TMZ Sports - Page 50

Michael Sam -- the first openly gay NFL prospect -- is pumped another Division 1 athlete has come out of the closet ... and he will be reaching out to Derrick Gordon to offer support, TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke to Sam's rep who tells us ... "We're so happy for him. This is going to happen more and more because it's now accepted by society."

The rep says Sam is looking forward to the opportunity to speak to Gordon so he can offer "words of encouragement."

UMass basketball player Derrick Gordon has announced he's gay -- making him the first openly gay basketball player in Division 1 men's college basketball.

While her man's away, Aaron Hernandez's fiancee will play ... in fact, she got herself a good ol' fashioned lap dance from a male stripper in Rhode Island this week ... and TMZ Sports has the pic.

The man accused of stalking Selena Gomez has a connection to Carlos Boozer and TWO other NBA stars ... his shirt, TMZ Sports has learned.

When Che Cruz was arrested last week in Calabasas for allegedly jumping the fence at Selena's home, he was wearing a shirt with a logo for "Cliq App" -- a small startup company with 3 NBA investors ... Boozer, Dorell Wright and Ty Lawson.

We're told ... when the guys saw Cruz wearing the shirt they scrambled to figure out how he got one -- and then, it clicked.

Turns out, one of the founders of the company saw Cruz in L.A. a few weeks earlier and gave him the shirt because he thought he was down on his luck and could use it.

Now, Boozer, Wright, Lawson and the rest of Cliq App are distancing themselves from Cruz -- saying, "We are deeply Saddened that Selena Gomez was violated and had to endure such a frightening incident. The Cliq App is in no way associated with the suspect involved and we are completely against all of his alleged criminal actions."

The Ultimate Warrior is dead ... he died suddenly and horrifically, right in front of his wife.

We've learned Warrior collapsed without warning outside an Arizona hotel at 5:50 PM Tuesday ... while walking to his car with his wife.

He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Warrior -- real name James Hellwig -- was a true WWE legend ... and was one of the most iconic wrestlers of all time. He was 54-years-old.

Warrior was just inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before Wrestlemania XXX this weekend ... and this week he made his first appearance on "Monday Night Raw" in years.

Triple H just tweeted, "Saddened to announce the passing of the Ultimate Warrior. Icon and friend. My sympathy to his wife Dana and his daughters."

Stephanie McMahon also tweeted, "#RIPUltimateWarrior Your strength of character is to be admired. There will never be anyone like you. Your spirit lives on in your family."

Hulk Hogan -- Warrior's greatest rival -- has also tweeted, "RIP WARRIOR. only love. HH"

Kevin Nash wrote, "So happy I embraced Warrior with a hug when we saw each other backstage Saturday night.My heart goes out to his family.Always Believe."

Warrior posed for some pics at the airport in New Orleans around 6am Tuesday morning. We're told he was in great spirits and offered to take photos with any fan who approached him.

WWE posted a message on the official website saying, "WWE is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the most iconic WWE Superstars ever, The Ultimate Warrior. "

"Warrior began his WWE career in 1987 and quickly went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history. Warrior became WWE Champion at WrestleMania VI, defeating Hulk Hogan in an epic encounter. We are grateful that just days ago, Warrior had the opportunity to take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame and was also able to appear at WrestleMania 30 and Monday Night Raw to address his legions of fans."

"WWE sends its sincere condolences to Warrior’s family, friends and fans. Warrior was 54 and is survived by his wife Dana and his two daughters."

Story developing ...

Cris Carter's wife says she was HEADBUTTED by another woman at a tennis match in Boca Raton that got super-violent ... and it's all over a dispute over a line call.

The NFL Hall of Famer's wife, Melanie Carter, was playing in a doubles match at the Seasons of Boca Raton community center on Monday when she got into it with a line judge over a call.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Carter says the judge began to cuss her out ... so she told the woman to mind her own business.

Eventually, the ladies got in each other's faces -- and that's when Carter says the judge said something like "ht me." All of the sudden, Carter claims, the judge headbutted Carter ... so she punched her back.

Melanie claims they fell to the ground fighting and several people had to pull them apart.

As for the other woman, she DENIES the headbutt and says Carter threw the first punch.

