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Multiple sources connected to the situation tell us ... roughly 2-3 months ago, the mother of the child had a paternity test done with an ex she suspected to be the father, in an effort to collect child support from him.

But the test turned up negative, so the woman went to Adrian ... with whom she had a sexual encounter several years ago.

We're told ... when Adrian was first informed about the matter, he didn't question the possibility he was the dad -- but rather asked how he could help the situation.

Sources tell us ... a few weeks ago, A.P. started to plan a trip to South Dakota to meet the child for the first time and he was supposed to fly out later this month.

But when he heard the news about the attack on the 2-year-old, Peterson dropped everything and jetted over to Sioux Falls as soon as he could.

We're told Adrian met the child for the first time while the boy was on life support.

Multiple sources tell us ... Adrian has been very involved since the tragedy and was the one pushing to have the child's organs donated to other people in need of a transplant.

As for the suspect, Joey Patterson, we're told Adrian has never met the guy.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney says he's not interested because, "Risks already exist for the courageous, world class fighters who enter the Bellator cage; without adding further unnecessary risks into the mix."

Sucks for Rousimar -- since a handful of former UFC stars have made the switch to Bellator like Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz ... who fight on Pay-Per-View later this month.

Bjorn adds, "Fighter safety is paramount to me and my team."

Some guys give their wives diamonds when they give birth ... but Indianapolis Colts player Antoine Bethea just set the bar even higher ... lavishing his fiancee with a super tricked-out BMW.

Antoine tells TMZ ... he bought the 2013 BMW X6 to celebrate the birth of their daughter (that's called a push present, guys) and his fiancee's birthday ... then had the whip completely rebuilt.

Sources close to the customizing shop say the car has about $30K worth of modifications, including:

-body lowered 3 inches
-custom grill
-smoked head and tail lights
-customized bumpers
-powder coated black rims

And the sickest part of all ... lighted projectors in the doors that project the BMW logo onto the ground when the doors are open.

BMW. The ultimate birthing machine.

3:00 PM PDT: Peterson just sent a series of Tweets: "God Bless everyone and thank u so much. The NFL is a fraternity of brothers and I am thankful for the tweets, phone calls and text messages from my fellow players. Thank you to my family, my fans and fans of other teams for their support."

Adrian Peterson's 2-year-old son has died ... cops have confirmed.

Cops believe Peterson's son was severely beaten by 27-year-old Joseph Patterson, the man who was dating the mother of the NFL star's child.

As we reported, the mother of the child has decided to donate the child's organs to people in need.

The boy was on life support since 5:30 PM Thursday ... but his condition never improved ... so family members made the decision to take the child off the ventilator.

Sources tell TMZ .. Adrian was informed about the situation before the news went public.

We're told Peterson will be planning the funeral with other members of the boy's family.

Patterson was initially arrested in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for assault and battery of an infant -- and now, it's almost certain the charges will be elevated to murder.

Kobe Bryant has Chinese envy -- at least when it comes to basketball -- claiming the rules in the Far East make it a real man’s game ... because “out here, you can’t even touch a motherf**ker.”

Kobe's diss to the NBA came during a candid moment in Vegas with Floyd Mayweather earlier this week ... when the two began talking about the differences between basketball in China vs. the NBA.

“They let you play over there,” Kobe said … adding, “out here they change the rules up and sh*t. You can’t even touch a motherf**ker. You can’t touch a n***a.”

Kinda strange coming from Kobe ... considering he has a reputation for begging NBA refs for calls.

Calls to China … weren’t made (c'mon, international calls ain't cheap!)

Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall is taking it one step further with his infamous green shoes -- after disobeying the NFL's direct orders NOT to wear them on the field last night -- TMZ has learned, he's auctioning them off ... for charity.

Brandon announced he'd be wearing the green shoes during last night's game against the Giants -- in honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week -- but the NFL said he'd be fined if he did ... because the shoes violate the League's uniform policy. (The only exception is the pink shoes players are currently wearing to support breast cancer awareness.)

As you can see, Brandon (who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011) followed through with his promise ... and said he'd match the NFL's fine with a donation to a breast cancer charity. But he's not stopping there.

