TMZ Sports - Page 50

Stephen Jackson says "the tears will never go away" when it comes to George Floyd ... with the ex-NBAer breaking down as he opened up about his close friend's death.

Of course, Jackson and Floyd grew up together in Houston, TX ... and Stak often referred to him as his "twin."

Jackson -- who has been at the forefront of the social justice movement since Floyd's death in May 2020 -- described his emotions a year later ... and it's heartbreaking.

"The tears will never go away because I really lost family," Stak said on Portal A's "Charges With Rex Chapman" podcast.

"My momma will tell you. She even thought that was her son at times when she saw him. That's how much we looked alike."

"It just took me back to that place for a second, man. These tears are not fake. They're real, so when I feel it, they come out."

Jackson's "All The Smoke" podcast co-host Matt Barnes reflected on the protests that broke out throughout the country following the tragedy ... and said it's time to keep pushing the message even further.

"It's not white vs. Black, Black vs. Asian, white vs. Mexican," Barnes said. "It's love vs. hate because again, hate comes in all shapes, forms and colors."

"We fought, we rioted, we burned things down and that's got a little bit of attention. But, now that they're actually listening, what are we gonna do with our minds to help better, not only us but our kids' future."

Derek Chauvin -- the Minneapolis cop who kept his knee on Floyd's neck during the incident -- was just sentenced to 22.5 years in prison ... but as Jackson said last week, it won't bring his friend back.

Stak also gives Barnes his flowers during the powerful moment ... saying the ex-NBAer continues to help him fight for Floyd -- with or without the cameras around.

UFC fighter Justin Jaynes bet his entire $25K fight purse on himself and LOST ... so, instant regret, right??

Nope ... 31-year-old JJ tells TMZ Sports he'd do it all over again -- and that's exactly what he wants to do.

"I really don’t have any regrets man. I live a high risk, high reward kind of lifestyle."

Of course, Justin famously gambled his fight check ... and ended up losing a 3-round split decision to 34-year-old Charles Rosa at UFC Vegas 30.

And now, he wants that cash back -- and he's willing to fight Rosa again.

"F*** it, let’s run it back, double or nothing," Jaynes says.

"I need to get my money back anyways man. It’s just one of those things, like I said I trained very, very, very hard. It was my motivation, there was a lot on the line going into this fight."

Even with the hit to his bank account (which sucked) ... Justin says he can still support his family -- and that's what really matters.

"It didn’t feel great, but it’s not going to put me in a position to where I can’t take care of myself," Jaynes says.

Nia Long is showing some serious love for her fiancé Ime Udoka ... praising her soon-to-be hubby on becoming the new head coach of the Boston Celtics!!

The Cs officially announced the former Brooklyn Nets assistant as Brad Stevens' successor at a press conference on Monday ... and the "Boyz n the Hood" actress couldn't help but gas up her man.

"Today you are officially the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics," Long said on IG. "Big love to the entire staff for the warm welcome. I am beyond proud of this man."

Long is already getting used to rockin' the green and white -- sporting a #18 Celtics jersey, with the digits symbolizing Udoka becoming the 18th head coach in franchise history.

"The legacy continues. #coachudoka18."

FYI -- Long and Udoka have been together for 10 years ... and she's been by his side as he's moved around the league in hopes of someday getting that head coaching spot.

Long is confident Udoka will thrive in Beantown ... saying, "expect great things because that's what he does."

As for coach, Udoka raved about the gig, saying, "I look forward to having success with you guys."

"The relationships have been great. I look forward to building those. As far as the players and the roster, I'm very excited, honored to be a part of it and let's go for 18 [championships]".

This is Udoka's first gig as head coach ... he's been an assistant coach for 3 teams (Spurs, Sixers, Nets) since 2012 and won a championship in 2014.

MMA fighter Joe Schilling -- who last fought professionally in 2019 for Bellator -- knocked out a man at a bar with a vicious combo of punches ... and the violent incident was all caught on video.

It's unclear when and where the barrage went down -- we're working on it -- but Schilling confirmed on his social media page Monday he was the puncher.

In his post, Schilling claimed he acted simply out of self defense ... writing he believed the whole situation was "life threatening" for him.

The footage from the scene, meanwhile, is intense ... you can see in the clip, when a man in a shirt and tie appeared to inadvertently block Schilling on his way through a walkway at the bar -- things got heated.

Schilling seemed to move the man out of the way ... and when the man appeared to say something in response, the 37-year-old fighter turned around.

Seconds later, Schilling can be seen in the footage unloading at least four punches on the guy's face ... sending him crashing to the ground.

Schilling seemed to comment on the situation further in his Instagram stories later Monday morning ... writing, "If you think I'm going to be the guy to calm everything down you got me f***ed up."

