TMZ Sports - Page 18

Peloton's Tread+ treadmill is a killer machine ... literally, according to a new class-action lawsuit filed by a woman who claims the fitness equipment is utterly unsafe for anyone with kids ... or even pets.

In the suit, Shannon Albright says Peloton's $4,295 treadmill is marketed as a device that'll give you "Your hardest training session" on "Your softest road" thanks to a shock-absorbing belt that's built with 59 individual slats.

Shannon's issue is that, although Peloton does have warnings on the machine ... she feels they're not sufficient to alert customers to the true danger -- which is that the treadmill's design allegedly makes it "extremely susceptible" to children and pets getting trapped underneath the machine.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Albright claims some customers have had "children approach the machine, out of eyesight of the parent, and those children [have] been trapped and injured by the Tread+ machine.”

The lawsuit mentions at least one child has died as a result of the Tread+ ... and at least several dozen more have been injured. Albright claims injuries range from bruising and abrasion to broken bones, permanent brain injury and death.

What's more ... Albright claims Peloton has essentially ignored the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s warning that directs consumers to "stop using the Peloton Tread+ if there are small children or pets at home." There's even a video apparently showing 2 kids playing on the Tread+ and one child getting trapped.

Albright claims Peloton has known or should have known about its defective machine ... so she's trying to form a class action and is suing for more than $5 million in damages.

Antonio Brown's rep claims the NFL star has struck a settlement with the woman who sued him for sexual assault back in 2019 -- insisting, "The dispute is resolved."

In her original lawsuit, Britney Taylor -- who worked for AB as a personal trainer -- alleged Brown sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, including a violent rape in 2018.

Taylor claimed she was so traumatized from the alleged incidents she "had near-daily panic attacks, frequent suicidal ideations, and insomnia."

Brown had denied the allegations -- with his attorney claiming, "Any sexual interaction with Mr. Brown was entirely consensual."

Now, Brown's rep, Alana Burstyn, claims the saga is over ... the two have reached some sort of settlement and the insinuation is Taylor will drop her lawsuit against the NFL star.

Burstyn is not revealing the details of the agreement -- however, she issued a statement explaining the situation ...

"Antonio and Britney have been friends for over a decade. Several years ago they almost became business partners. Recently, they were involved in aggressive litigation."

"Having reflected on their relationship, both feel that the time has come to move on. Antonio is grateful for Britney’s excellent training assistance. They are pleased that Antonio is doing so well with the Bucs and has a ring. Their dispute is resolved and they wish each other great continued success."

Story developing ...

The Minnesota Timberwolves gave a special tribute to George Floyd after their victory last night ... dedicating the game ball to his family just hours after the conviction of Derek Chauvin.

The Wolves took the court against the Kings in Sacramento on Tuesday -- shortly after the ex-Minneapolis PD officer was found guilty on all 3 criminal counts stemming from the May 25, 2020 murder of Floyd.

But, it was clear the hearts and focus of the Wolves players were in Minnesota ... and right after their 134-120 victory, the team dedicated the game ball to Floyd and his family.

"Glad we were able to get the win tonight," guard Josh Okogie told reporters after the game.

"We have the game ball where we dedicated that to George Floyd's family. That's great we were able to do that."

The Wolves have consistently been honoring Floyd in the months following his death ... and have posted messages outside the Target Center calling for social injustice reform.

Karl-Anthony Towns said the guilty verdict is a good step forward ... but it doesn't bring Floyd home.

"It's unfortunate that our city has been going through this so much," KAT said during post-game interviews.

"Just because justice was served today for Mr. Floyd doesn't mean that we are gonna be bringing him back home. And that's the most unfortunate part of all of this."

Recently, the team auctioned off warm-up shirts "For Liberty and Justice FOR ALL" for Daunte Wright -- another unarmed black man killed by police in their state of Minnesota.

BADDEST BABY ON THE PLANET!!

UFC legend Ronda Rousey just announced she's 4 months pregnant -- and she's fired up!!!

Ronda and her husband, ex-UFC fighter Travis Browne, made the announcement in a video Wednesday morning ... saying, "Umm, how do I put this? Pow, 4 months pregnant!"

