TMZ Sports - Page 50

One of the groups getting $200k from Meek Mill is getting blasted for a 2016 photo of its founder cutting a young man's locks -- but the kid himself says it's much ado about nothing.

The pic was tweeted by Crushers Club -- a Chicago youth empowerment group -- almost 3 years ago, and shows Sally Hazelgrove cutting the locks of a teen named Kobe. Someone on the Internet dug up the tweet after TMZ broke the story ... Meek would be donating money to Crushers Club.

The social media backlash is focused on the imagery -- a white woman cutting Kobe's locks -- and Sally's caption, "It's symbolic of change and their desire for a better life." People who are critical think it reeks of cultural insensitivity.

Kobe himself, though, says the critics have it all wrong. Once the Internet outrage began, he quickly posted a video explaining that HE wanted to cut his hair. "That's something I wanted to do because I was tired of it. Tired of gang banging, tired of messing up. Now, I'm a changed young man."

Meek Mill clearly agrees with Kobe when it comes to the work Crushers Club is doing for Chicago's at-risk youth. Meek is in the Windy City -- for his NFL Kickoff concert with Meghan Trainor and Rapsody -- and also to donate the $200k to Crushers.

We reached out to Hazelgrove and she echoed Kobe's statement -- that she was only cutting his hair at his request.

One source involved in Thursday's event said the attacks on Hazelgrove -- who's worked tirelessly for Chicago kids -- came off as reverse racism. Criticism aside ... the event and the donation are going forward as scheduled.

Drew Brees says he's NOT anti-LGBTQ -- despite working with an organization that opposes same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback recently appeared in a video to promote "Bring Your Bible to School Day" which was part of a campaign by a group called Focus on the Family.

In the 22-second video, Brees advises kids to "share God's love with friends" -- he makes no mention of same-sex marriage at all.

But, some people were furious that Brees would agree to work with Focus on the Family in ANY capacity considering the group's position on homosexuality.

According to Queerty.com, FOTF "supports gay conversion therapy and religious freedom laws, believes trans people are deranged, says anti-bullying groups promote homosexuality, and has lobbied for legislation allowing anti-gay workplace discrimination."

Now, Brees is responding to the backlash in a new video saying he's NOT homophobic and respects all people no matter their sexual orientation.

"There's been a lot of negativity spread about me in the LGBTQ community recently based upon an article that someone wrote with a very negative headline, that I think led people to believe that somehow I was aligned with an organization that was anti-LGBTQ and so on and so forth," Brees said.

"I'd like to set the record straight, I live by two very simple Christian fundamentals and that is love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. And, love your neighbor as yourself."

"I think the first one is very self-explanatory. The second one, love your neighbor as yourself, what does that mean?"

"It means, love all, respect all and accept all. So, that is actually how I live my life. That is what I try to do with my family, with my teammates, with people in my community, with my friends, all people. No matter your race, your color, your religious preference, your sexual orientation, your political [views]."

Ezekiel Elliott is making sure a whole lot of people eat after he got his chunk of Jerry Jones' pie ... telling reporters Thursday he's donating $100,000 to the Salvation Army!!!

Zeke just got a brand new 6-year, $90 MILLION contract from Jerry and the Cowboys ... and he just said at a press conference he'll be giving away a portion of it to help the needy in Dallas.

"In my time here in Dallas, I've formed a really good relationship with the Salvation Army," Zeke said ... "And, I wanted to pledge $100,000 to help them build their new facility to help support the people of need in Dallas."

Elliott's had a long -- and funny -- history with the Salvation Army since he joined the Cowboys ... remember, he famously hopped in the red kettle after scoring a TD back in 2016.

Then, of course, he followed that celebration up with a donation into the red kettle after scoring another TD in 2018!!!

Overall, Zeke's helped the Salvation Army raise thousands of dollars in his 3 years as a Cowboy ... but, clearly, he doesn't think that's enough -- and is throwing in more to the pot now.

NFL legend Mike Ditka knows exactly how he would handle the Antonio Brown drama if he were running things in Oakland ... "I would say, 'hello, goodbye.' I would wish him the best."

Yep, Ditka tells TMZ Sports he thinks the relationship between AB and the Raiders is irreparably broken and at this point it would be best for both sides to simply part ways.

"I don't know Antonio Brown but I think somebody gave him some bad advice," Ditka says ... "The Raiders and [Jon Gruden] don't need that kind of a headache."

Ditka says he knows AB is one "hell of a football player" -- but notes, "One man doesn't make the team. One man can make the team a lot better ... no man is bigger than the team."

As for reports that Brown threatened to "hit" general manager Mike Mayock in the face during a heated altercation this week, Ditka says ... "You don't want that on your football team."

