jackson says he's been dealing with since July, and no one knows why, or how to get rid of them.

Yes, this is serious. The 60-year-old made the revelation Wednesday while on a local radio show, "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning," when Jackson was asked how it felt to see Auburn Tigers alumnus, Frank Thomas, receive a baseball statue outside the stadium last month.

"I wasn't there because I've been dealing with hiccups," the former Tigers superstar athlete said. "I've had the hiccups since last July."

Jackson -- who played with Thomas on the Chicago White Sox in the 90s -- says he's been trying everything to stop the hiccups ... including smelling a porcupine's behind.

"I have done everything," Jackson said. "Scare me, drink water upside down, smell an ass of a porcupine. It doesn't work!"

Funny ... but also, it sounds like an awful thing to deal with.

Jackson said doctors have been doing everything they can to figure out what the hell is causing the constant hiccupping ... and Bo says he's supposed to be getting a procedure done this week.

"I'm busy at the hospital, sitting up with doctors, poking me and shining lights down my throat and probing me every way they can to find out why I got these hiccups."

Bob Huggins has been punished for using a homophobic slur twice during a radio interview earlier this week ... getting hit with a three-game suspension and a $1 million annual salary reduction.

The news came out just minutes ago ... with WVU announcing the coaching legend will NOT lose his job over the comments, but will spend a bit of time away from the team.

The punishment also includes sensitivity training ... which will now be a requirement for all current and future coaches at the university, according to the release. On top of that, Huggins' contract has been reconstructed to a year-by-year agreement ... and he's being kept on a short leash.

"We have made it explicitly clear to Coach Huggins that any incidents of similar derogatory and offensive language will result in immediate termination," WVU prez Gordon Gee and athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement.

The $1 million that has been pulled from Huggins' checks will now be used to support the university's LGBTQ+ Center and other organizations that help marginalized communities.

Huggins will also make a donation to Xavier's Center for Faith and Justice ... as well as the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

Of course, Huggins faced a ton of backlash after referring to Xavier fans as "Catholic f**s" while speaking to Bill Cunningham on 700 WLW in Cincinnati.

Huggins apologized for his comments ... saying there is no excuse for what he said, and he would accept any punishment handed his way.

"I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt," Huggins said Monday. "I must do better, and I will."

FYI -- Huggins was making $4,150,000 a year before the punishment ... and his contract had options that ran through the 2027 season.

"We will never truly know the damage that has been done by the words said in those 90 seconds," Gee and Baker said in the joint statement. "Words matter and they can leave scars that can never be seen. But words can also heal."

Xavier president Colleen Hanycz went in on West Virginia men's basketball coach Bob Huggins for his use of homophobic slurs earlier this week ... calling his comments "repulsive" and "offensive."

Hanycz addressed Huggins' controversial radio remarks about Xavier fans during a speech at a school event on Wednesday ... and she didn't hold back.

"The deplorable, mischaracterization, and homophobic slurs directed towards our LGBTQ+ and our Catholic communities were repulsive and offensive," Hanycz said on campus.

"To those in our Xavier family who were directly targeted and harmed by these hateful words, be assured you are invaluable members of our Xavier family, and you belong here. Your presence makes us better."

Huggins found himself in hot water on Monday after he referred to Xavier fans as "Catholic f**s." The 69-year-old ultimately apologized to the Xavier, Cincinnati and West Virginia communities ... saying he was "ashamed" and "embarrassed."

Huggins -- who was reportedly handed a suspension and $1 million salary reduction by WVU as punishment -- said he was "heartbroken" over the hurt he caused by his words, and vowed to do better moving forward.

LSU is apologizing for Flau'jae Johnson's lyrics referencing the 9/11 terrorist attacks in her new rap song ... saying the hoop star never meant to offend anyone in the now-deleted music video.

The 19-year-old, 5'10" guard dropped the September 11th line in a new remix to Latto's hit, "Put It On Da Floor" ... saying "In this 911 blowing smoke just like them towers."

Of course, when Johnson says 911, it's got double meaning ... the Porsche, and the 2001 attack. The next line refers to the Twin Towers smoking before they collapsed, tragically killing over 2,000 people.

The music video has since been deleted, but not before it was captured and shared across social media platforms.

The university got word of the controversial lyrics ... and said they spoke with the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year about the remix on Tuesday.

