TMZ Sports - Page 50

Drew Brees' recent commercial has left lightning strike victims enraged ... with a major organization ripping the NFL superstar's "inappropriate" and "disgusting" stunt.

The New Orleans legend went viral on Friday after he faked getting struck by lightning as part of a promotion with PointsBet USA ... duping some people into believing he was actually injured -- if not worse.

Lightning Strike and Electric Shock Survivors International -- an organization that has members in 13 countries that helps those impacted by similar accidents -- got wind of Brees' commercial ... and they tell TMZ Sports they're not happy.

"The recent Drew Brees lightning commercial is an inappropriate, disgusting method of promoting gambling or any TV commercial campaign," a statement from LSESSI says.

"This is a deadly injury, and it is disappointing to see the continual ridicule of lightning and electrical injury survivors in comical light in which it is presented for commercial gain and profit."

The org. says it did not find any humor in the ad ... considering many survivors are forever impacted after an accident, and it affects their loved ones as well.

"To poke fun at these folks and make this injury trivial is unacceptable, and what example does it set for our children to learn?"

There's more -- "As a survivor, this is very disturbing, the thoughtlessness on the part of the participants who are trying to profit from tragedy is remarkable. Much progress through hard work and education has been made over the last twenty years to lower the lightning/electrical deaths and risk of injury through education and informed knowledge of the dangers."

The org. believes Brees' ad "just set us back 20 years."

"There are many groups working to educate the public and help survivors, this commercial nullifies all their work and encourages unsafe practices to the general public. And all for gambling ... Lightning Bets? How ignorant can you possibly be?"

If you've heard Stephen Thomspon speak, you know he's just about the sweetest person ever ... so, will UFC star (and fellow nice guy) Kevin Holland hesitate when it comes time to punch Wonderboy in the face?? Not at all, according to Big Mouth.

"It's simple as hell. I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna knock out the nicest man in the universe. S**t happens."

But, will you feel bad, Kevin?

"Not one bit."

30-year-old Holland and 39-year-old Thompson are fighting in the main event at UFC Fight Night Saturday night.

In fact, the men ran into each other in the hallway at the UFC hotel ... and had a funny interaction.

Wonderboy is ranked 6th in the welterweight division. Holland isn't ranked ... as he bounces back and forth between the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

We also talked to Kevin about his last fight ... where he bravely stepped up on no notice to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Holland, who had trained to fight striker Daniel Rodriguez, was submitted in the first round.

Holland addresses whether he wants a rematch.

We also spoke to Wonderboy ... who says fans are in for a treat.

"My last two guys, and even Kevin, his last opponent [Khamzat] was a heavy grappler. I know going into this fight that he's not the type of guy to try and take you down and hold you down," Wonderboy says.

Soccer players are known for having powerful, durable legs -- but wait 'til you get a load of the United States Men's National Soccer Team's abs ... they're a must-see!!

The USMNT made it out of the group stage this time around ... and you can tell they put in extra time in the gym to get ready for the Cup, which shows in the shredded abs they've been hiding under their jerseys.

The entire country has been supporting the boys in the Red, White, and Blue ... but let's see if you can spot which six packs belong to whom.

Awesome gesture from the New York Jets' coaches ... several assistants on the roster will be wearing custom Air Force 1s this weekend against the Vikings -- to honor the late Greg Knapp.

The feet heat will feature a depiction of Knapp, who coached in the NFL for nearly three decades before he was tragically killed in a bicycle accident last July, in a headset, with his nickname, "Knapper," written on it as well.

The shoes will also have a website link to Knapp's foundation -- an org. set up following the coach's death to try to stop people from driving distracted.

Mike Jordan, the cleat artist who designed the kicks, tells TMZ Sports ... the Jets were the ones who initially tapped him for the task earlier this year -- and he was pumped to take on the job.

And, he said he was thrilled with how they ultimately turned out.

Jordan also designed several other custom cleats for Jets stars for this weekend's "My Cause, My Cleats" game ... including ones for Sauce Gardner, who will wear American Cancer Society-themed spikes.

Wide receiver Garrett Wilson also copped Jordan cleats representing the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) ... while cornerback DJ Reed got a pair for multiple sclerosis, something his father died from in September.

"To help these guys support these charities and organizations that are close to them for one reason or another, like DJ Reed whose father passed away due to MS, is special," Jordan said.

Jordan -- who's been crafting cleats for 6 years -- says he spent a ton of hours on all of the custom shoes for Week 13 ... but at the end of the day, it was all worth it.

