TMZ Sports - Page 50

The crowded heavyweight boxing landscape might have to make some room for an old tenant ... because Wladimir Klitschko might be making a return, according to his trainer.

We talked to Jonathan Banks, the man who trained Klitschko, and is training GGG for his huge fight this weekend against Sergiy Derevyanchenko Saturday night, and Banks hinted to us that Klitschko is contemplating a return. 

"After a conversation with him like a week ago maybe, now I can say anything's possible."

Wlad's last two losses are to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, and he wasn't dominated in either fight, as a matter of fact, he dropped AJ in their fight, which was an all-time classic.

"I told him these exact words, 'If this is what you make up your mind to do, you have my 100% support.'"

WK is 43, making him much older than the dominant heavyweights today, but still, if you watch Banks talk, it seems he believes Klitschko can do it.

Does Seattle Seahawks legend Shaun Alexander deserve a bust in Canton?

Nate Burleson says the ex-running back definitely deserves consideration for it ... telling TMZ Sports, "Not first ballot, but should you consider him second ballot? Yeah."

Shaun rushed for 9,429 yards and 100 TDs in 119 career games for the Seahawks from 2000 to 2007. He also won the league MVP in 2005.

But, most NFL experts believe he's NOT a Hall of Famer ... saying he just didn't do enough for long enough to be among the league's all-time legends.

So, when we got Burleson -- who played with Shaun in Seattle in 2006 and 2007 -- we had to get his thoughts on Shaun's candidacy ... and he broke it all down for us.

"With Shaun Alexander, there's three tiers," Nate says. "Was he one of the best of his draft class? Yes. Was he one of the best of his era? Yes."

"And, can you write the story of football without him? That might be up for debate."

Nate says because of all that ... he believes HOF voters should definitely take a deeper look at Shaun when the next round of voting begins, telling us, "He should be considered."

TMZ Sports has obtained surveillance video of the moment NFL D-lineman Darius Philon allegedly pulled a gun on women in a strip club parking lot ... but it's unclear if the guy ever committed the crime.

Earlier this summer ... a woman accused Philon -- a 25-year-old who was playing for the Arizona Cardinals at the time -- of threatening to shoot her and her friend in a strip club parking lot.

In the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman alleges that on May 17 ... she was dancing at V-Live in Phoenix, Arizona when Darius asked her and her friend to come to his car so he could pay her.

She alleges that when they got to his car ... he pulled a gun on them, pointed it at their chests and said, "Which one of you wants a bullet?"

She says when she told him to put the gun down and went to the other side of her friend ... he pointed the gun at her a second time.

In the surveillance video ... you can see Philon clearly speaking with the two women -- but it's difficult to tell if he ever brandishes a weapon.

Cops launched an investigation ... and eventually arrested Philon on Aug. 9 -- booking the 6-foot-1, 286-pounder for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

A day later, the Cardinals cut Philon.

But, Philon is still waiting to receive formal charges in the case ... a rep for the Maricopa County Attorney's office tells us, "We received the case for review less than a week ago and are currently reviewing it for a charging decision."

Philon -- who's still an NFL free agent searching for another team -- signed a 2-year deal worth $10 MILLION with the Cards just months before his August release.

LeBron James says he's the G.O.A.T. ... but Byron Scott says LBJ's not even the G.O.A.T. Laker ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports there are 2 players James will NEVER pass on the all-time list.

Of course, Scott is part of the rich Lakers history -- he won 3 titles with the Showtime Lakers in the '80s ... and played 11 seasons in the purple & gold.

Some of the best players in NBA history have put on a Laker jersey -- Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ... hell, even Karl Malone was in L.A. for one season.

We spoke with Scott at LAX about where the King sits among the list of all-time Laker greats ... and he says there's NO WAY LeBron will ever take the throne.

"That ain't possible. It's Magic and Kareem," Scott says ... noting that Kobe is definitely in the conversation.

But, Scott doesn't think LBJ's stint with L.A. will resemble that of Malone's, Steve Nash's or Gary Payton's -- he thinks James will be able to bring home multiple titles back to the Lakers.

Kanye West and Rick Fox are joining forces to help aid those in need in the Bahamas after the country was devastated by Hurricane Dorian.

