TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jay-Z is once again explaining why his partnership with the NFL is actually for the same cause Colin Kaepernick fights for ... it's just the approach that's different.

Jigga sat down with the NYT this weekend ahead of Super Bowl LIV and re-defended his collaboration with the league, which many saw as a betrayal of Kap and everything he stood for. Jay also took a lot of heat at first, but he seems okay with it for the bigger picture.

He tells the paper, "As long as real people are being hurt and marginalized and losing family members, then yes, I can take a couple rounds of negative press," going on to insist he is still fighting for people of color -- only now, from a position of strength and influence.

Case in point ... Sunday's broadcast will apparently include a PSA-type video -- one in a series, per NYT -- that aims to tell the stories of black men and boys killed by cops.

It'll probably be similar to the PSA Malcolm Jenkins and Roc Nation teamed up to produce, which was called "Everyone's Child." Unclear if this new vid is part of the same "Responsibility Program," but chances are it falls under the same umbrella.

Getting back to Kaepernick though, Jay kinda sticks to his guns in this new interview as far as addressing the guy's situation ... acknowledging he was done dirty by the league, but also strongly suggesting it's time to move forward and start looking for new solutions.

Jay says, "No one is saying he hasn’t been done wrong. He was done wrong. I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago and someone needs to say, ‘What do we do now -- because people are still dying?'"

The Big Game means big paydays for celebs ... and Nicki Minaj, DaBaby, Lil Baby and Yo Gotti are among the famous folks cashing in on appearances at Super Bowl parties in Miami.

One of the biggest cash cows for rappers this weekend is Studio 23 in Miami Beach. Sources with knowledge of the deals tell us Nicki's getting $125,000 to host Monday night's finale and Gucci Mane's pocketing $100k to host Saturday night's bash.

Jeezy and Yo Gotti hosted parties Friday night, with Jeezy getting $40,000 from Studio 23 and Mirage Miami shelling out $50k for Yo Gotti's services.

Gunna's hosting at the Mirage Saturday night, and he's getting $60k -- on top of the $60k he got from Studio 23 for Thursday's gig.

Lil Baby and DaBaby are co-hosting the Trap Bowl day party Saturday at Wynwood Factory in Miami's art district, and Lil Baby's earning $70,000, compared to $80k for DaBaby.

Pitbull did not disappoint at Shaq's Fun House in Miami Friday night, getting the crowd fired up and then delivering a rousing tribute to Kobe.

Mr. Worldwide sang "Give Me Everything," and then launched into his commentary, saying Kobe's memory will endure. He then went into a diatribe over the cauldron of hate known as social media.

Diddy followed suit, performing "I'll Be Missing You" as images of Kobe filled the venue. He also performed "Mo Money Mo Problems" with his son, Justin.

Shaq, of course, delivered a moving, personal tribute to Kobe. As the crowd chanted Kobe's name -- led by Shaq -- the video chronicled the incredible partnership between the 2 basketball greats who together were an unbeatable duo. BTW, Shaq also showed off his DJ skills, which are considerable.

DaBaby jumped on stage next to Shaq -- who looks massive by comparison -- and performed "Bop." He was in some hot water last month -- he was arrested and charged with battery for allegedly attacking and robbing a club promoter. That case is pending.

The Los Angeles Lakers honored the late Kobe Bryant with a tribute before the first game following his death ... with emotional performances by Usher and cellist Ben Hong ... and a powerful speech by LeBron James.

The Lakers superstar took center court to address the fans in attendance ... and spoke straight from the heart, calling Kobe his brother and the event a celebration of his career.

"I got something written down, they asked me to kinda stay on course, or whatever the case may be," LeBron said. "But Laker Nation, I would be selling y'all short if I read off this sh*t, so I'ma go straight from the heart."

"I look at this as a celebration tonight. This is a celebration of the 20 years of the blood, the sweat, the tears, the broken-down body, the getting up, the sitting down, the everything, the countless hours, the determination to be as great as you could be."

"I wanna continue along with my teammates to continue his legacy. Not only for this year, but as long as we can play the game of basketball that we love, because that's what Kobe Bryant would want."

James finished his speech with the message -- "So in the words of Kobe Bryant, 'Mamba Out' ... but in the words of us, 'Not forgotten.' Live on, brother."

