TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tennis superstar Victoria Azarenka -- one of the best players in the world -- has finally broken her silence on the custody war that could force her to miss the US Open ... saying it's unfair that she has to choose between her job and her kid.

As we previously reported, Azarenka is at war with her baby daddy -- who filed custody papers in L.A. and the judge overseeing the case won't let Victoria take the kid out of the state while the trial rages.

Problem is ... the US Open starts on August 28 in NY -- but Azarenka says she REFUSES to leave her kid behind.

"Shortly after Wimbledon, Leo’s father and I separated and as we work to resolve some of the legal processes, the way things stand now is that the only way I can play in the US Open this year is if I leave Leo behind in California, which I’m not willing to do."

"No one should ever have to decide between a child and their career, we are strong enough to do both," Azarenka said.

Azarenka's attorney, Laura Wasser, recently told the judge the tennis star is more than willing to buy a plane ticket for the baby daddy and put him up in a hotel for the 2-week tournament, but the judge said no.

Still, Victoria is holding out hope that the two sides can reach an amicable resolution.

NUTS!

A Boston Red Sox photographer took a baseball square in the balls on the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday night ... and it looked BAD.

It was just another night at Fenway with the Sox taking on the Cards ... until the PA announcer told the kid throwing the first pitch to "fire it in there!"

Young Jordan must have took "it" to mean a random guy's balls ... and the unlucky photog wide right of home plate paid the price -- taking it right in his manhood before limping away.

The dude who took the beanball seems alright, though ... using his own photo to joke about the nut-shot after the game:

NBA superstar Isaiah Thomas says he will NOT be sitting during the national anthem this upcoming season ... but tells TMZ Sports he supports his fellow athletes for doing what they feel is right.

We spoke with the Celtics point guard about players like Marshawn Lynch and Michael Bennett staying seated over the weekend ... and while I.T. says he's not gonna join the movement, he understands the bigger picture.

"Stand for what you feel is right. I'm not going to do it, but that's those players' decisions."

Thomas also talked about the recent violence in Charlottesville ... and he wants to send a simple message:

Jermichael Finley's baby mama just WENT OFF on the former NFL tight end for trashing guys like Marshawn Lynch and Colin Kaepernick over their protests ... telling him, "You are black!"

The ex-Green Bay Packer really pissed off his ex, Courtney Finley, with comments he made on social media and TMZ Sports ... when he said the national anthem protests are more about self-promotion than social justice.

Courtney, who is white, blasted the guy in a scathing Twitter post saying ...

"This serves as a reminder @jermichaelf88 in case you have forgotten; you are black."

"The athletes (foremost people) you are telling to sit down (or stand) and shut up are the very men that are protesting for your safety and equality in a country that has nearly revoked that right based on your skin color."

"As a biracial mother of 4 black boys, that have been left to be raised by a single mother, I have deep and desperate gratitude for those that use their platform to fight for our community's justice, safety, & equality."

Courtney says Jermichael's comments are "absurd" and "offensive" -- adding, "Don't be so pathetically thirsty for attention that you choose to devalue another man's motives."

"Don't choose to be so insulting and imply professional athletes have no place in changing the world."

"Most importantly, don't forget to look in the mirror and see that you too are black and have an obligation to derail racism as best you can for yourself and others."

"If you don't want to be part of the resolution to the racial inequalities in this country that's on you, but for the sake of our 4 sons, don't be part of the problem. I pray you will reevaluate your stance."

Floyd Mayweather Sr. is coming out swingin' at Justin Bieber -- saying the pop star doesn't know a DAMN THING about boxing if he thinks Conor's gonna go the distance.

Remember, Bieber -- Floyd Jr.'s longtime friend -- recently shot down the idea that Mayweather would K.O. McGregor ... and that ain't sittin' too well with Floyd Sr.

"Justin Bieber ... he don't even know boxing," Floyd's dad told us at LAX ... "He knows Floyd. But he don't know Floyd like I know Floyd."

Floyd Sr. also went in on Vegas gamblers putting their money on Conor -- saying they're crazy ... and a bet on Floyd is like taking free money!

Curt Schilling is standing by his President -- telling TMZ Sports Donald Trump is NOT a white supremacist and will continue to have his support.

If there's a guy the KKK should REALLY hate, it's Amar'e Stoudemire -- who checks 2 of their "most hated" boxes ... black and Jewish.

So, when we saw the former NBA superstar out in L.A. today, we had to ask for his thoughts on the situation in Charlottesville.

"Don't worry about things you can't control," Amar'e told our photog.

And when our guy (a fellow Jew) expressed concern about the anti-Semitic groups, Stoudemire offered up this advice -- "Stay strong, brother."

Ric Flair is still in critical condition -- and suffering from "multiple organ problems," this according to the wrestler's fiancee.

"I have been unable to talk on the phone without crying and just feel shocked over events," Wendy Barlow said in a statement.

Barlow says she first took 68-year-old Flair to the hospital Friday night after he was complaining of severe abdominal pains ... and "from that moment on it all seems like a nightmare."

Barlow says Flair is now dealing with multiple organ problems -- but didn't specify exactly what he's been diagnosed with or what caused the problems in the first place.

"I want everyone to know he still needs prayers," Barlow said ... while noting that she hasn't left Flair's side and vows to give him "the best care possible."

As we previously reported, Flair was placed in a medically induced coma earlier this week and underwent a surgical procedure on Monday. No word if he's still in the coma.

