TMZ Sports - Page 50

Dikembe Mutombo says LeBron James shouldn't "shut up and dribble" -- he should continue to take a stand to defeat social injustice ... and he's not the only one, we all should.

Mutombo is reacting to the recent comments by FOX News host Laura Ingraham -- who said she doesn't care to get political advice from "someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball."

The comments sparked a nationwide debate on whether athletes should use their platforms to speak on these issues -- and Mutombo says the answer is a resounding YES.

"I think everyone in the U.S. has rights to express themselves. When there's a problem affecting one part of the society, it becomes the responsibility of everybody."

We then asked if LeBron should continue to weigh in on polical topics -- and Dikembe told us it should be a team effort.

Vince McMahon's former real-life nemesis, Jeff Jarrett, is going into the WWE Hall of Fame ... and no one's as shocked about the news as Double J himself.

TMZ Sports spoke with Jeff just hours after WWE made the announcement -- and even though he got the call several weeks ago, the pro wrestling legend still can't believe it's happening.

"It's still surreal to me -- it really is," Jarrett said. "I'm getting goosebumps just sitting here talking to you."

The 11-time world champion was a huge star with WWF and WCW ... but had a rocky relationship with Vince -- culminating in him being fired ON LIVE TV after McMahon bought out WCW in 2001.

But even though the next decade-and-a-half outside WWE was filled with ups and downs, Jarrett told us -- "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Jeff adds that he's got nothing but love for the McMahons now ... and he's incredibly grateful and humbled to join Goldberg and others in this year's HOF class.

"There's no denying the fact I have given my professional and, at times, my personal life to this business. So, I wanna thank them and have already thanked them for giving me this opportunity."

FYI, the induction's going down at WrestleMania 34 in April ... where one of Jarrett's biggest stars for TNA Wrestling -- an org. he created to rival WWE -- is one of the headliners.

Ronda Rousey's set to debut at Mania, too ... and Double J is expecting BIG things from her.

Jamie Foxx made a super timely joke about Black History Month and white chicks ... which we're sure Katie Holmes is gonna love.

Jamie threw a super baller NBA All-Star basketball tournament "Chacha The Wave" Saturday at his house in Thousand Oaks, CA -- and stopped to talk to a photog about BHM and "Black Panther." That's when he declared, "No white girls 'til March 1st."

Great line from the comedian, especially considering what had happened the day before ... when he walked out of a live ESPN interview because they brought up Katie.

Maybe he was just respecting the white girls' ban.

JK. We all know he and Katie are waist deep into their relationship -- have been for years -- so, we're guessing, he's only making the joke because they're that tight.

Odell Beckham Jr. came out FIRING on his NBA bros from courtside at the All-Star game -- from James Harden to Russell Westbrook to Victor Oladipo -- and it was pretty damn hilarious.

To Dipo: "Little Foot! I seen you on 'Land Before Time' before!"

To Russ: "You like a human turtle man -- Donatello."

To Harden: "Beard man -- yeah, you ... is that thing attached to you or is it real?

To Team Steph (when they threw away the game): "YEEEEESSSSS!!!"

Odell also might've poked fun at Kyrie Irving's infamous flat-earth theory ... enlisting the help of Dave Chappelle to joke about the moon not being real.

But his best burn might've been on "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman (yeah, celebs weren't safe either).

Fergie has finally broken her silence on last night's botched NBA All-Star Game's National Anthem ... saying she was trying to take a risk, and it clearly didn't pay off.

The singer tells us, "I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best."

Fergie took a lot of heat after her slowed-down/jazzy take on "The Star-Spangled Banner" Sunday night ... and it appeared she had a lot of celebs and athletes in attendance cracking up, too.

At least one person had her back though ...

It seemed like a joke, but Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy tells TMZ Sports the organization REALLY did fire Michael Rapaport this weekend after he insulted the company's fans.

