TMZ Sports - Page 50

Chargers star lineman Russell Okung is calling out NFL owners, telling TMZ Sports it's high time they get involved in social issues that affect the players' lives, and stop sitting on the sidelines.

Okung's good friend, Michael Bennett, has accused the Las Vegas Metro PD of racial profiling and excessive force for an incident after the McGregor fight, though Okung says Bennett will be just fine.

"I know he's an overcomer, he'll get past this."

What Russell seemed more concerned with was how to address the real and perceived social inequalities that lead to situations like Bennett's ... and he called on the NFL owners to help.

"We definitely need people to get away from the neutrality of it, I think our owners really need to address what's going on and discuss the issues and how we can move on from them."

BTW -- We got Russell out while his Chargers teammates were doing a food drive for the people of Houston ... NFL players certainly seem to be stepping up these days.

The Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. says Michael Bennett's claims that he was racially profiled during an August 27 incident are WRONG ... and they believe new video will prove it.

LVMPD undersheriff Kevin McMahill says investigators are combing through hundreds of videos associated with the incident ... but featured 1 bodycam video that he believes helps tell the story.

McMahill says cops had responded to an active shooter call at The Cromwell hotel around 1:30 AM on August 27 ... and when they arrived, teams of cops were focused on clearing the casino and hunting for the shooter.

McMahill says the bodycam shows officers clearing out dozens of people of various races. He says officers only chased Bennett when he acted suspiciously during the intense search.

McMahill says "due to Bennett's actions ... they believed Bennett may have been involved in the shooting and they gave chase."

McMahill pointed out that both officers involved in detaining Bennett are Hispanic.

McMahill says an internal investigation is underway -- but at this point, "I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident."

The LVMPD says Bennett was NOT armed and cops eventually determined he was not involved in any criminal activity.

Bennett claims one of the cops held a gun to his head and threatened to "blow my f*cking head off" -- but McMahill did not address that particular allegation.

Derrick Rose hit LAX on Wednesday to fly out to Chicago ... WITH 10 BAGS!!!

Michael Bennett was so overcome with emotion while talking about the Vegas police incident and how it affected his family ... that he paused at the podium during a Seahawks news conference and walked off.

As Bennett addressed the media after Seahawks practice, he called the Vegas incident a "traumatic experience" ... and says, "It sucks that the country that we live in now sometimes you get profiled for the color of your skin."

Bennett was asked about the TMZ Sports video of the incident -- but wouldn't get into details about what happened before and after the camera started recording.

The final question for Bennett was about if he's reflected on a previous statement in which he said he'll always be viewed as a black man in America ... no matter what he accomplishes in football.

Bennett brought up his daughters ... and got emotional. And that's when he abruptly ended the conference.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says he's thankful Michael Bennett is safe after a "horrendous" incident with police in Vegas ... and made it clear the entire Seahawks organization is supporting their star player.

Carroll just addressed the media after Seahawks practice and said Bennett "unfortunately experienced a horrendous incident" in Vegas ... "and we're thankful that he's safe."

Carroll noted, "We stand in support of him and anyone facing inequalities."

"What happened with Michael is a classic illustration of the reality of inequalities demonstrated daily."

J.J. Watt's younger bro, Derek Watt, isn't just praising his brother for raising $27 MILLION for Hurricane Harvey victims ... he's getting involved, too!

Derek -- a 2nd year fullback for the Chargers -- was loading up trucks at the "Chargers Food & Supply Drive to Aid Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts" in L.A. on Wednesday ... along with several teammates.

Watt says he's been texting with his family about J.J.'s fundraising -- and thinking of other ways they can help out.

You gotta watch the video ... Derek says he's "extremely proud" and vows to help push the magic number to over $30 MILLION.

12:30 PM PT -- Sources connected to the investigation tell TMZ Sports ... when cops responded to the club for a possible shooting, they ordered everyone to get down and not move so they could properly search and investigate.

We're told Bennett did not stay put -- instead, he ran -- and a cop outside the club stopped him and ordered him down to the ground at gunpoint.

Our sources say Bennett was detained until cops could determine he was not involved in any possible criminal activity ... and he was released.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of NFL superstar Michael Bennett being handcuffed by police while lying face down on the concrete in Las Vegas ... and you can hear him screaming that he's innocent.

