TMZ Sports - Page 50

The head of the NFL Players Association says NFL owners only care about one thing -- money.

DeMaurice Smith -- executive director of the NFLPA -- was speaking at George Washington University when the issue of Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling demonstration came up.

Smith pointed to the fact Kaep hasn't been hired and said his unemployment shows how players and owners have completely different priorities, according to the GW Times.

"You have Colin fighting for the things he was fighting for, and to tie a loop on it, none of the owners are ever going to be involved in that," Smith said.

"They don’t care. The owners don’t care about anything but money."

Nick Diaz says the Floyd Mayweather shooting was "f*cked up" -- especially because he knows a couple of guys in Floyd's entourage who were in the van during the attack.

"That was my boy that got shot I think," Diaz said before sending a message to the guy -- "I hope you feel better, you got shot."

As we previously reported, Mayweather's longtime TMT bodyguard, Greg La Rosa, was hit in the leg when a gunman ambushed Floyd's crew in Atlanta. Greg is recovering and should be okay.

Diaz said there's really nothing Mayweather's team could have done to prevent the shooting -- explaining, "Sometimes it's just gonna go down."

"When it goes down, it goes down."

This video is pretty great!!!!

Meet Taven Bryan -- a 6' 5", 290-pound defensive tackle from Florida, who's predicted to be a 1st round draft pick! He's also super nice.

He's out in Dallas with his family and we asked how he plans to spend some of the MILLIONS he'll get from his first big contract.

"I might pay off my parents' bills," Bryan said. Sweet, right?

His dad happened to hear that answer and SHOT DOWN THOSE PLANS QUICK!

Why, you ask? You gotta watch.

But, the moral of the story ... the entire Bryan family seems to be looking out for each other and it's pretty cool.

John Cena says he's emotionally devastated after his breakup with fiancee Nikki Bella ... saying, "I love Nicole with all my heart and the split's tough."

The WWE superstar says he was expecting reporters to ask him questions about the split while promoting "Bumblebee" at CinemaCon in Vegas ... and decided he's ready to talk about it.

"It's a tough time but that's life," Cena said ... "We all go through highs and we all go through lows."

"I'm gonna get through it. I love her. I'll always love her."

"The fact that my heart hurts for her ... I know I was in love. So, I'll always have that."

Cena and Bella dated for roughly 6 years and he proposed at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

Shaquem Griffin is gonna become a millionaire overnight when he gets selected at the NFL Draft ... and his confidence is so high, he's even making a play at his dream woman ... Chanice Chase!!

You know Shaquem -- he's the 1-handed linebacker who blew away all the doubters when he crushed it at the NFL Combine.

Now, he's already locked up a sponsor (J.C. Penny), says he's excited to take on Tom Brady and REALLY wants a shot with Chase!

FYI, Chanice Chase is an Olympic sprinter from Canada who competed in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Games in Rio.

She's also MAD HOT!!!!!!

Best of luck to Shaquem in all he pursues ... and Chanice, if you're seeing this -- HIT HIM UP!!

7:09 AM PT -- Allen spoke with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith -- fessed up to the tweets and explained he was "young and dumb."

Smith says Allen insisted the "If it ain't white" line was a reference to an episode of "Modern Family" -- and was not meant to be racist.

Allen also claims at least one of the N-word tweets was a reference to a Rick Ross song.

Allen told Smith there's no excuse for the tweets and he understands posting that stuff was wrong -- but says his teammates know he's not a racist person.

Josh Allen -- one of the top QBs in the NFL Draft -- is apologizing for dropping the n-word on Twitter years ago ... saying he was "young and dumb."

The tweets surfaced Wednesday night ... one day before the draft -- and Allen had posted them to his real, authentic account back when he was in high school.

Some of the tweets ...

"i dont think you n**gas want a troubled son!" -- June 14, 2012

“N**gas Trying To Get At Me" -- February 12, 2013

"Bout to show up these N**gas at pong" -- February 26, 2012

Deontay Wilder tells TMZ Sports he's offered CRAZY money to Anthony Joshua to make their mega-fight happen, and if Joshua passes, it's proof the Englishman is a COWARD.

Joshua had previously said he'd have no problem fighting Wilder for $50 million dollars upfront ... a demand so crazy that some thought it was his way of backing out of the fight.

It might have backfired, because when we got Deontay at LAX he told our guy they put the money together, and sent over a deal to Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn.

"I just sent them what they wanted. They said they wanted 50 mil ... and he'll fight, you gotta be a man of your word."

Wilder says the fight would take place in the United States -- after all, his side is putting up all the money -- and insisted the ball is now squarely in Joshua's court to take the fight or not.

"I'm just ready to do what I got to do."

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster might be off the hook soon for felony domestic violence charges ... because his ex-girlfriend just recanted her story.

Elissa Ennis released a statement through her lawyer Wednesday, essentially taking back her accusations against Foster stemming from a February incident.

Ennis reportedly claims Foster "did not strike her, injure her or threaten her," and adds that her injuries were "the result of a physical fight with another woman, and that Foster tried to end his relationship with Ennis after he learned of the fight."

She also claims there's video of the fight that proves Foster is innocent of the charges against him. Her lawyer adds that Ennis "was extremely upset and told him if he broke up with her she would 'trash his career.'"

As we reported, Foster was charged with felony domestic violence for allegedly dragging Ennis by her hair, physically throwing her out of the house, and punching her in the head 8 to 10 times ... which hospitalized her.

