Source: Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty

Former NBA player Smush Parker got something many within the league’s brotherhood would love: to play with the late great Kobe Bryant.

However, Parker recently sat down with Pablo Torre to break down what the experience was like during his two-season tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers; he didn’t have the time of his life, having eventually become the butt of many jokes.

Smush Parker explains his side of his feud with Kobe Bryant:

"The man never spoke to me. … I started with this man, I was his co-worker. Like we shared a cubicle side-by-side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation? … I'm not even going to get to… pic.twitter.com/3mnazvKPoA

— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) December 19, 2023

“It was an overrated [experience] because the man never spoke to me,” Parker said. “I wasn’t the 12th man on the bench. I wasn’t the call-up on the G League who was just trying to fill a roster spot. I started with this man; I was his co-worker like we shared a cubicle side-by-side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation?”

It wasn’t for a lack of trying. Parker remembers trying to start some small talk with the Black Mamba by bringing up a football game that had been on the night before, but he was immediately shut down.

“You can’t talk to me. You need more accolades under your belt before you talk to me,” Bryant allegedly responded to Parker’s conversation starter.

Parker revealed more details of the fractured relationship after Torre brought up the infamous interview in which Bryant was talking to Steve Nash and completely threw Parker under the bus.

“I almost won an MVP with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown on my team. “I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it to Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown. Smush Parker was the worst. He shouldn’t have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. So we let him walk on,” Bryant told the LA Times in 2012.

It was amid a stretch in Lakers history that isn’t really memorable, considering Shaquille O’Neal left in 2004, and Bryant didn’t have a formidable running mate again until 2008, when Pau Gasol arrived.

However, Parker, a Brooklyn native, wasn’t exactly the scrub Bryant painted him out to be, averaging 11.3 points, 3.2 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals while starting 162 straight games over two seasons.

Parker and Bryant never made amends and were still at odds when he passed away in 2020 in a helicopter accident alongside his daughter and seven others.

See how social media is reacting to Parker’s experience with Kobe Bryant below.

Source: Chris Graythen / Getty

Ja Morant‘s 25-game suspension ended last night, and the explosiveness the 6-19 Memphis Grizzlies have been missing was on full display.

The 24-year-old even took the game into his own hands and dragged his team back from a 24-point deficit against the Zion WIlliamson-led New Orleans Pelicans.

He scored 34 points, had eight assists and six rebounds; 27 of those points came in the second half, showing that his suspension has definitely affected his conditioning, appearing winded and using an inhaler.

He was even spotted using a massage gun on his legs to fend off some cramping later in the game.

“Obviously, I’ve been working hard, but it’s nothing like NBA basketball, so that’s pretty much just doing the inhaler to try to get more oxygen in the body to be able to go out there and deliver,” Morant told ESPN. “When I got back in at that eight-minute mark, they pretty much told me, ‘You’re not coming out.’ I just had to lock in and just push through. [That is] pretty much my life — just continuing to push no matter what.”

Ja Morant. Game. pic.twitter.com/NQXxi2XGFR

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 20, 2023

Then, with the game tied up, with just 9.6 seconds left, Morant pulled a spin move on Pelicans’ Herbert Jones after driving into the paint and pulled up for the shot, which dropped through the net as time expired. Winning the game 115-113, it also sealed the deal for Morant’s first game-winning buzzer-beater of his career.

After the game, Morant spoke to TNT about how much it means to finally be back on the court after the gun-flashing incidents that left him sidelined.

“I’ve been putting work in, man. I ain’t played a game in eight months… Basketball is my life, what I love, therapeutic for me, and I’m just excited to be back,” he said.

"I KEPT RECEIPTS TOO!"

Grizzlies star Ja Morant talking that talk after his walkoff game winner vs. the Pelicans

(via @mikecwright)pic.twitter.com/Luch8u6kzq

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 20, 2023

Then, while running off the court and down the tunnel, he addressed the haters by yelling, “I kept receipts too!”

Despite the impressive performance, social media is still roasting Morant upon his return. See the hilarious reactions below.

Source: CassiusLife.com / iOne Digital

“Deion Sanders done turned Colorado into a damn HBCU,” comedian Rickey Smiley said on a September episode of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show. 

He was joking…kind of. 

Ever since Coach Prime landed at the University of Colorado Boulder following a successful run at Jackson State University, the dynamics of their football program have shifted. And it’s not the improvement following a 1-11 season to a 2023 campaign that got off to a promising start when the Buffs upset the previous year’s National Championship runner-up TCU. It’s the entire culture of the football program. With a sold-out stadium to celebrities ranging from Lil Wayne and members of the Wu-Tang Clan to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Anthony Anderson, descending upon lily-white Boulder, Colorado, the football program was turned on its proverbial head.   

Although the hype has died down significantly as Colorado has fallen out of the national spotlight due to a series of losses, the fact remains that the world got a glimpse of the program’s potential along with a small taste of what an HBCU could look like on a major platform. And with Colorado becoming an attractive destination for the top Black athletes, it may not be long before the Buffs are knocking at the door to become a Top 25 ranked program.  ‘

Source: Head Coach Eddie Robinson, Jr. of the Alabama State, Photo: Don Juan Moore / Getty

“I don’t know if [HBCU football] gets back to what it once was. But I don’t think we’ll go backward”—Alabama State Coach Eddie Robinson Jr.

The cultural phenomenon known as the “Coach Prime Effect” has gone as far as seeing t-shirts with the slogan “H-B-C-U State of mind” with the ‘C-U” in the university’s buffalo logo making waves on the internet as many HBCU students and alumni spoke out against the swift snatching of Black culture. If ever there were a clear example of “they want our rhythm and not our blues,” this would be top five—easy.

Between that and ESPN’s flagship show First Take recently broadcasting from both Winston-Salem State University and Savannah State University, the Historically Black Colleges and University alma maters of Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe, respectively, college football at HBCUs have had more visibility in recent years than in the past several decades.

Imagine a world where the “Coach Prime Effect” serves as the proverbial tipping point for HBCUs to have access to the best Black college football players in the world. Could there be a universe where the #1 pick in the NFL draft comes out of Howard University?

Although people under 30 may scoff at the idea, there was a time when HBCUs produced plenty of NFL players, with a significant amount wearing gold jackets. Is it possible that Coach Prime has opened the faucet that could eventually create a flood of four and five-star recruits taking their talents to Grambling State or Florida A&M?  

“I don’t know if [HBCU football] will get back to what it once was,” said Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson Jr., who played linebacker himself at Alabama State University in the 1990s. 

Still, he acknowledges that Deion Sanders may have sparked a movement where HBCUs will once again become an attractive destination for the country’s top Black athletes. 

“I don’t think we’ll go backward, which is the biggest thing,” Robinson Jr. said. “You want to keep having this growth from year to year.”

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

It wasn’t too long ago that African-American athletes didn’t have the opportunity to play football at universities such as Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Miami due to segregation. Instead, the most talented African-American athletes had to play football for historically Black schools.

Over 30 NFL Hall of Famers have come from HBCUs—a star-studded list that includes the likes of Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones, Art Shell, and Mel Blount. They crushed racial barriers and ideology that suggested that they weren’t good enough for the big time. 

But then, in the mid-1950s, desegregation and changing political attitudes caused a seismic shift in opportunities for African Americans to attend some of the bigger, well-known universities. 

During this decade, the NCAA also began securing broadcasting rights—a major source of revenue for colleges and universities. HBCU’s, unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, were excluded from those broadcasting and money-making opportunities. And with collegiate sports being such a significant part of a university’s ability to acquire funding, HBCUs found themselves being less and less desirable to high school kids with professional sports dreams.

In a tale as old as Jim Crow, integration supposedly led to equality, but it did not lead to an equitable distribution of talent as some Black athletes eagerly assimilated into spaces in which they had previously not been allowed.

Though these changes were inevitable, they were not immediate. Racial segregation was declared unconstitutional in 1954 and James Meredith became the first African American student to enroll in a non-HBCU in 1962. Still, it would take decades before integration would take hold and strip HBCUs of having a hold on top tier Black athletes.

Whether that was due to legacy students breaking the chain, broadcasting rights deals making PWIs more visible and desirable, or a polarizing mix of the above, it was a process that eventually dried up HBCUs of the recruiting power they once had.

“Integration is definitely the reason HBCU programs aren’t producing the talent they once did,” ESPN journalist and Hampton University graduate Justin Tinsley says. “Once we started saying that the best Black athletes have access to the big schools and the big schools have the prestige, the TV rights deals and resources that HBCUs don’t have. When you compete for resources that you don’t have, you aren’t able to compete for the best talent to attend (HBCUs).”

The other downside of desegregation was that HBCUs no longer had a de facto monopoly over Black athletes and the expectation of having the best Black athletes at their universities began to dissipate. In a similar fashion to what happened to the Negro Leagues once Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, the quality of the games diminished until HBCUs were virtually ignored by the mainstream.  

