TMZ Sports - Page 50

In case you were wondering, Odell Beckham Jr. is STILL dancing ... and this time he's using the art of movement to send a message to all of his haters to LEAVE HIM THE HELL ALONE.

Beckham has been going through it lately ... there's a multi-million dollar lawsuit that's been filed against him, a video that ALLEGEDLY shows him doing some bad stuff, plus all those pesky NY Giants trade rumors.

OBJ's seemingly addressing the controversy with the dance ... popping up on NFL player Shane Wynn's IG story dancing to one of hottest songs in hip-hop -- Flipp Dinero's "Leave Me Alone."

As always, his moves are A1, and the song is a banger ... but will anyone listen?

DMX needs rehab for substance abuse, not a long prison sentence in his tax evasion case, 'cause he's a sick person who's hit rock bottom ... so says former NBA star Jayson Williams.

TMZ broke the story ... DMX -- who's facing 5 years behind bars for failing to pay millions in taxes -- asked a federal judge to allow him to participate in a rehab program Williams operates ... instead of doing hard time.

FYI -- Rebound Institute is a faith-based addiction and wellness program located in Palm Beach County, FL.

We talked to the ex-hooper, who told us he contacted the rapper's people and "put together a plan where he's gonna come down here and work real hard and get himself together."

Williams says X failing to pony up to Uncle Sam was a product of substance abuse.

"He wasn't evading taxes on purpose. When you're in a self destruct mode," JW tells us, "You're not going, 'I'm gonna pay my taxes tomorrow.' You're going, 'Hey man, I'm not even going to live. My self-esteem is low. I gotta take myself outta here.'"

"That's where we're at right now. We're dealing with a sick individual."

Williams says the rapper has committed to attending his program. So, the only obstacle is the court and prosecutor signing off on the plan.

"You can always come back and put him in jail if he doesn't do the right thing."

Victor Cruz says the NFL is done screwing over wide receivers with its old catch rule ... telling TMZ Sports the league finally got it right with its recent changes.

FYI -- owners unanimously approved a new, much simpler 3-step catch rule on Tuesday to determine whether a player has possession of the ball before hitting the ground or going out of bounds.

In other words, guys like Dez Bryant and Jesse James -- who've recently had huge catches called back because of the old rule -- are gonna be VERY happy.

Cruz says as much as the rule change helps, it's still not gonna help receivers actually CATCH the ball ... but says he's confident the league is doing what's best for the players.

LiAngelo Ball's NBA career has it's first big-time supporter -- future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, who says he thinks LiAngelo has "a good shot" to get drafted into the league.

Ball's agent just announced his intention to declare for this year's draft, and the questions began immediately ... would 1 year of playing ball in Lithuania be enough for 'Gelo to get his name called?

We got Pierce out in Calabasas and tossed the question at him, and he's saying there's MORE than a chance.

"I think he got a good shot man, you know. I hope all the Ball brothers make it to the league," Pierce told TMZ Sports.

Gelo's shot is probably a little better now, since he dropped 72 FREAKIN' POINTS on the day he announced he was declaring ... even though it was against a Chinese Basketball Association youth squad.

Spurs legend Sean Elliott is shutting down the reports on Kawhi Leonard wanting out of San Antonio -- saying Gregg Popovich and his franchise player being at odds is straight nonsense.

FYI, Kawhi's been out for months with a mysterious injury ... and there's allegedly been serious locker-room drama over whether or not Leonard should be suiting up.

But, when we got Elliott in D.C., he told us why that's all just noise.

"The organization's been great to him. He has a great relationship with Pop," Sean told TMZ Sports.

"I think he's really happy in San Antonio."

Venus Williams' cell phone records from the fatal car accident remain under wraps, because AT&T won't give up the goods ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Attorneys for Jerome Barson's estate are trying to put the heat on Venus' cell phone carrier, because according to docs, they first subpoenaed AT&T back in January ... but have yet to get any action.

Barson died from his injuries after his sedan smashed into Venus' SUV last June in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Cops cleared Venus criminally, saying she was "caught in the middle" of the intersection, but the Barsons' attorney, Gary Iscoe, wants to make sure she wasn't on her phone and distracted at the time.

As we first reported, there's surveillance video of Venus approaching the intersection -- just seconds before the accident -- but it's unclear if she's on the phone.

Another guy allegedly connected to Gronk's home burglary has turned himself in and is behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... Gronkowski's house was burglarized on February 5 while he was in Minnesota for the Super Bowl.

Law enforcement tells us 28-year-old Eric Tyrrell turned himself in to Foxborough Police Tuesday afternoon ... after being sought for two counts of receiving stolen property. He's being held on $10,000 cash bail.

Another man, Anthony Almeida, 31, was arrested last Friday for B&E Nighttime, two counts of Receiving Stolen Property, and Malicious Destruction of Property.

Police say they recovered an Apple Watch, a Rolex, and 2 rare coins. They are still looking for multiple firearms that were taken.

LiAngelo Ball just backed up his NBA draft decision in a BIG way -- scoring a season-high 72 POINTS in a Big Baller Brand Challenge game in Lithuania!!

LiAngelo's lifetime performance vs. one of the Guangdong Southern Tigers' youth teams came just hours after his agent, Harrison Gaines, announced they filed the paperwork to make the middle Ball bro eligible for the 2018 draft.

This is probably all part of Coach LaVar's master plan -- having all the BC Vytautas players endlessly feed Gelo the rock on the heels of the big news.

A man who claims he witnessed Albert Belle piss in the middle of a parking lot says the former All Star NEVER shook his junk at anyone.