Ditka left us with this note ...

Antonio Brown might wanna watch his back ...

O.J. Simpson is pretty upset with the Raiders WR -- claiming Brown's drama in Oakland is really putting a damper on his fantasy football team.

"I've been in tears," the convicted felon said in a new video ... "What's going on, Antonio Brown?!"

"I drafted Andrew Luck and 20 minutes later he retired. I drafted you, Antonio, because I admire your game."

Simpson even laid a GUILT TRIP on Brown -- saying thousands of people are depending on AB to take the field.

"Look man, play ball. Cash them big-ass checks that you're getting and move on, man. Stop with all of this drama."

Just suspend, baby.

The Oakland Raiders are about to put Antonio Brown on ice -- after the superstar WR "got into it" with general manager Mike Mayock ... so says ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"The Next Chapter: Antonio Brown and GM Mike Mayock got into it Wednesday, and the team is now planning to suspend its star wide receiver, league sources tell ESPN."

It's obvious what's happening here ... Mayock fined Brown roughly $54,000 for missing team workouts in August.

Brown posted the disciplinary letter from the Raiders on social media and said the team was "hating" on him.

Clearly, Mayock and the Raiders didn't take kindly to the public attack which apparently led to the confrontation between AB and Mayock.

Schefter elaborated ... "Antonio Brown posted the fine letter on social media that Raiders’ GM Mike Mayock sent him. It led to an exchange, which is now leading to further discipline. This is not going away anytime soon."

Mayock had expressed displeasure with Brown for missing practices while dealing with his helmet issue -- after the league told AB he couldn't use his old helmet because it didn't pass the NFL's safety protocol.

Brown had also missed time dealing with foot issues after he suffered extreme frostbite from a cryogenic chamber mishap.

Adjust your fantasy football roster accordingly ...

Sacramento Kings star Buddy Hield has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for Hurricane Dorian relief -- and the first BIG check just came from his head coach, Luke Walton.

Hield -- a native of the Bahamas -- announced his campaign on Wednesday to help relief efforts in his home country. Dorian hasn't just wreaked havoc on buildings and homes, at least 20 people have been killed so far with numbers expected to rise.

Enter Hield, who's channeling JJ Watt ... and doing his best to get money to people in need.

Not only is the Kings hooper encouraging people to donate, he's contributed $100k of his own to get the ball rolling on the campaign.

"I personally know many people who still need rescuing, and there are thousands without medical help, power, food, or other basic necessities," Hield says. "Bahamians are a strong people, but they still need our help to get them through this."

"Together, our donations can help restore hope, life, and basic human needs to these battered areas."

Walton got involved to help out his player's cause on Wednesday ... making a $10,000 donation on the campaign page.

Hield's goal is to raise $1 million ... and has raised nearly $50k so far.

Jemele Hill says Marcellus Wiley took the debate on Colin Kaepernick to "an ignorant place" by insinuating Kap isn't Black enough to lead the charge on social justice.

We got Hill at LAX and asked her about Wiley's recent appearance on Van Lathan's 'Red Pill Podcast' where Wiley said he thought Kaepernick was wrong for kneeling in the first place.

Hill said Wiley -- who who she considers a friend -- is entitled to his opinion on Kap's protest, but is NOT entitled to question the QB's status as a member of the African-American community.

"My only disappointment in what Marcellus said is that he pivoted the conversation to kind of an ignorant place."

"Reasonable minds can differ, so if we have a difference of opinion that's totally fine. Just don't pivot it to an ignorant place where we're talking about somebody's blackness."

Jemele is talking about a specific statement Wiley made on his FS1 show, "Speak For Yourself," where he said Kaepernick didn't have a connection to the black struggle, because he's a mixed race and his adopted family is white.

Hill thinks that type of criticism is totally out of bounds, and actually hurtful to the black community overall.

"Whenever we start having a who's blacker than who conversation, that's when we get into trouble."

We also asked Hill if she thinks we'll ever see Kap back in the NFL and she says definitely "No" -- explaining why Donald Trump effectively put an end to his pro football career.

Don't get it twisted, Hill is ADAMANT Kap has the talent to play in the league -- but thinks there are too many "cowardly" owners who are afraid to go up against POTUS.

UFC superstar Tyron Woodley says his hand is just about healed up and he's ready to punch faces again -- telling TMZ Sports he expects to get back in the Octagon before the end of the year.

Woodley was supposed to fight Robbie Lawler on June 29 -- but had to pull out because his hand was still jacked up from a previous fight.

But, good news! Woodley says "I'm good now" -- and he's working with the UFC to line up his next opponent.

"They offered me a couple of fights the last couple days so you should see me in there pretty soon."

