TMZ Sports - Page 50

Magic Johnson did NOT call Donald Sterling to lull him into silence after TMZ Sports released the audio ... it was Donald who called Magic ... trying to use him as a prop for a Barbara Walters interview ... sources connected with Magic tell TMZ.

Our sources -- who know exactly what went down -- tell us ... Donald called Magic the Monday after TMZ Sports posted the audio and said he wanted Magic to sit with him for the Walters interview as a show of support. We're told Magic scoffed at Donald and ended the call.

As for Sterling's claim Magic somehow knew Stiviano and this may all have been a plot, our sources say that's a flat out lie ... Magic did NOT know Stiviano from Adam. We're told Magic in NO WAY was scheming to buy the Clippers.

Despite the fact he trashed Magic Johnson and called Anderson Cooper a racist ... there's one man who says he FORGIVES Donald Sterling -- former NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas.

Agent Zero went to Instagram after Sterling's attempted mea culpa on CNN last night for the previous racist comments he made -- and said, "I'll be the first to accept ur apology."

Arenas continued, "As a man who's made a mistake or two in life I know how hard it is to look at your self in the mirror when you let so many ppl down."

"But for anybody who can't and won't accept his apology u need to look in the mirror because were not perfect..forgiveness will destroy racism not more hatred."

Of course, Arenas has been through his share of off-the-court issues -- including a felony gun conviction and illegal possession of fireworks.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he feels TERRIBLE that Donald Sterling keeps dragging Magic Johnson through the mud ... and has issued an apology to the Lakers legend on behalf of the league.

After Sterling went on CNN and spewed more garbage about Magic -- including saying Magic should be ashamed for catching H.I.V. -- Silver immediately went into damage control mode.

"I just read a transcript of Donald Sterling’s interview with Anderson Cooper," Silver said last night ... "and while Magic Johnson doesn’t need me to, I feel compelled on behalf of the NBA family to apologize to him that he continues to be dragged into this situation and be degraded by such a malicious and personal attack."

Jay Z and Beyonce are sitting courtside TOGETHER at the Brooklyn Nets playoff game in NYC tonight ... clearly sending a message they're still on the same team after the big elevator fight with B's sister.

The couple didn't get to their seats until the 2nd quarter. Once they sat down, they were smiling and acting like their usual couply selves ... and even chatted it up with LeBron James like nothing was wrong.

We broke the story earlier today ... B's sister Solange went bersek on Jay in a hotel elevator on May 4th ... kicking and punching him like crazy while B stood by and watched.

Donald Sterling says Magic Johnson is a bad example for the children of L.A. because of what he did to "get A.I.D.S." back in the '90s ... and says he should be ashamed of himself.

Sterling made the comments to Anderson Cooper during his big CNN interview ... saying "To do what [Magic] did and then get A.I.D.S. ... I mean, come on."

For the record, Magic does not have A.I.D.S. -- but was diagnosed H.I.V. positive back in 1991.

Sterling continued his attack on Magic -- saying, "Big Magic Johnson ... what has he done? He's got A.I.D.S."

"What kind of a guy goes to every city and has sex with every girl? Then he catches H.I.V. ... is that someone we wanna respect and tell our kids about? I think he should be ashamed of himself. I think he should go into the background."

Sterling also said he believes Magic tricked him into staying quiet in the days after TMZ Sports published the original audio recording as part of a diabolical plot to take over the Clippers.

Sterling also just called Anderson Cooper a RACIST -- saying, "I think you have more of a plantation mentality than I do ... and I think you're more of a racist than I am."

Sterling didn't explain why he believes Cooper is a racist.

Sterling seems to be in denial about how the players feel about him -- saying they still "love me." He says the media hates him.

Beyonce's sister should never have ever come CLOSE to attacking Jay Z in that hotel elevator ... because the bodyguard could have prevented the attack ... so says a guy who would know, Ken Shamrock.

The former UFC champ now specializes in private security for high-profile people -- and he tells TMZ Sports the guy who was with Jay that night simply FAILED at his job.

"It's pretty clear that something went off [between Jay Z and Solange] before the fight," Shamrock says.

"The bodyguard should never have put them on the elevator together. You're waiting for a time bomb to go off. And when it does, you're stuck."

Shamrock -- who's been working for Pro-tect Global for more than a year -- says the bodyguard also erred by turning his back on Jay.

"Rather than getting in between Jay and Solange, he was pressing the elevator buttons. It seemed to me he didn't know what his job was."

Ken says he knows the guy was in a tough situation and says it's easy to judge from afar -- but the bottom line is ... Jay Z got attacked -- and it didn't have to happen that way.

V. Stiviano rolled into Beverly Hills Monday afternoon right before rolling the Ferrari Donald Sterling gave her into another car ... TMZ has learned.

Stiviano was driving her red whip behind a black Range Rover when we're told she failed to stop and caused a rear ender. The other driver tells TMZ ... she was wearing her visor at the time of the crash.

We're told V. went insane ... jumping out of the Ferrari and "screaming every obscenity in the book," including, "You know who you're messing with, mother f*****?"

Stiviano told the other driver she had to return the Ferrari ... though she was not specific. As you know by now, the car is one of several vehicles she got courtesy of Donald Sterling.

We're told Stiviano wouldn't ante up her insurance info and had "an assistant" deal with it.

Teddy Bridgewater is no Johnny Manziel ... so says Teddy Bridgewater ... who tells TMZ Sports instead of getting turnt up on draft night, he turned in ... and went to bed.

Teddy B was out in NYC this weekend -- after being selected as the final pick in the 1st round the of the NFL Draft ... and with all the raging parties around town, we had to ask how he celebrated.