“I don’t think that he did anything that would scar HBCUs forever but I also don’t think that he put it in a place where the fabric of HBCU football will forever be different.”—Justin Tinsley, ESPN

THE AFTERMATH OF INTEGRATION

Although the presence of HBCU football players in the NFL today is not nearly as significant as it was a half-decade ago with 420 HBCU players drafted into the NFL in the 1970s compared to only 51 in the 2000s, there have been some success stories. 

Source: Ramon Harewood #70 of the Baltimore Ravens, Photo: Peter G. Aiken / Getty

Morehouse alum Ramon Harewood was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2010 and was the starting left guard during their 2012 Super Bowl championship season. But even though he would end up in the NFL, Saturdays at B.T. Harvey Stadium in Atlanta were more about the social gatherings than anything that happened on the field during his college game days. 

“We played many games with no more than 500 people in the stands,” Harewood reflects. Born and raised in Barbados, Harewood had no intentions on playing football in college and attended Morehouse on a track scholarship, and focused on his studies as a physics major. But when the head coach asked him to try his hand at football, Harewood accepted the challenge and excelled. By his junior year, scouts were frequenting the team practices. 

“It was hard to get excited (about a future in the NFL) coming from a place like Morehouse,” Harewood says. “It’s not done often so all my expectations and emotions were tempered.”

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A post shared by Florida A&M Rattlers Football (@famufb)

Overall, the number of players drafted to the NFL from an HBCU had seen a year-over-year decrease in the 2000s. The games, always family affairs for students and alumni, sometimes resembled more of a party atmosphere than an athletic competition, with the exception of such storied rivalries as Grambling vs. Southern (the Bayou Classic), FAMU vs. Bethune-Cookman (the Florida Classic), and Alcorn State vs. Jackson State (the Soul Bowl).

But in 2020, HBCUs had the spotlight when NFL Hall of Famer and one of the most electrifying, and polarizing, personalities in all of sports, Deion Sanders, accepted a job as the head coach of the Jackson State Tigers. The sporting world at large turned their attention to Sanders’ first major coaching gig.

In just his second season, Sanders led the Tigers to a program record of 11 wins while also being named as the recipient of the 2021 Eddie Robinson Award (the famed Grambling State head coach is no relation to Alabama coach Eddie Robinson Jr.) as the season’s top FCS head coach. All eyes were on Sanders and, by proxy, HBCUs. A docuseries titled Coach Prime followed Sanders and Jackson State from 2021 to 2022.

But after just three seasons at Jackson State, Coach Prime accepted a lucrative five-year contract, reportedly worth $30 million, to become the head coach of Colorado. 

“Sanders put a huge spotlight on HBCU football, he generated big revenues for Jackson State, laid down the law with his players for off-the-field matters like few coaches can, stressed academics, delivered hope, established long-term plans and provided impetus for upgraded facilities,” USA Today writer Jarrett Bell said about Sanders’ impact following his departure in a December 2022 story. 

Although there has been a significant amount of dialogue surrounding Sanders using an HBCU for personal gain, Harewood believes that Coach Prime’s tenure had run its course and he had to make his next move when the opportunity presented itself. 

“I don’t see one negative thing from his tenure,” Harewood says. “He would have been wasted if he stayed.”

Tinsley doesn’t necessarily see a positive or a negative in Coach Prime’s tenure and subsequent decision. 

“I think the answer is neither,” he says. “I don’t think that he did anything that would scar HBCUs forever but I also don’t think that he put it in a place where the fabric of HBCU football will forever be different.”

It must be said that Sanders is a unicorn in this scenario where a Power 5 school would be eager to sign a lucrative deal with an HBCU coach. But not everyone is Deion Sanders. Very few people in the world will come within striking distance of his notoriety and ability to be a mainstream attraction all while proving to be a competent coach that motivates his players. His first stop at an HBCU during his collegiate coaching career was, objectively, a personal success, and arguably, a collective one as it has opened a window for the world to see that HBCU football is more than a game.

Ultimately, most have come to the same conclusion that Deion Sanders did what was best for Deion Sanders. And if that helped elevate the visibility of HBCU football, albeit briefly, then his rising tide did lift all boats—even if his departure, some believe, punctured the sails.

“MUST BE THE MONEY” — AND THE NIL DEALS

“This is the guy who made a song called ‘Must be the Money,’” Tinsley explains. “So you know what he’s going to follow but that also doesn’t make him a bad person. It makes him a human.”

While Coach Prime’s brief tenure raised eyebrows, the truth is that the unprecedented decision that the number one overall high school recruit made on December 15, 2021, may end up being the true tipping point for HBCUs. 

Collins Hill High School cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter Jr. received a scholarship from Florida State in 2019 and committed to the Seminoles in March 2020 after being heavily recruited by college football powerhouses Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Michigan and Oklahoma, amongst others. But in what has been billed as “probably the most shocking decision in the history of college football recruiting” by Sports Illustrated, Hunter flipped his commitment to Jackson State and became the first five-star recruit to ever sign with an HBCU. And now that the domino has fallen, there is an expectation that other top recruits will begin considering HBCUs for their collegiate football career. 

“Nobody wants to be the first one to be that guy but once you see somebody else doing it you get the three and four-star athletes to say that going to an HBCU is a legitimate option because Travis Hunter did it, he did well while there and he still has a chance to get to the NFL,” Robinson Jr. says. 

Coach Prime played a significant role in causing Hunter to flip his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State due to his status as one of the greatest defensive backs in the history of the NFL as well as his commitment to allow the top recruit to play both sides of the ball, something other colleges weren’t interested in granting. 

Of course, Coach Prime, Hunter and Sanders’ son Shedeur have since taken their talents to Colorado. Some may argue that Sanders had to leave for the opportunity or his talents would have been wasted if he stayed at JSU. But how, then, can the argument credibly be made that the “Coach Prime Effect” will be an influx of athletes into HBCUs, rather than an exodus away from them?

Yes, there has been plenty of conversation surrounding the idea that Sanders “used” Jackson State as a launchpad to land a coaching job at a Power Five conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC), but the shrapnel from the duo’s explosive decision has left a trail of money that other athletes can follow when it comes to deciding whether or not an HBCU would be beneficial to the dreams of playing pro football.

In William C. Rhoden’s book Forty Million Dollar Slaves, there is a chapter that inquires about what would have been a seismic shift in collegiate sports if Michigan’s 1991 recruiting class of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson—famously known as The Fab Five—committed to an HBCU instead of a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). Webber, the top recruit at the time who would go on to have an excellent NBA career, was chronicled explaining that The Fab Five were encouraged to sign with an HBCU but ultimately decided against it because “we had to do what was best for us at the time.” 

The idea of “what was best” had a lot to do with resources and money, something HBCUs didn’t have enough of to entice four and five-star athletes. But the 2021 decision by the NCAA to allow players to make money off of their name, image or likeness (NIL) has opened the door for athletes to have the flexibility to pick a college of their liking and not be restricted to a PWI due to financial concerns.

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A post shared by Bryce Young (@bryceyoung)

Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young reportedly made $3.5 million in NIL deals during his tenure at Alabama. On3 has projected Shedeur Sanders to have a $4.8 million NIL valuation, the highest in college football. 

NIL means that college athletes don’t have to wait to get to the NFL to earn life-altering income and they could choose the HBCU experience instead of being forced to play for a PWI for their resources. 

The opportunity for an HBCU college football powerhouse isn’t outside the realm of possibility. “I think (a Fab Five situation) can happen now because of NIL,” Robinson says. “Before it could never happen because the reality is that we don’t have enough donors with the type of generational wealth that the PWIs have to give that type of money. And back then they were literally giving it to athletes under the table

“If you have an NIL group that says they want five-star basketball players to go to Howard for one year, make the NCAA tournament and upset some teams, that means these kids can get the same experience at Howard in one year that they could get at North Carolina or Duke.” 

While Robinson thinks it can happen, he’s not sure if it will. The fact the idea exists is significant and is a beacon of light for the future of HBCU football. 

“These kids are coming into school understanding branding, marketing and self-promotion,” Tinsley says. “NIL deals will give HBCU’s access to more top-level talent and that will change the game more than any one person will.”

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A post shared by Shedeur Sanders (@shedeursanders)

While the game may continue to grow and evolve with more opportunities for rising HBCU athletic stars, the brilliant, beautiful, Black culture that students can only become immersed in at an HBCU—regardless of surface level attempts to replicate it—can neither be sold nor bought.

It’s a new day. Let the games begin.

Source: Anna Moneymaker / Getty

Former New York Rep. George Santos—the man who conned his way into Congress and was recently expelled—must understand deep down that he’s a joke. Why else would he agree to sit down for a spoof interview by spoof interviewer Ziwe and her spoof CNN network “ZNN”? He had to know he was going to get mocked to death. And if he did know, he was a really good sport about it and played right into Ziwe’s hands.

From Variety:

Ziwe’s “ZNN” interview, a CNN spoof with her own Ziwe News Network, began with onscreen text saying “No congressman were paid in the making of this interview even though George asked three times.” She then listed civil rights icons and asked Santos to say what they meant to him. The list included Marsha P. Johnson, James Baldwin, Harvey Milk and Bowen Yang’s “SNL” impression of Santos — which he said deserves an EGOT.

