TMZ Sports - Page 50

The family of Ara Zobayan is begging a judge to move Vanessa Bryant's wrongful death case out of L.A. because Kobe Bryant is so popular there, it would be impossible to get a fair trial.

Ara's family spelled it out in new court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports ... saying the trial would begin with "two strikes" already against him "due to the extreme level of popularity of plaintiff with the jury pool."

As we previously reported, Vanessa sued Zobayan along with Island Express Helicopters saying they should be held financially responsible for the crash that killed Kobe, Gianna and 6 other passengers.

Now, a family member of the pilot is asking for a change of venue to Orange County, where they think they have a better chance of getting impartial jurors.

Of course, Kobe Bryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers -- and became an icon in the city.

"The notoriety and popularity of the late Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles County is detailed herein and reached a level that left no person in the county unaware of his role in branding Los Angeles as his city," Zobayan's family says in new court docs.

"No other single individual in recent memory, sports figure or otherwise, has been considered by the people to be such a personification of their city of Los Angeles. "

"But with that unprecedented level of acclaim comes a lack of impartiality and objectivity by potential jurors about the merits under the law of the claims asserted in this lawsuit by the Bryant family."

The Zobayan family also notes Kobe and all of the passengers lived in Orange County -- another reason the case should be moved.

Kobe, Gianna and 6 other passengers -- along with Ara Zobayan -- died when their helicopter crashed in Calabasas on January 26.

Dolphins top draft pick Tua Tagovailoa is quickly learning the perks of being an NFL superstar -- 'cause the QB just got noticed by his celebrity crush, Shania Twain!!!

The rookie was doing a rapid-fire Q&A with the team when he was asked a bunch of questions ... and Tua made sure to mention he LOVES Shania's music, calling it his "guilty pleasure."

But, the 22-year-old's obsession goes far beyond Twain's hits -- he revealed the country singer is his celebrity crush ... and even asked for a personal shoutout.

"Shania, if you watch this ... from this moment on, please message me back!!" Tua said.

Thanks to the powers of social media, 54-year-old Twain caught wind of Tua's big crush ... and hit him back with a flirty tweet!!

"Guilty pleasure?! You should be proud of your good taste @Tua" ... while adding a kiss emoji.

A KISS EMOJI!!!

Tua -- who has proven what he can do under pressure -- hit Shania back with the perfect response by referencing one of her songs ... saying, "'You’re still the one' @ShaniaTwain."

Bubba Wallace -- the only Black driver in NASCAR's top series -- confirms a noose was found in his team's garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday ... and now the racing org is investigating.

The noose was found by a member of Wallace's team -- just hours after someone flew a Confederate flag over the legendary Alabama track to protest NASCAR banning the symbol at all events.

The crew member who found the noose immediately alerted NASCAR, which is now working with law enforcement to find the culprit.

"We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act," NASCAR said.

"We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport."

Wallace called the situation a "despicable act of racism and hatred" -- and says he's "incredibly saddened."

He added, "We will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate. As my mother told me today, 'They are just trying to scare you.'"

"This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down. I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in."

LeBron James offered his support to Wallace -- calling the entire situation "sickening."

"[Bubba Wallace] my brother! Know you don’t stand alone," Bron said ... "I’m right here with you as well as every other athlete."

"I just want to continue to say how proud I am of you for continuing to take a stand for change here in America and sports! NASCAR I salute you as well!"

As for the confederate flag flyover which took place before the Geici 500 race was set to begin -- still unclear who was responsible for that. NASCAR says they're looking into that as well.

That wasn't the only display of the Confederacy either -- not by a long shot. While no Confederate flags were allowed inside the venue, a bunch of truck drivers rolled past the Speedway in what seemed to be a coordinated protest parade, with many flying the flag.

Some folks who wanted to show it off some more even set up camp across the street, and were proudly displaying the Confederate flag, alongside some Trump flags too.

Obviously, some people aren't all too pleased with NASCAR's new policy. But, it doesn't sound like the org gives a damn about them, 'cause one of their top dogs took a swipe at the people acting in defiance ... flatly rejecting their thinking, and calling them names too.

Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's executive VP, addressed the fly-over on Twitter, writing ... "You won’t see a photo of a jackass flying a flag over the track here...but you will see this... Hope EVERYONE enjoys the race today."

If the Washington Wizards are gonna make a long-shot run for the NBA playoffs, it'll be without one of their best players ... 'cause Davis Bertans has decided to skip the restart in Orlando.

The 27-year-old Latvian star is set to have a HUGE offseason in free agency ... and considering D.C. has a slim chance at making noise when the season picks back up, Adrian Wojnarowski reports Bertans will sit out the restart.

As of right now, the Wizards are sitting at 9th in the Eastern Conference ... 5.5 games behind the Orlando Magic with 8 games left to jump into playoff contention.

Bertans -- who is averaging 15 points with a 43% 3-point percentage -- will be one of the most sought-after free agents during the offseason ... and given his history of ACL injuries, the move makes sense.

The decision will be costly to Bertans' bank account though ... he'll miss out on $604,752 (about $75k a game) according to Bobby Marks.

Bertans is one of the first players to publicly decide to sit out the season restart ... and more will be expected before the June 24 deadline.

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert was reportedly sucker punched during a bar fight in South Dakota -- and purported video of the melee is making the rounds online.

According to ESPN, Dallas was at a restaurant in Aberdeen Friday night called Zoo Bar -- where, for some reason, a bunch of dudes started tussling with each other ... which broke out into a full-blown brawl. Dallas got dragged in -- and by that, we mean clocked and KO'd.

In surveillance footage of the fight, you can see someone who's said to be Dallas getting punched out by someone who blindsides him and comes rushing in with fists out during the mayhem. He makes contact, and Dallas hits the ground hard -- he seems to be out cold.

ESPN reports that he was taken to a hospital and is doing fine now, adding that a suspect has been arrested in connection to the attack. NJ.com broke the story first.

Unclear what led up to the altercation -- but at least Dallas appears to be okay.

The mother of 1 of the drowning victims at Carl Crawford's Texas mansion last month says the former MLB star is responsible for her son's death ... and now, she's suing for over $1 million.

It's all spelled out in new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which Liban Hersi claims 38-year-old Crawford didn't do enough to prevent tragedy from striking on May 16.

In the docs, Hersi says her 5-year-old son was visiting Crawford with a family friend for a party at the former L.A. Dodgers outfielder's mansion in Harris County, Texas.

Hersi claims Crawford has a massive pool on the property ... but says it has no fencing around it -- and adds Crawford didn't take steps to protect her child from getting into the pool.

Hersi says her son fell in ... and when another partygoer jumped in after him -- they both tragically died.

Hersi claims Crawford could have done MUCH more to prevent the double drowning ... saying he had no alarm system set up for the pool and claimed the swimming hole's design was "unreasonably dangerous."

Hersi is now suing for wrongful death -- asking for over $1 million in damages.

Crawford spoke about the incident days after ... writing in a statement on social media, "My Hearts Heavy. The tragic events that occurred at my home will be with me forever. I'm at a loss for words I've struggled all week to manage my emotions and I keep thinking of the families of those who've passed and their grief, I know they have it the hardest."

He continued, "They are the first and last thing I think of these days. Please keep them in your prayers, I know they will always be in mine."

We've reached out to Crawford's reps for comment on the new lawsuit ... but, so far, no word back yet.

Wanna add the Holy Grail of Pokemon cards to your childhood collection?

Hope you've got the cash ... TMZ Sports has learned a SUPER rare Trainer card is hitting the auction block -- but it could fetch over $100,000!!!

We're told the No. 1 Trainer promo card is one of the rarest pieces in the history of Pokemon ... with only seven known in existence.

According to the guys over at Heritage Auctions ... the card was handed out to winners of regional Pokemon tournaments as a sort of entry ticket into an exclusive tourney in Tokyo in 1999.

