Despite brilliant careers, many sporting figures have blown their reputations away by foolishness or crime. This is a list of the top 10.
10. Pete Rose (1941 – Reds, Phillies, Expos – Reds Manager)
In August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds; some accusations claimed that he bet on, and even against, the Reds. After years of public denial, in 2004 he admitted to betting on, but not against, the Reds. After Rose’s ban was instated, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the “permanently ineligible” list from induction. His hordes of adoring fans each, in their own way, continue to plead for his inclusion into the Hall, but thus far, no one is bending. So, I guess that just goes to show you how incomprehensibly stupid it is to bet while still employed by the MLB. Nice one, Charlie Hustle.
9. Ray Lewis (1975 – Baltimore Ravens)
Despite his accomplishments on the field, Lewis’ public image was tarnished following a Super Bowl party on January 31, 2000. Following this party a fight broke out and Jacinth Baker, 21, and Richard Lollar, 24, died from stab wounds. Lewis and two companions, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting, were brought to an Atlanta Police station for questioning. During the questioning Lewis lied to investigators by saying he didn’t know the other two suspects. However Lewis’ limo driver told the police that he saw Lewis punch one of the victims. The limo driver further stated that Lewis told the other occupants to stay quiet, and that Sweeting and Oakley stated “I stabbed mine”. Eleven days later, along with Oakley and Sweeting, Ray Lewis was indicted for murder and aggravated assault. Lewis’s attorney arranged with prosecutors to dismiss the murder charges if Lewis pleads guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice in exchange for him testifying against Oakley and Sweeting. Lewis accepted this plea bargain, and he was sentenced to one year probation. He was not suspended by the NFL but was fined a league-record at the time $250,000. And he continues to ‘kill’ on the field to this day! My hero!
8. Ty Cobb (1886-1961 – Tigers, A’s – Tigers Manager)
On May 15, 1912, in New York’s Highland Park, the Detroit Tigers were playing the hometown New York Highlanders. In the stands behind home plate was a Highlander fan named Claude Lueker who was giving Detroit’s Ty Cobb a tough time. A really tough time. According to spectators who were in the stands that day, Lueker hurled insults and epithets at Cobb every time the Georgia Peach came to the plate. By the end of the fifth inning, Cobb warned the Highlanders manager and the umpires that if the man wasn’t ejected from the game, there was going to be some serious trouble. Nothing was done to the rambunctious fan, and so when he called the notoriously racist Cobb a “half-nigger” in the bottom of the sixth inning, the ferocious outfielder climbed into the crowded stands, leapt upon the man and began beating him senseless. Other fans began pleading with Cobb to stop the physical attack because the foul-mouthed Mr. Lueker had no hands. He had apparently lost them years earlier in an industrial accident. As the crowd pleaded, Cobb responded as he pummeled the man, “I don’t care if he’s got no feet!” American League Commissioner Ban Johnson, who was at the game that day, immediately suspended Cobb indefinitely from baseball. See where protecting your good name gets you? I’m not even a half-’N-Word’ and I would have done the same thing.
7. Chris Benoit (1967-2007 – WCW, ECW, WWE {F})
On June 25th, 2007, Professional Wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, GA, home at around 2:30 p.m. The Fayette County, Georgia Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating this case. Police entered Benoit’s home on a “welfare check” after several missed appointments, and found three dead bodies. Investigators confirmed that Benoit, over a three day period, murdered his wife and son and subsequently committed suicide. Thanks to the hurried response by Vince McMahon and the WWE, he was immortalized in a 2-hour segment covering his lengthy career… oops, should have waited! Not until nearly the full way through the show did the WWE come to realize that this was a double murder/suicide. Open mouth, insert foot.