The video was shot outside Drai's Nightclub on August 26 -- you can see one officer take position on a balcony while another cop handcuffs Bennett on the street level.

During the incident Bennett screams out, "I wasn't doing nothing man! I was here with my friends! They told us to get out, everybody ran!"

Bennett claims the officer had pulled a gun on him and threatened to "blow my f*cking head off" -- but you don't see that in our footage. At the time the video begins, Bennett is already being cuffed.

You can see the officer on the balcony is clutching something in his hand that resembles a handgun -- but it's unclear.

Bennett has said in a statement that he -- and several hundred other people -- were running from the club after hearing what they thought were gunshots. He claims cops stopped him for "being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time."

We've reached out to the Las Vegas Metro PD for comment -- we're told they're investigating the incident.

Craig Carton's partner in an alleged ticket fraud scheme was so concerned about the million in debt they allegedly owed ... he considered fleeing the country and assuming a new identity.

At least, that's what investigators say they learned during a criminal probe into the famous radio host -- who allegedly bilked investors out of millions of dollars to repay casino debts.

As we previously reported, Carton -- one-half of the famous "Boomer and Carton Show" -- was arrested by FBI agents early Wednesday morning.

Officials say he and another man concocted and executed a ponzi-style scheme to take millions of dollars from investors under the guise of a ticket scalping business. Only, the money was allegedly used to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in mysterious personal debts ... which appear to be related to gambling.

The docs, filed in federal court in NY, don't specifically say Carton blew the money gambling ... but alleges he made several HUGE wire transfers to casino companies using money that was supposed to be used for the ticket business.

At one point, Carton's alleged co-conspirator fired off an email to Carton with the following proposal to escape their debts -- "Run to Costa Rica, change name, and start life all over again."

The other man noted, "May not be an option."

Officials say Carton didn't seem too fazed -- assuring the other man he had another $1 million coming in from investors and "will need to be discussed how to handle."

Here's Cristiano Ronaldo stylin' and profilin' in front of his new supercar ... a Ferrari F12tdf that costs over $500k -- and that's without the crazy specs CR7 no doubt added on.

We're guessing Cristiano got the F12 to celebrate ballin' out for Portugal in the World Cup qualifiers ... dude did pass Pele on the all-time international goals list!

Ronaldo's already got tens of millions of dollars in his garage -- from Lambos to Astons to Porsches ... his biggest splurge before this one was a Bugatti Chiron worth around $3 MIL.

The only athlete we can think of with a comparable car collection is Floyd Mayweather -- who's spent more than $12 MIL on fancy whips ... and that doesn't count his TWO private jets.

Not that they're competing or anything ...

The man dressed up like Colin Kaepernick during a segment with FS1 star Jason Whitlock is not white ... despite what the Internet thinks.

He's actually Kid from Kid 'n Play -- aka Christopher Reid, star of 'House Party' 1, 2 and 3 (remember, he was replaced by Immature in 'House Party 4').

Whitlock has been receiving all sorts of hate online from people who think he dressed up a white dude to mock the NFL QB. That's simply not the case.

Others -- including ESPN's Josina Anderson -- are pissed at Whitlock for "mocking a movement." Don Cheadle gave his stamp of approval to her criticism.

The actual segment involving Kid (as Kaep) has not aired (at the time this post was written) -- but Whitlock has hinted there's more to the story.

"I remember the good-old days when people sought real information before feigning outrage in a publication or publicly."

Stay tuned ...

Seattle Seahawks superstar Michael Bennett says a police officer threatened to "blow my f*cking head off" during a heated incident in Vegas on the weekend of the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight.

Bennett says he was heading back to his hotel room after the fight when he heard gunshots ring out.

"Like many people in the area, I ran away from the sound, looking for safety," Bennett says in a statement.

Bennett says Las Vegas police "singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time."

One of the cops, Bennett claims, "ordered me to get on the ground" and told him that if he moved he would "blow my f*cking head off."

Bennett says another officer put his knee in his back, making it hard for him to breathe. He was then cuffed so tightly that his fingers went numb.

