TMZ Sports - Page 50

Evander Holyfield told a housemate on "UK Celebrity Big Brother" that being gay is no different than being handicapped ... because a doctor can fix both ... and was immediately SCOLDED like a child by "BB" producers.

Holyfield made the comments Sunday -- during his first week in the BB house -- when reality star Luisa Zissman asked him if there were any gay boxers in the sport.

Holyfield -- a deeply religious Christian --cited the bible and said homosexuality is NOT a choice ... but rather something like a "handicap" ... something doctors can fix.

Zissman respectfully disagreed with Evander ... and it seemed the two were ready to move on with their lives ... when Evander was taken to a private room, where producers RIPPED him for expressing his beliefs.

In fact, "BB" producers called Evander's comments "inappropriate" because they "aren't the views that are held by a large section of society."

Holyfield says he understood that his comments could be considered offensive ... but never apologizes.

This whole situation reminds us why we revolted against England ... so we could have the freedom to express our religious and other beliefs ... no matter how offensive.

As bad as Evander is .. the show is being RIDICULOUS. Didn't they they learn anything from the A&E/"Duck Dynasty" debacle??

The fearless, flying-punch throwing Alabama woman who attacked a group of Oklahoma fans at the Sugar Bowl has broken her silence ... saying she was NOT drunk when she went airborne and WOULD DO IT AGAIN!!

The woman, Michelle Pritchett -- a photographer and married mother of 3 -- spoke with Yellow Hammer News after footage of her attack went viral ... saying she only got violent after the OU fans began taunting her 16-year-old son.

"What I did was probably not the thing to do. But they were taunting us. They began by going after me. But then they crossed the line and started taunting my 16-year-old son.”

Pritchett says the OU group also called her a "stupid b*tch."

"I’m embarrassed," Pritchett admitted ... "I love The Tide and I apologize to all the players and to Coach Saban and to the entire fan base. I’m sorry."

But despite the fact that she seemed wasted out of her mind ... Michelle insists booze was not a factor saying, "I wasn’t intoxicated ... I want people to know that. I’d had a couple of drinks, but I was not intoxicated.”

Dwyane Wade's baby mama drama is NOT a joke in the Miami Heat locker room ... with team sources telling TMZ Sports his teammate refuse to make light of the situation out of respect for the All-Star.

Of course, Wade's personal life has become a huge story ... after he acknowledged he knocked up a woman who's not Gabrielle Union back in February. Wade claims they were on a break at the time, though judging from Gabby's Instagram page, it seems they were very much together.

Now, our Miami Heat sources tell us ... there's an unspoken pact between the players to leave the topic out of locker room convos -- "It's quiet as a mouse when it comes to the D-Wade situation."

As one source put it ... the players have way too much respect for Wade "to make fun of that at all."

The San Francisco 49ers got surprise visit from wrestling legend Ric Flair tonight ... but what's more shocking, one of the players gave him props for flying into the "sh*thole" that is Green Bay!!!

With the 49ers set to play the Packers Sunday in a Wild Card game, The Nature Boy gave a pump up speech to the squad at the team meeting the night before ... even belting out his signature "WOOOO!!"

But after the visit, lineman Anthony Davis gave the Pack some last minute bulletin board material when he ripped the city ... tweeting, "Nature Boy Ric Flair flew into this sh*t hole to show us some love."

In all fairness to Davis, the weather in Green Bay is BEYOND FREEZING ... but "sh*t hole?"

As for Ric, unclear what his connection is to the team ... since he was born in Tennessee and lives in North Carolina. But when the topic of marriage came up, he did drop one nugget:

If Andrew Luck wasn't an NFL quarterback, he coulda been one helluva monk ... at least judging by his hair.

While 24-year-old Luck led his Colts to one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history on Saturday, defeating the Chiefs 45-44, he gave the world a peek under the helmet ... and it seems he's got a lot more in common with LeBron James than just being a #1 draft pick.

Hey, bald is beautiful ... especially when you're in the playoffs.

Johnny Manziel's Texas A&M teammates aren't even a little bit mad that their QB immediately skipped town to party with Drake just one day after their Bowl victory ... in fact, a rep for the school tells us Johnny put in some serious team celebration time BEFORE he left.

As we previously reported, Johnny -- who most likely played his last college game on Dec. 31 -- jetted to Miami to hang with his pal Drake on Jan. 1 ... saying he needed a little "vaca."

But Texas A&M Associate Athletic Director of Media Relations Alan Cannon tells TMZ Sports ... the team isn't bitter at Johnny for leaving so quickly, because they spent lots of quality time together the night of the victory.

"Johnny came back to the hotel on the team bus and celebrated with his teammates and the fans that had gathered in the lobby."

Cannon adds, "This whole team supports Johnny. He is very much a part of the team -- a key part."

Anderson Silva will NOT retire from the UFC after suffering a gruesome leg injury last week ... so says Spider's longtime manager, who tells TMZ Sports "Trust me, he will be back."

We spoke with Jorge Guimaraes ... who says the 38-year-old is in great spirits after undergoing surgery on the leg that Chris Weidman cracked in half at UFC 168.

"He had his second X-ray [Thursday] and everything looks great. It was a clean break so the nerves are okay. He’s already started physical therapy and he’s moving his toes."

Jorge says Silva is extremely confident he'll return to the octogon after he recovers -- despite rumors he's considering hanging up his trunks for good.

Tom Brady's son got a rude awakening on where he stands in the family pecking order today ... when his parents kicked him out of his comfy stroller ... in place of the family dog.

