TMZ Sports - Page 50

Megan Rapinoe finally responded to President Trump on Wednesay -- telling POTUS she feels Trump is dragging America back to a time of bigotry and hate. 

The Team USA soccer superstar appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper and delivered a message directed at Trump:

"I would say that your message is excluding people," Rapinoe said ... "You're excluding me, you're excluding people that look like me, you're excluding people of color, you're excluding Americans that maybe support you."

Both Rapinoe and Anderson Cooper are openly gay -- and pointed out how terribly gay people in America were treated in the past. 

Rapinoe touched on that in her message to Trump ... 

"I think that we need to have a reckoning with the message that you have and what you're saying about 'Making America Great Again.' I think that you're harking back to an era that was not great for everyone -- it might have been great for a few people, and maybe America is great for a few people right now, but it's not great for enough Americans in this world."

She continued ... "You have an incredible responsibility as the chief of this country to take care of every single person, and you need to do better for everyone."

Of course, Trump had criticized Rapinoe on Twitter after she said she wouldn't be going to the "f*cking White House" if Team USA won the World Cup. 

Cooper asked if she still felt that way -- and if other teammates stood behind her. 

"I would not go, and every teammate that I've talked to explicitly about it would not go," Rapinoe said.

"I don't think anyone on the team has any interest in lending the platform that we've worked so hard to build, and the things that we fight for, and the way that we live our life -- I don't think that we want that to be co-opted or corrupted by this administration."

However, Rapinoe says the team is interested in meeting with U.S. leaders in D.C. and WOULD accept invitations from other politicians. 

Ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas was involved in a WILD car crash over the weekend -- where a Toyota flipped on its head -- but TMZ Sports has learned, miraculously, nobody was seriously hurt.

We're told a RAV4 collided with Arenas' pricey Maybach at around 2:55 PM on the 101 freeway in Encino, California on Sunday.

The RAV4 appeared to brush up on Arenas' rear quarter panel before it rolled onto its head ... and the footage of the aftermath is crazy.

You can see the mangled Toyota lying wrongside up in the middle of the freeway -- with Arenas' supercar severely dented in the back.

Fortunately for everyone involved, we're told there were only minor injuries suffered -- with Arenas not even listed as hurt.

For his part, Gilbert seemed to joke about the whole ordeal on social media afterward, saying, "@thebig3 the ghost ballers musta sent a killer to stop me since they couldn't."

Turns out Lewis Hamilton hasn't added another name to the ridiculous list of hot women he's dated, because reports he's hooking up with bikini model Zahra Elise are untrue ... so says Zahra.

Lewis has been connected to a bevy of beautiful women in the past such as Nicki Minaj, Kendall Jenner, and Nicole Scherzinger, so when outlets saw him hanging out with Zahra at Kevin Hart's 40th bday party this past weekend, they thought it was on. 

It's not on ... we spoke to Zahra, a huge model on IG with 1 million followers, and she says she's known Hamilton for years, and it was all innocent.

"Just friends, saw each other at the same party, and just decided to hang out. Nothing romantic."

As for reports they left the party together, also not true says Zahra. Saying that while they left at the same time, they did so in separate cars. 

We've included a gallery of Zahra below ... and we gotta say, Lewis Hamilton has different "just friends" than we do. SHEESH. 

Kendall Jenner and Lakers star Kyle Kuzma might like yacht rock, but the yacht they were on together was NOT rocking -- not from them hooking up, anyway.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... those 4th of July pics of Kendall and Kyle yachting off the coast of Malibu last week were kinda deceiving. The closeup shots certainly made it seem like Kendall and Kyle were having a romantic day at sea -- but the wider shots revealed more. As you can see there were others on board. 

We're told this was a friendly outing for about 20 people, and that's it -- Kendall has not hooked into a new NBA BF on the heels of her split from Ben Simmons. The other guests were mostly Kendall's GFs, plus a few guys.

As we told you, once they got back to shore, Kuzma was spotted at a house party with Kendall. Again ... with more friends. A few days later, she was back in the ocean -- but all the way over in Greece and sans Kuzma.

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout is honoring Tyler Skaggs during the All-Star Game on Tuesday ... sporting the late pitcher's #45 jersey when he takes the field.

