TMZ Sports - Page 50

Vikings corner Jeff Gladney -- a star rookie for Minnesota in 2020 -- has just been indicted on a felony domestic violence charge ... and his football future is now very much up in the air.

Gladney was accused of violently beating his girlfriend in the Dallas area back in April ... after cops say the couple got into an argument over the contents of the woman's cell phone.

According to court docs, Gladney's accuser told officials the football player snapped after he found something on her phone ... hitting her, choking her, and dragging her by her hair across the ground.

Gladney was eventually arrested and posed for a mug shot.

It took several months, though, for a grand jury to hear the case ... but on Tuesday, it was revealed they indicted Gladney on a felony charge of third-degree family violence assault.

It's a VERY serious matter for the NFL player -- who's been away from the Vikings since his arrest -- because if convicted, Gladney faces up to 10 years behind bars.

With the case now moving forward -- potentially even resulting in a trial -- Gladney could now be asked to stay away from the Vikings indefinitely ... or even find himself cut from the roster.

Gladney is also facing a civil lawsuit from his accuser, who filed docs in court last month seeking $1 million in damages.

In her suit, the woman says after Gladney was violent with her, he "attempted to bribe, threaten, blackmail, and manipulate" her to keep quiet about it all.

Gladney has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The former TCU star -- a Vikings first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft -- started 15 games for Minnesota last season, recording 81 total tackles and 3 pass breakups.

Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley's knitted jumper is going to good use ... 'cause the uber-famous Instagram dog he made it for will be rocking it at the next fashion week!!

The British diver went viral earlier this week for stitching up the piece right after winning the 10-meter platform event ... saying he was making it for Izzy the Frenchie, a dog that has more than 1 MILLION followers on social media.

TMZ Sports spoke with Izzy about Daley's gift ... and she said, "bark, bark, bark."

Okay, just kidding ... we spoke with Izzy's papa, Rick Hendrix, in Washington D.C. Tuesday about Daley showing some serious love at the world's biggest stage ... and he's got some big plans in mind.

"I think we're gonna include it in her fashion week," Hendrix says. "Maybe walk in New York next time it's all safe and we can get out again!"

BTW -- Izzy is big in the industry ... and has been a guest at fashion weeks in the past.

So, how did the collab come to be? Hendrix said he was talking to Daley about his impressive crochet and knitting skills ... and Tom decided he wanted to make something for Izzy!!

But, Hendrix had no clue the 5-time European champ meant that he was gonna start workin' on it during the most important sporting events of his life!!

"Had no idea he was gonna make it during the Games," Hendrix tells us.

"Then all of a sudden he's going online saying, 'Hey, I'm making this for Izzy the Frenchie. Things just blew up, man!"

The 27-year-old has made jumpers for several dogs during his time in Tokyo -- saying, "learning to knit and crochet has helped me so much through these Olympics and we won GOLD yesterday."

Daley also makes them for humans and charity  ... last month, he raised over $8k by auctioning off a knitted sweater for the Brain Tumour Charity.

It's only been 24 days since Conor McGregor shattered his left leg during the Dustin Poirier trilogy fight ... but The Notorious is already standing on the busted limb.

TMZ Sports has obtained a photo of McGregor outside of a Beverly Hills hotel ... rocking a walking boot, standing while chatting with a friend.

We're told shortly after the photo was taken, McGregor sat on his scooter and rode into the hotel gym -- where he put himself through a workout.

It's pretty damn impressive ... considering the injury only happened at UFC 264 on July 10.

Of course, Conor broke his left tibia and fibula ... and required a titanium rod, plate and screws to hold his shattered leg together.

Since the surgery the day after the fight, we've seen Conor do everything from working out to jamming out at a Justin Bieber concert (the 2 men also chilled together poolside).

To compare, Tiger Woods -- who also broke his tibia and fibula (amongst other injuries to the leg) in a February 23 car crash -- was still using crutches 155 days after his accident.

IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!!!

Carmelo Anthony is teaming up with his bestie, LeBron James -- the 10-time All-Star just signed a 1-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers!!!

Of course, LBJ and Melo have been tight for 20 years ... but aside from Team USA action, the two never suited up for the same NBA team.

UNTIL NOW!!!

Melo's manager, Bay Frazier, made the news official on Tuesday ... but the official terms of the deal have not been announced just yet.

Anthony is 37 years old now, but the guy has proven he can still hoop -- averaging 13 points a game and playing a key role with the Portland Trail Blazers last season.

