TMZ Sports - Page 17

The Houston Texans have just been sued ... by a woman alleging the team "enabled" Deshaun Watson's sexual misconduct against her and other female masseuses.

Plaintiff Toi Garner claims during a November 2020 massage, Watson "assaulted and harassed [Garner] by aggressively exposing his naked body to her, purposely touching her with his penis, and ultimately ejaculating onto her."

What’s more, Garner claims the Houston Texans are partly to blame for what Watson did to her and to dozens of other woman.

Garner’s attorney, Tony Buzbee -- who represents the more than 20 female massage therapists who have alleged Watson was inappropriate with them during therapy sessions – writes in the suit that the Texans not only turned "a blind eye" to Watson's "egregious behavior," but in fact helped.

The suit claims despite the fact the Texans were well aware of Watson’s conduct, they allowed him to use one of their massage tables and provided a non-disclosure agreement to Watson which he then "pressed women to sign at the massage sessions."

Buzbee, in a statement following the suit's filing, said this case was the first "of what will likely be many against the Houston Texans related to Deshaun Watson’s behavior."

"Suffice it to say," Buzbee added, "the overwhelming evidence collected indicating that the Houston Texans enabled Watson’s behavior is incredibly damning. We believe the Texans knew or most certainly should have known of Watson’s conduct. Beyond that, we believe the filing speaks for itself."

The Texans also issued a statement following the suit's filing, saying, "We are aware of the lawsuit filed against us today. Since March 2021, we have fully supported and complied with law enforcement and the various investigations."

"We will continue to take the necessary steps to address the allegations against our organization."

A boxing showdown between two NFL superstars is in the works -- Adrian Peterson is currently in the process of becoming Le'Veon Bell's opponent at Crypto.com Arena next month, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story earlier this month, 30-year-old Bell is slated to take his first boxing match as part of YouTube superstar Austin McBroom's Social Gloves event in Los Angeles ... but his opponent had het to be announced.

Now, we're told the 37-year-old former NFL MVP is in talks to take the ring against Bell on July 30 ... in what would be a massive fight between two accomplished running backs.

Adrian -- a 4-time first-team All-Pro and 7-time Pro Bowler -- last played for the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks in 2021 ... suiting up for 4 total games last season.

Bell -- a 2-time first-team All-Pro and 3-time Pro Bowler -- played for the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 ... appearing in 8 games.

The fight card is already stacked with big names -- as we previously reported, ex-NBA player Nick Young is fighting against rapper Blueface ... and McBroom is going up against YouTuber AnEsonGib.

Raiders star Johnathan Abram has a big heart -- and, apparently, some good construction skills -- 'cause he just donated beds to a family in need, and he built the frames himself!

The NFL safety and his foundation, Johnathan's Journey For Better, partnered up with Sleep in Heavenly Peace for the awesome gesture ... helping gift three beds, sheet sets, and pillows to a Las Vegas family this month.

Abram -- who, according to his reps, has gained a newfound passion for home improvement and construction -- assembled the beds with his own hands and power tools, and then personally delivered them to the Vegas fam.

"Basically they went from having no beds to being able to sleep here tonight," Abram said.

The 25-year-old chilled with the kids after the beds were all set up ... and TMZ Sports has learned they even talked a little football!

"It's been amazing," Abram said of the day. "I was glad to see the family smiling and happy. They were really grateful for their new beds and everything."

Abram -- a former first-round pick -- is known to help those in need since becoming a Raider in 2019. Just last year, he donated athletic sneakers to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada, and in 2020, he gifted laptops to the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada.

Kendall Jenner might not be as single as everyone thinks ... she was just spotted spending some alone time with Devin Booker.

The two were together at Soho House in Malibu Sunday ... seemingly in good spirits as they passed each other some flirty looks.

Rumors have been spreading that they were done for, but these shots seem to paint a different picture -- or, at the very least, someone might be having second thoughts.

Multiple outlets have recently reported KJ and DB split, although the sources remained vague on details.

Kendall posted online over the weekend, showing her tanning naked, amongst other photos from her camera roll ... and Devin dropped a like on the post.

Devin's been with Kendall for a couple of years now ... they even went to Kourtney Kardashian's Italian wedding last month.

"I would say 'kiss my ass,' but y'all can't afford it."