When asked if he would want Yang to play him in HBO’s movie about him, Santos said “that movie is not ever going to happen. That book has no perspective of me or anybody close to me. It’s fucking fiction,” referring to Mark Chiusano’s novel “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos.”

Listen: When you are a politician who got in the game by lying about your educational credentials, your work experience as a Wall Street employee, charities you founded, your race and ethnicity, and much more, and you’re currently indicted on more fraud charges than your average elected official can keep up with—you’re definitely not in the position to be calling anything “f-cking fiction.” Santos should just leave the word “fiction” out of his lexicon. It’s like Donald Trump telling people they have bad tans. It’s like Candace Owens calling someone a house negro. It’s like Kanye demanding that bigots tone down the antisemitism.

Also, while Ziwe was asking Santos about civil rights icons he identifies with, she should have mentioned Rosa Parks, since she’s the one the ex-congressman had the off-white caucasity to compare himself to.

During the interview, Santos went on to talk about how he doesn’t “see color” despite the fact that he got caught lying about being of multiple POC races and ethnicities. (So, not only does he see color, but he sees it where it doesn’t exist.) The MAGA-loving Republican also made the erroneous claim that “Gen Z loves Trump,” because, like many in the GOP, he wants desperately to believe Trump is beloved by young people, despite the fact that exit polls and most polls keep saying the opposite. (To be fair, young people don’t like Joe Biden either.)

Anyway, it was a pretty entertaining un-serious interview. Santos should book Funny Marco next.

See how social media’s reacting to the interview below.

Source: Christian Petersen / Getty

More light has finally been shed on Golden State Warriors enforcer Draymond Green’s punishment for his WWE antics on the court.

According to The Athletic‘s NBA Insider Sham Charania, Green has entered a counseling program and is expected to be benched from the league for at least three weeks while he works out his issues.

“Draymond Green has started counseling… He’s going to remain sidelined via that NBA suspension for at least the next 3-4 weeks. That would mean his suspension would go anywhere between 12-16 games."@ShamsCharania on Draymond Green

(via @TheRally)pic.twitter.com/Ispja8XFcv

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 19, 2023

Three weeks adds up to about 12 more missed games, and Charania’s sources wouldn’t explicitly specify the details of his counseling out of respect for his privacy.

Draymond hits Nurkic with the haymaker.

(: @TSN_Sports)pic.twitter.com/pYJPoFyhLw

— theScore (@theScore) December 13, 2023

His latest suspension stems from last Tuesday when he hit Jusuf Nurkic during a game against the Phoenix Suns. Nurkic fell to the floor, and the four-time NBA champion was promptly thrown out of the game.

The general consensus around the league has been less about anger and more out of serious concern for Green’s behavior, hoping he gets the help he needs in order to stop his streak of violence on the court.

Because it wasn’t so much a punishment, NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars made sure he didn’t attach a number of games to his suspension because it’s not something that can be solved that easily.

“Indefinite means get yourself right. We want to see you at your best, and the best way for you to do that is to get yourself mentally and emotionally back to where you need to be,” Dumars said on ESPN’s First Take.

Out of seemingly genuine concern, Nurkic said, “I feel like that brother needs help.”

Even Kevin Durant –who’s infamously had a testy relationship with Draymond that sent a season off track– was shocked by his actions, telling the media, “That was insane to see…I hope Draymond gets the help he needs. It’s been incident after incident.

However, the severity of his forced break away from basketball is because of his contact violent acts.

Less than a month before the Nurkic incident, he was given a technical for yelling at a referee and days later choked out Rudy Gobert, who was trying to play peacemaker amid a Klay Thompson scuffle.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s stars Hailey Kilgore, London Brown, and Malcolm Mays discuss their characters’ journeys, the ever-evolving relationship between Jukebox and her father Marvin, and more with CassiusLife. 

Season 3 of Power Book III: Rasing Kanan is in full swing, and we have already spoken with showrunner Sascha Penn, Joey Bada$$, and Grantham Coleman about this season’s new villain, Ronnie plus MeKai Curtis and Antonio Ortiz about Kanan and Famous as a drug dealing duo in the Power Universe.

CassiusLife also chopped it up with Hailey Kilgore, Malcolm Mays, and London Brown about their characters journeys from season 2 into season 3 and more.

London Brown Reflects On Marvin’s Evolving Relationship With Jukebox

Source: Starz / Power Book III: Raising Kanan

At the end of season 2, Marvin was coming to grips with the fact that he was doing a terrible job as a dad to Jukebox. He has seen the error of his ways this season thanks to court-mandated therapy and some soul-searching.

Hailey Kilgore On Says Jukebox Likes Her Dad On The Low

Source: Starz / Power Book III: Raising Kanan

We spoke with Hailey Kilgore before season 2’s premiere, and she revealed that she and Brown didn’t talk to help add an emotional scene between herself and Brown.

That wasn’t the case this season, as Jukebox’s relationship with her dad is getting better but still remains a work in progress.

Malcolm Mays Apologizes For Uncle Lou’s Rollercoaster Journey This Season

Source: Starz / Power Book III: Raising Kanan

Uncle Lou’s life is on a downward spiral that began in season 2 when he made the decision that his music career was more important than his life on the streets.

Unfortunately, things don’t get any better in season 3, and Malcolm Mayes is apologizing to fans of his character for what they are about to see as the season progresses.

I think that it’s important to see people of color who we thought were so put together not coping properly because that informs us that there are no superheroes.

Source: ROSLAN RAHMAN / Getty

Nike isn’t just suing its giant competitors like New Balance and Skechers, but now it’s setting its sights on a YouTuber.

The Swoosh filed a trademark lawsuit against influencer Eben “Cedaz” Fox in a Florida federal court last week, alleging that he’s using his large online following –including over 50,000 subscribers on YouTube– to advertise and encourage his fans to buy fake sneakers.

He’s being accused of selling counterfeit products on YouTube, TikTok and Discord servers and has even partnered with global shipping middleman company PandaBuy to sell them.

Nike continues its battle against counterfeiters last Friday by filing this Trademark infringement lawsuit in FLA federal court against social media influencer and discord owner CEDAZ. pic.twitter.com/1UFSksc0Ms

— Sneaker & Streetwear Legal Services℠ (@SneakerLegal) December 18, 2023

PandaBuy is known for its sketchy offerings, and Fox is also listed as a co-owner of W2C.net, which helps ship fake Nike merchandise.

Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty

Juwan Howard can focus on coaching now that an investigation about his conduct with a strength and conditioning coach has ended.

The Michigan men’s basketball coach and former NBA player, who was also part of Michigan’s famed Fab Five, returned to the bench this weekend after a health crisis and an altercation. Howard, 50, had open heart surgery Sept. 15 to resect an aortic aneurysm and repair his aortic valve.

After working his way back as an assistant coach, with Phil Martelli taking on head coaching duties, Howard had a heated disagreement with longtime strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson last week. At the same time that Michigan athletic director announced Howard’s return, he also said that neither Howard nor Sanderson would be disciplined for the incident.

“The return of our usual coaching structure comes after a review of an incident involving several individuals during a team practice last week,” Manuel said in a statement. “Based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved. As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season.”

Sanderson, who has the same role with the men’s and women’s golf teams has been at Michigan since 2009. He’s credited with helping Michigan become a powerhouse in providing NBA draft picks, sending 17 players to the draft including 11 taken in the first round.

The Athletic reports that the altercation involved Howard’s son Jace, 22, a senior guard who is rehabbing from an injury and has not played this season. He questioned a trainer about the timeline for his return, and Sanderson and Howard joined the conversation, which got heated. While no punches were thrown, the two reportedly had to be separated. As a result, Sanderson filed a report with HR. Though both men were cleared, Sanderson hasn’t been seen with the team since.

Howard has had altercations and is now working under a “zero tolerance” policy. He was disciplined in 2022 after he and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard barked at each other on the handshake line. In the ensuing commotion, Howard hit Badger coach Joe Krabbenhoff in the head. He was suspended for five games and fined $40,000. In another incident in 2021, Howard and Maryland coach Mark Turgeon had a confrontation.

In better news for Howard, his first game back against Eastern Michigan University was a win. The Wolverines beat the Eagles 83-66. They are currently 6-5 and next play Florida Dec. 19 in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.

Source: John Nacion / Getty / Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors’ time in the MCU is up. Other major movie roles might follow suit after he was found guilty on two charges in the ongoing criminal trial that had everyone’s attention. 

Majors’ acting career was on a torrid rise following standout roles in HBO’s Lovecraft Country, Creed III, and as the next big bad in the MCU as Kang The Conqueror until it all came crashing down.

Monday, after four hours of deliberation spread across three days, a New York jury comprised of six people found Majors guilty of harassment and reckless assault in the third degree in connection to the interaction with his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.

Majors was found not guilty on two additional charges: intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree.

The Hollywood Reporter reports Majors’ family and his new girlfriend, Meagan Good, sat behind him and his attorneys as the verdict was read.

Sentencing will go down Feb. 6, 2024. Majors is facing up to a year in prison.

The trial came following the March 25 incident between Majors and Jabbari that led to her being hospitalized. An NYPD spokesperson said Jabbari “sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition.”

