TMZ Sports - Page 3

Soccer superstar Achraf Hakimi -- who plays alongside Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé on Paris Saint-Germain -- has been charged with rape ... but his lawyer is denying any wrongdoing.

An investigation was launched earlier this week ... after a 23-year-old woman went to police and claimed 24-year-old Hakimi raped her. The woman did not press charges ... but her claims, however, compelled French prosecutors to open a probe.

According to ESPN, the Moroccan national team star was questioned about the allegations on Thursday ... and was later charged by an investigating judge and placed under judicial supervision. He is not allowed to make contact with the alleged victim.

Hakimi's attorney, Fanny Colin, released a statement on the allegations ... saying Hakimi strongly denies the accusations.

"According to the elements currently at the disposal of the police that M. Hakimi, in this case, is the victim of an attempt of racketeering," the outlet reports.

Colin also claims the woman refused to undergo any medical or psychological exams ... and did not speak with Hakimi in person prior to going to police.

Hakimi has been sidelined with a leg injury ... but PSG coach Christophe Galtier told reporters Friday he is expected to play in Wednesday's match against Bayern Munich. He did not comment on Hakimi's legal status.

Reggie Bush's wife channeled her inner-Teyana Taylor, making an extremely sexy dance video to celebrate her hubby's birthday, and the video's so hot, not even pouring rain could cool things off! 🥵

Lilit -- who married the former NFL running back in 2014 -- shared the dance video on Instagram on Thursday ... Bush's 38th birthday.

"Happy Birthday Daddy @reggiebush 🥰," the 35-year-old said in the caption. "I dedicate this dance to you my love."

Lilit showed off her moves to Chris Brown's "Under The Influence," popular amongst dancers, and performed in a two-piece black fit.

"Sometimes mommy dances 🤪", she said.

Remember, Bush started dating Lilit in 2011, a few years after his very publicized relationship with Kim Kardashian ended. The couple has 3 children together.

Happy birthday, Reggie!

Oscar Pistorius could be released from prison at the end of this month ... the ex-Olympic sprinter is now up for parole in South Africa -- 10 years after he killed his girlfriend.

A hearing will go down on March 31, according to Pistorius' attorney, Julian Knight ... who added that if parole is granted during the proceedings, the convicted killer could be out from behind bars that same day.

Pistorius has completed more than half of the 13-year, 5-month sentence that he was given for shooting and killing 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in Feb. 2013.

You'll recall, Pistorius, a double-amputee nicknamed "Blade Runner," admitted to shooting her in his South African home -- though he claimed it wasn't on purpose ... saying he thought she was an intruder. He was eventually convicted of manslaughter, which was later upgraded to murder.

According to The Independent, Steenkamp's family is against Pistorius' early release ... though South African law will allow Pistorius to seek it nonetheless, as offenders in the country can apply for parole once they've served at least half of their sentences.

Live from New York, it's Jason Kelce!!! Oh, and his kid brother whatshisname, Super Bowl champ guy ... Travis Kelce too.

Yep, there's a good chance it happens, because the Eagles star -- who lost to Travis' Chiefs last month -- was asked to make a special cameo appearance this weekend on "Saturday Night Live" for Travis' hosting gig.

Sources close to production tell TMZ Sports ... Travis will have some familiar faces in the crowd for his big night, including his famous mom Donna Kelce, his Uncle Don, Aunt Joan, and possibly his dad, Ed.

'SNL' producers are hoping Jason joins the family affair too, and not just to sit in the audience. We're told they want him in front of the camera at some point during the show.

Sources say Jason's attendance will be a last-minute decision, though, considering he and his wife just welcomed a baby girl, Bennett, last week -- plus he's also busy with the NFL Combine and his 'New Heights' podcast.

Having Jason join in on Travis' show makes total sense ... especially considering Super Bowl LVII was dubbed "The Kelce Bowl" as their teams faced off in the big game.

Both Kelces are also known to be two of the most talented and charismatic guys in the NFL, so the possibilities in the writers' room are endless. Travis has already dropped two hilarious promos for his comedic debut.

Sources say the Kelce clan is "very excited" for Travis' moment ... but Jason's gonna get his own shine when the fam heads to Philly Sunday to spend time with his new bundle of joy.

Ya wouldn't usually say this to athletes, but in this case, you can -- break a leg, Travis ... and possibly Jason!

Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes are making public appearances as a couple now, and they're all smiles about it ... despite her messy divorce drama with Morgan Evans.

KB and CS hit up the New York Rangers game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden ... and during their time in the stands, Chase grabs her by the chin for a kiss ... real romantic stuff.