Prior to LBJ's words, Usher performed a strong rendition of "Amazing Grace" while the video board showed a montage of the tributes that have popped up throughout the world, and Hong played while Bryant's on-and-off the court accomplishments flashed on the screen for all the fans to enjoy.

The Lakers then posted the names of all 9 people lost in the tragic helicopter accident and honored them with a 24.2 second moment of silence while the board showed the 2 courtside seats draped with Kobe and Gigi's jerseys.

Boyz II Men performed the National Anthem ... with all 3 members wearing the Kobe shirts handed out to every fan in attendance. Several players -- including LeBron -- broke down in tears during the performance.

The Lakers players honored Kobe by wearing Kobe's #8 and #24 jerseys during warmups ... and each player was announced as Kobe Bryant for the starting lineups.

LeBron wore Kobe's signature shoes, which might be the first time he's worn anything other than his own sneakers in an NBA game.

The Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers followed other teams' lead by opening the game with 24-second shot clock and 8-second violations.

Kobe's #8 and #24 were displayed on the court ... as well as a "KB" badge on the players' jerseys.

The fans were shouting Kobe's name outside Staples before entering the arena ... and we have video of the emotional scene.

Carmelo Anthony -- who was very close with Kobe -- did not make the trip because he's still mourning Kobe's death.

James revealed his permanent tribute to Kobe before the game, a tattoo that reads "Mamba 4 Life."

The memorials outside Staples continued to pour through LA Live on Friday ... and TMZ Sports was able to capture some of them.

Justin Bieber is adding to his growing cartoon art collection ... with a tribute to Kobe Bryant ... complete with imagery of the Black Mamba balling out with the Lakers.

Our sources tell us Justin's team reached out to Idiot Box Art owners Emily Bright and Tamara Martin to purchase their newest original piece honoring Kobe ... and the Biebs snagged one for only $1,200.

The cartoon art -- depicting a teddy bear wearing Kobe's #8 Lakers jersey over a Mamba hoodie and some Nikes -- is made of hand-cut wood covered in acrylic paint and finished with a coat of resin. The piece is one of 5 created, and it's 41.5 inches X 24 inches.

We're told the Kobe art sold out in a few hours ... so the artists are making miniature versions for $200 a pop, and they're going on sale February 6 and 7 with 24 percent of profits going to the MambaOnThree Fund.

Kick off Super Bowl LIV weekend with these hot cheerleader bods!

The stars of Netflix's docuseries "Cheer" have been showing off their skills onscreen and now it's time to show off their squad-bods when they leave the mat!

We've got a challenge for you that might just top the Daytona competition ... Tumble through our gallery of the "Cheer" cast hot shots and see if you can guess which Navarro cheerleader is in the pic. Try and go full out by guessing them all!

The members of the 14x National Championship team have worked hard to make the mat and clearly have the physique to prove it!

How cool is this?!?

Sylvester Stallone is SUPER DOWN to share the spotlight in Philadelphia with Kobe Bryant ... telling TMZ Sports the city should build a statue of the NBA legend right next to Rocky!!!

"Absolutely!!!" Sly says.

It'd be an amazing tribute ... while Kobe never played for the Sixers -- he grew up in Philly and starred at local Lower Merion HS as a teenager.

Kobe never shied away from his love for Philly despite playing his entire pro career in L.A. -- even reppin' the Eagles in his final appearance at a Lakers game at Staples before his death on Dec. 29.

We broke the story ... Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, were among nine people who tragically died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. on Sunday.

Tributes have come in all shapes and sizes since the 41-year-old's passing ... with NBA teams taking shot clock violations, players writing personal messages on their shoes and Staples Center plaza being packed with mourning fans.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager says some very powerful and rich men in Saudi Arabia have offered $100 million to get Khabib to box Floyd Mayweather in Riyadh.

... but it's highly UNLIKELY we'll see that fight go down in the Middle East.

Ali Abdelaziz says he recently met with the Saudis to discuss possible fight opportunities. Ali wouldn't say who was behind the offer and when it would take place.

He also said the same people have offered $100 mil to host the Khabib vs. Conor McGregor rematch.

But, here's why it probably won't happen ...