Additionally, more alleged abuse victims of Majors came forward and cooperated with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

X Users Are Recasting Kang The Conqueror

Users on X, formerly Twitter, have been all over the trial and the significant implications if Majors did not beat charges. His involvement in Marvel Studios’ plans for the future was the subject of most of the conversation.

Marvel Studios wasted no time dropping the actor following the guilty verdict, a source close to the situation revealed to Variety.

Per Variety:

Marvel Studios has parted ways with Jonathan Majors — the actor cast to play Kang, the central antagonist in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — after he was convicted on Dec. 18 of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault of Grace Jabbari, his ex-girlfriend. A source close to the studio confirmed the decision to Variety.

BREAKING: Marvel Studios has parted ways with Jonathan Majors — the actor cast to play Kang, the central antagonist in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — after he was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault.https://t.co/7GxURAkq1j pic.twitter.com/9WxdZBUsoB

— Variety (@Variety) December 18, 2023

The recast suggestions have already begun, with many suggesting Kevin Feige should give the role of Kang to Damson Idris.

“Congrats to Damson Idris for his new role as Kang,” one post on X read following the announcement of Majors’ guilty verdict.

Congrats to Damson Idris for his new role as Kang.

Jonathan Majors my brotha… pic.twitter.com/A6Zhdb0Zxb

— Man Eat Steak, Pork, Chitlins. Woman Eat Salad. (@WhatUpJT_) December 18, 2023

Welp

You can see more reactions to the news in the gallery below.

Source: Prince Williams / Getty

If shooting your shot was a person, it might be Cam’ron.

The Harlem legend finally had the chance to link up with his crush, Nia Long, as they both attended sports agent Rich Paul‘s 42nd birthday party on Saturday night.

While enjoying the festivities, the actress and Cam took some pictures together, immediately sparking rumors that Cam’s pursuit had been successful.

Camron meets Nia Long at Rich Paul’s birthday party after shooting his shot a year ago pic.twitter.com/Siy14A9CeO

— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) December 17, 2023

So on Monday’s episode of his sports show, It Is What It Is, co-host Mase immediately asks for a rundown of the meeting.

I’m not with Nia,” Cam starts. “I met Nia, and she was very cool. She said, ‘You’re funny, you’re hilarious.'”

He then inquired about the lengthy DM he sent her, to which she replied, “That was fly.”

After Cam explained the innocent interaction, Mase explained a rumor that Cam was only invited to the birthday party as a way for Paul’s longtime friend and agent, LeBron James, to get back at Ime Udoka since the two had a heated NSFW exchange on the court earlier this month.

Cam hilariously doesn’t care what led to the link-up, and even if he was used as a pawn, he’s grateful.

“If that’s the case, thank you. If there’s any truth to it, thank you,” Cam said. “I see a lot of people saying ‘don’t fumble,’ but I’m not with Nia Long. I met her; she did not give me her number. I actually gave her my number; we have not spoken.”

It all began just weeks ago on It Is What It Is. Cam revealed that after her split from Ime Udoka, he sent her a lengthy Instagram message attempting to win her over.

Camron in Nia Long DMs talking about “Hey Stink” pic.twitter.com/Mekx3sdUii

— KING (@Splashystackss) December 6, 2023

“Hey stink. I Was giving you some time to yourself till I reached out. Your perseverance as a strong black woman through this turbulent time has been something to behold,” read part of the message. “You shouldn’t be taken advantage of and exploited as you did nothing to deserve this. Especially all over these sports networks. You’re bigger and better then that. You’re a queen, and by the way l’m a king.”

Even if Cam and Nia aren’t an item, social media is considering the link-up a win. See the reactions below.

Source: BFA for Captain Morgan / BFA for Captain Morgan

Even if both your local NFL teams take L’s, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time. Former NFL star Victor Cruz and culinary-inclined rapper Action Bronson hosted Battle of the Captains in New York City on Sunday, December 17.

Captain Morgan Presents: Battle of the Captains went down at Rocco’s Sports and Recreation Bar where Cruz and Bam Bam held down a watch party to see the Giants play the New Orleans Saints and the Jets play the Miami Dolphins. Those in attendance enjoyed specialty cocktails and some elevated bar food courtesy of Rocco’s and got some NFL shwag, too.

As we alluded to, Cruz’s former squad lost 24-6 while Bronson’s Jets didn’t even score a single point, losing 30-0. The drinks at the bar were good, though. Check out photos from the festivities in the gallery.

Source: Derek White / Getty / Darius Jackson / Keke Palmer

The ongoing saga between Keke Palmer and her baby daddy, Darius Jackson, has taken an interesting turn.

Palmer and her ex-boyfriend are currently engaged in a messy custody battle over their son Leodis Andrellton, with the actress/singer asking for full custody of Leodis and a temporary restraining order against her former flame.

The NOPE star claims Jackson was physically and verbally abusive towards her, and now Jackson is making the same claims in a counterclaim filed on Friday morning with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Los Angeles Times reports via Complex.

Per Complex:

In the complaint, Jackson claimed that Palmer, 30, “repeatedly engaged in abusive conduct” and “acted as the primary aggressor” during their two-year relationship.

Several incidents are cited in the counterclaim between Aug. 20, 2021 to March 12, 2023, where Jackson claimed that Palmer “was verbally and physically abusive” and “frequently became agitated and aggressive after consuming alcohol.”

The former athlete alleged that the actress “punched [him] in the face” at a birthday party in August 2021, “punched the windshield of [his] car” while he was driving in January 2022, and “physically attacked [him] by choking and hitting [him]” at her Los Angeles residence on Feb. 28, 2022. 

Jackson also alleged in the filing that on March 12 of this year, Palmer had been drinking and called him multiple expletives after blaming him for a clogged shower drain. “I tried to de-escalate the situation and she became more enraged,” said Jackson in the counterclaim. 

Palmer did get a temporary restraining order against her son’s father, while Jackson denied all of the abuse claims levied against him.

Keke’s momma got in the mix by adding to the drama after threatening to shoot Jackson for entering her daughter’s home, allegedly.

This situation is a giant, public mess that we hope the two can figure out amicably for the sake of their son.

—

Photo: Derek White / Getty

Source: Michael Reaves / Getty

Zion Williamson isn’t the only young NBA star who has women coming out of the woodwork following a pregnancy announcement.

Anthony Edwards, one of the leading players on the Minnesota Timberwolves, is now caught up with an Instagram model, who alleges that she was pregnant with his child when he persuaded her to get an abortion.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paige Jordae (@paigejordae)

An Instagram account by the name of DreamPaige, run by Instagram model Paige Jordae, took to her Instagram Stories to post screenshots of an alleged text message conversation with Edwards.

Anthony Edwards girlfriend posted their text messages about their baby on her Instagram pic.twitter.com/NodHBna29G

— Old NBA Tweets (@oldnbatweetz) December 18, 2023

In the chat, Jordae posts a positive pregnancy test, to which Edwards responds, “Hell Nawl can’t do dis.”

She asked how he wanted to proceed, and he said, “Get an abortion lol.”

Jordae is against getting an abortion, especially after a traumatic experience with a prior procedure, saying, “Honestly, I had an abortion with my son around 2 years ago, and I regret it every day.”

Still, Edwards isn’t budging, telling her she can’t force a kid into the world and expressing that he doesn’t want any children right now.

He adds that he’ll send her some money to help her out but is clear that he wants her to get an abortion and “handle this like grown ups.”

“I’m not trying to force u to be a dad to a baby u don’t want i just don’t like abortions that doesn’t make me wrong. if you really don’t wanna do this then fine… i wont,” she says.

With all the back and forth, Edwards is wondering what’s taking her so long to go along with the abortion and begins to get impatient when asking for photo proof she bought the pills.

“Okay just make sure i get da video of the box wit the right pills,” he says before repeatedly following up with texts like “send da video,” “the video” and finally “where the video.”

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A post shared by @coutureinc2

The screenshots come just days after Edwards’ girlfriend, Jeanine Robel, announced she was pregnant, making the situation even messier.

pic.twitter.com/4EY6YE5E7c

— Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) December 18, 2023

Edwards has since responded to the allegations, asking for privacy while he handles the matter and regrets not letting the woman make her own decision.

“I made comments in the heat of a moment that are not me, and that are not aligned with what I believe and who I want to be as a man,” Edwards wrote in a statement. “All women should be supported and empowered to make their own decisions about their bodies and what is best for them. I am handling my personal matters privately and will not be commenting on them any further at this time.”

See how social media’s reacting to the leaked screenshots of the text messages below.

Source: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty

The NBA’s violence problems continue with a G League player’s alleged involvement in a murder.

Chance Comanche, a former member of the Stockton Kings, the G-League affiliate for the Sacramento Kings, is facing kidnapping charges after being arrested by California FBI agents on Friday. He’ll eventually be extradited to Nevada but is currently being held with bail.

His girlfriend, 19-year-old Sakra Harnden, is also in on the crime since the murder victim, 23-year-old Marayna Rodgers, was her friend. Harnden was arrested two days before Comanche in Las Vegas on kidnapping charges, with her bail set at $500,000.

