TMZ Sports - Page 35

Kim Kardashian is still showin' support for her kids while Kanye West appears to be at war on social media ... carrying out soccer mom duties at her son's game in the midst of the drama.

Kim whipped out a folding chair, some sunglasses and a jersey for Saint's soccer game in Los Angeles Wednesday ... parking herself front row as his #1 fan.

The outfit's interesting -- she's got Yeezy slides on, and paired it with an Adidas jersey ... as we reported, Kanye's partnership with that brand was apparently placed "under review" Thursday, in the wake of his controversial "White Lives Matter" fashion statement.

Doesn't look like anything's gonna slow Kim down from giving her kids the support they deserve, even if Kanye's pointing the blame back at her on social media.

For those unaware, Ye echoed his complaints about Kim's "secret" birthday party for their daughter, Chicago, earlier this year as he faces cancel culture for his 'WLM' apparel.

Kanye West is letting the world know exactly he feels after a recent report his partnership with Adidas is "under review" on the heels of his controversial "White Lives Matter" fashion statement.

A statement apparently released from the clothing giant popped up Thursday that makes it clear its honchos are pissed about the T-shirts Ye unveiled in Paris. Adidas says, "All successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values."

The alleged statement says Adidas made repeated efforts to resolve issues with Kanye, privately, but eventually came to the conclusion -- "We have taken the decision to place the partnership under review."

They will, however, continue to work together on their current product during the review process. The statement notes, "The Adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry's history."

Kanye, obviously, was pissed at the news ... and blasted them on Insta -- claiming the company "RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS."

Adidas is pushing this partnership to the brink in response to Ye, and his pal Candace Owen, wearing the controversial T-shirts in Paris.

Probably didn't help that he doubled down on his fashion choice online soon after -- saying, "EVERYONE KNOWS THAT BLACK LIVES MATTER WAS A SCAM NOW ITS OVER YOU'RE WELCOME."

"I just feel the world should see a different part of Floyd Mayweather. I think the people should see a different part of me."

That's Floyd Mayweather telling TMZ Sports why he decided to open his vault of hundreds of hours of home video documenting his legendary career ... and now TBE has hooked up with several big Hollywood producers and billionaire businessman Robert Smith to create a docuseries titled "The GOAT."

Floyd says the show will follow him from his time as a kid in New Jersey, through becoming one of the most famous and successful athletes of all time ... and the trials and tribulations between.

"I want to be able to tell my story in my way. The good, the bad, the ugly. I don't want the people to think I take certain pieces out and it's all glory. There's a lot of ups and downs in life every day. And there's a lot of struggles. Not just with myself but with my loved ones. People gonna love it. Believe me."

Floyd says he's been asked countless times over the years to make a doc, but the timing wasn't right until now.

"Since the beginning of my professional career in 1996, I've been asked, 'Floyd, let's do a documentary on your amateur career. How your dad went to prison. How your grandmother was cleaning hotel rooms and offices to take care of you. And how you was living in New Brunswick, NJ. Seven of us in a one-bedroom.' The story is just so amazing. Like I said before the people are going to love it."

And picking the right team, for Floyd, is paramount.

Mayweather has linked up with Hidden Empire's Deon Taylor and Roxanne Taylor … who will Direct and Produce the series.

"Partnering with Deon and his team. We sat down at a roundtable, and we came up with a hell of a game plan. He said, 'Floyd let the world hear about you. The world want to know your story.' I said, 'let's do it.'"

We also talked to Deon about the project.

Businessmen and investor Robert Smith, the wealthiest Black man in America (Forbes says he’s worth $8 BILLION), and a confidant of Floyd, will also pitch in when it comes to the creative side of the show.

"I'm not one to say I know it all," Mayweather told us of his relationship with one of the world's wealthiest people, adding ... "I like to communicate with Robert Smith about business on a daily basis. I don't mind asking for help."

James McNair and Jona Rechnitz, part of Floyd’s inner circle, will also work on the project.

Le'Veon Bell is either insane or extremely confident ... the former star NFL running back will be fighting MMA star and former UFC fighter Uriah Hall in his pro boxing debut.

Bell will be fighting Hall on the same card as Jake Paul and Anderson Silva -- under "The Problem Child's" MVP promotion -- going down on October 29th in Arizona.