Tom and Gisele bundled up to brave the aftermath of the Boston snow storm today ... and took a family stroll with their son Benjamin and pit-bull Lua.

But it seems like Lua -- despite her custom winter doggie jacket -- got some cold paws on the walk ... and his 4-year-old son got booted from his all-terrain stroller in favor of the pooch.

NBA star James Harden claims the guy suing him for an alleged attack outside of an L.A. nightclub DESERVED to get socked in the face, because he was acting like an aggressive a-hole ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... the Houston Rockets player is being sued by a Lakers fan who claims JH socked him in the face back in November after he ran up to Harden's SUV and yelled, "Kobe owns your ass."

But James just filed new docs in L.A. County Superior Court, responding to the lawsuit, in which he says ... IF, and only if, he punched the fan, it's because the guy posed a threat to James and the people who were with him that night..

James also says he was justified in his actions, citing the "doctrine of self-defense."

James is asking the judge to throw out the case ASAP and wants the fan to pay his legal costs.

Allegations of homophobia are running wild in the NFL ... with Torrey Smith dropping a gay slur, Chris Kluwe claiming he was fired for championing gay rights and Aaron Rodgers on the attack over gay rumors.

Plus, Mike Tyson STOPS a fight from breaking out? We've got the whole story and a crazy brawl in the stands at the Sugar Bowl.

10:50 AM PT -- Torrey is standing his ground ... tweeting, "I wasn't being offensive nor am I homophobic not apologizing or taking it down."

With the Chris Kluwe gay controversy raging, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith has thrust himself into the mix by hurling a homophobic slur in public.

Smith just posted a photo on Instagram featuring a man wearing pink flowery socks ... along with the caption, "Look at this queen."

Seriously.

Interesting timing, considering Kluwe says he was blackballed from the NFL for crusading against gay hatred -- like this -- and pushing for equality.

Of course, it ain't the first time an NFL star has used a homophobic slur in public -- just last year, 49ers defensive star Chris Culliver came under serious fire after saying he wouldn't play with a gay teammate because he's not into "that sweet stuff."

Jovan Belcher's infant daughter is following in her grandmother's footsteps ... because her legal rep is suing the Kansas City Chiefs for the wrongful death of the child's late father, TMZ Sports has learned.

Zoey Belcher can't sue the Chiefs herself -- she was only 3 months old when her NFL linebacker dad murdered her mother and shot himself in the Chiefs' facility parking lot back in 2012 -- but her conservator has filed the case on Zoey's behalf, according to court docs.

The suit is nearly identical to the one filed on Tuesday by Zoey's grandmother -- Cheryl Shepherd -- and states the Chiefs were directly responsible for Jovan's failing mental health prior to his death.

The Chiefs allegedly failed to diagnose Jovan's post-concussion syndrome ... which they say caused him to suffer "insane impulses" ... which played a factor when Jovan shot and killed his girlfriend (Zoey's mom) and then himself in December 2012.

Former NFL star Brendon Ayanbadejo tells TMZ Sports ... ex-Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe is "100% right" about claims he was cut from the team because of his pro-gay rights crusade -- and he's got the stats to back it up.

Ayanbadejo -- who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens -- has been friends with Kluwe for a while (they both share the same views on gay rights) ... and tells TMZ Sports he's always suspected Kluwe's activism was the real reason the Vikings cut Kluwe last year.

FYI -- Kluwe unleashed on Minnesota Thursday in a scathing self-written article on Deadspin, in which he referred to two Vikings officials as "cowards" and another as a "bigot" for cutting him after 8 seasons with the team. The Vikings insist Kluwe was only released as a result of his "football performance."

But Brendon says the numbers speak for themselves ... Kluwe was great ... but he strongly believes Chris was blacklisted because he's been so outspoken about a cause that doesn't jive with the NFL.

"Sports Illustrated" swimsuit model Julie Henderson left a little more to the imagination than usual this week when she hit the beach in Miami ... sporting a bikini made of actual cloth instead of paint.

The 27-year-old model has appeared in the legendary S.I. Swimsuit Edition seven years in a row, starting in 2007.

But her most famous moment had to be her 2009 body paint photo shoot ... which the people at S.I. so generously captured on video to share with the world ... and it's glorious.

Jay Cutler is worth every single penny of his brand new 7-year, $126 MILLION contract with the Chicago Bears, so says one of the Windy City's most famous sons, Common.

The rapper/actor/Bears-superfan was leaving ArcLight in L.A. last night when we asked about the QB signing one of the biggest deals in the NFL, despite the fact he didn't make the playoffs this year.

Common's response? Da Bears made the right call ... Cutler "deserves it."

If Cutler plays out his entire deal with the team, he'll be 37-years-old when it's over.

The question -- currently, Jay has more cameos on "The League" than he does Super Bowl rings ... think that'll change in the next 7 years?

Charles Barkley wasn't far off the mark when he said the Detroit Lions "have no idea how to play football" ... this according to an actual Detroit Lion, who tells TMZ Sports, the team has LOTS of work to do after failing to make the playoffs.

Wide Receiver Nate Burleson tells us, "I can't blast Charles. To a large degree, I agree with him."

In case you missed it, Charles went OFF on the "Rich Eisen Podcast" today, saying, "The Detroit Lions would be the perfect example of a team that's got a bunch of talent that don't have no clue, any clue, how to play football."

But while Burleson sees where Charles is coming from, he still thinks the man's blowing things out of proportion. "Saying we have no idea how to play football is quite exaggerated. No clue and no consistency are different. You don't make it to this level without knowing how to play the game."