Ronda explained, "I've been pregnant since January -- so 4 months, baby bump! I can't hide it anymore so it's time to show it off."

Ronda and Travis have been talking about wanting to have children for the past few years -- she even took a hiatus from her gig with WWE back in 2019 to focus on starting a family.

Ronda said in the video there's "much more to the story" behind the pregnancy -- but didn't want to focus on those details just yet.

For the record, Ronda and Travis have NOT revealed the gender yet -- but insist they will break that news soon.

Due date -- September 22!

Ronda sent a message to her fans saying, "Thank you everybody for all the well wishes and all the positivity to get to this point."

"Baddest baby on the planet coming to you soon!"

Congrats!!!

Ronda is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time -- she was the UFC's inaugural women's bantamweight champion and defended the belt 6 times!

Before her MMA career, she was a decorated judo athlete -- who won the bronze medal for the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics.

Lamar Odom is going to war for the Kardashians ... saying anyone who believes men are suffering from a "Kardashian Curse" after relationships with the sisters are straight-up "dumbasses."

The ex-NBA star was asked this month how men -- including himself and guys like Kanye West -- seemingly fall apart after getting into serious relationships with the Kardashians ... and that's when he raced in to defend the famous family.

"That's stupidity,” Odom said of the "curse" during an interview with Vlad TV that aired over the weekend. "Because everybody goes through s***, you dumbasses."

Odom continued, "If I had your family on tape, and see all the s*** your family was going through, people would be like, 'This f***ing family is crazy!' People would see all the drug addicts, all the sex, they share their life with you, so you see everything."

Odom was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009 to 2016 ... and the former Lakers player had far more downs than ups during the relationship.

But, Lamar says NONE of that has to do with the circus that surrounds the Kardashians ... explaining he feels he's actually "lucky" to have been at one point accepted by the family.

"I know in some ways it's the reason why I'm still relevant to this day," the 41-year-old said. "'Cause I'm not playing ball no more. Ain't no more highlights on me no more."

Odom continued, "The looks that I still get is due to -- a lot of it is because of the love that they gave me ... And f**k anybody that goes against that."

Odom and Khloe officially divorced back in December 2016. He's since apologized publicly for the way he acted toward her during the relationship, even saying back in 2019, "I couldn't believe how I was treating that queen."

The Las Vegas Raiders tried to enter the chat after the Derek Chauvin verdict on Tuesday -- but they're getting torn apart on social media for what some are saying is an insensitive post.

After Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd on Tuesday, the Raiders' social media account tweeted out, "I CAN BREATHE" with the date and the team logo.

The problem ... people feel it's very tone deaf because Floyd told officers, "I can't breathe" more than 20 times while being forcefully detained by Chauvin, who at the time was a member of the Minneapolis Police Department.

On top of that ...  while the verdict is a step in the right direction, there's clearly so much work to be done.

The reaction to the Raiders' social media post has been overwhelmingly negative ... with THOUSANDS of responses piling in on Twitter.

Here's a sampling ...

-- "Wow this is a huge miss"

-- "Delete this s**t."

-- "Donate money to the inner cities of Oakland & delete this post."

-- "Delete this wtf is this omg"

-- "This is what it looks like when u try to join the 'woke' side of social media and fail miserably"

NBA guard Isaiah Thomas also voiced his displeasure ... saying, "Y’all can’t be serious."

NFL receiver Torrey Smith added ... "Folks get paid to avoid stupid stuff like this smh delete this @Raiders"

Emmanuel Acho -- "I keep double checking to see if the @Raiders verified account actually tweeted this."

The tweet is still up as of 5 PM PT ... but given the backlash, that could change.

Jake Paul's moved on from Ben Askren -- he's now threatening UFC legend Daniel Cormier!

"Daniel Cormier, I'll beat the f**k out of your fat ass too -- just like Stipe did," Jake said Tuesday on the "Impaulsive" podcast with his brother, Logan Paul.

"I swear to god, I'll beat the f**k out of Daniel Cormier."

So, why the beef? It started right after Jake knocked out Ben Askren .... Cormier tweeted that he felt Jake was disrespectful to ex-UFC champ Tyron Woodley.