The police report reveals a timeline that says Rodgers hung out with friends Dec. 5 and was supposed to see Harnden and Comanche that night. However, she hasn’t been seen since and was reported missing Dec. 7.

Here is the statement put out by the Las Vegas Metro Police department regarding the arrest of Chance Comanche and Sakari Harnden on kidnapping and murder charges. The remains of Marayna Rodgers have been found. pic.twitter.com/vpk6wGLqA6

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) December 17, 2023

After arresting the couple, police say they attained vital information that led them to “recover human remains in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada,” which the coroner later proved to be Rodgers.

“Early in the investigation, detectives suspected foul play and obtained evidence to arrest Harnden and her boyfriend Comanche for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of Rodgers,” police said, according to CNN.

Harnden faces murder charges now as well, in addition to the initial theft and kidnapping felonies.

Las Vegas – NBA G-league player Chance Comanche and his girlfriend Sakari Harnden were arrested in the death of Marayna Rodgers, who went missing on Dec 6. Her remains were subsequently located in a desert area outside of Las Vegas. https://t.co/x206njeEq7

— OldLadyChats (@OldLadyChats) December 17, 2023

Comanche hasn’t been charged with murder yet, but with the discovery of the body, police say both of their rap sheets will be “amended to open murder through coordination with the Clark County District Attorney’s office.”

The Stockton Kings have since released Chance Comanche, having played as recently as last Tuesday against the Salt Lake City Stars, where he scored 22 points. The 6-foot-10 center went undrafted out of the University of Arizona in 2017 and made just a single appearance for the Portland Trailblazers on April 9. His next court date is Wednesday.

See social media’s shocked reactions to the alleged murder plot below.

Source: Eric Charbonneau / Getty

Despite the controversies that have surrounded him since Oscar night 2022 and his wife’s recent memoir, Will Smith still commands a big bag.

Variety reported that Smith was among the A-list stars who were paid $1 million and more to speak at the Red Sea International Film Festival that concluded Dec. 9. Smith joined fellow Oscar winner Halle Berry and actors Johnny Depp and Chris Hemsworth along with Michelle Williams and Gwyneth Paltrow in Jeddah in a bid to improve relations between the kingdom and Hollywood. Those were strained when Hollywood distanced itself from projects. Thereafter, Saudi government agents murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Johnny Depp and Will Smith at the Red Sea Film Festival! pic.twitter.com/1HIDJ2axMm

— 𝐦𝐚𝐫 (@vaersac) December 3, 2023

But those issues seemed to have cooled enough for high-profile actors to return. It’s one of Smith’s highest-profile appearances since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars earning a 10-year ban from the Oscar’s governing body and the ceremony. He was also part of the Grammy tribute to hip-hop last weekend, which seems to show that Smith’s exile from Hollywood is coming to an end.

“Fame is a unique monster and I’ve had to be really careful,” he said during a talk at the festival. “You can’t get excited when everybody is saying good things about you. The more you take when people are saying good things about you, the more hurt you’re going to be when people are saying bad things about you.”

He used his appearance to provide some insight into the upcoming sequel to I Am Legend, which he’ll be starring in with Michael B. Jordan.

“We’re really close,” he said of the Creed actor and director. “I am probably giving up too much information… the script just came in,” he said. Smith also explained how the sequel will address that his character, Dr. Robert Neville, died in the first movie. “We’re going with the mythology of the DVD version where my character lives and I can’t tell you anymore.”

Will Smith gives ‘I Am Legend 2’ Update & Explains How He Plans To Resurrect His Dead Character Robert Neville #RedSeaIFF23 pic.twitter.com/C9JbM6No9I

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) December 2, 2023

Smith also performed with DJ Jazzy Jeff at a music festival in Saudi Arabia, as he documented on his social media account. While traveling back home he got on an Emirates flight with Kanye West.

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A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)

Source: Focus Features / The American Society of Magical Negroes

When the teaser dropped for The American Society of Magical Negroes, moviegoers, specifically Black and Brown ones, figured they were getting some melanin-infused wizardry shenanigans on a Harry Potter level. After seeing the first full trailer for the film, they felt as if David Blaine hit them with the ultimate switcheroo.

Black and brown cinephiles were hoping to be amazed before hitting play on The American Society of Magical Negroes first trailer, and after watching it, they were highly disappointed.

Is there still magic in the film? Yes, but it’s not being utilized in the way many wanted.

In the trailer, we are quickly introduced to Aren (Justice Smith) as we hear David Alan Grier’s voice speak and hilariously point out that watching the awkward Aren navigate a room full of white people is the “most painful thing” he has ever seen.

Grier’s character then offers Aren a job opportunity. It takes him to a barbershop that is hilariously a front for a secret society of “Magic Negroes” whose sole purpose is to keep Caucasians from “feeling uncomfortable.”

As Grier’s characters explain to Aren, uncomfortable white folks are the most dangerous animals on the planet (no lies detected). If they feel uncomfortable, it can be bad, especially for Black people.

On his first mission, things start well for Aren as he works to make Jason feel happy, but Aren gets googly eyes for a white woman that Jason likes, and this forbidden love could make everyone’s magic fail.

Black X Users Were Let Down

Immediately after watching the trailer, Black users on X, formerly Twitter, expressed their disappointment with the film’s premise.

“This is uninspired, unimaginative, and boring within a POST – GET OUT (Jordan peele) and Post – Black Panther (Ryan Coogler) industry. I love and adore the actor Justice Smith though! . My critique is on the director/writers. The American society of magical negros is not giving!” one X user wrote. 

Another X user added, “so the american society of magical negros is all about black people going undercover to make yt people comfortable? and then he fumbles it all for the yt girl in the end? WHOS idea was this????”

Is The Film Being Unfairly Critiqued Just Based On A Trailer?

The film is the brainchild of director Kobi Libii and his debut film, so he is already shaking things up out of the gate. In an exclusive interview with BET.com, Libii explained his disdain for the “magical, mystical negro” phrase that legendary filmmaker Spike Lee coined back in 2001.

The “magical, mystical negro” trope in films is described as the Black character whose sole purpose is to enrich the lives of white people.

In the interview, Libii explained the premise of his satirical film, telling the website:

It all sort of starts with the Magical Negro trope. I’m sure you’re familiar with it, but just to define it on my own terms, I think of the Magical Negro as a kind of stock Black character; a Black best friend character who is only focused on helping the white hero. T

hey don’t really have an inner life, and they don’t have their own things going on. They’re just relentlessly focused on helping this white character grow in most cases, and I always thought that was so funny. For whatever reason, the idea that there’s a white writer who pictures the thing we do in the morning is getting up and trying to help them. I found it so absurd and incorrect and funny that I wanted to blow it out and criticize it, but also use it as a way to talk about other stuff. What it’s like to grow up as a Black person in this culture and some of the wild and fantastical things we have to do to survive. To me, that’s the origin story of the film.

We will reserve judgment until the film arrives. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

Photo: Focus Features / The American Society of Magical Negroes

Source: Dave Benett / Getty

Snowfall actor Damson Idris must have been raised right in his native Britain because he’s taking a stand on online bullying.

The 32-year-old shared his feelings on Instagram recently saying that young women, especially ones newer to the entertainment industry were being trolled online by grown men and he’s not feeling it.

“I see so much unprovoked hatred towards Black women today by predominantly grown Black men,” he posted in an Instagram Story. “Especially towards our young stars that are just trying to do their thing.”

He added, “The compulsion to humble these women perhaps makes you feel like more of a man. I promise you, you aren’t men to us. A new year is approaching. Grow up.”

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A post shared by TheYBF (@theybf_daily)

Although it has been reported that he and influencer Lori Harvey are now broken up the actor may have been referencing Harvey among others in his post. Earlier this month, Harvey was unfavorably compared to an employee at Los Angeles soul food restaurant The Serving Spoon when a photo of the two of them was posted online.

Lori Harvey pulled up to the Serving Spoon in Inglewood today pic.twitter.com/wzcvZXxj8f

— DJ R-Tistic (@DJRTistic) December 4, 2023

After seeing that several posts expressed admiration for the woman pictured at Harvey’s expense, the restaurant posted, “Y’all, we have a very beautiful and pleasant staff altogether, so negativity is NOT an option! Cut it out and stop trying to dim people’s light in your own way,” the restaurant advised. “Y’all better leave our Spooners alone! Don’t be like that!”

While he could have been talking about young celebs like the Bailey sisters, Megan Thee Stallion and others who’ve been bullied online for reasons ranging from their body types to their boyfriend choices, Idris and Harvey dated for a year but announced in a joint statement that they’d each moved on due to scheduling challenges.

“We are at a point in our lives where our individual paths require our full attention and dedication,” they said, an admission that was breathlessly picked up by major outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and People. “We part ways remaining friends with nothing but love and respect for each other and the time we shared together.”

Source: Penske Media / Getty

The fallout from Diddy’s numerous sexual assault allegation lawsuits continues. The Diddy+7 show scheduled to premiere on Hulu will not move forward, per multiple reports. The series was to feature Sean “Diddy” Combs and his children, Quincy, 32, Justin, 29, Christian, 25, Chance, 17, twins D’Lila and Jessie, 16 and baby Love, 1.

