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Matt Patricia was a graduate assistant for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute football team while he was being prosecuted for sexual assault ... but the head football coach says he was kept in the dark.

Patricia played for RPI from '92 to '95 -- but his coaching career started the very next season when he was a graduate assistant for his alma mater.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the alleged rape occurred on March 15, 1996 and Patricia was indicted on August 14, 1996 -- the same day as RPI's opening game of the '96 season.

So, how was Patricia allowed be a part of the program while being investigated for rape?

We spoke with Matt's coach, Joe King, who told us it's a pretty simple answer ... nobody ever told him Patricia was involved in a rape case.

In fact, King says he was completely unaware about the legal proceedings until this week -- when reports surfaced in the Detroit News.

For his part, King says Patricia was a model student athlete and an all-around great guy.

"He's as high a quality individual as I've ever coached, as I've ever known. I just find it hard to believe that this happened."

5/11 12:22 PM PT -- A rep for Brass Knuckles tells us, "We have investigated the allegations asserted in the claim and determined they are frivolous. They do not represent the experience of our loyal customers who love our strains."

The statement continues, "Brass Knuckles adheres to California's new safety standards which are among the strictest in the country. Our most recent tests confirm the purity of our product."

Xzibit sells toxic s*** ... so claims a man who says he got real sick off the rapper's strain of THC oil.

Ignacio Lee claims in a new lawsuit he bought Brass Knuckles branded THC Concentrate Vape Cartridges in Candy Apple and Sour Diesel. Xzibit promoted the brand on his Instagram, and that's what attracted Lee to the product.

Xzibit said on his social media, "Our oil is clean." In another post he says the product is "COMPLETELY pesticide AND contaminate FREE."

Lee says he began using the brand in July 2016, and in 2017 he began experiencing fatigue, headaches, nausea, chest pains, shortness of breath, wheezing and difficulty breathing. He says he stopped using the pot in August and the symptoms went away.

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, he had someone conduct an independent lab test on the product, which he says revealed detectable levels of pesticides.

Lee's suit is a class action on behalf of all the folks who smoked the strain in question.

Part of Blac Chyna's lawsuit against the Kardashians is about to get shut down by a judge, who says she can't blame the family for her reality show getting axed.

According to docs, the judge is leaning toward tossing Chyna's claim Kris Jenner and some of her daughters strong-armed E! to cancel "Rob & Chyna." The judge said the network had every right, under the contract -- which Chyna signed -- to NOT continue the series.

Chyna argued in her suit, E! had "effectively" exercised the option for season 2 when it announced it would air, and started shooting scenes. The judge says that's not enough, though, and Chyna will need something in writing to prove E! was obligated.

Amy Schumer broke a huge rule on the comedy club circuit by crashing an up-and-coming comedian's stand-up set, according to fellow comic Michael Blackson.

We got Blackson at LAX Thursday afternoon where he told us what Amy did this week at Carolines in NYC was just plain rude. If ya missed it, she interrupted Brendan Sagalow Tuesday night, right in the middle of his set to practice her monologue for 'SNL.' She's hosting this week.

Sagalow has said he's cool with how it went down, but other comedians are taking Amy to task. Michael says it's not that an A-lister like Amy doesn't get preferential treatment -- it's just that there's a way to do it, and Michael says Amy should know that.

He had some harsh advice for her, for which we suspect HE's gonna catch some flak.

The neighborhood war between Justin Theroux and Norman Resnicow has now erupted into a battle royale in the entire building, because now other residents claim they were held at bay with 2 harpoons.

Theroux has been involved in a nuclear war with Resnicow for years. Two neighbors signed affidavits on Theroux's behalf, describing a confrontation with Resnicow in April. According to them, Resnicow has now declared war on them.

The fellow residents say on April 29, Resnicow confronted one of them in the lobby with what looked like 2 harpoons ... one in each hand. It appears they were actually log rollers, which look like harpoons.

According to legal docs, the residents say Resnicow physically intimidated them with the log rollers ... berating them and accusing them of perjury. Other neighbors apparently came down and tried to calm Resnicow, to no avail. The residents say they were all threatened in the lobby.

Chris Brown's friend, who's been accused of raping a woman while partying at Brown's house, says there's zero evidence of a crime ... and he's blasting Gloria Allred for going after him.

Lowell Grissom Jr. is the man Allred's anonymous client claims raped her twice during the party. The allegations are pretty graphic -- in her lawsuit, the woman says Grissom grabbed her out of a bathroom and raped her. Then later, found her in a laundry room and raped her again.

But Grissom's attorney Anthony Willoughby tells TMZ ... the matter was fully investigated, and his client's name was cleared. He says, "Lowell vehemently denies these false and defaming accusations originated last year, ending with no arrests, no proof, an inconclusive rape kit and after a police investigation -- no charges filed.

He adds, "This civil lawsuit is a blatant attempt at a money grab and to harm the reputation of my client while encouraging PR noise for Gloria Allred while she exploits this young woman for her own financial gains and public persona."

5/11 -- TMZ has learned the lawyer who handles Britney Spears' conservatorship has just been named Semel's conservator. Adam Streisand repped Terry's son in court Friday.