The couple seems to be in great spirits -- while we've seen them all over each other at LAX, and havin' a great time at a Nashville honky tonk ... this is the first time they've both gone to a public event as a duo. That we know of, at least.

Of course, Kelsea being on cloud 9 comes on the heels of some serious turmoil between her and her ex-husband. The drama didn't end when she and Morgan called it quits last year, because Kelsea dropped an album on Feb. 14 about the end of their marriage.

What's more, she went on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast last week -- digging deeper into her side of what she saw as a nasty split, blaming him for forcing her to do stuff like give up half the house or cough up alimony.

As we reported, her recent comments got a public response out of Morgan, who said she's leaving out "what really happened."

He kept things pretty vague, but there are reports Kelsea cheated on Morgan back in 2019 with The Chainsmokers member Drew Taggart. Kelsea allegedly told Morgan about it in 2021, which led to the divorce.

Obviously, it's become a messy situation, but Kelsea and Chase still look pretty happy!

Frank Gore just cut a deal with prosecutors, TMZ Sports has learned ... agreeing to plead guilty to an ordinance violation to close out his domestic violence case.

The San Francisco 49ers legend pled guilty to violating the public health nuisance code in New Jersey on Monday -- a downgrade from his initial charge of simple assault. He was ordered to pay fines and fees, which, according to court records, totaled around $2,000.

His other false imprisonment charge in the case was dismissed.

It's somewhat surprising, considering the heinous allegations against him. You'll recall, the former NFL running back was accused of grabbing a naked 28-year-old woman by her hair on July 31, 2022 and dragging her across the 59th floor of the Tropicana Casino's Havana Tower in Atlantic City.

At the time, police who spoke with the woman said she "did not exhibit signs of injury" following the incident. But, Gore was ultimately charged after cops said they further investigated the claims.

Frank, 39, never publicly commented on the matter.

College baseball player Jatonne Sterling, a member of the Clark Atlanta University team, was shot and killed on Tuesday. He was just 20 years old.

The Atlanta Police Department said the tragic shooting happened less than a mile from CAU's campus in Georgia ... near a church.

According to cops, officers responded to the scene at around 1:42 p.m. ... and found Sterling suffering from a gunshot wound. They said he was "not alert, conscious, or breathing and was pronounced deceased on the scene."

Cops say they have launched an investigation into the shooting, but no arrests have been made yet.

CAU, an HBCU, and its athletics department mourned Sterling's death in a social media post, saying, "Gone too soon."

"Please keep Jatonne’s family in your prayers. 🙏🏾," the school added.

According to CAU, Sterling was a utility player on the baseball team who was majoring in computer science.

Before getting a baseball scholarship to play for the CAU Panthers, Sterling was a standout athlete at Chicago's Morgan Park High School ... where he won a championship in 2021.

His former high school baseball coach, Earnest Radcliff, told 11Alive he spoke with Sterling a week ago and looked at him like a son.

"I don't have any words to describe the hurt for this young man," Radcliff said. "No parent should have to bury their child."

R.I.P.

The Toronto Raptors created a video in honor of Women's History Month this week ... and after it was met with backlash, they quickly deleted it -- and now, they're apologizing for it all.

The clip featured three Raptors players answering why they believe the statement "girls run the world" is a fact.

Two of the players, Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa, gave cringeworthy responses.

"They are the only one that can procreate," Flynn said.

"They birth everybody," Achiuwa said.

Scottie Barnes had a more palatable answer, simply stating, "all women are great because they are queens." But, that wasn't enough to stop critics from blasting the video on social media as soon as it was posted.

Many called it tone deaf and offensive -- and the Raptors took it down a short time later.

On Thursday, the team offered up an apology for it in a statement to the Toronto Sun.

"We're an organization that prides itself on doing the right thing when it comes to inclusion and representation, and we made a mistake [Tuesday]," Toronto officials said. "Our sincerest apologies to our players, our staff and our fans -- we'll work to do better today and every day after."

Lavel Davis Jr.'s home state of South Carolina is making sure his name lives on -- and officials are doing it by naming a portion of a highway after the slain UVA football player.

The proposal was submitted to the South Carolina General Assembly in February, which is three months after Davis and two of his teammates were gunned down on the Virginia campus.

The request on the bill read, "Whereas, it would be fitting and proper to pay homage to Lavel 'Tyler' Norman Davis, Jr., an outstanding athlete and accomplished young man whose life held such promise but was tragically cut short by naming a portion of highway in Dorchester County in his memory."

According to Davis' cousin Sean Lampkin, Lavel's mother informed him of the great news on Thursday.