The piece -- graded out as a perfect Gem MT 10 -- features art of Mewtwo and we're told it reads, "The Pokémon Card Game Official Tournament's champion is recognized here, and this honor is praised."

"By presenting this card, you may gain preferential entry into the Secret Super Battle.”

With only seven copies ever created ... we're told the card is even rarer than the legendary Pikachu Illustrator card -- which has sold for over $50K in the past.

"He asked out 9 times! This isn't goddamn Bloodsport!!!"

That's UFC fighter Anthony Smith going off on Max Rohskopf's cornerman for not stopping Saturday's fight after the 25-year-old repeatedly told him to "call it."

Rohskopf was taking on Austin Hubbard -- a short notice fight he only accepted 5 days in advance -- and was getting beat up pretty badly.

In between rounds 2 and 3, Rohskopf told his cornerman, Robert Drysdale, "I don't have it" and made it clear he didn't want to continue.

Drysdale seemingly ignored Max's pleas to stop and tried to talk him into continuing. Finally, an official from the Nevada State Athletic Commission who overheard Rohskopf stepped in and ended the fight.

Enter Smith ... whose cornerman took a lot of heat for not stopping Anthony's fight with Glover Teixeira last month, despite Smith taking major punishment and losing teeth during the brawl.

Smith says the difference is he WANTED to continue in his fight. Rohskopf didn't.

"Not all of us think the same. Not everybody is me. It's just different. He's a young kid and he wanted out, get him the f*ck out of there!"

"He wanted to go home. He said he didn't have it. He said he didn't want to do this any more. That's different from just being down on yourself and needing a pick me up."

Smith says he respects Drysdale -- but says it's important to call him out when he's so clearly in the wrong.

"I did everything I could to stay in there and [Rohskopf] was doing everything he could to get out -- get him out!!"

For his part, Drysdale is defending his decision -- telling ESPN, "I stand by what I did. I expect excellence from the people I train because I love them."

Dallas Cowboys fans are going to LOVE this ...

Here's video of New York Jets star Jamal Adams openly admitting he wants to be sent off from NY to Dallas ... telling a fan on the street straight-up "I'm trying" to get traded to the Cowboys!

The clip is only a few seconds long ... but it's obviously an awful look for Jets fans and a great one for Jerry Jones' squad.

24-year-old Adams has been the Jets' best player for the last 2 seasons ... but a feud over a contract extension has led the ex-LSU safety to try and push for a trade elsewhere.

There are a handful of teams on Jamal's desired list ... but he appeared to make it clear over the weekend which squad was on top.

Adams -- rolling through a parking lot in a pricey Mercedes -- was asked by a fan, "You coming to Dallas?"

Adams' reply? "I'm trying, bro!"

Of course, the Cowboys tried to make a deal for the playmaker last season ... but the Jets reportedly wanted much more than the 1st round pick the Cowboys were said to have offered.

Seems likely NY will still want more in a return for Adams ... but even if the Cowboys were to up the price, Jamal's new contract might be too much for Dallas regardless.

Joey Chestnut is BUMMED there won't be fans at this year's Nathan's Hot Dog Contest, but there's a huge silver lining ... Jaws says the conditions are ripe for a NEW WORLD RECORD!!

Chestnut -- the greatest competitive eater of all time and 12-time Nathan's champ -- currently holds the record for most dogs devoured in 10 minutes ... 74 in 2018's contest.

But, Joey tells TMZ Sports come July 4 -- thanks to the competition being moved indoors without fans 'cause of COVID-19 -- he's primed for a record-shattering performance.

"There's a little bit of a bonus 'cause we're gonna be eating in air conditioning and they're less eaters, so they're making less hot dogs so they might taste better," Chestnut says.

"There's a good chance that we might have better conditions for a world record and I'ma be pushing for it."

FYI, the hugely famous contest usually takes place on NYC's Coney Island. New York City in July = insane heat and humidity ... making it difficult to scarf down pounds of meat.

But, with the changes, Joey's confident he will set a new record ... but how many more wieners can a human possibly scarf down in only 10 minutes?