6. Darryl Strawberry (1962 – Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees)
Strawberry began to use alcohol and eventually he started to experiment with cocaine and amphetamines. Strawberry had been drinking beer casually since high school but started using drugs upon his arrival with the Mets as a way to fit in. It was easy to drink after the game as the team gave the players complimentary beer and then he and other Mets would continue the party often all night long. He began to use amphetamines to overcome his hangovers before games. By 1987 he was drinking virtually every night and was using more cocaine. Though he reached career highs in batting average (.283), home runs (39), and RBIs (104) he was starting to wear on the Mets organization. He skipped part of spring training and then missed a late-season game claiming he had a virus. In January 1989 Strawberry was arrested after a domestic violence complaint by his wife. Strawberry spent a short time in an alcohol rehabilitation center and admitted that he had a problem with alcohol, though he told no one at the center about his drug use. The only thing worse than his professional life was his private life. To cope with his back injury and personal problems, he resumed drinking alcohol and soon after he turned to cocaine. He had an altercation with a homeless man in September of 1993 and then divorced his wife in October. Later that year Strawberry uttered the infamous comment about his hometown. When informed that people were rioting and looting in Los Angeles he said, “Let it burn”. In 1994, the government said Strawberry owed $146,000 in taxes on income he hadn’t reported. Strawberry was facing jail time, his legal bills were bankrupting him, and he turned to alcohol, which led him to do a line or two of cocaine. His brief cocaine use caused him to fail a drug test. He was released from the Giants and received a sixty-day suspension from baseball. Suddenly Strawberry was broke, had no income, and was facing a trial. On Wednesday, April 15th, 1999, he was arrested for possession of .3 grams of cocaine after allegedly soliciting a prostitute, who turned out to be an undercover police officer. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig put Strawberry on administrative leave, which meant he was not able to play or practice with the team. Strawberry claimed that the cocaine did not belong to him, and he was joking with the woman and would not have met her at a hotel. The Yankees kept him off the 40-man roster and some sources believe the team suspended his pay. That appeared to be it for his illustrious career, aside from about fifteen more minor infractions. Stellar.
5. Ron Artest (1979 – Bulls, Pacers, Kings)
On November, 19th, 2004, Artest took center stage in arguably the most infamous brawl in professional basketball history. The game took place in Auburn Hills Michigan between Artest’s Pacers and the home team Detroit Pistons. The brawl began when Artest fouled Pistons center Ben Wallace as Wallace was putting up a shot. Wallace, upset at being fouled hard when the game was effectively over (the Pacers led 97-82), responded by shoving Artest, leading to an altercation near the scorer’s table. Artest walked to the sideline and lay down on the scorer’s table, while mocking Wallace. Wallace then threw an armband at Artest while he pretended to give a radio interview at the scorer’s table. Reacting to Wallace throwing something at Artest, Pistons fan John Green threw a cup of beer at Artest, hitting him. Artest jumped into the front-row seats and confronted a man he believed to be responsible (who turned out to be the wrong man), which in turn erupted into a brawl between Pistons fans and several of the Pacers. Artest returned to the basketball court, and punched Pistons fan A.J. Shackleford, who was apparently taunting Artest verbally. This fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. Artest and teammates Jermaine O’Neil and Stephen Jackson were suspended indefinitely the day after the game, along with Wallace. On November 21st, the NBA announced that Artest would be suspended for the remainder of the season (73 games plus playoff appearances). This is the longest non-drug or betting related suspension in NBA history. Now that’s something to be proud of. Jackass.
4. Mike Tyson (1966 – Heavyweight Boxing)
Tyson was arrested in July 1991 for the rape of Miss Black Rhode Island, Desree Washington in an Indianapolis hotel room. Tyson was convicted on the charge on Feb., 10th, 1992. Tyson’s trial is chronicled in the book, Down For The Count by Mark Shaw. It strongly suggests that Tyson would not have been convicted if he had been provided adequate legal defense counsel and that Tyson thus did not receive a fair trial. Under Indiana law, a defendant convicted of a felony must begin serving his prison sentence immediately after the sentence is imposed. He was given a sentence of six years and was released on March 1995 after serving three years. On June 28th, 1997, the second bout between Tyson and Holyfield would become one of the most controversial events in modern sports. The fight was stopped at the end of the third round, with Tyson disqualified for biting Holyfield on both ears. One bite was severe enough to remove a piece of Holyfield’s right ear, which was found on the ring floor after the fight. Tyson later stated that it was retaliation for Holyfield repeatedly head butting him without penalty. In the confusion that followed the ending of the bout and announcement of the decision, a near riot erupted in the arena and several people were injured in the ensuing melee. On July 29th, 1997, Tyson’s boxing license was revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in a unanimous voice vote; he was also fined USD $3-million and ordered to pay the legal costs of the hearing. The revocation was not permanent, as a little more than a year later on October 18th, 1998, the commission voted 4-1 to restore Tyson’s boxing license. Legal problems caught up with Tyson once again. On February 6th, 1999, Tyson was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment, fined $5,000, and ordered to serve two years probation and perform 200 hours of community service for assaulting two motorists after a traffic accident on Aug. 31st, 1998. He served nine months of that sentence. You know, being a monster in the ring that subsequently leads to clean bouts and great boxing is one thing, but being a drugged-out juggernaut in the real world is always going to get your dumb ass in trouble.