Jake responded by challenging Cormier to a fight.

Cormier later escalated things on the "DC & Helwani" podcast on Monday ... saying, "This dude would never fight me. I would kill him. Why would I ever fight someone like that?"

Jake responded on Tuesday ... saying he would be very interested in a Pay-Per-View boxing match against Cormier and strongly thinks he would KO him, just like he did to Ben Askren.

Don't hold your breath for a Jake Paul vs. Daniel Cornier fight -- but Jake vs. Tyron Woodley seems to be gaining momentum.

As Cornier explained, "I would like him to fight Tyron. I would like to see him fight somebody more real. Don’t fight Ben Askren at 190, bloated."

By the way, Jake also revealed the number of PPV buys for the Askren fight -- saying it's more than 1.3 MILLION!

Draymond Green says it's "great" that Derek Chauvin was convicted in the murder of George Floyd -- but warns the fight against bad cops is far from over.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Golden State Warriors star in Washington D.C. on Thursday afternoon -- moments after the Chauvin verdict was revealed.

Our photog was a little nervous when he approached Green, but essentially tried to ask if the conviction is good for the country on the whole.

"I think it's great that we finally saw a cop get tried," Green told us ... "The challenge to the country now is to make sure [police officers are] being held accountable."

Our photog also asked Green if he thinks the Chauvin case will have an overall impact on the way cops across the country treat Black people.

"I think that's a totally different story ... when you look at the way these officers treat Black people, we're not treated as human. We're treated as a threat by your skin color."

Magic Johnson believes justice has been served in the Derek Chauvin case -- thanking God after the former police officer was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd.

"Thank God ... guilty! Justice has been served," Johnson tweeted.

Chauvin was found guilty of 2nd-degree unintentional murder, 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter stemming from the May 2020 incident in Minnesota.

Moments after the verdict was read and Chauvin was taken into custody, athletes from all over the world spoke out on social media.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver also issued a joint statement with the executive director of the NBPA Michele Roberts.

"George Floyd’s murder was a flash point for how we look at race and justice in our country, and we are pleased that justice appears to have been served."

"But we also recognize that there is much work to be done and the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association, together with our newly-formed Social Justice Coalition, will redouble our efforts to advocate for meaningful change in the areas of criminal justice and policing."

LeBron James had a one-word reaction to the verdict ... tweeting, "ACCOUNTABILITY."

Renee Montgomery -- former WNBA player turned co-owner of the Atlanta Dream said, "Let’s make this the new normal. Accountability is served."

Mike Tyson -- "Guilty. Justice served."

Matt Barnes -- "Condolences to the Floyd Family. This is just the first step of starting to change a broken system."

Reggie Miller -- "Thank you JURY!!! ACCOUNTABILITY"

Matt Forte -- "I don’t celebrate the demise of another persons life no matter what they’ve done but I do celebrate JUSTICE, TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS because for so long that has been void of the criminal justice system in America for black and brown people."

Josh Hart -- "Put his ass under the jail."

Torrey Smith -- "I can’t believe what I just saw. They finally got one case right. GUILTY!!! Prayers up for the Floyd family."

Ex-NBA star Isiah Thomas -- "Crying hard tears right now, maybe things are changing in America?"

Karl-Anthony Towns -- "Justice and Accountability! Things I never thought I would see. There’s much more work to do, but this is an amazing start working toward the reform this country NEEDS!"

The Minnesota Timberwolves also issued a statement saying the team is "hopeful that today's decision will serve as a step forward, but it does not ease the physical and emotional pain that continues in an environment where systemic racism exists."

"To our BIPOC community, the Timberwolves and Lynx remain committed to influencing change, promoting impactful action, and using our platform to help heal and unite in pursuit of liberty and justice FOR ALL."

How's this for an epic summer pool party?!?!

Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel -- two of the best swimmers on the planet -- needed a pool so badly to train for the Olympics during the early goings of the pandemic in 2020 ... they straight-up went to a man's backyard for help!!

The story is pretty wild ... Ledecky and Manuel, who normally get their laps in at Stanford's facilities, found themselves pool-less in March '20 after the school closed due to coronavirus.