Tyron wouldn't name potential opponents -- but said he's still gunning to get a rematch with Kamaru Usman, who defeated him back in March to win the UFC welterweight belt.

"I want my belt back. That's the fight I want the most."

Besides Kamaru, the top names in Tyron's division are guys like Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards ... which would all be great fights.

In the meantime, Tyron says he's training his ass off -- and gunning to work with legends like Georges St-Pierre and the Diaz Brothers.

"If I'm not gonna fight them ... why not train with them?"

The baseball doesn't fall too far from the tree in the Freddie Freeman household ...

Here's 2-year-old Charlie Freeman CRUSHING Wiffle balls in the Atlanta Braves slugger's house ... and check out the kid's amazing swing!!!

Of course, Freddie is a lefty with some of the most pop in the entire MLB ... but his son is growing up a righty -- and seems he's definitely on track to follow in Dad's footsteps regardless.

The video -- which was posted by Freeman's wife, Chelsea, on Freddie's off day with the fam on Wednesday -- is impressive, but it ain't a one-time thing ... Chelsea throws up vids of Charlie crushing balls all the time!!!

Charlie is super adorable after blasting the taters ... you can see in the vid he goes over to the living room coffee table to make sure all his toys celebrate his homers with him! It's adorable.

The Freemans are a super tight-knit family ... Freddie flies home on his off days to hang with Chelsea and Charlie all the time ... with Chelsea writing back in 2017, "I'm pretty sure he is the best daddy in the world!!!"

Brett Favre believes in his Green Bay Packers -- telling TMZ Sports they're gonna "surprise a lot of people" this season and WIN the NFC North!!!!

The Hall of Famer knows there's been a lot of changes with his squad over the past year, but the most important component is Aaron Rodgers ... and Favre is a STRONG believer.

But, how will Rodgers get along with new head coach Matt LaFleur?

"It will be interesting to see how the dynamics work as the season unfolds," Favre says.

"I don't know much about LaFleur, he may be a great coach, might be a great guy, I don't know ... I don't know him, it's not my place to say anything in regards to that."

"But, I do know Aaron. And, the reason they've been in contention year in and year out is because of him ... and you don't want to restrict even though, supposedly, the offense has changed to a certain extent. We will see. We'll see how that plays out this whole season."

There's been talk that LaFleur is taking away Aaron's ability to call audibles at the line of scrimmage ... but Favre thinks that would be a mistake.

"We'll see how much freedom is granted towards Aaron and rightfully so. He deserves to play and just to do what he does best."

As for the 2019 Packers, Favre says the most important thing is to "find their identity again ... and I know it rests with Aaron Rodgers."

And, when they get clickin', Favre says the sky's the limit.

"I think they may surprise a lot of people ... I tend to think that they'll slip in there and win the division."

Of course, they'll have to start by defeating the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football -- a game Favre is so excited about, he agreed to promote it with the help of the Bears' superfans from 'SNL.'

Dana White says BJ Penn will never fight in the UFC again after brawling in the street in Hawaii -- advising the Hall of Famer that he needs to get his personal life in order.

"He wont fight again. That's it. That's a wrap" White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

TMZ Sports broke the stories ... 40-year-old Penn has been at the center of TWO street fights in Hawaii over the past few months. Most recently, he got knocked out in a slug fest outside the Lava Shack on the Big Island in a fight captured on video.

So, was the Lava Shack fight the last straw for Dana?

"It's not even that this was the last straw, it's ... I didn't love him continuing to fight anyway, but when you have the relationship that he and I have and he's getting me on the phone begging me for another fight, begging me for another opportunity, it's hard for me to turn him down."

"But, after what I saw on that video, BJ needs to ... he needs to focus on his personal life, get himself together before he worries about fighting again."

Penn is on a 7-fight losing streak in the UFC -- but Dana had said he would let Penn take one last fight against Nik Lentz later this year. Clearly, that's not happening now.

As for BJ, he claims he was NOT the aggressor in either Hawaii street fight -- and insists he was trying to DIFFUSE the situation outside the Lava Shack before things escalated.

"What I saw in that video was sad," White added ... "And, I love the kid and I hope he gets his life together."

Ric Flair believes the WWE is ripping him off -- using the phrase The Man without his permission ... and now he's threatening legal action.

Flair says he's been referring to himself as The Man since 1981 -- and even holds the trademark for his famous catchphrase, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."

The problem ... one of WWE's biggest stars -- Becky Lynch -- has been referring to herself as The Man over the past year and the nickname has become a huge hit with fans.

Ric tells TMZ Sports ... he was trying to work out an amicable, private agreement with WWE where they would pay him to allow Becky to continue to use the name, but WWE blew him off.