Terry Semel, the former Warner Bros. Chairman and Yahoo! CEO ... once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, has been moved from his 13,000 square foot Bel-Air compound and warehoused in a 500 square foot apartment, and his son claims it's all the doing of Terry's wife.

Semel suffers from Alzheimer's and according to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Eric Semel says Jane Semel has been heartless, abusing her authority and not properly caring for his father.

Most concerning to Eric ... he says Jane has put Terry in the Motion Picture & Television Fund House, which he describes as "a retirement home intended for low-income entertainment industry members in Woodland Hills, CA."

Eric says Terry and Jane have homes in California, New York and London, and there is no reason "Mr. Semel should not be cared for and reside in a suitable, secured home that is accessible for his physical needs."

Kim Kardashian has left her Met Gala Versace dress in NYC and traded it for an oversized coat to meet up with Kanye ... and the pair has never looked happier.

Kim jetted to Wyoming Wednesday to reunite with her hubby who's in the Cowboy State to apply the finishing touches on his upcoming albums. Kimye chatted up a few fans on their way out of a local BBQ joint ... Kim also snapped some pics.

Teairra Mari is really conflicted over what to do about her recently leaked sex tape -- so much so, she hasn't even dumped the guy she believes is responsible!

The "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star told us on Thursday's "TMZ Live" ... she's convinced her current boyfriend is behind the pornographic images getting posted online. She says he's claiming his phone got hacked, but she's definitely not buying it.

Still, Teairra shocked us by revealing she's still with him, and explained why she's hesitant to leave him. What makes that even more bizarre is the fact she ALSO admitted she's lawyered up.

R. Kelly is calling out Spotify for what he calls its hypocritical move to yank his tunes from all playlists.

Kelly's team fired back at Spotify's decision to stop promoting his music on their playlists while allegations he's running a sex cult continue to swirl. His managers say the streaming service is "bowing to social-media fads" and "picking sides in a fame-seeking dispute."

Most importantly, they point out, Kelly has not been charged with a crime, and doesn't have any pending criminal charges against him. They add, Spotify's new "Hate Content & Hateful Conduct" policy has no relevance to Kelly's love songs -- especially when the service continues to feature artists who are "convicted felons," and whose lyrics promote violence against women.

BTW, XXXTentacion's getting the same treatment from Spotify. One of his reps sent a letter to a NY Times writer in which she names names of other artists who've been accused of sexual misconduct. Important to note, most have denied the allegations and very few have been criminally charged.

7:09 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, 26-year-old Eduardo Leon of Orange County was arrested for felony stalking. He's being held on $150,000 bail.

Rihanna had an overnight visitor who got his ass tased after cops were alerted to her home, and he apparently didn't get with the program ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us authorities were dispatched to RiRi's L.A.-area home Thursday morning after they were notified of a potential intruder on suspicion that her alarm had been tampered with. Once officers arrived, they came upon a man who appeared to have stayed the night.

We're told cops ordered the man to come outside, and he did ... but had to be tased while being detained. It's unclear what exactly led to the tasing.

The good news ... Rihanna was not home during the alleged break-in. No word on if anything was taken, or how the man might've gotten inside. Law enforcement tells us he'll be booked for residential burglary and trespassing.

We've reached out to Rihanna's team for comment ... so far, no word back.

Meek Mill is back behind bars ... is what the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would have you thinking if you eyed its online records. He's not locked up, and there's actually some good news for Meek.

An alert went out early Thursday morning to people signed up for VINELink, an inmate notification system. It said Robert Rihmeek Williams was in Chester State Prison as of 4 AM.

We double checked the inmate records at the facility, and sure enough ... it still shows Meek is there, and the reason is kinda funny. The PA Dept. of Corrections tells TMZ ... this is all about getting Meek paid!

We're told the "full release process includes the processing of Mill's final paycheck." Meek's name will remain in the system until he gets that check. VINELink alerting his name appears to be an electronic error.

As for that final check ... we're told Meek's got $15.12 coming to him, plus $644.90 that was deposited in his inmate account by family and friends. Total windfall ... if he wasn't already a super-rich and successful rapper.

If ya needed more proof Meek's still free -- he was on ESPN Thursday morning with Stephen A. Smith. Oddly, they did NOT discuss his pending payday.

Models Abigail Ratchford and Gemma Farrell brought their talents to Miami ... and definitely weren't shy about putting them on display for all to see.

You're welcome.

Abigail -- easily one of the hottest women on the planet -- and her New Zealand gal pal/model hit the beach for a photo shoot that left a teensy-weensy bit to the imagination. They tried on a couple bikinis and flaunted the goods.

Danielle Bregoli never skipped a beat when her security team got into a crazy brawl during the middle of her performance ... and TMZ's got the video.

Danielle -- aka Bhad Bhabie -- was performing Wednesday night at SOB's in NYC when someone, out of nowhere, bum-rushed the stage. Sources tell us Danielle's security blocked the guy from getting any closer ... and the fight broke out when the guy started swinging.

The melee spilled into the back of the venue before the dust settled. It's unclear why the guy rushed the stage. Cops were not called.

We talked to Danielle earlier in the day and asked her about Cardi B and Offset's entourage beating the crap out of an aggressive autograph seeker.