As we previously reported, the ex-Indians slugger was arrested for indecent exposure and DUI on Saturday after a woman told police Belle shook his genitals at her family -- including her 15-year-old daughter -- while urinating in the Phoenix Rising Soccer Club Stadium parking lot.

TMZ Sports spoke with Ron Swindells ... who says he was 15 feet away from Belle when he relieved himself and didn't see anything remotely close to that happen at any point.

Swindells tells us the woman making the claims was upset with the way he downplayed the situation ... yelling "are you effing kidding me?!" and Belle responded "Don't look, then. You gotta go, you gotta go."

We've obtained a picture of the alleged act ... showing the 51-year-old with his pants halfway down his legs, appearing to relieve himself while covering his body with the door of his car.

Swindells says Belle remained in that position while peeing and only turned his head to address the woman ... and is willing to speak to investigators about the incident.

Virginia Tech's women's lacrosse team not only loudly, and proudly, sang the n-word on the team bus -- but they POSTED video of themselves singing the lyric from Lil Dicky's "Freaky Friday."

The women -- who were all white -- were in a celebratory mood Saturday night after a victory, and decided to belt out Dicky's hit, which features Chris Brown. For what it's worth, Chris is the one who sings the n-word in the song, NOT Dicky.

The coach apologized for the team and said the women sang the lyric without malice. He called it a "teachable moment" ... and up until now, the school hasn't said whether the players will be disciplined.

The funny (not necessarily "ha ha") part is the whole point of the song is Lil Dicky suggesting he could ONLY say the word, IF he were Chris Brown.

Apparently, the Lady Hokies all woke up feeling Breezy.

Ronda Rousey says Floyd Mayweather taking an MMA fight is NEVER gonna happen ... 'cause he'd get his ass handed to him inside the Octagon!

Ronda straight laughed off Floyd's apparent interest in fighting for the UFC on "Golic and Wingo" Tuesday ... telling them why she thinks it's "all talk."

"That'll never happen ... I don’t think he’d do well in MMA at all,” Rousey said.

The topic was brought up 'cause of her transition to WWE, as well as Conor McGregor's temporary move to boxing.

Ronda clearly doesn't think all career switches are created equal ... and/or still doesn't think highly of Mayweather, even though he tried to squash their beef last year.

Antonio Brown and Josh Norman are droppin' sweat in South Beach with Miami's version of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman ... smashing beach drills while their trainer unleashes hell -- and it's awesome!!

Seems like AB and Josh are goin' 100 -- and you would be too with this dude barking orders at ya ... not to mention smoking elite athletes on the sand.

At one point, he hits Antonio with a speech that's equal parts motivating and demoralizing ... before making the Steelers star pray for divine intervention at the Super Bowl.

12:15 PM PT -- Boykin released the following statement:

"I understand the Seahawks decision to release me. The story that was reported casts a bad light on the organization and on me.

I want to be clear that the story is false. The police have taken statements from the accuser, another witness and me. All of these statements confirm that I was not involved in the physical altercation.

This woman has lied about me and it has cost me my job. I know guilt by association is real. This person has fabricated a story and I am suffering the consequences.

I will let the legal system run its course and I know I will be vindicated."

10:23 AM PT -- The Seahawks just announced they've cut Trevone Boykin.

Trevone Boykin is being investigated by police for allegedly breaking his girlfriend's jaw ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Cops in Mansfield, Texas tell us they are investigating Boykin, 24, for allegedly severely injuring his longtime girlfriend, Shabrika Bailey, during a physical altercation last week.

The Seahawks QB and Bailey have dated for years.

Bailey talked to WFAA in Texas ... telling them her and Boykin were arguing over a text message when he started to choke her. She says she lost consciousness ... before waking up in a pool of her blood.

She says Boykin eventually took her to a hospital ... but fled the scene when the hospital staff questioned her about the injuries.

Law enforcement sources tell us they expect Boykin to be charged with aggravated assault -- a felony. however, there is not currently a warrant out for his arrest.

This isn't Boykin's first time in trouble with the law ... he was charged with assault after getting in a bar fight in 2015 -- 2 days before he was supposed to play in the Alamo Bowl.

He ended up getting a year probation in that case.

Warren Sapp says the battery lawsuit filed against him is a "sham" ... and he's asking a judge to throw out the suit, and slap the woman with a cash penalty.

We broke the story ... Sapp was sued in Florida by Paula Trickey, a woman who accused the HOF'er of drunkenly running her over at a Super Bowl party in 2015 ... severely injuring her.

Sapp -- who's long denied being the one who hurt Trickey -- has formally responded to the accusations ... claiming the DT wasn't even at the party where the woman was hurt.

Sapp's lawyer, Michael Christine, asked the court to declare the suit a "sham" -- essentially a case that is clearly false, and without merit -- and throw it out.

Gisele Bundchen says Tom Brady will decide when Tom Brady hangs it up, not her ... disputing past reports that she's begging him to call it quits.

Brady's supermodel wife spoke candidly about her relationship with Tom in a recent interview -- telling the Wall Street Journal she would NEVER force retirement on her man ... knowing he'd resent her for it.

“It’s not my decision to make. It’s his decision, and he knows it. It wouldn’t be fair any other way," Gisele said.

Gisele says all she wants is for Brady to be happy ... though she admits she is concerned over the lasting impact of the concussions he's suffered in his career.

Imagine having a fantasy baseball draft party with all your bros ... and then the pizza delivery guy turns out to be a World Series champ!!

That's exactly what happened when Chicago Cubs superstar Kris Bryant surprised 3 different groups of guys the other day, going undercover as the owner and operator of Kristio's Pizza & Wings!!

FYI -- this is the 3rd year Kris has teamed up with Red Bull to prank unsuspecting fans. This time around, Kris talked himself up as each group held their draft, waiting for his name to be called.