TMZ Sports - Page 50

Jesse Williams refused to stand for the National Anthem while attending a BIG3 game this weekend ... and it appears to be in direct response to the Charlottesville attack.

Jesse was at the Staples Center in L.A. Sunday, sitting in for a round of games between 8 teams for Ice Cube's basketball tournament ... but during the anthem, the "Grey's Anatomy" star parked it.

While sitting court side, Jesse posted a video during the song with a caption that said "We'll stand when you do..." -- which seems to be aimed at President Trump. The Prez was criticized Saturday for not directly calling out white nationalists who were at the center of the violence.

A woman was killed after a man allegedly plowed into a crowd with his car. The suspect -- James Alex Fields Jr. -- has been charged with murder.

Marshawn Lynch also sat out the National Anthem this weekend during a pre-season game with the Oakland Raiders ... although it's unclear if his sitting was in response to Charlottesville.

LeBron James found a way to troll President Trump with his own catchphrase by rocking a hat with a similar sentiment ... and he did it while DJing live at a club.

LeBron grabbed dinner Saturday night with his wife, Savannah, at Komodo in Miami., after which he joined the restaurant's owner, David Grutman and Kim K pal Jonathan Cheban, for some partying in their upstairs lounge.

We're told LeBron was put at the helm of the turntables and DJ'd for 2 hours straight -- all while sporting a red hat that said ... "Strive for Greatness" ... which looks an awful lot like Trump's "MAGA" hat.

Bron didn't address Trump during his DJ set, but the timing seems like anything but a coincidence considering the violent protests in Charlottesville the same day ...and his longtime stance as an anti-Trump guy. Plus ... there's this:

LeBron ... making not-so-subtle shots great again.

The engagement's off ... but if you think Evelyn Lozada is giving back that 14.5 carat diamond engagement ring she got from Carl Crawford you're out of your mind.

The ex-MLB superstar -- who once signed a $142 MILLION contract -- proposed to the "Basketball Wives" star with the $1.4 million ring back in 2013. Evelyn obviously said, "Yes."

The two were set to get married 3 weeks ago -- but Evelyn pulled the plug after getting suspicious about Carl's fidelity.

Legally, Lozada is obligated to give the ring back -- since an engagement ring is considered a conditional gift in California, the condition being she has to get married.

But sources close to Lozada tell us ... Crawford ain't getting it back, period.

We're told she's planning on keeping the ring in a safe and passing it on to her kids one day. And at this point, she's not expecting Carl to put up a fight.

Talk about a fabulous parting gift.

Lexy Panterra's ass brings all the boys girls to the beach ... and they're definitely better than your girls.

The model and celebrity twerk instructor hit the beach in Malibu this week to dip her ass in the salty Pacific. And it's true what they say -- hotties hang with hotties. Just look at her posse ... it's a fantASStic sight.

Pretty sure Lexy's given her crew a crash course on twerking ... judging from how Lexy and her girls are strutting their curves.

James Worthy on Lonzo Ball -- "He enhances everybody on the court. We haven't had someone with that type of talent really since Magic."

"Big Game James" just dished out some serious praise to Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball -- telling TMZ Sports he's REALLY excited about the kid ... and gave him one of the best compliments ever.

Of course, Worthy was Magic Johnson's running mate back on the Showtime Lakers in the '80s -- and has been heavily involved with the Lakers organization ever since.

So, for James to heap that kind of praise on Lonzo is a pretty big deal.

We know what you're thinking -- is James dissing Kobe?

We don't think so -- seems more like a pure point guard comparison to us.

Cody Garbrandt better watch his back ... 'cause one pissed off contender is ready to put him in a body bag.

That man's Aljamain Sterling ... who told the guys on TMZ Sports (weeknights on FS1) he's coming hard after Cody 'cause the UFC champ took a shot at him after a rough loss -- saying Alj "broke" in his fight with Bryan Caraway.

"Eventually he's gonna have to meet his maker. That maker's gonna be me," Sterling tells us.

Sterling's coming off a HUGE win over former bantamweight champ Renan Barao ... but tells us he has another guy on his hit list before he takes out Cody.

Houston Rockets legend Kenny Smith believes the chances of Beyonce becoming a part owner of the team are "very good" -- and would immediately "change the whole dynamic of sports."

The singer is reportedly interested in buying a stake of the NBA team -- with current owner Les Alexander recently announcing he's looking to sell.

Smith -- who won 2 NBA Championships with the Rockets -- is still close with the team and even had a "date" with management last year about possibly being the head coach.

So, we hit up Smith for the 411 -- and it's obvious, he's all about getting Beyonce into that owners' box.

Bodybuilding superstar Rich Piana had 20 bottles of steroids in his home at the time of his medical emergency ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

Cops were called to Piana's Florida home at 1:30 PM on Monday after the 46-year-old social media sensation suddenly collapsed in his bathroom while getting a haircut from his girlfriend, Chanel.

Piana's girlfriend says she tried to catch the former Mr. California bodybuilding champ when he collapsed but couldn't due to his massive size and weight. Chanel told officials Piana struck his head during the fall.

The 911 operator instructed Chanel to perform CPR but she was unable to revive him.

When emergency personnel arrived, paramedics found crushed up white powder on a table along with a credit card and straw and decided to give Rich 2 doses of Narcan (often used to treat opiate overdoses) to try and revive him.

Chanel told responders Rich had battled opiate addiction in the past but she believed he was clean.

Rich never regained consciousness and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was placed into a medically induced coma.

The report notes that police found bottles and bottles of testosterone in the home, 20 in total. Chanel said Rich is an admitted steroid user who's been juicing for more than 20 years.