Yeezy and Rick were spotted together Thursday at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, before speaking with government officials about ways to assist rebuilding efforts in communities impacted by the storm.

Rick is the president of the Bahamas Relief Foundation -- he lived there when he was growing up -- and the 3-time NBA champion has been helping raise funds and supplies for the island nation following the worst natural disaster in the country's history.

Now, Kanye is helping out too ... and our sources say he's been bros with Rick for years.

Ye and Rick are part of the growing list of celebs lending a helping hand to the Bahamas ... Michael Jordan pledged $1 MILLION to relief efforts, and Tyler Perry sent supply shipments via his personal seaplane.

Other famous folks opening their wallets include Ludacris, Luke Walton and Buddy Hield.

So far, officials say at least 50 people are confirmed dead -- with hundreds of people still unaccounted for.

The University of Tennessee cut Jeremy Banks from the football team over allegations he threatened a female student in an incident captured on video and obtained by TMZ Sports.

As we previously reported, Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt cut Banks on Friday and said it was due to new information he received about the linebacker. This, just days after a prior video surfaced showing Banks berating police officers during a recent arrest.

So, what's the new info that pushed Pruitt to cut ties with Banks? Here's the story ...

A female UT student tells TMZ Sports ... on August 24, Banks threatened to "smack" her outside of a party in Knoxville after she refused to let him inside. She claims Banks had been harassing her for months.

The woman claims she called 911 and while cops responded to the scene, Banks was not arrested. She says she was passed to the Univ. of Tennessee Police Dept. to follow up.

Days later, the woman says she was contacted by Univ. of Tennessee school officials who had learned about the incident from police.

The woman told school officials she had video of the August 24 encounter -- which also showed Banks arguing with security guards, shouting aggressive phrases at them like, "I've been thuggin'."

School officials conducted an investigation and issued a temporary no-contact order against Banks while the probe was underway instructing him to stay away from the alleged victim.

TMZ Sports had contacted the Univ. of Tennessee Police Dept. about the investigation on Oct. 3 and we were told, "Let me see what I can find out."

Later that day, we were told the woman was contacted by the school and told they found Banks had violated the student code of conduct.

On Oct 4, the UTPD followed up with us and said, "UTPD handles reports related to violations of law."

"The University of Tennessee Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards handles reports related to violations of the student code of conduct. Records of student conduct cases are protected by federal student privacy laws."

Minutes after we got the email, Coach Pruitt announced Banks was off the football team.

We've reached out to multiple officials at the Univ. of Tennesse for comment -- so far, no word back.

We've also reached out to the Knoxville PD -- no comment from them at this point, either.

The University of Tennessee has booted Jeremy Banks off the football team days after footage surfaced showed him berating police officers during a recent arrest.

UT coach Jeremy Pruitt announced the move moments ago ... saying, "While I will continue to support Jeremy in the next steps in his life, information I recently received made it clear this decision is in the best interest of the football program & university."

As we previously reported, Banks was stopped for making an illegal U-turn in Knoxville on Sept. 15 and during the incident, cops noticed an outstanding warrant stemming from a failure to appear in court for a prior traffic issue.

While Banks was in the police car being taken to the station, he went off on the officers.

At one point, Banks says the following to a female intern who's participating in a ride-along -- "You don't wanna be an intern because where I'm from we shoot at cops. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee."

He also made comments like, "I don't like the police, bro. Hell nah," and "Y'all police are some p*****s, bro. Real s**t, I don't f**k with y'all."

The L.A. Sparks have fired General Manager Penny Toler after she admitted using the n-word in a post-game rant following a playoff loss.

"Toler was relieved of her duties and will no longer be with the organization, effective immediately," the Sparks said in a statement.

"A national search will begin immediately to identify the next general manager of the Sparks. Managing Partner and Governor Eric Holoman will assume the duties in the interim."

As we previously reported, Toler entered the locker room following a Sept. 19th loss to the Connecticut Sun and unleashed in an emotional tirade.

Toler later spoke to ESPN and acknowledged using the word -- but insists it was not directed as a slur toward one of her players.