The fight will be fought at 195 lbs. ... and neither man can weigh over 200 lbs. on fight night.

30-year-old Bell is coming off an exhibition fight against Adrian Peterson in September, where he KO'd the 37-year-old running back in the fifth round.

Le'Veon -- who last played football with the Tampa Bay Bucs -- looked pretty impressive that night ... dropping AP with a vicious right hand that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Now, it appears Bell is ready to take that next step (well, like 10 steps) -- and will get in the ring against 38-year-old Hall, one of the most dangerous men in combat sports.

Hall was a top 10 ranked UFC Middleweight ... and beat Anderson Silva, and Gegard Mousasi, amongst many others.

Hall announced in August he was retiring from the UFC.

He may have turned his back on Tom Brady, but Antonio Brown is sticking by Kanye West's side ... channeling his buddy's controversial campaign and saying, "All Lives Matter."

Ye is facing a ton of criticism over the "White Lives Matter" shirt he wore during his YZY Fashion Show on Monday ... but despite the negative reception, he's dug his heels in even more throughout the week.

AB -- who recently trolled TB12 over his marriage issues with Gisele Bündchen -- isn't breaking ties with the artist ... reposting an old clip from August showing the two bouncing music ideas off each other, and including an interesting caption.

"All Lives Matter 🔔 🛎 #CallGod #Boomin," AB said on Instagram ... adding, "#Donda #Always"

AB and Ye have gotten pretty close recently -- they've worked on music together, and the Super Bowl winner even took the reins as president of Donda Sports in February.

Brown has also had his fair share of controversy recently -- video was released this week showing the ex-NFL star appearing to expose himself to a woman in Dubai.

We may have just found the world's biggest Dwayne Johnson fan ... a man in Mexico absolutely lost it, breaking down in tears as "The Rock" signed his WWE belt, and it was super sweet.

It all went down this week during Johnson's #BlackAdamWorldTour ... where he was promoting his upcoming superhero film.

DJ shared the clip on Instagram ... showing fans in Mexico City eagerly waiting to meet the actor -- and one of 'em had a WWE belt for the former wrestler to sign.

Johnson LOVES his fans and was more than happy to autograph the belt ... and that's when the guy is overcome with emotions to the point he starts shaking and praying.

"Thank you! Thank you, Rock! Thank you," the fan says, giving DJ a handshake.

"An emotional night," Johnson wrote in the caption, "Lots of tears of joy."

"Even my cold, dark soul gets a little emotional when I see people start to break and cry. It's a beautiful thing. THANK YOU MEXICO I love you back."

This memorable moment comes just a week after a younger fan met with the 50-year-old after waiting 2 hours.

And, like in Mexico City, the young girl, Carol, cried while they took photos and video together.

"This awesome girl (Carol) waited two hours to finally meet BLACK ADAM⚡️," Johnson said, "His heart may be cold and black, but it still beats 🖤 Especially, for kids."

Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann got a very personal security check, mate ... getting his ass scanned outside the U.S. Chess Championships days after he was accused of using said rear-end to cheat dozens of times.

Security took a good long look at Hans' butt with a metal detector outside the Saint Louis Chess Club, where the championship began on Tuesday. The guard was pretty thorough in his search -- considering the female competitor in front of him didn't even have to turn around for her scan.

Sure looks like the Chess Club folks have heard some widespread Internet buzz about exactly how Niemann might be cheating.

An investigation opened Tuesday by Chess.com against Hans ... claiming he "likely cheated" in more than 100 online matches. World champ Magnus Carlsen first accused Hans of cheating in over-the-board matches, and then interested chess fans suggested online he could be using a vibrating butt plug to tip him off on moves.

For his part, Hans denies cheating, in general, and specifically using a sex toy. After a big win in the first round, he said, "I'm not going to back down and I'm going to play my best chess here regardless of the pressure that I'm under.” He's also said he'd play naked if necessary.

Brittney Griner's wife says the WNBA star has hit the lowest moment of her life while locked up in Russia ... saying the basketball player has told her, "I feel like my life just doesn't matter."

Cherelle Griner nearly came to tears while discussing the state of her wife with Gayle King this week ... explaining she's never seen Brittney reach such a dark place before.

