TMZ Sports - Page 50

The NBA and WNBA teams that honored Daunte Wright by wearing custom shirts in the wake of his death are now auctioning off the items to raise money for Wright's family, league officials confirm.

Players from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx -- along with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat all wore special warm-up shirts this week with the message "With Liberty and Justice FOR ALL" in the days after Wright was killed by a police officer in Minnesota.

Now, the teams say various players will sign their warm-up shirts and donate them for an auction -- with proceeds benefitting The Daunte Wright Memorial Fund, which supports the Wright family.

Some of the players who wore the shirt are Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Karl-Anthony Towns, DeAndre Jordan, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and many more.

The bidding starts at $200 per shirt -- but some of the items are exploding, like KD's shirt ... which already hit $500 just minutes after the auction went live.

Bidding closes at the final buzzer of Friday's Wolves vs. Heat game.

20-year-old Wright was shot and killed on April 11 during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.

The officer responsible for the shooting, Kim Potter, has been arrested and charged with 2nd-degree manslaughter.

Potter has claimed she was trying to deploy a Taser on Wright -- but accidentally grabbed her handgun instead, fatally wounding him.

The shooting sparked outrage around the country -- and several NBA and WNBA teams held a moment of silence for Wright before games this week.

Wright is survived by his 2-year-old son -- and his family has set up a GoFundMe page to help covert funeral and burial expenses along with "mental health and grief counseling for Daunte's family."

Tragic news out of the North Texas basketball program -- assistant coach Nelson Haggerty has passed away after a single-car crash Friday morning. He was 47 years old.

Haggerty was part of the coaching staff that helped lead the Mean Green to their first-ever NCAA tournament win last month ... when #13 North Texas beat #4 Purdue 78-69 in the first round on March 19.

Law enforcement officials in Texas say Haggerty was driving on Highway 380 near the city of Decatur in Wise County around 2:30 AM Friday ... when his car went off the right side of the road and hit a culvert, according to local reports.

Cops say Haggerty's vehicle flipped and hit a fence before coming to a halt. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, where Haggerty was pronounced dead.

Haggerty is a Texas hoops legend -- he was a high school star out of Houston ... and played 4 seasons at Baylor University, leading the NCAA in assists during his senior year.

NH went on to coach from 1997-2019 ... including 8 seasons with Midwestern State, where he became one of the most successful coaches in program history. He was named National Association of Basketball Coaches regional coach of the year in 2012.

Haggerty joined North Texas in 2019 ... and head coach Grant McCasland immediately praised his positive presence on the team.

The North Texas athletic department honored Haggerty Friday morning ... saying "Father, Husband, Friend, and Coach."

Aaron Donald's lawyer claims the NFL superstar was the target of a bottle attack outside of a nightclub ... and he's got video to prove it.

Donald's attorney, Casey White, claims the assault allegations levied against the L.A. Rams superstar are provably false based on surveillance video they've obtained along with multiple witnesses.

As we previously reported, DeVincent Spriggs filed a police report against Donald -- claiming Aaron beat the daylights out of him outside the Boom Boom Room nightclub in the early hours of April 11.

But, Casey White appeared on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh on Friday morning and says the surveillance video proves Spriggs is 100% full of crap.

White says the two were at a party together at a residence above the nightclub when Spriggs bumped into Donald -- elbowing him in the back.

White says there was a minor conflict which resulted in Spriggs being kicked out of the party.

But, Spriggs allegedly waited for Donald in an alley outside -- that's when he tried to attack with a bottle.

"Mr. Spriggs starts walking toward Aaron and he's yelling and he's drunk and he's aggressive," White says.

"And, Aaron sees something in his right hand and first he thinks it's a gun."

"But, it's actually a bottle, a long liquor bottle. In fact, [Spriggs] swings with his right hand, Aaron ducks. The bottle grazes the top of Aaron's head ... he has a lump on his head from the bottle."

At that point, White says people in the area -- including Aaron's brother -- raced in to help Aaron and some people began beating Spriggs savagely.

Aaron was restrained during the beating, White says -- but eventually freed himself and actually began ripping people off of Spriggs.

"He actually saved Mr. Spriggs from further injury,” White said ... "It’s fantastic, from a defense attorney’s perspective, to be honest with you."

White says Spriggs was badly injured -- but insists the guy only has himself to blame.