NBA super fan Jimmy Goldstein is throwing in the designer brand towel on the Lakers' shot at a championship this season ... telling TMZ Sports everyone should be focusing on the other L.A. team -- the Clippers!!

LeBron James and Co. are sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference after a disastrous start to the 2022-23 campaign ... and JG -- one of the most recognizable hoops fans in NBA history -- says there's nothing they can do to contend for a ring this season.

Goldstein believes the Lakers should stop clutching onto their future draft picks and try to improve the team now ... bringing up the rumored trade with the Indiana Pacers as a prime example of a deal that can help them out.

The Lakers were reportedly in talks to acquire Buddy Hield and Myles Turner in exchange for Russell Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks ... with the latter keeping L.A. from pulling the trigger on the deal.

While Goldstein says it would make the Lake Show better, he says there's nothing they can do now to become instant contenders.

But, when it comes to the buzz around L.A., Goldstein tells us it's all about the Clippers now -- 'cause they have a legit shot at raising a banner.

"You should be talking about the Clippers," Goldstein says. "They're a much better team. They have a chance. They have great players. They have depth."

Lamar Jackson says he's sorry for sending a vulgar tweet following the Ravens' emotional 28-27 loss to the Jaguars last Sunday ... admitting on Friday he was just "bitter" about the L.

"I apologize if I hurt feelings out there," Jackson said when addressing reporters for the first time since pressing send on the tweet.

Jackson initially fired off the obscene response minutes after Baltimore's defeat ... after a Twitter user said the Ravens should not sign the QB to a lengthy -- and lucrative -- new contract.

"Boy STFU y'all be cappin too much on this app mf never smelt a football field," he said ... before ending the tweet with, "never did s*** but eat a d***."

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he spoke to Jackson over it all on Monday ... and called it "out of character for him."

Jackson said he deleted the tweet, which remained on his page for about 3 hours, after his girlfriend encouraged him to take it down.

She "was like, I think you should delete it," LJ said. "I'm like, 'All right 'cause I don't know if I hurt somebody's feelings,' so I did. That's just what it was. That's why I deleted it."

Jackson said he hasn't reached out to the fan since the incident, but explained there's no bad blood between him and the individual.

"What I take from this experience ... don't say nothing on Twitter," Jackson said. "Don't say what I said 'cause it's kids watching. Don't need the kids saying that but just watch what you say."

Houston PD says they've made an arrest in the shooting death of Takeoff.

The department's chief addressed the media Friday, announcing they arrested 33-year-old Patrick Xavier Clark and charged him with the murder of Takeoff.

As we reported, Takeoff was killed early morning November 1 after he and Quavo were partying at a local bowling alley. At some point, the celebration turned into an argument, which led to a physical altercation and a shooting.

Cops say Takeoff was not part of the argument and he was not armed, he was an innocent bystander who was hit by gunfire. What's more, investigators say nearly 30 people were at the scene when the shooting happened -- and almost everyone left without giving a statement to police. They still ask those who were in attendance come in and talk.

Takeoff was shot in the head and torso according to the coroner's report -- and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

TMZ obtained video of the incident from 2:30 AM -- you can see and hear Quavo arguing with someone, and Takeoff is a few feet behind him. There's some sort of a discussion about basketball before shots start to ring out.

Another angle -- also obtained by TMZ -- showed a man dressed in black with a handgun in his right pocket just seconds before the gunfire, showing multiple people were armed at the event.

Two grown-ass men beat the hell out of each other for nearly two minutes during a wild brawl at a gym earlier this week ... and the insane fight was all captured on video.

The scrap went down at a Fitness Connection facility on Tuesday -- when an apparent disagreement in the weight room turned incredibly violent.

Footage shows a man in a white t-shirt and another guy in an all-red 'fit squared up -- and then traded blows ... all while astonished gymgoers looked on.

The two both socked each other in the face repeatedly ... before the man in the white shirt was staggered by a huge right hand. A woman then attempted to intervene -- but all that did was give the man in the white shirt a chance to get up and continue the melee.

The two eventually locked arms -- and threw knees at each other. Finally, however, after pummeling each other for around 100 seconds, the tilt was broken up.

No word on if police were called ... or if anyone suffered significant injuries.

Jalen Kitna will not play at the Univ. of Florida again following his child porn arrest this week ... the school just dismissed the quarterback from the team.

The Gators made the decision on Friday morning -- two days after authorities said the 19-year-old sent child exploitation material over Discord, a popular social media messaging platform, in June.

