TMZ Sports - Page 50

Mary Kate Cornett and her parents are coming off an emotional 48 hours ... one which her parents said left them feeling helpless -- though a recent development may help the Cornetts take some of their power back.

We spoke with Mary Kate Cornett's mother, Leslie, and her father, Justin ... who tell us all the claims about their daughter floating around on the internet are untrue.

We're told the last couple days have been difficult for the trio, who are all spending time together in Oxford, Mississippi -- the city where the University of Mississippi resides.

NFL superstar Stefon Diggs just filed a lawsuit against a former fling ... accusing her of assaulting him, threatening to torpedo his career and attempting to extort millions of dollars out of him.

The Houston Texans receiver filed the papers this week ... claiming model and TV personality Mulan Hernandez -- who he had a "casual relationship" with for months -- showed up at his apartment around 6 AM on June 7, 2024 after a night of partying and proceeded to "aggressively berate" him.

Diggs states Hernandez entered his gaming room and ignored his instructions to leave ... and despite his attempts to defuse the situation, she continued to go off on him.

Gene Hackman and his wife were inside their home, not moving ... and the sight of them got the 911 caller very emotional, TMZ has learned.

We've obtained the audio of the 911 call that led to police discovering the bodies of Hackman and Betsy Arakawa ... and, an unnamed caretaker of the area can be heard frantically pleading for the dispatcher to send someone to the house.

The call starts with the caretaker, whose name is redacted, saying he believes they've just stumbled across one or two dead bodies -- he seems unsure at the time of the call -- and they need immediate assistance.

It'll be a while before we get the full story on Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy, and their dog’s suspicious deaths -- 'cause TMZ has learned that even with the initial autopsy, the final report will take a few more weeks.

Sources tell TMZ that after the autopsy is done by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, it’ll take 4 to 6 weeks for toxicology and other tests to come through before the final report is issued.

Authorities have been super puzzled over their deaths -- making a note of how Gene's front door to his NM property was open when they entered for the search warrant of their house.

Jon Gruden is back in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor ... less than four years after he lost the recognition amid his controversial email scandal.

The organization announced the reversal in a statement on Thursday ... saying "Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise."

"Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor."

Legendary actor and two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman has been found dead inside his Santa Fe, New Mexico home alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog, TMZ has confirmed.

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were discovered Wednesday afternoon, with Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirming the news just after midnight on Thursday.

The sheriff's office reportedly told NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque a welfare check was conducted at his home after a concerned neighbor called the police.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are back in the United States after spending much of the last few years fighting legal battles in Romania ... and, they hit the ground challenging allegations of sex trafficking and rape, claiming they're victims of misinformation and straight-up lies.

The brothers -- who were indicted on sex trafficking charges in the Eastern European country back in 2023 -- arrived in Fort Lauderdale Thursday ... and, reporters were waiting for them.

Andrew says America is a democratic society where people are innocent until proven guilty ... and, he asks everyone to stop rushing to judgment -- because they haven't been convicted of a single crime.

Gregg Popovich won't be back on the NBA sidelines anytime soon ... as the three-time coach of the year announced he will miss the rest of the season as he continues to recover from a stroke he suffered in November.

Popovich released a statement minutes ago ... saying interim head coach Mitch Johnson and the staff "have done a wonderful job and the resolve and professionalism the players have, sticking together during a challenging season, has been outstanding."

"I will continue to focus on my health with the hope that I can return to coaching in the future."

Newly sworn-in FBI Director Kash Patel wants his org to kick some serious ass ... with reports stating he's considering bringing in UFC trainers to work with agents!!

According to Reuters, Patel suggested the idea in a video conference with supervisors on Wednesday. In the call, he proposed establishing a formal relationship with Dana White's promotion to fine-tune agents' self-defense skills.

The idea may seem a bit odd ... and that's how it's being received by at least a few agents, who said it was "surreal" and "wacky," according to the outlet.

Travis Kelce isn't going anywhere.

The Kansas City Chiefs star just announced he's returning next season ... saying losing Super Bowl LIX left a "bad taste in my mouth."

The 35-year-old tight end revealed his plans in a text message to Pat McAfee ... who read it out loud on his ESPN show on Thursday.

"My dog!!! I'm coming back for sure," McAfree read from his exchange with Kelce. "I'm gonna try and get in the best shape I've been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop."

Gene Hackman's death and the deaths of his wife and dog are puzzling authorities, who have labeled his passing "suspicious."

According to a search warrant, obtained by TMZ, a Santa Fe detective who sought a search warrant wrote in his affidavit, he believes "the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened."

The detective continues, "Deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak."

The Ole Miss student accused of sleeping with her boyfriend's father is hellbent on clearing her name ... and she's calling out big sports names like Antonio Brown and Pat McAfee for spreading "complete lies" to their massive audiences.

Mary Kate Cornett -- a member of the Kappa Delta sorority in Oxford -- claims she's at the center of a "deliberate and coordinated cyberattack" involving straight-up false information about her personal life.

Her name was a trending topic on X after countless users shared the allegations this week ... which her family believes started as "some sort of fraternity prank that has mushroomed out of control."

Time to start double-checking those X handles again ... NBA parody account NBACentel is back up and running after it went offline yesterday for unknown reasons.

The account announced its return Thursday morning in a post responding to Stephen A. Smith, who tweeted, "RIP Centel" -- with Centel sharing a clip of a man coming back to life.

Its return was met with tons of excitement, with tons of people leaving comments welcoming the parody profile back to the platform.

Floyd Mayweather went on national television and dogged Jake Paul ... but El Gallo wasn't about to take it sitting down -- going to social media to fire back at T.B.E. and claiming he'd whoop the 50-0 boxer's ass in the ring.

Floyd weighed in on Paul's 2024 fight with Mike Tyson on the "Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" on Wednesday ... scoffing at the fact it was available at no additional charge to Netflix subscribers.

"When you're watching Floyd Mayweather, you have to pay," Money said on the show. "I get Pay-Per-View numbers. Check the record."

Turns out it's not just the Super Bowl winners visiting the White House -- at least one Kansas City Chief is, too -- Harrison Butker's currently kickin' it with President Donald Trump!

A W.H. staffer shared a photo Thursday morning showing Trump, seated at the Resolute Desk, speaking with the 29-year-old Pro Bowl kicker in the Oval Office.

It's unclear why Butker, who found himself at the center of a massive controversy last offseason with comments he made during a commencement address, was visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Media beef at the NFL Combine ... with a verbal altercation reportedly breaking out between two top football insiders at a Starbucks -- to the point where league security is apparently involved.

The news broke Wednesday night when Barstool Sports personality PFT Commenter claimed a "Serious big time media confrontation AT STARBUCKS between two NFL news breakers" took place.

Pro Football Talk later reported it was between NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport and fellow insider Jordan Schultz.