"Lavel’s mother, Simone, has informed me that the State of SC has decided to name a highway after Lavel Tyler Norman Davis Jr. near his HS," Lampkin said via Twitter on Thursday.

Lampkin says there will also be a ceremony to officially welcome the tribute.

The 9.6-mile stretch of Highway 78 will be named the "Lavel ‘Tyler’ Norman Davis, Jr. Memorial Highway" and will start from the 12.79-mile point to the 22.39 marker.

This dedication is one of the many that's happened since Davis, D'Sean Perry, and Devin Chandler were killed on Nov 13, 2022.

The University of Virginia posthumously awarded the three football players with their degrees ... and the Washington Commanders paid tribute with helmet decals featuring their jerseys numbers 1, 15, and 41.

The shooting suspect, Christopher Jones Jr., was arrested and charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony.

A grocery store owned by Lionel Messi's in-laws was shot up by two men who fired at least a dozen shots into the shop in Argentina, before sending an ominous threat to the soccer legend ... "Messi, we’re waiting for you."

The Unico supermarket is located in Rosario, Argentina -- about 200 miles from the capital, Buenos Aires -- and is owned by the mom and dad of Lionel's wife, Antonela Roccuzzo. A normal day of shopping for groceries was interrupted Thursday when two assailants pulled up in front of the store on a motorcycle in broad daylight, with one of the men jumping off the bike, and opening fire, according to witnesses.

Miraculously, no one was injured ... though property was damaged, including a shattered front window pane.

Perhaps the scariest part ... after unloading on the store, the men dropped a written note that threatened the 35-year-old World Cup champion.

“Messi, we’re waiting for you. Javkin is also a drug trafficker, so he won’t take care of you.”

Javkin is Rosario Mayor Pablo Javkin.

Shortly after the violent incident, Mayor Javkin went to the scene and criticized Argentina's national police for failing to reign in drug-related crimes.

Local police officials also spoke, and despite the seemingly menacing message, they say this was likely an attempt to "attract attention," as opposed to a threat.

Narco violence has been on the rise in Argentina, and Rosario, specifically, has seen a big jump in drug-related murders. In fact, last year the Buenos Aires Times wrote, "narco violence plaguing the city has reached 'critical' levels."

Despite the scary situation at his family's store, Messi didn't appear to be bothered at Paris Saint-Germaine F.C. practice on Thursday ... where Lionel hit the field with his teammates.

LeBron James' right foot issue has officially been classified as a "tendon injury" ... which will keep the Lakers superstar sidelined at least three weeks, the team announced Thursday.

It's unclear if James will play again this season ... as he will be reevaluated again after his time away.

The news is a big blow to the Lakers, who are trying to claw their way into playoff contention with the season winding down.

L.A. is currently 11th in the Western Conference standings with a 30-33 record ... and will need to move up at least one more spot in order to make the NBA play-in tournament.

LeBron was initially listed out of Tuesday's matchup against the Grizzlies with a sore foot ... but required more testing to figure out what exactly was wrong. He was spotted limping while wearing a big boot on his lower leg during the loss.

The Lakers have been dealing with multiple injuries recently -- Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell also missed Wednesday night's game against the Thunder ... but despite being short-handed, the Purple and Gold were able to pull out a win.

Ex-NFL owner Jerry Richardson -- the founder of the Carolina Panthers -- has died, his former team announced Thursday.

He was 86 years old. No cause of death has been revealed.

Richardson officially became an NFL owner in 1995, when the Panthers entered the league as an expansion franchise. He went on to be the honcho of the org. until 2018, when he sold the team to billionaire David Tepper.

"Jerry Richardson's contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic," Tepper said after learning the news of his death on Thursday. "With the arrival of the Panthers in 1995, he changed the landscape of sports in the region and gave the NFL fans a team to call their own.''

Tepper added, "He was incredibly gracious to me when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful."

The Panthers made the playoffs eight times under Richardson's watch, making two Super Bowl appearances.

His tenure, however, was not without controversy. He was accused of sexually harassing female staffers and using racist language while running the team.

The league investigated the claims, and in 2018 -- just before he sold the franchise to Tepper -- he was hit with a $2.75 million fine.

A statue of Richardson that stood in front of the Panthers' stadium for years was eventually removed in 2020 -- after the team said it feared people would try to take it down during a summer of national protests.

Jon Jones spent his entire career in the light heavyweight division, but, not anymore ... the UFC legend is now a heavyweight, and we're seeing JJ's physique for the first time!

35-year-old Jones posed for promotional photos on March 1 ahead of his UFC 285 fight with 32-year-old former interim champ Ciryl Gane ... and you can clearly see 6'4" Jon packed on some serious size.

