TMZ Sports - Page 31

Roman Reigns is back ... the Universal champion is officially free of COVID and is returning to Smackdown Friday night -- where he's expected to confront the newly crowned WWE champion Brock Lesnar -- TMZ Sports has learned.

Of course, Reigns and Lesnar were supposed to clash at WWE's 'Day 1' pay-per-view on New Year's Day in Atlanta ... but that didn't happen after Reigns tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the company to go in a different direction.

Lesnar ended up winning the title that night in a Fatal 5-way match ... defeating WWE superstars Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, and Big E -- the reigning champion at the time.

On a recent Monday Night Raw, Brock -- flanked by manager Paul Heyman -- had some pretty strong words for the Samoan superstar.

"Before we get this party started tonight," Lesnar said, "I'd like to give a big shoutout to my good buddy, Roman Reigns, who's probably sitting at home more than likely, tuned into Monday Night Raw, tuned into the new WWE heavyweight champion. The real champion. Brock Lesnar."

"Get well soon, buddy," Lesnar sarcastically added."

Reigns and Lesnar have been feuding for years ... fighting a total of 7 times in their storied careers. They've had 4 singles matches, 2 triple threats, and 1 fatal 4-way match ... with each guy winning 3 matches apiece.

Tennessee politician Jeremy Faison was booted from a high school basketball game earlier this week ... after he tried to pull a referee's pants down in a sideline temper tantrum.

Seriously.

Faison, a top Tennessee House Republican lawmaker, was in attendance to watch his son play in Lakeway Christian Academy's game against Providence Academy in Johnson City on Tuesday ... when he exploded over a call on the floor.

Video from the gym showed Faison was so irate with a ref over the whistle, he got in the man's face, screamed at him, and then attempted to pull his pants down.

According to the Nashville Tennessean, the ref wanted to immediately call the cops on Faison -- but fortunately for the House Republican Caucus chairman, law enforcement never arrived.

Instead, Faison was ejected from the venue.

Afterward, the politician issued a mea culpa, apologizing for his actions and calling himself a "fool."

"For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event. It’s not Christian and it’s not mature and it’s embarrassing to the child have always been my thoughts," the 45-year-old said.

"Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref. I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym."

Faison continued, "I’ve never really lost my temper for all to see, but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me. Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good. I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong."

Faison is no stranger to sports controversy -- in 2017, he was famously part of a movement to stop the Univ. of Tennessee from hiring Greg Schiano as its football coach.

The Super Bowl halftime show promises to be one of the most spectacular yet, thanks to Dr. Dre, but the stakes are high because if COVID somehow kills the show, Dre could lose millions.

As we reported, the show will be filled with huge stars, including Eminem, Snoop, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Dre is fronting most of the money necessary to pull off the event, and we're told it's in the millions of dollars.

Our sources say ... Dre has Event Cancellation Insurance to cover any calamity that might derail the halftime show. Problem is ... we're told there's an exclusion for COVID.

We've learned the pesky provision is called a Communicable Disease Exemption, and it's been around for years ... ever since SARS. But COVID is part of the Communicable Disease Exemption, which means the insurance policy will not cover Dre's losses if the show is 86'd.

The high, high likelihood is the show will go on as planned. There's cautious optimism Omicron will peak later this month ... and the Super Bowl is set for February 13th.

Even if there's an explosion of cases and the crowds are either scaled back or even eliminated, the game will go on ... similar to how it went down last year in the throes of the pandemic. The other possibility, the NFL has made it clear it wants fans in the stands, and if that can't happen at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium, the game could be moved to say, Dallas.

Antonio Brown is finally addressing the bizarre incident that ended his Bucs career ... claiming the team gave him a "powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller" and forced him to play despite knowing he had a serious ankle injury -- all leading to the moment he says head coach Bruce Arians told him "you're done!"

That's when 33-year-old AB says he removed his jersey and pads ... and walked off the Met Life football field.

"Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team," Brown said in a statement released by his attorney.

The 7x Pro Bowler continued, saying he balled until the pain got to a point where he could no longer endure it.

"I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities. On top of that, the pain was extreme. I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that."

Unfortunately for AB, he says Arians didn't care, and demanded he go back in the game.

Brown says he responded ... '"Coach, I can't.' He didn't call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, "YOU'RE DONE!" while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."

Bottom line, Brown says ... "I didn't quit. I was cut. I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."

As for the Bucs, Arians claimed he never discussed an ankle injury with Antonio.

Clearly, AB and the team have two different views as to what transpired on the field ... in what was one of the strangest and surreal moments in NFL history.

If you missed the incident ... the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers were trailing the lowly NY Jets in New Jersey Sunday afternoon.

Brown -- who'd caught 3 balls for 26 yards -- was seen engaged in a very animated conversation on the sideline with star WR Mike Evans.

Then, AB, standing only feet from his teammates, removed his jersey, pads, and t-shirt until he was bare-chested. Brown threw his shirt into the stands ... and ultimately walked through the tunnel into the locker room.

Antonio was seen calling an Uber from the front of the stadium in East Rutherford, NJ ... before taking a car to NYC.

While in Manhattan, Brown says he saw several top doctors ... and was diagnosed with a significant ankle injury.

“What they did know until now is that on Monday morning I had an urgent MRI on my ankle. It shows broken fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss, which are beyond painful. You can see the bone bulging from the outside.”

Antonio says the damage can be fixed ... but will require surgery, which he intends to have done.

As for his football future ... #81 says he plans to play again next year.

“Once my surgery is complete, I’ll be back to 100% and looking forward to next season. Business gonna be BOOMIN!"

Question is ... will there be any takers?

Sterling Shepard is saying goodbye to his man cave ... at least while his divorce from Victoria's Secret model Chanel Iman is being hashed out in court ... we've learned she'll be staying put in the family home, and he's moving his stuff out.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Chanel gets sole use of their pad in New Jersey as the divorce winds its way through the court, and he had to remove his personal items from the home, which will now occupy his bachelor pad.

Get a load of the items the New York Giants star had to pack up and ship out ... in addition to his wardrobe and bling, the haul includes his gaming systems, ping pong table, sauna, red light therapy system, all framed and loose football jerseys, plus a projection TV and couch from the basement, a computer and his KAWS dolls.

The docs say Sterling also moved out a bunch of weightlifting and other exercise equipment, but it sounds like Chanel will still be able to keep her model figure ... the Peloton treadmill and bike are staying put.

As we reported ... Sterling filed for divorce back in June after more than 3 years of marriage and 2 kids.

The docs say Sterling and Chanel want joint legal custody of their kids during the divorce proceedings ... and when Sterling plays football on the road on Sundays and can't get back to the family home by 8 PM that night, he'll pick up the kids the next morning.

While Sterling's not living at the North Caldwell marital home during the split, the docs say he will continue footing the bill for her monthly living expenses.

And, the docs say Sterling and Chanel agreed to not have any romantic third parties spend the night when they're parenting.

Forget plaques and record books ... Derrick Henry has found a new way to show off his legendary football resume -- an insane iced-out diamond chain!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Tennessee Titans star RB wanted to turn all of his pigskin accomplishments -- starting from high school -- into some bling for his 28th birthday this week.

So, he hit up celebrity jeweler Ali The Ice Champ in Dallas ... and the dude delivered the amazing piece in time for Henry's cake day this week.

The bling is awesome -- it features a huge 6.5-inch "Y" pendant that represents Henry's days at Yulee High School in Florida. The pendant also features a little VS1 diamond-infused Heisman Trophy to immortalize the award that Henry won back in 2015.

On the chain, Ali tied together logos of the Yulee Hornets, Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Titans ... and then he added several beads to represent some of Henry's historical football moments.