Chanel also noted Rich had suffered from a slightly enlarged heart at one point in his life -- but didn't know if that contributed to the medical emergency.

Dana White is nothing if not loyal ... he posted a video Friday night clearly showing his boy, Conor McGregor kicked the ass of sparing partner/former world boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi.

A photo surfaced on social media last week, showing what appeared to be a knockout during a sparring match between Conor and Paulie. Paulie claimed he was pushed and the photo wasn't as it seemed.

Well, with the McGregor/Mayweather fight looming this month, Dana dropped the vid to prove his man is a true contender.

Here's the thing ... Paulie still maintains he wasn't knocked to the canvas. After Dana posted the video, Paulie tweeted, "Pushing my head down with right hand as he's dragging me in that direction by then throwing the left, the push down is with right hand."

Kurt Warner says losing Ezekiel Elliott for 6 games is a "big blow" for the Dallas Cowboys -- and could seriously hurt the team's chances at a playoff run.

The Hall of Fame quarterback was still gathering info when we spoke with him Friday afternoon -- but says the whole situation involving the running back is "disappointing."

As for the NFL's threats that Zeke could be banned for life if he violated the league's personal conduct policy again -- Warner says, "Let's just hope it doesn't get to that point."

Pete Rose can uncross his fingers and stop holding his breath -- he ain't ever going to Cooperstown, so says his former teammate Johnny Bench.

The Cincinnati Reds legend -- who played with Rose for 12 seasons -- says "Charlie Hustle" broke the rules by betting on baseball back in the day and will have to live with the consequences.

Bench says he wishes Rose would make the Hall ... but he knows it ain't ever gonna happen, despite Pete having the most hits in the history of the sport.

Bench also talks about the L.A. Dodgers -- and says he absolutely loves this year's team. He does point out the squad's history of blowing it in the playoffs ... but explains why this team can break the trend.

Justin Gatlin wants to make 1 thing very clear to all the haters ... he DID NOT cheat to beat Usain Bolt ... and he's got some numbers that back up his case.

We talked to Justin after his 100m win at the World Athletic Championships last weekend ... and the American sprinter told us him and Bolt's race times prove it was a legit W.

Gatlin crossed the finish line first at 9.92 seconds -- a time he and Usain have both CRUSHED in the past. FYI, Bolt has the world record at 9.58. Justin's best is 9.74.

As for the claims that Gatlin was using the special sauce to beat his Jamaican rival -- "False, with a capital F."

JG's also got a message for fans that can't look past his doping bans.

"If you're gonna read the headlines, you should read the small print too. There's a lot to the story."

Ezekiel Elliott's accuser took several photos of the injuries she claims she suffered at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys running back ... showing bruising on her arms, hands, neck and legs.

Zeke's accuser claims she suffered the injuries during the week of July 16 -- when Elliott allegedly attacked her 3 times on 3 separate occasions.

Elliott told police investigators he did not cause the bruises -- claiming the woman suffered the injuries in a bar fight.

The NFL independently investigated the allegations -- and obtained photos of the alleged injuries which the league claims it was able to verify came from incidents involving Elliott.

Elliott says the investigation is WRONG and vows to appeal the 6-game suspension he received as a result of the investigation.

TMZ Sports also obtained a copy of the 911 call made by the accuser in which she claims Elliot had attacked her multiple times.

Watch out, NFL -- Antonio Brown's got some gnarly new lip hair ... and he's using it to haunt your dreams.

AB's going the Dick Dastardly route with his lip warmer -- rockin' a hipster twist on the handlebar mustache on the way to his pre-season game against the NY Giants.

With this new look, AB joins a short but prestigious list of celebrity hipster handlebar wearers including Rollie Fingers, Salvador Dali, William Howard Taft, Wyatt Earp and Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Weird hair is kinda AB's thing ... so mission accomplished?

If Lamar Odom wants to join the BIG3 league, Ice Cube says he's got an invitation -- there's just one catch.

Cube touched down in L.A. -- getting into one of the biggest limos we've ever seen -- when we asked how he felt about Odom expressing interest in his 3-on-3 league.

"I love Lamar man. I'd love to see him play again."

The issue ... "Dude's just gotta get in shape."

If Lamar can get his fitness together, "We'd love to see him play."

Cube also says he's fired up for the 4-point shooting contest with LaVar Ball at Staples Center on Sunday -- telling TMZ Sports he's 100% down as long as Ball shows up.

The good news for Cube ... LaVar formally accepted minutes ago -- and says he's looking forward to "tasting that ass" after he beats the rapper.

Seriously. LaVar actually said that.

Ezekiel Elliott says the NFL got it 100% WRONG by concluding he attacked his girlfriend on 3 separate occasions -- and vows to appeal his 6-game suspension.

"Mr. Elliott and his team of representatives are extremely disappointed with the NFL’s decision," the Dallas Cowboys star's camp said in a statement.

"The NFL's findings are replete with factual inaccuracies and erroneous conclusions and it 'cherry picks' so called evidence to support its conclusion while ignoring other critical evidence."

"For example, both the Columbus Prosecutor's office as well as the NFL investigators expressly concluded and conveyed to our office (and others) that the accuser was lying about an alleged July 22, 2016 incident whereby she accused Mr. Elliott of pulling her out of her car and assaulting her. An allegation that was ultimately undermined by her false allegation of assault."

"In addition, the NFL's own medical experts concluded that many of her injuries predated the week in question and likely occurred during a period of time when Mr. Elliott was not in contact with the accuser."

"During the upcoming weeks and through the appeal a slew of additional credible and controverting evidence will come to light."