White also claims he received an email from police saying investigators do not have any video evidence showing Donald assaulted Spriggs -- the implication being Donald will NOT be charged with a crime.

White also suggested he would be releasing footage soon to show everyone Donald did nothing wrong.

Two men beat the hell out of each other on a golf course last week -- with one of the dudes even swinging a flagstick at the other -- and the insane fight was all caught on video!

The wild scene went down on April 9 at a golf club in South Africa ... when two men got into a fistfight on the course at a local school's fundraiser event.

According to the club's general manager, Leon Kruger, the two had apparently been in a dispute over a lost phone before the melee erupted.

"There were two groups, one behind the other, on the course," Kruger said of the tiff to News24. "Someone in the first group lost their phone."

"When they asked the second group if they had seen the phone, they denied having it. That's when things then got out of hand."

You can see in the footage, one of the men began attacking the other, throwing haymakers and eventually ripping off the guy's shirt.

That's when the shirtless man grabbed a nearby flagstick, and swung it at the other dude's head repeatedly!!

The stick struck the guy with such force, it broke over his body ... but the fight still continued.

Eventually, after several more punches were thrown ... the guys calmed down and the fracas was over. It does not appear authorities were involved.

The Indianapolis Colts are mourning those killed in the FedEx shooting -- which occurred just 20 minutes from the team facility ... calling it "another senseless tragedy."

A gunman stormed a FedEx Ground packaging facility late Thursday night -- killing at least 8 people and wounding many others before taking his own life, cops say.

Investigators are still working on the case -- trying to determine a motive.

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts have issued a statement saying, "Our hearts are broken by another senseless tragedy."

"We at the Colts are deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the horrific act that took place last night in our city."

"We join the entire Indianapolis community in mourning those who lost their lives and praying for all those who are or will be impacted over the weeks and months to come."

"We send our thought to our friends at FedEx who are hurting so much this morning, and we pray for their health and healing."

"The victims and survivors are our friends and neighbors, and one can only imagine the nightmare their families are living through this morning."

Three men in hoods broke into soccer star Chris Smalling's home in Italy on Thursday night ... held him at gunpoint and robbed him of his watches, jewelry and other valuables.

The horrifying incident all went down sometime before 5 AM in Rome, according to multiple reports, when Smalling was jarringly awoken by the assailants.

Per the reports, the men forced Smalling to go to his safe and hand them Rolex watches, cash and a bunch of his other prized possessions.

The men reportedly took off after that ... and Smalling -- who was at the home with his wife and son -- quickly called authorities.

Cops arrived and launched an investigation ... though no arrests have been made yet.

According to reports, Smalling and his family were unharmed during the incident ... though the 31-year-old was obviously emotionally shaken up by it all.

"Thinking about you @ChrisSmalling and your lovely family," Smalling's former teammate, Marcus Rashford, tweeted after learning of the incident on Friday.

"So sorry to wake up to the news this morning. Can’t imagine how you’re feeling but I hope you’re ok."

Smalling's Roma team had played earlier Thursday night ... but the star defender did not participate in the game due to a knee injury.

A youth basketball game in Indiana turned VERY violent -- with a referee fighting adults and players ... and the whole disturbing incident was caught on video.

It all went down over the weekend at the Prime Midwest Event at the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, IN during a game between two girls teams.

One of the coaches began arguing a call with just seconds remaining in the 1st quarter.

The ref called a technical foul -- which pissed off one of the coaches so badly, she picked up her bag and began to walk off the court in protest, along with players and team staff.

After the mass exodus from the court, a man in a yellow shirt approaches the ref and appears to shoot cell phone video ... as he continues to get very close to the ref.

At one point, the ref smacks the man in the face with a wild right hand -- and that's when all hell breaks loose.

A player runs over and hits the ref -- another grown man also hits the ref.

The man in the yellow shirt gets really angry and charges after the ref -- it appears he flipped the ref onto the ground very violently.

More chaos ensues until someone grabs the ref and walks him away from the melee.

A spokesperson for the Pacers Athletic Center issued a statement to the Indy Star ... saying, "The event staff removed the involved parties from the remainder of the tournament and will not welcome them back to future events."

"We are disappointed that this altercation happened, as we strive to provide a great experience for families."

