TMZ Sports - Page 50

Aaron Hernandez was gay -- according to several people close to him ... and his private struggle with his sexuality caused him great emotional pain that may have turned him violent.

It's all part of the Oxygen documentary, "Aaron Hernandez Uncovered" -- which features interviews with Aaron's close friends, ex-girlfriends and members of his legal team.

Aaron's college girlfriend, Alyssa Anderson, says she first learned Aaron had a relationship with a man while they were attending the University of Florida ... but he denied it at the time. It was only years later that Hernandez cryptically acknowledged her suspicions were true.

George Leontire -- an openly gay member of Hernandez's defense team -- says he spoke with Hernandez at length about his sexuality and Aaron opened up like never before.

"This man clearly was gay," Leontire said ... "[He] acknowledged it. Acknowledged the immense pain that it caused him."

Leontire added, "I think that he also came out of a culture that was so negative about gay people that he exhibited some self-hatred."

Hernandez never spoke publicly about being gay. He was engaged to a woman, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, and they had a daughter together.

Aaron was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013 -- and there are some law enforcement officials who believe Hernandez executed Lloyd because he knew about Hernandez's sexuality.

Hernandez ultimately killed himself in his prison cell in 2017.

LaDainian Tomlinson says Saquon Barkley is basically L.T. 2.0 -- but tells TMZ Sports that ain't enough for him to go #1 in the NFL draft.

We asked LaDainian about all the Saquon comparisons people have been making when we got the Chargers legend at LAX ... and he couldn't agree more.

"He’s a little bit bigger than I am -- but they’re awesome comparisons," L.T. said.

"The lateral movement, quickness, the power, he can catch the ball ... all that stuff."

But even with all that talent, L.T. told us there's a good reason the Browns won't take him with the first overall pick ... and he says that's GREAT news for the Giants at #2.

Ted Cruz says it's awesome his hometown Astros (mostly) said what's up to Trump at the White House ... and he's got faith the Rockets will, too.

We got the Texas Senator after he took in Monday's World Series ceremony in D.C. -- and you can tell he was still PUMPED off his 'Stros winning their first title.

"To win it in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, when so many Houstonians, so many Texans, were hurting -- it just meant an enormous amount," Cruz told TMZ Sports.

It was all pretty touching stuff from Ted ... that is 'til the conversation turned to the defending champion, Warriors -- who staunchly rejected their Oval Office visit.

"I think it is unfortunate that we've seen that happen ... I'm hoping that this is the first of at least two Houston trips to the White House this year."

Guessing he hasn't seen James Harden's hat ...

Canelo Alvarez's meat problems could be over -- a San Diego butcher shop is vowing to provide free, CLEAN meat to the middleweight champ for the rest of his training camp.

Alvarez recently tested positive for traces of Clenbuterol -- a banned performance-enhancing drug -- and he blamed the whole thing on tainted Mexican beef.

Canelo says he immediately moved his training camp from Mexico to the U.S. -- and he's already got a butcher shop near his training base in S.D. down to hook him up with roid-free beef.

"This really seems like a case where contaminated, factory farmed meats almost cost someone a monumental event in their life," Heart & Trotter owner, Trey Nichols, tells TMZ Sports.

"We are happy to offer clean, locally raised and sustainably-sourced meats that will not only be free of chemicals, hormones and antibiotics, but will help Canelo Alvarez reach his peak performance during training."

Nichols says the butcher shop has previously supplied clean meat to the Lakers and Chargers ... so teaming up with Canelo to preserve the May 5 showdown with GGG is a no-brainer.

Mackenzie Dern is clappin' back at her next opponent for saying she's gonna "derail her hype train" ... saying Amanda Cooper doesn't stand a chance when they scrap at UFC 224.

"That's good, I hope she tries to do that!" Mackenzie told TMZ Sports. "It's gonna keep going -- choo choo!"

Mackenzie took some serious damage in her Octagon debut earlier this month (check out her lower lip!) ... but is such a badass, she immediately requested her next matchup.

Dana White granted her wish ... and now Dern's taking on fellow rising star Amanda Cooper in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- her home away from home.

