TMZ Sports - Page 16

A former therapist for the Spurs claims Joshua Primo exposed himself on 9 occasions, saying she intends to file a police report ... but JP's attorney adamantly denies the allegations, calling them "either a complete fabrication, a gross embellishment or utter fantasy."

Dr. Hillary Cauthen, a psychologist previously employed by the NBA franchise, along with her attorney, Tony Buzbee, held a news conference in Texas Thursday morning ... where they laid out their claims of indecent exposure.

"She didn't run to the press. She didn't run off and file a lawsuit. She instead tried to handle things in a way that she felt was appropriate -- in a way that would bring some real change in the Spurs organization," Buzbee said.

"Unfortunately, that didn't work out that way."

Buzbee says his client alerted the Spurs, but they failed to act.

As for the 19-year-old hooper's side of the story ... they haven't wavered, saying if Primo was exposed, he didn't know about it, and certainly didn't do it intentionally.

Primo's attorney, William J. Briggs II, released a statement laying out the facts as they see him.

Primo, the 12th overall pick in last year's draft, was released by the Spurs last week. At the time, the organization said, "It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua."

Joshua appeared in 54 games for San Antonio ... averaging 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Jay-Z and Jeff Bezos, two of the most successful men in America, are interested in buying the Washington Commanders, in light of owner Dan Snyder's interest in selling the NFL team, sources tell TMZ Sports.

And, we're told a partnership between the men is on the table.

On Wednesday, the team issued a statement announcing Snyder hired a major bank to investigate a possible opportunity to sell the team ... but made it clear he hadn't yet made a final decision.

Still, the move provided hope to droves of Washington football fans ... who after controversy after controversy and endless losing have long wished Snyder would sell.

We're told Jay, worth an estimated $1.3 billion by Forbes, has expressed serious interest in acquiring the team ... valued at $5.6 billion this summer.

Despite the rap legend and businessman's incredible fortune, we're told he'd look for a strategic partner.

Bezos, one of the world's richest people ($114 billion net worth), is also interested in the team.

Bezos has ties to the area ... he owns the Washington Post newspaper.

Amazon also owns Prime Video ... which recently inked a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football.

Jay-Z is in business with the NFL ... signing a partnership deal in 2019 which gave Hov power over the halftime show, as well as social justice initiatives.

He also previously owned an NBA team, the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets ... before being forced to sell when he opened his sports and marketing agency, Roc Nation Sports, over a potential conflict of interest.

Byron Allen and Robert Griffin III, amongst many more, have also expressed interest in the team.

There's no shortage of suitors, but topping Bezos and Jay-Z would be a monumental task.

Kyrie Irving is acknowledging the hurt he caused the Jewish community when he promoted a movie containing antisemitic ideas, saying he "meant no harm" ... and to prove he's serious, the NBA star says he'll donate $500K to fight hate.

The 30-year-old Brooklyn Nets star Tweeted a link to "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" last week ... and despite almost immediate backlash, Irving refused to back down, standing by his actions.

That is until Wednesday evening ... when the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie released a statement apologizing and announcing the large monetary donation.

“I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day," Kyrie said.

"I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles."

The 7x NBA All-Star continued ... "I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen. So from my family and I, we meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light."

Worth noting -- Kyrie does not flat-out say "I'm sorry," or, "I apologize" ... which has some people saying his statement and donation isn't enough.

Irving stopped short of completely condemning the ideas in the movie ... but it's certainly a big departure from his previous position.

Prior to tonight's announcement, Irving was getting destroyed everywhere from on TV, to social media, and even at Barclays. In fact, a group of fans protested Kyrie earlier this week ... wearing shirts that read "FIGHT ANTISEMITISM."

Brooklyn is home to one of the country's largest Jewish populations.

As for the money, the Nets are also chipping in 500 grand ... bringing the total to $1 million. The organization says they'll divide the cash among "causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities."

The team also says they'll work with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) -- which fights antisemitism -- to "develop educational programming that is inclusive and will comprehensively combat all forms of antisemitism and bigotry."

Several female Phillies fans turned on each other following the team's tough loss to the Astros on Wednesday -- beating the hell out of one another inside a women's bathroom near the stadium.

The chaos at Xfinity Live! -- a popular Phillies watch spot just feet from Citizens Bank Ballpark -- was all captured on video ... showing at least four women decked out in Philadelphia gear going at it in the venue's restroom.

