TMZ Sports - Page 50

Gisele Bündchen's new chapter of life has her going all in on philanthropy work -- givin' back in a major way to help battle the growing childhood homeless crisis in Florida.

The supermodel announced Tuesday she'd be gifting a whopping $1 mil to the Miami chapter of Lotus House, the nation's largest women's shelter, which just broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility called The Children's Village.

We're told the new facility's goal is to focus on the needs of the community's youth, and to keep the momentum going on preventing homelessness in the area. Gisele's gift will go toward a new playground as well as more programming within the village.

The 7-figure donation was a no-brainer for Gisele, who said ... "Building a solid community for children is so important, especially for those who are vulnerable and in need."

She's stoked about the playground, too ... adding it'll be extremely beneficial to kids' physical health, social interactions, and overall self-confidence.

Lotus House has been open to those in need since 2006 -- growing from 34 beds to serving more than 10,000 women and children. Today, the facility has more than 80% of its guests successfully exiting... far above the national average.

The man of the hour has arrived -- Aaron Rodgers just touched down at the New York Jets' facility on Wednesday ... and he's already decked out in his new team's merch!!

Gang Green shared video of their newest quarterback showing up at 1 Jets Drive minutes ago ... and he was met right at the door by team owner Woody Johnson, head coach Robert Saleh, and the rest of the front office.

Everyone in the clip is understandably smiling from ear to ear ... and they gotta be relieved to finally have their coveted 4-time MVP in the building.

Rodgers -- who officially became a Jet on Monday -- will face the New York media for the first time later in the day ... and we're sure he will have plenty to talk about.

He already shared his goodbye to his team of 18 seasons ... penning a heartfelt letter to the Green Bay Packers on Instagram.

"I’m not sure it’s possible to fully express the gratitude that I have to the @packers, our incredible fans, the state of Wisconsin, the thousands of players that I crossed paths with, the incredible men and women who work for the organization, and the amazing people who I got to meet along the way, in one post with 10 pictures, but I hope you read this and feel my heart and soul, filled with love, joy, and peace about my time in green and gold. 💚💛," Rodgers said in the post.

He also thanked everyone from the front office to coaches, staffers, teammates and everyone in between ... as well as the fans who supported him over the years.

"This is not the end for us, I will see you again Green Bay, you’ll always have my heart ❤️"

We'll update the post as soon as he sits in front of the mic.

John Metchie III has made yet another huge stride in his recovery from cancer ... the star wide receiver returned to Texans practice Tuesday -- and he looked good!!!

The former Univ. of Alabama wideout was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia a few months after he was drafted by Houston last year ... and he was forced to sit out his entire rookie season while receiving treatment.

But, the 22-year-old fought it all valiantly throughout the year ... and he was finally able to rejoin his teammates on the practice field this week.

The wideout -- rockin' the No. 8 and a sweet pair of sunglasses -- caught a ton of passes throughout the workout ... and photos from the team show he certainly looked like he belonged.

The goal, of course, is to be ready for Week 1 in September ... and new Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans appeared cautiously optimistic earlier this month that that could be a real possibility.

"With John, as with every other player, we're going to take it one day at a time and see where he can grow and where he can be when the time comes," Ryans told reporters. "At the right time, when the season comes, we'll see where he is."

The Texans could certainly use the playmaker -- their offense ranked near the bottom of the league in passing yards in '22 with just 3,642.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was public enemy No. 1 at Wrigley Field Tuesday night -- but the Padres star was unbothered as Cubs fans serenaded him with steroids taunts during the game.

Tatis Jr. -- suspended for 80 games by MLB in August 2022 over a positive PED test -- was showered with "he's on steroids" chants as he stood in the outfield.

How'd the 24-year-old respond to the trolling? By dancing to the chants and, at one point, even gesturing toward fans in the bleachers.