Mackenzie, the former #1 female Brazilian jiu-jitsu player in the world, knows Amanda's gonna be a tough out ... but told us it's GAME OVER for Cooper now that she's got a whole country in her corner!

Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer is letting the world know he's been CHEATED by father time, saying the HUGE money that the football coaches are making now should've been his ... and he's got PROOF.

Switzer was on Capitol Hill wheelin' and dealin' with the Washington types (on behalf of search and rescue dogs) when we asked him about the insane salaries some NFL players are making.

That's not what Barry wanted to talk about, though -- 'cause he let loose on what the guys in the headsets are making ... and how he feels like he got the short end of the money stick.

"What about the coaches?! The salaries these damn coaches are getting! I got paid $24k a year, went 32-1-1, won 2 national championships, 2 undefeated seasons back-to-back ... I didn't even get a bonus! We were on probation (at Oklahoma)."

Just for some comparison, Jimbo Fisher, who has 1 national title, just signed a 10-year $75 MILLION contract to bolt Florida State and head to Texas A&M.

An ex-college football standout -- once considered one of the best junior college running backs in the country -- has been convicted of rape ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According the the L.A. County District Attorney's office, 22-year-old Kishawn Holmes is facing up to 18 years behind bars for raping a fellow Cerritos College student back in 2016.

Officials say the victim was a 19-year-old female. We're told she was performing an athletic massage on Holmes before things turned violent.

Along with the prison time, Holmes is facing lifetime sex offender registration.

FYI -- Holmes was fresh off a 1,100-yard rushing season and reportedly had 7 Division 1 scholarship offers prior to the incident.

This was Holmes' SECOND rape case -- as a minor, he pled guilty to rape after he was accused of sexually assaulting 2 different underage girls in 2013.

CM Punk has been in the gym -- THREE TIMES A DAY -- training his ass off since his unsuccessful UFC debut ... and now Tyron Woodley says he's CONVINCED Punk can win in his return.

"I just talked with him yesterday," Woodley said on "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... "He's putting in more work than some of these guys who claim they wanna be at the top."

Woodley -- the reigning UFC welterweight champ -- says he's been in the gym with Punk and is incredibly impressed with his training regimen.

In fact, once UFC selects an opponent for Punk, Woodley says he'll help the ex-WWE superstar break down tape to prepare for UFC 225 in June.

There's more ... Woodley also reacts to Floyd Mayweather's MMA self-ranking -- and tells us how he plans to get Floyd ready to destroy Conor McGregor whenever they finally get in the octagon.

The guy who played legendary movie golfer Shooter McGavin is PUMPED on the return of vintage Tiger Woods ... and says it's only a matter of time before he locks down his first Major in a decade!

We got "Happy Gilmore" villain Christopher McDonald leaving Craig's in L.A. ... and you can tell he's been keeping a close eye on Tiger's comeback tour -- including his near victory at the Valspar Championship.

"I am so happy for my man Tiger doin' it like he does," McDonald told TMZ Sports.

"It was so close, he could've won that last one. It was amazing."

As for Tiger having the juice to win one of the PGA's Major tourneys ... "HELL YES."

Still got it, Shooter. Still got it.

Colin Kaepernick sure seemed to be in a good mood in Houston on Friday -- after personally attending the deposition of Texans owner Bob McNair in his collusion case against the NFL.

TMZ Sports obtained a photo of Kaep after the depo with his attorney, Ben Meiselas -- with some extra pep in their step.

As we previously reported, Kaepernick had filed a grievance against the league claiming owners and other high-ranking NFL officials were in cahoots to blackball Colin after his national anthem demonstration.

Kaepernick had arrived in Houston earlier this week -- and even knocked out a QB workout with his trainer.

As far as the case goes ... McNair isn't the only big name on the witness list -- Kaep's legal team from Geragos & Geragos also subpoenaed Seahawks owner Paul Allen and coach Pete Carroll along with Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft.

The Ryan Shazier comeback is underway ... with the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker killin' it in the gym just 3 months after suffering a serious back injury.

Remember, Shazier required MAJOR spinal stabilization surgery back in December after suffering a severe spinal injury while playing the Bengals during Monday Night Football.

Shazier couldn't feel his legs at first -- and there was a real possibility he could've been paralyzed from the waist down.