3. Rae Carruth (1974 – Panthers)
On November 16th, 1999, near Carruth’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, Cherica Adams, a woman Carruth had been dating, was shot four times in a drive-by shooting. Surviving the shooting for a time, Adams called 911 and described Carruth’s behavior: He had stopped his vehicle in front of hers as another vehicle drove alongside Adams’ and its passenger shot her. Carruth then drove from the scene. Adams was eight months pregnant with Carruth’s child. It was later found out she was pregnant with twins. Soon after her admission to the hospital, Adams fell into a coma. Doctors saved one of the children’s lives, the other later died from complications. Later, Carruth went to the police and posted a $3 million bond, with the condition that if either Adams or the children died, he would turn himself in. However, after Adams died, Carruth became a fugitive. The Panthers released him a few days later, citing a morals clause in his contract. He was eventually captured after being found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel in Parkers Crossroads, Tennessee. Also, in the trunk was $3,900 in cash, bottles to hold Carruth’s urine, extra clothes, candy bars, and a cell phone. At trial Rae Carruth was defended by David Rudolph and was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder by shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child. He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. However, Carruth was found not guilty of 1st-degree murder and was spared the death penalty. Carruth is now serving a sentence of at least 18 years and 11 months at Nash Correctional Institution near Raleigh, NC. According to the North Carolina Department of Corrections, he has a projected release date of October 22, 2018. Wow, shooting a woman who is pregnant is like an instant ticket on the bus to Hell. Congrats.
2. Michael Vick (1980 – Falcons)
Michael Dwayne Vick is a suspended National Football League (NFL) quarterback under contract with the Atlanta Falcons team serving a 23 month sentence of incarceration for criminal conspiracy resulting from felonious dog fighting. A U.S. federal district court convicted and sentenced him in 2007 and a 2008 trial is scheduled for related Virginia state felony charges for his role in the dog fighting ring and related gambling activity. He is currently being held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. This is the official, “How To Ruin A Promising Quarterback Career” Step One. His ticket has been punched and he’s going to ride on the same bus as Carruth. Dog fighting. Despicable.
1. OJ Simpson (1947 – Bills, 49ers)
Besides his Hall of Fame career, Simpson is infamous for having been tried for the murder of ex-wife Nicole-Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. He was acquitted in criminal court in 1995 after a lengthy, highly publicized trial. In 1997, Simpson was found liable for their deaths in civil court, but to date has paid little of the $33.5 million judgment. He gained further notoriety in late 2006 when he wrote a book titled If I Did It. The book, which purports to be a first-person fictional account of the murder had he actually committed it, was withdrawn by the publisher just before its release. The book was later released by the Goldman family and the title of the book was expanded to If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer. In September 2007, Simpson faced more legal troubles, as he was arrested and subsequently charged with numerous felonies including but not limited to robbery, burglary, and assault, all with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon (which carries possible life sentence), coercion with use of a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit a crime. This guy, the absolute most abhorrent criminal in the sporting world, regardless (in my opinion) of his innocence, is about as criminally clean as Satan. If anyone out there who is reading this believes, whole-heartedly, that OJ is anything other than GUILTY, let me hear about it, because I am so not convinced. As he spends his days searching for the ‘real killer’ on the golf course while avoiding his restitution obligations, I’ll maintain that his ass deserves to be put to death by firing squad.
Contributor: StewWriter
George Best was one of the all-time greats.
I met him twice and my wife and son would regularly see him in our village (where his in-laws live). George was never too busy to sign an autograph or to shake your hand.
so how in the hell does benoit kill his wife and kid and not even crack the top 10, there has always been a double standard and always will, not to mention the ref that messed up maybe billions of dollars……..lets ponder this
sorry meant top 5 for benoit
One thing that is worth mentioning about this list is the idea that even though some of these guys did stupid *****, not all of them “blew it” if that means helped end their careers. Ray Lewis, Ty Cobb, and Ron Artest all did stupid things, but none of their careers ended because of it and none of them lost out on something like the hall of fame or went to jail for a long time. I would take them off of the list and put Maurice Clarett, Len Bias, and the 1919 Chicago White Sox in their places. Honorable mentions definitely to Josh Hancock, Ugi Urbina, and that ***** who murdered his teammate on the Baylor bball team.
#7 is still very hard for me to get straight.
A lot of the police evidence and statements contradicted the later statements.
