TMZ Sports - Page 50

John McCain tells TMZ Sports he won't let his seething hatred for the Dallas Cowboys affect his view on freedom of expression.

The Arizona senator is famously a huge sports fan -- so, with the political and sports worlds colliding when the Cowboys played his AZ Cardinals on Monday Night Football, we asked for his opinion.

"I've always hated the Dallas Cowboys and will continue to do so to this day," McCain said.

But when we asked about Jerry Jones taking a knee with his players before the anthem, McCain said -- "That's their right to do what they want as citizens."

USC athletic director, Lynn Swann says he was "shocked" to find out about the arrest of asst. basketball coach, Tony Bland ... but the University vows to "cooperate fully" with authorities.

"We were shocked to learn this morning through news reports about the FBI investigation and arrests related to NCAA basketball programs, including the arrest of USC assistant Tony Bland," Swann said in a statement.

"USC Athletics maintains the highest standards in athletic compliance across all of our programs and does not tolerate misconduct in any way."

"We will cooperate fully with the investigation and will assist authorities as needed, and if these allegations are true, will take the needed actions."

Zach Randolph says he feels he was "wrongfully arrested" during an August 9 incident in Los Angeles -- in which cops initially said the NBA star was in possession of a TON of weed.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Randolph was initially arrested for possession with intent to sell because of the large quantity of weed cops say he had. He eventually pled no contest to resisting arrest and the weed charge was dismissed completely.

Randolph finally broke his silence about the situation on Monday telling reporters, "I'm not speaking a lot about it but I felt that I was wrongfully arrested."

"Things that was put out there wasn't true. But I don't want to be a distraction to my team, my organization, so I'm just going to move forward and play basketball."

Randolph was sentenced to 150 hours of community service and was ordered to stay away from drug dealers. He's due back in court in December.

9:31 AM -- All 10 suspects -- including the 4 coaches -- have now been arrested, officials say.

8:57 AM PT -- The U.S. Attorney's Office is about to hold a news conference to explain the charges. The conference is set to begin in a few minutes.

The FBI claims Jim Gatto -- the Director of Global Marketing for Adidas Basketball -- paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to funnel top prospects to Adidas sponsored colleges ... including Louisville.

It's all part of a massive probe into corruption in NCAA basketball -- spelled out in 3 separate criminal complaints.

One of the probes centered around Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person, who allegedly took thousands of dollars in bribes to steer players to a financial advisor and a high-end suit-maker.

The 3rd probe included USC assistant coach Tony Bland, Oklahoma State coach Lamont Evans and Book Richardson from the University of Arizona.

In total, we're told 10 people are facing charges. Eight of those people have been arrested.

It's all in court docs filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of NY and obtained by TMZ Sports.

First, Gatto ...

In the documents, the FBI says Gatto tried to pay one player and his family $100,000 to get him to a school of Gatto's choice. Another player got $150k with the expectation that the player would sign with Adidas when he went to the NBA.

In the docs, the FBI says a coach at a major college in Florida told Gatto that he needed to pay a top player $150k so the player wouldn't attend another D1 school sponsored by a rival apparel company.

The coach allegedly told Gatto that the rival clothing company had also offered the player a "substantial sum of money."

The FBI says it has wiretapped phone calls catching Gatto and his conspirators in the act.

The FBI spells it out ...

"The investigation has revealed multiple instances of bribes paid by athlete advisors, including financial advisors and business managers, as well as high-level apparel company employees, and facilitated by coaches employed by NCAA division 1 universities, to student-athletes playing at or bound for NCAA D-1 universities, and the families of such athletes, in exchange for a commitment by those athletes to matriculate at a specific university and a promise to ultimately sign agreements to be represented by the bribe-payors once the athletes enter the NBA."

As for the case against Chuck Person, the FBI says he collected about $91,500 in bribes in exchange for funneling Auburn players to a particular financial advisor and a high-end suit maker, Rashan Michel.

The FBI says Person would use a portion of the bribes to pay off the families of high-priority recruits.

In one part of the documents, the FBI says Chuck met with a player and counseled him about how players secretly get away with NCAA violations.