Former late-night TV host James Corden was producing through his Fulwell 73 production company. It’s not known if any of the episodes were filmed.

The Hulu show was part of a spate of projects expected around Diddy’s latest album release The Love Album: Off the Grid that was released in September. It featured artists including Jazmine Sullivan, Teyana Taylor, Ty Dollar $ign, and Mary J. Blige and earned Diddy his first Grammy nomination, for Best Urban Contemporary Album, in over two decades.

A trailer for a movie based on the project co-starring African/British model Eva Apio was released on Oct. 30 but nothing more has been announced about the project.

In September, Diddy was awarded the Global Icon Award by MTV, with his three teenage daughters, his son Christian and Blige by his side. He thanked former girlfriend Cassie Ventura for being there for him “during a dark time” in his acceptance speech.

Less than a month later, Cassie Ventura filed, then settled, a civil lawsuit accusing Combs of sexually, physically and psychologically abusing her during their decade together as professional and romantic partners. Since then, more allegations and lawsuits have poured in.

A woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal alleges that Diddy drugged and assaulted her in 1991 and used the incident to exact “revenge porn.” Liza Gardner filed a lawsuit as well saying that the rap mogul and former Guy lead singer Aaron Hall raped her. Still another suit from a Jane Doe says that former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre, Diddy and another man sexually assaulted her and then trafficked her when she was 17.

And that’s not all. In a recent L.A. Times report,  another former Bad Boy Entertainment executive, Kirk Burrowes, detailed an incident where he says he saw Combs assault a woman at the label’s offices in 1994.

“He had that propensity for violence way back then,” Burrowes said. In 1992, he was a co-founder of Bad Boy, then its president for five years. He says that Combs forced him to sign away all rights to the company…with a baseball bat. Though Burrowes sued to get his rights back in 2003, the case was dismissed as the statute of limitations had expired.

“It just wasn’t as well known,” Burrowes continued, referencing Combs’ temper. “It’s almost like it was part of his operating manual. He was so traumatizing to women.”

Although he settled with Ventura the day after she filed her lawsuit, Combs’ lawyers say it was not an acknowledgment of any wrongdoing.

In the only public statement he had made since Cassie’s lawsuit was settled, Combs denied the allegations against him via an Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LOVE (@diddy)

“Enough is enough. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

SZN Opener is back with new episodes dropping every week. On Season 2 of this dynamic podcast series, host and noted sports analyst Monica McNutt showcases Black college athletes and explores their triumphs, challenges and aspirations along their sports journeys.

In Episode 2, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow joins SZN Opener for an in-depth conversation about her journey as a rising star in women’s basketball and her decision to transfer after two seasons at DePaul.

From DePaul To LSU

The Chicago native excelled on the court at DePaul University, racking up numerous accolades as one of the top players in the country including ESPN Top Freshman in the Country, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and DePaul women’s basketball MVP.

The All-America forward transferred to Louisiana State University this year, arriving at Baton Rouge to much acclaim with 53 double-doubles in 66 career games. Morrow is “a standout at LSU as the Tigers are looking to defend their national championship from last year,” McNutt says.

Morrow has a clear vision of what she wants to accomplish at LSU.

“I knew that going to a different school would allow me to develop my game in different aspects,” she says. “I was going to be challenged at the highest level possible. I knew that I would have to come in everyday and compete for my spot, but also perform on the floor.”

So far this season, Morrow has established herself as a key player on the LSU Tigers alongside teammate Angel Reese. NOLA.com called Morrow “a versatile wing who might be the most well-rounded player on arguably the most talented team in the country.”

Versatility is her goal.

“I came here to expand my game. I’ve been working on becoming a better defender because I have to be quicker to guard out on the perimeter,” she says. “I want to be able to defend every position on the floor. Which also makes me a bigger threat. It shows my versatility and allows me to stay on the floor longer.”

“That was my biggest goal coming in here, trying to be one of the most improved players that I possibly can be,” she adds.

Injuries Gave Her A New Perspective

She may be a powerhouse on the court, but there’s more to Aneesah Morrow than basketball.

Morrow developed a resilience to the challenges she’s had to endure as an athlete, including three knee surgeries. Her injuries forced her to discover interests outside of basketball. “Being injured and having to sit down so much, I had to figure out other things that made me happy,” she says.

Despite being a top player, Morrow is determined to enjoy other aspects of her life as well.

“People see what I do on the basketball court, but there is so much more to me than just basketball,” says the LSU guard. “Being an athlete, we have to learn that about ourselves, because sometimes we let basketball define so much of our individuality and we never really get to express ourselves.”

Coming from a family of decorated athletes, she credits her parents and siblings with helping her through the tough times with their unwavering support. “A lot of things that I’ve accomplished have been because of the competitive nature that’s ingrained in me through the Morrow family,” she says.

Aspiring For The WNBA

Morrow aspires to play in the WNBA after college. It’s what motivates her to keep striving for greatness. “My goal has always been to play in the W,” she says. “Even through all the adversity, I’ve always tried to focus on the bigger picture. ”

Catch the full conversation with Aneesah Morrow above. Listen to Episode 2 of SZN Opener Season 2 on the Urban One podcasts platform or your favorite streaming app.

Source: MEGA / Getty

Like a broken record, when Kanye West has a new album on the horizon, he’s back to going on outlandish rants.

On what was supposed to be the eve of his latest project, Vultures, a collaborative work with Ty Dolla $ign, Ye was in a room full of supporters in Las Vegas when he took aim at everyone he’s currently at war with, which unsurprisingly is quite a few people.

In the 10 minutes of nonstop screaming, Ye name drops Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Drake, Nicki Minaj….and Jesus, among others.

“They want a Virgil, then, don’t let me speak at the funeral. I saw two, three, four, five white people not let me speak. Drake, I love you, I’m a get the tattoo. But any of y’all n-ggas, Trav, whoever, y’all gotta show up. Don’t tell me I’m talking crazy. Me, Pharrell, we broke down this door; we’re all in this sh-t together,” Ye says.

Kanye west went on a wild rant pic.twitter.com/zUewPIwpEx

— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) December 15, 2023

He then addresses his previous antisemitic comments, seemingly showing no remorse.

“I don’t wanna hear sh-t from any of these Jewish n-ggas saying I’m in an episode,” Ye says. “Harley Pasternak followed me to the f-cking hotel, and that n-gga killed Aaron Carter. And now they won’t clear the Backstreet Boys sample. Harley Pasternak, Pusha. Your trainer. Harley Pasternak, Jay-Z.”

Elsewhere in the rant, he mentions that he’s had phone calls with Tory Lanez, where they prayed together and continued to spout unproven stats about the Jewish community.

“The French own 80% of the banks in Africa. It’s 60 million of us in America and 60 million Jews in the world,” Ye says. “50% of our deaths are abortion. 25% of us go to prison.”

From there, he mentions his name alongside Jesus and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler before revisiting the topic of his parental rights.

“These are Zionists. This is what I’m trying to tell you. Who’s going to make the hospitals, though? He’s a Zionist, Trump. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye, third party, sponsor that. I don’t give a f-ck. I don’t give a f-ck about life or death. I get visitation with my kids. I ain’t got no say-so.”

Don’t worry; social media is just as confused about Ye’s latest stream of consciousness as you might be. See the reactions below.

Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty

Beyoncé — “Grown Woman” 

Ten years ago, Beyoncé stopped the music world with a surprise drop. Her famed eponymous album came with no promotion or warning, marking an important and influential moment in an iconic career. Today, Queen Bey celebrates this with the long-awaited release of “Grown Woman.”

Bey co-produced the song alongside Timbaland and released it as part of a 2013 Pepsi commercial. “Embrace your past but live for now,” she said in the ad. Meanwhile, the song carries an empowering chant: “I’m a grown woman / I can do whatever I want.”

Beyoncé also spoke on the LP’s theme at the time of its release. “My message behind this album was finding the beauty in imperfection,” she explained, as per MTV.

“I have a lot of awards and I have a lot of these things that are amazing and I worked my ass off,” she added. “But nothing feels like my child saying, ‘Mommy!’ Nothing feels like when I look my husband in the eyes…Those are the things that matter, and at this point in my life, that’s what I’m striving for: Growth, love, happiness, fun. Enjoy your life, it’s short, that’s the message.”

Nicki Minaj — “Beep Beep” & “Love Me Enough” 

Shortly after releasing her Pink Print 2 LP, Nicki Minaj keeps things going with even more from the project. The Queen of the Barbs just rolled out two new high-profile songs this week to commemorate a potential chart-topping release.

“Beep Beep” features fellow Queens MC 50 Cent. “I tell him that he had the chance of a lifetime / Who want to be a millionaire? I’m your lifeline,” Minaj raps. Later, she nonchalantly adds: “If I don’t even know you exist, is that beef?” Meanwhile, 50 Cent follows Minaj with his own thoughts on quarrels. “Say we got some kinda beef, what kinda beef?” he asks. “Please, remind me.”