Remember, MLB suspended Tatis Jr. for half a season after he tested positive for Clostebol, a banned substance, and the suspension, coupled with a wrist injury, caused him to miss the entire 2022 campaign.

Fernando, who has always maintained he never intentionally ingested performance-enhancing drugs, said he took medication to treat a skin infection, and that caused the positive test.

Tatis Jr. has apologized for the suspension, saying he was genuinely sorry for letting so many people down, and adding he has work to do to regain trust.

The 2x Silver Slugger debuted with the Padres last Thursday, where he hit leadoff for San Diego against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Lia Thomas -- the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship -- is firing back at her critics ... saying a lot of them are simply transphobes who are "using the guise of feminism" to hide their true, hateful beliefs.

Thomas opened up about her detractors in a lengthy interview this week with Schuyler Bailar -- the NCAA's first trans swimmer -- and she said it's just not possible to claim to be a feminist but to also not support her when it comes to competing against biological females.

"They're like, 'We respect Lia as a woman, as a trans woman, whatever, we respect her identity, we just don't think it's fair,'" the former collegiate swimmer said on the "Dear Schuyler" podcast.

"You can't really have that sort of half support, where you're like, 'Oh, I respect her as a woman here, but not here.' They're using the guise of feminism to sort of push transphobic beliefs."

Thomas -- who competed against males but switched to female competitions after she started hormone therapy in 2019 -- received backlash following nearly every event that she won over biological women. Her critics argued she had an unfair advantage ... and should be forced to compete in a separate category.

The issue became such a big deal, it sparked legislators to introduce bills in parts of the country to place restrictions on transgender athletes.

Outspoken supporters of those rules -- such as former swim star Riley Gaines and even some of Thomas' ex-teammates at UPenn -- have called themselves feminists who are trying to fight to protect women's sports.

But, during her interview with Bailar, Thomas said she believes that's all just an oxymoron.

"I think a lot of people in that camp sort of carry an implicit bias against trans people," Thomas said, "but don't want to, I guess, fully manifest or speak that out and so they try to play it off as this sort of half support."

Bailar agreed, adding, "In order to exclude anybody in the trans category, you have to reduce women to reproductive capacity, which is, in my opinion, extremely anti-feminist."

Sophia Culpo is spilling the tea on what led to her split from NFL player Braxton Berrios ... accusing the Miami Dolphins receiver of "betrayal" and breaking her trust prior to the breakup.

The influencer and younger sister of Christian McCaffrey's Miss Universe fiancée, Olivia Culpo, shared her side of the story during a Q&A with her 232k Instagram followers on Tuesday ... saying the whole thing has been "really hard" to accept.

"I'll say that it didn't end well or honestly," said Sophia, who went public with Braxton in early 2021. "A lot of trust was broken. But, I have an amazing support system and I appreciate everyone's love & support so, so much."

As we previously reported, 26-year-old SC confirmed her breakup from Berrios, 27, last month with a series of TikTok videos ... as she and her sister, Aurora, referred to themselves as the "single sisters."

Sophia's account lines up with internet rumors that Berrios moved on with social media superstar Alix Earle, who boasts 5.1 million fans on TikTok, after meeting in Miami ... although she did not straight-up confirm the speculation.

Fireman Ed is P-U-M-P-E-D PUMPED, PUMPED, PUMPED for Aaron Rodgers ... telling TMZ Sports he and the rest of Jets nation absolutely cannot wait for the quarterback to begin his career in NY.

Gang Green's biggest supporter spoke with us just after New York completed the trade for the Green Bay superstar this week ... and he said he's got huge hopes Rodgers can bring the Jets success that's escaped them the last few decades.

"Listen," Fireman Ed said. "The fan base is starving. Crazed dogs! We can't wait. We can't wait!"

It's been 54 years since the Jets won a Super Bowl ... and it's been over a decade since they've played in a playoff game. But Fireman Ed, real name Ed Anzalone, made it clear to us ... he thinks Rodgers can change that all in Year 1.