Anthony is one of the best players of his era -- he's made the All-NBA team 6 times, was the scoring champ in 2013 and is 10th in points in league history.

UFC star Sean O'Malley just brought the meaning of self-love to a whole 'notha level ... by getting a tattoo of himself on his neck!!!

The heavily tatted bantamweight fighter decided to add to his ink collection this week ... hitting up tattoo shop The California Dream in North Hollywood.

Romeo Lacoste -- owner of the shop -- posted photos of himself workin' on the 26-year-old on Instagram ... immortalizing his jump shot celebration after knocking out Thomas Almeida in March at UFC 260.

The piece is as detailed as it gets -- it even includes O'Malley's body art ... which means it's tats on tats!!!

"VICTORY Tattoo!! for @sugaseanmma 💪🏻💪🏻 ", Lacoste said on IG, "Had the pleasure of knocking this piece out (no pun intended) 😂."

"Thanks for coming in and the good time. More to come soon!"

We believe it -- just 2 weeks ago, O'Malley let rapper 6ix9ine tat his '69' logo on his right shoulder -- with the help from Tatu Panda.

Kyrie Irving says he NEVER should've publicly bashed Nike over the "trash" Kyrie 8s ... saying he's working with the Swoosh to fix the problem ASAP.

Of course, Irving blasted the sneaker giant after pics of his next signature shoe leaked on social media ... saying he hated the way they looked and he had nothing to do with their creation.

Now, Irving's clearly had a change of heart ... admitting he should've handled the whole situation differently.

"When you're building something great, there sometimes comes a point when you need to recalibrate and refocus to ensure everyone involved is aligned. This is where the KAI11 brand and Nike are," Irving told Shams Charania.

"It was unfair to put the blame on Nike or any one person. With that being said, we are diligently working, restructuring, and reimagining things together to make sure we get it right."

It's unclear if anything will change on the Kyrie 8 ... or if this will delay the drop.

Joe Judge went absolutely ballistic on his Giants players after they were involved in an all-out brawl Tuesday ... punishing them with cuss words, sprints and push-ups!!

It all went down during the Giants' first day of full pads ... after running back Corey Clement got rocked by Jabrill Peppers at the end of a play.

Giants tight end Evan Engram apparently felt it was a somewhat dirty hit, so he jumped in to defend Clement. That's when cornerback Logan Ryan jumped in to defend Peppers, and then all hell broke loose.

Reporters on the scene say EVERYONE got involved in the melee ... with even quarterback Daniel Jones somehow ending up at the bottom of the dogpile!!

Of course, that set Judge off ... with multiple reporters saying the dude completely lost his mind on his players.

Judge made the team run full, 100-yard wind sprints over and over and over again ... and then forced them to do push-ups.

It was so intense, Giants reporter Pat Leonard said it "would not surprise me if someone starts puking here."

Judge eventually called the team up to berate them some more over the fracas ... before ending the workout.

Afterward, the Giants insisted it was all nothing more than just a heated practice ... with Jones (who wasn't injured in the brawl) explaining, "Guys certainly got the message today."

Caeleb Dressel says he literally talked to Michael Phelps more than his own wife during the Olympics ... telling TMZ Sports the swimming G.O.A.T. helped the 24-year-old win 5 gold medals.

We talked to Dressel in NYC shortly after he returned to the U.S. ... and asked the new face of swimming whether the old face of swimming reached out to congratulate him after his kickass week in Tokyo.

"I actually texted [Michael Phelps] more than [my wife] Meghan during the games. It was nice being able to lean on him. He helped me a lot throughout. I texted him after a couple of events, he was more than welcome to help me figure out some stuff, but he was great."

Pretty cool of Phelps -- a 23x gold medalist -- to help one of the Games' biggest stars AND best performers.

Dressel won 5 medals -- all gold -- in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.

We also asked Caeleb -- who has the Olympic rings tattooed on his upper arm -- whether he planned on getting any fresh ink to commemorate his medals.

Caeleb says no new tats ... but he's got some ideas of how he's gonna celebrate.

But, before that ... Dressel's immediate plans after flying over 12,000 miles and winning 5 gold medals??

"Go home. Go to bed."

Gisele Bündchen is channeling her inner Frankie Valli for Tom Brady's 44th birthday ... penning a mushy love letter to her man -- saying, "You’re just too good to be true."

