TMZ Sports - Page 22

Michigan has agreed to a $490 million settlement with more than a thousand accusers who claim former sports doctor Robert Anderson sexually assaulted them at the school ... the university confirmed Wednesday.

Anderson -- who worked at the university from 1966 until his 2003 -- was accused of fondling and raping athletes over his decades-long career under the guise of "medical treatment."

Anderson served as head of University Health Service ... and was the team physician for the UM Athletic Dept. He retired from the university in 2003 and died in 2008.

Over the course of the past 2 years, many athletes and other students have come forward with their stories ... and an independent investigation determined the university failed to act on the claims during Anderson's time at Michigan.

Attorney Parker Stinar -- who represented many accusers -- spoke out on the settlement, saying, "I am proud to announce that a settlement was reached with the 1,050 survivors of Robert Anderson and the University of Michigan."

"It has been a long and challenging journey, and I believe this settlement will provide justice and healing for the many brave men and women who refused to be silenced."

Like Novak Djokovic, Kelly Slater could also find himself barred from competing in Australia this year if he's COVID unvaccinated ... a high-ranking Australian government official announced this week.

The surfing legend hasn't said publicly if he's gotten the shots or not -- but after leaving anti-vax rhetoric in a recent social media post, the speculation is that Slater is, indeed, unvaxxed.

And, according to Australian Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, if that's the case -- Slater has "no chance of getting into the country" to surf in upcoming major events Down Under.

Colbeck made the comments to The Age, saying the 49-year-old can apply for an exemption like Djokovic did. But, he insisted no preferential treatment would be given to Slater just because he's a surf legend, and he could end up facing a similar fate as Djokovic if he goes down that path.

"I reckon he knows the rules. It doesn't matter whether you're a surfer, or a tennis player, a tourist or anyone else, those are the rules. They apply to everyone," Colbeck said.

"I don't like the chances of him competing in Victoria, and I'd hate to think of what the chances were of him competing in Western Australia."

The World Surf League has two big events in Australia slated for April.

Slater, meanwhile, ripped the Djokovic Australia COVID vaccine saga earlier this month on social media ... writing "Maybe Stockholm Syndrome can now change its name to Melbourne/Australia Syndrome."

"It's sad to see the celebrated division by the 'virtuous' vaccinated," Slater added. "If you're vaccinated why are you concerned/worried about anyone else's status...unless, of course, it doesn't protect you?"

Pete Rose has a shocking revelation ... and no, this time it's not what you think -- the all-time MLB hits leader claims he was much better at football than he was at baseball.

Rose made the comments on Rob Gough's brand new podcast, "Talking to Titans With Rob Gough" show (entire convo can be heard here) ... telling the host that his father -- who was a great football player himself -- was the reason he was a far superior football athlete than baseball star.

"Back in the '40s, '50s and '60s, that's all we had to do was sports," Rose said. "We didn't have the iPads, we didn't have the computers, we didn't have the iPhones. We didn't have none of that stuff."

"We had sports and I was a three-sport player but, to be honest with you, I was a much better football player than I was a baseball player because of my dad."

It's a pretty shocking statement ... especially considering Rose would be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame had it not been for his gambling controversy.

Pete says growing up, he simply wasn't into school ... but that he did well enough so he could remain eligible to play.

However, looking back, Rose -- who almost attended the University of Tennessee -- said if he knew then what he knows now ... he'd have put more emphasis on his education.

"If I was growing up, I would have been a ding dong," Pete said, "Because I just didn't give a darn about school ... I just went to school and got your grades enough to stay eligible."

"But if I was playing today in high school, I'd probably try to get really good grades knowing what's ahead of ya as far as going to college. We didn't worry about going to college back in the '50s and early '60s."

Rose -- who spent 7 seasons as a manager for the Cincinnati Reds -- had a message for kids who might have the same feelings towards school as he did when he was younger.

NBA referees just called out Dak Prescott -- pressuring the league to take action against the Cowboys QB after he praised fans who threw objects at officials after the playoffs game with the 49ers.

If you missed it ... Cowboys fans were pissed over the controversial ending to the wildcard game (Dallas lost 23-17) on Sunday ... which abruptly ended their season.

Of course, Dallas fans blame the refs for the L -- since the ump wasn't able to spot the ball with enough time for Dak to get a snap off and clock the ball ... leaving time for one last play in the end zone.

After the game, reporters asked the Dallas Cowboys QB about fans throwing stuff ... and he simply replied, "Credit to them. Yeah, credit to them."

Well, the NBA referees (NBRA) feel some type of way about it ... and called him and the league out.

