TMZ Sports - Page 50

Lou Holtz says he regrets making a crack about foreigners at an event during the Republican National Convention ... telling TMZ Sports it was meant to be a joke, nothing more.

The controversy began when Holtz was talking about immigration and said -- "I don’t want to speak your language, I don’t want to celebrate your holidays, I sure as hell don’t want to cheer for your soccer team!”

We spoke with Coach Lou ... who tells us he's sorry for SOME of what he said.

"I like to joke. I wished I hadn’t said, ‘I don’t want to celebrate your holidays, and cheer for your soccer teams.’ It was said in jest. But I stand by the rest of what I said about coming to America to become us."

Holtz says he strongly believes that immigrants who come to the U.S. should learn English and adapt to American culture -- and for that, he will not apologize.

"All 4 of my grandparents were immigrants. They all came through Ellis Island. When they wouldn’t want me to know what they were saying, they’d speak Ukrainian. I’d ask them to teach me Ukrainian. They’d say, ‘No, you live in America. You speak English.'"

The coach is also adamant he's NOT a racist or a bigot -- "I challenge you, I defy you to find one person who I’ve ever been racist toward."

Boxing champ Andre Berto can spot talent, so he says ... because he's pretty much convinced our photog he could make a killing in the UFC.

Andre was leaving Il Pastaio in Bev Hills Friday when Cody our camera guy started doing his thing, but the boxer quickly turned the tables.

Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Afrojack and ... Shaq?

The Diesel might just be on that list of world-famous and successful DJs ... after having rocked the crowd at one of the biggest EDM festivals in the entire world.

Shaq took the stage early Friday at Tomorrowland ... a 3-day EDM bonanza in Belgium that attracts over 180,000 crazily dressed (probably unsober) partygoers a year.

We're told Shaq's set lasted about an hour ... and while his primary wheelhouse is hip-hop ... he mainly stayed true to the EDM format most of the crowd wanted to hallucinate to.

Check out the video ... it's clear the big man was totally into it, and we already know he takes his reputation as a DJ very seriously, so it's no wonder he killed it.

Stedman Bailey -- the ex-Rams WR who was shot in the head twice last year -- says he's NOT giving up his NFL dreams .... just because he's taken a job as a college assistant coach.

25-year-old Bailey was waived by the Rams last month because he hasn't been medically cleared to play football yet -- and was hired as a student assistant coach at West Virginia University.

Many saw the move as a sign that Bailey was turning the page on his pro football career -- but his agent, Tony Fleming, tells TMZ Sports that just ain't the case.

"Stedman’s definitely not giving up on playing football. He just wasn’t cleared to play. He still wanted to be productive, so WVU was a good opportunity for him."

Fleming says doctors will reevaluate Bailey right after the 2016 season -- and he will continue training in the hopes he'll get an opportunity with a team for 2017.

TMZ Sports has obtained body cam footage from the cop who spoke with Arizona Cardinals safety Chris Clemons after he allegedly knocked out a woman in Scottsdale back in May ... and it's weird.

Backstory ... Clemons is accused of punching a woman in the face around 2 AM on May 8th -- knocking her out cold during a parking lot altercation near a Scottsdale nightclub.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops combed the area searching for a suspect that was described by witnesses as a pro football player named Chris.

When the cop makes contact with Clemons, he doesn't realize he's speaking with the guy he's looking for -- and a bizarre interaction takes place.

Clemons, visibly nervous and apparently intoxicated (according to cops), drops his $10,000 gold grillz ... and asks the cop if he can search under an SUV to find them.

Once he collects the teeth, he begins to deny that he struck anyone that night ... and references a woman who was knocked out earlier in the night after she had keyed a BMW nearby.

The cop lets Chris go ... since he didn't realize who he was. Once the cops figured it out, they tried to find him again, but couldn't locate Clemons.

According to the police report, witnesses say ... the fight centered around the fact that Chris has some sort of relationship with a woman in Florida ... but was out that night with another woman.

The alleged victim is friends with the Florida woman and called Chris out. The alleged victim got into an altercation with Chris' new female companion ... and during the incident, Chris allegedly punched the victim in the face.

The cops have kicked the case over to city prosecutors and recommended Clemons be charged with assault and disorderly conduct.

WBO junior welterweight champ Terence Crawford says there's one reason he'd never try his hand (or feet) at MMA ... the almighty dollar ... 'cause according to TC there's just not enough money in grappling.

We talked to Crawford while he was promoting Saturday's fight with Viktor Postol -- a fight some think could vault him into super stardom -- and asked if there was a chance he'd ever switch sports.

It's not a crazy question ... former boxing champ Amir Khan has been talking about it ... taking to social media to start the hype machine for a potential rumble with UFC king Conor McGregor.

Crawford says it's a definite no-go for him ... telling our guy there's just not enough money being thrown around in MMA for him to put his body on the line.

He's got a point ... if you're Floyd Mayweather ... other than that, we gotta say the guys and girls prowling the Octagon are definitely holding their own -- and closing the gap -- with boxing.

It's keeping up with the Jones' ... gone wrong.

