TMZ Sports - Page 50

"I've seen racism up close. I know what it is. And, it isn't Donald Trump."

Football legend Herschel Walker delivered a passionate speech defending Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention Monday ... insisting his longtime buddy is an ally for Black people.

"It hurt my soul to hear the terrible names that people called Donald," Walker said. "The worst one is racist."

Walker says he's known Trump for nearly four decades ... and has never once experienced a racist act from him.

"I take it as a personal insult that people would think I've had a 37-year friendship with a racist," the 58-year-old former running back said. "People who think that don't know what they're talking about."

Walker says Trump has always been a fair and loving person toward him ... giving him business advice and setting an example for how to treat everyone the same.

Walker added he's seen tremendous family values from Donald up close as well ... explaining how Trump joined a family vacation to Disney World at the last minute in a suit and tie.

"There he was, in a business suit, on It's A Small World ride," Walker said with a laugh. "That was something to see."

The results are in ... and Usain Bolt has COVID-19, officials say.

Jamaica's minister of health -- Dr. Chistopher Tufton -- confirmed Bolt's test results with the media late Monday, according to multiple outlets.

Bolt had been self-isolating since taking his test on Saturday -- and will continue to do so until he tests negative.

Earlier in the day, the 34-year-old Olympic legend had posted a video responding to a premature report he had COVID ... saying he had been tested but was awaiting results.

Bolt says he had chosen to quarantine himself out of an abundance of caution ... and now, it seems that was the right move.

There is still major concern about Bolt's massive 34th birthday party, thrown by his girlfriend Kasi Bennett in Jamaica on Friday.

The event was MASSIVE -- with tons guests, including a bunch of Jamaican celebrities.

The concern ... video purportedly taken at the event appears to show a bunch of people dancing close without wearing masks or taking any real precautions to avoid spreading the virus.

Usain's girlfriend just gave birth to their daughter, Olympia Lightning Bolt (greatest name ever), back in May.

Jamaica hasn't exactly been a hotbed for COVID so far -- with only 1,413 reported cases and 16 reported deaths since the pandemic began.

"F THE GAMES AND PLAYOFFS!!! THIS IS SICK AND IS A REAL PROBLEM WE DEMAND JUSTICE!"

Utah Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell is shifting his focus from the NBA playoffs to the horrific shooting of unarmed black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI ... saying this is exactly why players have been speaking out about social injustice.

Blake was reportedly walking back to his vehicle after breaking up a fight between two women ... when a white officer followed him and shot him in the back 7 times as Blake's children watched from inside the car.

Blake was flown to a nearby hospital where he remains in serious condition.

Mitchell is one of many sports figures speaking out about the incident ... saying, "ITS CRAZY I DONT HAVE ANY WORDS BUT WTF MAN! THIS IS WHY WE DONT FEEL SAFE!!!!"

FYI -- Mitchell is currently wearing "Say Her Name" on the back of his jersey during the NBA restart in honor of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by three cops executing a no-knock search warrant in March.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett also spoke about the shooting, saying ... "They put 7 rounds into Jacob Blake in front of his children. I watched the video, you telling me he can’t be tazed? He immediately has to be shot?"

"Smh apparently black lives still don’t matter. I am outraged this morning."

K.C. Chiefs star Tyrann Mathieu tweeted, "Damn they shot that man 7 times.... why can’t 3 officers subdue one male? I truly need answers y’all comment on everything else......"

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara added ... "Attempted murder.. I pray he survives."

Hall of Famer Ray Allen spoke out as well, saying, "No person deserves to be treated this way. Can we all agree on this? Where is our human decency! What happened to "protect and serve."

"It looks more like harass and shoot!"

The Milwaukee Bucks -- who usually play 45 minutes from Kenosha -- released a statement on the incident, saying, "We stand firmly against reoccurring issues of excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging the black community."

"Our organization will continue to stand for all black lives as we demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sylville Smith, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamiltion, Tony Robinson, Joel Acevedo and countless other victims."

"We will work to enact policy change so these incidents no longer exist."

Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev did not get hitched ... despite what you may have heard on a morning talk show.

Here's the deal ... "Good Morning America" referred to Nikki as Artem's "wife" in a promo clip announcing his return to "Dancing with the Stars." Fans quickly caught on, with lots of folks under the false impression they got married on the low.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... Nikki and Artem are NOT legally married and it was just a funny accident on 'GMA.'

Our sources say Nikki and Artem both still want to get married, but they don't have a date for the wedding due to coronavirus restrictions. They're far from alone there.

We're told the engaged couple does not want a socially-distanced wedding, so Nikki and Artem are just gonna ride things out until the pandemic passes and then start planning their special day for friends and family.