He added, "I'm here for the show."

It's unclear if law enforcement was involved.

We've reached out to Schilling for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Several big names from "The Bachelor" franchise are catching flak for receiving money from the government's Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic ... but 2 of them, so far, are defending it.

If ya don't know ... the PPP loans were meant to aid small businesses and allow them to keep their workforce employed during the COVID crisis, and new public records revealed companies associated with 'Bachelor' stars like Tayshia Adams and Arie Luyendyk received loans in the past year in the amounts of $20,833 and $20,830 respectively.

The companies that actually received the PPP loans are interesting -- Tayshia named her company Tayshia Adams Media LLC ... and Arie's is called Instagram Husband LLC. Yeah, fans are having a field day with that one.

Another notable one is the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation, which received an $11,355 PPP loan. Dale Moss also applied for a $20k loan, but it doesn't look like that one has been disbursed yet.

Social media controversy about all this is picking up. The big question being ... why should these reality TV stars and influencers be granted PPP loans?

For her part, Tayshia insists her company's PPP loan was totally on the up and up.

Her rep tells TMZ ... "The primary purpose of the [PPP] Loan is to help business owners retain their existing employees and to create jobs for Americans who are financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a business owner, television and podcast host, and brand ambassador, Tayshia obtained a PPP Loan that enabled her to hire an employee, to whom she offers market-based pay and benefits."

We're told the employee Tayshia hired with the PPP money was previously laid off from a media company at the start of the pandemic.

The rep adds ... "Since exhausting the PPP Loan funds, but in light of the growing economy, Tayshia has committed to retaining her employee for the foreseeable future."

Likewise, Underwood's rep tells us ... "Colton's nonprofit filed for the PPP loan after their annual fundraising events were cancelled due to COVID. None of the PPP went directly to Colton. In fact, Colton has never received any form of payment from the foundation, all of the proceeds go directly to people living with cystic fibrosis."

Nevertheless ... the backlash online has begun. Even former 'Bachelor' Nick Viall is weighing in by saying the loans might be perfectly legit, legally speaking, but to him at least ... something seems "s**tty" about it.

The NFL is making it clear it stands firmly with the LGBTQ+ community ... releasing a powerful video Monday that featured the message, "Football is gay."

The clip, which is 30 seconds in length, added, "Football is lesbian. Football is beautiful. Football is queer. Football is life."

The messages didn't stop there ... they even went on to say, "Football is transgender" and "Football is bisexual" -- before the video ended with, "Football is for everyone."

A league spokesperson confirmed to Outsports on Monday the video was a direct response to Las Vegas Raiders pass-rusher Carl Nassib announcing he's gay last week.

"I am proud of the clear message this spot sends to the NFL’s LGBTQ+ fans: This game is unquestionably for you," another rep for the league, NFL diversity director Sam Rapoport, added to Outsports.

"I will be playing its first line over and over in my head all season."

As part of the video message, the NFL once again encouraged people to donate to The Trevor Project -- an org. established to try to help prevent suicides in the LGBTQ+ community.

Nassib said last week he was donating $100K to the organization during his video announcement ... and the NFL quickly followed suit matching the donation hours later.

"NFL proudly supports The Trevor Project," the league said in Monday's video. "LGBTQ+ youth with at least one accepting adult have 40% lower risk of attempting suicide."

Nikki Bella is apologizing after some mean comments she made about Chyna back in the day resurfaced on social media ... she says it wasn't worth the cheap laugh.

Here's the deal ... Nikki and Brie Bella were on "Fashion Police" back in 2013 and the resurfaced clip shows Nikki holding up a photo of Chyna and saying, "We don't know if it's a man or a woman."

Nikki apologized Monday after getting dragged online, saying ... "I am sorry and embarrassed by my 29 year old self, who offended Chyna and, in turn, hurt her family and others.

She says she wishes she could take the comment back and adds ... "Please learn from me, it's not worth hurting someone's feelings for a meaningless laugh."

The resurfaced clip also features another dig at Chyna from host Joan Rivers, who says Chyna's "vagina has a penis."

As you know, Chyna died back in 2016 from an accidental overdose ... and she's since been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In her apology, Nikki thanks Chyna for opening doors for women in wrestling, like the Bella Twins, and says she should be remembered as an "icon and pioneer."

Scottie Pippen just unleashed some serious allegations against Phil Jackson ... claiming the legendary NBA coach is a "racist" in a bombshell interview Monday.

The ex-Chicago Bulls great has been going OFF on his former team over the past week ... including making a bold claim that Jackson's decision to set up a game-winning play for rookie Toni Kukoc in the 1994 playoffs was a "racial move."

Pip doubled down on his stance on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Monday ... when he was asked to clarify if he meant Jackson is actually racist.