Sha'Carri Richardson gave an unfiltered message to all of her haters after failing to qualify for the world championships next month ... giving the double bird and vowing to return to dominance.

It all went down after the track star finished fifth with a time of 22.47 seconds at the 200-meter semifinals on Sunday in Eugene, Oregon ... which eliminated her from competing for Team USA at the 2022 World Athletics Championship.

The 22-year-old sprinter made sure to let her critics know she's blocking out all the negativity shortly after her disappointing outing ... and she didn't hold back.

"I normally don't be making video to post on here 'cause I really don't got nothing to explain to y'all," Richardson said on Instagram.

"But, to my supporters, I wanna thank y'all. It's been a long road. Ain't over yet. To my haters, I got another video for y'all."

Sha'Carri wasn't lying, because she posted a video laying on her back and spreading her legs ... basically telling all her haters they can "kiss my ass."

The critics weren't the only ones receiving the heat from Richardson ... she also went at the media about respecting athletes following her race.

"Be more understanding of the fact that they are still human, no matter just to the fact that y'all are just trying to get something to put out in an article to make a dollar. Thank you."

Of course, Richardson has been making headlines ever since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics controversy ... when she was banned for 30 days and missed the games after testing positive for marijuana.

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner appeared in a Russian court on Monday for an important hearing in her drug case ... and while she looked to be in good shape, she was flanked by multiple security guards and had shackles on her wrists.

The Phoenix Mercury center -- who had previously been ordered to remain in pretrial detention until at least July 2 -- made the appearance wearing a grey t-shirt and sweats.

At the proceedings, a July 1 trial date was set for Griner -- nearly five months after she was initially detained in the foreign country for allegedly having hashish oil in her luggage at an airport.

Photos from the court show the 2-time Olympic gold medalist had her eyes wide open ... and was cuffed to an officer who was leading her to her court appearance.

Griner, who was ordered to stay in custody for the duration of her trial, is facing up to 10 years behind bars if she's convicted on the charges against her.

While U.S. officials, including congressman Colin Allred, have claimed Griner is "a political prisoner" ... a spokesperson for Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told NBC News that Brittney's detainment is because she broke the country's law, not because she's being used as some sort of pawn.

There was action both inside the ring and outside of it at Sunday night's AEW event in Chicago ... as a fan and a security guard got into a wild fistfight in the stands.

The scene went down at some point during the AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door Pay-per-view at the United Center, when multiple guards tried to pull a fan from his seat.

It's unclear exactly what the man allegedly did to get the boot from arena staffers ... but you can see in video, he was not willing to go quietly.

It took multiple security guards to rip him from his chair ... but even as they got him up the stairs -- he pulled away from the guards' grasp, and started throwing punches!

The stadium official on the receiving end of the blows didn't take the haymakers kindly -- and returned fire with several fists of his own.

Eventually, staffers appeared to corral the man and take him from the scene.

It didn't take long for the Colorado Avalanche to leave their mark on the Stanley Cup -- and not in a good way -- 'cause the new NHL champions dented the iconic trophy just 5 minutes into their wild celebration!!

The Avs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to secure their third title in franchise history on Sunday ... beating the Bolts in a 2-1 contest.

The champs were rightfully pumped after securing the 'ship ... and star wing Nicolas Aubé-Kubel was a bit too pumped -- 'cause when it came time to take a group pic with Lord Stanley, the dude slipped up on the ice and dented the hardware in the process!!

The hilarious moment happened just minutes after the final buzzer ... so ya can't even blame booze for the mishap.

Either way, the players looked on in horror as the trophy made contact with the ice ... but the good news is it'll be fixed sometime in the future, according to the keeper of the cup, Phil Pritchard.

As for the rest of the celebration, it was insane -- the players danced and sang their asses off to "Dancing in the Moonlight" as champagne went flowing throughout the locker room ... all while preventing the Cup from getting additional damage.

The folks back home in Denver were getting lit as well -- setting off fireworks and having a ball to celebrate the huge win.

Apparently, the fans were fairly well behaved during the celebration as well ... 'cause the Denver Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports there was only one arrest made in relation to the partying due to "discharging fireworks."

Warren Sapp says he was told Colin Kaepernick's tryout with the Raiders last month did not go well at all for the QB ... explaining, "I heard it was a disaster."

"I heard it was one the worst workouts ever," the Hall of Famer added.