But, Shazier vowed to defy the odds and not only walk again -- but get back to the NFL!!!

He started physical therapy last month and he's already standing on his own.

The upper body gym session on Friday is also a damn good sign.

O.J. Simpson says he agrees with Donald Trump -- Colin Kaepernick "made a mistake" taking a knee during the national anthem ... and completely disrespected the American flag.

"I think Colin made a mistake," Simpson told The Buffalo News ... "I really appreciate what he was trying to say. I thought he made a bad choice in attacking the flag."

"I grew up at a time when deacons were in the KKK. I don't disrespect the Bible because of those guys. The flag shouldn't be disrespected because of what cops do. The flag represents what we want America to be."

"When he did it the first time I thought, 'Well, you took a gamble, and I give you credit.' But it was him continuing to do it where he made the biggest mistake."

"I'm a firm believer of doing what you think is right, but I would always stand for the flag."

As far as his relationship with Trump, O.J. says he was friends with Donald back in the day and even went to Trump's 1993 wedding to Marla Maples.

But Simpson says he doesn't see eye-to-eye with Trump when it comes to politics.

O.J. Simpson insists his 'If I Did It' TV special was NOT a confession to murder -- and says the people on the show were all "a bunch of haters."

Simpson gave his first sit-down interview since leaving prison to the Buffalo News -- and gave his own take on "O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?"

"When people want to make money or get ratings, they're going to pimp me. I'm going to get pimped."

Simpson says his friends had been teasing him about the show and whether or not it was a REAL confession.

"Listen, if I confessed 12 years ago, you would have heard about it 12 years ago!"

When asked if he's watched the FOX special, Simpson replied -- "I watch nothing of me."

"I didn't watch the [FOX special] because I knew they were all haters, and people will say things that are just not true, and there's nobody there to challenge them, and that would piss me off."

Golf legend Fred Couples says the old, dominant Tiger Woods is here to stay -- and he thinks it's FREAKIN' AWESOME.

"Oh, Tiger's back ... I love it," 58-year-old Fred told TMZ Sports at LAX. "I have a great opinion on Tiger."

You'd think Couples would be a little threatened by his resurgence ... but Fred's so happy to see vintage Tiger crushing the green, all he could do was gush about him.

Of course, we had to ask Couples the question on everyone's mind -- can Tiger end his Majors drought and collect his 5th green jacket?!

Stan Lee needed a real-life superhero to find and return his lost dog. Enter the immortal football legend, Jim Brown, who proved not all heroes wear capes.

Sources close to Stan tell TMZ ... the comic book legend's Mini Pomeranian, Charlotte, went missing last week, though it's unclear how she got loose. In any case, Stan's peeps canvassed the Hollywood Hills neighborhood where he lives and his business partner Keya Morgan posted "Lost Dog" flyers everywhere.

A few days passed, but the posters garnered zero leads ... leaving Stan resigned to the idea Charlotte was gone for good. But, not so fast.

We're told the NFL Hall of Famer and his wife, Monique -- who live about a mile away from Stan -- found Charlotte in their yard ... scared with no collar. The couple sprung into action ... first firing off an email to a bunch of their neighbors, but that fetched no clues.

The Browns were undeterred, and brought Charlotte to a vet, who found a microchip planted near her neck, but, again, no luck there either because the chip wasn't registered.

The Browns then went old school and canvassed several neighborhoods and BAM ... they saw the posters, called the number and just like that, Charlotte was reunited with Stan.

No word on whether Jim gets a reward!

WWE superstar Lana wasn't satisfied with your average Thursday night out ... so, she hopped on stage at an iconic L.A. gay bar and put on a POLE DANCING CLINIC.

And yes, there was plenty of twerking.

The Ravishing Russian hit The Abbey in West Hollywood yesterday ... and showed off all her best moves in a pair of extra-stretchy denims -- shakin' her hips and droppin' it low like her life depended on it!!

No sign of her pro wrestler husband, Rusev ... guessing this was Ladies Night based on all the screaming chicks in the front row.

Fun fact: Lana was actually a backup dancer for huge stars like Nelly, Usher and Jason Derulo before she crossed over to the WWE.

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