We've learned Brandon has now decided to auction off the green cleats, and donate the proceeds to his own foundation, dedicated to helping people cope with mental illnesses like his own. The auction is currently at $2,000.

FYI, if you're wondering how much Marshall could get fined by the NFL -- it could easily exceed $10,000.

Marshall was already fined $10,500 last year for wearing orange cleats -- not for any particular cause -- but since last night's stunt would be a repeat offense, the fine could be larger. It's expected to be handed down next week.

10:16 AM PT -- Multiple sources tell TMZ ... Peterson's son is currently on life support and hasn't had brain activity since 5:30 PM last night.

We're told the family is monitoring the situation closely, and if there is no improvement in 24 hours, the mother wants to remove life support and donate the boy's organs to people in need.

10:00 AM PT -- Adrian Peterson's father has confirmed ... the injured boy is, in fact, Adrian's son ... but it's NOT Adrian Peterson Jr.

The Pioneer Press spoke with Nelson Peterson ... who says, "All I can say is, we are asking for prayers and for respect for our family as we deal with this tragic situation."

8:41 AM PT -- Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... the injured child is Adrian's son, but it's not Adrian Peterson Jr., the child he's been famously photographed with in public over the years.

We reached out to Peterson's reps -- but so far, we have not heard back.

Adrian Peterson's 2-year-old son is currently in critical condition in a South Dakota hospital ... after he was allegedly severely beaten by the man dating the mother of his child, TMZ has learned.

The Minnesota Vikings running back immediately left his team to be with his son.

Officials tell us they've arrested the suspect, 27-year-old Joseph Patterson ... who's been charged with aggravated felony assault and battery of an infant.

According to law enforcement, emergency responders arrived to the apartment where Peterson's son was living at 5:46 PM on Wednesday ... and found the child unresponsive.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital and medical experts determined the injuries were consistent with abuse.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the child suffered severe head injuries.

Adrian Peterson just addressed the media ... and thanked everyone for their support in the wake of the terrible tragedy involving his 2-year-old son.

Adrian told reporters he's dealing with the situation privately ... but insisted he WILL be playing with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

We broke the story ... Adrian's 2-year-old was severely beaten by the boyfriend of the child's mother.

The suspect was arrested for assault and battery.

Deion says he didn't assault the guy ... but acknowledges they "locked up" after Deion learned some of the student athletes at the school were not doing well in the classroom.

In a statement, the school would not explain the specific reason they want to cut ties with Sanders, but acknowledge the positive things he did for the place saying, "

"Deion's positive contribution is appreciated and regarded as a laudable example. The school family wishes Mr. Sanders much success in his future endeavors."

Deion previously griped that he was angry about the quality of the education at PPA -- but school officials insist they have "complete confidence" in their programs.

It's bad enough that he can't play, but injured Dodgers star Matt Kemp isn't traveling with the team either -- and TMZ has video of the All Star gimping his way through LAX today on a scooter.

With the rest of the squad already in St. Louis for the NLCS, Kemp -- nursing two injuries -- wheeled through the airport Thursday afternoon on a medical scooter designed to help him keep the weight off his busted right ankle.

Kemp seemed pretty bummed out about the situation -- and for good reason -- telling us that having to ride around on the scooter, while the rest of the guys are prepping for the Cards, straight up blows.

But don't feel too bad for Matt -- he still raked in roughly $20 million this season ... so it's not a total loss.

His FATHER was a baseball star. HE was a baseball star. But Ken Griffey Jr.'s son WON'T carry on the MLB legacy 'cause he chose football instead ... and KG2 tells TMZ he's totally cool with it.

Turns out, Ken's kid Trey Griffey is a freshman wide receiver for the University of Arizona ... and Ken's in L.A. to watch the Wildcats take on USC tonight.

But when we asked if he was a little disappointed that his 6'3", 190 pound kid won't be following in his Major League footsteps, Ken gave a pretty heartfelt reply.

"He loves football ... and as a parent, I've got to be supportive of that," Ken told us ... adding, "You can't tell your child what to love and not to love."