Like they first said, they found him on the floor and then the later statemenst said that they had found him hung from his weight equipment in his gym. The bibles next to the family when he himself was not religious.
The empty liquor containers found around him, and later his autopsy showed no alcohol in his system but they did find it in his wifes.
The whole case is very very weird.
the person who posted number 93 is a typical “cry for me because I’m black” crybaby idiot *****. Simpson should be severely beaten with an aluminum baseball bat by 6 angry people for 6 hours, then justice would be served. 1919 black sox was just a scandal, not some guys who murdered people. I’ll just put it out there to ***** you off, but 7 of 10 are black. no matter how you put it, blacks will never be civilized human beings because they don’t try to be.
Mother: It’s mentalities like that that keep people on the offensive. Your comment is no more civilized than you say blacks are. Keep comments like this to the SS and 1488 websites. Racist little skidmark.
i have to say “your *****in mother” does make a point its been what like 40 years since King jr and the civil rites movement and the black community as a whole has not done much to improve their situation ,, they say the white man is keepin them down when its there own doing,,,, i say stop smoking crack get out of the gangs stop having kids in highschool and get an education . the only one keeping the black man down is the black man
Now wasn’t that a much nicer way of saying it. There is, and I agree, with the BET video that they’ve been pushing for awhile. “Brush yo teef, brush yo teef” or what ever it is. Trying to change that way the younger generations are growing up. In the end Everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions. Even “The White Devil” and his tendencies to keep talking trash about but not Helping, AT ALL, with the problems society is having. Can it with the Ni**er ***** and be respectable. Stop being on the offensive all of the time.
Since MLK most of the leaders of the African-American community have been hate mongers trying to take BY FORCE what they feel is right. I think MLK would be appalled by the things going on right now. Black on Black, Ghetto mentalities, and Jena 6. I stand by my opinion that we all just need to Shut Up for a while.
dang. people are mean. once you’re in a bad situation (drugs/poor/uneducated) it’s very hard to get out of it, no matter who you are. there are people that get out of it, which is great. but you can’t just say “help yourself” when the entire situation goes much deeper than that. it’s hard to just “stop smoking crack” just like people have a hard time “just not smoking.” it’s an addiction! not growing up to be drug addicted or poor or anything like that requires a child to think ahead into the future, which most kids and teens don’t do.
It’s all up to the parents and I’m sure the parents of today are Old enough to have some common sense. No matter how their parents raised them, they still know that, “This is Screwed up” and they HAVE the ability to keep their kids from doing the same things that “screwed” them up as a kid. Prevention people!!! How hard is it to raise a kid when you know what NOT to do?
Its easy to spew hate behind from the computer.
JJ: Lot of white folks on welfare blame society too.
hate/hate; love/love; love/hate; hate/love; love/hatelove. If you understood all of that congratulations.
given the word choice and tone of some the most recent comments…this is why i’ve urged J to post a ‘code of conduct’ here. it is his site, so it is his call.
just be aware word usage, tone and malicious intent are things I NOTICE. believe me..if it were my site to do as i please…i’d be banning people. and deleting comments. but its not.
and this comment is representative of me..not this site, certainly not J.
so children…grow up. behave yourselves. conduct yourselves w/ some degree of decorum ..please.
J – my apologies to you for not clearing this comment prior. its just i got a bit *****ed off about this crap. sorry.
I thought this was a very good list. Michael Vick, #2, Hell yeah!
Steve Howe is a glaring omission. I met the guy a few times in my hometown of Whitefish, MT. Nice guy, but a total waster.
And I know this is an American-centric list but the footballer (soccer on this side) George Best could be on this list.
i have an oj in the slammer, it’s a brass pog slammer, with oj behind bars: innocent or guilty? on one side, and the chase on the other, shaped like a throwing star…i got it for my kids when pogs were popular, but kept it from them, cause i figured one day it would be a collector’s item…not that i think profiting from such a gruesome act is cool, but hey, it’s all i have…lol therefore i am all for him gaining notoriety however it happens…any ideas out there that would help me figure out it’s worth would be appreciated tho..
it may be an addiction bvut heres a thought if you never smoke it in the first place then you dont become an addict you have to be pretty *****ed up in the first place to think smoking crack is a good idea,, i say if you are stupid enough to do it you deserve what you get
jesse – “wow they’re almost all black”
Yep… and im sure the “greatest athletes of all time” list will also consist primarily of blacks.. your point?
