TMZ Sports - Page 50

Kroger supermarket has apologized to a 16-year-old boy -- an employee of the store -- after sending him home for wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey ... telling TMZ Sports they were flat out wrong.

As the NY Daily News reported ... Elijah Scott was forced to leave work by a boss at Kroger supermarket in Springfield, Ohio ... after a customer complained about his Colin Kaepernick jersey.

FYI -- during football season, employees are allowed to wear NFL jerseys to work.

We contacted Kroger corporate about the situation ... and the rep said the company was completely against the action taken against Elijah.

"We are proud and privileged to employ a workforce and to serve a customer base as diverse as America. We are aware of this situation and have apologized to Elijah and his mother. Diversity, inclusion and respect are among our company’s core values and ones we strive to live up to every day."

Anyone still not ready to buy into Louisville QB Lamar Jackson as a legit Heisman contender is WRONG ... that's according to ex-NFL star Kerry Rhodes who says Action Jackson is 100% real.

Rhodes was out in NYC with his lovely fiancee, Nicky Whelan, when we asked him about LJ -- who some believe is the Heisman trophy front-runner after two weeks (sorry Leonard).

We gotta keep it 100 with you guys ... Kerry went to Louisville ... so he might not be the MOST objective, but still he says Lamar is definitely the real thing ... and will prove it against Florida State Saturday.

Check out the clip -- the college football smack talk is great ... and Kerry's fiancee is really, really hot.

Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are gonna fight ... 'cause there's too much damn cash at stake not to ... so says one of the best MMA fighters of all time.

TMZ Sports talked to Tito Ortiz in L.A. Thursday night ... and asked the UFC legend whether the fight every boxing fan wants to see ... Alvarez vs. GGG ... will ever go down.

FYI -- people in the boxing world have accused Canelo of ducking Golovkin.

Tito's adamant the fighters WILL square off ... and explains why money -- not fear -- is why the men haven't thrown down.

Check out the clip!

Cops investigating the possible murder-suicide of NASCAR superstar Robby Gordon's father say they've recovered a butcher knife near the body of Sharon Gordon ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... the knife was collected as evidence from the scene. Cops say the significance of its discovery is unclear at this moment.

The Gordon family's attorney, Steve Nichols, tells TMZ ... the family believes the knife played an important part in what led to Bob taking his own life.

Sources tell us the knife is a strong sign there may have been mutual combat between Robert "Baja Bob" and Sharon before their deaths.

Police have said Gordon strangled Sharon and then killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Nichols tells us there's never been a history of violence in the Gordons' long marriage.

Late wrestling LEGEND Dusty Rhodes' daughter-in-law, Brandi Rhodes, is gettin' involved in the family biz ... inking a deal to wrestle with TNA Impact Wrestling, sources tell TMZ Sports.

Brandi -- who's married to former WWE superstar Cody Rhodes -- has signed a deal to wrestle for TNA's Knockout Division a.k.a. super hot chicks who fight.

FYI -- Brandi was formerly a ring announcer (not a wrestler) for WWE ... before parting ways with the company earlier this year.

No word yet when Brandi will make her Impact debut.

In the meantime, check out the pics!

Nick Young has a message for anyone still giving D'Angelo Russell grief ... cut the kid a break ... saying his Lakers teammate -- who taped that bro-code violating video -- is "good" with him.

TMZ Sports got Swaggy leaving Toast in L.A. and asked how he felt that people are still razzing Russell about the whole thing ... heckling him at a recent Drake concert at Staples with chants of "HIDE YOUR PHONE!!"

You might remember ... Young has publicly said he's trying to move past the incident 'cause he "can't be mad forever" and from what he told our camera guy ... he wants the rest of the world to as well.

BTW -- He also revokes his banishment of Chris Brown from their neighborhood ... something we're sure Brown didn't give a damn about in the first place.

Victor Cruz has something in common with everyone who partied in the '80s ... he's addicted to Pablo Escobar's product.

(NOTE: Don't worry NYG fans, it's the fake Escobar ... and his product is "Narcos" Season 2.)

We got Victor out in NYC ... who's back doing his salsa again after scoring his first TD in TWO YEARS last week -- and asked him if there's one TV show that steals his focus during the season.

Check out the clip ... Victor says he's all about "Narcos" season dos, but hasn't finished it yet and has no idea how it's going to end.

James Woods says Colin Kaepernick is a "dirtbag" -- and he's so pissed at the NFL for not punishing the QB over his national anthem protest he's boycotting the league ... FOR LIFE!!

The father of NASCAR superstar Robby Gordon strangled his wife, Sharon, and then shot himself in a murder-suicide at their Orange County, CA home ... officials say.

The bodies of 68-year-old Robert "Baja Bob" Gordon and 57-year-old Sharon Gordon were discovered Wednesday afternoon.

The Orange County Coroner’s Office describes the death of Robert as being consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the death of Sharon was a result of strangulation.

