TMZ Sports - Page 50

Urban Meyer is shutting down shocking allegations made by one of his former Ohio State players ... who claimed the coach used a photo of Trayvon Martin to implement a "no hoodies" rule -- but the ex-coach says it's absolutely NOT true.

Marcus Williamson -- who played CB for the Buckeyes from 2017 to 2021 -- relayed the shocking story on Twitter, calling out Meyers in the process.

"My first team meeting. (True story 2017) This photo was presented to us via PowerPoint to institute our building wide rule of “no hoods” in the building," Williamson said.

But Meyer -- who coached OSU from 2012-2018 -- admits there is a rule about no hats, hoodies and shades, but adamantly denies using a Trayvon Martin photo, telling author Jeff Snook on Sunday that Williamson is way out of line.

"Our team rule was no hats or hoodies or sunglasses of any kind but only in team meetings, just so we could see their eyes and make sure they were paying attention and not asleep," Meyers said.

"We did not, and never would show a picture of Trayvon Martin. My gosh, no."

Meyer added, "I would never do that. He is crossing the line here. It seems people are just piling on now. But, that never happened."

Meyers said other OSU players can back him up on this -- in fact, former Buckeye LB Joshua Perry did just that following Williamson's allegations.

"Saw a former Buckeye brother sharing about his career last night. We can get into the free labor economy of CFB as a whole, but painting OSU as racist ain’t it," Perry said on Twitter.

"And Urban was a tough ass coach, but he always invested in us as players and people. Just a window into my experience."

Meyer won a championship with OSU in 2014 before retiring in December 2018 due to health reasons.

Then, in January 2021, Urban was hired as the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach ... but his tenure in Florida didn't last very long.

A famous Argentinian DJ claims he's been receiving death threats and nasty insults this week ... after he says fans believe he was the reason Lionel Messi came down with COVID-19.

DJ Fer Palacio -- who has over 1 million followers on Instagram -- posted a video message explaining the situation on Sunday ... saying soccer aficionados are blaming him for Messi's positive test after the two were spotted partying together late last week.

"I am a trend on Twitter because Messi tested positive for COVID-19," the DJ said.

"They relate this to me saying that I infected him. They have even called me 'murderer.' I have a lot of very bad private messages."

The 31-year-old, though, implored fans to stop ... saying it's just not possible for him to have given the soccer superstar the virus -- because he doesn't have it.

"Yesterday I got tested because I have to travel to Uruguay," he said showing a picture of a negative COVID test, "and I do not have COVID-19."

Messi, meanwhile, is isolating away from his Paris Saint-Germain team ... after the squad confirmed on Sunday he and three of his other teammates had the virus.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner appears to be in good spirits following the diagnosis ... sharing a few encouraging words at the beginning of the new year.

"I can only give thanks for everything that I had to live in this 2021," Messi said on social media. "Even more so when many people had a really bad time because of the s****y virus that never ends."

This is truly bizarre.

Antonio Brown just ripped off his jersey, ran shirtless on the field and headed for the locker room ... right in the middle of the Buccaneers' matchup against the New York Jets.

The incident happened just minutes ago ... with the 33-year-old wide receiver seemingly becoming upset on the sidelines in the third quarter as the Bucs trailed the Jets, 24-10.

Mike Evans appeared to try calming Brown down, but his efforts were unsuccessful ... as AB stripped down to just his pants and cleats and waved to the fans as he trotted through the end zone and off the field.

As it turns out, MetLife Stadium security reportedly thought AB was a streaker at first ... and initially tried to stop him before realizing he was a player.

AB had 3 catches for 26 yards before leaving the game.

Of course, Brown missed several games this season ... after the NFL said he faked his COVID-19 vaccination card.

No word from the Bucs on what happened Sunday ... but this will certainly be addressed after the game.

Here's how bad Antonio Brown's meltdown was on Sunday .... even O.J. Simpson is ripping the NFL star for his shirtless in-game antics.

Just minutes after AB threw off his jersey and pads and proceeded to quit on the Buccaneers in the middle of their game against the Jets ... O.J. took to Twitter to blast the wide receiver.

Simpson called Brown's actions "inexcusable," and then torched the 33-year-old for letting down Tom Brady.

"Playoffs are coming up," Simpson said. "And you pull this crap on a guy who really went out on a limb for you? It's total B.S. Inexcusable."

Bruce Arians clearly felt the same way ... the Tampa Bay head coach cut Brown immediately following the scene -- saying matter of factly, "He is no longer a Buc."