As for how Rodgers' polarizing personality will fit in with the bright lights of New York and the harsh media coverage that can come with it ... Fireman Ed said he's got no qualms about that whatsoever.

"Aaron Rodgers is made for New York," the 63-year-old said. "He is a polished veteran. He's seen it all. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time."

Ed added, "It's a marriage made in heaven."

Rodgers' first game for the Jets in New York will come sometime in September ... and Ed's so jacked for it -- ya better get ready for the loudest J-E-T-S chant MetLife's ever seen!!

Floyd Mayweather didn't just have diamonds all around his neck for the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia fight over the weekend -- he apparently had 'em on his head too ... the boxing legend's jeweler tells TMZ Sports the lid Floyd rocked to the match was so encrusted in gems, it was worth over $1 MILLION, according to the jeweler!

Shuki Diamonds told us out in L.A. this week he spent over a month making the blinged-out cap for Mayweather ... and it took him even longer than that to find the perfect "invisible diamonds" for it.

Shuki says the process to get the jewels on the "The Money Team" hat was arduous ... explaining it took painstaking work to get the cap looking just right.

According to Shuki, he had to make a mold, sandblast it all, and then shine it so it'd be perfect for Floyd's head.

"It's a big process," Shuki said.

The celeb jeweler gave it to Mayweather a few weeks ago while the two were in Dubai ... and since the two are so tight, he let it go free of charge.

And, when Floyd finally broke it out in public for Tank's massive win over Garcia in the boxing match of the year -- Shuki said he appreciated it very much.

Now, Shuki estimates it could sell for over $5 million if it ever hit an auction block.

"There's only one in the world," the jeweler said. "It's become historical -- it's Floyd Mayweather."

Ryan Garcia is keeping his head held high despite suffering his first career loss on Saturday ... stopping by a celeb-favorite restaurant just days after getting stopped by Gervonta "Tank" Davis.

24-year-old "King" Ryan was friendly with the crowd of cameras outside Wally's in Beverly Hills on Tuesday ... answering questions as he made it to his G-Wagon.

You have to give the young star credit for remaining in good spirits following defeat ... as he gave our TMZ Sports camera a positive medical update.

"I'm good, yeah," Garcia said just minutes ago. "Life's good."

The restaurant is known as a celeb hot spot, complete with lots of paparazzi ... so it's clear Ryan had no issue with being seen.

Garcia's undefeated streak ended when Davis planted a body shot that sent him to the canvas in the seventh round ... which had all of T-Moblie Arena freaking out.

The fight was a huge success ... and many believe it will go down as the biggest boxing event of the year.

As for his future plans, Garcia says he's planning to "come back stronger and make changes, come back stronger and rack up some wins ... and hopefully, down the line at the right time, get a rematch."

President Biden was played by Vladimir Putin ... according to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, who says the Russian president agreed to send Paul Whelan home with Brittney Griner but changed the deal during the exchange.

Despite reneging on the agreed-upon swap, McCaul says the U.S. went through with the trade, sending back notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, knowns as "the merchant of death."

"The deal was originally when the arms dealer from Russia was released that it was supposed to be Griner, the athlete, and Paul Whelan," Rep. McCaul revealed this week during an appearance on CNN.

The Congressman from Texas' 10th district continued ... "When they got to the point of the handoff, they call it, the Russians only showed up with one of the hostages, and that was Griner. And unfortunately, the Marine, Paul Whelan, was left behind."

Rep. McCaul believes the Russian president "played" JB's administration.

"Very tricky on Putin's part, and in my view, the Biden administration got played by releasing a very dangerous arms dealer for just one hostage, and not both."

Of course, 53-year-old Whelan, a retired U.S. Marine, has been locked up in Russia since December 2018. Shortly after his arrest, he was convicted on an espionage charge, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. has always maintained the charges are BS.