With wedding plans in a holding pattern, our sources say Nikki and Artem are focusing on his return to 'DWTS' and their newborn baby.

We broke the story ... Nikki listed her home in Arizona after only 3 months living next to her sister, Brie ... and now we're told she's relocating back to Los Angeles, where Artem is shooting 'DWTS.'

As Earl Thomas deals with his own drama on the football field ... his wife is gearing up for a big hearing in her domestic violence case.

According to court records obtained by TMZ Sports, Nina Thomas' next court date on the matter is set for Sept. 3 in Texas at 1:30 PM CT.

Of course, there's a possibility the hearing could be pushed to a later date -- but the fact that it's on the calendar means, for now, the case is still very much alive.

We broke the story, Nina is accused of storming an Airbnb home in Texas and holding Earl at gunpoint after she allegedly caught him cheating.

But, the pretrial process has moved at a snail's pace ... with several hearings on the matter having already been pushed due to COVID-19.

For now, next week's hearing is still on ... although it's unclear if any resolution will come from the court date.

As we previously reported, it doesn't seem Earl wants to move forward with charges regardless ... he said in a video statement shortly after the incident that he and Nina have been talking, adding, "Stuff like this happens."

Nina also bought Earl a new diamond chain for his birthday back in May ... which the NFL player thanked her for publicly on social media.

LeBron James has that Mamba Mentality on Kobe Bryant day ... wearing a Mamba tribute jersey on his way to play the Blazers in game 4 of their playoff series.

LBJ walked into the building sporting a limited-edition Bryant tribute jersey ... with #24 on the back and #8 on the front.

Nike only offered a small number of these custom jerseys on its website on Monday -- but James has some pull over there.

The Lakers have a much bigger tribute planned for the game -- the entire team will wear special Black Mamba jerseys, which were actually designed by Kobe a few years before he passed.

The jerseys feature a snakeskin pattern and a special patch on the shoulder to honor Gianna Bryant.

LeBron and Kobe were extremely close -- James famously got a Kobe tribute tattoo on his thigh in the wake of his death. He also gave an emotional address to Laker Nation in the first home game following the tragedy.

But, don't expect the Portland Trail Blazers to just let the Lakers run 'em over -- Damian Lillard is also hoping to honor Kobe tonight by playing his ass off and fighting for a victory, just like Kobe would have wanted.

Ya can't have ABCs without AB!!

Antonio Brown is doing his part to help the kids in South Florida ... by leading a school supplies drive in the Miami area -- an event that helped out 500 families in need.

32-year-old Brown wrote some generous checks to help cover the cost for book bags, notebooks and other supplies ... and some kids even got new laptop computers to help with the distanced learning situation during the COVID pandemic.

You can see in the video ... the kids are stoked -- and so is Antonio!!

We spoke with 103.5 FM's Papa Keith -- one of the organizers of the event -- and he raves about the NFLer's involvement.

"AB is from Liberty City which is where the event was held and the fact that he’s coming back to help his hometown even at this point in his career is something we love to see."

It's some good publicity for AB, who is still trying to get back into the NFL after a slew of off-field issues over the past year.

NBA superstar Damian Lillard is paying tribute to Kobe Bryant in the booth ... by dropping a Mamba-inspired track for NBA 2K21 -- and SNOOP DOGG is on it!!!

The Trail Blazers guard teased the song featuring the hip-hop legend and rapper Derrick Milano on Kobe Bryant Day (8/24) ... officially announcing "Kobe" will be released when the game comes out September 4.

The teaser starts off with a post-game interview from 2013 when Kobe was asked about Dame's rookie performance ... and famously said, "that boy's serious, man."

The lyrics are all about the Lakers legend -- including lines like, "ever since a young boy, I been getting buckets ... pull it back, Kobe," and "I don't even gotta look, I take the shot and hear it swish ... I don't even touch the rim, when I pull up it's just swish."

Of course, Lillard is no stranger to rapping under the name Dame D.O.L.L.A. ... and used some pull as being one of the 2K21 cover athletes to get the song on the game's soundtrack.

"When I found out I was gonna be on the @NBA2K cover the same year Kobe was on the legends cover, I decided to use my access to the 2K soundtrack to pay tribute to Kobe through music," Dame said of the track.

Soccer superstar Ronaldinho has been released from house arrest in Paraguay in his fake passport case -- which means he'll soon be able to return home to Brazil.

Ronaldinho -- sporting a black COVID mask -- was in court Monday as the judge made his ruling ... ending a saga that's played out on the global stage for the past 6 months.