He allegedly told one player, "The most important part is that you ... don't say nothing to anybody ... don't share with your sisters, don't share with any of the teammates, that's very important 'cause this is a violation ... of rules. But this is how the NBA players get it done."

"They get early relationships, and they form partnerships, they form trust, you get to know [financial advisor], you get to know Rashan a lot and like Rashan can get you suits and stuff ... you'll start looking like an NBA ball player, that's what you are."

Donald Trump just sent a message to Roger Goodell -- saying kneeling during the national anthem should no longer be an option ... it needs to be a league rule.

Trump continued his Twitter attack against kneelers Tuesday morning -- first, saying the booing at the Monday Night Football game was the "loudest I have ever heard" ... due to the Dallas Cowboys protest.

"Great anger," Trump added.

Then ... a message aimed at Roger Goodell.

"The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can't kneel during our National Anthem."

We're reaching out to the NFL for comment -- but the multiple statements from NFL team owners over the weekend suggest they would not support that rule.

Pat Tillman's widow is breaking her silence -- saying her husband fought and died for American rights such as freedom to protest ... even when you don't agree.

Marie Tillman broke her silence about the issue after Donald Trump retweeted a post that included the ex-NFL star turned solider -- along with the hashtag #StandForOurAnthem.

"As a football player and soldier, Pat inspired countless Americans to unify," Tillman wrote in a statement to CNN.

"Pat’s service, along with that of every man and woman's service, should never be politicized in a way that divides us."

Then she dropped this -- "The very action of self expression and the freedom to speak from one’s heart -- no matter those views -- is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for. Even if they didn’t always agree with those views."

"It is my sincere hope that our leaders both understand and learn from the lessons of Pat's life and death, and also those of so many other brave Americans."

TMZ Sports obtained video of ex-NFL superstar Albert Haynesworth calmly explaining to police how his baby mama repeatedly "kicked me in the nuts" during an alleged domestic violence incident ... even the cop is shocked.

We broke the story ... Haynesworth called police on ex-NCAA basketball star Brittany Jackson on Jan. 10 claiming she physically abused him in front of other people after boozing at a friendly gathering.

When cops arrived, Haynesworth tells the cop Jackson flew into a jealous rage and tried to hit him in the face and the groin.

Haynesworth tells the cop, "She kicked me in the nuts a couple of times."

The officer replies, "The nuts?!"

Haynesworth says, "Oh yeah."

In the video, Haynesworth -- 6'6", 350 lbs -- says he's already called police on Jackson 10 to 12 times during their 17-month relationship.

Ultimately, Haynesworth told cops he did not want to press charges on Jackson that night -- and the officer advised both parties to take some time apart to cool off.

Now, the relationship has completely imploded -- and we're told both sides are weighing their legal options.

The national debate over whether NFL players should kneel for the National Anthem bled into Monday night after Donald Trump's "son of a bitch" comments ... 'cause Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys just took a knee (kinda).

Jerry and the entire Cowboys organization -- including the players -- knelt down on one knee while locking arms before the start of the National Anthem, but then stood up once the song was about to start. The Cardinals stood arm-locked the whole time.

It's interesting ... each team seems to have had different reactions to Trump's remarks from over the weekend, when he suggested owners should fire players who kneel in protest.

Looks like Jerry's down to ... well, get down.

No, Anupama ... Marcus Allen did not play for the Colorado Rockies.

Once again, the sports-themed category on "Jeopardy" was like kryptonite -- and when Alex Trebek asked the contestants to match an NFL Hall of Famer to his team, it was blank faces all around.

Props to Anupama for trying ... especially after the the group didn't even TRY to chime in when Trebek asked about "Mean" Joe Greene and Michael Irvin.

The best part? The collective sigh of relief as time ran out before the final 2 answers in the category could be read.

Cardi B -- who has the #1 song in the country -- says NFL owners need to hire Colin Kaepernick ASAP or she'll boycott NFL Sundays and start watching baseball instead ... on whatever day baseball is on.

The "Bodak Yellow" rapper told Billboard that people need to stop pressuring the NFL players to boycott because they need to make a living ... the real pressure needs to be on the owners.