The two REALLY needed water, their coach, Greg Meehan, told Yahoo Sports this week ... 'cause the Tokyo Olympics had yet to be postponed, and trials were just weeks away.

"We were scrambling to find any water because the reality was the trials were going to be in about 12, 13, weeks,” said Meehan, who also coaches the Stanford women’s swim team.

"If we get stuck without being in water for a month or six weeks or something, it’s just not going to go well. I had thought a lot about what happens if we don’t find water. I was trying connections everywhere."

Enter Tod Spieker -- a swim legend who was an All-American at UCLA and a backstroker at the 1968 Olympic Trials -- who just so happened to have a great pool to offer up.

Meehan contacted Spieker -- who he knew through mutual friends -- about using the water ... and Tod told him no problem.

So, everyone rolled up to Spieker's house ... and stayed training there for months!

Meehan said the setup was incredible, given the circumstances -- it was equipped with clocks, starting blocks and backstroke flags -- and the two Olympians put in WORK there until their regular facilities opened back up in June.

"It wasn’t three months of the greatest training of their life," Meehan said, "but it was enough to keep the engine running."

NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had a real palm-to-the-face moment after Alex Smith's life-threatening leg injury ... admitting he sent the guy a SUPER embarrassing text that he's calling "one of my biggest regrets to date."

So ... what could Fitzy have *possibly* said that was so bad?? Well, here's the Washington Football Team signal caller's take on the incident.

"When Alex broke his leg in that game a few years ago, I had what I thought was a similar injury," Fitzpatrick told Chris Long's "Green Light" podcast. ... citing the fractured tibia he suffered in 2014.

"So the single worst text I've ever sent out, I sent it to Alex. I said, 'Hey, Alex, just want to let you know they'll fix you right up, you'll be good as new! I'm out here and I don't feel any pain from my injury 3 years later!'"

Fitz says he "felt good" about sending the positive vibes his buddy's way ... but of course, Smith's injury was actually WAY worse.

After all, the guy had 17 surgeries, could've lost part of his leg and battled a flesh-eating bacteria. Yeah ... it was no cakewalk.

Despite the confusion, Fitzpatrick says Smith couldn't have been nicer in his response.

"(Alex) said 'Well ... mine might be a little more complicated.' And 17 surgeries later, and the story of what he had to overcome, I felt like the biggest a**hole!"

But, the 2 guys are able to laugh it off now ... especially since Smith was able to make a miraculous comeback and return to the field.

A mountain biker nearly became a black bear's lunch in Montana ... with the wild animal ferociously chasing the cyclist down a hill -- and the insane scene was caught on video!!

The tense moments all went down in Whitefish about a year ago (though the video was just released by Montana Knife Company this week) ... when a bike rider got the surprise of a lifetime as he barreled down a steep mountain path.

You can see in the footage ... as the guy pedaled his ride -- the black bear was in hot pursuit, trying to nab the dude on his way down the mountain!!

At some points during the chase ... it got a little too close for comfort, 'cause the black bear tried to cut corners to get to the guy quicker!!

A spokesperson for Montana Knife Company tells us, "This is why even bikers and hikers should be carrying out knives!"

Fortunately, MKC tells us the bike rider was able to out pedal the beast and make it down the hill safely -- "Didn't get the guy!"

Here's a refreshingly candid moment from Jameis Winston ... the Saints QB admitted to kids he went from top NFL prospect to league laughingstock -- but he's now vowing to work his ass off to change that.

The 27-year-old was helping out at Kenny Shaw's football camp in Orlando, FL on Saturday when he delivered the speech ... and it was a very cool, self-aware moment from the former #1 overall pick.

Winston, in addressing dozens of campers, said, "I went from being the #1 draft pick to being everybody laugh at me."

Jameis, of course, is not wrong ... the guy has been mocked for issue after issue after issue during and after his rise to national fame at Florida State.

There was the crab leg incident. The "f*** her right in the p****" debacle. There was the incredibly awkward "Eat A W" celebration. And, who can forget his quirky training methods??