The NFL Players Association is firing back at the NFL for its recent statement on the Zeke Elliott case ... calling them hypocrites and liars who should be ashamed for "stooping to new lows."

The scathing statement is in direct response to NFL's release on Wednesday ... where they accused the PA of "spreading derogatory information to the media about the victim in the Ezekiel Elliott discipline case."

The Players Association released the following statement.

"The public statement issued on behalf of every NFL owner is a lie. The NFLPA categorically denies the accusations made in this statement. We know the league office has a history of being exposed for its lack of credibility."

Karl-Anthony Towns thinks his Minnesota Timberwolves are gonna "have some fun" this year at the rest of the NBA's expense, telling TMZ Sports it's time for the league to watch out for the pups in Minneapolis.

The Wolves are pretty stacked, adding Jimmy Butler to a squad that already has Andrew Wiggins and Towns, two of the best young players in the league.

When we got KAT out at Craig's in L.A. and asked him how he feels about the Wolves getting a marquee Christmas Day matchup this year, he answered with a little message to the whole league.

"We're gonna have fun this year I'll tell you that much, watch out for us."

The NFL is calling out the NFL Player's Association ... saying the league has received tips that the NFLPA is going on a smear campaign against Ezekiel Elliott's accuser in an effort to exonerate the RB.

Multiple reports have surfaced in the past few days, painting the accuser as everything from a racist to an extortionist ... and the NFL's public relations honcho says the reports are shameful.

"Over the past few days we’ve received multiple reports of the NFLPA spreading derogatory information to the media about the victim in the Ezekiel Elliott discipline case," Brian McCarthy said.

"It's a common tactic to attempt to prove the innocence of the accused by discrediting the victim -- in this case Ms. Thompson -- when coming forward to report such abuse."

"Common or not, these tactics are shameful. Efforts to shame and blame victims are often what prevent people from coming forward to report violence and/or seek help in the first place."

We called the NFLPA for comment -- so far, no word back.

The NFL is standing by its investigation into Zeke -- which the league says showed a pattern of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson.

ESPN analyst Byron Scott says the fantasy football auction sketch that aired on the network is "unacceptable" ... but he's not calling for the producer to get fired.

The network has already apologized for the sketch which showed a white man auctioning off players (many of them black) to a white crowd. Critics say it resembled a slave auction.

Stars like Kevin Durant and Odell Beckham made it clear the sketch was NOT cool with them.

So, we asked Scott -- who often appears on ESPN's "The Jump" -- how he felt about the situation.

"It is unacceptable ... I thought we've come a lot further than we have. Obviously we have not. We have a ways to go."

Scott says he hopes the producer of the segment can learn from his mistakes.

With Scott being an avid golfer, we also asked the NBA legend if he would ever play on a Trump course.

Hint: Don't book a tee time at Doral any time soon ...

Cris Carter says Ezekiel Elliott's fantasy value is just like his recent off-the-field conduct ... shaky at best, telling TMZ Sports Zeke's suspension makes him a no-go as a fantasy 1st rounder.

We got Carter and his FS1 on-air partner Nick Wright in NYC and asked the NFL expert what Elliott's 6-game ban means to the fantasy crowd.

On the one hand, Zeke ran for 1,600 yards and 15 TD's last year so you want that, on the other hand 6 games is a huge chunk of the NFL season.

So what to do?

Lakers head coach Luke Walton knows ya never put a ceiling on a player -- including Lonzo Ball.

So, when he was asked if Lonzo could be the next Kobe Bryant ... he didn't exactly rule it out.

Walton's clearly excited about his team -- telling us good things about the Lakers on his way out of Catch in L.A.

But does Walton REALLY think LaVar's kid can rack up stats like the 5-time NBA champ, 2-time NBA Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star, 2-time NBA scoring champ, 2008 NBA MVP, 11-time 1st Team All-NBA & Slam Dunk Contest champ?

Beyonce's mom tells TMZ Sports it would be "really great" if her daughter became the next owner of the Houston Rockets -- saying she's got the Houston connection that fans would love!

After current Rockets owner Leslie Alexander announced he was selling the team last month, Beyonce's name showed up in reports as a very interested buyer.

So, when we saw Tina Knowles leaving Mastro's Steakhouse in Bev Hills on Tuesday, we had to ask ... what's up?!

Tina wasn't spilling the tea on B's business plans -- but did explain why she thinks the Rockets would be the perfect fit for her daughter.

Tim Brown is against Marshawn Lynch's national anthem protest -- telling TMZ Sports, "Why bring negativity to this incredible, positive situation?"

Brown is a Raiders icon -- one of the greatest players in franchise history who's still very involved with the team.

So, we asked #81 how he felt about Oakland's star running back taking a seat during the anthem at the pre-season game in Arizona this weekend. Brown didn't hold back.

"Why man? Why bring this to yourself? He has the perfect thing going on in Oakland. Why bring negativity to this incredible positive situation? ... I just don't get it."

"I understand these guys man, they're trying to make statements and they're trying to be a part of this world but football is where people go to get away from that stuff."

Brown says he's confident Raiders honchos would support Marshawn's causes any way the team could outside the stadium ... but he just feels the political and social statements don't belong at work.

7:36 AM PT -- Tim Brown believes his comments are being misunderstood.

He believes his points are expressed better in the context of the full interview and has asked us to post the entire 8 minutes. So, here it is.