TMZ Sports - Page 50

The man accused of sucker punching Dallas Goedert in the face at a bar last month is officially fighting back in his assault case -- pleading NOT GUILTY to the charges Friday, a court official tells TMZ Sports.

30-year-old Kyle Hadala allegedly clocked the Philadelphia Eagles tight end during a bar brawl on June 19 in South Dakota ... and the video of the incident did NOT look good for Hadala.

In the clip ... you can see Hadala uncorks a right hand to Goedert's temple, knocking him to the ground. Prosecutors eventually hit Hadala with two counts of simple assault over the incident.

But, a court official tells us Hadala's attorney appeared in court for his client on Friday ... issued not guilty pleas to both charges, and requested a trial date.

As we previously reported ... Hadala claims he only got violent with the 25-year-old NFL player because he thought Goedert and his crew were threatening his friends and co-workers.

"They picked out my smaller colleague from the group, got in his face, and made very threatening remarks toward his personal well-being," Hadala said.

"Then one of his crew told my other colleague, and I quote, 'You’re just a fat f**king pussy. I'll beat the s*** out of you.'"

Hadala says after those comments, Goedert put his hands on one of his friends ... and that's when Hadala says he jumped in with the right hand.

Hadala claims he was attacked by Dallas' crew shortly after throwing the punch ... and suffered multiple cuts and lacerations as a result.

James Harden says he was NOT making a statement with his Blue Lives Matter mask in the NBA bubble this week ... saying he only wore it because it "looked cool" and covered his beard.

"I just felt like it was something that covered my whole face and the beard," the Houston Rockets superstar told reporters. "I thought it looked cool, that was it."

FYI, Harden has been catching a TON of heat over the mask after social media sleuths found out the mask is called the "Blue Line Skull" -- the design appears to be a nod to Blue Lives Matter.

Harden says he was unaware the mask even had an association with police officers ... and added, "Honestly, I wasn't trying to make a political statement."

James says he's struggled to find face coverings during the pandemic ... because most don't fit over his giant, famous beard.

But, the one he wore Thursday in Florida worked perfectly.

"I just wore it because it covered my whole face and my beard," Harden said.

There was tremendous backlash on social media -- even Trey Songz went after James saying the mask was "certified clown sh*t."

For his part, Harden told reporters Thursday night he was in favor of the nationwide protests following George Floyd's tragic death ... saying, "The marching and everything that we’re standing for is very powerful."

"My daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this!"

That's Washington head coach Ron Rivera promising to shut down ANY toxicity in his new org ... this after 15 women came out and said they experienced rampant sexual harassment and verbal abuse during their time with the team.

The women -- per a Washington Post report -- claimed high-ranking execs made inappropriate comments to them, and on at least one occasion, called a woman "f**king stupid."

In fact, some of the ex-female employees say it got so bad ... they would meet up in the bathroom on lunch breaks and cry over their experiences.

58-year-old Rivera -- who just took over the reins as the team's head coach this offseason -- released a statement to ESPN Thursday night ... vowing to change the culture.

"Biggest thing is we have to move forward from this," Rivera said, "and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution."

For the team's part ... it has already parted ways with several of the employees accused of wrongdoing in the WaPo report -- and says it's hired an attorney to investigate further.

The NFL, meanwhile, said in a statement early Friday morning it takes the claims very seriously and will work with Washington's investigators to determine the necessary steps going forward.

"These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL's values," the league said. "Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment. Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations."

"The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so."

The statement continued, "We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on the findings."

Pro basketball star Amar'e Stoudemire is both Black and Jewish -- and says he's uniquely positioned to help "bridge the gap" between the two groups.

Stoudemire has been living and playing ball in Israel since 2016 -- but he's been paying attention to the recent wave of anti-Semitic comments from high profile people like DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson and Nick Cannon.

All 3 of the above-mentioned stars have apologized -- but Amar'e says moving forward, there should be a focus on educating young people about the SIMILARITIES between Black people and Jews.

"There's more similarities with the African Americans and Jewish people than there are differences. I went over a few of them -- the Holocaust and the transatlantic slave trade. There's post-traumatic stress between both from those events. Think about all the persecution, it's always the Jews or the blacks," Stoudemire says.

Stoudemire suggests a "lack of leadership" in the Black community has led to many Black people turning to Louis Farrakhan for leadership, which is problematic because of his long history of anti-Semitic comments.