I dont understand how a guy who ran a dogfighting ring was higher on the list than a man who suffocated his son and choked his wife. Double Murder/Suicide>Dogfighting host” – very good point.
Marion Jones anyone? That was pretty big.
http://listverse.com/crime/top-10-most-evil-women/
http://listverse.com/crime/top-10-evil-serial-killers/
WOW… They’re ALL white, guess no matter how hard we try us whites will never be civilized…
see how retarded that sounds? Now go smack yourselves!
This is one for the future… Joey Barton of NEWCASTLE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB, has a bad rep already
thank you cor. you said it perfectly.
and jj, do you know what it’s like to move around from ghetto to ghetto with your alcoholic crack smoking mommy? or to be kicked out of your house at 15? or to be put into group homes because your parents can’t take the time to show you right from wrong? people take drugs for the first time for many reasons. you can’t generalize people like that, everyone’s situation is different, and we can’t all make perfect choices all of the time.
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/12rules.asp
Downhighway61: oh boo hoo! i dont care what your situation is to smoke crack or not smoke crack is not a difficult choice, EVERTHING tells you crack is bad so you’re just lowlife scum if you do it,,, end of story!!!!
the point was if you don’t have parents to teach you right from wrong, then making these choices is a bit harder. and that you can’t take people’s problems at face value. but whatever. i guess i’m full of compassion and a bit naive.
you dont need parants to tell you crack is bad ,,,all addicts try blame something else when it was their choice to start no one is ever forced nuthin makes anyone start and i dont care what your life is like people can come from the worst environment and they can become anything they want to ,,sad thing is most that start out “bad” CHOOSE not to improve
im pretty sure “pacman” jones should be on this list. i think he screwed himself up for good. and ray lewis didnt blow it. in my book, an athlete “blowing it” means they have tarnished their careers for good and as you have said he still tears it up out there. he’s my hero too!
Guys, it’s a “Top Ten” list. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of competition. There are plenty of morons out there who could fight it out for the top fifty or top 100.
PS. OJ Simpson is a sad sad reflection of how utterly stupid and vacuous us Americans can be. I mean for god’s sake, how could so many people believe he’s innocent just because he’s the same skin color? The *****ing guy got away with a brutal murder in front of the world’s eyes. He deserves to rot in jail for 50 years getting reamed up the ass all day long by a 400lb guy named “Tiny”.
Are you kidding me or what? Why isn´t John Carlos on this list? :O
the whole oj thing had othin to do with race even that the jury was black it wasnt race it was fame cause whites would have done the exact same thing if it was jay leno or a jerry sienfeld the exact same crap would have happened
Wow they’re all American.
I think I would include;
Ben Johnson
Diego Maradona
Paul Gascoigne
George Best
Marion Jones
Sonny Liston
cyclists who have taken so many drugs they’ve died.
Tonya Harding
Justin Gaitlin
etc
First of all, I wanted so much to believe O.J. was innocent, but as time went by I had to come to the sad realization that such a terrific player had a heart of pure evil. The fact that his children were upstairs at the time of the murders, to me, makes him one sick freak. You don’t run when everything is okay and sadly he ran or at least freaked out. The history of domestic violence was there and he just couldn’t really defend that part, so he had to use methods that were guaranteed to help him, divert attention to someone else. He is the worst kind of criminal and deserves to fry and I’m sure he will someday, if not in this world then the next, if you believe in such things.
Secondly, I think times have changed a lot. Black americans enjoy freedoms now that 30-40 years ago would have never happened. I live in the south and it seems to me the older generation who grew up in those times are the ones that have the hardest time with it. My only problem is to have true equality then people shouldn’t seperate their own culture from the rest. You will never hear of a Miss White America or such because then racism would be called, trust that. I think we live in a too politically correct society. There are people in all cultures that have racism problems and I have viewed it from all angles. My great-grandmother was ripped from her Cherokee family and basically used as a slave in the fields, though she was adopted by that family, but only for that purpose. I could cry foul, my ancestor was a slave and now I’m due restitution, but no, I didn’t know those people and I really don’t want any handouts. Maybe an apology would be nice, but those people can’t apologize because they are dead now. So, I just have to remember to be a better person and worry about what I can do now, because lingering on the past is not a good way to live.
Well said, JazJ.
They are all American basically; and pretty much the same sports over and over. People like George Best and Diego Maradona should perhaps be in it.
I only know three people on this list. I think Mike Tyson was the only one who actually played a non american sport. I agree about Hansie. They made a movie about him. I don’t recall OJ even getting that honour!
