Love to Hate, Hate to Love

Top 10 Most Hated Athletes

1. Lebron James                           

2. Michael Vick

3. Tiger Woods

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Terrell Owens

6. Kobe Bryant

7. Plaxico Burress

8. Ben Roethlisburger

9. Tom Brady

10. Tim Tebow

Being a professional athlete means getting praised, and getting criticized, while most are criticized for the on-field production, or lack there of, others are harped on for their actions out side of the playing field or court.

Players such as Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, Tiger Woods, Ben Roethlisburger and Kobe Bryant, caught a lot of un wanted attention for incidents that had nothing to do with their performance in their respected sports.

Mike Vick was already being hated on because of his race, and the position he plays, than it all got a little bit more serious.  A dog fighting ring, and a 2 year prison sentence later he is the most hated man in the NFL.  Plaxico Burress lost the spotlight because he wasn’t able to keep the safety on his pistol.  Than there is Big Ben Roethlisburger, who got a little rowdy in bathroom stalls.  And last there is Kobe Bryant, who almost fell from grace because of an alleged rape case.  These athletes all receive hate, not for their play, but for their conduct outside of the arena.

All the above mentioned players were able to regain there status on the field or court, but not in the public eye.  The next case; Tiger Woods still hasn’t recovered from his saga.  He wasn’t able to keep his wood in his golf bag, and lost his family, his marriage, and his golf game.

There is also hating going on for the performance in their sport.  Take Alex Rodriguez, now yes he did get into some trouble with the whole steroid thing, but I believe America has become numb to that whole story.  Nobody knows who did what anymore.  Before the steroid drama, he was regarded as the best thing in baseball, till the playoffs that is.  He received more hate and attention for his lackluster hitting in the biggest spots.  Than the steroid thing broke, and what a shock, he is hated even more. It is safe to believe we can put all of the steroid guys on this list of hatred in sports.

Lebron James is the new definition of hate in American Sports.  This last year has seen him go from the chosen one, to the most hated one.  Take your pick; leaving the Cavs stranded, hour long TV special to do it, joining his friends to create a “super team”, celebrating 7 championships before winning even 1 game together.  I think that pretty much says it all.

Hate fuels sports it makes it more interesting, and controversial.  With that list of most hated guys in sports, each one of them strives off of it, and would love nothing more than to shut up the rest of the country.  The ones that can do it are the special ones.

J