"It's unfortunate I used that word," Toler said ... "I shouldn't. Nobody should. ... But you know, like I said, I'm not here to defend word by word by word what I said. I know some of the words that I'm being accused of are embellished."

"Did I give a speech that I hoped would get our team going? Yes."

Despite the controversy, the Sparks are praising Toler for what she accomplished during her 20 seasons with the franchise.

"Penny is a foundational figure in the growth of the WNBA and helped lead our franchise to perennial playoff success and multiple titles."

"We wish her nothing but the best moving forward."

Madness at the weigh-in for the highly anticipated Claressa Shields vs. Ivana Habazin fight -- when Habazin's trainer was hospitalized after being sucker punched at the event.

James Ali Bashir was laying in a pool of his own blood after someone snuck up and socked him in the face HARD at the event in Flint, Michigan.

Emergency personnel raced to the Dort Federal Event Center to treat Bashir -- who was wheeled out of the facility on a stretcher while wearing a neck brace. Video was captured by FOX 66's Jonathan Deutsch.

Habazin was seen crying while standing over Bashir -- clearly very emotional.

Bashir is well known in the boxing world -- he worked under legendary trainer Emanuel Steward for 17 years and worked with guys like Wladimir Klitschko.

Cops have taken the suspect into custody but so far, that person's identity has not been revealed. There are rumblings the attacker was someone connected with Shields but so far, that has NOT been confirmed.

Shields was set to fight Habazin on Saturday night in the main event fight on Showtime. No word on the current status of that fight.

Shields issued a statement on social media ... saying, "I wanna thank everyone who came to weigh-in to support me. Because of the incident that took place, they had to clear the Dort federal for safety issues."

Odell Beckham says he had a golden opportunity to retaliate against Marlon Humphrey after Sunday's choking incident ... but chose not to fight back because "it's not MMA."

The Cleveland Browns WR says he was fined by the NFL for the incident -- even though he claims he was not the aggressor and was only defending himself.

But, Beckham says things could have been WAYYYY worse ... if he wasn't such a mature and restrained person.

"There was an opportunity for me to really take things way further," Beckham said.

"He was on the ground, I was standing up still. And, I kind of just let the moment pass."

Beckham says the decision to NOT fight back shows how mature he is now -- "I've come a long way. I probably would have been suspended for the next game if I would have done what I wanted to do."

He added, "This is football, this isn't MMA. This isn't 'Street Fighter.' It's a different story."

Of course, the big dispute is whether or not Marlon actually choked Beckham -- something the Ravens have said did NOT happen.

Beckham deflected when asked straight up about the strangulation ... "I don't know. We grown ass men."

"We get hit every day. We get hit by 300 pounders. I’m good."

Beckham also griped about the fighting fine from the NFL ... saying he's sick and tired of the league taking money out of his pockets.

"I understand the penalty, getting fined for that. But, pants above your knees or a shirt hanging out, we’re talking about a t-shirt that cost $5 to make and you’re getting $5,000 taken from you.”

Jonathan Martin just cut a deal with L.A. prosecutors ... and now, the ex-NFL O-lineman could get out of his gun and knife threats case without spending more time behind bars.

Martin -- who famously alleged he was bullied by ex-teammate Richie Incognito during their playing days with the Dolphins -- made some scary comments on social media that led to his arrest in 2018.

In an Instagram post, Martin threw up a picture of a shotgun with shells ... and wrote, "When you're a bully victim & a coward your options are suicide, or revenge."

Hours later ... cops say they found Martin with a cache of weapons including a loaded shotgun, knife and an ax -- and say he had been threatening classmates for years.

Prosecutors eventually hit Martin with 5 charges ... 4 counts of making criminal threats and 1 count of possessing a loaded firearm.

But, TMZ Sports has learned Martin cut a deal in court Friday ... and will enter a 2-year pre-trial diversion program.

The specifics about Martin's program are unclear -- but typically, when offenders complete a diversion program, the charges are wiped from their record.

Typical diversion programs include completing treatment courses, counseling, community service, restitution, etc.

30-year-old Martin started 32 games in his NFL career before ultimately getting cut from the Panthers in 2016.

Conor McGregor has been charged with assault stemming from an April attack in an Irish pub ... and he's now fcaing up to 6 months in jail.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Conor walked into the Marble Arch Pub in Dublin on April 6 and punched a patron in the face after he refused a shot of Conor's Irish whiskey.