Moreover, Monica and Keyshia Cole join Minaj on “Love Me Enough.” Cole sings about self-love while Nicki explains her stance. “I used to think my happiness depended on a man / Diamond on the ring finger blinging on my hand…The worst drug of all, the addiction to a man.”

Nicki previously said she would drop even more bonus tracks to go along with the original release. Coincidentally, Pink Friday 2 “should have a good chance at contending for the Billboard 200’s top spot,” according to the publication. 

Megan Thee Stallion & Reneé Rapp — “Not My Fault” 

Megan Thee Stallion continues to unleash new music. Shortly after unveiling her heartfelt “Cobra” single, the Texas superstar teams up with rising singer-songwriter and actress Reneé Rapp for a new collaboration, “Not My Fault.”

“It’s not my fault you’re, like, in love with me,” Rapp sings on the track. “Where she at, what she doing? Who she with and where she from? She’s this, she’s that? She’s a flight risk on the run.” 

Meg also carries the love question into her verse. “I mean, who wouldn’t wanna be in love with me?” she asks. “Dudes thought I was A.I. / Ballin’ like A.I. / Stick to the money like a stapler / Stack like Jenga.”

“Not My Fault” is a track off the forthcoming Mean Girls soundtrack. Meg also announced the song with a video on social media. “It’s Megan Thee Stallion, aka The Black Regina George and I’m excited to introduce my girl to the stage,” she said. “We have a new song coming out for Mean Girls. That’s right, give it up for the new fantastic plastic, Reneé Rapp.”

Rapp, who released her Snow Angel album this year, is also set to star as Regina George in the upcoming Mean Girls film. Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer, and Tim Meadows are also slated to appear in the new adaptation of the popular 2004 film.

Lil Baby — “350” & “Crazy”

Lil Baby is back. More than a year since his It’s Only Me LP, the famed Quality Control MC unveils two singles, “350” and “Crazy.”

“350,” a nod to his Richard Mille watch price, kicks things off. “I know one day it’s gon’ hit me, bro ain’t never comin’ back / Ain’t never say nothin’ ’bout it,” he adds. “You know you a rat.”

Moreover, “Crazy” continues with toast to his success. “You can play if you want to, I let ’em say what they want to, but I’m ready for all of this / No matter how hard it can get / That boy on the top of the list.”

CamYouAFool, DB! And MonneymadeIt produced “350” while Money Musik, Hoops, and Str8cash held the boards down on “Crazy.”

Additionally, Baby recently confirmed that he was “finishing up the album.” His 2022 LP, It’s Only Me, and his 2020 LP, My Turn, both topped the Billboard 200.

After covering all the tech you need to keep your home secure, gifts for the gamers, and the wellness gurus, we’re wrapping up our Check The Tech series with our host, tech venture capitalist Sara Lovestyle, 

On the final episode, entertainment attorney turned tech entrepreneur James Jones pulled up to talk about the best gifts for the content creators in your life.

Jones is the founder and CEO of the finance app Bump, which aims to be the premier destination for Banking and fintech to help creators grow and fund their passions through real-time market values and lines of credit.

For Jones, his career trajectory all started with his love for music.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been around music,” Jones said. “So that was the transition to becoming an entertainment lawyer where I’m actually representing creators, artists, and influencers and helping them find additional sources of income and understand how the business works, which transitioned me into tech.”

So, with the creators in mind, Sara picks Jones’ brain for the top items he thinks any newfound creator needs.

He starts off with a Mactrem Ring Light that features several settings to make sure your content is lit as perfectly as possible, and it’s portable for when you’re on the move.

“It’s an absolute necessity. Lighting is the most integral part of this entire process. If my lighting is bad, I can’t create content,” Sara adds.

Next up is the Logitech HD Streamcam, coming in at $99, which James says is much better quality than the one installed on your laptop, making for a crisper and more professional shot. Lastly, the Beat by Dre headphones for the utmost audio quality.

Watch the final episode of Check The Tech above for all your content creator needs.

Source: Variety / Getty

The Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop celebrating the genre’s milestone was an unqualified success. It brought together some of the pioneering figures who have contributed to the music’s worldwide appeal over the last half-century.

But one of rap’s biggest hitmakers declined to participate. MC Hammer is known for bringing dance, showmanship and mainstream success to hip-hop with hits like “U Can’t Touch This,” “2 Legit 2 Quit,” “Pray” and “Pumps and a Bump.” He’s the first rapper to reach diamond status with his 1990 album Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em.

The special’s curator, Questlove, says despite all the artists that did perform, including Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Queen Latifah, Nelly, Public Enemy, Rick Ross, Chance the Rapper and more, he was truly hurt that Hammer didn’t want to participate.

“Of all the ‘No’s’….Hammer hurt the most. We really wanted him to have his flowers,” Quest posted on X.

Of all the “No’s”….Hammer hurt the most. We really wanted him to have his flowers

— ?st (@questlove) December 11, 2023

We begged him to open

— ?st (@questlove) December 11, 2023

But Hammer said he made a conscious choice not to participate in any 50th anniversary celebrations. At a Tupac Shakur street naming ceremony in Oakland recently, he said, “You ain’t hear me go to none of these Hip-Hop 50 — and just for the record, I got invited to every one.”

He added, “But I really don’t have the patience for the fakeness. I’m really 60 years old. I can’t get with the fakeness of it all. I could do it with a young cat, but I can’t go around old cats and still be pretending.”

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A post shared by Okayplayer. (@okayplayer)

Hammer seems to be referencing some of the rappers who made millions writing and rapping about the gangster life they weren’t actually living.

“What you want me to call you? Six Shooter? Come on, man,” he continued. “Ain’t none of your bodies turned up yet!”

Other rap stars who were asked to perform at the Grammy tribute but declined, according to Quest, were Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, 50 Cent and Run DMC. None have made a public statement about why.

But there could be good news on the way for fans of Hammer’s electric performances. He is active on X, showcasing what appears to be AI-generated artwork and the accomplishments of his extended family.

A few days ago, he announced that he was going on tour.

I’m definitely going to Tour for My Fans. https://t.co/wF1mBVP8xt

— MC HAMMER (@MCHammer) December 13, 2023

Although he responded affirmatively to several people asking him to include their cities once he hits the road, he provided no specifics about when or where it might happen. But Hammer did add in another post, “I’m going to do it fr. Let God be the truth and another man a liar.”

Just in case you’re not familiar with Hammer’s greatness and the heights of pop culture stardom he reached in his ’90s heyday, he shared a video recently on his IG page.

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A post shared by MC HAMMER (@mchammer)

The holidays will be here soon and families across the nation and the world will gather in celebration with food, drinks, and gifts on deck. To make the holiday gatherings just a touch more interesting, Q Mixers has a new secret holiday bingo game that could help with the good times.

Q Mixers, founded by Jordan Silbert, is a leading brand when it comes to mixers for cocktails and drink creations, has several offerings in its portfolio for classic adult sips like the Moscow Mule, Whiskey Highball, Gin and Tonic, and more. For those looking to cut down on adult beverages or don’t imbibe at all, Q Mixers is a handy way to make a mocktail or sip chilled on its own.

By way of the brand, the secret holiday bingo game can be accessed via a website link where players can get a randomized card with various shenanigans that take place during the holidays.

Do you have that one family member that always brings up your dating life? Bingo! This game is for you. Do you begrudgingly take the requisite family photo in ugly sweaters? Bingo! Another one on the card.

Whatever the activity that comes up on the card, Q Mixers, and secret holiday bingo could be a fun way to pass the holidays before someone knocks over the tree or the dog eats someone’s dessert while everyone is away wrapping gifts.

Find out more about Q Mixers and the secret holiday bingo card here.

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Photo: Q Mixers

As the holidays are rolling in fast, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart have a collection of wines that will be perfect for the gifting season. Via the pair’s ongoing partnership with the 19 Crimes brand, the company has a Snoop Cali Collection and a Snoop & Martha 2-Pack that will take some of the fuss out of shopping for your loved ones who are fans of good wine.

19 Crimes, owned by Treasury Wine Estates, is a brand out of Australia that partnered with Snoop Dogg for the Cali Collection, which was the first time the company sourced grapes from California. The Cali Collection is a quartet of wines using the iconic 19 Crimes design and features a stern Snoop D-O-Double-G on the front.

The Cali Collection is made up of Snoop Cali Red, which is a blend of red grapes, Snoop Cali Blanc, a sauvignon blanc, Snoop Cali Rosé, which blends grenache and zinfandel grapes, and Snoop Cali Gold, a sparkling selection. The bottles retail for just $15 each, save for the Cali Gold, which is priced at $18.

The Snoop & Martha 2-Pack pairs Snoop Cali Red with Martha’s Chard, a chardonnay. With this one-two combination, you can satisfy both red and white wine drinkers in one set, which retails for $30. Fans of the brand should also know about the living labels of the bottles but we won’t spoil the fun for gift-givers.

We can vouch for the brand as they’re among our favorite wines to enjoy, and the price point is quite approachable.

To scoop up your own 19 Crimes wines for the holidays, we suggest you head over to their website here and get to shopping.