"BG's at her absolute weakest moment in life right now," Cherelle said. "She's very afraid about being left and forgotten in Russia. Or just completely used to the point of her detriment."

Brittney was arrested in February after she was accused of bringing hashish oil in her luggage to a Moscow airport. She later fessed up to the crime, and was sentenced to nine years in prison over it all in August. She is appealing the ruling, though she's expected to lose that at a hearing later this month.

And, Cherelle said the last time they were able to speak on the phone, she sensed something was very wrong with her wife.

"It was the most disturbing phone call I had ever experienced," Cherelle said. "And I've known BG 11 years. So I'm like, that was the most disturbing conversation."

Cherelle said Brittney has told her things like, "My life just don't even matter no more," and, "Am I just nothing?"

Cherelle added that she's very worried Brittney could ultimately be moved to a labor camp following her appeal hearing on Oct. 25.

"My brain can't even fathom it," she said.

AEW fans appear to be choosing a side in the beef between Sammy Guevara and Andrade ... chanting, "F*** you, Sammy," during Wednesday night's 'Dynamite' event.

It all went down at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. -- Guevara and Chris Jericho were partners fighting against Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia.

The match started with Jericho and Garcia face-to-face in the middle of the ring ... but the AEW fans quickly turned their attention to Guevarra, reciting the chant, "F*** you, Sammy."

We broke the story ... Guevarra and Andrade, son-in-law of WWE legend and Hall of Famer Ric Flair, were involved in a backstage altercation Wednesday night.

The tension between the two wrestling stars was so high, things got physical, and punches were thrown ... according to our sources.

The bad blood had been brewing since Sammy and Andrade had a back-and-forth on Twitter Tuesday night, and things finally came to a head once the two saw each other at the event.

As for if this budding feud is a part of an AEW storyline ... our sources tell us that's not the case, and the drama between the two men is real.

As a result, Andrade was sent home, but Sammy was still allowed to compete ... which ticked off the AEW fans.

LeBron James sent a message loud and clear to Adam Silver on Wednesday night ... sayin' if the NBA expands to Las Vegas, he's calling dibs on owning the new team.

"I want the team here, Adam," the Lakers superstar said. "Thank you."

James, a newly crowned billionaire, has made the public plea to get the Sin City squad before -- back in June, he said on an episode of "The Shop" his goal was to be the LV honcho one day.

But, following L.A.'s 119-115 preseason loss to the Suns in Vegas, James made it crystal clear to media members in attendance that he was dead serious about it all.

"I would love to bring a team here at some point," James said on the postgame podium. "That would be amazing."

Unclear if the Association has imminent plans to expand -- but if a move to 32 teams is on the horizon, rumors have swirled that Seattle and Las Vegas would be the targets.

James is clearly in love with the Nevada idea ... going as far as to say Vegas has "the best fan base in the world."

A man is suing the New England Patriots Hall of Fame ... claiming it ruined his one-of-a-kind, Tom Brady signed American flag -- costing him potentially over $1 MILLION.

The guy's name is Daniel Vitale ... and he says in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, that back in early 2020, he acquired a flag that had been autographed by the G.O.A.T.

In his lawsuit, Vitale says the flag was ultra-rare. It had flown at Foxboro Stadium during a Patriots vs. Dolphins game in 2001 -- the same season that Brady first took over as the starter in New England -- and was signed by the quarterback a few years later. Vitale said he believed it to be the only American flag known to be signed by TB12 in existence.

Vitale says in the suit that in 2021, about a year after he got the piece, he reached out to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to see if it wanted to put it on display. He claims it did, but only after Brady and his former head coach, Bill Belichick, had retired.

The HOF, according to Vitale, suggested he reach out to the Patriots Hall of Fame at Gillette Stadium to gauge its interest in the flag in the meantime. Vitale claims in his suit that the Pats HOF wanted it -- and officials there promised him it would be "curated to the highest standard."

Vitale says he handed it over under that premise ... and it was almost immediately displayed underneath the Brady Super Bowl XLIX jersey that had been infamously stolen and later recovered.

Vitale, though, said months later ... he was considering asking for it back. He said due to Brady's potential retirement and the subsequent skyrocketing value of Brady memorabilia, he was thinking about putting it up for auction.