In fact, Ric says he escalated the situation to WWE executive, Triple H ... but they still couldn't reach an agreement. So, on August 26, he filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to own the term, The Man, specifically as it relates to pro wrestling.

Now, Ric says the WWE is pissed at him for making the move -- and it's caused a rift between himself and his daughter Charlotte Flair, a current WWE superstar herself.

Flair says he has NO beef with Becky Lynch -- and supports the WWE's women's division -- but business is business and he wants what he believes he's rightfully owed.

Ric says if the USPTO grants him the trademark, he'll happily let Becky use it ... as long as WWE pays him -- because "I want it to take care of my family."

And, if he doesn't get paid, Ric says he's willing to explore his legal options to force WWE's hand.

During our conversation, Ric emotionally explains why the most important thing to him is making sure the people he loves -- especially his wife, Wendy Barlow -- are financially secure after he dies ... and that's why he's willing to fight for The Man.

"When I almost died two years ago, one person stayed by me [Wendy]. The whole time -- 31 days in the ICU, 12 days while I was dying on a respirator -- and I'm gonna take care of her, and her family, and my family that has taken care of me no matter what."

Jon Gruden's loss could be Vince McMahon's gain ... 'cause "Last Chance U" star Ronald Ollie is getting an invite to join the XFL.

Ollie became a fan favorite on the Netflix docuseries ... which followed the East Mississippi Community College football team for the first 2 seasons.

The guy clearly has talent ... he showed that on 'LCU' and went on to ball out at Nicholls State from 2016-2018, earning 13.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries.

Ollie earned a Southland All-Conference honorable mention in 2018 ... which was enough to land him an invite to Oakland Raiders training camp earlier this season.

But, the 'Chance' star is getting another chance if he wants it ... 'cause XFL commissioner Oliver Luck has formally extended an invitation for Ollie to join the new league's player draft pool.

BTW -- Some notable ex-NFLers have already accepted their invite -- from Ryan Mallett to Landry Jones.

The 23-year-old's brief stint on the Raiders was documented on HBO's "Hard Knocks" ... which showed him skipping medical meetings and getting cut very quickly.

U.S. doubles tennis star Mike Bryan pretended to load his racket like a gun and shoot a line judge over an incorrect call ... and the guy was fined $10,000 for the gesture.

It all went down Sunday at the U.S. Open ... when Bryan challenged an "in" call during his doubles match against Federico Delbonis and Roberto Carballés Baena.

Turns out, Bryan was right to protest -- the replay showed the ball was out -- and as part of his celebration for the successful challenge, he pointed his racket at a line judge and pretended to shoot.

Bryan was immediately hit with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct ... with chair umpire Mariana Alves telling him, "I don't think that was appropriate."

The U.S. Open later fined 41-year-old Bryan $10k ... with U.S. Tennis Association spokesman, Brendan McIntyre, telling the New York Times, "We thought it warranted that amount."

When contacted about the gesture and the fine by the NY Times ... Bryan released a statement apologizing for the act.

"We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful. But, given the recent news and political climate I understand how my gesture could be viewed as insensitive."

Bryan added, "I promise that I will never do anything like this again."

Lonzo Ball is admitting he KNEW his $500-per-pair Big Baller Brand ZO2 Prime sneakers were faulty -- and would explode on him during games -- but he continued to hawk 'em anyway.

"Those ZO2s I was playing in, they was not ready," Ball admitted on Josh Hart's 'LightHarted' Podcast.

Ball -- who was playing for the Lakers during the BBB shoe era -- says he would bring 4 pairs of the shoes to games because he knew they would break and he had to switch them out every quarter.

"If you literally had my shoes from those games, they just exploded, bro."

If you recall, BBB initially offered the ZO2 Prime shoes to the public for $500 a pair in 2017 -- but later announced they were scrapping the original design in favor of the ZO2 Prime Remix shoe, a completely different sneaker.

It seems obvious now why BBB made the change. Unclear if any of the faulty shoes were actually sent to customers.

When asked why he wore them -- even after he knew they were defective -- Ball explained, "Because they were my shoes, I had to debut 'em."

Ball says he actually HATED wearing the shoes and implied that his game suffered as a result.

"And, it's crazy," Ball says ... "Right when I switched my shoes, magically, I got good again."

Ball says he kept the secret about his crappy shoes to himself to protect the brand.

Things eventually went south with the Big Baller Brand -- with Lonzo's manager later telling customers to throw their shoes in the trash ... and Lonzo himself eventually covered up the BBB tattoo he had on his arm.

Still, LaVar Ball claims the brand is still alive and he's looking to relaunch at some point in the future.