"The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials," the National Basketball Referees Association said via Twitter on Tuesday.

"As an NFL leader, he should know better."

The NBRA added, "We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future."

The NFL has been totally mum ... neither addressing Dak's comments, nor the NBA Refs' statement. Does anything change now that the refs have called on the league to punish Dak?

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Lerentee McCray was arrested over the weekend ... after police say he flipped off cops and then led officers on a high-speed chase in Florida.

According to police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, the Fruitland Park Police Dept. attempted to pull over McCray at around 1 AM on Sunday after they say he was going 88 MPH in a 50 MPH zone.

Cops, though, say McCray refused to stop ... and put his middle finger out of his driver's side window before continuing on at speeds of around 100 MPH.

Police say they tried to catch McCray ... but claim he was driving so recklessly and at such a rate of speed, they ultimately called the pursuit off.

But, cops say McCray was stopped about 15 minutes later by the Tavares Police Dept.

Cops say during that stop, McCray was "acting erratically" and was eventually transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation.

Officers say during questioning at the hospital, McCray told them "he did not flick the officer off and he was trying to motion for the officer to continue following him."

McCray was eventually transported to jail ... and records show he was booked on a felony charge of fleeing/eluding police.

He bonded out later Saturday, according to jail records. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter next month.

UFC star Calvin Kattar says Giga Chikadze overlooked him, and got beat up Saturday night because of it ... telling TMZ Sports the star kickboxer from Georgia should've focused less on Alexander Volkanovski.

We talked to the 33-year-old fighter from Boston just days after his unanimous decision win of Chikadze ... and asked if he believes people disrespected him leading up to the fight ... and while Kattar agrees, he's more irked by Giga's seemingly lackadaisical attitude.

"I took more offense to my opponent kinda overlooking me. Calling out the champ when he has a fight with me in about a week. It just seemed like he was overlooking me, and like I've mentioned before. If that's the case, not smart, and you're probably gonna pay for it, and he did."

FYI, Giga was previously ranked 8th in the division before the fight (Calvin was 5th) ... but Kattar was coming off a big loss to Max Holloway, and Chikadze was undefeated in the UFC (now 3 losses overall).

That's why Giga was more than a 2 to 1 favorite.

Kattar continued on Chikadze ... "I didn't like the way he overlooked me and was looking past me and focusing on people he might fight rather than the guy he was gonna fight. That's never a good idea."

What's next for Kattar? He says he's down to step in for either Volkanovski or Korean Zombie in April at UFC 273 ... if either man is unable to make it to the cage.

"I think if something happens to that fight, I'd be a good fill-in, for sure."

If not, Kattar says he'd "like to fight up" ... meaning he wants to fight a higher-ranked fighter, as he continues his trek to the top.

"Whoever's next is fine with me, man, I just hope it's more big moment opportunities, more main events, bigger paydays, on my way to just changing my life and chasing that life on the other side of a win."

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios committed a huge COVID no-no on Tuesday -- celebrating his Australian Open win by taking a swig of a fan's beer.

Check out the clip ... after Kyrgios defeated his opponent, Liam Broady, in the first round, he went over to some fans and had a beer put in his face.

The supporter holding the suds appeared to urge Nick to drink -- and after a few seconds of debating it, he caved and took a sip from the guy's cup.

Of course, the fans in attendance loved every second of it -- encouraging the tennis star to keep drinking -- but it might not have been the best optics for the major event.

Even though the 26-year-old Kyrgios was born and raised in Australia and loves his fans there -- given all the COVID drama that just went down with Novak Djokovic in the country, event organizers couldn't have been thrilled to see the scene.

You'll recall, Djokovic was just booted from the country after Australian government officials said his COVID vax status posed a threat to public safety. Maskless sipping of strangers' drinks might just fall in the same vein.

No word yet on if Kyrgios will face any type of reprimand for the actions.

Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Malik McDowell was completely naked while he was being arrested on Monday ... new video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the footage, you can see the 6-foot-6, 290-pound football player did not have a single article of clothing on his body ... as officers tried to subdue him in Deerfield Beach, FL.

McDowell, who had cuffs on his wrists and shackles around his ankles in the clip, appeared to be very agitated with cops, writhing on the ground nearly every time an officer got near him.

At one point, you can see in the video, a cop appeared to kick McDowell to keep him on the ground.

Eventually, McDowell was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away from the scene.

As we reported, cops say in police documents that McDowell stripped naked and was seen walking around near a school.

Officers say when they found him and confronted him, he attacked -- with one cop alleging the football player told him "f*** you" and then "charged at me ... at full speed with closed fist."