In the clip, you can see hair was pulled, and punches were thrown. At one point during the fracas, two women wrestled MMA-style on the floor.

No word on what caused the fight -- but the potential combo of alcohol and Houston no-hitting the Phillies seem to be the likely powder keg.

We reached out to cops to see if any arrests were made ... but a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Dept. tells us officers were not contacted nor dispatched in reference to the incident.

The women will have only a few hours to lick their wounds ... Game 5 starts at 8 PM ET on Thursday night.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is unleashing on Kyrie Irving ... saying the Brooklyn Nets star's attempted mea culpa for sharing a link to a movie laden with antisemitic beliefs was a complete disappointment.

The commish addressed the controversy in a statement on Thursday ... and he didn't hold back.

"Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material," Silver -- who is Jewish -- said.

"While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize."

As we previously reported, Kyrie made a $500k donation to "eradicate hate" on Wednesday ... but stopped short of completely denouncing the contents of the "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" project.

"I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles," Irving said in the statement ... but did not clarify what parts he was distancing himself from.

Rob Dillingham, a 17-year-old consensus five-star basketball recruit and Kentucky commit, is leaving Kanye West's Donda Academy school ... and signing with Overtime Elite league.

Of course, Donda Academy has been engulfed in turmoil after West's repeated use of antisemitic remarks ... putting the future of the school/sports teams in flux.

Dillingham's exit from Donda Academy comes on the heels of Celtics star Jaylen Brown and Rams star Aaron Donald both parting ways from Ye's Donda Sports marketing agency.

The fallout unfortunately swallowed up the kids on the basketball team. Donda was recently pulled from a big tournament -- the Scholastic Play-by-Play tourney in December -- and, most recently, Morehouse College pulled the plug on a showcase in ATL.

Dillingham, a 6'2" point guard out of NC, is considered one of the top point guards in the 2023 class ... and was Donda's highest-rated player, so losing him is a huge blow.

Dillingham -- named Charlotte Observer Player of the Year -- is joining OTE at the perfect time ... the 6-team basketball league just inked a streaming deal with Amazon Prime.

Games start streaming Friday night ... meaning RD went from being on a team that was banned in places to potentially playing in front of millions.

NFL Hall of Famer Ray Guy -- the most legendary punter of all time -- has passed away. He was 73 years old.

Guy became the first pure punter to ever be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft ... going 23rd overall to the Oakland Raiders in 1973 after a stellar career at the University of Southern Mississippi.

He went on to win three Super Bowls with the Raiders in 1977, 1981 and 1984.

Guy's résumé is as good as it gets -- he was a 6-time first-team All-Pro selection, 2-time second-team All-Pro, 7-time Pro Bowler and was named to the NFL's 75th and 100th Anniversary teams.

Guy was famous for his long-hanging punts ... which allowed the Raiders to run downfield in coverage before opposing teams were able to get off a return.

The Ray Guy Award -- named after the icon -- is presented to the best punter in college football every year.

Guy was enshrined in Canton in 2014 -- the first punter to receive the honor. During his speech, he famously said, "Now the Hall of Fame has a complete team."

Kanye West is doubling down on his support for Kyrie Irving ... sharing a pic of the NBA star as they both find themselves embroiled in controversy over pushing antisemitic rhetoric.

The Brooklyn Nets guard released a statement denouncing "all forms of hate and oppression" and vowed to make a $500k donation to fight for the cause on Wednesday ... after facing a ton of backlash for posting a link to a movie that is filled with hurtful beliefs toward the Jewish community.

While KI took responsibility for his actions ... but did not flat-out say "I'm sorry" or "I apologize."

Just six hours later, Ye went to his Twitter account and posted a black and white image of Kyrie to his 31.7 million followers ... seemingly backing the athlete for the second time in three days.

Ye previously backed Irving on Sunday ... posting a different black-and-white image of him and saying, "There's some real ones still here."

LeBron James is paying tribute to Takeoff in a big way ... changing his Instagram avatar to a photo of the late rapper -- something the Lakers superstar rarely does.

James' IG update happened Wednesday night just before the Lakers took on the New Orleans Pelicans in Los Angeles ... when he swapped out a pic of his family for a photo of Takeoff, who was tragically killed in front of a Houston bowling alley on Tuesday.

The pic shows a stoic Takeoff in a suit and tie ... wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.