Skaggs tragically died last week in his team hotel room in Texas. Details surrounding his death are still unclear ... but the news shook many teams, players and managers throughout the MLB.

Trout -- who usually wears #27 -- and injured Angels infielder Tommy La Stella will don Skaggs' digits on their backs during Tuesday night's ASG as a tribute to their teammate.

Trout shared his condolences last week ... saying "Words cannot express the deep sadness we feel right now."

"Remembering him as a great teammate, friend, and person who will forever remain in our hearts... we love you, 45."

UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo says he wants to add MORE gold to his collection -- and if that means fighting Amanda Nunes, he's DOWN! 

He seems like he's joking ... but maybe not! 

After all, Cejudo usually fights at 125 pounds. And, Amanda's last fight was at 135 pounds. And, since she's got the women's bantamweight and featherweight belts, Henry is calling her out!

"If Amanda Nunes wants to get it too? Valentina [Shevchenko]? I'm calling you guys out too. I take no prisoners."

Of course, Cejudo already holds the titles in the UFC's bantamweight and flyweight divisions -- plus, he's got an Olympic gold medal -- but he's a self-described "gold-digger" and he's very greedy!

In all seriousness, Cejudo says he wants to fight the winner of the upcoming Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar featherweight title fight at UFC 240 later this month. 

Cejudo says Holloway would pose a greater challenge because of the obvious height difference -- but tells TMZ Sports he still thinks he could win. 

"The fight would have to be so strategic," Cejudo says ... "But, he can get it too, man!"

Cejudo says his goal is to be known as the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. 

There's more ... we also asked Henry to break down that crazy Jorge Masvidal knockout of Ben Askren ... and he demonstrated on one of TMZ staffers (Lucas!). 

Don't miss the "TMZ Sports" TV show -- weeknights on FS1. 

Presidential candidate Julian Castro says there's an easy explanation for Megan Rapinoe's standoff with President Trump, and it won't change until 1600 Penn. gets a new resident.

Castro joined us on "TMZ Live" and said there's some pretty clear symbolism to Megan and the U.S. Women's Soccer Team skipping White House photo ops. He says it's simply a byproduct of Trump's "horrendous" and "divisive" policies.

As you know ... team captain Megan made it clear she's not down for a victory lap at the White House to commemorate winning the World Cup. 

Since Trump took office, 20 major sports teams have been crowned champions ... but only half of them celebrated with POTUS, and one of them -- the NBA's Golden State Warriors -- chose to hang with Obama instead.

Castro's told us he wants teams to be proud again to hang with POTUS -- the way they were when Barack Obama and every other Prez, for that matter, was in office. 

Well, this about seals it ... NFL star Christian McCaffrey and model Olivia Culpo holding hands in Mexico, confirming what everyone suspected -- they're dating and they're beautiful together. 

Seriously, look at these people ... she's one of the hottest models on the planet and the Carolina Panthers running back looks like he was sculpted out of granite. It's insane.

There have been rumblings about the two getting close recently ... and we know they've been in Cabo together for the past few days -- but these are the first pics of Olivia and Christian showing affection. 

The 23-year-old football star is coming off a stellar 2nd season in the NFL -- he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2018. 

27-year-old Culpo is coming off a wild breakup with 33-year-old NFL star Danny Amendola, a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. 

Of course, Culpo was the 2012 Miss Universe winner. She was also a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition model and was recently named #1 on the Maxim Hot 100 list. 

No word on how long they've been seeing each other or how they met -- but who cares, it's on now and that's all that matters. 

"You don't respect it, you will get collected." 

That's Bone Collector -- the street ball legend who put Floyd Mayweather on his back Monday -- telling TMZ Sports he still can't really believe he crossed up The Best Ever!

"Floyd Mayweather is the richest ankle I've ever collected," Bone tells us. 

Of course, Bone's highlight at the $50k Charity Challenge celebrity basketball game has gone super viral ... everyone's praising the only pro athlete to ever drop Mayweather in any sport, EVER!

So, how did Floyd react after the embarrassing fall? Bone says the guy acted like a true pro -- he got up and continued to ball out. 

"He came back and played hard," Bone says ... "After that it was more of a mutual respect thing."