The officer claimed McDowell struck him so hard and so many times, he suffered injuries in the altercation -- including a badly swollen eye.

Cops say they were eventually able to take down McDowell using a taser. He was ultimately booked into jail on charges of aggravated battery on an officer, resisting and exposing sex organs in public.

The Browns released a statement on the arrest on Tuesday, saying, "We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information."

"We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. … No further comment at this time."

Very scary moment during the Cardinals vs. Rams playoff game on Monday ... Arizona star Budda Baker needed to be taken to the hospital following a violent collision with an L.A. player.

In the third quarter of the Rams' blowout win, Baker -- a Pro Bowler this season -- was attempting to make a tackle on Cam Akers, when the two brutally slammed heads.

Video of the play shows Baker immediately went limp, appearing to be knocked unconscious as soon as the impact happened.

The 26-year-old laid on the ground for several minutes, before trainers strapped him to a backboard and eventually loaded him into an ambulance.

Thankfully, the Cardinals announced their star player never lost movement or feeling in his extremities ... and was both alert and communicative.

Baker later tweeted he's doing "good" ... writing, "Thank you all for the prayers. I am doing good."

There's been no word yet if the Arizona safety has been released from the hospital.

Akers -- who actually taunted Baker following the hit -- apologized for his actions ... saying in a tweet of his own, "I didn’t know he was hurt after the play but I have nothing but respect for him."

The Cardinals season is now over following the 34-11 loss, while the Rams will travel to Tampa Bay this weekend to play Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

Get well soon, Budda.

NBA player Chandler Parsons announced he's walking away from the game on Tuesday ... 2 years after suffering serious injuries in a car accident.

The 33-year-old small forward gave a heartfelt goodbye to hoops in an emotional Instagram post ... saying, "I've had so many ups and downs and thankful for every single one of them."

"My entire life all I wanted to be was an NBA player. I didn't even realize, or think what came with that, I just wanted to compete and play basketball at the highest level. I can proudly say, I did THAT!"

CP added, "It wasn't perfect, but it was a blast and I want to take a moment to thank every single person who helped me reach my dreams."

Parsons was a 2nd round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft ... playing for the Rockets, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Hawks over the course of 9 seasons.

In 2020, CP was driving in his Rolls-Royce when he was hit by an alleged drunk driver ... suffering a brain wound, disc herniation and a torn labrum.

Despite the accident, Parsons was working to get back on the court -- in fact, he told us last November that he was training to return to the game, but said the process was "pretty intense".

"Working out, staying in shape," Parsons said at the time, "but trying to still recover from the car crash last year, so we'll see."

Now, Parsons is ready for life off of the hardwood.

"To all the staff, trainers, doctors, coaches, teammates, agents, and most important the fans who supported me, THANK YOU."

Chandler finished his career averaging 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Serena Williams' young daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., is already showin' she's got tennis in her DNA ... the 4-year-old hit the court to work on her backhand.

Video of the training sesh was posted Monday ... showing Alexis in her sports gear, executing a picture-perfect backhand.

Keep in mind, she's only 4 years old!!

"Practice makes progress," the caption read on the video posted to Alexis' Instagram (BTW, she has 631K followers) ... and fans went crazy in the comments over the resemblance to her 23-time Grand Slam winning mom, Serena.

Even her auntie, tennis star Venus Williams, was taken back by the impressive move -- saying, "It's Oracene [Price] all over again!".

FYI, Oracene is Serena and Venus's mother who coached them -- alongside their father Richard Williams -- when they were around Alexis' age.

Alexis seems to be a star in the making ... not only does she have her momma's move, she also has her fashion sense! She wore the same fit Serena had on at 2021's Australian Open.

Malik McDowell is in trouble with the law once again ... the NFL player was arrested on Monday after he allegedly stripped naked near a children's learning center and got into a fight with cops.

The bizarre incident is all spelled out in a police report, obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In the docs, cops claim they were called out to a scene in Deerfield Beach, FL after McDowell had allegedly taken off all of his clothes and walked naked near a children's learning center.

Cops say kids were present while McDowell was near the learning center -- adding that he got violent with police as soon as they approached him.

One officer said in documents that McDowell “charged at me ... at full speed with closed fist." The officer said a fight then ensued.

In the docs, cops claim McDowell was able to flee the scene ... but was ultimately apprehended after cops tased the 6-foot-6, 290-pound football player.

McDowell was taken into custody and later booked on charges of aggravated battery on an officer, resisting and exposing sex organs in public, jail records show.

The Browns released a statement on Tuesday following the news of the arrest, saying, "We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information."