Lamar Odom -- who made more than $100 million in his NBA career -- admits he struggled with a gambling problem ... and says things got so bad, he turned to Kobe Bryant for help paying off his debt.

The 41-year-old says his call to Kobe about the gambling issue was one of the last conversations they had before Bryant's death in Jan. 2020.

"I had been gambling," Odom said on the "All The Smoke" podcast ... "And, I had an old debt that got a little too steep for where I was at at that time."

"It was getting tight. And, if you're in a bad situation, especially about some money, he ain’t the one that you’re gonna want to call."

Odom never revealed the exact amount of money he owed his bookie -- but he was clearly embarrassed about the debt ... and admits the call to Kobe was out of desperation.

Lamar admits Kobe gave him a tongue lashing about the debt -- but ultimately offered to help him out.

"He was just, 'Have your people call my people, and then we’ll figure it out," Lamar said ... "And that was one before the last time I spoke to him."

Odom did not say if Kobe ever sent him the money before he passed.

What we do know ... Kobe was incredibly fond of his former Lakers teammate and treated him like a family member.

In fact, when Lamar suffered that drug overdose in a Nevada brothel in 2015 -- Kobe bailed on a Lakers preseason game early to visit Odom in the hospital.

LaMarcus Aldridge -- a 7-time NBA All-Star -- just announced he's retiring from the league after learning he played with an "irregular heartbeat."

The 35-year-old Brooklyn Nets star -- who dropped 12 points against the Lakers on Saturday -- made the shocking announcement in an emotional social media post Thursday morning.

"My last game, I played while dealing with an irregular heartbeat. Later on that night, my rhythm got even worse which really worried me even more," Aldridge said.

"The next morning, I told the team what was going on and they were great getting me to the hospital and getting me checked out."

Aldridge says he's "better now" -- but explains, "What I felt with my heart that night was still one of the scariest things I've experienced."

"With that being said, I've made the difficult decision to retire from the NBA. For 15 years, I've put basketball first, and now, it is time to put my health and family first."

Aldridge was the 2nd overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft -- and spent nearly a decade with the Portland Trail Blazers.

After that, he spent 6 years with the San Antonio Spurs before signing with the Brooklyn Nets in late March.

Aldridge says he's "thankful for everything this game has given me; the great memories, including all the ups and downs, and the friendships I’ve made and will keep with me forever."

"I thank Portland for drafting a skinny, Texas kid and giving him a chance. The city of Portland has given me some unforgettable years. They will always remain in my heart."

"I want to thank the Spurs for letting me into the family and giving me 5 fun years."

"Last but not least, I want to thank Brooklyn. You wanted me for me. In a game that’s changing so much, you asked me to come and just do what I do which was good to hear."

Aldridge ended his statement with this -- "You never know when something will come to an end, so make sure you enjoy it everyday. I can truly say I did just that."

The NFC East could come down to the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Demon Cats in 2022???

It's true ... 'cause the Washington Football Team is now putting out feelers to fans regarding potential new monikers, and one of the squad names it's floating includes the "Demon Cats."

It's unclear why -- D.C. has never been known for its demons or its cats -- but it's one of at least 30 names WFT officials sent out to season ticket holders to evaluate this week.

Some of the others that don't make a whole lot of sense? Aces, Belters, Brigade and Rising.

There were some pretty cool ones, though ... WFT -- which ditched its old team name due to its racist ties last year -- also asked fans to weigh in on names like Redtails, Red Hogs and Washington DC Football Club (DCFC).

The list was NOT meant to be a new team name vote, according to WFT execs ... but rather a way for the org. to get a feel for what names were important to its fan base.

WFT officials have said they'd like to have a new nickname in place for 2022. And, they've reiterated multiple times they could just stick with WFT.

Here's the rest of some of the reported monikers WFT fans got a peek at this week:

Aces
Ambassadors
Anchors
Archers
Armada
Aviators
Beacons
Belters
Brigade
Commanders
Defenders
Demon Cats
First City Football Club (FCFC)
Griffins
Guardians
Icons
Majors
Monarchs
Pilots
Presidents
Razorbacks
Redtails
Redwolves
Red Hogs
Renegades
Riders
Rising
Royals
Rubies
Swifts
Warriors
Washington DC Football Club (DCFC)
Wayfarers
Wild Hogs
32FC (W32)