When cops arrived, the officer spoke with witnesses -- but couldn't determine who was the aggressor -- so no arrests were made.

Orlando Scandrick went to Mexico ... and all he got was TWO HANDFULLS OF ASS!

The Dallas Cowboys cornerback took a trip to Cancun with his "Basketball Wives" girlfriend Draya Michele ... and judging by the pics, they couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Our sources tell us the two were on a couple's getaway with some friends -- so Orlando could relax and chill out before he starts training for the 2014 season.

The Iron Sheik has joined the grassy knoll lunch club ... claiming The Undertaker's loss at WrestleMania 30 was an off-the-cuff conspiracy triggered by an injury during the match.

It was a shocking loss ... breaking a record 21 wins in a row.

Undertaker suffered a serious concussion during his match against Brock Lesnar. A fringe cell -- including Iron Sheik -- believes Undertaker was supposed to win but after the injury there was a mad scramble to change the plan because Undertaker wasn't physically able to seal the deal.

Rob Gronkowski did a pretty awesome thing last night -- he took center stage at an event to raise money for fallen firefighters ... and pumped up the crowd to fork over $20k in donations!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the New England Patriots tight end hit up the Paradise Rock Club in Boston to help fundraise for the families of two men killed in the 9-alarm fire on March 26th.

We're told Gronk had beers with some of the firefighters and even put on a hat from the Boston Fire Gaelic Brigade before taking the mic and saying a few short tributes to the men who "put their lives on the line all the time."

Gronk told the crowd, "They're our true heroes ... God bless America ... Let's get GRONKIN'."

Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson says he "cannot be more grateful" that he was arrested for DUI 2-times in less than a month ... telling TMZ Sports it forced him to get the help he needed.

Henderson -- who was cut by the Vikings in February right after the 2 arrests -- just finished a stint in a rehab facility ... where he says he realized he had a bad substance abuse problem that had taken over his life.

"I was arrested and spent almost 24 hours in a holding cell and had nothing but time to think about the path my life was heading down. That night I had a vision of my future and knew I had to do something to better it."

Henderson says hours after he was released from jail, he checked into rehab -- and during his stint, he says he received incredible support from fellow patients and a Vikings teammate who visited him at the treatment center.

Erin says he will continue to pursue a career in the NFL -- but notes "the most important thing to me right now is maintaining my sobriety."

Henderson notes, "Sober Erin's light shines 100 times greater than 'using' Erin ever could."

Olympic swimming legend Ian Thorpe -- who won FIVE gold medals for Australia over the years -- has been hospitalized in Sydney after suffering a serious infection in his shoulder ... and his agent says he will never swim competitively again.

The 31-year-old's agent told local media, "He’s contracted two forms of bugs in hospital. He’s undergone two or three operations over the last two months so ... I mean bad luck. He’s quite sick but that’s the situation."

"It’s serious but it’s not life-threatening," he said.

Thorpe's agent says reports that he will lose his arm are untrue -- but does say, "From a competitive point of view -- he will not be swimming competitively again I don’t think."

Thorpe is a legend in Australia -- winning a total of 9 Olympic medals from the 2000 and 2004 games.

Apparently, Pharrell's giant hat is becoming a thing now ... because LeBron James was rockin' a dome piece just like the singer's at dinner last week in Miami.

'Bron hit up Seasalt & Pepper in Miami Beach on Thursday with a couple of friends ... and his brand new Smokey the Bear hat.

We're told LeBron and his boys had a blast -- ordering a ton of food and even requesting some songs from the DJ. Sources say he specifically asked for some Jay Z.

Jason Kidd also happened to be in the restaurant that night -- on a romantic dinner date with his wife.

Unfortunately, Jason must've left his giant hat at home.

Howard Stern just ripped Jeff Van Gundy apart -- calling the guy everything from a "douche bag" to an "asswipe" and even a "midget" ... after JVG went after Stern for leaving a Knicks game early.

9:55 AM PT -- Trump has responded to Cuban on Twitter ... saying, "Saw @mcuban try to hit a ball in Lake Tahoe while I played in tournament- he’s got no talent or strength!!!!"

Mark Cuban says Donald Trump is a liar -- claiming there's NO WAY Trump could have personally witnessed his terrible golf game ... because he's NEVER played ... not once.