Here's the exchange:

Dan Patrick: "By saying a 'racial move,' then you're calling Phil Jackson a racist."

Pippen: "I don't got a problem with that."

DP: "Do you think Phil was, or is?"

Pippen: "Oh, yeah."

While he did not give specific instances to back up his claim, Pippen went on to bash the coach for writing a "tell-all" about Kobe Bryant after leaving the Lakers in 2004 ... just to return a year later.

"Who would do that?" Pippen said. "You name someone in professional sports that would do that. I think he got to expose Kobe in a way that he shouldn't have."

"You're the head coach. You're the guy that sits in the locker room and tells the players, 'This is a circle, and everything stays within the circle' because that's what team is about."

Scottie added ... "But, you as the head coach open it up and now you go out and you try to belittle at that time, probably one of the greatest players in the game."

Patrick fought back, saying that would bring Jackson's loyalty -- not alleged racist views -- into question ... but Pippen was adamant his personal experiences speak for themselves.

"I was in the locker room with him," Pippen said. "I was in practices with him. You're looking at him from afar."

Kim Kardashian's undergarment line, SKIMS, will be officially repping the U.S. on the biggest stage ... as the gear American athletes will rock in their downtime.

The big news came out Monday when Kim posted photos of Olympians already decked out in SKIMS-inspired products with "Team USA" emblazoned across the front and sides. She has quite a story about how this came about, too.

Kim first discussed her ties to the Olympics, and how she grew up with the games as a big part of her life -- thanks, in large part, to her stepdad, Caitlyn Jenner, who used to compete (and win) when she was growing up. So, in other words ... she already has an Olympic pedigree.

Of the deal itself, she writes, "When I received the call inviting Skims to be a part of @TeamUSA, every moment I’ve spent admiring the strength and energy of the Olympians from the sidelines came full circle" -- going on to explain SKIMS will design the underwear, loungewear and pajamas worn during the Tokyo Games ... which is huge, obviously.

Kim also shouted out the athletes who posed for this campaign ... including Alex Morgan, Dalilah Muhammad, A'ja Wilson, Scout Bassett, Haley Anderson and others.

A California surfer was viciously attacked by a shark in ocean waters Saturday ... and the bite was so bad, authorities say the animal ripped TEN teeth marks into the man's leg.

The attack went down at Gray Whale Cove State Beach in San Mateo County near S.F. ... when authorities say a white shark, approximately 6-to-8 feet long, bit into the 39-year-old surfer.

"The patient suffered severe injuries," fire official Brian Ham told KTVU, adding, thankfully, bystanders were able to bring the surfer to shore just after the attack.

Authorities say the man needed to be "treated with advanced life support measures" following the bite ... and say he was transported to a nearby hospital in "serious condition."

Officials tell TMZ Sports the man has since been released.

The beach, meanwhile, was later closed to all visitors while authorities investigated the incident.

A shark attack in CA waters is very rare ... according to marine biologist David McGuire, "The relative risk is 1-in-17 million to encountering a shark in California waters."

Offset had his hands full announcing baby #2 with Cardi B on Sunday, but he wasn't TOO busy to keep an eye on his Atlanta Hawks ... telling TMZ Sports his beloved team WILL bounce back from their Game 3 loss!!

Of course, it was a huge night at the BET Awards for Migos -- the trio put on one hell of a performance with the "Up" MC as she set social media on fire with her baby bump.

But, even with all the chaos surrounding the baby news, Offset was able to check in on Trae Young and co. as they fell 113-102 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday ... and the dude's pretty optimistic.

"We gon' bounce back," Offset told us outside BOA. "That was some bulls**t. We bouncin' back."

But, if 1/3 of Migos having confidence in the Hawks ain't enough, we also spoke with Quavo ... and he's just as confident Young will lead the squad to the Finals -- and WIN IT ALL!!!

"We gon' get that ring," Quavo told us outside the Highlight Room. "It's the year."

Horrible news from NHL superstar David Pastrnak ... the Boston Bruins forward announced Monday his newborn son has tragically died.

The baby, named Viggo Rohl Pastrnak, was just born on June 17 ... but Pastrnak said on his social media page he lost the child just days later on June 23.

"We have an Angel watching over us and we call him SON," Pastrnak wrote. "You will be loved FOREVER."

It's unclear what caused the death ... Pastrnak only added, "Please respect our privacy as we are going through these heartbreaking times."

The baby was Pastrnak's first.

25-year-old Pastrnak is considered one of the best players in the NHL ... he's spent his entire 7-year NHL career with the Bruins, scoring 200 goals in 438 games.

Cleveland Indians outfielder Josh Naylor broke his leg in a horrifying fashion after colliding with his teammate during a game Sunday ... and video of the play is VERY hard to watch.

