TMZ Sports - Page 50

This is the medical marijuana ad CBS rejected for the Super Bowl, and it's incredibly moving and emotional.

The ad, produced by Acreage Holdings, a marijuana and cannabis investment firm, was willing to pay $5 million for the spot, but CBS turned it down ... because, we're told, they don't allow any marijuana ads on the air.

The ad profiles 3 people -- a boy who had hundreds of seizures a day that were not abated by traditional medicine, a man addicted to opioids, and a veteran who was in severe pain after his leg was amputated. All say medical marijuana made life livable.

Ronda Rousey is NOT parting ways with WWE -- despite reports she's on her way out, TMZ Sports has learned.

A report by wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer sparked hysteria -- with some jumping to the conclusion she's ending her pro wrestling career after 1 year with Vince McMahon's company.

And why? Meltzer's report says there's a "very good chance" she could wrap up with WWE after Wrestlemania in April so she can focus on starting a family with husband, Travis Browne.

But, what people are skipping over ... Meltzer also reports she will "probably remain affiliated with the company" after Wrestlemania.

ProWrestlingSheet added more clarity ... describing the situation as a planned "break" -- but it's not set in stone.

Multiple sources connected to Ronda tell TMZ Sports she's "super happy" in her new career and isn't ready to pull the plug just yet.

What we also know ... Ronda is serious about starting a family soon -- and she's been vocal about it for months. In fact, back in May 2018 she said the plan was to get pregnant "someday soon." So, babies have been on her brain.

Also, a WWE spokesperson tells us, "Ronda Rousey is under contract with WWE until April 10, 2021. Whether she wants to start a family is a private matter."

Boogie Cousins will be making a statement with his shoes when he takes the court Thursday night ... rockin' Puma kicks to support Meek Mill's push for criminal justice reform.

Meek teamed up with Puma to launch the new Clyde Court #REFORM kicks -- the profits of the shoe will go to Meek's Reform Alliance whose mission is to reform the probation and parole system in the U.S.

Boogie is down with the cause and has promised to wear the shoes when his Golden State Warriors take on the Washington Wizards on Thursday.

Everything about the shoe has a special meaning. The black coloring represents the American prison system. The red symbolizes the blood and sacrifice of those who have fought for justice. Gold stands for future victories.

There's also a quote on the heel from Olympic legend/social activist Tommie Smith which says, "We had to be seen because we couldn't be heard."

T.I. believes Travis Scott's decision to do the Super Bowl halftime show is selfish ... and he hopes the rapper makes up for it by being selfLESS down the road.

Scott's taken all sorts of heat for his decision to perform at Super Bowl 53 from people like Common and Nick Cannon who have been critical of the NFL for the way it's treated Colin Kaepernick.

In fact, Cannon told Raquel Harper on BET's "Raq Rants" that Scott's move clearly shows he doesn't care for black culture.

So, how does T.I. feel about it? See if you can read between the lines ...

"I think every man have an opportunity ... he can make a decision for himself, or he could be selfless. And, nobody can tell someone when to be selfless."

"That's every man's right to choose that moment for themselves. So, if this ain't something that he wanted to be selfless about, hopefully in the future we'll see other moments where he will. You dig?"

We dig.

Not everyone is upset with Scott -- rap legend Nelly told us just a few days ago the outrage over the halftime show is stupid -- and said he'd "probably do it" if asked.

Marshawn Lynch has finally responded to Donald Trump's scathing attack on the NFL players who didn't stand for the anthem (he was one of 'em) -- and it doesn't get more Marshawn than this ...

"That mothaf*cker say a lot of sh*t."

The Oakland Raiders superstar appeared on "Real Time with Bill Maher" where he went off about POTUS -- essentially saying he doesn't know a DAMN THING about the real Marshawn Lynch.

"You call me unpatriotic but if you come to my neighborhood where I'm from you'll see me take the shirt off my back and give it to someone in less need. I mean, what would you call that?!"

Marshawn famously sat during the anthem during the 2017 and 2018 NFL seasons -- even after Donald Trump called for NFL owners to fire any "son of a bitch" who didn't stand.

Maher and Lynch also spoke about the work Marshawn does in the community -- he's become a legend in Oakland for helping low-income communities and fighting gentrification.

In fact, Lynch has his own way of defining gentrification -- "It's basically when ... it's a lot of white people come over to the hood and kick everybody out that's there."

Lynch says he's been a witness to it "since I was a small jitterbug."

Trina Braxton's not conflicted at all -- she supports the rights of the LGBT community ... AND she supports the rights of folks who want to gobble down some Chick-fil-A.

We got the "Braxton Family Values" star outside Publik Draft House in Atlanta Wednesday night and first asked her about the fast food chain being closed during the Super Bowl ... despite having a primo location inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

She says Chick-fil-A fans like herself know the restaurant's always closed on Sundays -- no exceptions -- so just deal with it. It's their prerogative.