Russian roulette is torture. Having your teeth extracted with pliers is torture. But merely enduring a tough stint in a Cuban prison is definitely NOT torture ... this according to Yasiel Puig.

Puig has filed new docs in his legal war with Miguel Angel Corbacho Daudinot ... who claims the MLB star struck a secret deal with the Cuban government to have him tortured several years ago.

In his suit, Miguel claims Puig and his mother agreed to make false statements in a Cuban court in 2010 -- and as a result, he was convicted of human trafficking and sentenced to 7 years in a Cuban prison. Miguel claims the prison stint was nothing short of "torture."

Miguel -- who's still in Cuba -- had initially filed a $12 million lawsuit against Puig in Miami ... citing a U.S. law which allows torture victims to file a civil lawsuit against those involved in their torturing.

Now, Puig is firing back -- claiming Miguel has no basis for his lawsuit for 2 big reasons:

1) Miguel never presented any hard proof showing Puig entered into an agreement with Cuba with the purpose of having Miguel tortured.

2) The U.S. law only protects victims of "extreme" or "unusually cruel" mistreatment ... such as Russian roulette or tooth extraction with pliers ... and Miguel's treatment doesn't rise to that level.

12:32 PM PT -- We spoke to Michael Vick about the incident ... who tells us, "I am not sure why this person was seeking attention. It's a reminder of how thankful I am for my fans."

Vick says he won't let the incident serve as a distraction -- saying, "I am more determined than ever to be a positive instrument of change for my family, my team and my community."

Mike Vick got some serious protection at a NYC bar Thursday night ... when security got physical with a heckler who was taunting the Jets QB about dogs ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Vick -- along with former Philadelphia Eagles teammate LeSean McCoy and others -- were hangin' out at The Ainsworth to watch the NFL Draft when the group was approached by a man holding a cell phone and screaming about a dog.

Sources at the bar tell us ... the man tried to get right up in Vick's face -- and that's when security stepped in, grabbed the man, and tried to physically drag him outside.

We're told Vick and his crew kept their cool during the incident ... and later went outside to check on the situation.

When they got outside the bar, security was still getting into it with the heckler -- and Vick and his crew just stood back and watched ... refusing to get involved.

Eventually, the heckler was kicked out ... and Vick, McCoy and the rest of the group went back inside and enjoyed the rest of the draft.

Welcome to New York.

It's pretty incredible ... Donald Sterling goes on the attack against Magic Johnson during his interview with Anderson Cooper.

As you know, a photo of Magic with V. Stiviano that she posted on Instagram was the catalyst for the now-famous recording first posted on TMZ Sports.

Sterling told Cooper he's spoken with Magic twice since the recording became public, and then gratuitously added that Magic has not done enough to help minorities.

But then he went on ... saying Magic was not a good example for the children of L.A.

The interview airs tonight on CNN at 8P.

Michael Sam is well aware of all of the nasty comments being said about his celebratory guy-on-guy kiss during the NFL Draft -- but he's "not bothered by it at all" ... his agent tells TMZ Sports.

At least two major sports stars -- and countless normies -- have attacked ESPN for airing footage of Sam kissing his boyfriend in the moments after he learned he had been drafted by the St. Louis Rams.

Sam's agent Cameron Weiss tells us ... Michael is very aware of the criticism, but he's making it a point to not let himself get caught up in the negativity.

"He's got really broad shoulders, he can handle this," Weiss says ... "He understands people are going to say positive and negative things. He's the perfect person to handle this."

Weiss says Sam has been "completely even keel" over the past couple of months -- but he's making sure to stay focused on the ultimate goal ... making the team."

8:13 AM PT -- Henderson is backtracking BIG TIME ... claiming his homophobic tweet was part of a twisted psychology experiment to see how the public would react. Suuuure.

Henderson wrote, "One of my best friends, WHO IS GAY, is about to graduate in psychology, asked me to say these things so he can have responses."

"The point of his study was to see how people react when others say things or act a certain way against another group of people."

He added, "Sorry for messing with everyone like that!!! Everyone really helped my boy AND FOR THAT WE ARE EXTREMELY APPRECIATIVE!!!"

Meantime, Ole' Miss is already distancing itself from Henderson -- with Athletic Director Ross Bjork telling us, "I am extremely disappointed and we do not condone the statements made by our former bball player. We believe in respect and dignity for all."

"We use significant resources to educate our student-athletes about respect and dignity for all people and unfortunately not everyone gets it."

Another sports star spitting homophobic venom over Michael Sam -- this time a college basketball star says he's going to boycott ESPN for showing Sam's "sickening" post-Draft kiss.

Vladimir Putin took some time away from riding horses and being scary ... to strap on some skates and hit the ice for a celebrity hockey game in Russia ... and shocker, THEY LET HIM SCORE!!

Putin, sporting the #11 jersey, played for the red team (naturally) during something called the "All-Russia Festival of Night Hockey League" in Sochi.

Russia's 62-year-old leader lined up with former NHL stars Viacheslav Fetisov and Pavel Bure -- to take on other famous Russian people who were probably way too scared to check Putin into the boards.

Donald Sterling has been REJECTED by at least 8 big law firms in his quest to sue the NBA ... we're told because they think he's toxic and would piss off their existing clients.

Multiple sources in the legal world tell TMZ ... Sterling has reached out to a number of extremely large, prestigious firms, both in L.A. and San Francisco, looking for representation ... but none were receptive.

Our sources say partners in the firms feel representing Sterling would alienate both their African American clients and corporate clients that are hyper-sensitive to controversy.

One source closely connected with Sterling tells TMZ ... it's especially galling for the Clippers owner, because a number of partners in these firms have called him from time to time asking for favors, including tickets to games.