Bone says he kinda feels bad for Floyd because the two are good friends and he didn't want to humiliate the guy ... but on the other hand he's LOVING all of the praise he's getting!

In fact, Bone says everyone from Snoop to Nate Robinson to Rob Gronkowski dog-piled on him after the move in one of the coolest moments of his life. 

Tyreek Hill is now saying he NEVER roughed up his GF in a 2014 domestic violence incident that he pled guilty to back in 2015 ... saying, "Did I pick you up and slam you? Hell no."

It's all in new audio released by Kansas City radio station 610 KCSP ... which reveals more of the secret recording that was leaked several months ago between Hill and his fiancee, Crystal Espinal.

"You was in my house. And, did I pick you up and slam you? Hell no, I picked you up and put you out my door and after that you left," the K.C. Chiefs star says in the new portion of the audio. "And, on my son you did that, bro. And then you get in the courtroom, you want to sit up there and cry on the stand. ‘He hit me, he hit me.’ Man, come on, bro.”

Tyreek -- who was an Oklahoma State running back at the time -- pled guilty in August 2015 after he was accused of choking and punching a pregnant Espinal in Dec. 2014.

As part of the plea deal, Hill was sentenced to 3 years probation and ordered to complete a 52-week domestic violence program. When he successfully completed his sentence in 2018, the charge was wiped from his record. 

But, the new recordings show Hill is adamant he didn't do the crime ... with the NFL superstar telling Espinal, "Did I hit you? Tell me the truth in my eyes right now. Look at me." 

The first portion of the secret recording was released by a local Kansas City TV station in late April, and it showed an argument between Hill and Espinal over injuries their son suffered.

The NFL and the Chiefs are reportedly aware of the new version of the audio ... and an investigation into the child abuse allegations are still ongoing.

Hill has reportedly already met with Roger Goodell over the accusations ... sitting down with the NFL commissioner for 8 hours last week.

As for Tyreek, he's strongly denied ever hurting his son ... and in the new portion of the audio, he says, "You know how I am with [our son]."

Ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is begging the scumbags who STOLE HIS DOG during a burglary in L.A. to return his beloved pet ... saying he'll pay ANYTHING to get him back. 

The 29-year-old English soccer star says his adorable Pomeranian named Lucci was taken from his West Hollywood home on Monday night, along with other personal items. 

He posted video of the smashed door where the thieves likely broke in. 

"I want to know who took my sh*t. I want to know what's went on. I want to know why they've took my dog. I want to know why they've took bags from upstairs. I want to know what the f*ck's going on. I'm dead serious."

Sturridge says money is no object -- he's reportedly made more than $40 MILLION in his career -- and he's willing to crack open his wallet to get his 4-legged friend back. 

"Whoever knows who broke into my crib, I'll pay you anything. I'm dead serious," Sturridge says.

We reached out to the LAPD and they told us they're actively investigating the break-in -- but have no leads at this time. 

Hopefully someone in the area has surveillance video. Story developing ... 

Ex-L.A. Chargers defensive end Chris McCain -- 6'5", 250 lbs -- DOMINATED his opponent in his first amateur MMA fight ... and the video is brutal. 

The 27-year-old played 4 seasons in the NFL for various teams -- including a stellar 5-sack season with the Chargers in '17 -- but he was cut by the Colts in 2018 and has been training to become a pro fighter ever since. 

Fast forward to Saturday night when McCain made his MMA debut at Shawne Merriman's Lights Out Xtreme Fighting promotion in Burbank, CA ... where he entered the cage wearing his old Chargers jersey.  

McCain fought Jamal Harris (0-2) and even though his opponent ain't exactly Francis Ngannou ... McCain showed real potential, ending the fight 38 seconds into the 2nd round. 

The issue for McCain is his troubled legal past -- back in October, he pled no contest to 2 counts of misdemeanor battery stemming from allegations he got violent with a woman in Jan. 2018. 

As we previously reported, the woman claimed McCain grabbed her neck and spit on her during an altercation in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to community service and ordered to complete an anger management program.

Now, it's clear McCain is hoping to follow in Greg Hardy's footsteps -- hoping to get a fresh start in MMA while keeping his nose clean outside the cage. 