"I'm breaking the record this 4th of July! This is gonna be a weird 4th of July, but I'ma make it memorable. My record 74, 75 just sounds like a good number but we'll see," Chestnut tells us.

"If I'm feeling it, if I'm in the perfect rhythm, 77 is doable."

Skaters from Cali to Texas hopped on their boards in unison this weekend to peacefully protest and show support for the Black Lives Matter movement -- and the scene is unreal.

This weekend proved to be another few days filled with anti-racism demonstrations to decry the death of George Floyd and others, but none were quite as creative as skateboarders coming together and going for a communal ride through the streets of S.D., L.A. and Austin.

They call it Skate for Peace, or Push for Peace. Pretty straightforward.

Sounds cool, right? Wait till you see it in action ... it's like something out of a movie, honestly. Nothing but the sound of wheels rolling across the pavement -- purely awesome.

Now, these types of get-togethers have been going on for weeks nationwide -- but this weekend's skate protest was especially noteworthy because of the sheer numbers -- and the fact that they took up entire streets without too much pushback, it seems.

The L.A. Lakers 14k gold & diamond championship ring that Kobe Bryant gifted to his father just hit the auction block and it's expected to bring in a QUARTER-MIL!!

Here's the deal ... 20 years ago -- following Los Angeles' title-winning '99-'00 season -- Mamba bought 2 additional rings and gifted them to his parents, Pamela and Joe "Jellybean" Bryant.

The rings are IDENTICAL to the bling Kobe, Shaq, and the rest of the Lakers squad received.

We're talking real gold and 40 diamonds on each massive ring.

Goldin Auctions -- who recently sold Pamela's ring for $206k -- is now offering "Jellybean's" ring ... and GA tells us they expect it to sell for over $250,000.

FYI, Pamela and Joe sold the rings -- along with other memorabilia -- back in 2013 for a total of $280,000.

And, get this, there's more awesome Kobe swag for sale:

- Kobe Bryant worn and signed cast from when he broke his wrist during the preseason in 1999. Expected to bring in about $20k.

- A 1996-1997 Topps Chrome Refractors Kobe Bryant rookie card (a very rare card). Expected to go for around $75k.

- A Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant signed basketball. Expected to sell for $20k to $25k.

Brett Favre says Colin Kaepernick's willingness to leave his NFL career to fight for social justice reminds him of Pat Tillman's ultimate sacrifice ... and now, he's telling TMZ Sports he thinks both will be remembered as heroes.

The Hall of Fame QB spoke with us about Colin this week ... and told us straight-up he believes Kaepernick will go down as a legend for what he's done to combat systemic racism.

"It's not easy for a guy his age -- black or white, Hispanic, whatever -- to stop something that you've always dreamed of doing, and put it on hold, maybe forever, for something that you believe in," Favre said.

Brett told us he believes it's all very similar to what Tillman did when he left the NFL to fight for his country in the Army in the aftermath of 9/11.

"I can only think of right off the top of my head, Pat Tillman is another guy that did something similar," Favre said. "And, we regard him as a hero. So, I'd assume that hero status will be stamped with Kaepernick as well."

It's lofty praise from the former Green Bay Packers superstar ... but Favre clearly believes Kaep gave up a legitimate NFL career to make his message heard.

Brett tells us even despite a 3-year-plus layoff, he thinks Colin can STILL be an effective QB in the NFL today.

"I thought he was a dynamic player when he was playing in his prime," Favre said. "He's still young and hasn't been hit in several years, so there's no reason to think that he's lost that much of a step."

For Colin's part, we're told he's training like a maniac to get back in the league ... and at least one team -- the L.A. Chargers -- has said it'll consider giving him a tryout this season.

Ex-NBA star Shawn Marion says the LAST thing players should do is sit out the 2020 season ... saying sitting out will diminish their chances at making a bigger difference in the fight against racism.

Superstars like Kyrie Irving have expressed their uncertainty over restarting the season in the middle of the Black Lives Matter movement ... with the Nets star saying players' focus should be on fighting for social justice.