Great list, but it’s gonna take some time before I get that image of Pete Rose out of my head.
I always loved Daryl Strawberry. I grew up a huge Mets fan in Texas and had lots of fun the year they won the world series. My favorite Met was Lenny Dykstra, though.
You can take Ray Lewis off this list. He recovered his image. You can add Maurice Clarrett to this list. Also add Vince Young who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. And some explain to me how Shawn Merriman escaped the steroid persecution and riducle. This guy was a big-time user and still got his fancy Nike commercial deal. Ofcourse now he is on the injured reserve with torn ligaments….Karma, anyone.
Every1 always points the finger @ OJ. Every1 always says he was guilty & got off.
Ther bigger point 2 b made here is the fact that he did what white people have been doin 4 years & gettin away with it. There have been countless white men that have killed African American men & women & have gotten off with little more then a slap on the wrist. Finally we have the tables turned 1 time & almost every white person has a fit.
Sergio ~ You pretty much just summed up why OJ got off.
And you’re wrong. The bigger point to be, sorry 2 b made here is that a double murderer who was acquitted by a jury of morons is going to go away, hopefully for life, for armed robbery! Ha! How funny is that?! I love it! Watch your cornhole, Juice.
Oh, and why would the crime, the horrific double murder be any less tragic because of the races of those involved or any crimes committed prior or since? That is just rediculous.
Anybody complaining about this list is dumb. Everybody talks about how there aren’t enough women or Europeans or Asians, then they either don’t name anyone or they name one person. Wow, you really proved your point.
The suggestions that have been made haven’t even been good ones. Yes Tonya Harding ruined her career. Yes Marion Jones lost a gold medal but neither should break the top 10. Half the people on this list were murderers and the other half were light years more popular which means they had a lot more to lose. I mean honestly if Tonya Harding hadn’t set up the Nancy Kerrigan attack then nobody would even know who she is today and Marion Jones is a runner that people saw once every four years and then forgot the next day. Neither comes close to losing as much as the people on this list.
I seem to remember eight baseball players who threw the WORLD SERIES!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they were all white.
i agree with most of your picks for the top ten… though i beleive that Pacman Jones should be not only on that list, but in the top 5
ah.
of course michael vicks picture was taken with a dog.
nice
Since Ray Lewis is still playing – and an all-pro – I am not sure I would include him on a list of athletes who blew it. If you are gonna include Strawberry, then IMO, you have to include Doc Gooden
wheres ben cousins???
Ray Lewis blew it eh? Yeah that is why he won the Super Bowl MVP the next year and is a constant all-pro.
The dates in the parentheses are kind of mis-leading. I suppose they’re dates of births and deaths?
“…is about as criminally clean as Satan…”
Yeah, I’ve noticed Satan moving in on the streets lately…
“…I’ll maintain that his ass deserves to be put to death by firing squad.”
Wow… That was a fair and impartial way to finish off the list Stew
These guys go from mother to coach to agent, and at no time do they have any kind of adult responsibility. They are pampered and spoiled and fawned over until they actually believe that they are better than everyone else. They end up having no concept of actions having consequences.
Dog-fighting is very popular in the ghetto. Vick is a prime example of the idea that you can take the man out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the man.
WWE isnt a sport …its entertainment
Tiger’s on that list now
The list is of names largely unknown outside the USA… from a more worldly perspective, as suggested, cricketer Hansie Cronje should be there… also the likes of cyclist Didi Thurau (could have been the most prolific winner in the sport), footballer Paul Gascoigne… and athlete Ben Johnson
How did Ray Lewis blow it? He had a trial, got off, won the Super Bowl and the Defensive MVP award the next year…has signed big contract after big contract and is now a popular player, moreso than before he was arrested. The rest of these folks lost it all, but he came out ahead after the murder.
I think Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant have to be somewhere on here.
ok, listen…putting dogkillers and drug abusers in front of murderers is irresponsible and shameful. Michael Vick and Darryl Strawberry are world class idiots but they didn’t take a life that matters. get a clue
Lee Murray – MMA Fighter
Yep,
Top 10 sporting American black guys who *****ed up
Just two quick things…
1. The pic of Pete Rose was an ad campainge for underwear… it was the 70′s, what do you want?
2. OJ is now (well as of a couple of years ago) in MY state’s penal system for breaking into a hotel and “recovering” his supposedly stolen property. Serves the worthless piece of ***** right. Talk about having it all and *****ing it all away…