Sapp, who played for the Raiders when they were in Oakland from 2004 to 2007, made the claims in a recent interview with VladTV.

The 49-year-old former defensive lineman did not reveal who within Las Vegas' org. made the claims ... but he did say he was surprised footage from the workout never got leaked.

"I'm wondering how the hell this happened," Sapp said, "and the tape didn't get out, right?"

As we reported, Kaepernick tried out for Vegas in late May ... but the Raiders have been tight-lipped about the workout ever since, with head coach Josh McDaniels declining to get into specifics of how it all went.

Kaepernick's agent, Jeff Nalley, denied Sapp's claims in a text message to Pro Football Talk on Sunday ... saying he was told the workout was actually a success.

"I guess Warren didn’t talk to the General Manager or the head coach," Nalley said.

"I spoke to the G.M. [Dave Zieger] several times and he said they all thought Kap was in great shape and threw the ball really well and encouraged any team to call him about the workout and he would tell them the same."

Nalley continued, "I'm surprised Warren would say that, because it's not true and you would think he would want Kap on a team."

After Ryan Garcia beats Javier Fortuna next month, the young boxing superstar tells TMZ Sports his sole focus will be boxing Gervonta 'Tank' Davis ... and he says he's putting him to sleep!

"That fight will not go the distance. No way possible can it go the distance. I will not let Gervonta Davis off the hook," Garcia said about the potential super fight with Tank.

"I'm gonna beat your ass. I promise that -- I will whoop your ass and I will put you to sleep!

And, Garcia's clearly dead serious ... warning 27-0 (25 KOs) Tank not to let his IG fame fool him, 'cause at the end of the day -- despite his 8+ million followers and funny clips -- he's still a 22-0 boxer.

"Just know that there's a lot more than meets the eye with me. Don't think I'm soft," Garcia said.

"You come find out and actually make that decision to fight me, you'll find out real soon there's nothing soft about me."

Of course, the 23-year-old lightweight has to get through Fortuna (37-3, 26 KOs) first -- that bout is set to go down on July 16th at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles (it's airing on DAZN).

"He's an ex-world champion. He's a veteran," Garcia said about Fortuna.

"But, the fact that I'm coming into, I feel my prime and my best ability skillfully and mentally, I feel like this will be a short night for Javier Fortuna."

Garcia added one last thing, "I just know I'm gonna fight Tank after I beat Fortuna."

Oliver Tree kicked the crap out of a fan who climbed on stage and got way too close for comfort ... and it's all on video!!!

The singer was performing at the Forgotten Runes NFT convention in New York City when someone from the crowd made it on stage and tried to put their hat on Oliver's head ... then got their ass whooped.

As you see, Oliver doesn't skip a beat as he body slams the fan to the ground and starts throwing punches. After a pretty good pummeling, security drags the fan off stage as Oliver tells the crowd, "Get this f****** prick outta here!!!"

Folks who were there say cops weren't called and the fan had some sage advice as he was being escorted out of the event, saying ... "Don't go on stage or you will get beat up by Oliver Tree."

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving won a ring together before, and it may not have been their last ... 'cause Matt Barnes tells TMZ Sports the Lakers could be smelling champagne if Kyrie Irving joins L.A.

Matt -- who played for the Purple and Gold for two seasons -- spoke about the recent Irving rumors out at LAX this week ... and he told us if Uncle Drew ends up with the Lakers, it could result in the franchise's 18th championship.

Barnes thinks Irving -- who is rumored to be at a standstill in contract negotiations with the Nets -- would be the perfect fit for the Lake Show ... which would set him up with his old teammate in Cleveland.

"I think what they have right now," Barnes said, "if they can learn to co-exist with the group they have now, they're really close."

Barnes told us the biggest key for Irving -- who missed a ton of games over the years for a bevy of reasons -- succeeding or failing in L.A. is his level of commitment to playing.

Of course, the Lakers still have Anthony Davis, who (when healthy) is still considered a top 10 player in the league ... but Barnes thinks Kyrie is the missing piece Bron and AD need to win another ring.

MMA fans, we have a target date for Francis Ngannou's Octagon return ... with the UFC's heavyweight champ telling TMZ Sports he expects to be back by early 2023, at the latest!

Of course, Francis last fought in January ... when he beat interim champ, undefeated fighter Ciryl Gane to unify the belts.