As for what kickstarted the on-field drama ... Arians told Peter King he wanted Brown to go into the game, but when the receiver refused -- the temper tantrum began.

Frank Gore says don't rule out seeing him back in the NFL -- 'cause the former RB told TMZ Sports he would be open to a return ... if the right Super Bowl contender called him.

"Ay, ay, I'm ready," Frank said. "Best shape I ever been," he continued. "I just weighed in at 209. Whatever team who pushing for that Super Bowl run, I'm ready to go in."

Of course, we haven't seen Gore in an NFL backfield in almost a year when he last played for the New York Jets ... but Frank made it clear that if the right team gave him a shot, he'd give it his all.

"Nah, I'm not done," Gore said. "If a Super Bowl-contending team call, I'm all in. I'm all in."

We also asked the legendary 49er his thoughts about Colts running back Jonathan Taylor -- who's been torching defenses all season -- and, well, let's just say Gore was incredibly fond of the kid's game.

"Aww man, that kid is the real deal," said Gore, "that kid is the real deal."

Frank acknowledges that quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have earned their spot in the MVP race ... but says if he had things his way, he knows who he'd vote for.

A-Rod and Kanye West have something in common -- THE DATING GAME!!!

A-Rod brought a date to The Langham Hotel in London Saturday night. Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... they arrived together at around 9:45 PM and got super cozy ... as they talked J Lo's ex put his hand on her thigh as he sipped a non-alcoholic drink.

Folks at the bar say they were not looking for attention .... in fact, at one point they moved to another part of the bar that was further away from other folks. There wasn't any kissing or hugging, but they were clearly affectionate and into each other ... so say the witnesses.

No one approached A-Rod, but some folks in the bar clearly recognized him.

A-Rod and Kanye really do have things in common -- they're both recently single, and not of their own doing. But, A-Rod and Ye seem to be moving on ... a good start to 2022.

AJ McKee has conquered the cage ... and now the Bellator champ tells TMZ Sports he wouldn't mind spending time in a ring boxing against arguably the 2 biggest combat sports athletes in the world.

Floyd Mayweather. Conor McGregor.

We talked to the 26-year-old undefeated MMA star at the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley boxing match in Tampa ... and we asked AJ about all things his combat sports career.

First, on boxing.

"I wanna test my skills against some of the best and that's why I've always called out Floyd. It's not like, 'Oh, I wanna beat Floyd.' I wanna test my skills in hand-to-hand combat with one of the best athletes in hand-to-hand combat," McKee says.

We then asked about McGregor ... and AJ says he's down to box the Irish superstar -- or anyone else.

"I'm down for anybody. If it's 145, 155, 170. In boxing, I'll go up 3 weight classes."

Of course, Floyd and Conor boxed in 2017 ... a fight Mayweather won by TKO. It was one of the biggest sports events ever. Floyd then went on to box Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and Logan Paul.

Now, about McKee's day job as Bellator champ. We asked him where he goes from here ... after beating fellow badass Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, winning the promotions 145 lb. million dollar tournament.

"I would like to be double champ," AJ says.

"Becoming double champ is definitely bucket list. Be a champ-champ and then see where the path lies after that."

But, promotions aside -- UFC, Bellator, ONE, PFL -- who's the best 145 pounder on the planet?

McKee says he's all about finding out ... if that means scrapping with guys like Brian Ortega, Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.

"Send the contract, bro. I'm gonna sign it. Cross-promotion, any promotion, backyard bully stuff. I'm just about the fight. I love to fight, outside of the money, the fame, the clout, clearly that's not what I do it for."

Jake Paul says he's willing to get inside the Octagon against Jorge Masvidal for a UFC fight -- but first, he wants Dana White to do a few things.

The YouTuber just laid out his terms and conditions for a potential bout against Gamebred ... saying he wants UFC fighters to get what he feels they deserve.

In a public post to the UFC boss, Jake wrote ... "Happy new year @danawhite. Here is a real challenge for you… I will immediately retire from boxing and fight Jorge Masvidal in the UFC if you agree to (the following)."

You can read JP's letter for yourself, but to summarize -- he's asking fighters get a $50k minimum payout fight ... as well as more of the MMA giant's yearly earnings.

Jake claims UFC generated about a billion dollars in 2021 alone -- so essentially, he's saying $500 mil should be earmarked and divvied up among the talent themselves.

There's more ... Jake wants Dana to put a focus on healthcare for fighters.