McCain is getting support from some of his old NFL teammates -- including Keenan Allen who attended the fight in person. 

It's unclear when McCain plans to fight again -- but it's obvious he wants to get back in the cage ASAP. He'll need a few more wins before Dana White would ever consider signing him to a UFC contract. 

You pay for my son's college education ... and I'll drop my lawsuit against you.

That's how Antonio Brown's legal war ended after he was sued over a 2018 furniture-tossing rampage at his exclusive Florida apartment complex.

Remember, back in April, Brown struck a settlement with Ophir Sternberg -- who accused the Raiders star WR of nearly crushing his 22-month-old son with furniture that Brown allegedly tossed off his balcony.

AB had adamantly denied being the one who threw the objects -- but reached an agreement with Sternberg a few months ago to close the case.

Now, new court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, show part of the settlement includes Brown making a contribution to Ophir's son's college fund. 

"The net proceeds to the minor will be invested into Florida Prepaid College for the minor's sole benefit," the docs read.

The docs do not say how much cash Brown will contribute to the fund -- but we're told both sides are happy with the agreement. 

The docs also show Brown is making a contribution to an unspecified charity as another part of the settlement.

For his part, Brown released a statement on social media (that's now deleted), saying, "The legal dispute between Ophir Sternberg and me has been resolved with a confidential sum of funds being donated to charity."

"I am sorry that an incident occurred. I apologize for any statements we made in court filings or otherwise to Mr. Sternberg and family."

You're looking at one of the most beautiful human beings on Earth ... and his girlfriend, Kate Bock.

Juuuust kidding. They're both ridiculously good looking.

NBA superstar Kevin Love and his equally gorgeous bikini model boo are vacationing in Bock's native Canada this week ... and the Cavs champ put his shredded body on display while checking out a hot spring at Pitt Lake.

Love and Bock -- an SI swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model -- have been dating for years ... and they're always posting beautiful pics from their travels together (we're not complaining at all).

The couple can easily make the case for being the most beautiful duo out right now ... AND they have an adorable pup, Vestry ... so they're truly winning on all levels.

A routine traffic stop turned into a violent war inside of a gas station ... with a massive NFL player fighting a cop AFTER being hit with a taser and TMZ Sports has the unbelievable video. 

A police officer in Lathrup Village, Michigan pulled over 23-year Malik McDowell -- a 6'6", 300 pound defensive tackle -- on a snowy February night after he witnessed McDowell's Jeep spinning out on the road after speeding. 

During the stop, which took place in front of a gas station, the officer ordered McDowell to stay seated in his car, but Malik disobeyed -- and repeatedly demanded to speak with a supervisor. 

As the officer continues to verbally engage with McDowell, who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2nd round of the 2017 NFL Draft, he tries to leave his vehicle and walk into the gas station convenient store. 

The cop grabs McDowell and tells him to put his hands behind his back ... but again, McDowell disobeys and begins to fight back against the officer, knocking over shelves of food in the process.

The officer repeatedly warns McDowell to stand down or else he would be tased. Once McDowel's on the ground, the officer instructs him to get on his stomach, but the NFL player refuses ... so the cop deploys his taser. 

Meghan Markle has no time for commoners snapping pics of her at Wimbledon -- her security demanded people to turn their lenses away while she watched Serena Williams.   

British media consultant and former BBC reporter Sally Jones tell TMZ ... she was sitting in the members box, taking pics of Serena Williams when one of Meghan's bodyguards came up and said, "Would you not take photographs of the Duchess? She's here in a private capacity." 

Shocked at the request, Jones says she told the security guard she had no intention of photographing Meghan ... and wasn't even aware she was there before that moment. She says she was simply trying to take a shot of Serena. Jones tells us, she didn't take a single pic of Meghan, before or after she was approached by security.

Jones says it's apparent to her some people at the palace suffer from a feeling of "entitlement." She says the whole thing was ridiculous.

BTW, Jones wasn't the only one shooed away. Several other spectators with phones out were told to beat it. Although, it's certainly worth noting ... her security seemed fine with fans taking photos when Megan was signing an autograph for a little boy. Guess a photo op's still a photo op.