TMZ Sports - Page 50

A former WWE wrestler is suing Vince McMahon's company claiming he contracted Hepatitis C during a bloody WWE wrestling match ... and he's not the only one.

The man behind the lawsuit is Billy Jack Haynes -- who claims the WWE went out of its way to put wrestlers in danger by encouraging steroid and cocaine use and hiding important medical information from the wrestlers.

Haynes -- who wrestled for McMahon from 1986-88 -- says the organization never warned wrestlers about the long-term health risks of the concussions they suffered in the ring ... such as the brain disease CTE.

In the suit, filed in federal court in Oregon, Haynes also blames the WWE for his Hep C diagnosis -- saying he contracted the illness during blood-soaked matches with infected wrestlers.

Haynes says the WWE is at fault for not doing a better job to protect the wrestlers from exposure.

Haynes has brought the suit on behalf of himself and others -- he's demanding more than $5 million.

8:28 AM PT-- The WWE has issued a statement denying the allegations ... saying, "Billy Jack Haynes’ lawsuit against WWE is an example of ‘throwing everything against the wall to see if anything could possibly stick.’"

"Billy Jack Haynes spent only two years of his 14-year wrestling career with WWE. It would be impossible to know if he contracted Hepatitis C as a result of his wrestling career or from something else."

Mike Tyson says he and Robin Williams battled drug addiction TOGETHER -- and bonded over the fact they bought drugs from the same "lowlife dealer."

Mike appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" on SiriusXM Radio and opened up about his issues with substance abuse and mental illness in a very candid interview.

The boxing legend says he would go to meetings with Williams -- and revealed they would confide in each other.

Mike also says it always blew his mind that someone so beloved and respected as Robin could be connected to the same bad people as him.

As Howard put it ... "The world of drugs makes you go to the lowest common denominator."

There's still a HUGE reason to go to Lakers games this year -- not for the team (they're not great), but for the stargazing ... and Tuesday night some of the BIGGEST showed up at Staples Center.

Kim and Kayne ... Will Ferrell ... Terrell Owens ... Gerard Butler ... Adam Levine, Jack Nicholson and many, many more were all on hand to watch the Lakers get their asses kicked by the Houston Rockets.

The question is ... if the Lakers continue to play horribly (as many experts predict they will) ... will the stars begin migrating over to the OTHER team that plays at the Staples Center -- the Clippers?

ANTONIO GATES IS BACK!!!

Not just because he's having one of the best seasons of his career, but he's also returning to "The League" ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The San Diego Chargers tight end used his day off from practice to come up to L.A. to shoot a cameo on the hilarious FXX show ... and he talked to us about the shoot on his way off the set.

Gates has been on the show before -- and was hilarious ... when he was confronted by one of the characters in a hot tub whose fantasy team had lost because Gates scored a TD.

So, does Antonio have a post-NFL career in Hollywood?? Check out the clip ... he's not exactly shooting down the idea.

Former major league slugger Jose Canseco blew his middle finger clear off his hand while cleaning his handgun at home in Las Vegas.

Jose's fiancée Leila Knight tells TMZ Sports ... he was sitting at a table in their home cleaning the gun when it went off. She says he didn't know it was loaded -- and the shot ripped through the middle finger on his left hand.

Leila tells us 50-year-old Canseco is in surgery right now as doctors desperately try to save what's left of the finger. She says the bullet tore through the bottom part of the finger and doctors have already said he'll never have full use of it again ... even under the best of circumstances.

Worst case ... it may be amputated.

"Basketball Wives" star Gloria Govan says a reconciliation with L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes is NOT out of the question ... telling TMZ Sports the split with her estranged hubby is "definitely amicable."

We broke the story ... Matt separated from Gloria earlier this summer with sources telling us "trust issues" played a part in the split.  So far, neither Matt nor Gloria have filed for divorce.

Now, Gloria tells us the two are still on pretty good terms -- "we're dope" -- and says they're working together extremely well to co-parent their twin boys.

It's an interesting turn of events ... considering Gloria is being sued for allegedly forging Matt's name on official documents to take out a secret $150k loan.

Gloria also says she expects to get together with Matt this weekend to help the kids celebrate Halloween.

A civil war is brewing inside the "Duck Dynasty" family -- a war that threatens to tear them apart from the inside out ... and it all has to do with one of the biggest rivalries in sports ... LSU vs. Alabama.

The family lives in Louisiana ... so you'd think they'd ALL be diehard Tigers fans, especially since Bama folk are so bitterly despised in the Pelican State.

But when Korie and Sadie were leaving Craig's in West Hollywood this week -- we asked if they were all pulling for the Bayou Boys when they take on Alabama on Nov. 8th ... and were SHOCKED at what we heard.

Listen closely to Sadie's answer ... it'll make any Tiger fans' ears bleed.

And to make matters worse (or better if you're a Bama fan) ... turns out Sadie has been supporting the Crimson Tide for a while -- and even sent some "Roll Tide" love to A.J. McCarron last year.

No word on how or why she became a Bama fan ... but we put some pieces together and it seems like it might be the same reason teenage girls all over the country piss their families off ... a boy ... who happens to live in AL.