We're told some of those feature a diamond 12K bead for his 12,124 rushing yards in high school that set a national record as well as a diamond 2K bead for his 2,000 rushing yards in the Titans' 2020 season.

Ali -- whose clients range from Ezekiel Elliott to Post Malone -- tells us that Henry's one-of-a-kind necklace carries 100 carats of VS1 E-F color diamonds and has over half a kilo of gold.

No word on what it all cost the King ... but Henry's made over $30 million in his NFL career, so he's certainly got the cash to spoil himself.

Kyrie Irving is finally back with the Brooklyn Nets -- the star guard just made his first on-court appearance of the season Wednesday night ... and his presence was met with a mixed reaction from the crowd.

Uncle Drew was introduced over the PA just minutes before tip-off against the Indiana Pacers ... and while some fans showed support for the point guard, others voiced their frustrations.

Of course, Irving's return is such a big deal -- he hasn't played a single game with the Nets this season as he remained sidelined for his refusal to get vaccinated.

The Nets initially played hardball with KI ... telling him to stay home if he refused to get the jab and be forced to sit out home games and select away games due to vaccine mandates.

But after several players on the roster went down with COVID-19, the Nets made an exception for Kyrie to bring him back for whatever games he can get into.

Despite a 23-12 team record, Brooklyn has dropped its last three games ... so Kyrie's return comes at a good time for a struggling Nets team.

Novak Djokovic isn't in the clear to play in the Australian Open just yet -- Prime Minister Scott Morrison is now demanding the tennis star show proof of his COVID vax medical exemption when he lands Down Under, or he'll be "on the next plane home."

Morrison made the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday ... saying government officials will not treat Djokovic differently than any other person entering the country -- even if the tennis player has already said he has received a valid exemption to the COVID rules.

"We await his presentation and what evidence he provides us to support that," Morrison said to reporters. "If that evidence is insufficient, then he won't be treated any different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home."

Morrison continued, "There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever."

As we previously reported, Aussie Open officials granted Djokovic -- the No. 1-ranked men's tennis player in the world -- a medical exemption earlier this month ... and Djokovic was pumped for the news.

The Serbian star wrote on his social media page on Tuesday that he was now headed to Australia to defend his tournament title ... showing a photo of him at an airport.

Morrison, though, said the dude better come with the proper paperwork, adding, "The issue is whether he has sufficient evidence to support that he would qualify for that exemption."

Australian Open officials said earlier this week that Djokovic's application "was granted following a rigorous review process" ... insisting he received no special treatment.

The tournament is slated to begin in less than two weeks on Jan. 17.

Aaron Rodgers just unloaded on a reporter who said the QB does not deserve the MVP award this year ... calling the journalist "an absolute bum."

The Packers superstar ripped Chicago media member Hub Arkush for nearly two minutes on a conference call Wednesday -- just 24 hours after the reporter said Rodgers isn't his 2021 MVP because he's a "jerk."

"I think he’s a bum," Rodgers said of Arkush. "I think he’s an absolute bum."

"He doesn’t know me. I don't know who he is. No one knew who he was probably until yesterday’s comments."

If you missed it, Arkush said Rodgers wouldn't get his MVP vote this year because of the quarterback's COVID vaccine drama and his offseason gripe with Packers brass.

"I don’t think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team, and your organization and your fan base the way he did and be the Most Valuable Player," Arkush said on Chicago's 670 The Score.

Rodgers clearly wasn't happy to hear the comments ... saying, "His problem isn't with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league 'cause he doesn't know me."

"His problem is I'm not vaccinated."

FYI, the NFL's MVP is selected by 50 voters, including Arkush -- and it's supposed to be based solely on players' performances during the regular season. Rodgers is favorite to win it this year, despite Arkush's opinion.

For his part, Arkush actually apologized for his comments earlier Wednesday -- but not for blasting Rodgers. He said he's sorry for simply disclosing his voting plans.

A youth basketball player's father has been charged with felony assault ... after video captured him barreling over a ref during his son's game last month.