Blake Griffin is adamant he does not owe his baby mama any money ... after she accused him of abandoning her and their kids for Kendall Jenner ... in courts docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... Brynn Cameron -- Blake's former fiancee and the mother of his 2 kids -- filed a lawsuit in February claiming the Pistons superstar left her only a week before their wedding.

Brynn claims that she and Blake had an agreement ... where she would take care of the kids so he could concentrate on basketball. She says Blake promised to take care of her financially.

But Cameron says Griffin bolted ... and didn't live up to his end of the bargain.

The woman who claims Gareon Conley raped her at a Cleveland hotel last year has filed a lawsuit against the Raiders player ... claiming she was mentally and physically hurt during the alleged incident.

FYI, Conley -- 22 years old -- was never arrested or charged with a crime ... and adamantly denies any wrongdoing.

In the lawsuit -- filed earlier this month in Cuyahoga County Court in Ohio -- the accuser alleges Conley "physically touched and engaged in the sexual contact" and "sexually assaulted, battered and raped" her after meeting and partying at a nearby bar.

As a result, the suit alleges the woman "sustained serious physical, psychological, emotional and mental injuries."

In addition to Conley, his management group and the hotel have also been named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Steve Scalise wishes he could be out on the baseball field with his GOP pals almost a year after he was shot at the Congressional baseball team practice -- and he also has advice for Kanye West on his future run for Prez.

We got the Republican House Majority Whip Wednesday at Reagan National Airport, and asked what he thought of Sen. Jeff Flake and other members of the GOP holding their first practice since a gunman opened fire. Scalise suffered severe internal bleeding from a gunshot to his hip.

Steve, who was walking with minor support from crutches, said he's glad Congress is keeping up the tradition and hopes to get back out there himself soon.

In regards to Kanye -- who's publicly reaffirming his love for President Trump -- Scalise sounded excited to have West's backing.

He did have one request for Kanye though ... IF the rapper's serious about getting into politics, himself. It has do with his timing, and it seems like 'Ye is fully on board with Rep. Scalise's plan.

Reggie Bush says Saquon Barkley's gonna waste no time dominating the NFL ... telling TMZ Sports the ex-Penn State star is more pro ready than he was coming out of USC.

We saw Bush -- regarded by many as the top player in the 2006 NFL Draft -- and asked who was more NFL ready heading into the draft ... him or Barkley.

"I think Saquon is more ready, prepared, going in. Just because his running style to me translates right now to the NFL," Bush -- the #2 overall pick in '06 -- tells us ... "For me, my first year in the league there was a learning curve of how to run between the tackles at the NFL level."

"There was an adjustment period for about 2 years, I would say. Before I really got comfortable running between the tackles" ... RG says.

But Saquon ... Reggie says he'll be ready to go from the jump.

Meek Mill enjoyed his first post-prison meal after the Philadelphia 76ers' big Game 5 win over the Miami Heat this week -- and it was a full VIP experience.

Sources tell TMZ that Meek celebrated with a group of 76ers -- including co-owner Michael Rubin and star player Joel Embiid -- and chowed down at Philly's high-end restaurant, Buddakan, where we're told Meek ordered the fish.

Interesting choice ... especially since sources present tell us there were lots of options -- from aged beef to peking duck and, of course, lo mein. Sounds like Meek just wanted some tuna, cod or bass ... we're not sure which dish he got ... but the fishy entrees all run from $29 to $37.

As we've reported ... Meek probably hasn't eaten this well since at least November, when his institution served him and the other inmates a proper Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, mashed potatoes and the like.

The great Lithuania experiment is over ... because LaVar Ball is pulling his 2 sons off BC Vytautas after just 3 months.

LaVar told Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas he's bringing both LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball back to Los Angeles.

The move comes after Vyautas announced the Ball bros would not be playing in Wednesday's game.

LiAngelo is currently nursing an ankle injury. LaMelo has been dealing with a back issue.

According to Urbonas, LaVar said his beef is with the coach ... and not Lithuania, the Lithuanian people, or the organization.

"We're not going to waste our time no more," Ball reportedly said ... "Coach ruined everything and he’ll have to pay the price that Melo is not coming back.”

LiAngelo has already declared for the NBA Draft -- but what happens if he doesn't get selected? He could always join LaVar's new semi-pro league.

And what about LaMelo? He could join, too.

Seems Robert Kraft's bromance with Donald Trump is over ... because the Patriots owner reportedly slammed the President during an October meeting with NFL owners, players and league execs.

It all went down at NFL headquarters ... where NFL commish Roger Goodell called the group together to discuss how to handle the fallout from Colin Kaepernick's kneeling demonstration.

After Eagles defensive end Chris Long told the owners Kaep "should be on a roster," Kraft stood up to address the "elephant in the room ... this kneeling."

"The problem we have is, we have a president who will use that as fodder to do his mission that I don’t feel is in the best interests of America," Kraft said according to the NY Times.

"It’s divisive and it’s horrible.”

Surprising words considering Kraft and Trump have been close pals for years.

Dressed up in a suit and tie, ex-NFL player Jonathan Martin appeared in an L.A. courtroom Wednesday to face the judge in his weapons case ... where he allegedly threatened to shoot multiple people.

Martin had been charged with 4 counts of making criminal threats and 1 count of possessing a loaded firearm after posting a cryptic message aimed at former NFL teammates and high school classmates.

The message showed a picture of a gun and bullets and said, "When you're a bully victim & a coward your options are suicide, or revenge."

Cops tracked down Martin hours after the post -- who was allegedly carrying a loaded gun, knife and ax -- and took him into custody. He was then placed into a mental health facility for evaluation.

A judge had previously approved Martin to leave the facility -- but ordered him to wear a GPS device and alcohol monitoring anklet.