Back in 2019, WME -- which owns UFC -- returned a $400 million investment to the Saudi government following the murder of journalist Jamaal Khashoggi.

That doesn't bode well for a fight in SA.

However, we do know the Saudis have been making a MAJOR push to host global sporting events in Riyadh ... with Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz 2 recently taking place there. Plus, they've hosted multiple WWE events over the past year.

Venue aside, Ali says Khabib isn't focused on fighting either one of those guys right now -- he's locked in on his UFC 249 bout in Brooklyn against Tony Ferguson on April 18.

Floyd has previously talked about boxing Khabib -- saying he knows there's HUGE money if it happens.

For his part, Conor has said his priority is Khabib -- but Ali says Conor needs to beat some tough opponents first.

Forget the Hall of Fame ... Andy Reid will go down as a top 5 coach EVER with a win in the Super Bowl on Sunday -- so says his former player Tamba Hali.

"Getting this win obviously will make him one of the greatest coaches of all time," Hali says.

Think it's crazy??? The Chiefs legend might not be wrong ... Reid is already 6th all-time in regular-season wins with 210 -- and he's been to SEVEN conference title games as well.

But, the knock on Reid has always been he's never won a Super Bowl ... and if he's able to erase that against the 49ers, Hali says put him on the NFL's coaching Mt. Rushmore ASAP.

"I know the guys that came before him did some great things, but at least top five in all-time coaching," Hali says.

We also spoke with Hali about his ex-teammate Patrick Mahomes ... and the former KC pass rusher LOVES the guy.

In fact, ya gotta hear the amazing story he shared with us about an afternoon that the QB spent with his son.

Seriously, listen to the story and watch this video ... it's all adorable!!!

LeBron James has a new piece of body art -- a tribute to Kobe Bryant complete with imagery of a Black Mamba.

Both LeBron and Anthony Davis hit up tattoo artist Vanessa Aurelia on Wednesday looking to pay tribute to Kobe with some fresh ink.

Fast-forward to Thursday morning ... when Bron and the Lakers were working out in front of the Lakers facility in El Segundo and gave the media a sneak peek at his new art.

The tat is still under wraps but it appears he's got a black mamba snake with some words underneath. Some people in the office think it reads, "Kobe 4 Life" but it's really hard to tell.

We're told Bron plans to do a big reveal on his Instagram soon -- most likely before he takes the court on Friday when the Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center.

Originally Published -- 1/30 1:43 PM PT

Antonio Brown is issuing another apology for his behavior ... this time writing an emotional letter to the Hollywood PD for being a massive headache the last few months.

"To everyone who I may have offended or Disrespected at the @hollywoodflpd Of the state of Florida, I would like to sincerely give you all my apology from the top and bottom of my heart," AB wrote.

"And as a human being and an professional athlete I can honestly say that my emotions truly did cloud my better Judgment, When you all were only there to help me."

Brown has had run-in after run-in with the HPD cops ... and he even filmed himself berating officers while they were trying to ease a tense standoff between the former All-Pro and his baby mama a few weeks ago.

In fact, things got so bad, the HPD issued a statement saying they were cutting ALL ties with the guy ... and returned a donation check he had made to the police department's youth flag football league.

"We will not take money from a donor that we cannot have our youth be proud of or represent our organization," the cops said at the time.

Things eventually ended with Brown in HPD custody ... cops were forced to issue an arrest warrant for the 31-year-old after he was accused of attacking a moving truck driver outside of his Florida home last week.

But now, Brown -- who's out of jail and letting his criminal case play out in the courts -- is begging for forgiveness ... writing, "Thanks to you all who sincerely accept my Sincere apology. And we must all know that God is a Forgiving God."

Everyone who attends the Lakers game Friday night will get a free Kobe Bryant tribute shirt, courtesy of the team ... 20,000 in total.

The hard-working people at Staples Center have draped a Kobe shirt on every single seat -- half of the arena will get Kobe #8 shirts. The other half will get #24 shirts.

It's just one part of the Kobe Bryant tributes at Staples on Friday -- the first game for the Lakers since Kobe passed away on Sunday.

There will be a moment of silence, visual tributes to Kobe around the arena and we're told some players are considering addressing the crowd ... but nothing is set in stone yet.