Prosecutors in King County, WA. tell TMZ Sports ... 31-year-old Mark McLaughlin has been hit with one count of assault in the second degree after they say he violently knocked over a referee in a Dec. 16 altercation, causing serious injuries to the official.

According to court documents, authorities say McLaughlin became so enraged after refs touched his son following an on-court incident at a middle school basketball game ... he ran onto the floor and forcefully shoved one of the officials to the ground.

Video of the alleged incident, filmed by a fan in the stands, showed how the scene played out ... and it's disturbing.

The footage allegedly shows McLaughlin, who prosecutors say is 6 feet 6, 215 pounds, racing in from the bleachers and walloping one of the refs.

In the video, you can see the ref hit the floor hard -- and needed help getting up while the suspect stormed out of the venue.

In the court docs, officials say it took nearly an hour and a half for the ref's face to stop bleeding ... and say he was ultimately diagnosed with a broken nose and a broken cheekbone after he was checked out at the hospital.

McLaughlin was booked into jail on Dec. 17 and posted bail on Dec. 18, according to prosecutors. He pled not guilty to the charge at a court hearing on Monday morning.

Raiders rookie Nate Hobbs will likely return to the football field against the Chargers on Sunday ... less than a week after he was arrested for DUI.

Las Vegas interim head coach Rich Bisaccia updated the media on Hobbs' status Wednesday ... saying based on what the team knows at this time, the 22-year-old will not be punished prior to the Week 18 matchup.

"We take [the arrest] extremely serious, organizationally and certainly within our team," the coach said. "Based on what we've learned at this time, we expect Nate to play."

"It's a legal matter, and other than that I really have nothing else. We'll leave it at that."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Hobbs was arrested after cops say he was found passed out behind the wheel of his car parked in the exit ramp of a Vegas hotel early Monday morning.

Hobbs' attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, addressed the arrest ... saying, "The facts and circumstances related by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to the news media leave serious concerns that this does not qualify as a DUI under Nevada law."

It's a surprising move by the team, especially when Hobbs' former teammate, Henry Ruggs, was charged with 2 counts of felony DUI after he was accused of driving drunk and crashing his Corvette into the vehicle of 23-year-old Tina Tintor, who burned to death after her Rav4 caught fire, according to officials.

Former Indianapolis Colts LB Gary Brackett is putting his Super Bowl XLI and AFC Championship rings up for auction ... all to rake in some cash after being forced to file bankruptcy 'cause COVID destroyed his small business.

Brackett -- who played for the Colts from 2003-2011 -- won his only Super Bowl ring in 2007 alongside Peyton Manning after the Colts defeated the Bears, 29-17.

Gary's SB ring will go up for bids during the Ripley Auctions Super Sports & Entertainment Sale ... which is scheduled to take place Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

"This auction gives buyers an incredible opportunity to own the pinnacle of achievement in professional sports, a genuine, player-issued Super Bowl ring," Dan Ripley, owner of Ripley Auctions, says.

"The fact that both rings in our auction were won by one of the most popular Indianapolis Colts players ever, Gary Brackett, makes them even more special."

Of course, Brackett's ring is expected to fetch some serious value -- the ring is one of about 70 produced in total that were issued to players on the Colts roster at the time of their Super Bowl win.

Since retiring from the NFL at age 31, Brackett ventured into the restaurant industry ... where he owned the Stacked Pickle restaurant, which had nine locations in Indiana and one in Ohio.

Sterling Shepard and Chanel Iman are dunzo -- the NFL receiver has filed for divorce from the Victoria's Secret model, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

No word on what caused the split ... but we've confirmed the New York Giants star filed docs on June 7, 2021 to officially kickstart the process of ending their marriage.

The former couple first met at Victor Cruz's 30th birthday party back in 2016 ... and started dating shortly after.

They were practically inseparable ... going on lavish vacations in paradise with friends like Saquon Barkley and Baker Mayfield and their significant others.