Trina also tells us it's her prerogative to eat at Chick-fil-A -- despite its history of supporting anti-gay groups -- because she personally supports LGBT rights. Eating a delicious chicken sandwich isn't going to change that ... for Trina, anyway.

10:07 AM PT -- Cook says he had a pair of Louboutin shoes, an additional pair of shoes AND some dress pants stolen -- ESPN's Dianna Russini reports.

7:36 AM PT -- A rep for the TSA tells TMZ Sports ... they've already launched an investigation into Cook's allegations and are hoping to get some answers ASAP.

We're told officials have reached out to Cook and are hoping to speak with him soon to get more information about the alleged crime.

Oakland Raiders TE Jared Cook claims TSA employees STOLE several valuable items out of his luggage at the airport on the way to the Pro Bowl ... and he's calling 'em out on video.

"The great folks at TSA went through my bag and stole my shoes and some of my clothes," Cook told Vegas Sports Daily at the Pro Bowl practice in Orlando.

Cook says the items were worth a "pretty good amount of money."

You can see in the clip Cook is pretty upset -- and he's blaming the alleged crime on the government shutdown.

"I guess when you're forced to find work or find money to come in from somewhere for your family, you take it out on the people that you serve."

He added, "When you don't feed your dogs, they go licking on your bones -- so that's what they're doing."

We reached out to the TSA for comment and we're told they're looking into Cook's allegations. However, TSA responded to Cook on Twitter saying, "This deeply concerns us. We take these allegations very seriously."

31-year-old Cook had a monster season in 2018 -- one of the few bright spots for the Raiders -- putting up 68 catches for 896 yards and 6 TDs.

Cook has made more than $37 million in his NFL career -- and is expected to sign a pretty big contract before the 2019 season.

So, even though it SUCKS to have your stuff get jacked (allegedly) ... at least he can afford to buy new gear.

Kevin Durant blew off practice with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday -- BUT IT WAS FOR A GREAT REASON -- the guy just opened his new after-school facility in Maryland!

KD had made a $10 MILLION donation to the project last year -- to cover "construction and operating expenses" for the center in Prince George's County ... where Durant is from.

Durant had teamed up with College Track to create the facility. The mission is to help kids from low-income areas get the resources they need to get to college.

On Wednesday, Durant met with some of the kids from the inaugural 69-person class -- and everyone seemed super excited!

The NBA superstar talked about the project to the Washington Post ... describing it as the "full circle stuff that you dream about."

Hue Jackson was so furious after getting the axe from Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam after a Week 8 loss to the Steelers, he cussed at his boss and threw him out of his office.

This is all according to an explosive new ESPN report which says ... if you couldn't tell ... things were a MESS behind the scenes in Cleveland this year.

Haslam reportedly went to Jackson's office to deliver the news after the team had chalked up another loss -- sending their record to 2-5-1 on the season.

When Haslam told Jackson that the team had "quit" on him and the Browns were firing the head coach, Jackson reportedly said, "Get the f*ck out of my office."

So, why such anger in a moment EVERYONE saw coming?

According to the report, Jackson's position is that Haslam had given him a vote of confidence behind the scenes -- telling him the team would be firing offensive coordinator Todd Haley, not Jackson.

When Haslam decided to move on from Hue on October 29 ... Jackson didn't see it coming (despite an overall 3-36-1 record with the organization) and lost his cool.

The article also paints Haslam as a guy who's in over his head -- who was adamant on selecting Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft over Teddy Bridgewater because "something about Bridgewater's handshake rubbed Haslam the wrong way."

Of course, Manziel flamed out of the league while Bridgewater ended up being a pretty solid QB (despite injuries).

Haslam also reportedly nicknamed ex-VP of football operations Sashi Brown, who is black, "Obama" because of his Harvard degree ... which made people in the Browns organization uncomfortable and came off as racial stereotyping.

Brown, however, did not find the nickname disrespectful.

L.A. Mayor and likely Presidential candidate Eric Garcetti is promising a party for the ages if the L.A. Rams win the Super Bowl.

We got Garcetti, who was on his way to Washington D.C. where he's the keynote speaker at the United States Conference of Mayors, and he was pumped up about the Rams as any fan in the City of Angels.

Garcetti, who was a key player in the negotiations that ended the L.A. teachers strike, is likely going to throw his hat in the 2020 ring, and soon.

Terrell Davis tells TMZ Sports if CBD was around when he was playing for the Denver Broncos ... his Hall of Fame career would have lasted a lot longer than it did.

TD famously broke into the league as an immediate superstar in 1995 ... rushing for more than 6,000 yards in his first 4 seasons.

But, a knee injury ultimately sapped him of his prime years ... forcing him to play in just 17 games in his final three seasons and retire at just 29 years old.

Now ... Davis tells us if CBD was around back then -- he's confident his career would have been saved.

"I believe so, because any time you can help your body heal -- you can take out the swelling, the inflammation and you can do it in a way that's natural -- I feel like absolutely it would have assisted in that."