"Amongst the African-American community, there's not a lot of leadership," Amar'e says ... "So, they gravitate to a leadership factor that help keep people off the streets, right? So, Farrakhan is seen as one of their leaders in their African-American community."

"But, I do think, I know with me being in the position where I am where being an African American Jew who's learning at a high level, I think there's a narrative shift that's happening."

"We have to figure out a way to now teach the next generation on positivity."

There's more ... Amar'e explains why he's down to have conversations with both DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson.

Ex-NFL star Torrey Smith is firing back at the people mocking him for wearing a life vest on a recent fishing trip ... saying, "I’m going to do my part to make sure I make it home."

Several fellow NFLers like Warren Sapp and Kamu Grugier-Hill commented on Smith's IG post on Thursday ... questioning why the athlete would bother wearing the vest.

"To the folks that clowned me about my life jacket (I know most were jokes) this is a serious issue," Smith said on Friday. "I’m new to boating and I respect the water so I’m going to be safe."

The Super Bowl champ -- who points out he knows how to swim -- says that ability alone can't prevent drownings ... and he's not willing to take the risk.

Of course, Smith's post comes days after Naya Rivera's tragic death ... when the actress accidentally drowned in Lake Piru after swimming with her son. Officials say she wasn't wearing a life vest.

Smith also shared an article breaking down stats on life vests and why they're so critical ... even if people are confident on a boat.

"Nothing is promised but I’m going to do my part to make sure I make it home."

Conor McGregor proved he could switch to Irish Olympic diving now that he's "retired" from MMA ... executing a perfect leap during his vacation in the French Riviera.

LOOK AT THAT FORM!!

The UFC superstar has been chillaxing off the coast of France for the past few days as part of a 32nd birthday celebration -- and while he left his brand new $620,000 watch in the hotel room, he made sure to bring his media team to the beach!

Seriously, Conor made sure his personal photographer AND a videographer tagged along with his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, and their 2 kids as they enjoyed the sun and sand.

Gotta have content for the Gram, right?!

Despite the fact Conor announced his retirement from MMA back in June, he seems to be keeping himself in fighting shape -- dude looks absolutely jacked.

Earlier this week, he traded friendly tweets with Manny Pacquiao suggesting a possible boxing match between the two -- but we're guessing he'll be back in the octagon before the boxing ring.

Great news ... Atlanta Braves superstar Freddie Freeman is finally "feeling great" -- this just 1 week after his wife said he was in rough shape after contracting coronavirus.

Last Friday, Chelsea Freeman said her 30-year-old hubby was hit "like a ton of bricks" by COVID-19 ... suffering from fever, headaches, chills and body aches.

In her post, Chelsea sounded VERY concerned for the MLB superstar ... writing, "He is someone who rarely gets sick."

But, Chelsea provided an encouraging update Thursday ... saying Freddie is now "feeling great!"

"Our whole family is healthy," she said. "Thank God!"

Freddie has yet to rejoin the Braves for summer camp, and even though it seems unlikely at the moment he'll be a part of the team for Opening Day later this month -- manager Brian Snitker has said he's still hopeful.

Freddie is one of the best players in the entire sport ... he's a four-time All-Star with a career .293 batting average.

The Canadian football League's Edmonton Eskimos -- one of the most decorated teams in CFL history -- is now planning on changing its team name after some say it's offensive to Inuit people.

It's a similar situation to the controversy in the NFL with the Washington Redskins -- the team had long pointed to research which showed most Inuit people did not find the name offensive.

But, there has been public outcry in recent months from Inuit groups and leaders who claim the name is racist -- and now sponsors are threatening to walk if the team doesn't change it quick.

The team had pushed back for a while -- even releasing a statement saying the club name should be considered a tribute to the Inuit people because it invokes “toughness, hardiness and the ability to perform in cold weather."

But now, the team has apparently decided to make a change -- with TSN reporting they WILL move on from the name with an official announcement coming soon.

It's a pretty big deal -- considering the team has used the nickname since 1949.

The Edmonton franchise is legendary in the CFL -- with 14 Grey Cup titles since 1954.

Earlier this week, the NFL's Washington franchise also decided to drop their team nickname after major Native American groups spoke out against it.

"If Asante Samuel walked up right now, I wouldn't know his face."