If Dana implements these asks by March 31, JP says he'll retire from boxing and come on over for a 1-fight deal with JM.

As you may know, there's been a lot of talk about a would-be fight between these two -- with Masvidal himself stoking the flames and issuing a challenge, with certain caveats.

Ball's in Dana's court now!

Maybe the biggest celebrity house sale of the year is going down in Bev Hills, because TMZ has learned Adele is about to become the owner of Sylvester Stallone's awesome estate, and she's getting it for a steal.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Adele is in escrow for Sly's massive home, tucked away inside Beverly Park -- a super-exclusive, gated community riddled with celebs.

Now get this ... our sources say Adele is paying $58 mil for the property. Yes, that's a fortune, but it was listed at $80 mil. In fact, back in February, Sly initially listed it for $110 mil but there were no takers. Multiple real estate sources tell us, $58 million for this property is, as one source put it, "an outright steal."

Sly bought the house back in the 90's ... he and others have referred to it as "The house that Rocky built."

It's got 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, a gym, sauna, steam, infinity pool, cigar room, screening room, custom bar, art studio, 2-story guest house, yada yada yada.

It's one of the largest properties in Beverly Park, sitting on 3.6-level acres with insane, jetliner views of the city below.

Now Adele owns 2 properties nearby, in the Hidden Valley area of L.A. We're told she wanted a bigger house ... and that she's getting. BTW ... remember she said she's living in L.A. because real estate in London is too expensive? Well, $58 mil ain't chump change!!!

As we reported, Sly and his fam have moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where they scooped up a massive estate for $35 mil. That house has 13,200 feet of living space, 7 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms ... all the bells and whistles.

Stallone's new neighbors now include rockers Jon Bon Jovi and Rod Stewart as well as Howard Stern.

NFL legend Dan Reeves -- who reached the Super Bowl 9 times as a player and a coach -- passed away due to complications from a "long illness," his family announced Saturday. He was 77 years old.

The former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach died peacefully and surrounded by loved ones at his home in Atlanta, the family said in a statement.

Reeves had a lengthy career on the field and sidelines -- he joined the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys in 1965 ... after a standout athletic career at South Carolina.

He played running back for America's Team for 8 seasons -- winning Super Bowl VI in 1972.

Reeves rejoined the Cowboys as an assistant coach from 1974-1980, reaching the Super Bowl 3 times and winning it all in 1978.

Reeves went on to become head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1981-1992, making 3 Super Bowl appearances with John Elway at quarterback.

Reeves later joined the New York Giants in 1993, leading them to the playoffs in his first year as head coach.

He became head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 1997, posting a 14-2 record in his second season with the team and facing off against Elway and the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.

Reeves finished with a 190-165-2 record over 23 seasons as an NFL head coach ... reaching the postseason 9 times. He was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame in 2014.

"The Denver Broncos are deeply saddened by the loss of legendary Head Coach Dan Reeves, who passed away this morning at age 77 at home in Atlanta," the team said Saturday.

"One of the winningest coaches in NFL history, Coach Reeves set the foundation for the Broncos' decade of dominance in the 1980s and championship tradition for years to come."

Reeves is survived by his wife, Pam, 3 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Two Kobe Bryant and LeBron James game-used jerseys just hit the auction block ... and TMZ Sports has learned they're so unique, they're expected to bring in over $100K apiece.

The white Bryant one is ultra-rare -- it's a "Noche Latina" Lakers uni that the Mamba wore when he played against the Bulls back in 2013.

The jersey features "Los Lakers" stitched onto the front for the Latin-themed night -- and, on the back, Bryant signed his name in white inside of the 2.

The jersey also features some significant patches -- there's a "JB" on the front to honor Jerry Buss, and there's also a "Noche Latina" emblem placed on the chest. A "Noche Latina Latin Nights" logo sits on the front tail, too.

James' jersey, meanwhile, doesn't come with an autograph ... but what makes it so unique is that it's a uniform he wore several times during his first season as a Laker.

The guys at Goldin, which is running the auctions, tell us the 37-year-old actually wore the uni for six games in the 2018-19 season -- recording three triple-doubles and a 36-point game with it on.

Both pieces are now on the auction block -- and we're told the Bryant jersey may go for $125k while James' could go up to $150k.

The Las Vegas Bowl was on the verge of an all-out brawl in the crowd, but after the punches started flying one man stomped out the fuse with a colorful threat.

