Player Haters Ball

Written by Josh Katz Wednesday, 30 March 2011 18:47

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been following this disaster scenario that has developed between the artists formerly known as the NFLPA and the NFL owners. This scenario has all but guaranteed that there will be no pro football in 2011, which will have die-hards withdrawing like addicts on their couches come 1PM on Sunday afternoons this Autumn. This entire saga has left fans like myself bitter and baffled, wondering how selfish humans can ultimately get; bickering over how to split up $9 zillion, more money than most of us can ever fathom. While the insanity continues, I sense a growing disdain developing amongst those who are the very lifeblood of the league; the fans. Rather than complain and try to make sense of a nonsensical situation, I decided to compile a list of the ten most hated figures in pro sports. This ought to get your minds off of the lockout until ESPN runs their next segment on the 2011 NFL Draft which wont matter.

-Haynesworthless. Daniel Snyder felt the need to pay the man $100 million to play defensive line, but little did he know that Haynesworth has the work ethic of a 6-year-old. Haynesworth has out-jerked himself in Washington, working his way onto the bench and into the ire of Redskins fans, which have suffered enough recently. The best move Daniel Snyder could make would be to send Fat Albert packing and quickly.

-Not much can be said about Tiger Woods that hasn’t been said in the past year. Woods was the #1 golfer in the all world, until a Thanksgiving meltdown revealed his darkest secrets. Tiger did not cheat at his sport like some of the folks on this list, but did cheat on his A+ wife and ruin his perfect public image. Woods also was disliked amongst other golfers for his on-course actions, his swearing and childlike dealings that he got away with because he was Tiger Woods. Tiger is still recovering both on the golf course and off.

-The T.O. Show is nearly over, and most of us are thankful that it is. Owens is one of the most talented receivers to ever play the game, but there is a reason that Owens is now in the bowels of the NFL and not playing for a Super Bowl contender at this stage in his career. With the exception of the silly Eagles, no GM with a brain ever wanted to gamble on the loud mouth wide out who alienated everyone in his path. Owens destroyed nearly every team he went to, creating a whirlwind of negative publicity along with his playmaking abilities. Marvin Lewis, Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo and many others can attest to that.

-There was a time in Brett Favre’s career when he viewed as a good ‘ole southern boy, and the heart of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Favre had a marvelous career, a gritty competitor with a laser beam of an arm, a 3 -time AP MVP, and a Super Bowl Championship to his name. But Favre eventually let his blue collar persona slip away, retiring and unretiring more times than I can count, creating an insane media blitz. This in turn forced the Packers to ultimately move on, while Favre moved on to the Jets and most recently the Vikings. And let us not forget his “sexting” saga with Jets' employee Jenn Sterger, which removed credibility from Favre’s family-man image. Favre is as big a diva as he is a quarterback, and I am not the only one who is glad to see him finally ride off into the sunset…we think.

-Big Mac Land still stands in the outfield at Busch Stadium, yet Mark McGwie is one of the most controversial athletes to ever rob of us our innocence in the last 20 years. We all watched as he and Sammy Sosa battled each other for single-season home run glory, which we would later learn was all but artificial. The only reason McGwire is so low on the list is because he eventually copped to his cheating ways, and seemingly earns an honest living as a hitting coach for the Cards here in 2011.

-Big Ben is a gamer by all measurable criteria. Part of the 2004 draft class that included Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, Roethlisberger is the most successful of the three QB’s, with 3 Super Bowl trips and 2 rings in his short career. While Big Ben has gotten it done year after year on the field, it is his off the field antics that have made him so unlikeable off the field. There was the motorcycle accident in which he was caught riding without a helmet, an accident that he did not seem the least bit apologetic for. More recently, two separate cases of alleged sexual deviance, which landed him a four game suspension in 2010. There were even rumors that the Steelers were looking to deal the troubled QB during his latest ordeal. While Ben works to clean up his jerky image, it has become obvious the poor choices have put a dark cloud over what has been an otherwise stellar NFL career.

-The Rocket would’ve been a first ballot Hall-Of-Famer, if not for his alleged cheating ways that left a deep stain on his otherwise impressive Major League career. Clemens was a dynamite pitcher throughout his illustrious career, which included 11 All-Star appearances, 6 Cy Young Awards and 2 World Series Championships with Boston, Toronto, Houston and New York. But his charade on Capital Hill over to his P.E.D usage and his nasty, hard-nosed personality doomed him to our Hate list. His extra-marital affairs, hurling a splintered bat at Mike Piazza during a game, and his constant pathological lying about his steroid use only made fans more jaded. There is a chance that Clemens will some day get into the Hall, if you truly believe he only took Lidocaine and B-12.

-We are all witnesses...to one of the biggest chumps in pro sports. Yes, Lebron James is one of the most gifted basketball players we have ever seen, but the man could not carry himself any worse. James seemingly had it all as a Cleveland Cavalier, with the exception of a championship ring, until the fame monster got to him. Lebron made the ultimate spectacle of himself with “The Decision” to join up with Wade and Bosh in Miami, leaving the city of Cleveland and their loyal fans in the lurch.  The rest is still being written, while the negative publicity mounts with every Heat loss.

-Mike Vick has been on top of the world twice in his NFL career, once with Atlanta Falcons, and now with the Philadelphia Eagles. But he is more famous for being infamous with his federal dog fighting (and killing) charges, which landed him in prison for 18 months. Vick paid his debt to society by all accounts, but nearly ruined the Falcons franchise and his own life with his selfish and foolish ways. Mike Vick still draws protests in certain cities he attends from animal activists, and is still hated by dog-lovers worldwide.

-From his alleged steroid abuse to his current perjury trial, Barry Lamar Bonds has become one of the most unlikeable figures in sports, and maybe of all time. His surly, nasty personality towards fans, media members and teammates alike left the all-time home run king* in solitary confinement for the latter part of his career as he shattered Hank Aaron’s once proud record. Now, America can only watch as he stands trial. I recently read the book “Game of Shadows”, written by San Francisco Chronicle writers Mark Fairanu-Wada and Lance Williams. This book is a great read, and sheds light on just how miserable a person Bonds truly is and was to everyone around him.