That's Darrell Green's reaction to Asante Samuel's recent criticism of his Hall of Fame resume ... and, yeah. OUCH!!!

Don't get it too twisted though ... DG says it's not exactly meant to be a slight to Samuel -- he tells us it just means he's not taking the former New England Patriots cornerback's comments to heart.

"Truthfully," Green told us, "I don't think I've ever met him. I don't know his face if he walked up."

If you missed it ... in order to boost his own Hall of Fame resume, Asante went after Darrell on Twitter earlier this month, calling out his career stats.

"With all do respect can someone explain to me why Darrell Green is considered a great?" Samuel wrote. "He played 19 years and was mostly a nickel back. 54 INT's in 19 years. Talk to me????"

Asante was blasted by many over the tweet -- with Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy essentially telling the guy to do some research.

"Darrell Green played on the outside, not as a nickel," Dungy said. "He traveled with the best receiver and was a TOP ECHELON CB for almost 2 decades!!"

Green tells us he appreciated Dungy coming to his defense ... but added he believes his career numbers more than speak for themselves.

"There's enough information if he really wanted to know that he could have found," Green said.

FYI -- Green played 20 years for Washington and won 2 Super Bowls and made 7 Pro Bowls before he was inducted into Canton in 2008.

Still, Darrell tried his best to take the high road with Samuel ... adding, "I hope he gets in the Hall of Fame."

NY Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas has been officially hit with 3 charges stemming from his high-speed, hit-and-run arrest last month ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

We broke the story ... witnesses told cops they saw the 25-year-old going around 100 MPH and driving erratically at 8:25 AM in Chico, Calif. on June 15 ... when he allegedly failed to stop at a red light and T-boned a pickup truck.

Cops say Rosas continued to drive away from the scene until his car broke down shortly after the crash ... and witnesses claim he continued to flee on foot.

Once cops caught up with Rosas near the crash site, they say his hands, legs and bare feet were bloody when they stopped him for questioning roughly 3 1/2 hours after the accident ... and believed alcohol may have played a factor.

Rosas' criminal complaint was officially filed in Butte County on Wednesday ... charging him with reckless driving on a highway, hit-and-run and property damage, and driving with a suspended or revoked license due to a previous DUI of alcohol or drugs -- all misdemeanors.

Fifteen former female Washington NFL team staffers claim they were sexually harassed and verbally abused during their time with the org. ... and they say it was relentless and repeated.

It's all in a new bombshell Washington Post report ... which claims the culture with Washington's NFL team was toxic and demeaning toward women in the workplace.

In the report, one of the women, 31-year-old Emily Applegate -- a former marketing coordinator who spent one year with the club before leaving in 2015 -- claims, "It was the most miserable experience of my life."

"And we all tolerated it," she added, "because we knew if we complained -- and they reminded us of this -- there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat."

Applegate says she was told by a high-ranking exec to wear revealing clothes "so the men in the room have something to look at."

She also says the same superior constantly verbally abused her, and once called her "f**king stupid."

Applegate says she would meet with a female co-worker in the bathroom on her lunch breaks ... and they would cry together over the alleged harassment.

The report also says 14 other women echoed Applegate's claims ... sharing similar stories, but choosing to remain anonymous over fears of litigation.

In one of the most salacious allegations ... some of the women claim men in the facility -- including team trainers -- would stand at the bottom of a staircase near the entrance to team headquarters and would stare up female employees' skirts.

In fact, the women say this was such a well-known problem among the females in the office ... employees warned others to avoid the staircase at all costs.

In another allegation ... a female employee said at the team's training camp in Richmond, Va., she was "propositioned basically every day" by team officials for late-night visits.

Several of the team employees accused of harassment in the report have been fired by Washington in the last few days.

Bombshell allegations from Evelyn Lozada -- who says Chad Ochocinco abused her MULTIPLE times during their relationship, despite his claims to the contrary.

Lozada -- who was married to the ex-NFL star for less than a month in 2012 -- released an emotional video Thursday claiming Chad is straight-up LYING about physical abuse in their relationship.

As we previously reported, Ochocinco was arrested for domestic battery on August 11, 2012, when he headbutted Lozada during an argument, causing a massive bloody gash.

Johnson was later cut from the Miami Dolphins as a result -- and his NFL career never really got back on track.