In March, about 6 weeks after the unanimous decision win, Ngannou was forced to undergo surgery to repair serious damage to his knee, including ACL reconstruction and MCL repair, which were sustained before and during the fight.

So, when we ran into the 35-year-old star outside Avra in Beverly Hills, we asked Francis how his knee was feeling.

"It's getting better," Ngannou told us, adding, "It's been only 3 months, so yeah, I'm still doing physical therapy."

Now for the question on the mind of all Ngannou fans ... when will you fight??

"If everything goes well I'll be ready by the end of the year because it's gonna be 9 months. So, let's say late December or early next year."

As for Francis' preferred opponent ... he opted not to call anyone out.

"You know, as for now let's fight for the situation and get everything squared up, and then when I will be close to the return, we will see where the landscape is at 'cause a lot of things can happen."

There have been a lot of rumored opponents for Ngannou ... including Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic and even Tyson Fury.

But, first things first ... get healthy!

Micah Parsons is so proud to be a Dallas Cowboy ... he just turned his #11 jersey into a diamond chain -- that's worth around $50k!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year hit up Christian Johnston a while back to get some new America's Team bling.

Johnston -- the founder of Shopgld -- says Parsons came through to his Miami store this week ... and he was very happy with what the jeweler churned out, calling the guy, "The G.O.A.T. man!!!"

We even got footage of Parsons rockin' the new piece during a photo shoot -- while wearing his actual Cowboys jersey!

We're told the chain and the pendant -- featuring the #11 and his last name on the back -- has a total of 30 carats of natural VVS diamonds.

"Micah has been working with me and Gld for a few years," said Johnston, who's known Micah since his Penn State days. "We've actually made all of his jewelry and he's become a great friend since we met about five years ago."

The coolest part of the bling? Johnston tells us he got the NFL's approval to sell smaller versions of this pendant for fans ... and they'll be dropping next season.

Shaq's generosity knows no limits -- the NBA legend is donating the $50,000 he was set to make from a DJ'ing gig in Buffalo to the family of one of the shooting victims.

"DJ Diesel" has been making his rounds on tour ... and was naturally reticent about continuing on with his scheduled show in Buffalo in the aftermath of the mass shooting that took place last month, sources tell TMZ Sports.

But, the Hall of Famer and 4X-NBA champ decided to still do the show ... knowing how much the event meant to those who attended.

Before Shaq got busy on the ones-and-twos ... he met with the widow and son of Aaron Salter Jr., the retired police officer who was shot and killed while heroically trying to stop the gunman inside Tops supermarket in Buffalo from killing more innocent people.

We're told ... not only did The Big Aristotle have some one-on-one time with members of the Salter family, but he also agreed to give the money he was going to make to them in wake of the heinous tragedy.

The lives of many in the Buffalo community were altered and affected ... when an armed gunman senselessly executed at least 10 people in a vile hate crime.

We've seen countless people step up -- like the Buffalo Bills org. led by star quarterback Josh Allen -- in the city's time of need ... and Shaq, who's no stranger to charitable deeds, is the latest example.

Back in December, O'Neal raised $2 million in charity for his "Shaquille O'Neal Foundation" -- which provides resources and opportunities to the youth in this country without access to either -- by selling unique NFTs of himself.

Just how big was Arch Manning's Texas commitment this week? Former UT superstar Jamaal Charles said he and other Longhorn legends straight-up had a celebration over it in a group chat!!

The ex-running back tells TMZ Sports ... in the hours after Manning made the pledge on Thursday, his GC with Vince Young, Brian Orakpo and Chris Ogbonnaya went off.

"Anybody that went to UT that played ball, they lying if they say they ain't happy right now," said Charles, who starred at the university in the mid-2000s. "The guys -- we've been texting today like, 'Hey, y'all just seen what happen?'"

"I'm like, man, Texas got that big bag, then!"

Charles wouldn't guarantee the Manning commitment will eventually bring a title -- after all, the 18-year-old quarterback has yet to even graduate high school -- but he did say he expects Peyton and Eli's nephew to bring plenty more top recruits with him.

As for a message to the future Longhorns star, Charles kept things short and sweet ... "Congrats and I hope you bring back the tradition of making this one of the top programs again."

"We need that and hopefully, we can see you in the national championship cheering you on."