"We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. … No further comment at this time."

As we've reported, McDowell -- who had a standout season for Cleveland this year, starting 14 games -- is no stranger to run-ins with the law ... he's been arrested multiple times over the past few years, including in 2019 when he fought a cop at a gas station.

McDowell served time behind bars as well as a suspension from the NFL over it all -- but said this year that he had turned a corner and was in a great place.

Travis Scott got a stinky surprise as he made a rare public appearance at the L.A. Rams' game ... all thanks to a sewage pipe that burst within smelling distance of the rapper.

We got photos of Travis Monday night at SoFi Stadium in one of his first outings since the Astroworld tragedy. Travis hung out in one of the field-level suites but kept a low profile, mostly standing near the back of the room with a few friends.

However, it was during the second half of the game when all hell broke loose -- a sewage pipe burst -- causing the suite next to Trav to evacuate, and sending a putrid smell throughout the lower boxes.

You can see a mix of cleaning staff and equipment do their best to clean up the mess as quickly as possible, but our sources say it was almost enough to get some people to leave.

Eventually, we're told Travis left with about 2 minutes left in the first-round playoff game, but he didn't miss much -- the Rams blew out the Cardinals 34-11 -- besides the stench.

As we said, Travis has rarely been seen in public since the Nov. 5 incident which killed 10 fans. He's been hit with billions in litigation, but has maintained he was unaware of the severity of what was happening in the crowd as he performed.

Olivia Culpo didn't want to change out of her "risqué" outfit while 30,000 feet in the air upon returning from Mexico, so she didn't ... it was simply the airline that got swapped out.

The model touched down Monday at LAX after nearly a week-long trip to Cabo with her sister and boyfriend, Christian McCaffrey, and while they were all leaving the airport ... OC was seen rocking yet another revealing outfit, much like she was when first flying out.

As you see ... it's another crop-top leading outfit, showing off her midsection. Besides the color, it's nearly identical to what she was wearing 5 days ago when she and the crew allegedly got called out by American Airlines. The main difference ... on the return she's wearing leggings instead of shorts.

Olivia and co. apparently ditched AA to come home. We're hearing they actually flew Delta for the return flight, and wouldn't you know it -- no need to cover up with them, it seems!

You'll recall ... CMC had to give up his hoodie when Olivia was apparently asked to put on a blouse, as the airline seemed to think she was a little too hot to handle for passengers.

Former NHL player Chris Pronger went full-blown Stone Cold Steve Austin Monday night ... 'cause the former defenseman chugged a beer in the middle of his own jersey retirement ceremony.

The St. Louis Blues raised Pronger's #44 to the rafters at the Enterprise Center ... a celebration that was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pronger made up for the wait by whipping out a can of Bud Light to commemorate the occasion ... taking a sip while addressing the crowd.

"And to you all," Chris said as a toast to the fans before chuggin' down the brewski ... going on to thank the fans for embracing his style of play and molding him into the man he became.

Of course, the St. Louis faithful ate up the gesture ... as you can audibly hear cheers and applause once the beer made its grand entrance.

47-year-old Pronger had a remarkable career ... playing for various teams throughout his NHL tenure.

Pronger -- who spent 9 of his 18 seasons in the NHL with the Blues -- played in 1,167 career games ... winning both the Norris and Hart Trophy. Chris also won his only Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks.

Unfortunately, Chris's career came to an abrupt halt after he sustained a scary concussion while a member of the Flyers org in 2011. Pronger has since opened up about the post-concussion syndrome he's endured.

Antonio Brown's very public tour of the country following his infamous exit from the Buccaneers continued at Crypto.com Arena on Monday -- where he jumped on a railing to get love from fans who were chanting his name.

The former Tampa Bay star -- who's been spotted in NYC, Miami and now L.A. since being cut from the Bucs -- caused quite the scene outside of the Lakers game ... being mobbed by people who wanted autographs and pics with the NFL player.

Video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows it all went down just minutes after Brown watched LeBron James beat the Utah Jazz from courtside seats inside the building.

People wanted his pic and signature so badly -- Brown stayed for several minutes, and then he hopped on some skinny railing to entertain them.

The fans chanted "AB" over and over again ... all while he was standing on the fencing and waving his arms.

What's interesting -- Brown has claimed his ankle is completely jacked up ... but it certainly looked like it was healing up well while he was feet in the air balancing on the barrier.

Brown has not shied away one bit from the public eye since he threw a shirtless temper tantrum at MetLife Stadium -- he's been seen at NBA games repeatedly and has also been spotted dining with stars like Kanye West in recent days as well.