Davis says he knows this because he's a regular user of the drug ... and, in fact, he is coming out with his own CBD product called Defy that is set to launch this spring.

Ezekiel Elliott was involved in an altercation with a HUGE celebrity DJ in Vegas early Monday morning -- with the DJ going off about the incident on video after the fact ... and it's intense.

But, sources connected to Zeke tell us ... the Cowboys star is adamant he wasn't the one in the wrong.

Here's what we know for sure ... Zeke and Dak Prescott were partying at Drai's After Hours at The Cromwell Hotel and Casino where DJ Franzen was hanging out.

DJ Franzen is a huge force in hip-hop -- he's tight with guys like Jay-Z, T.I. and Big Sean ... and Drake even gave him TWO shout-outs in TWO different songs ("The Motto" and "Elevate").

Sources connected to Franzen tell us ... he walked over to say hi and that's when Elliott and some of his crew got aggressive and things started to pop off.

One Franzen source tells us ... Dak walked over to the DJ and attempted to smooth things over -- but it was already too late ... Franzen felt disrespected and decided to go off on social media.

"Can you believe Ezekiel Elliott tried to pick a fight with me?!" Franzen said in an IG video first spotted by SportsGossip.com ... "Man, F*CK THE COWBOYS!!!"

"Get the f*ck up out of Vegas man," he added ... "You are never allowed in my section again, you little bitch."

He finished with this message -- "If y'all know Ezekiel Elliott, you tell em DJ Franzen said 'F*ck you ... you little bitch ass motherf*cker.'"

Our Zeke sources tell a different story ... claiming Franzen came over in an aggressive manner and was talking trash about the Cowboys.

One source put it this way, "He was trying to provoke Zeke."

Antonio Brown ... we mustache you a question -- what's up with the dental drapes, man??

The NFL superstar posted a selfie with his son, Auto, on Wednesday ... showing off a bright, new multi-colored dread look ... complete with a bleach blonde caterpillar above his upper lip.

Of course, A.B.'s no stranger to head-turning looks ... remember, he had the Nino Brown/Lego head 'do a few years ago ... and his fashion style is among the most unique in the league.

For a guy who dressed up as a hippo and sang "My Prerogative" in front of a bunch of people, we shouldn't be surprised.

Saints superstar Michael Thomas is STILL salty over the way his team's season ended ... posting a pic on social media Wednesday calling next week's Big Game, "Super Bowl LIE."

The entire city of New Orleans has been up in arms since the refs blew a potentially game-winning pass interference call at the end of the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

In fact ... Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise tells TMZ Sports commissioner Roger Goodell should force the Rams to replay the Saints this weekend 'cause of the robbery.

Thomas clearly agrees ... 'cause he took to IG this week to post a meme that transformed the Super Bowl LIII logo into a "Super Bowl LIE" one.

Other Saints have been vocal about the controversial ending too ... tight end Ben Watson posted on his social media saying, "It’s not fair. I’m angry for a number of reasons. And we are all incredibly disappointed. But we will not be shaken!"

BlocBoy JB is following suit with a lot of other artists by filing his own suit against the creators of Fortnite for allegedly stealing a dance he popularized ... TMZ has learned.

BB JB just sued Epic Games -- the company behind Fortnite Battle Royale -- for allegedly ripping off his dance the "Shoot" and throwing it into their game with a different name ... the "Hype" dance.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, BlocBoy claims he's the creator of the dance, and that Epic Games didn't get permission to use it in Fortnite. Once again, he claims that while he hadn't registered a copyright on the dance when Fortnite used it ... he says he's in the process of locking it down now.

He's being repped by David L. Hecht and Sandy Lal.

Lots of other rappers and social media figures have filed similar suits -- including one Alfonso Ribeiro, who's got beef with the "Carlton" dance being used in the game, as well as Backpack Kid, who claims the game creators stole his move, "The Floss" -- and they all seem to have the same claim ... we popularized a dance, and therefore its ours.

Good luck, fellas.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft ain't mincing his words -- saying Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL ... period.

Of course, there were reports last week that Brady walked into the Patriots practice facility and declared himself the "baddest mother f*cker on the planet."

So, when we saw Kraft leaving John Jay College in New York we had to ask for his thoughts.

"We're lucky to have the greatest quarterback in history," Kraft said with a smirk on his face.

Earlier in the day, Kraft had teamed up with Jay-Z, Meek Mill and 76ers owner Michael Rubin for an event to launch the Reform Alliance, which is focused on overhauling the probation and parole system in America. The goal is to free 1 million people over the next 5 years.

And, since he's become tight with Meek, we asked if the Pats would be playing Mill's hit, "Dreams and Nightmares," if they win the Super Bowl this year ... to which it sounds like he says, "Of course."

The issue with that ... "Dreams and Nightmares" was essentially the theme song for the Philadelphia Eagles last season (when they beat the Pats in the Super Bowl).