Ya gotta see the video ... Arizona State fans are jawboning each other in the stands at Allegiant Stadium and the Sun Devil on Sun Devil crime escalates to some haymakers.

Then, a Wisconsin Badgers fan runs over and lays down the law ... putting his fingers in the ASU supporters' faces and telling them he'll knock them out cold if they don't cut the crap.

Folks who nearly had a front-row seat to a much bigger fight roar in approval after the Wisconsin fan silences the trash talkers ... and both fan bases bond over a "Let's Go Badgers" chant.

The Wisconsin fan saved others a headache ... we're told police and security didn't come to the section, and this all happened midway through the 4th quarter.

Francis Ngannou is known for his striking and downright scary power ... and now the UFC champ tells TMZ Sports he'd like to box a top heavyweight like Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.

We talked to the 35-year-old, 16-3 (12 KO's) UFC star ... and asked him if he still had designs on hopping to the boxing ring.

"It's always been down the line. This is something I'm not taking my eyes off of. It's gonna happen, either way. Even if, when the UFC and I finalize a deal, the boxing part has to be into it because I can't see myself retire without boxing," Francis says.

FYI, Francis has 1 fight left on his deal with Dana White's organization ... a title defense against interim champ, Ciryl Gane.

But, Ngannou isn't looking to box a tomato can ... he literally is going straight to the top for an opponent.

"Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder. I would like to test myself to that level," Francis told us.

"It's not the same sport, although I'm the champion, I'm in the top in this division. At the end of the day, it's just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs and I'm sure that if I deliver my own punch, it's pretty good, I can make some damage."

Of course, Fury -- the top heavyweight boxer in the world -- recently beat fellow great Wilder in one of the best heavyweight fights of all time.

Fury is likely to fight Dillian Whyte early next year. Wilder's next move is currently unknown. But, a Ngannou fight vs. either man would obviously be a huge event.

"Selling Sunset" star Emma Hernan has a secret connection to former NFL stud Julian Edelman ... she played matchmaker and is now his daughter's godmother!!!

Emma's the one who introduced Julian to Swedish model Ella Rose, and now that the two have a kid together, Emma's got a very important role in their lives.

Julian and Ella's daughter, Lily Rose, just celebrated her 5th birthday ... and Emma was there, of course, because she's the godmother.

The connection is 10 years in the making ... because it was about a decade ago when Emma and Ella met at an after-party for the Oscars before becoming roommates.

In fact, Emma introduced Ella to Julian -- she knew him because she has family ties to Boston and Julian, of course, played for the New England Patriots -- the rest is history.

Our sources say when Ella became pregnant with Julian's child, it was only natural for her to pick Emma as the godmother ... they were best friends after all.

Emma's super hands-on ... she was even in the delivery room with Ella when Lily was born -- she had her hand on Ella's leg during the birth.

Petra Ecclestone, the fashion designer/socialite, has filed legal docs to change the names of her 3 kids -- from her ex-husband's name to hers ... and it underscores the bitterness of their divorce.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Petra wants the last name of her three kids -- Andrew Kulbir Stunt, James Robert Frederick Stunt and Lavinia Stunt, to Ecclestone.

As for why, according to the docs, "To conform children's last name to mother's last name ... difficult in both daily life and traveling with children with a different name to mother."

The doc goes on to give another reason for the name change ... "Change and remove last name of absentee father who is subject to regular negative media and tabloid articles and criminal investigation."

The father of the 3 kids, James Stunt, is awaiting trial for money laundering, forgery and racially abusing a black police officer ... charges he has denied.

Stunt, a gold bullion dealer, and Ecclestone divorced in 2017, and it there is clearly still a lot of bad blood.

Petra, whose dad is Formula 1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone, is engaged to Sam Palmer ... they have a one-year-old daughter together.

South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer either loves mayo, or he's got a strong stomach ... as evidenced in the BUCKET of the condiment he was doused in after his team's victory.

The Gamecocks took down North Carolina 38-21 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl Thursday, and part of the victory celebration for the winning team included Beamer getting a mayo bath.

Apparently, a mass quantity of mayo can get heavy, as it took two people to lift it -- and slightly drop it -- over Beamer's head ... but he took the whole thing like a champ and with a smile on his face.

It's not the first time the Duke's Mayo Bowl has gotten some post-game-celebratory attention ... it was back in 2020 when Wisconsin took the trophy -- and then shattered it into a million pieces -- that garnered the game some big-time coverage.

This time, it's just a little less glass to tidy up, and much more mayo.