Ex-NBAer Stephen Jackson -- who was friends with George Floyd -- sided with Kyrie ... saying, "now ain't the time to be playing basketball, y'all."

But, the Matrix disagrees with the idea of sitting out ... saying the biggest platform to fight for social justice is on the NBA stage.

"In order for you to advocate and go out here and show what you're fighting for and the causes, you need to be on TV," Marion says.

"Social media is a great platform, but TV is a bigger platform because you can post whatever you post on TV, you can post to your social media platform."

"So, with the season resuming, it adds to that cause."

Matrix -- who acknowledges Uncle Drew has a valid point -- says players will be able to speak out in interviews and press conferences ... which brings a much bigger audience than a Twitter account.

But, as for sitting? -- "I don't agree with that."

"What is sitting out, boycotting, not playing the season -- what is that gonna accomplish really?"

Adrian Peterson tells TMZ Sports he applauds the decision to remove a monument dedicated to a racist ex-Washington Redskins owner ... saying, "It makes me feel good."

As we previously reported, the people who run RFK Stadium dug up and removed their George Preston Marshall statue on Friday -- citing his racist policies of not signing black players for decades.

Peterson, who's been with Washington since 2018, says it's about time.

"Obviously, in different states all over this country, you've got monuments, buildings and stuff and statues that are named after people that owned slaves, people that were racists."

AP believes the tributes were part of a bigger plan to "keep the minorities and the blacks, colored people down."

But, now that there's a movement to get rid of tributes to racists and other bad people, Peterson says "It just shows that God is watching over us to be able to get to a point now where they are removing some of those statuses and trying to pave a new way."

We also spoke with AP about the controversy over the Redskins name.

Peterson says he's constantly trying to educate himself on the issue -- but understands both sides of the argument.

There's more ... AP also talked about how A&A Peterson Family Foundation is helping out during the COVID-19 pandemic and what steps he's taking to protect himself.

Junior Galette is finally addressing a video that's haunted him for years -- footage showing the NFL star fighting on a beach in 2013 ... and Galette says it was all self-defense.

Remember, when the footage surfaced in 2015, Galette's attorney at the time suggested the man at the center of the action was NOT his client.

But, it was Galette ... and now he's talking about the incident with TMZ Sports.

"The league did its investigation on that. It's not my proudest moment as I was defending myself from being attacked by other people," Galette says.

The footage seems to back Galette's story ... to a point. You can see Galette was fighting off a group of men -- but in the craziness, Junior swung his belt at an unarmed woman who appeared to be trying to restore order.

Galette was released by the New Orleans Saints just a few months after the video surfaced ... but later resumed his career with the Washington Redskins.

During his time in Washington, Galette was involved in an incident where he was chased and tased by police following an alleged fight in Mississippi in April 2017.

In the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports ... Galette is struggling to catch his breath and at one point tells the officer, "I can't breathe."

Galette was initially booked for disorderly conduct and failure to comply -- but Junior says the charges were eventually dropped.

"That just goes to show you that I may be a professional athlete, but that doesn't exempt me from being a black man in America."

"I can remember that moment when that cop chased me and stood up over me and proceeded to tell me that 'I may be a big white guy' as he proceeded to mock me when I told him I can't breathe. The charges were dropped, I was exonerated and the same goes for any other case."

Now, 31-year-old Galette -- who racked up 34.5 sacks in his 6 year career -- is a free agent and trying to convince teams to give him another shot in the league.

"I'm in the best shape of my life. I've showcased that across my platform as I've always posted videos and kept the fan updated with me being in great shape."

Galette recently penned an open letter to Roger Goodell praising him for the steps the league is taking to address systemic racism -- but he believes he's being blackballed from the league partly because he suggested white players with similar skillsets were getting paid much more than black players.

"My teammate, who happens to be a white guy from Stanford, was offered 500% more guaranteed money than I did after he came off of a torn ACL and basically was suspended from PEDs. I spoke out about the paid inequality, the Redskins then withdrew my offer. I haven't played a down since then."