It all started when Rap posted a tweet saying "Stoolies" are losers in life. Portnoy says he and the rest of the staff took offense ... "That was the ultimate deal-breaker."

Portnoy says Rapaport was under contract with Barstool -- as part of the deal, he would create original content like viral videos and Barstool would "rep" Michael's popular podcast, "I Am Rapaport."

It seemed the two sides had a great business relationship -- but Portnoy says it turned into an "utter and complete train wreck."

Portnoy tried to fire Rapaport over text message -- but accidentally sent it to NFL insider Ian Rapaport instead. Eventually, Michael got the message.

"To me, it was very personal. It was very real," Portnoy says.

Here's UFC killer Cat Zingano SLAYING a black spaghetti string bikini -- proving she's coming back to the cage jacked and ready to rock at UFC 222.

"Strong. Motivated. Focused. Mean. Ready," Zingano captioned the photo ... a selfie with inspirational messages scribbled across her mirror.

But this ain't just any mirror selfie -- it speaks volumes for Cat, a single mom who lost her husband to suicide in 2014. Since then, she's struggled with staying in shape and finding the motivation to fight.

Now, after nearly 20 months off, it's pretty clear she's ready to get after it again.

It's official, Johnny Manziel is back ... we at TMZ Sports have some of the first footage of Mr. Football braving the elements to complete a pass, and it was a strike.

To a TMZ camera guy.

Johnny was leaving Craig's when we decided all the talk was OVER, and asked Johnny if he'd be willing to put his arm on display right on the streets of L.A.

He did ... tossing a strike to our guy, (who's not exactly Josh Gordon) while wearing a jacket and a hoodie.

Captain LeBron won MVP at the All-Star game ... but his offspring were the ones rockin' garments fit for a King.

LeBron snapped a pic with his 3 kids after downing Team Steph -- and they were all fitted in super expensive gear from Gucci, one of his favorite designer brands.

The lineup ...

13-year-old Bronny: $1,100 Gucci logo sweater

10-year-old Bryce: $1,390 Gucci teddy bear sweater

3-year-old: Zhuri: $410 Gucci princetown slipper-shoes and $365 Gucci tiger hoodie

That's right -- a toddler was wearing more expensive clothes than you yesterday.

FYI, papa James' footwear of choice was his brand new Chapter 2 Kith x Nike LeBron 15 "Long Live the King" joints -- which retail for $285.

Ex-NFL star Dana Stubblefield spent nearly a month in jail in connection to his rape case -- but he was released this weekend on a $500,000 bond ... TMZ Sports has learned.

47-year-old Stubblefield was first arrested back in May 2016 for allegedly raping a mentally disabled woman. He was hit with 5 felonies. Bail was initially set at $250k. He immediately posted it and was released.

But in January 2018, prosecutors uncovered evidence they believe proves Stubblefield used a gun to commit the alleged rape. Bail was revoked and he was remanded back into custody on Jan. 19.

He spent the next several weeks locked up in Santa Clara County Jail.

But now, Stubblefield's attorney Ken Rosenfeld has produced evidence he believes proves the accuser lied about her past -- which prompted the judge to reevaluate Stubblefield's bail.

The judge ultimately reinstated bail -- this time at $500,000 -- which Stubblefield posted over the weekend. He was released from custody Sunday morning.

One of the terms of his release ... we're told Stubblefield is required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

Stubblefield has previously denied the allegations -- and has vowed to prove his innocence.

Beyonce showed Blue Ivy how it's done in the selfie department during the NBA All-Star Game, but to be honest doesn't look like the kid needs any advice.

Mother and daughter sat courtside Sunday evening at Staples Center along with grandma Tina Knowles, and her hubby, Richard Lawson. Looks like Jay-Z stayed home with the twins.

Even without Jay, there was no shortage of celebs -- like Dave Chappelle, Common, Cardi B, Jack Nicholson and many more ... packed the arena.