But that's not all ... we also asked Ken about his kid's chances of making the NFL, if he considers himself the greatest HR hitter of his generation, and his encounter with Charlie Sheen.

Oklahoma City Thunder big man Kendrick Perkins was arrested today after allegedly punching a woman in the face outside of a nightclub in July.

Officials say 28-year-old Perkins and his brother-in-law Quincy Alpough were outside Nox nightclub in Harris County, Texas when they got into an altercation with a woman named Mikeeta Cotton.

Cotton claims she was driving her car in front of the club and got into a fender bender with Alpough's female cousin.

Cotton says the woman attacked her ... and Alpough quickly joined in, pushing her and yelling.

Cotton claims Perkins -- who's 6'10" also entered the fracas and punched her brother in the head ... and then smacked her in the face with a closed fist.

A third person says Alpough elbowed her in the throat -- knocking her unconscious.

You don't go to Italy and not eat the pasta, you don't go to Japan and not try the sushi ... and Dwight Howard knows you can't go to the Philippines and not hit up the karaoke nightclubs.

The 6'11" Houston Rockets star has been in the Philippines to play a couple of NBA exhibition games ... but a few nights before he hit the court, Dwight blew off some steam at one of the country's most famous karaoke clubs.

But the karaoke joints over there aren't like the karaoke joints over here -- Filipinos take their karaoke VERY seriously and the clubs are the epicenter of the nightlife.

In fact, roughly SIX people have been MURDERED in the Philippines over disputes stemming from someone botching Frank Sinatra's version of "My Way" during a karaoke sesh.

Fortunately, Dwight didn't have that problem .. and emerged unscathed after spending his Monday night in the V.I.P. section of the Liberty Island karaoke bar in Manila.

We're told Dwight had a blast -- with dancing and full bottle service. We're told Howard was very cool inside the club and even signed some autographs for some of the staffers.

Dwight didn't play ball until Thursday ... and put up 9 points and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes against the Pacers.

Deion Sanders tells TMZ ... he did not CHOKE SLAM an employee at the school he co-founded ... but acknowledges there was a physical confrontation.

Cops in Dallas are investigating violent allegations made by Kevin Jefferson, the CFO of Prime Prep Academy ... a charter school Deion co-founded last year.

According to Jefferson, Sanders flew off the handle after learning that some of the school's student athletes were not doing well in their classes.

Jefferson says Sanders got "upset and a little emotional" and then "grabbed me by my throat and kind of threw me to the ground."

But Sanders says it's all BS -- telling TMZ, "We locked up with one another ... but he was not physically assaulted."

He adds, "He's looking for a pay day. I did nothing to that gentleman that warranted an assault."

Sanders later tweeted, "The Person claiming assault is a fake administrator whom does absolutely nothing to help the school,kids or teachers reach our goals. Truth."

He added, "I won’t sit&witness my PrimePrep kids receive 2nds when they deserve the BEST EDUCATION!"

NFL star Major Wright just got into serious heat over his side hustle -- AFRICAN DIAMONDS -- and now he's being chased down by a couple of scary loan sharks.

Here's the short of it ... when he's not playing ball, Wright operates a diamond trading company called TDW Diamonds, and allegedly borrowed $75,000 last year in order to purchase raw South African diamonds (ranging from 21-31.5 carats).

Problem is ... the lenders are saying they still haven't been repaid, and the interest rate is borderline mafia-level.

According to their lawsuit, lenders Jimmy Michel and Marc Geffrard claim Wright promised to repay the loan PLUS 100% interest by March 2012 ... a total of $150,000 ... but that never happened.

It's now been more than a year and Michel and Geffrard say they still haven't been paid. They're suing for the full $150,000 plus even more interest.

P.S. -- the loan sharks are gonna get screwed because under Florida law, if anyone charges more than 18 percent on a loan, they forfeit their right to collect any interest at all. So, by (allegedly) signing a dumb contract, the two footballers may have outsmarted the sharks in the end.

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan didn't pull any punches -- his team sucks ... in fact, they might suck too much for even Tim Tebow to work his usual miracles.

The good news for Khan? He's still stupid rich.