After initially suspending the signal-caller following his arrest, the school called the allegations against Kitna "extremely serious charges" and behavior that it has "zero tolerance for."

UF officials have yet to make a public comment on the dismissal.

Kitna was in custody for roughly 24 hours following his arrest on Wednesday afternoon, but was released from jail on $80,000 bond on Thursday evening.

His famous father, ex-NFL star Jon Kitna, promised during testimony at Jalen's court hearing Thursday morning that he would take his son back to live with him in Texas during the pre-trial process. Jalen must not use the Internet and must not have unsupervised contact with minors as part of the conditions of his release.

The United States just got some GREAT news ahead of Saturday's match against the Netherlands -- Christian Pulisic has been cleared to play after suffering an injury against Iran.

Captain America's been recovering from getting hit in the balls a pelvic contusion this week ... which came after making contact with Iran's goalkeeper after scoring the game-winning goal.

CP said Thursday he was taking it one day at a time ... but was doing "everything in my power" to make it out on the pitch on Saturday.

Pulisic also clarified his injury was, in fact, a pelvic contusion ... saying, "I didn't get hit in the balls."

"I'm alright. It was very painful. That bone is there for a reason to protect you and I hit it well. I was sore."

He posted a Snapchat from his hospital bed after the 1-0 win on Tuesday ... promising he'd be back for their next match -- but admitted the pain was pretty tough to fight through.

The 24-year-old is holding up on his promise ... 'cause Pulisic is now good enough to go as the Red, White and Blue head into the round of 16.

Liver King -- the viral "ancestral lifestyle" influencer -- is fessing up to using steroids ... apologizing to his followers for misleading them into believing he was completely natural.

45-year-old Brian Johnson gained a ton of followers through his primal living routine ... which includes eating raw animal organs, 9 ancestral tenets, and barbarian challenges.

The dude is undeniably buff as hell ... and despite numerous accusations of using steroids in the past, he continued to claim he earned his physique without any additional help.

But, LK was forced to face the music after YouTuber More Plates More Dates released a video exposing the influencer's steroid cycle earlier this week ... which alleged he was injecting $ 12,000 worth of stuff into his body.

MPMD even came with email receipts ... which appear to show what exactly the Internet star was taking.

Now, Liver King is coming clean about his steroid use ... releasing a 6-minute long video to his millions of followers to try to explain himself.

"I'm making this video to apologize because I f***ed up, because I'm embarrassed and ashamed, because I lied and I misled a lot of people." Liver King said.

LK -- who had a successful supplement company prior to becoming a viral personality -- says he struggled to handle being in the public eye once he blew up ... and he decided to cut corners in order to keep up with his audience's expectations.

"It's been tricky as f*** to navigate," he added. "Well, clearly, I did it wrong and I'm here now to set the record straight -- yes, I've done steroids and yes, I'm on steroids monitored and managed by a trained hormone clinician."

LK says he continued to run with the façade for those dealing with mental health issues who look up to him ... hoping ancestral living would provide a solution to their problems.

"While spreading the message, I've been on several podcasts, and when asked if I've ever taken steroids, I've always said, 'no. I don't touch the stuff. Not going to touch the stuff. Never touched the stuff.' That was a lie. I've convinced myself this had nothing to do with the ancestral message."

FYI -- Liver King has previously said he makes millions of dollars a month -- including his supplement brand.

He says he trained clean for decades ... but in 2021, he wasn't feeling 100% physically, so he made the decision to use steroids. LK says he kept it private, because he didn't want to spread the wrong message or have his previous fitness success overshadowed.

Kanye West is doing everything he can to deflect attention away from his praising of Hitler, even throwing out false allegations about his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and an affair with NBA superstar Chris Paul ... according to sources with direct knowledge.

Before he was kicked off Twitter Thursday night for posting a swastika, the disgraced rapper made a wild allegation claiming he "caught" Kim Kardashian cheating with NBA star Chris Paul.

A source close to the situation tells us the allegation is absolutely false, and just another example of a desperate man trying to shift the focus away from his own wrongdoings.

The source says, "This is not true and sadly it’s an ongoing pattern with Kanye — attacking Kim to redirect everyone’s attention after a day of crazy antics where he has said every hateful and offensive thing he can possibly dream of."

They continue, "He has a history of falsely accusing her of also having affairs with Meek Mill, Drake and countless others. Kanye has for years deflected his own awful behavior, infidelities and obsession with porn and sex addiction to abuse and slut shame Kim. She wants to be left alone so she can focus on the well-being of their children.”