The gruesome scene all went down in the 4th inning of the Tribe's game against the Minnesota Twins ... when Naylor was trying to track down a fly ball in right field.

The problem ... his teammate, Ernie Clement, was charging for the ball as well -- and when the baseball finally came down from the sky, the two crashed into each other HARD.

The collision sent Naylor flying -- and when he landed, his leg bent awkwardly underneath him ... horrifically twisting it.

You can see in slow-motion replay, Naylor was in EXTREME pain ... writhing on the ground.

Naylor was eventually carted off the field and taken to the hospital ... and after the game, Indians manager Terry Francona confirmed his player was dealing with a significant injury.

"We know that there's a fracture," Francona told reporters. "Other than that, he's being evaluated over at the hospital right now."

Naylor had played in 69 games for Cleveland this season ... hitting 7 home runs and batting .253.

Bruce Smith says he has a ton of respect for Carl Nassib for coming out -- but the Hall of Famer tells TMZ Sports gay players in the NFL is nothing new.

"We had a gay player in our locker room," Smith says ... "I think it was the mid to late 90s and I think we might have had 2 but that wasn't what we were focused on."

Remember, Smith's Bills were legendary in the '90s ... making the playoffs 8 times (including 4 Super Bowl appearances).

But, Smith says he never cared about anyone's sexual orientation -- as long as that player could ball out on the field.

"We were focused on winning games and each and every person that was in that locker room contributing to the goal at hand which was winning football games. None of that other stuff mattered. This was about winning football games and trying to be a good person."

Smith says he completely understands the cultural significance of having an openly gay player in the NFL -- and believes Nassib's decision to come out will have a tremendous impact.

"Obviously, we like to see the inclusion part. We like to see folks that understand that the world is changing and you have to embrace those that may be a little bit different and it's okay."

But, ultimately, Smith believes NFL locker rooms have been more inclusive than people think ... and the notion that older players wouldn't have accepted a gay teammate is just wrong.

Gwen Berry -- a U.S. hammer thrower who'll compete at the Tokyo Olympics -- partook in what event honchos have said they won't tolerate come game day ... national anthem protests.

Berry, who's Black, did well enough Saturday at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, OR to qualify for her second Olympics as a pro athlete ... but when it came to accepting her bronze medal on the podium -- "The Star-Spangled Banner" began playing.

She wasn't having any of it ... with several photos capturing the awkward moment, in which GB refused to place her hand over heart, and even turning away from the flag -- unlike her fellow competitors, who did the exact opposite.

At one point, while she was standing up there, Berry busted out a T-shirt she had on her that read "Activist Athlete" ... holding it up high, and then putting it over her head while she continued to snub the flag/anthem as it played. She didn't stop there, either.

Afterward, she was obviously asked about her demonstration. Turns out, she was pretty "pissed" by the whole thing -- accusing organizers of staging the timing of it all and playing the anthem right when they knew Gwen would get up, almost like daring her to react.

She says, "They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there. I was thinking about what I should do. Eventually, I stayed there and I swayed ... It was real disrespectful." Berry went on to claim she was told the anthem would be played before the podium ceremony, adding, "I don't really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has."

A rep for the USA Track and Field Team denied her characterization, saying the anthem is scheduled to play daily at a certain time (5:20 PM, it seems) and no sabotage was in play.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see how Berry handles anthems at the actual games here in a few weeks. The International Olympic Committee has said athletes who compete are forbidden from making scenes like this, be it political, social or otherwise.

Tristan Thompson might not be with Khloe Kardashian romantically anymore, but he's still got a lot of love for her -- which you can see in a public birthday message he sent Khloe's way.

The Boston Celtics star posted a touching tribute to his baby mama Sunday -- Khloe's 37th birthday, no less -- which was accompanied with intimate photos of them and their daughter, True, wishing her well and also thanking her for being an incredible mother, pal and more.

TT writes, "Happy birthday @khloekardashian Thank you for being not just an amazing partner, mommy and best friend but also being the kindest, caring and most loving human being I've ever met."

He goes on ... "Your love and spirit is contagious to all who've met you. Thank you for always being there for me and putting our family first. I love you so much. Have an amazing day. ❤️❤️"

It's a very sweet gesture, and it doesn't appear he cares about the backdrop of things either -- namely, the fact they just called it quits (again) after allegations of cheating (again).

It all ties back to a woman named Sydney Chase, who claimed to have had sex with Tristan not too long after he officially reunited with Khloe. He seems to have denied that -- among other cheating/paternity claims that are also floating out there -- but the scandal, apparently, proved to be too much for Khloe.

Of course, they continue to co-parent ... and still seem to care for each other. Or, at least Tristan does, anyway -- Khloe hasn't commented much on the breakup since it went down.