Jones systematically bulked up, adding muscle over the last 2+ years. When his fight with Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last fall, Jon told the crowd he weighed 255 lbs.

It's unclear how much he tips the scales at now, but Jon previously stated he was aiming to weigh 270 lbs. heading into fight week, before cutting a few pounds to make the heavyweight limit of 265 lbs.

FYI, Jones weighed 204 lbs. for his last fight against Dominick Reyes ... which he won by unanimous decision.

Of course, Jones is the greatest LHW (205 lb.) fighter to ever step foot in an MMA cage ... but, there's a reason weight classes exist. Size matters, despite what you've heard.

As for his opponent, Gane is a bonafide heavyweight. He's 6'5", and weighed 247 lbs. for his last fight against Tai Tuivasa.

Alvin Kamara just pled not guilty to two criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the beatdown of a man outside of a Las Vegas nightclub last year.

The New Orleans Saints superstar appeared in a Vegas courtroom on Thursday morning with his attorneys to enter the plea.

He wore all black, and said very few words during the hearing.

A trial date for the 27-year-old was tentatively set for July 31 -- right around the time the Saints will kick off their 2023 training camp.

Kamara's co-defendants in the case -- which includes Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chris Lammons -- also pled not guilty to the charges at the hearing.

Prosecutors have charged Kamara with one gross misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit battery and one felony count of battery with substantial bodily harm after they say he attacked a man inside The Cromwell Hotel and Casino in February 2022.

According to a lawsuit filed by the alleged victim, Darnell Greene, the altercation happened after he and Kamara got into an argument over the use of an elevator outside of the hotel's popular Drai's Nightclub.

Video of the incident, obtained by TMZ Sports, appears to show Kamara throwing multiple blows at Greene ... while others kicked and punched the man as well.

Kamara was initially arrested over it all after the 2022 Pro Bowl game. He went on to play the entire 2022 season, starting 13 games and rushing for 897 yards.

Antonio Brown is officially walking away from football -- but only as a player -- because the newly retired NFL superstar just became part owner of a National Arena League team.

The former All-Pro receiver officially shut the door on his NFL career this week, according to ML Football ... and now, he's fully focused on his new role as part owner of the Albany Empire -- the same franchise his father, Eddie, played for back in the day.

TMZ Sports is told AB is 100% committed to his new position with the team ... and will be as hands-on as his schedule allows.

Eddie is also involved in his son's new journey ... and will serve as vice president of football operations.

Of course, AB grew up near the area during part of his childhood as his dad starred for the Albany Firebirds ... making the move a full-circle moment for him. The transaction came to be rather quickly ... as we're told after a few social media interactions and phone calls, it was a done deal.

AB was officially introduced at a press conference on Thursday ... and said he was "excited and grateful to be a part of the Albany Empire."

FYI -- the Empire are back-to-back champions in the NAL ... and AB said he's ready for a three-peat.

We're told AB has big plans for his role as part owner alongside Mike Kwarta ... and will help boost media coverage and promotion for the team.

AB finishes his NFL career -- which was marred by controversy on and off the field -- with more than 900 receptions and 12,000 receiving yards, 83 touchdowns and a Super Bowl ring.

Joe Montana's iconic jersey, worn during Super Bowl XXIII (and SB XIX), when the legendary quarterback engineered "The Drive," the most iconic drive in football history, sold for an astounding $1.212 million, smashing the previous record of $480K, which a fan paid for a Tom Brady jersey last year.

Goldin brokered the historic sale.

"It's only right that the two greatest quarterbacks of all-time are still trading off records, even in retirement," said Ken Goldin. "Montana was already in rarefied air with four championship rings and three Super Bowl MVPs -- [and] with the record-breaking sale of his Super Bowl XXIII jersey, Montana has surpassed Tom Brady on top of that mountain."

Montana -- who went undefeated in Super Bowls during his career (4-0) -- first sported the record-breaking jersey in Super Bowl XIX (1985) when the 49ers defeated the Dolphins, 38-16. Joe was named SB MVP.

The 4x Super Bowl champ -- regarded by many as the G.O.A.T. -- also wore the same jersey in Super Bowl XXIII (imagine that happening now) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami on January 22, 1989.

The 49ers were trailing the Bengals 16-13 late in the fourth quarter when Montana cemented his legendary status by marching his team down the field 92 yards, scoring a touchdown with less than 3 minutes to go in the game.

The game-winning 92-yard drive is historic among sports fans -- as it propelled the Niners to a 20-16 victory over the Bengals. It was Montana's third Super Bowl championship.