But, that's when he says he found out that the QB's autograph had faded due to what he claims is the way the HOF improperly displayed the piece.

In the suit, Vitale said "neither the lighting at [the facility] nor the glass [it] used for case displaying the flag were designed to protect autographed sports memorabilia."

He added, "there was a significant gap in the glass directly in front of the flag through which unfiltered light and heat could pass."

All of it, he said, caused the T and other parts of Brady's signature to significantly fade.

In a video of Vitale recovering the flag, you can hear he was crushed to see the state it was in.

In the suit, he said due to the Patriots HOF's mishandling of the flag, the value of it decreased by potentially as much as over $1 million.

He's asking for damages.

AEW stars Sammy Guevara and Andrade were just involved in a backstage altercation, sources tells TMZ Sports, and Andrade has been sent home.

We're told the incident happened backstage at an AEW Dynamite show at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington D.C. Wednesday night.

Sources tell us words were exchanged, and then things turned physical. Sammy allegedly pushed Andrade, and punches were thrown, according to our sources. It's unclear if anyone was hit.

Our sources are adamant the altercation was not part of an AEW storyline.

As for the reason for the fight ... the guys have been in an intense beef that's spilled over on social media. On Tuesday, the wrestlers went back and forth on Twitter.

Our sources say several wrestlers are pissed at Sammy for publicly airing personal/private issues, and things just boiled over at the arena.

Andrade posted somewhat of a cryptic message on social media.

We've reached out to AEW for comment ... but so far, no word back.

Bellator star Aaron Pico says he needs surgery after separating his shoulder in the first round of his Bellator 286 fight Saturday, telling TMZ Sports he'll likely be out 4 to 6 months.

"I'll be having surgery soon," the 26-year-old Bellator fighter says, adding ... "I'm just having some numbness in my fingers right now, and they're just waiting for the numbness to go away, and then immediate surgery. They say I'll probably be out 4 to 6 months, so it's not that long."

Of course, Pico, the number 4 ranked Bellator featherweight, dislocated his shoulder throwing a hook within 30 seconds of the first round of his fight with Jeremy Kennedy. Miraculously, Aaron was able to survive nearly an entire round with his shoulder dangling.

In-between rounds, Aaron directed his coach -- who obviously isn't a doctor -- to pop his shoulder back into place. Unfortunately, they didn't have any luck. That's when the ringside physician came to the cage and ultimately stopped the fight, despite Pico pleading with him to fix the injury and let him continue.

Aaron addressed fans who've attacked his coach for trying to get the shoulder back in the socket. He also tells us why the ringside doc wouldn't just pop the shoulder back in place.

Officially, Aaron lost the fight ... but the fact he was able to scrap 4+ minutes with a serious injury is insane, and goes to show how tough he is.

Shockingly, Pico says the injury didn't hurt ... at first.

"I just felt stuck, like something was blocking it, but I wasn't in pain," Pico says, adding he immediately left the cage before Kennedy was announced as the winner because he recognized he needed to get to the hospital.

Then the adrenaline wore off ... and well, it hurt, bad.

"Then when I got to the back, the pain really set in, and then when I got into the ambulance, I can handle pain, but I started to shed a few tears because I was like this thing is the worst pain I've ever been in."

It was just last week that Pico, along with best friend and fellow Bellator star AJ McKee, came to the TMZ office and sat down with Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... and vowed to be champion one day soon.

Aaron's injury may have delayed his goal ... but it did anything but derail it.

In fact, he's already thinking about his return ... and ideally, he'd fight the guy at the very top of the division, Patricio Pitbull.

"If I'm being selfish, of course, I'd like to go straight for the title, but I believe Jeremy Kennedy deserves a rematch."

"If I need to fight him again, I will. If they want me to fight for the title, it's all good. I have nothing but respect for Kennedy. He didn't know my shoulder was out and he came to fight. Tough guy, s**t happens. There's nothing you can really do.".

The fan who was leveled by Bobby Wagner after running onto the field during "Monday Night Football" this week has now filed a police report over the incident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The man went to the Santa Clara Police Dept. on Tuesday following the Rams vs. 49ers game, cops tell us, and filed the report. A spokesperson did not reveal any further details.