Tickets for Friday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers are already rising in value -- with the cheapest tickets just to get in the building hovering around $800 on the secondary ticket market.

We're expecting to see a massive turnout both inside and outside Staples Center -- where Kobe played for nearly all of his 20 years with the Lakers (the Lakers previously played at The Forum).

Tonight will be emotional. In fact, Carmelo Anthony -- who was very close with Kobe -- did not make the trip because he's still mourning Kobe's death.

Wanna see why it's DOPE to be an NFL player??? Just check out Las Vegas Raiders star Johnathan Abram leaving a Miami hot spot with not one, not two, not three ....but FOUR very attractive women!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the 23-year-old stud leaving Prime 112 in South Beach on Thursday and he appeared to be in great spirits -- it's not hard to figure out why.

Not only was Abram in good company, but he's also apparently a really generous guy ... 'cause we spoke with his lovely friends after the dinner ... and they say the Raiders safety paid for everyone's meals!!!

But, the group wasn't just munchin' on apps all night ... they told us they were chowing down on steaks and crab cakes!!!

FYI -- Abram is in the middle of a 4-year, $11 million deal ... so yeah, let him splurge a little bit.

We also asked the star safety about the team's move to Sin City ... and the dude sounds pumped!!!

Eventually, Abram parted ways with the ladies, hopped in his Lambo and drove off.

Lil Wayne paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on his brand new album he dropped TODAY -- laying in 24 seconds of silence on track #8 to show love to the Lakers legend.

Wayne spent years working on the album "Funeral" -- but when he learned about Kobe's death on Sunday, he connected with Young Money President, Mack Maine, and they agreed to make last-second changes to honor Bryant.

The final decision was to lay in a moment of silence for Kobe at the end of the 8th song on the album, titled "Bing James" -- 24 seconds in total. Obviously, the numbers refer to Kobe's Lakers jersey numbers, #8 and #24.

Wayne appeared on FS1's Undisputed on Friday morning and credited the producers who worked on the album for being nimble enough to change up the album just HOURS before it was released ... truly an impressive feat.

Wayne is a huge basketball fan who LOVES the Lakers -- and has been a public Kobe supporter for years. In fact, he dropped a song called "Kobe Bryant" years ago.

Wayne also shouts out "Black Mamba" in the chorus of another song on the new album -- a song called "Ball Hard."

Wayne's "Funeral" album happens to have 24 tracks -- but he told Skip Bayless that was just a coincidence.

Amazing tribute to Kobe Bryant on the golf course Friday ... Tony Finau took the green in a Lakers jersey -- and after the PGA Tour star sank a huge birdie putt, he celebrated with a Kobe follow-through!!

The cool moment all went down at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Ariz. ... where Finau honored Bryant at the famous 16th hole for the 2nd straight day.

The 30-year-old golfer -- sporting the classic No. 8 yellow Bryant uni -- hit his tee shot just off the green ... but he channeled his inner Kobe on the ensuing putt.

The roll -- which was about 20 feet total -- wasn't an easy one ... but Finau jarred it. Afterward, he hit the Kobe celly, and the fans went wild!!!

Of course, golfers at the tourney have been honoring Kobe all week ... Finau himself donned the same Bryant jersey in his opening round Thursday.

Other stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas also sported their Bryant swag this week ... and the tributes have been really amazing.

We broke the story, Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter were two of the nine people who tragically died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

Chance The Rapper is featured in the first-ever TV commercial for Quibi -- a revolutionary new mobile platform -- and the funny spot is hitting the airwaves during the Super Bowl.

The commercial depicts a bank heist gone wrong, leaving the robbers with just 4 to 10 minutes to spare ... which just so happens to be the perfect amount of time to watch a Quibi.

As you can see ... the bank robbers pause mid-heist to check out Chance's revival of "Punk'd" on Quibi.

BTW ... Quibi is short for "quick bites" ... and the first-ever entertainment platform designed specifically for phones delivers episodes and movie-quality shows in 10 minutes or less.

Quibi's launching April 6, with original content from huge celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Liam Hemsworth, Zac Efron, Idris Elba, Kendall Jenner, 50 Cent, Steph Curry, Chrissy Teigen and Kristen Bell ... plus our own celebrity show with a TMZ edge.