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15 Dumbest Reasons for Athletes Being Arrested

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Stupid Athlete Arrests

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Source: Derick E. Hingle- USA Today Sports

Everyone knows that athletes tend to do stupid things. Some of them just pull crazy pranks but then others get arrested. So, what exactly do they do to get arrested?

Most commonly, we see professional athletes drinking and driving which results in a DUI. Then there are others that would rather participate in legal activities. Some of them sell illegal drugs and others trespass or participate in an armed robbery.

Sure, many professional athletes get off "easy" and get their charges reduced. However, that shouldn't stop us from pointing out their stupid mistakes. Most of them should probably be spending more time in jail than they actually do. If these guys were just your "average" person, many of them would still be behind bars.

Let's start with NFL nose tackle, Andre Smith (pictured above). He was arrested after trying to sneak a gun onto an airplane in his carry-on luggage. It's hard enough to get past security with a sweatshirt and sweatpants on. Did he really think that he was going to get away with that? He's not the first one to try this stunt, you'll find another one on the top-15 list.

That's actually a pretty tame arrest compared to some of the others. I just don't get why athletes think that they can get away with everything? After all, they are just human like the rest of us. I guess their million dollar contracts make them think they are exempt from the normal rules of society.

So which athletes have made the stupidest decisions? Take a look and you'll find 15 interesting cases of professional athletes being arrested. The list could probably go on for days, but these 15 are priceless moments. Enjoy!

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20: Trespassing in a Junkyard (Titus Young)

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Raj Mehta - USA TODAY Sports

Titus Young is just a dumpster fire. This guy tried to get his impounded black Mustang from a junkyard by climbing the fence. Long story short; Young was arrested twice in a 15-hour span and had to wait to get his Mustang back -- tough draw.

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19: Slapping a Lawyer's Butt (Chad Johnson)

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Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports

Chad Johnson was in court for a hearing, when he slapped his lawyer's rear end. This particular butt-slap cost Johnson 30 days in jail, which he totally deserved.

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18: Drag Racing (Jason Peters)

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Howard Smith - USA TODAY Sports

Jason Peters is 6-foot-4 and weights over 328 pounds. And the guy was arrested for going too fast? This is just hilarious.

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17: Stealing an iPhone (Floyd Mayweather)

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea - USA TODAY Sports

Irony. The richest man in all of sports -- Floyd Mayweather -- stealing something. Apparently, Mayweather was stealing the iPhone from this girlfriend.

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16: Throwing An Xbox At His Wife (DeAndre Liggins)

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Mark D. Smith - USA TODAY Sports

Not only did DeAndre Liggins throw an Xbox at his wife he did so in front of his two-year old son. Liggins was charged with multiple felony counts and rightfully so.

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15. Hitting a Traffic Officer (Randy Moss)

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Source: Matthew Emmons- USA Today Sports

Hitting a person with your car is bad enough, but hitting a traffic officer is even worse. Moss disobeyed the traffic officer and then pushed her with his car down the road. He finally stopped pushing her when she reached for her phone to call the police. Luckily, she was not seriously injured but Moss was clearly being idiotic. He was charged with assault in the second degree because the car was considered a "deadly weapon."

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14. Having Herpes, Dogfighting (Michael Vick)

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Source: Eric Hartline- USA Today Sports

Everyone knows about Vick and his jail time for dogfighting. However, his best arrest dealt with the fact that he may have knowingly contracted herpes to a woman. A Georgia woman accused Vick of knowingly transmitting the STD to her in 2003. Vick claimed that he was "unaware" that he had the STD, however later records showed that he was checking into clinics under the name "Ron Mexico" and getting treatment for the herpes. The case was eventually resolved but nobody really knows what the stipulations were.

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13. Possession of Cocaine & Marijuana with Intent to Sell (Sam Hurd)

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Source: Dennis Wierzbicki- USA Today Sports

Hurd openly pleaded guilty for buying cocaine and marijuana with the intent to distribute. He told an undercover officer that his plan was to buy 5-10 kg of cocaine and 1000 lbs. of marijuana to distribute in the Chicago area. That's definitely not a small amount of drugs and he has been sentenced to an undetermined amount of time in jail.

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12. Taking a Gun Through Airport Security (Darius Miles)

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Source: wikimedia

While at the St.Louis-Lambert Airport, Miles attempted to take his loaded gun through security. I don't know what type of idiot thinks that they can pull this off but clearly it's going to set off the metal detectors and the TSA will notice.