It was Thursday when Kanye was on Alex Jones' "Infowars" spewing hate, claiming he liked Hitler, questioning the Holocaust and giving the Nazis props. Jones, a controversial figure himself, made several attempts to reel Kanye in, but the rapper only doubled down.

Of course, it was earlier this week when Kim and Kanye finally settled their nearly two-year divorce ... he's agreed to pay her $200k a month in child support, and they'll have "equal access" to their kids.

Brian Robinson knows the perils of gun violence better than almost anyone, and he wants to put a spotlight on the senseless killing ... the Commanders star will rock a sweet pair of custom cleats, with a very important message, this week against the Giants.

The 23-year-old running back, who was shot multiple times in August, copped his new spikes for the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" -- an initiative where players bring awareness to organizations and nonprofits during Week 13.

TMZ Sports has learned Robinson reached out to artist Joe Castro to shine a light on the incident where he was shot twice during an attempted robbery.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested for his alleged role in the shooting.

Castro -- whose client list includes NFL stars like Jaire Alexander and DeSean Jackson -- tells us he and Robinson decided to go with a gun control theme.

The tan and orange Nike spikes feature two guns held up in the air with text reading "End Gun Violence".

Castro says it took 2 hours to design ... and he actually made two pairs. One for filming and one for the Commanders-Giants game.

Jerry Jones took a unique path to respond to LeBron James' very public criticism of the Dallas Cowboys owner's controversial 1957 photo ... choosing to do nothing but shower the NBA star with praise.

Jones was asked Friday about Bron's Wednesday comments during his weekly radio hit on the K&C Masterpiece show on Audacy's 105.3 The Fan ... and instead of revealing his thoughts on it all, he opted to simply compliment the Lakers forward.

For roughly two minutes, Jones called James an amazing person ... saying the basketball player is "an absolute great ambassador for sport" who he respects more than possibly anybody else in the world.

Jones added that it "made buttons pop off my vest" when James previously identified as a huge Cowboys fan.

But, when it came time to address James' comments, the 80-year-old sidestepped.

"I'm just giving him due," Jones said. "I'm just giving him due there. Certainly, he has influence, and just because of all of the above. His accomplishments, how he's utilized his sport and how he's utilized his platform. How we have done it. He has enhanced basketball, he's made a lot of people a lot of money. But, I hope I have too."

Jones -- who did admit to hearing James' remarks -- would not say if he had any interest in meeting with James over it all. He was not pressed further about the issue.

As we reported, LeBron sounded off on reporters earlier this week following a win over the Trail Blazers ... chastising them for not asking him about the 65-year-old photo showing Jones as a teenager standing with a group of white classmates who were trying to prevent six Black students from entering an Arkansas school.

James wondered why they had asked him so much about the Kyrie Irving drama earlier this year -- but were silent about Jones.

Michael Jai White has several black belts in various martial arts, but it's even better that he's mastered the practice of restraint, at least for Kanye West's sake!!!

When asked by DJ Vlad about some of Ye's wild and erroneous comments -- like claiming George Floyd died from a drug overdose -- MJW admitted he's been detached from Ye's antics for years, and avoids running into him because it could get violent ... and end badly for the embattled rapper.

MJW says his personal Kanye breaking point came way back in 2009 after the infamous Taylor Swift mic-snatching incident -- and he feels Ye's arrogance is fueled by the fact he has money.

The "Black Dynamite" actor compared consuming Ye's social media posts to eating junk food while trying to stay in karate shape -- an act in futility -- but he says he's not pushing his anti-Ye beliefs on friends.

Kim Kardashian had a very noticeable sidekick missing as she hit her first night of Art Basel celebrations ... she stepped out without Balenciaga.

Kim was among a slew of celebs -- including Madonna, James Blake, Travis Scott, Rande Gerber, Serena Williams, Khloe Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio -- to hit Miami for the annual art show which brings out huge collectors, stars and billionaires alike.

Of course, Kim's almost always decked out in the most recent Balenciaga gear at major events like this, but it was very clearly missing from her look. Instead, she wore a Vex latex top and vintage pants with Dior sunglasses ... and still looked hot as ever as she left dinner at Gekko with owner David Grutman and Jonathan “Foodgod” Cheban.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim cut any plans to work with Balenciaga in the future after the brand launched a controversial BDSM-inspired ad campaign with kids. Our sources said Balenciaga had offered Kim a campaign for 2023, but she turned it down.