The international supermodel took to her Instagram on Tuesday to deliver the G.O.A.T. his special birthday greeting ... posting a cute pic of the couple and quoting a Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons classic hit.

"You’re just too good to be true," Gisele wrote. “Can’t take my eyes off of you. You’d be like heaven to touch. I wanna hold you so much. At long last, love has arrived. And I thank God I’m alive. You’re just too good to be true. Can’t take my eyes off of you."

Gisele finished the post with a message in both English and her native language of Portuguese ... adding, "Happy Birthday love of my life! Thank you for sharing your life with me! I love you."

Brady was clearly thrilled with the birthday post. In fact, he even replied by commenting on the pictures in Portuguese! "Te Amo Tanto meu Amo Da minha Vida." Translated to English, he said, "I love you so much, love of my life!"

Of course, Brady's been working on his Portuguese since their relationship began ... and all the lessons are clearly paying off!!

Scary moment at Carolina Panthers practice on Tuesday -- wide receiver Keith Kirkwood took a powerful blow to the head ... and was taken away in an ambulance.

The 27-year-old pro was going across the middle of the field attempting to catch a pass that was thrown high ... when defensive back JT Ibe launched himself into Kirkwood's head area.

Kirkwood immediately went to the ground ... with coaches and players rushing to his side.

Trainers put Kirkwood on a backboard to immobilize him as he was carted off the field and taken away in an ambulance ... but there's good news -- head coach Matt Rhule says the player has movement in his arms and legs and has no pain in his neck.

It appeared coaches were immediately pissed off with Ibe's hit ... and Rhule ejected him from practice.

Kirkwood was an undrafted free agent out of Temple in 2018 ... and signed with the New Orleans Saints before joining the Panthers in 2020.

He has more than 200 yards and 2 touchdowns in his career.

Get well soon, Keith!!

The family of the man who Terry Kennedy allegedly murdered is now suing the skateboarding star for wrongful death, TMZ Sports has learned.

In new court docs, Josiah Kassahun's estate claims Kennedy beat the hell out of Kassahun at a Comfort Suites in Illinois on July 27, and did nothing to help him afterward.

Kassahun's family says Kennedy hit Kassahun, which caused him to fall to the ground and land on his head.

The family goes on to say in the docs that Kennedy kept hitting Kassahun while he was on the ground, and then did not get him medical attention after he had finished the attack.

Kassahun's family says Kassahun later died on July 31 from injuries he suffered in the altercation.

The estate is suing Kennedy and says the damages exceed $50,000, the docs show.

As we previously reported, Kennedy was charged with first-degree murder on Monday over the alleged incident.

In charging docs, prosecutors say Kennedy punched Kassahun in the head, and then kicked him in the torso while he was on the ground. They claim the strikes ultimately led to Kassahun's death.

Kennedy could face up to life behind bars if convicted.

It's still unclear why Kennedy allegedly attacked Kassahun, though social media postings appear to show Kassahun and Kennedy were friends at one time.

Jail records show 36-year-old Kennedy is still behind bars.

Simone Biles hitting the pause button on the Olympics and coming back when she was good and ready is getting nothing but praise from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ... who says it sets a new standard for professional athletes.

AOC broke down what Simone's past week means big picture-wise, when we got her on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning. She said a precedent seems to have been set by Simone -- namely, that athletes don't have to put competing first no matter what.

Instead, she says their own well-being is just as important, if not more so ... and ought to be treated that way.

That certainly appears to be the case, as the proof is in the pudding with SB -- who came back and competed Monday in the balance beam final ... and medaled with a Bronze. To the congresswoman, that simply makes the case even stronger -- that stepping aside was exactly what Simone needed, and it worked out for everyone, including Team USA, in the end.

AOC tells us this is a huge step for mental health advocacy, noting Simone has trailblazed yet again ... only in a different and perhaps more meaningful way this time around.

It'll be interesting to see if other pros follow in Simone's footsteps, and if they do ... Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is all for it -- because she thinks performance doesn't come before one's self.

How's Victor Robles filling the void of no more Max Scherzer and no more Trea Turner in the Washington Nationals' dugout??

Apparently with insects ... 'cause the Nats outfielder played with a praying mantis on his head for a full inning during his game Monday!!!

The hilarious scene all went down during the Nationals' tilt vs. the Phillies in D.C. ... when the 24-year-old outfielder got a surprise visit from a green friend.

Broadcast cameras captured the bug on Robles' dome while he was in the dugout ... and when he left the bench area to hit the field, the mantis stayed with him!!