A rep for Direct Action Everywhere -- the org. that took credit for the wild scene at Levi's Stadium -- told us the report stems from a "blatant assault" by two Rams players.

As we reported, two protesters jumped railing at the stadium during the second quarter of the contest ... and armed with pink smoke bombs, they attempted to disrupt the action on the field.

One of the protesters, a woman, was taken down before she could get onto the playing surface. The other protester, though, evaded security long enough to take a jaunt on the gridiron.

The guy juked stadium staffers for several moments ... but as he headed toward the Rams' sideline, Wagner -- with some help from teammate Takkarist McKinley -- flattened him.

Security took over, and the fans were eventually detained, cited and released.

According to Direct Action Everywhere, the individuals performed the stunt in order to raise awareness for a trial involving the alleged theft of pigs from a factory farm. The org. said the man suffered a burn injury during the incident.

"Otherwise," they said in a statement, "they're a bit beaten up but in good spirits."

For his part, Wagner said after the game he jumped in to help security for safety reasons.

"You don't know what that fan got or what they're doing," the star linebacker said.

Wagner has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

Aaron Judge's 62nd homerun ball has gotten a ton of attention, and with a value of $2 million, justifiably so ... but it's not the only ridiculously valuable piece of memorabilia, the uniform, bat, cleats and batting gloves are also worth a fortune!

TMZ Sports talked to David Kohler from SCP Auctions -- one of the industry leaders in sports memorabilia -- about the value of basically everything but the record-setting baseball.

"Certainly the bat, the tool, the trade that he used yesterday to hit this historical milestone home run. That bat's worth a lot of money and the uniform he wore. Those are Aaron Judge's basically right, so I'm sure he's keeping those, but again if we had those at auction, in our firm, SCP Auctions, that's gonna probably bring, for a pair, probably a million dollars."

"Of course, his cleats that he wore, his batting helmet of course -- all those things are gonna bring big bucks for this very historical moment."

And, Kohler says if Aaron were to inscribe any of the items, they'd be worth even more!

As for the baseball, it's still the most valuable item from the historic game ... and worth upwards of $2 million.

"This baseball's worth a lot of bucks! Our estimate actually, with everything that's gone on in the last week or two leading up to the last game yesterday, our estimate is over $2 million for this baseball!"

FYI, Kohler's company has auctioned some of the most important balls in sports history ... including Barry Bonds' 500th, 755th, 756th and 762nd HR ball, as well as Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire's 500th HR baseball.

And, they'd like to add Judge's 62nd ball to the impressive list.

"We haven't talked to him personally yet, but we reached out to him," Kohler says, adding the situation is very much like a "lottery ticket landing in your lap."

Joe Burrow is speaking out about his own experiences with hard hits to the head following Tua Tagovailoa's recent injury ... revealing he's blacked out and completely lost memory of parts of games.

The Cincinnati Bengals superstar's comments come as the topic of concussions has returned to the spotlight this season ... after the Dolphins allowed their star QB to play in a game just four days after he appeared to suffer a serious head injury against the Bills.

Burrow says, unfortunately, these things will continue to happen due to the nature of the sport ... and players know what they're signing up for.

"You're going to have head injuries," Burrow said on Colin Cowherd's podcast. "You're going to tear your ACL. You're going to break your arm. That's the game that we play. That's the life that we live."

Burrow -- who said he's had concussions where he didn't remember the second half of a game or an entire game -- said there's an inherent risk associated with the sport that he accepts.

"I know I got a little dizzy at one point," Burrow said on the podcast. "But nothing long-lasting."

Tua's situation has sparked serious concern with the Dolphins' handling of concussions ... with many questioning why he was even on the field to get hit in the head again on Thursday after suffering what looked like a possible head injury just four days prior against the Bills.

Tagovailoa's situation was so serious, Dr. Bennet Omalu -- the famed neurologist portrayed by actor Will Smith in the 2015 movie "Concussion" -- told us Tua should walk away from the NFL.

"If you love your life, if you love your family, you love your kids -- if you have kids -- it's time to gallantly walk away," Omalu said. "Go find something else to do."

"Sometimes money is not more valuable than human life. $20 billion is not worth more than your brain."