As for the details of the negotiations, McCaul is likely in a position to know about the inner workings of the months-long, high-level discussions ... he chairs the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee. He also previously sat on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Edmonton Oilers star Evander Kane says a number of Kings supporters turned a dream trip into a complete nightmare for a young fan last week ... accusing L.A. backers of harassing and spitting on her jersey during a Stanley Cup playoff game.

Evander shared the allegations via social media ... saying 10-year-old Cecily Eklund -- who is battling cancer -- was singled out for wearing a Kane jersey during Game 3 of the Kings vs. Oilers series at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

"I'm disgusted and appalled at what happened to this amazing little girl in the stands and in a women's restroom where she was harassed for wearing her jersey and was spit on by a LA fan for doing so," Kane said.

"This type of behavior is gross and unacceptable."

Kane went on to call the alleged conduct "pathetic" -- especially considering Cecily is a young warrior going through challenging times.

What makes things even worse -- Kane later shared a follow-up from someone DEFENDING Kings fans over the whole thing ... stating the awful human beings behind the alleged hateful actions had no other choice because he's "such a f***in scum bag."

"You make us spit on kids for being a dirty mother f***er," the user added.

Evander and Cecily have been tight for some time now -- the two met through the Ben Stelter Fund, which helps young kids battling illness have once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Ben Askren might be sleeping on the couch tonight ... and it's all 'cause he accidentally insulted his wife in what was supposed to be a super sappy appreciation post!!!

The former UFC star unleashed the blunder on both his Twitter and Instagram pages Tuesday afternoon ... when he was trying to praise his spouse, Amy, for being a great mother.

In his comment -- which was left as a caption on a photo of him with Amy and their kids -- he wrote, "I've seen some guys posting on social media lately about how they are winning bc their wife is attractive, while I don’t disagree I think finding a wife who is a great mother is 500% more important!!!"

He added, "Thanks [Amy] for being such a great mom to our kids."

The problem ... there appeared to be an insinuation in his post that perhaps his wife, who he's been married to for over a decade, isn't attractive.

Fans were quick to note the gaffe -- they slammed Askren on social media for the way he worded his compliment ... with many urging him to take it down before she saw it.

But, a little over an hour after he wrote it ... Askren blasted those who thought he was inadvertently calling his wife ugly.

"For those of you who are too dumb to realize multiple things can be true at once. My wife is both very hot and a great mother," the ex-fighter said. "Being a great mother is way more important as I originally stated."

Oscar De La Hoya says he has a good explanation for not showing up to Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia's post-fight press conference on Saturday ... he received death threats, and was concerned for his safety!

The 50-year-old former boxer broke it down for fans on social media ... after people noticed ODLH was a no-show after Tank KO'd his Golden Boy Promotion boxer in the 7th round.

"My security team told me 'boss we gotta get the f*** out of here' because I received death threats," ODLH said in the video.

"You guys don't know this, I received death threats throughout the whole week and they just said it was simply too dangerous, so we got out of there."

Oscar also explained why his partner, Bernard Hopkins -- former champion boxer and current Golden Boy promoter -- was also MIA following the fight, saying he was accused of trying to touch Davis with a banned substance during weigh-ins the previous day.

"Bernard Hopkins was accused during the weigh-in of having testosterone cream on his hands and touching Gervonta Davis when he only wanted to help him because he was going to fall off the stage," ODLH said.

"So, PBC, Gervonta's promoter, banned him from everything. He couldn't get inside the ring. He couldn't do anything during the promotion."

You can actually see Tank on video yelling at Hopkins, demanding he not touch him during the pre-fight event.

Bottom line is Oscar is attempting to put all the speculation to rest, insisting he didn't go AWOL when Garcia needed him after his first-career loss. In fact, ODLH says he's proud of his boxer and Tank for putting on an exceptional event.

"The best man won," ODLH said. "Tank Davis you're a great fighter."