On Wednesday, Ocho mentioned the incident on Twitter -- saying, "I lost my temper for once in life for 3 seconds & it cost me a lifetimes worth of work."

He added, "I got it all back plus some after getting a 2nd chance & NOTHING will ever get me out of that happy space again."

The problem ... Evelyn says Chad isn't telling the truth and it's causing her tremendous pain.

"For this man to sit up there and say that he lost his temper for 3 seconds is infuriating to me," Lozada said ... "It's messages like this, tweets or whatever the hell it was, that are triggers for me."

"People read this on social media and are coming at me talking about 'oh you made this man lose his job' it's like if you're gonna speak the truth, I want you to speak the truth as to what the situation was."

"It wasn't the first time, it wasn't the first time!"

"And, one of the things I'm always gonna do is I'm always gonna live in my truth, whether it's good, whether it's bad, whether it's ugly, I'm not going to let anybody take away my f**king truth and put this perception out there for a pity party as if you made one mistake."

Evelyn continued, "And, I'm trying to move on from this. But, as a victim, how am I supposed to move on?!"

"What happened to me that day and other days, I didn't deserve. I didn't deserve that."

Danica Patrick has unfollowed Aaron Rodgers on Instagram ... and we all know what that means -- BREAK UP?!!?!?!

NOOOOOOO!!!!

Seems the couple has called it quits after two years of dating -- shocking considering they were publicly trading "I love yous" ... and had even shacked up together at a recently purchased $28 MILLION mansion in Malibu.

In fact, it was just back in December when Danica posted a super mushy birthday message for Aaron on IG -- saying, "Happy birthday to my best friend and favorite person in the world. You are the one I want to tell my best and worst days to first."

She also dropped an "L-Bomb."

"This journey we are on.... it’s a really really good one. I love you. Happiest of birthdays yet!!!!!!"

Before that, Jenny McCarthy asked Danica on her SiriusXM show back in November about a possible wedding at some point -- and while DP admitted she WANTED to get engaged, she wasn't trying to rush it.

The Green Bay Packers superstar and ex-NASCAR driver started dating back in 2018 ... after initially meeting at the 2012 ESPYs.

We've reached out to reps from both camps -- but so far, radio silence. Seems no one's ready to talk yet.

Patrick previously dated race car driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -- but they broke up in 2017. Danica had said she was ready to get engaged -- but Stenhouse refused to pull the trigger and that was that.

Rodgers previously dated Olivia Munn but they split in 2017.

Undefeated boxing star Travell Mazion -- known as "Black Magic" -- was killed Wednesday in a car crash in Austin, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

He was only 24.

Details about the crash are unclear -- we're working on it.

Mazion was 17-0 as a pro -- most recently defeating Fernando Castaneda at the Alamodome in San Antonio back in January.

It was an impressive 58-second victory for Mazion -- who won the NABF 154 pound title in the process.

Travell was a talented guy with tremendous potential. He was once backed by NFL star Von Miller.

Tributes are already pouring in from the boxing world.

Boxer Vergil Ortiz Jr. said, "I can’t believe it, R.I.P Travell Mazion."

"For those who don’t know him or never met him, he was a very talented boxer and one of the coolest people I knew. Always enjoyed watching him fight. Love you bro, watch over us."

Remember when a random liquor store worker beat out every national reporter in breaking the insane Patrick Mahomes deal??

The Kansas City Chiefs decided to team up with the infamous tweeter for another go-round on Thursday ... to officially announce a new contract with star defensive tackle Chris Jones!!

WELL, before any major outlet had a scoop on the Mahomes news, Katie Camlin of Plaza Liquor in KC sent out the following -- "A front office employee for the Chiefs came in and bought 6 bottles of Dom Perignon."

"Said there's a big signing today. He said it's not Chris Jones, so my guess is a Mahomes deal."

We all know by now that Katie was absolutely right in her prediction ... with Mahomes inking a record-breaking, 10-year deal worth up to $503 MILLION.

As a way to pay homage to the epic moment, the Chiefs worked with Camlin for a re-enactment for the Jones deal -- a 4-year, $85 million extension.

"OMG. Chiefs came in again. Six more bottles. My guess is CHRIS JONES!!" Camlin tweeted in the vid.

Of course, ESPN's Adam Schefter ended up breaking the news on Tuesday ... which Camlin joked was out of generosity.

"I let @AdamSchefter have that one."