TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jones has returned to the Albuquerque streets and is helping with the cleanup process ... working with a small crew to get small businesses back in order.

Jon Jones is pissed off -- so he took to the streets of Albuquerque to confront vandals Sunday face-to-face ... and the video is intense.

You can see the UFC light heavyweight champion go right up to two masked people and demand they hand over their spray cans immediately.

Jon is 6'4", 205 pounds and arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time -- so yeah, the vandals listened and handed the cans right over.

After the incident, Jones went to social media to vent ..."Is this shit even about George Floyd anymore," Jones wrote ..."Why the f*ck are you punk ass teenagers destroying our cities!??"

"As a young black man trust me I’m frustrated as well but this is not the way, we are starting to make a bad situation worse."

"If you really got love for your city (505), protect your sh*t. All you old heads need to speak up, call your young family members and tell them to come home tonight."

Atlanta Braves legend Dale Murphy says his son nearly lost his eye while peacefully protesting over the weekend ... claiming an officer fired a rubber bullet at his kid's face.

The two-time National League MVP explained the terrifying situation Sunday ... saying his son was protesting George Floyd's tragic death in Denver, Colo. when cops opened fire with less-than-lethal weapons.

Murphy says his son needed to be rushed to the hospital ... but, fortunately, the former MLB star says he appears to have avoided serious injury.

"Luckily, his eye was saved due to a kind stranger that was handing out goggles to protestors shortly before the shooting and another kind stranger that drove him to the ER," Murphy says.

Murphy claims others who were protesting with his son were not so lucky and suffered "permanent" disabilities as a result of the cops' actions ... and now, he's pleading for change.

"As terrible as this experience has been, we know that it's practically nothing compared to the systemic racism and violence against Black life that he was protesting in the first place," Murphy said.

"Black communities across America have been terrorized for centuries by excessive police force."

Murphy added, "If you're a beneficiary of systemic racism, then you will not be able to dismantle it at no cost to yourself. You will have to put yourself at risk. It might not always result in being physically attacked, but it will require you to make yourself vulnerable."

Murphy implored his followers to continue to peacefully protest ... as well as donate to Black Lives Matter charities that have been set up throughout the country.

Brandon Marshall -- one of the first NFL players to kneel with Colin Kaepernick -- says he's not surprised the protests have turned violent ... but wants to remind everyone, "We tried to do things peacefully."

"I just think that people are fed up, which is why the violence has started," Marshall tells TMZ Sports.

"I would never want to see anyone get hurt, but I see why."

"If you could understand the timeline, if you could understand the course of events that continues to happen, it’s only natural that happens."

As far as the kneeling protest, Marshall says he still feels it was the right thing to do but notes "it didn't catch enough attention, it didn't change many laws."

"When I was kneeling, and when I tried to stand up, Denver changed their use of force policy. So, I thought that was a win, right, I’m all that’s cool that’s one step for the bigger picture."

Marshall also weighed in on the NFL's new statement which calls for "an urgent need for action" against racial injustice,.

"There was a need for action in 2016 and well before that, to be honest with you," Marshall says.

Powerful statement from Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis ... who's begging people protesting George Floyd's tragic death to stop the rioting and looting.

"Emotions are high. The temperature is hot. And, there’s static in the air," Davis said Sunday. "But burning your brother’s house down ultimately is not the answer."

Instead, Davis is asking people to find solutions to the problem outside of more violence.

"To watch a man be murdered by a uniformed police officer kneeling on the man’s throat for nine minutes while three uniformed police officers either assisted or stood by watching is disturbing in too many ways," Davis said. "To be honest I’m surprised that the resulting violence hasn’t been much worse."

"We have to come up with solutions. That’s the challenge in front of us. Not only as Americans. But as human beings."

Davis says he's already been in contact with Nevada law enforcement officials to take steps toward that direction ... telling ESPN he's trying to set up a meeting of the minds soon.

"I want to get together with players, coaches and community leaders to get the conversation going, to discuss how to go forward," Davis said. "The solutions start here at the local level, with the attorney general, the sheriff and other community leaders to open up lines of communication. That's the beginning."

NBA star J.R. Smith beat the living daylights out of a man who allegedly smashed his car window during the wild protests in L.A. ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

You can see ... the 6'6", 225-pounder unleashed a barrage of violent kicks on the man -- landing several times in the head.

When the guy finally stands up on his feet, Smith delivered a final punishing overhand right to the guy's dome.

Finally, some of J.R.'s friends step in and the other guy scurries off in a hurry.

Smith explained the attack in an emotionally charged video -- saying, "One of these motherfu**king white boys didn't know where he was going and broke my f**king window in my truck."

"Broke my sh*t."

Smith says his truck was parked in a residential area -- away from the stores that were being looted.

We're told the incident took place around the Fairfax area -- near the famous Flight Club sneaker shop, which had just been looted.

"I chased him down and whooped his ass," Smith said.

Smith says the incident was NOT fueled by race or hatred -- it was simply revenge for messing with his truck.

AKA, Street Justice.