As for Blue, who's only 6, it's not her first rodeo. The kid had front row seats to last year's All-Star Game in New Orleans. Stole the show there, too.

Moment of honesty from Floyd Mayweather?

The leader of The Money Team was leaving the NBA All-Star Game in L.A. surrounded by TMT crew when we asked about Conor McGregor's new statement ... that Floyd has ended MMA fight negotiations.

Floyd told us straight-up, "I don't know" -- weird considering he's been on a P.R. offensive to drive up interest in a potential Conor vs. Floyd UFC fight. Remember the MMA cage videos he's made?

Plus, Floyd's father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., recently said he believes Floyd will take an MMA fight.

Jeremy Lin is going to bat for J.J. Redick after he was caught on video using a Chinese slur ... saying he's 100% convinced J.J. didn't say mean to use the anti-Asian C-word in a hateful way.

Redick dropped the slur in a commercial for NBA China that was released over the weekend -- clearly saying, "I wish all of the NBA ch**k fans of China a very happy Chinese New Year."

The whole thing was puzzling -- leaving many wondering why the hell J.J. would use that word in that context.

But Jeremy -- the NBA's first full Chinese/Taiwanese-American player -- says he spoke at length with J.J. over the phone, and "I truly believe he didn’t say a racial slur and that he has a great deal of respect towards Chinese people."

Lin acknowledges the word should NEVER be used, but says all the "hateful language" J.J.'s getting from fans needs to stop since it was an accident.

Redick released a lengthy apology on social media Sunday night, saying -- "I ask your forgiveness ... I am so sorry for upsetting anyone."

"I was intending to say 'NBA Chinese fans' but it sounded weird in my mind so I changed it mid-sentence to 'NBA fans in China.' It came out the wrong way."

"That is not a word in my vocabulary but I now understand how it sounds on the video."

It ain't ALL hate for Fergie after that bizarre national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game -- with Mariah Carey dishing out some advice on how to deal with the negativity.

A glammed up Mariah was leaving Sweet Chick on Fairfax Sunday evening -- when she gave Fergie one very simple tip.

By the way, Mariah has some experience in this department ... the haters came out in force for her New Year's Eve performance a while back -- but it didn't seem to faze her.

Aside from Mariah, Takeoff from Migos and NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns also had Fergie's back.

Not everyone has been so supportive ... "Saturday Night Live" star Leslie Jones hated it -- and judging by Draymond Green's face, he wasn't a fan either.

Still haven't heard from Fergie yet -- but we'd LOVE to hear her thoughts on it.

Stay tuned ...

Lamar Odom's battle with drugs, alcohol and depression almost cost him everything -- so he's telling Johnny Manziel the #1 thing he's gotta do to avoid the same traps.

"Put higher power first," Odom told TMZ Sports, "Whoever his God may be."

Lamar, of course, was in a coma for days after OD'ing at a brothel in Nevada ... but he continues to party hard despite his brush with death.

Johnny, meanwhile, says he's got his life back on track ... after years of hitting the bottle while he struggled with bipolar disorder.

Lamar doesn't want him to go through that pain again -- telling us he's a big-time Johnny Football fan ... and that he truly believes JM can make an NFL comeback.

ESPN star Jemele Hill says the way Jamie Foxx shut down a live "SportsCenter" interview over a Katie Holmes question was bizarre ... since EVERYBODY knows they're dating!

Hill's good friend and former "The Six" co-host Michael Smith was the one asking the Katie Holmes question Friday when Foxx stopped the interview and walked off.

Hill says she and Smith both respect Foxx a lot -- but in this particular instance, "I thought he unnecessarily made Mike look bad."

"I thought it was kind of bizarre why he acted that way ... like I thought [Jamie's relationship with Katie] was pretty public and that everybody knew, but apparently everybody doesn't know."

Hill has a point -- Jamie and Holmes were sitting together last month at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party -- a VERY high profile event. So, it's not like people don't know.