But, Jameis told the young footballers he's doing everything in his power to change all of that and be the heir to Drew Brees' throne in New Orleans.

"Guess what?" Jameis said. "I'm about that business. I'm outworking everybody at my position."

Winston had to pause, 'cause Dallas Cowboys star QB Dak Prescott was standing right next to him helping out at the camp -- but he continued nonetheless!!

"I know Dak right there," he said as Prescott smiled. "But, I'm doing things every single day. Committing to the dream."

Winston then encouraged the kids to believe in themselves and always approach the game with a little kid's perspective ... because he says that's how he's going about his business now.

It's the moment all sneakerheads have been waiting for -- NBA superstar Zion Williamson's first-ever Jordan Brand signature shoe ... and it's a beaut!!!

The New Orleans Pelicans forward officially revealed the "Zion 1" sneaker on Tuesday ... showing off the sleek, letter Z design.

The original "Gen Zion" colorway is in black and white, which symbolizes Zion's upbringing and growth.

Williamson explained the meaning behind the colors ... saying, "The white and black colorway is important to me. Growing up I was taught that your home base is your foundation."

"Whether it’s your family or your brothers, you need a solid base to start from, and that’s what the black and white colorway represents for me."

Williamson wasted no time revealing additional colorways as well ... with tributes to his personality ("ZNA"), hometown ("Marion"), and little brother, ("Noah").

Speaking of Noah, Zion's lil' bro made a cameo in the first commercial for the sneaker ... and you can tell the kid's gonna be a star, too!!

It's a monumental moment for the brand -- it's the Jumpman's first signature release with its new era of superstars like Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal and Luka Doncic.

Zion will debut his shoe Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets ... and ya gotta imagine the folks at Jumpman are praying he doesn't pull a "Kyrie 4" moment like he did at Duke.

In fact, the shoe was specifically designed to be worn by players at every position -- which means it's durable, yet light -- so here's hoping it's strong enough for the star baller!!

The man who screamed violent threats at U.S. Olympic karate athlete Sakura Kokumai earlier this month has been arrested, officials say.

... and law enforcement says the suspect was also involved in a violent attack on an elderly Asian-American couple over the weekend.

As we previously reported, 28-year-old Kokumai -- a 7-time USA National Champion -- was hanging out at a park in Orange, CA on April 1 when some guy began yelling at her for no apparent reason.

Kokumai smartly recorded the incident -- capturing the man calling her a "stupid b***h" and yelling, "I'll f**k you up."

At the end of his tirade, Kokumai -- who is Japanese-American -- says she heard the man scream out something about her being "Chinese" and "sashimi" ... which you can sort of hear in the video.

Now, the Orange Police Dept. says they have arrested the suspect -- 25-year-old Michael Orlando Vivona.

Unfortunately, cops say they busted Vivona on April 18 after he was suspected of assaulting an elderly couple at a park,

"The suspect punched a 79-year-old Korean American male and his 80-year-old Korean American wife in the face," cops say,

"The assault was unprovoked and caused both elderly victims to fall down.  Community members at the park surrounded the suspect until officers arrived."

Cops say Vivona was arrested for elder abuse and committing a hate crime.

Once they realized he's the same guy from the Kokumai incident, he "was also arrested for threatening a Japanese American on April 1, 2021 at the same location."

Joe Burrow showed off his ACL surgery scar during the Bengals' jersey reveal sesh this week ... and the thing is massive AND gnarly.

The former Heisman Trophy winner shredded his knee during a game on Nov. 22 ... and he required a surgical procedure to fix multiple tears in the leg just days later.

Burrow's recovery has gone well -- his parents just said earlier this month the 24-year-old is still on track to start next season for Cincy -- but it's clear, the damage done to his knee was significant.

Check out the Bengals' photo of the QB's left leg ... you can see surgeons had to open him up from the top of the knee cap all the way down to the start of his shin to fix the issues.

The wound -- which appears to be at least half a foot long -- is still purple, red and fresh ... about 4 months after it was made.

For his part, Burrow hasn't spoken much publicly about his rehab process ... but he's been spotted out in the public recently, moving his knee fine and putting pressure on it while walking and sitting.