28-year-old Shepard and Iman, 31, got married back in March 2018 ... and had their first child, Cali, that August.

They welcomed their second child, Cassie, in December 2019.

The clues were on social media for months -- both sides have scrubbed each other from their Instagram accounts ... while still posting pics of their kids regularly.

NASCAR just put a stop to Brandon Brown's anti-Joe Biden car sponsorship ... rejecting the driver's deal with the "Let's Go Brandon" crypto company.

The racing org. has yet to confirm the decision ... but Brown's Brandonbilt Motorsports team was highly upset with the call, releasing a lengthy statement on Wednesday.

"NASCAR did not speak with Brandonbilt Motorsports prior to making their decision to rescind the approval and multiple attempts to set-up a conversation to address this matter went unacknowledged," the team said ... adding it went through all proper protocols to get the A-OK from the org. before Brown's new car debuted last week.

"We are disappointed that NASCAR leadership has chosen to rescind approval of this sponsorship and feel they should have the confidence to own their decision to backtrack and not gaslight a team or a driver."

As we previously reported, Brown -- whose name inspired the infamous "Let's Go Brandon" chant -- struck a deal last month with LGBcoin.io, which clearly took its name from the viral moment.

But, the deal was a bit of a head-scratcher, considering NASCAR decided it would not allow any "Let's Go Brandon" related sponsorships after the meme spread like wildfire in November.

Brandon's team also took a shot at NASCAR's leadership for putting them in an "awkward position" ... essentially saying Brown's getting screwed over.

The Chicago Blackhawks game against the Jets was postponed last Wednesday, so players Caleb Jones and Connor Murphy attempted to have a nice dinner ... but while in the restaurant, thieves allegedly stuck up the valet and jacked both players cars, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us 24-year-old Jones and 28-year-old Murphy were having dinner just blocks from the United Center on December 29 around 8 PM. We're told while the men were inside, thieves approached the valet and stuck an unknown object in their back, demanding the car keys.

Murphy's 2017 Porsche Panamera and Jones' 2021 Jeep Trackhawk were both taken. When new, the Panamera runs about $100K+ ... and the Trackhawk, $90K+.

Chicago police are currently investigating the alleged crimes.

It's unclear if Jones and Murphy were targeted ... or if the theft was random.

As for the player's careers ... Caleb, a defenseman, was the 117th overall pick (Edmonton Oilers) in the 2015 NHL Draft. He's played in 11 games for the Blackhawks this season ... his first with the organization.

Caleb comes from an athletic family. His brother Seth Jones is also a member of the Blackhawks ... and his dad is former NBA player, "Popeye" Jones.

Connor, also a defenseman, was the 20th overall pick of the Coyotes in 2011. He's played in 29 games for the team this season.

We reached out to the Blackhawks ... but so far, no word back.

Corey Gamble looks like he's got Tristan Thompson's back amid all the Khloe Kardashian drama ... because he's got a jersey with Tristan's name on the back.

Kris Jenner's boyfriend was leaving Tuesday's Lakers and Kings game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles when he whipped out a Thompson No. 13 jersey from a bag he was holding. It was game-worn too -- Tristan handed it to him at the end of the game.

Corey made a point of showing the Kings jersey to the paparazzi ... sending the message that he's supporting Tristan in the middle of a very rough week for the NBA star -- which is kinda surprising.

CG and TT have run in the same circles for years with the Kardashians ... so there's a history here -- but, let's face it, Corey's loyalty has gotta be with Kris, and it's hard to imagine she's too happy with Tristan right now.

As you know ... Tristan revealed Monday he fathered a child with Maralee Nichols, and promptly apologized to Khloe, who he was publicly dating last year when Nichols got pregnant.

Tristan also delivered a bouquet of roses to True ahead of his apology to her mother.

So far, the Kardashians have yet to publicly respond to Tristan's confession and apology -- but Corey's sending a strong message by heading home with TT's jersey.