John Daly says he can fix Tom Brady's golf issues -- telling TMZ Sports with just one lesson, the new Tampa Bay QB could hit it 100 yards farther off the tee!!

"I'm down in Clearwater," Daly says, "he's a Buc now, so if he wants to come out, we'll go play golf or I'll meet him -- I can help him in 10 minutes!"

Tom's biggest problem, according to Daly? It's all about the driver ... John tells us Tom's refusal to use one because of lack of confidence in the club is KILLING the QB's scores.

"That's the easiest club in the bag to hit," Daly says. "It's the biggest face in your bag. And, somebody's not helping him. We need to get his driver right. We got to give him a driver."

Of course, Brady didn't pack one for his awful performance in "The Match" vs. Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods earlier this month -- and Daly says that has to change.

"He'd hit it probably an extra 100 yards," Daly tells us, "and the whole game would change for him."

Tom should take the advice ... Daly was famous for his long drives when he was a regular on the PGA Tour -- hitting them 300-plus with ease.

Dennis Rodman says he's seen enough looting, destruction and chaos, and he's begging people to pull back -- "We're human beings, not f**king animals."

The NBA Hall of Famer says he's not trying to minimize the issues of police brutality and racial injustice -- and seemingly supports the peaceful protests -- but clearly believes people are crossing the line.

"Someone needs to come out and say, 'Hey, guys. Why are we looting? Why are we stealing? Why are we creating more issues?'"

"This is a bad, bad situation -- but [if you're going to protest], protest in the right way. You don't have to go and burn down things, steal things."

Rodman says society is already dealing with "enough issues with COVID right now" -- and wants to see an end to the chaos surrounding the protests.

Michael Jordan says he is "deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry" over the killing of George Floyd -- and is calling for "peaceful" action to create systemic change.

"I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage and frustration," Jordan said in a statement Sunday ... "I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country."

"We have had enough."

MJ says he doesn't have the answers -- "but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. "

"We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on census brutality."

Jordan calls for people to "continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability."

"Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systemic change."

"Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all."

Jon Jones says his run as UFC's light heavyweight champ is OVER -- claiming he's giving up the title amid a nasty pay dispute with Dana White.

"I hurt myself every time I walk out there and take a punch to the head and not feel my pay is worth it anymore," Jones said.

The drama began over negotiations for a Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou super fight.

Dana White said Jones is demanding $30 mil for the fight -- way too high for White. Jones says he never asked for that much.

Both have spoken publicly -- calling BS on the other side.

In fact, just a few days ago, Jones tweeted at White to release him from his contract.

Things escalated on Sunday ...

Jones tweeted that Dominick Reyes should fight Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title ... saying, "As of right now, I got nothing to really gain fighting either of them."

"Let me know if you guys want to set up a day in 2021 for that Izzy fight. Hopefully you guys will be willing to pay by then."

When someone asked Jones if this means he's "revoking" the title -- Jon replied, "Yes."

"Bones out, when you see me in the streets just call me JJ."

"To the light heavyweight title Veni, vidi, vici" -- which means, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Jake Paul was in the middle of a mall that was being looted Saturday night, and he's taking lots of heat for it.

The YouTube star was at Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona, and you can see in the video, the looters are stealing tennis shoes and pretty much everything that isn't nailed down.

You don't see Paul steal anything, but he's right there as everyone around him destroys shops and steals what's inside.

One of the most ridiculous comments on social media ... Jake is a millionaire, so he doesn't need to loot. That logic justifies looting for some, and that's just plain wrong.

Van Jones said it best ... most people -- regardless of color -- condemn the violence. To make things better, the folks who constantly turned a deaf ear to police brutality need to speak out as loudly, and maybe we can make some progress.

Baker Mayfield threw it all the way back to 2015 at a wedding last week... busting a move in a dance circle just like when he was a young QB hittin' the Whip at Oklahoma!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Baker attended his cousin's wedding in Simpsonville, S.C. on May 25 -- and he couldn't help but cut a rug when the spotlight was on the dance floor.

Check out video we obtained from the evening ... Mayfield KILLED it -- dancing along to YeahThatDJ's set at the lively function.

There was some gyrating, some fancy footwork and even a little floss. Good times!

If this all looks familiar ... it's 'cause it is -- remember, back in 2015, the nation was first enthralled by Mayfield's moves in a viral video of him in a Sooner dance circle.

Michael Jordan wore a special pair of modified Air Jordan 1s to support his left foot after a freak injury during his 2nd NBA season -- and now, those game-worn kicks are hitting the auction block.

... and they're expected to fetch around $500,000!!!

Remember, MJ broke his left foot during the 3rd game of the 1985-86 season for the Chicago Bulls ... an injury that sidelined him for 6 weeks and almost ended his career.

When he returned, Nike whipped up a special version of the AJ1s -- with an extra strap to provide stability for MJ's left foot.

The specially modified version of the shoes were never offered on the open market -- they were just offered to MJ.

This particular pair was worn by Jordan on March 29th, 1986 -- according to "Gotta Have Rock And Roll" auction ... a game in which MJ scored 24 points in 23 minutes against the Knicks

The auction company says ... after the game, Jordan met with a young fan and gave him the shoes. He even autographed 'em.