For the entire inning, Robles and the mantis hung out in center field ... and at one point, Robles even informed his little friend of how many outs were in the inning!

Doesn't seem the creature brought Robles or the Nats good luck, though ... 'cause they went on to blow a 3-2 lead to lose the game, 7-5.

In fact, the Phillies went on to claim the mantis as their good luck charm, saying on social media, "RALLY MANTIS."

Simone Biles made history yet again Tuesday -- shaking off a week full of issues to win the bronze medal in her return to the Tokyo Olympics ... and she was PUMPED about it afterward.

Biles -- who came back to compete in the balance beam finals after withdrawing from the Games' previous gymnastics events due to a mental block -- posted a score of 14.00 ... landing her a medal that she says she's more proud of than any of her first place awards.

"It means more than all of the golds," the 24-year-old said, "because I've pushed through so much the last five years and the last week while I’ve even been here."

Biles was outstanding in Tuesday's event ... hitting stunts with ease and finishing her routine with several flips, a grab of her heart and a massive smile.

Biles ultimately ended up sharing the podium with gold medalist Guan Chenchen (who scored a 14.633) and silver medalist Tang Xijing (who scored a 14.233).

"My mental and physical health is above all medals that I could ever win," Biles said after the event. "So to be clear, to do beam, which I didn't think I was going to be, just meant the world to be back out there."

"And I wasn't expecting to walk away with the medal. I was just going out there doing this for me."

Biles said pulling out of last week's events due to mental health was not a "cop out" ... and she would be risking her physical health had she performed last week.

"Before team finals, the girls were terrified for me and they've never really been scared when I do something but they were like really nervous," she told "Today."

"At the end of the day, we're not just athletes or entertainment, we're human, too. And we have real emotions and sometimes they don't realize that we have things going on behind the scenes that affects us whenever we go out and compete."

As we previously reported, Biles did not compete in nearly every one of the gymnastics events in Tokyo after she said she was battling the "twisties."

Biles said she was having a hard time figuring out up from down while she was doing twisting stunts ... and called it all "petrifying."

Biles addresses the people claiming she "quit" ... saying she has worked 5 years for this moment, and would not back out of competing if it weren't absolutely necessary.

The Gymnastic Great, though, shrugged it all off ... and her bronze Tuesday now gives her seven total Olympic medals, tying her with Shannon Miller for the most ever by an American gymnast.

Wrestling legend Ric Flair is no longer with WWE -- the Nature Boy has been released from his contract, the company confirms to TMZ Sports.

It goes without saying -- Flair is one of the most iconic wrestlers to enter the squared circle ... he's a 16-time world champ and has been a fan favorite since joining the World Wrestling Federation in 1991.

It's not the first time Flair has parted ways with McMahon's company -- he left in 1993 for WCW before returning to WWF in 2001.

72-year-old Flair had a cup of coffee with other promotions in the '00s -- including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor -- before returning to WWE in 2012. He stayed with WWE up until this week.

While Naitch is one of the most recognizable wrestling superstars on the planet, we're told the move is not a complete shock ... despite Flair re-upping with WWE last May.

At the time, Flair told Wrestling, Inc., "Well it's not for life but I hope [WWE keeps] renewing me. You never know, but I'm obviously not gonna go anywhere else if they didn't renew me."

We're told the split has been in the works ... and both sides ultimately came to an agreement recently.

Of course, if Ric wants to find work elsewhere, his buddy Tony Khan runs All-Elite Wrestling, which could be a possible landing spot.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is retired FOR REAL ... so says the UFC superstar himself, who tells TMZ Sports there's absolutely no plans of a comeback in the works.

The 32-year-old laid down his gloves after beating Justin Gaethje in 2020 ... but given that he's still in the prime of his career, many believed he'd eventually make his way back to the UFC Octagon.

In fact, his longtime coach, Javier Mendez, recently told Betway Insider that Khabib "misses" fighting, adding, "I guess you could say he wants to fight again."

But, when we got Nurmagomedov out at Catch in Los Angeles over the weekend ... he emphasized over and over and over again that he's done.

"No," Khabib said when asked if he'd return. "No. No. No. No. No."

Khabib is clearly keeping his promise to his mother ... agreeing to never fight again following the tragic death of his dad (and coach), Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

Besides, The Eagle is obviously enjoying his post-fighting career as an MMA coach ... telling us he just flat-out loves it when his fighters win their matches.