Jon Jones' NFL star brother, Arthur Jones, has been suspended 4 games for violating the league's PED policy ... this according to Ian Rapoport.

The Indianapolis Colts defensive end will be suspended WITHOUT PAY. He'll return to action on October 3rd.

Of course, Jon was also popped for PEDs recently ... and faces a 2 year ban from the UFC.

Jon says he's not a cheater and vows to prove it.

The crowds came out in FORCE for Kobe Bryant in Milan Friday ... lining the streets and chanting his name as the NBA legend returned to the country where he grew up.

At one point, Kobe addressed the crowd in Italian -- telling them, "It feels like I've returned home."

12:19 PM PT -- Ezekiel's father, Stacy Elliott, has issued a statement proclaiming his son's innocence.

"The reported allegations and Internet postings regarding our son are completely false. Ezekiel has done nothing wrong."

"The police have investigated this matter and eyewitnesses have verified the lack of any wrongdoing. The actual evidence in this matter clearly indicates what the real motivation was behind the police being called."

"We are confident that when the truth comes to light it will reveal the falsity of these claims. Ezekiel has been fully cooperative with the police and will continue to do so -- along with cooperating with the NFL -- moving forward."

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has been named a suspect in a domestic violence police report obtained by TMZ Sports ... but the 21-year-old has DENIED any wrongdoing and was NOT arrested.

A University of Florida linebacker is being hailed as a hero for helping to stop a man who was allegedly raping a woman behind a bar near campus.

The football player is Cristian Garcia -- who was working security at the 101 Cantina in Gainesville on Thursday night when he saw something suspicious by the dumpsters.

Garcia told FirstCoastNews ... at first, he thought he saw two people having sex ... but quickly realized the woman was passed out ... so he decided to take action.

"The girl was basically unconscious, so I knew there was no way she could be giving consent."

Garcia grabbed the guy and told him to stop -- but the man allegedly responded by throwing punches at the 6'1", 233-pound junior.

The suspect escaped -- but cops launched an investigation and eventually arrested 34-year-old Christopher Shaw. Officials believe he may have raped other women as well.

As for Garcia, he said he never had any 2nd thoughts about going after the alleged attacker.

10:37 AM PT -- This is bizarre ... on the 2nd police report, the accuser's occupation is listed as "sex slave."

For his part, Elliott's listed as a Dallas Cowboys football player.

The woman who accused Ezekiel Elliott of domestic violence filed a 2nd police report -- claiming he attacked her multiple times over the past week ... but Elliott has denied that too.

The report was filed Friday -- and the woman claims Elliott "struck her several times leaving bruises on her arms" during incidents that took place between July 16th and July 20th.

She had posted pictures of the alleged injuries on social media.

Investigators also spoke with Elliott who says he "never touched [her] in a harmful manner" and that her bruises were from a bar fight she was in.

Elliott also stated that he never lived with the accuser but did pay her rent and co-signed on her vehicle.

We broke the story ... the woman also accused Elliott of striking her Friday morning. Elliott adamantly denied that as well.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call made by the woman accusing Ezekiel Elliott of domestic violence -- in which she says the Cowboys running back had been hitting her for days.

The woman seems remarkably calm during the call -- and explains why she would like an officer to come to the scene.

The woman says she was initially going to wait until tomorrow to report the incident -- but changed her mind.

Cops arrived to the scene and spoke with Elliott -- who adamantly denied striking the woman. Several witnesses also say they did not see the NFL player attack her.

Dennis Rodman has been named a "person of interest" in a hit-and-run investigation in Santa Ana, CA -- after a late night collision Wednesday morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Draymond Green will be off the hook in his bar fight case ... if he can keep his nose clean for a year ... because the NBA star just struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

Green was arrested for assault on July 10th after allegedly striking a college football player in the face outside of a Michigan bar. He was facing more than 90 days in jail if convicted.

But now, Green has reportedly cut a deal ... in which he agreed to pay a $500 fine and $60 in jail restitution AND he must stay out of trouble for a year. He also isn't allowed to contact the victim.

If he does all of those things ... the charge will be reduced to a civil infraction ... so he won't have a misdemeanor on his record.

We spoke with Asst. City Attorney David Meyers who tells us Draymond got NO special treatment.

The NFL has already launched an investigation into the Ezekiel Elliott alleged domestic violence situation ... a rep for the league confirms to TMZ Sports.

"We begin a review when we become aware of a potential violation of the personal conduct policy," the rep explained.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the Dallas Cowboys rookie was named in a police report by a woman who claims the 21-year-old attacked her Friday morning outside of her Ohio apartment.

Buffalo Sabres superstar Evander Kane has been arrested in Buffalo -- stemming from an alleged altercation at a Buffalo bar back in June.

24-year-old Kane surrendered to police early Friday morning -- after allegedly getting into it with a bouncer and several women at the Bottoms Up bar after 3 AM on June 24th.

According to reports, Kane allegedly yanked one of the women by the hair and grabbed her throat while pushing her into his car. The bouncer tried to break it up and Kane put his hands on him too. The entire incident was reportedly captured on security video.

He's expected to be charged with one count of misdemeanor criminal trespass and four counts of non-criminal harassment.