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11. Possession of Viagra (Louis Murphy)

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Source: Jeremy Brevard- USA Today Sports

If you're going to a possession charge for prescription drugs, at least make it a drug that's worth while. While on a routine traffic stop, Murphy refused to cooperate with police. It took three officers to detain him and then they raided his car. They found 11 Viagra pills but he could not provide evidence of a prescription and he was booked on two charges.

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10. Hitting a Stripper's Head on the Floor (Pacman Jones)

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Source: Kirby Lee- USA Today Sports

This wasn't Jones' first arrest at a nightclub but it is definitely the most infamous. He was "making it rain" on strippers with over $80,000 in cash but then proceeded to bash their heads on the bar and threatened to kill one of the employees.

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9. Passing Out at Hooters, Public Intoxication (John Daly)

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Source: Kyle Terada- USA Today Sports

Everyone knows that Daly is considered an alcoholic. He passed out on the bar at a Hooters restaurant in North Carolina. Staff were concerned for his health and Daly refused to be transported to the hospital. The restaurant staff then called the police; Daly was charged with public intoxication and was transported to a facility to sober-up for 24 hours.

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8. Shooting Yourself in the Leg With Unregistered Weapon (Plaxico Burress)

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Source: Danny Wild- USA Today Sports

This is by far one of the stupidest arrests that has ever happened in the world of sports. Burress had the pistol in his pocket until it accidentally went off, which resulted in shooting himself in the leg. However, the pistol was not registered and Burress was charged with possession of a weapon in the second degree.

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7. Stealing Shirts From Macy's Department Store (Mike Leake)

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Source: Jake Roth- USA Today Sports

Considering Leake had a contract worth over $400,000, you'd think he'd be able to afford $59 worth of apparel from Macy's department store. Better yet, it was six shirts, which means each was worth $9.99. He was caught red-handed outside of the store with six shirts and the price tags had been removed.

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6. Skinny Dipping in a Canal (Pat McAfee)

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Source: Brian Spurlock- USA Today Sports

When cops found McAfee soaking wet and walking out of a canal at 5 a.m., he openly admitted that he was drunk. He was charged with public intoxication and had a BAC of .15. Hey, at least he took immediate responsibility for his poor choice of actions.

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5. Pulling a Fire Alarm (Dion Lewis, Shaun White)

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Source: Tim Heitman- USA Today Sports

Lewis and his brother were arrested in 2012 after pulling a fire alarm at a New York hotel. The two claimed that they were locked out of the hotel and even tried banging on the glass doors to get in. When that failed, they pulled the fire alarm. Both of them were intoxicated at the time of the incident.

White on the other hand, pulled a fire alarm at a Colorado hotel, broke a phone and then tried to run from the cops. he was charged with vandalism and intoxication for his bizarre incident.

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4. Stealing Donuts (Golden Tate)

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Source: Daniel Shirley- USA Today Sports

If you're going to steal something, at least make sure it is something worthwhile. Tate lived above a donut shop in Washington and when he arrived home in the early hours of the morning, he couldn't help but make a stop in the donut shop even though it was closed. This is possibly the most random thing that an athlete should be arrested for.

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3. Car Chase with Police (Kenny Britt)

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Source: Steve Mitchell- USA Today Sports

In 2011, Britt was arrested and charged with three felony accounts after being in a car chase with police. The charges were reduced to reckless driving later on, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to ever be in a car chase with police. During his NFL career, he was involved in police incidents nine different times.

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2. Drinking in Your Car in Front of a Deputy (Miguel Cabrera)

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Source: Cary Edmondson- USA Today Sports

I understand that athletes get DUI's all the time. However, Cabrera was stupid enough to take swig of scotch right in front of the deputy that approached his car. He was sitting on the side of the road and the engine was smoking so officers thought they'd stop to see what was up. Cabrera reeked of alcohol and then opened a bottle of scotch that was in the passengers seat and took a nice big swig.

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1. Armed Robbery of Sports Memorabilia, Murder (O.J. Simpson)

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Source: wikimedia

O.J. was first a major suspect in the murder investigation of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown and her boyfriend, Ronald Goldman. Although there was a plethora of evidence that pointed toward him, the court ruled him not guilty. A man that is still highly suspected of murder should probably keep on the down-low, right? Nope, O.J. was then arrested in 2007 in Las Vegas after breaking into a hotel room to steal sports memorabilia.

O.J. originally did not tell officers that he broke into the hotel room but claimed that the items were stolen from him in the first place. He was charged with felony counts of: criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, robbery and use of a deadly weapon. Then he was facing a life sentence in prison until 2012 when a Nevada judge re-opened the case, saying that O.J. was represented badly by his lawyers and should be freed.

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