Cops investigated the incident and now a spokesperson for the Irish police tells us a court date has been set in the case, October 11th.

Conor is facing one count of assault, according to the Irish news outlet The Independent, which carries a maximum 6-month jail sentence if convicted.

Conor has spoken about the incident publicly ... telling ESPN in August, "I was in the wrong."

McGregor added, "That man deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having to end the way it did."

During the ESPN interview, Conor said he tried to make amends with the victim but didn't specify how or if he was able to do that.

"But still, that doesn’t even matter. I was in the wrong," McGregor said.

In the meantime, Conor has said he wants to return to the UFC and fight again ... but no match has been set.

We reached out to McGregor's camp for comment. So far, no word back.

The Miami Dolphins might suck, but it's still good to be Josh Rosen ... who left an L.A. hotspot Thursday night with a very attractive lady on his arm!!!

Rosen's Dolphins are on a bye week so the QB decided to catch a plane back to his hometown where he was spotted on a double date with his longtime buddy, Scotty McKnight.

The duo left with two hot chicks ... but we haven't been able to identify them yet.

If McKnight looks familiar, it's because he not only was drafted by the NY Jets back in the day, but he's also kind of a Hollywood big shot who famously dated "Gossip Girl" star Jessica Szohr.

Robert Kraft's helicopter did NOT destroy a college field when he landed before the Pats vs. Bills game this past weekend ... the damage was "minimal," according to multiple sources.

Here's the deal ... Kraft's chopper touched down on the football field at Erie Community College on Sunday, right before the Pats took on the Bills in Buffalo.

There were reports the helicopter damaged the football field, causing divots that may have led to a problem when ECC played their next football game.

But, we reached out to multiple people connected to the situation -- including ECC -- and were assured by multiple parties the extent of the damage was "overblown."

We're told there WAS some minor damage to the field -- and the Buffalo Bills sent their groundskeeping crew over to check it out -- but it didn't exactly require a massive effort to fix.

An ECC rep tells us the guys just stomped some dirt in the divots and it successfully remedied the issue. The rep says, "There wasn't even $100 in damage."

We're also told the field is in fine condition for ECC's next game and it doesn't seem like anyone has any problems with Kraft or the Patriots.

Kevin Garnett put on a SHOW off-camera on the set of the new Adam Sandler movie, "Uncut Gems" -- hooping out of his mind during a pick-up game ... and it was AWESOME!!

KG has a major role in the flick, which is about a degenerate sports gambler who gets into major problems when his debts spiral out of control.

Garnett plays himself ... and we had heard that during downtime on the set, he stayed in his role and just murdered people on a basketball court they used in the movie.

So, when we saw "Uncut Gems" director Josh Safdie at the Alice Tully Center in L.A. on Thursday, we asked him about the rumors ... and yeah, it's all true, baby!!

"Kevin doesn't know how to do anything but play at 100%," Safdie told us.

No, Sandler didn't play in the game with Garnett ... but Safdie says they all sat on the set and watched KG go off.

Ex-NFL star Fred Smoot -- who played for the Vikings and Redskins -- was arrested in Virginia on Thursday and TMZ Sports has the pics.

Law enforcement tells us, 40-year-old Smoot was taken into custody in Loudoun County around 7:15 PM local time.

A witness says multiple cops were waiting for Smoot at his home when the ex-NFL player arrived there. He was placed in handcuffs and taken to a nearby station where he was booked into county jail.

We're told Smoot was taken in on outstanding warrant stemming from a failure to appear in court in Sept. for a previous issue. Unclear what the previous issue is at this point, but we're working on it.

Smoot was previously arrested in Washington D.C. in 2014 for domestic violence stemming from an issue with his girlfriend. But, when the case went in front of a judge in 2015, he was found not guilty.

Besides being a pretty solid defensive back, Smoot was famously involved in the Minnesota Vikings "Love Boat" scandal back in Oct. 2005 ... when several players were accused of hiring prostitutes for a sex party on water.

Smoot later pled guilty to disorderly conduct and being a public nuisance on a watercraft stemming from the incident.