Cops say a rifle was recovered inside the house.

We're told cops are conducting ballistics tests on the weapon to see if it was, in fact, the gun used in the murder-suicide.

Forget Bo Jackson ... who cares about Deion Sanders ... Tim Tebow? PLEASE ... There's a new 2 sport athlete on the horizon ... Chad Johnson's daughter, Cha'iel ... who just picked up soccer.

AND SHE'S FREAKIN' GOOD.

You've heard Cha'iel's name before ... she's an absolute PHENOM on the track, having won a gold medal in the 800 meters at the Junior Olympics this past August.

Well, now she's trying soccer ... and from the looks of the video her dad posted to Instagram just now ... the domination shall continue ... you gotta watch as she torches the whole team and scores.

When you have a voice like Charlie Wilson and you're feeling patriotic ... you just let the National Anthem fly -- even in the middle of LAX.

When we saw The Gap Band singer ... dude just felt like singing, and launched into the "Star-Spangled Banner" in front of an audience lined up for TSA ... and it was, pardon the phrase ... outstanding.

Unlike most NFL playing fields these days ... everyone stood, some even put hand over heart.

The accuser in the Derrick Rose rape case filed a police report with the LAPD two years after the alleged incident ... after she had already sued the NBA star in civil court ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... a woman identified as Jane Doe is suing Rose for more than $20 MILLION, claiming he and friends gang raped her in 2013 after a night of partying.

The obvious question ... why didn't she go straight to police?

We asked her attorney, Brandon Anand, who says there's a perfectly logical explanation.

"She was scared and didn't know what happened. She was in a state of shock and denial."

Doe filed her lawsuit in August 2015. Law enforcement sources confirm she filed her police report AFTER she filed her lawsuit.

Anand says he can explain that too ... the statute of limitations on civil suits was winding down and they wanted to file the lawsuit before time ran out. After that, they filed the police report.

We're told Doe tried to reach a settlement with Rose before she took legal action -- "but [Rose] didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing," so she decided to get the authorities involved.

The civil trial is set to begin in October. The criminal investigation is ongoing.

The Buffalo Bills are retiring Bruce Smith's jersey Thursday night -- but the most stylish tribute will come from his old teammate Andre Reed.

Reed -- who played with Smith on the '90s Super Bowl team -- hit up Billy Hobbs of True Blue Customs (the guy who made Avery Williamson's 9/11 cleats) and asked him to pimp out a pair of Nike Air Force 1s.

The result -- a nautical blue and red tribute ... complete with the Bills logo and an image of the legendary defensive end right on the shoes.

It gets better ... we're told Andre and Bruce will autograph the kicks and auction them off -- with proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Buffalo.

UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie -- one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time -- is pulling the plug on his 22 year marriage ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Gracie filed divorce docs in L.A. County Superior Court seeking to end his marriage to Marianne Cuttic.

The two were married back in 1994 and have 4 children together -- 3 of them are under the age of 18.

In the docs, 49-year-old Gracie cites irreconcilable differences for the split -- but the most interesting part ... he's the one demanding spousal support. He also wants her to pay his attorneys fees.

Shocking, considering Gracie is one of the most famous MMA fighters ever -- and just fought Ken Shamrock at Bellator 149 back in February.

Marianne is a podiatrist in Los Angeles.

Royce is requesting joint physical and legal custody of their minor kids.

According to multiple reports, Gracie and his wife have been battling with the I.R.S. -- which has accused them of owing more than $1 million in back taxes.

The divorce is officially underway ... 'cause Robert Griffin III has finally filed court docs looking to end his 3 year marriage to college sweetheart Rebecca Liddicoat.

Just last month, RG3 announced he had broken things off with Liddicoat -- the mother of their 1-year-old daughter -- and had moved onto a new lady ... Florida State track star Grete Sadeiko.

But now, we've confirmed the Cleveland Browns QB has filed the paperwork seeking to formally end his marriage. He filed on Sept. 7th in Texas.

Sources connected to the former couple tell us RG3 and Liddicoat are not on good terms -- and the divorce ain't gonna be pretty.

Robert doesn't seem phased -- he already got a tattoo of his new GF's name on his arm ... and has been posting love notes and couply pics of Grete on social media.

1:55 PM PT -- The Orange County Coroner's Office says both autopsies are complete.

An emotional Robby Gordon broke his silence on the death of his father and his father's wife in an apparent murder-suicide ... saying he's devastated and vows to get to the bottom of the deadly incident.

"This is devastating," Gordon told The Orange County Register ... "[My father] taught so many and I want everyone to know what a good man he was."

The bodies of Robert "Baja Bob" Gordon and Sharon Gordon, were found at a home owned by the NASCAR driver Wednesday night. Cops say a rifle was found at the scene.

Cops are not saying what they believe happened inside the home -- but Gordon told The OCR, "The truth will come out."

Gordon also held a news conference and thanked his friends in the racing community for the support.