As we previously reported, the 40-year-old legend was arrested at an upscale hotel in Paraguay back in March ... after officials say he entered the country using a fake passport.

FYI ... Dinho had reportedly had his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated in July 2019 over unpaid taxes -- but continued to travel internationally anyway to promote a new book.

Authorities raided the hotel where Ronaldinho and his bro were staying, seized their passports and threw them both in jail -- but Ronaldinho was eventually moved to house arrest.

Now, a Paraguayan judge has ordered Ronaldinho to be released as part of a deal that's being described as a "conditional suspension" of the charges.

In other words, Ronaldinho will pay $90,000 in costs and fines (some of which will go to charity) and in exchange, the charges will be dropped.

Officials in Paraguay have told the media they do not believe Ronaldinho was aware his passport was fake.

One prosecutor added, "There is no indication that he has any personal characteristics or criminal behaviour that ... would put society at risk."

Unclear when Ronaldinho will actually leave the country ... but our guess is he's probably moving as quickly as possible given he was facing up to five years behind bars.

Arsenal superstar Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and fast cars go together like peanut butter and jelly ... and if you need proof, just look above!!!

The 31-year-old striker decided to flex on the 'gram for his nearly 10 million followers recently ... by posing next to his 5 favorite gold and chrome silver supercars.

Now, anyone who knows Aubameyang understands his passion for fast vehicles is no joke -- he's even got a $2.6 MILLION Ferarri.

Also, part of his carsenal (get it?!) includes FOUR different types of Lambos -- an Aventador, a Huracan Spyder and two Urus.

Now, none of these cars are available for under $200k ... but just by looking at the exterior, we're guessing Aubameyang had a bunch of personal bells and whistles added to these puppies.

Oh, and did we mention he's got a BUNCH of other cars -- from an Aston Martin to an Audi to a Porshe and more?!?

Look out, Floyd Mayweather.

Roger Goodell says he understands the national anthem kneelers are NOT disrespecting the flag or the military -- and wishes he would have listened sooner to Colin Kaepernick.

The NFL commish spells out his position during an interview on "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man" with ex-NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho -- who asked straight-up what Goodell would say in a public apology to Kaepernick.

"The first thing I'd say is I wish we had listened earlier, Kap, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to," Goodell said during the interview which dropped Sunday.

The Commish insists he had invited Kaepernick to the NFL offices "to have the dialogue," but they never sat down together.

"I wish we had the benefit of that. We never did. And we would've benefited from that, absolutely."

But, Goodell made a bunch of interesting comments -- including this one, that seems to directly contradict Donald Trump's position on the kneeling.

"It is not about the flag," Goodell said ... "The message here, what are players are doing, is being mischaracterized."

"These are not people who are unpatriotic. They're not disloyal. They're not against our military."

"In fact, many of those guys were in the military, and they're a military family. And what they were trying to do is exercise their right to bring attention to something that needs to get fixed. And that misrepresentation of who they were and what they were doing was the thing that really gnawed at me."

Trump, even recently, has said he finds the kneeling to be disrespectful to the flag and the military -- and has urged fans to boycott sports where players are allowed to take a kneel.

Goodell says he was particularly moved by the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a white police officer in Minnesota.

"It was horrific to see that play out on the screen -- there was a part of me that said, 'I hope people realize that's what the players were protesting. That's what's been going on in our communities. You see it now on TV, but that's been going on for a long, long time."

Goodell says the NFL can't solve all of the problems in the world -- but admits the league should have "listened sooner" when it came to issues of police brutality and social injustice.

Kaepernick began his kneeling demonstration in 2016 -- but hasn't played in the league since that season. He's since accused the league of conspiring to blackball him from the NFL due to the kneeling.

Turn left on Kobe Bryant Blvd?!

That's what your GPS will sound like in the future because Kobe Bryant is getting a street named after him right near Staples Center, where he balled out for almost 20 years.

Herb J. Wesson Jr. -- the president of the L.A. City Council --  made the announcement Monday morning (8/24) ... saying the plan is in the works.

"Figueroa St. will soon be Kobe Bryant Blvd. between Olympic & MLK," Wesson said.

In other words, Kobe Bryant Blvd. will essentially stretch from the L.A. Coliseum through USC and go just past Staples Center.

"Kobe’s legacy is bigger than basketball. Kobe Bryant Blvd will be a reminder to everyone, young and old who drive down it, there is no obstacle too big and that with the #Mambamentality," Wesson added ... "Anything is possible."

Kobe Bryant played every single season of his 20-year NBA career with the L.A. Lakers -- but they didn't move to Staples until 1999.