Happy Holidays! 

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Photo: 19 Crimes

Source: Christian Petersen / Getty

Draymond Green’s latest on-the-court violence has yielded his most severe punishment yet.

Usually, it’s a fine — he’s already given the NBA more than $2.2 million throughout his career- a few suspended games, but this time, he’s been suspended indefinitely.

Draymond Green has been ejected from tonight's game. pic.twitter.com/Tr8ysRIFUq

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 13, 2023

“Green’s suspension will begin immediately. He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” Joe Dumars, executive vice president and head of Basketball Operations, said in a statement.

The severity comes from Green’s history of creating havoc on the court, having just yelled at the referee and choking out Rudy Gobert within the last month.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, for that same reason, Green, Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., and Green’s agent Rich Paul are expected to meet on Thursday to create a plan of counseling and figure out a way to put Green on a path to begin playing again peacefully.

Part of the frustrating part about Green’s latest suspension is that it comes when the Golden State Warriors are 11th in the Western Conference and are battling an 11-13 record. As the team’s enforcer and premiere big man, his presence will be sorely missed while he’s out indefinitely. He received a five-game suspension for choking Gobert, so there’s no telling how long he’ll be sidelined this time.

Other players around the league have also questioned Green’s latest antics, including Jusuf Nurkic, who questioned what Green’s got going on internally.

Also, former teammate Kevin Durant, who infamously had a hard time getting along with Green, was stunned at the hit during Tuesday night’s game and hopes he can tone down the aggression.

"I hope he gets the help he needs."

Kevin Durant on Draymond Green, who received indefinite suspension from #NBA for hitting Jusuf Nurkic in Tuesday win over Warriors.

"That was insane to see. Glad Nurk is alright. Never seen that on the basketball court in an NBA game." #Suns pic.twitter.com/TnXwIcMgNx

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 14, 2023

“That was insane to see. Glad Nurk is alright. Never seen that before on the basketball court in an NBA game. I hope Draymond gets the help he needs. … I know Draymond and that’s not—he hasn’t been that way when I was around him and coming into the league. So hopefully, he gets the help he needs to get back on the court and put all this stuff behind him.”

See below how social media is reacting to Green’s latest punishment.

Source: Stacy Revere / Getty

We haven’t even hit the halfway mark of the NBA season, and there have already been several heated moments.

Sure, plenty of them are caused by Draymond Green’s violent streak, but the latest comes from another NBA Champion, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Greek Freak and the Milwaukee Bucks charted an impressive 140-126 win over the Indiana Pacers last night. Still, the victory meant more to Antetokounmpo because he scored a career-high and franchise-record 64 points.

Like most players in any sport, he wanted the game ball to commemorate the moment when things got testy between the two teams.

The Pacers took the game ball after Giannis' 64-point career-high

Giannis attempted to retrieve the ball

(via @ChrisBHaynes)

pic.twitter.com/bFQLGmbuvv https://t.co/4rtkDzcNJD

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 14, 2023

Once the final whistle is blown, you can see Antetokounmpo looking to grab the ball, but he realizes the Pacers staff has already secured it. So, he ran down the tunnel in an attempt to retrieve the ball from the visitor’s locker room. He’s joined by his brother Thanasis, Cam Payne and Jae Crowder.

Once he returned to the floor, he can even be seen getting into a heated conversation with Tyrese Haliburton.

In the end, arena security fetched the ball for him, but after the game he was weary about the ball’s validity.

"I have a ball but I don't know if it's the game ball. It doesn't feel like the game ball to me."

Giannis not convinced he has the real game ball pic.twitter.com/z5mc2tGx6H

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2023

“I have no idea. I really don’t know. I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball. It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me,” Giannis said. “It feels like a brand new ball. I can’t tell; I played 35 minutes today and know how the game ball felt.”

However, the game wasn’t just an important performance for Antetokounmpo but also for Pacers big man Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first NBA points, which is why the Pacers wanted to award him the ball.

“What happened at the end of the game was unfortunate,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “There was a misunderstanding about the game ball. It was Oscar Tshiebwe’s first NBA point, so we always get the game ball. We were not thinking about Giannis’ franchise record, so we grabbed the ball. A couple minutes later several of their players ended up in our hallway and there was a big fracas, melee, whatever.”

Thanasis Antetokounmpo had to be held back after Aaron Nesmith's flagrant foul on Giannis. pic.twitter.com/Qxb5lajW3t

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 14, 2023

The game was otherwise chippy, given that the Pacers kicked the Bucks from the in-season tourney recently and a hard foul from Aaron Nesmith on Antetokounmpo early in the fourth quarter, which incited the Bucks, namely Bobby Portis.

Social media is roasting Giannis for his actions. See the reactions below.

Source: Stephen Lovekin / Getty

Comedian Tracy Morgan and Hip-Hop icon Nas have been friends for a very long time, but Morgan recently found something out that Morgan said brought the Illmatic emcee to tears.

Nas and Tracy Morgan are cousins.

‘He Started Crying’: Tracy Morgan Calls Nas After Discovering They’re Cousins https://t.co/kZF9KnNy0C

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 12, 2023

The 30 Rock actor made an appearance on an upcoming episode of PBS’s Finding Your Roots, a series hosted by educator, activist and writer Henry Louis Gates Jr. that celebrates the ancestral histories of celebrities and other prominent Americans. During a recent interview on the Connect The Dots podcast, Morgan revealed that on the PBS show, he learned about the DNA he shares with Nas, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones.

“The last question he asks you, he says, ‘We want to know who did this show that you’re related to. Mr. Morgan, will you turn the last page?’” Morgan recalled. “And guess who’s sitting there? Nas. Me and Nas is third cousins on my mom’s side.”

Tracy Morgan finding out Nas is his third cousin is something I never knew I needed to know pic.twitter.com/eVT0E8waUp

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) December 8, 2023

Source: Meg Oliphant / Getty

As if Steph Curry doesn’t have enough of a headache to deal with after Draymond Green’s latest shenanigans, he has to worry about his home security now.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Chinese exchange student who’s been accused of breaking into the sharpshooter’s Atherton home.

According to prosecutors, on Oct. 15, Sheng Gao took a bus from his Cupertino home to Atherton, the location of Curry’s $30 million home, to scope out and find Curry’s house.

The goal of his journey was reportedly to get an autograph, and with a bit of help, a woman pointed out the four-time champion’s home, and around 5:50 pm, he made his move.

After approaching the house, he pressed the intercom buttons, and as the gates to the home opened up, he walked up to the front door, which was surprisingly unlocked.

However, while he was in the crib, a nanny spotted him in the living room and demanded to know what he was doing there, and he replied he wanted Curry’s “autograph.”

After being ordered to leave, he complied, but police were still called to report the incident.

The cops later spotted him walking on El Camino Real, and the nanny confirmed that he was the kid she saw on the surveillance camera. He also confessed that he unlawfully entered the home but didn’t steal anything, which is when he was cited and released.

“He signed a citation promising to appear in court on Dec. 7 but failed to show up. The court revoked the defendant’s release on his own recognizance and issued a bench warrant for his arrest,” reports KRON4.

His bench warrant will now come with a $500 bail attached.

CBS News reports that while Steph and his wife, Ayesha, weren’t home, the kids and the nanny were.

See how social media is reacting to the bizarre incident below.

Source: Bob Riha Jr / Getty

Actor Andre Braugher has passed away at the age of 61.

The unfortunate news was confirmed by his publicist, Jennifer Allen, via NPR, revealing that he passed away Monday after briefly battling an illness.

Braugher made a name for himself in movies like Glory, where he shined alongside Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman as a free Black man who joined the first Black regiment in the Union Army.

Then again in Spike Lee’s Get on The Bus, which is about a group of Black men en route on a cross-country bus trip to participate in the Million Man March, and also starred in the legal mystery thriller Primal Fear.

However, it was his series work where he really shined, beginning with the police drama Homicide: Life on the Street, where he played Detective Frank Pembleton in over 100 episodes from 1993 to 1999.

Then he found himself in the role of law enforcement again for more than 20 years, this time in a more light-hearted nature– on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, where he played Captain Raymond Holt with a star-studded cast that included Terry Crews, Andy Samberg and Chelsea Peretti.

He’d also appear in shows like BoJack Horseman, House and New Girl.

Throughout his career, which spanned over three decades, he was nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, for which he won two. He worked with many actors through that time, and many have sung his praises since he passed away, including Terry Crews, who left a touching message for his Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-star on Instagram.

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A post shared by Terry Crews (@terrycrews)

“Can’t believe you’re gone so soon. I’m honored to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared 8 glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent. This hurts. You left us too soon. You taught me so much. I will be forever grateful for the experience of knowing you,” Crews wrote. “Thank you for your wisdom, your advice, your kindness and your friendship. Deepest condolences to your wife and family in this difficult time. You showed me what a life well lived looks like. Rest In Peace, Andre. I love you, man.”

Braugher is survived by his wife of 32 years, actress Ami Brabson, and his three sons, Michael, Isaiah, and John Wesley.

Social media is reliving some of his most memorable moments on the big and little screen.