The 31-year-old says he thought he was going to die and his life flashed before his eyes.

Bennett says cops eventually realized he was not involved in the shooting and let him go -- but the NFL star says he's furious about the situation and has lawyered up to explore his legal options.

We've reached out to the Las Vegas Metro PD for comment -- so far, no word back.

FYI, Bennett has sat for the national anthem during Seahawks pre-season games -- and he says this incident has only strengthened his resolve.

It was Terrell Owens, Tim Tebow ... and now, Ezekiel Elliott is the "ratings baby" the media is glomming on to ... so says Michael Irvin.

You know what he's talking about -- when a story becomes such a big deal, news outlets will streeeeetch in a shameless way for an angle involving the media topic everyone cares about.

This time, Irvin says, the media knows Zeke's scandal is a magnet for viewers ... and he's seen some networks reach new lows trying to exploit the running back's issues for a ratings pop.

Craig Carton -- co-host of the popular 'Boomer and Carton' sports talk show on WFAN -- was arrested by FBI agents at his home in Manhattan on suspicion of running a concert ticket scheme.

We're told the alleged scheme looks like this ... Carton and a partner claimed to have been operating a ticket business that promised blocks of tickets to big concerts. Problem is, it was all a lie (allegedly) -- they never had the tickets.

Carton is suspected of defrauding investors out of more than $2 million.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of NY tells TMZ Sports Carton is facing securities and wire fraud charges and he's due in court later Wednesday.

Serena Williams allegedly hates her stepmother so much, she ordered the woman to vacate the family home immediately ... or else she'll change the locks.

At least that's the story Serena's stepmom told a judge in new docs filed in Florida ... in which she begs the court to stop Richard Williams from throwing her out on the street.

As we previously reported, 75-year-old Richard filed for divorce from 38-year-old Lakeisha Juanita Williams back in June after 7 years of marriage. They have a son together.

Lakeisha claims Richard has ordered her out of the Florida home where they lived -- a home she claims is owned by his daughter, Serena Williams.

In the court docs, Lakeisha says Serena's legal team fired off demand letters "requesting she and the child vacate the home and threatened to change the locks."

So far, Lakeisha refuses to budge.

Lakeisha has also filed an emergency motion begging the court to force the sale of another property they owned together because she needs the money.

She's also concerned Richard has "health issues" and could die -- and if that happens, his fortune could be tied up for years while the courts decide who gets what. She needs the cash, stat.

GGG's got stamina ... gotta give him that.

The boxing superstar broke out his favorite pen and ripped out HUNDREDS of signatures on Everlast boxing gloves during a marathon autograph session this week ... and it's all for his richest fans.

We spoke with Life In Motion CEO, Thorsten Meier, who says the gloves are a perk for fans who pony up for the special ringside "platinum package" seats for the September 16 fight with Canelo Alvarez.

It's $7,600 for 1 ticket or $14,000 for 2 -- and each order comes with a glove signed by GGG and Canelo, PLUS a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay, PLUS limo transportation from the airport.

As for GGG, don't worry ... his hands were still solid after all the John Hancock'ing.

Ezekiel Elliott has officially taken an L with his domestic violence appeal ... as the NFL upheld the RB's 6-game suspension Tuesday following an arbitration hearing at the league's NYC headquarters.

NFL-appointed arbitrator, Harold Henderson, handed down the verdict ... after hearing Elliott's case from a team led by Jeffrey Kessler -- the lawyer who's repped the NFLPA on several landmark appeals including DeflateGate.

Zeke also gave his side of the story while under oath ... according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

The league suspended Elliott earlier this month after finding "substantial evidence" he engaged in physical violence against his then-girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson -- a claim the Cowboys superstar has adamantly denied.

Elliott's team was reportedly prepared for this outcome ... as Henderson denied a request to have Thompson testify at the appeal proceeding. Henderson also barred the introduction of notes and materials gathered in the NFL's interviews with Thompson.

Zeke's legal team says, "We are extremely disappointed with Mr. Henderson's inability to navigate through league politics, and follow the evidence and, most importantly, his conscience." Next step is federal court, where Cowboys star will ask a judge to reduce his suspension.