The move is a very meaningful one for James -- whose IG profile photos almost always consists of pics of him or his family. Most recently, his two sons, Bronny and Bryce, held the honor.

37-year-old James previously used the gesture to honor Kobe Bryant following his tragic death in 2020.

Of course, the Migos and King James are fans of each other ... remember, the rap trio turned LBJ's famous "Taco Tuuuuuuesday" lingo into an actual song two years ago -- and Bron was hyped over it.

LeBron has yet to publicly comment on Takeoff's passing, though he did share a photo of the Migos rapper in one of his IG stories shortly after his death.

Takeoff was just 28 years old.

Chris Jericho knows how to piss off a crowd -- he called out Lamar Jackson Wednesday night at an AEW event in Baltimore, with the star QB sitting just feet away, surrounded by thousands of his fans!!

It all went down at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena -- Jackson was sitting ringside while Jericho was cutting a promo alongside Daniel Garcia and Jake Hager.

Jericho said he didn't care who his mystery opponent was for his Ring of Honor open title challenge ... saying, "I'll even whoop Lamar Jackson's ass," which evoked a response from the crowd.

Cameras quickly panned to LJ, who appeared blindsided by the remark, putting his head down while Jericho smiled in the ring.

"Lamar looks nervous," said AEW commentator Tazz, a former WWE wrestler.

Lamar didn't seem too worried, though -- and after the show, he got some face time backstage with wrestling legends Jeff Jarrett, Mark Henry, and Big Show.

Naturally, Lamar wasn't the only celeb in the building -- "The Boss" Rick Ross also attended the show, where he cut a promo backstage with AEW star Swerve Strickland.

"I'm here for one reason and one reason only," said Ross. "I want to make this clear, making sure Swerve is not only the biggest wrestler in the industry but also the largest recording artist in the world."

"That’s why we're here; we're celebrating today, and that's why we're here. Biggest!"

The Phillies let down the FLOTUS in a big way on Wednesday night ... not only losing to the Astros in front of Jill Biden -- but doing so in a historically awful fashion.

Biden hit Citizens Bank Park full of hope for the World Series' Game 4 ... but it didn't take long for her beloved Philly squad to disappoint.

In nine innings, the team didn't record a hit -- marking only the second time EVER that a squad has gone hitless in a Fall Classic game. Philadelphia ended up losing, 5-0.

To her credit, though, Jill -- who's consistently professed her love for Philly sports over the years -- didn't let the lackluster performance ruin her day at the ballpark. She appeared to be in good spirits throughout the evening, and participated in the game's moving Stand Up To Cancer moments of silence.

Bruce Springsteen and Miles Teller, meanwhile, were also in attendance to watch Philadelphia's flop ... with the two catching up for a few seconds before ultimately seeing Houston tie up the series, 2-2.

But, the Phillies are at least not done yet ... there's still three games left to go before it's all over.

Khloe Kardashian is putting her foot down with Tristan Thompson when it comes to footing the bill for their daughter's lavish parties ... something she made clear on True's 4th birthday.

Khloe's approach -- basically, "thanks but no thanks," Tristan -- comes through loud and clear in the latest episode of "The Kardashians." She was throwing a huge birthday bash for their daughter when Kris pulled Khloe aside to let her know Tristan had paid for the whole party behind her back ... and KK wasn't having it.

Khloe immediately shut down the idea, and was adamant she's paying for the entire baby banger by herself.

She told her momager .. "No, he's not taking care of the whole party."

Kris actually defended Tristan, and insisted Khloe should let him pay -- but after going back and forth, Khloe said, "That's nice, but I won't let that happen."

As you know, their relationship has seen a lot of turmoil before they split.

We broke the story ... they had a baby boy via surrogate, but Khloe later found out Tristan had cheated on her again, and had gotten another woman pregnant -- all behind her back.

In recent episodes of the show, she called TT a "liar." They've since been focused on co-parenting and denied rumors about rekindling.

As for the party, he apparently had a game and couldn't attend, but Khloe still wasn't about to let him pay for the whole party.

In her confessional, she said, "I work really hard to do elaborate things for True and I don't need anyone's help."

Halloween costumes like Jerry Jones' "blind referee" play into stereotypes that the visually impaired are incompetent ... so says the National Federation of the Blind, which tells TMZ Sports these kinds of outfits are "harmful."

Jerry dressed up in a ref uniform and sported sunglasses and a walking stick over the holiday weekend ... in an attempt to playfully go after NFL officials for missing penalty calls.