"While she never intended to offend or upset anyone with her lyrics, she expressed sincere remorse for any possibility of a misunderstanding and immediately took the video down," LSU told FOX News in a statement.

"We will learn and grow from this experience together."

Johnson -- who wasn't born until 2003 -- has yet to release a statement herself.

Of course, Johnson -- who's signed with Roc Nation -- takes her rap career seriously. She even performed her song "BIG 4" in front of fans after the Tigers' NCAA championship win last month.

The University of Georgia football team is bucking tradition ... electing not to go to the White House after winning its second consecutive national championship in January.

The Bulldogs -- who defeated TCU in dominant fashion -- announced the decision Tuesday ... saying they received an invitation from Joe Biden and Co. last week, asking the football team to celebrate their CFB title at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave on June 12.

However, the program said the date -- almost a week before summer starts -- is "not feasible" because of the demands placed on their student-athletes during that time.

Nevertheless, the Bulldogs said they appreciate the invite and look forward to taking the White House up on the offer if the program continues rattling off titles.

FYI, the last college football team to visit the W.H. was the 2019 LSU Tigers. Alabama didn't go in 2020 because of COVID-19 protocols.

This is the second time the Bulldogs are skipping out on getting some time with the POTUS -- in 2021, Georgia elected not to visit due to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, LSU star Angel Reese and the Tigers, who defeated Iowa to win the program's first NCAA title, announced Monday they will visit the White House on May 26.

Remember, Reese initially took issue with First Lady Jill Biden after FLOTUS said Iowa should attend the White House alongside LSU ... calling the suggestion a "joke."

Denny Crum -- a two-time national championship-winning head coach for the University of Louisville basketball team -- has passed away, the school announced Tuesday.

He was 86 years old.

The Naismith Hall of Famer started his coaching career at UCLA after playing at both Los Angeles Pierce College and UCLA ... helping the Bruins win three titles as an assistant to John Wooden.

He went on to take the head coaching gig with Louisville in 1971 ... where he made 23 NCAA tournament appearances, including six Final Four berths.

Crum earned a 675-295 record before retiring in 2001 ... although he remained close to the program for years.

Current Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne released a statement on the news ... saying, "Today is a sad day for me personally, as well as the basketball world."

"My thoughts go through all the lessons that he taught, not just to me, but every player he ever came in contact with. Those lessons are still relevant today."

He added ... "We were so blessed to have him in our lives. He was a true treasure who gave so much to the university and the community. We must keep his memory alive. My prayers go out to his family and especially Susan."

Details surrounding Crum's passing were not released ... although he has been hospitalized twice over the years after suffering strokes.

Ex-NBA player John Amaechi is calling out West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins over the anti-gay comments he made earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports everyone involved in the conversation is straight-up "disgusting."

As we previously reported, Huggins used homophobic slurs during a Cincinnati radio appearance on Monday ... referring to Xavier fans as "Catholic f**s" while speaking with Bill Cunningham on 700 WLW.

Amaechi -- who came out as gay in 2007 -- got wind of what the coaching legend said ... and he believes, unfortunately, Huggins isn't the only one in a sports leadership role who would use such a term.

"I don’t know the man -- but he sounds like a dinosaur," Amaechi tells TMZ Sports. "College (and indeed pro) sports are littered with them."

But Amaechi isn't just disappointed in Huggins -- he continued to speak out against the show's hosts ... saying they "are also disgusting and to blame for egging this conversation on and calling him 'the best' after he said those words."

"It's hardly surprising that some people still think it’s OK to say these words," he added. "As to whether he should be an educator (as a coach or otherwise), I would remind people that the vociferously anti-trans and anti-gay usually sit in a constellation where many other minority groups (including Black and Brown people) are also held in contempt."

Amaechi -- who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz over the course of 5 seasons in the Association -- has become a voice for the LGBTQ+ community since coming out ... and has also built a career as a psychologist and professor at a Russell Group university.

He was recently honored for his work at an event ... where he gave a powerful monologue that actually ties in with Huggins' controversy.

"I won an award the other day from the Sports Industry, and in my acceptance speech, I talked about sports being an empty vessel that people fill with who they are -- if you imagine what this man fills his sport with, it's hard to imagine that the human outcomes will be positive, even if sporting success occurs," Amaechi says.