Now, that fan is ready to part ways after 34 years ... and with the success of "The Last Dance," the timing is probably perfect.

By the way, the shoes are different sizes -- the left is a size 13 and the right is size 13.5.

The auction is set to go down July 22-31 ... hope you saved up!

L.A. Chargers LB Kyzir White is accused of driving like a maniac earlier this year ... and now, he's officially facing a charge of reckless driving over the incident, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court docs, 24-year-old White was stopped in Orange County, Calif. back on March 14. Specific details of what went down during the stop are still unclear -- we're working on it.

But, in the docs, prosecutors claim White was going 100 MPH ... and also made an unsafe turning movement while on the road.

White was officially charged shortly after the incident with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving -- which carries a maximum of 90 days in jail and a fine if convicted.

Court records show White was also hit with speeding and "unsafe turn or lane change" infractions.

We've reached out to White's camp for comment ... but so far, no word back, yet.

White was a fourth-round pick by the Chargers in the 2018 NFL Draft ... and he's started 10 games for the team since.

Great news for Daniel Cormier ... the UFC star doesn't have to worry about career options after he retires from MMA, because the WWE sounds VERY interested!

Triple H -- one of the top execs at WWE -- tells TMZ Sports he LOVES everything about D.C. ... and thinks he would EASILY cross over into pro wrestling.

In fact, HHH says the two have already talked about a possible gig ... but ONLY if it won't conflict with his UFC deal.

"I love Daniel. We've obviously talked a lot in the past. We've had conversations about him doing stuff with us in the past whether that's in-ring or whether that's commentary or doing different things."

"I think we'd love to do something with him if the time is right -- obviously, respectful to UFC and to Dana and everything else."

"We'd love to chat with him and we have an open relationship as far as communication so I'm sure shortly we will when he figures out what he wants to do."

41-year-old Cormier has repeatedly said he has 1 fight left in him in the UFC and then he'll retire -- but so far, no fight date has been set. He's hoping to get his rematch with Stipe Miocic sometime this year.

There's more ... Triple H also talks about Conor McGregor possibly joining the McMahon family business somewhere down the line.

"I think that Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with that Billion Dollar Walk on the line?! I mean, I think that's a match made in heaven!"

And, don't forget about Rob Gronkowski -- the reigning WWE 24/7 champ.

Will he be able to defend his belt now that he's back in the NFL?

"It's on the line 24/7," Triple H says ... "You might end up seeing him score a touchdown, spike the ball, get rolled up and drop the title ... who knows?!"

Triple H even kicks around the idea of Tom Brady taking the title from Gronk!!

"I mean, geez. He throws the bomb, Gronk catches it, scores a touchdown, spikes it -- Brady rolls up to high five him, shoots behind, gets the roll-up! 1, 2, 3!  New 24/7 champion!

Here's J.J. Watt explaining why he could never be a UFC fighter -- he's got delicate legs.

"You ever take a razor scooter to the ankle? That puts me out for 3 days! So, I'm not looking to take anybody's shin to my shin."

But, he's a huge UFC fan -- and sat ringside at the last Jon Jones fight in February -- which led to an interesting conversation.

More athletic brothers -- The Watts or the Joneses?!?

Think about it ...

J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt and Derek Watt -- 3 NFL players including 2 Pro Bowlers and one of the most dominant defensive players EVER!

Jon Jones, Chandler Jones, Arthur Jones -- 2 NFL players including a Super Bowl champ (Arthur), a possible future Hall of Famer (Chandler) and the G.O.A.T of MMA (Jon).

We asked J.J. for his take -- and got a pretty solid response.

"That's a great question," Watt said ... "I can tell you that I don't know if any of my brothers and I are taking a shin kick to the ribs."

"I don't know if we're volunteering for that anytime soon, so they can have that title if they want."

But, Watt explained why he's got a bond with the Jones family -- something that started at UFC 247.

"I sat with Chandler so we have a comradery a little bit between the families. To me, obviously being a part of one, it's such a cool thing when brothers get to share that experience -- us in the same league, Chandler and Jon in different leagues."

"It's a special thing."

This is how Aaron Donald celebrated his quarantine birthday this year ... by coppin' a flossy diamond pendant featuring his jersey number!!

TMZ Sports has learned .. the L.A. Rams defensive beast hit up Mohsen Syed (aka Moe Diamonds) in Pittsburgh last month to get a dope chain ready for his 29th birthday on May 23.

Moe tells us he personally went over 7 to 10 designs with Donald before they came up with the perfect look ... just in time for AD to get it on his birthday.

If you look closely, the birthday bling is designed in the shape of the NFL shield -- featuring Donald's #99 with gorilla teeth biting down on it.

There's even a message engraved on the back ... which reads, "If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready."

Moe Diamonds says the chain and charm are FULLY LOADED with 85 carats of diamonds and a ton of gold!

When it comes to the price ... we're told the iced-out piece appraised at $135,000!!

That's only .1% of Donald's $135M contract he inked in 2018, a deal which made him the 2nd highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.