Kobe is especially beloved in Los Angeles -- and there have been rumbling about honoring Kobe in this way ever since he passed away back in January.

8/24 has already been declared Kobe Bryant Day in Orange County, where he lived with his family for so many years.

MLB superstar Bryce Harper went all out to honor Kobe Bryant on what would have been the Mamba's 42nd birthday ... rockin' cleats, a wristband and even a Lakers jersey for the tribute.

Bryce wore all the KB swag for the Phillies' game against the Braves on Sunday ... and afterward, he showed off up-close images of it all and praised the hell out of the L.A. legend.

"Kobe Bryant was my hero growing up," Harper said of the tribute. "It was him and my pops. If Kobe was playing I was watching."

"The way he went about it was something that nobody else had. He was fiery, smart, clutch, and just better than everybody I believed."

Harper says he always respected the way Kobe played on the court ... but added it was Bryant's off-court demeanor that really touched him as well.

"Thank you so much for the amazing ride you took us all on and sharing your talent and love for the sport with all of us," Harper said. "We are so lucky to have watched such greatness for so long."

Of course, Harper is an Under Armour athlete ... so the Nike-themed tribute is truly a special gesture from the Philly outfielder.

"Kobe Happy Birthday brotha and Happy Mamba Day," Harper said. "You are missed by so many. 8 and 24 will live on forever!!"

Seems the Kobe gear brought the Phils good luck ... while Harper didn't have his best day at the plate -- Philly won the game 5-4 with a thrilling play at the plate.

Drake is paying tribute to Kobe Bryant on 8/24 by showing off his huge Black Mamba shoe collection ... and his closet  legit looks like a real-life Foot Locker!!!

The shoe closet at Drake's Toronto compound is legendary -- it's the same place where he's got an entire basketball court with Kobe's #8 and #24 displayed on the walls.

So, on Kobe Bryant Day, Drake treated his fans to a tour of his Kobe shoe collection -- with appears to include 90 pairs of KB kicks.

Drake's Kobe collection isn't just cool -- it's wildly expensive. His Kobe 5 Preludes alone are fetching around $1,200 on resale sites.

He also has multiple versions of the Kobe 8s ... including the Venice Beach, Python and the WTKs, with the latter currently valued at more than $1,000 a pair.

We noticed there weren't any kicks from Kobe's Adidas days on Drake's shelf. Remember, the Kobe 2 was widely panned by shoe critics back in the day -- and the shoe played a major role in Bryant leaving Adidas for Nike.

Kobe would have turned 42 on Sunday.

The Washington Nationals have fired a team employee after surveillance cameras appeared to catch the man throwing hot coffee on a woman in a disturbing scene in the Dominican Republic.

Footage from the incident is shocking ... according to ESPN, Nats employee Jazhiel Morel, who helped work with the team's academy in Boca Chica, D.R., was at a convenience store recently when he got into an argument with a cashier.

Unclear what prompted the altercation ... but you can see in the clip, the man gets so upset with the woman -- he tosses two cups of coffee straight into her face before leaving the store.

Nats general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement he fired the man immediately after learning of the video ... adding the actions in the clip were "horrific."

"We do not tolerate this type of behavior in our organization," Rizzo said.

Police in the D.R. say Morel turned himself in on Monday morning ... and say they're questioning the man as part of the initial steps of the investigation.

D.R. cops added the coffee throwing is "a punishable act of violence."

A storage locker treasure hunter hit the JACKPOT -- finding an abandoned unit packed with Kobe Bryant treasures ... and now one of the stars of "Storage Wars" is involved.

Here's the deal ... just like on the show, storage units are auctioned off if the owner stops paying the bills.

In this case, the locker was in the L.A. area -- bidders only got a brief glimpse as to what was inside -- and then the auction began. The person who scored the unit won with a bid of $375.

Here's the breakdown of the score -- 35 pairs of shoes, jerseys, Lakers practice gear, a Lakers all-access badge that says, "Mamba," tax paperwork, and the pièce de résistance ... a mink coat (we're told there are pics of Kobe wearing the coat!).

The stuff -- once properly authenticated -- is likely worth a fortune!

The buyer immediately called "Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda -- who has experience finding buyers for high-end storage treasures -- and Rene bought all of the contents for a cool $13,000.

Rene tells us ... the items will NOT end up on "Storage Wars" because they're not filming the show due to the pandemic. Instead, Rene plans on selling the items through a reputable auction house.

It's a timely score for Rene too ... Kobe's birthday was Sunday, and today is Mamba Day -- 8/24.

BTW, there are rumblings the unit belonged to Kobe’s former stylist. But, a rep for the stylist says, "that’s just not the case.”