While Jones certainly isn't the first person to sport the costume, the NFB tells us it's an "unfortunate" choice ... especially because it leans into the underlying stereotype that the blind are "incompetent."

"When anyone perpetuates that stereotype, it's harmful," Chris Danielsen, the NFB's director of PR tells us ... pointing out nearly 70% of blind people are unemployed.

Instead of ripping into the Cowboys owner for his choice, Danielsen believes this can be a teachable moment for Jones and anyone else considering wearing costumes that make light of the blind.

"He does have blind Cowboys fans," Danielsen added. "They show up at games and put on headsets or listen on the radio. It may be something for him to think about."

Danielsen says there are plenty of blind people who want to be more involved in sports in any capacity ... and the "blind referee" costume only complicates things for them.

Jemele Hill says she's had enough with rappers dying from gun violence ... and wants to see folks come together to talk about how to stop it once and for all.

We got Jemele at LAX Wednesday and asked her for solutions following Takeoff's death in Houston ... she's calling on artists, record labels and politicians to start tough conversations on gun violence.

While Jemele senses some of these talks may be going on behind closed doors ... she highlights why it's important to discuss issues and solutions surrounding gun violence in a public forum.

As we reported ... Takeoff was shot and killed this week while visiting Houston, the coroner's reports says bullets struck the Migos rapper in the head and torso.

Jemele also has strong thoughts on the practice of rappers "checking in" with certain people wherever they are traveling -- comparing it to "some slave s***." She says Black people should never have to feel unsafe going into another area.

For Jemele, she wants industry leaders to say enough is enough after the shooting deaths of Takeoff and PnB Rock -- lamenting the fact nothing's really changed since Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were gunned down back in the day.

Joshua Primo was cut by the Spurs after a team psychologist claimed he exposed himself during therapy sessions ... but sources close to the 19-year-old hooper are adamant he did absolutely nothing wrong.

Primo, the 12th overall pick in the 2021 draft and one of the youngest hoopers in the league, was released by San Antonio on Friday ... after he was accused of "multiple alleged instances of him exposing himself to women," according to an ESPN report.

But, sources close to Primo are insistent he never intentionally exposed his privates ... and if anything was visible at any time, it was strictly a wardrobe malfunction resulting from laying down on a couch in basketball shorts.

It's been documented ... JP had a rough childhood, and we're told the psychologist was helping him work through some personal issues ... so he'd almost always go to her office in shorts before or after practice or games.

The accuser's attorney has identified his client as Dr. Hillary Cauthen ... a performance therapist with the organization.

Our sources say Primo was shocked by the allegations ... and many in his circle feel he's a young guy who's being taken advantage of by a medical professional twice his age.

Shortly after he was released, Primo released a statement addressing the shocking news.

"I know that you all are surprised by today’s announcement. I’ve been seeking help to deal with previous trauma I suffered and will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully."

The former Alabama star continued ... "I hope to be able to discuss these issues in the future so I can help others who have suffered in a similar way. I appreciate privacy at this time."

As for the Spurs, Gregg Popovich's squad hasn't addressed the allegations ... but did issue a statement after parting ways with Primo, saying, "It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua."

Primo played in 50 games as a rookie last season ... averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He appeared in 4 games this season before being cut.

The accuser has hired Tony Buzbee -- the attorney who represented many of Deshaun Watson's accusers -- and the two are scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday in Texas where they're expected to expand on the allegations for the first time.

Primo has received a demand letter from the accuser's attorney, according to our sources, but a lawsuit has not been filed. Josh has not been charged with any crime.

Xavien Howard is firing back at his accuser in new court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports ... calling the woman "a scorned ex-lover" -- and insisting her STD lawsuit against him is "the epitome of a shakedown."

The Miami Dolphins star filed the docs on Friday -- one day after the woman, who filed her suit anonymously as Jane Doe, claimed he negligently gave her genital herpes.

In the documents, Howard argued the woman's suit should be thrown out ... and he says the woman has stalked him, threatened him with violence, and tried to extort him for cash.

In the docs, Howard claims he has text message proof that showed the woman is "nothing more than a scorned ex-lover who has elected to prey on [Howard's] public status for the purpose of obtaining a financial windfall without right or claim."

The cornerback even included texts that he says show the woman calling him curse words ... before threatening to "come to your job tomorro and cause a whole scene."