"Ryan Garcia, I have your back. Bernard has your back. We're with you 100% and you will be back stronger than ever, better than ever. Guaranteed."

After the fight, 23-1 Garcia made it clear he wants to rematch 29-0 Davis down the line ... and many King Ry supporters, including UFC superstar Conor McGregor, definitely want to see that happen.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis is winning in life ... the 29-0 fighter was gifted a $250K "Gumbo" chain minutes after knocking out Ryan Garcia, all to commemorate a new strain of weed named after the boxing superstar.

TMZ Sports has learned Davis recently signed a deal with cannabis company Gumbo Brands, who are releasing a strain called "Ape S***."

In the video, you see Tank smiling ear-to-ear as owners Alexis Majors and Karim "Luca" Butler put the expensive piece of bling -- a pendant and diamond tennis chain from Pristine Jewelers -- around his neck.

We're told former NBA star Stephen Jackson, who met with the champ in the locker room after the fight, helped facilitate the partnership between Davis and Gumbo.

Of course, Davis was already a hot commodity heading into the fight ... and even more so now that he's ended Garcia's undefeated streak, eliminating any doubt he's the king in their division.

As we reported ... Tank opted to keep things relatively low-key following arguably the biggest win of his career, celebrating the victory with some friends at Ghostbar in Vegas.

Shane McMahon is back in the gym just weeks after tearing his quad at WrestleMania 39 ... and the WWE talent was in great company -- 'cause he was sweatin' it out with All-Pro Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry!!

Shane -- donning a large brace on his left leg -- posted video of his workout on Tuesday ... showing him going through a series of exercises as he attacks his rehab.

The two were accompanied by famous athletic trainer Melvin Sanders -- who works with all the biggest names in the NFL -- as well as Luke Miller, who is Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott's physical therapist.

Remember, Shane-O-Mac -- who hadn't appeared on WWE programming since the 2022 Royal Rumble -- came out during a segment featuring The Miz and Snoop Dogg at WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium.

Snoop set up an impromptu match between Shane and The Miz ... but it was called off after McMahon tore his quadriceps.

53-year-old McMahon suffered the injury after his knee buckled following a leapfrog -- but thankfully, WWE's medical team was able to intervene swiftly.

Snoop Dogg ended up saving the day -- he fought Miz in place of Shane ... and defeated the former WWE champion using The Rock's signature "People's Elbow" finisher.

Shane has a reputation for his death-defying stunts over his career -- and has always prided himself on staying in shape in case the moment arises to entertain WWE fans.

Colin Kaepernick is mourning the death of Harry Belafonte ... paying tribute to the legendary singer and civil rights activist by thanking him for his mentorship and leadership.

The former NFL quarterback took to Instagram after news of the "Day-O" singer's passing broke on Tuesday ... sharing a photo of them together with a sweet note.

"Thank you, Mr. B, for all of your years of mentorship, guidance, and lifetime of activism fighting for a better future for all of us," Kaepernick wrote.

"You will be missed by many, but your memory and impact lives on. I'm eternally grateful for our time together. Rest in Power."

Belafonte -- who was famously known for marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s -- was a huge Kap supporter ... and applauded the ex-49ers star for standing his ground despite all the backlash he received for protesting racial inequality during the national anthem at NFL games.

"When a Black voice is raised in protest to oppression, those who are comfortable with our oppression are the first to criticize us for daring to speak out against it," Belafonte said of Kaepernick in an interview with NewsOneNow in 2016.

"I think that it's a noble thing that he's done. I think that speaking out and making people aware of the fact that you are paying homage to an anthem that also has a constituency that by the millions suffer is a righteous thing to do."

Belafonte added, "The fact that these people are having these ‘How dare you speak out against lynching?’ and all of the things that racism stands for or the conclusions to racist acts permit – I think is a statement about America."

"I think he's a noble and a courageous man having done that."

Belafonte was 96 and leaves behind his wife, four children, two stepchildren, and grandchildren.