Notre Dame may not want its players banging before marriage, but it will NOT suspend Justin Brent for "dating" porn star Lisa Ann ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A Notre Dame football spokesman says the freshman wide receiver will escape any punishment -- and will suit up for the Navy game this weekend. He added Coach Brian Kelly met with Brent when he got back to campus ... and it's no longer an issue.

It may sound strange, but sources connected with the university tell us Brent did nothing wrong. The official university stance is that students "may be subject" to punishment if they have premarital sex ... but there's no public proof Brent and the legendary "Nailin' Palin" star banged.

We're told administrators did question Brent about a leaked photo (rated PG) of him in bed with LA ... but since he had nothing to do with it getting out, there's no issue. ND officials merely warned Brent to be careful because he represents the university -- a.k.a. be smart about what you post on social media.

Retired NFL star Steve Smith is taking Titans QB Zach Mettenberger to task for that gameday selfie he took before taking a loss against the Texans.

Mettenberger's been getting blasted by fans and players for the Instagram of his new haircut -- hours before Sunday's kickoff ... his first start, by the way. Smith says the kid needs to be more like his ex-QB, Eli Manning.

Smith was shopping in Calabasas when he stated his case ... and it's a good one. Ever seen an Eli or Peyton Manning selfie? Exactly. And Steve's got hardware to back up his argument.

Talk about pouring salt in the wound!!!

A Washington Redskins superfan grabbed a microphone at the DALLAS AIRPORT this morning and led the D.C.-bound crowd in a rendition of the team fight song ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The guy who grabbed the mic was in town for the Cowboys vs. Redskins game Monday night -- and was clearly still fired up about his team emerging victorious!

So, while waiting for his flight back to D.C., he grabbed a mic from the flight attendant's stand and asked all the Redskins fans who could hear his voice to join him in singing "Hail to the Redskins."

They did ... and it was LOUD!!

Jim Belushi isn't seeing eye-to-eye with his "Thunderstruck" co-star Kevin Durant -- telling TMZ Sports it was a GOOD MOVIE ... despite the fact KD recently dissed the flick.

In fact, KD hated the 2012 movie so much ... he told us he thought "Kazaam" was better and swore off acting forever.

For the record, "Thunderstruck" was considered a box-office disaster ... raking in less than $600k in the U.S.

But last night in L.A., Belushi defended "Thunderstuck" -- and hailed Durant as a "stud."

There's just one thing ... check out Belushi's reaction when we asked if he thought KD should keep acting. He doesn't exactly say "yes."

Barry Bonds is single. Kris Kardashian is single. And this week ... BB was hangin' with Kris' daughter? Coincidence ... or hookup in the making?

Make sure to check out the brand NEW episode of "TMZ Hollywood Sports" on Reelz -- every weekday at 8pm ET, 5pm PT.

The Notre Dame WR who's dating a famous porn star is getting some pretty major support from a big celebrity -- with rapper Young Jeezy telling us, "More power to him!"

Jeezy was out in NYC when we asked him about 19-year-old freshman Justin Brent -- who went on very public date with "Nailin' Pailin" star Lisa Ann last week ... leaving many to wonder how ND officials felt about a student at a Catholic school keeping XXX company.

"If he enjoys it, ain't nothing wrong with it," Jeezy says.

In fact, Jeezy says everyone should try dating a sex professional!

Brent has kept a pretty low profile since the date pics surfaced -- but according to Jeezy, dude's got NOTHING to be ashamed of.

L.A. Clippers President Doc Rivers knows recruiting can be tough ... which is why he's already calling DIBS on LeBron James' and Dwyane Wade's kids!!

Rivers was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood Monday night when we asked if he thinks Bron's or D-Wade's sons had a shot to make the NBA when they grow up.

FYI -- LeBron has two boys (10 and 7) who are already generating serious buzz in the basketball world ... and Dwyane's boys have been ranked as some of the top youth prospects in the country.

"I want rights to all their kids," Doc said.

Check out the clip of Wade's kid Zaire -- Doc knows what's up.

The Washington Redskins PR guy who rushed Colt McCoy away from a live interview with ESPN Deportes tells TMZ Sports there's a good reason he hurried the QB -- he didn't want Colt to miss the coach's postgame speech.

The interaction went viral -- with the Redskins PR guy famously screaming to the reporter, "NO MEANS NO!"

We spoke with Tony Wyllie -- the Senior VP of Communications for the Skins -- who tells us, "We wanted to get Colt in to hear coach's postgame speech."

He adds, "I wasn't denying access. I wanted Colt to hear coach talk. I felt we needed to get him inside."

Wyllie says, "Right after the speech, Colt went out and did the interview. I explained the situation to them. They were happy in the end."

"NO MEANS NO!"

Crazy scene at the end of the "Monday Night Football" game last night ... when a Washington Redskins PR guy WENT INSANE on an ESPN Deportes reporter who tried to interview Colt McCoy.

The Redskins QB had just finished up his first postgame interview after leading the team to victory over the Dallas Cowboys ... when the ESPN Deportes reporter grabbed Colt and tried to have a conversation.

That's when Colt's team handler went BERSERK -- getting in the reporter's face, grabbing Colt ... and screaming, "NO MEANS NO!!!"