"You can't really be mad at the players," Cardi said ... "These people need their jobs too. Are you gonna pay them? Be mad at these goddamned team owners."

She also trashed Trump -- referring to him as "Carrot Face."

As for Colin, he's in game shape -- at least he looked buffed up and ready to play out in NYC on Monday morning.

Metta World Peace says Donald Trump needs to ignore the NFL protests -- and refocus on stopping the violence in Chicago.

The NBA legend says Trump has forgotten the promise he made to clean up Chi-Town after labeling the violent crime situation an "epidemic" back in June.

Trump himself pointed out there were already 1,700 shootings in the Windy City in 2017 when he posted on June 30.

Trump promised to send in federal support -- but Metta says he ain't seeing the change Trump promised and he's calling on POTUS to step up and get the job done.

Ben Roethlisberger says he actually LOST SLEEP over the way the Pittsburgh Steelers handled the national anthem situation on Sunday ... and wishes he wouldn't have stayed in the tunnel.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had said before the game that the team would "not participate" in the anthem to protect the players from having to take a public stance on the issue.

All but one of the players stayed out of sight -- the exception being offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva (a retired Army Ranger) ... who stood on the field.

Now, Big Ben -- who stayed in the tunnel during the "Star Spangled Banner" -- says he regrets not joining Villanueva.

"The idea was to be unified as a team when so much attention is paid to things dividing our country, but I wish we approached it differently," Roethlisberger said.

"We did not want to appear divided on the sideline with some standing and some kneeling or sitting."

"As a team, it was not a protest of the flag or the Anthem. I personally don’t believe the Anthem is ever the time to make any type of protest."

"I appreciate the unique diversity in my team and throughout the league and completely support the call for social change and the pursuit of true equality."

"Moving forward, I hope standing for the Anthem shows solidarity as a nation, that we stand united in respect for the people on the front lines protecting our freedom and keeping us safe."

Donald Trump was defending the honor of the American flag when he called for NFL owners to fire any "son of a bitch" who doesn't stand during the national anthem ... this according to the White House press secretary.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders just fired back at reporters during a White House press briefing -- where she was asked if Trump's 'S.O.B.' comments crossed the line.

"It's always appropriate for the president of this country to promote our flag," Sanders said.

LeBron James says people who voted for Donald Trump made a mistake -- but it's okay, because even LeBron makes mistakes.

The NBA superstar spoke with reporters at Cavs media day and refused to say Trump's name -- or even call him the President. Bron repeatedly referred to him as "that guy."

James accused "that guy" of using sports to try and divide the country -- and he says he'll do everything in his power to fight back.

Then he dropped this ...

"If you voted for him or not, you may have made a mistake, and that's okay."

"If you voted for him, it's okay. I mean I've done things for my kids and realized I shouldn't have given my daughter that many damn Skittles. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. She won't go to sleep now."

Colin Kaepernick doesn't seem to be phased by President Trump calling him a "son of a bitch" -- he surfaced in NYC on Monday on his way to the gym ... and he looks ready to play.

Kaepernick smiled when asked how he felt about the scores of NFL players who took a knee on Sunday following the national anthem protest he started last year -- but the smile faded when he was asked about Trump's newest comments.

The ex-49ers quarterback was decked out in gym gear -- wearing a shirt that says "dope" -- and looked like he's put on some serious muscle mass since last season.

There were questions about his weight and if he's actually training to get back into the league. He definitely looks the part here.

Kaep was with his girlfriend, Nessa -- one of the biggest radio personalities in the country.

Wizards star Bradley Beal just went off on Donald Trump ... trashing POTUS in a big way ... and essentially teasing more protests when the NBA season starts.

Beal used the mic at Wizards media day to call Trump a "clown" and voice his displeasure with everything the President is doing ... from race issues to Puerto Rico to Twitter.

"I disagree with what he's doing. I disagree with his thoughts. Hopefully as a nation we can come together better and really see things through the perspective of the people really going through it."

The NBA season begins on Oct. 17 -- and with several prominent NBA players from LeBron to KD to Steph to Beal speaking out against Trump, it'll be interesting to see if they demonstrate against him during games.