Top 25 Athletes With Terrible Reputations

By Connor Muldowney

Athletes With Terrible Reputations

Aldon Smith — Not all athletes have the best reputation. Some athletes have tarnished or tainted reputations because of something bad they have done on the field -- like a fight or brawl -- while some have a poor reputation because of their terrible personalities.

All the guys on this list have seen their reputations tarnished for various reasons, but they are seemingly irretrievable.

25. Delonte West, Former NBA Player

Delonte West

25. Delonte West, Former NBA Player

Delonte West — Ever since it was rumored -- and vehemently denied -- that West slept with LeBron James' mother, he has never truly recovered. Not many fellow players had many nice things to say about him, either.

24. Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans

Taylor Lewan

24. Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans

Taylor Lewan — Lewan has been involved in some off-field issues in which he has been accused of knocking out an Ohio State fan after a game. Couple that with threats he made to a woman who accused Michigan's punter of sexual abuse and you have one young rookie with a terrible reputation.

23. Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers

Lance Stephenson

23. Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers

Lance Stephenson — During the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals, Lance Stephenson garnered the reputation of an annoying pest. Stephenson has been known as immature and his reputation took a big hit when he started a fist fight with Evan Turner.

22. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Rajon Rondo

22. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Rajon Rondo — With the reputation of a careless athlete with a childlike attitude, Rondo still happens to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. However, any time you skip team trips to party for your birthday or throw basketballs at referees, you're bound to have a poor reputation.

21. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

Ndamukong Suh

21. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

Ndamukong Suh — Ndamukong Suh hasn't met a quarterback that he likes to this day. The Detroit Lions' defensive lineman is also known as the dirtiest player in the NFL and his constant dirty hits have taken a toll on his wallet.

20. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers

Carlos Gomez

20. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers

Carlos Gomez — While not many people know who Carlos Gomez is quite yet, he is a rising star in MLB. Gomez does, however, have a bad temper and he has gotten into altercations involving trash talking a number of times. That's not how you build a name for yourself.

19. Todd Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings

Todd Bertuzzi

19. Todd Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings

Todd Bertuzzi — I don't think people realize just how bad Todd Bertuzzi's cheap shot on Steve Moore was in 2004, but he ended the Colorado Avalanche player's career. The cheap shot will forever be a huge black eye on the sport and Bertuzzi's reputation has never been cleared.

18. Tony Stewart, NASCAR

Tony Stewart

18. Tony Stewart, NASCAR

Tony Stewart — Tony Stewart is the bad boy of NASCAR who isn't afraid to speak his mind or use his fists to resolve a problem. Can you imagine why he has a poor reputation?

17. Andrew Bynum, NBA Free Agent

Andrew Bynum

17. Andrew Bynum, NBA Free Agent

Andrew Bynum — Andrew Bynum has basically destroyed every team he has been with in the NBA. He is known as a team cancer and a guy who doesn't live up to his potential and basically doesn't care about anyone but himself.

16. J.R. Smith, New York Knicks

J.R. Smith

16. J.R. Smith, New York Knicks

J.R. Smith — J.R. Smith is known as a lazy player with no care about teamwork and he showed that during the 2013-14 season when he was benched multiple times for his dumb behavior.

15. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Ryan Braun

15. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Ryan Braun — Lying to fans, supporters, friends, family and teammates. Yes, Ryan Braun lied to basically everyone in his corner and didn't feel too bad about it until he was forced to issue an apology. Use performance-enhancing drugs and watch your reputation crumble.

14. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

Carmelo Anthony

14. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

Carmelo Anthony — Carmelo is known as a guy who only cares about the money. As long as he is getting 0 million-plus contracts, he doesn't care about his teammates. Pass the ball? What does that mean?

13. Titus Young, NFL Free Agent

Titus Young

13. Titus Young, NFL Free Agent

Titus Young — Using the term "NFL free agent" to define Young's position in the NFL today is very generous because no team will want to take a chance on him. He's a young cocky athlete with tremendous potential, but he once got arrested three times in one week and is known for not showing up to court.

12. Aldon Smith, San Francisco 49ers

Aldon Smith

12. Aldon Smith, San Francisco 49ers

Aldon Smith — Aldon Smith has faced assault weapon charges, a couple of DUIs and he's been arrested at the airport for joking about having a bomb. This guys reputation is about as tarnished as a rusty car.

11. Adam "Pacman" Jones, Cincinnati Bengals

Adam Jones

11. Adam "Pacman" Jones, Cincinnati Bengals

Adam Jones — Adam Jones has been known for his legal troubles, just like Aldon Smith, and it's unfortunate that it has to define how people think of him. Jones is known as a solid cornerback in the NFL, but his off-field issues and even video surfacing of him hitting a woman have earned him a loss of respect.

10. Luis Suarez, Liverpool

Luis Suarez

10. Luis Suarez, Liverpool

Luis Suarez — Luis Suarez is one of the least-respected soccer players in the entire world. He was found guilty by the Football Association in October of 2011 for racially abusing a fellow player. His troubles don't stop there as he has also been accused of biting fellow players.

9. Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles

Riley Cooper

9. Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles

Riley Cooper — Riley Cooper was caught on tape using the "N" word at a country concert and he has never been treated the same by fans or the media. That caused a serious storm of hatred, even leading to a fight with teammate Cary Williams during a preseason practice.

8. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens

Ray Rice

8. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens

Ray Rice — Police say they have obtained footage of Ray Rice hitting his fiancé -- now wife -- in an elevator. All the general public has seen is a video of Rice dragging her out of the elevator. Rice's clean image will no longer be as such because he's known as someone who hits women.

7. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger

7. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben Roethlisberger — In case you didn't know Ben Roethlisberger has been cited at least two times for sexual assault on women. Only scumbags do things like that. Reputation destroyed.

6. Oscar Pistorius, Track & Field

Oscar Pistorius

6. Oscar Pistorius, Track & Field

Oscar Pistorius — Oscar Pistorius was once the most inspiring athlete in the world after winning six gold medals in the Paralympic Games since 2004. However, the South African runner has seen all of that go away since shooting his girlfriend to death in 2013 after claiming he thought she was an intruder.

5. Lance Armstrong, Former Cyclist

Lance Armstrong

5. Lance Armstrong, Former Cyclist

Lance Armstrong — Lance Armstrong was an American hero and he alone made people want to tune into the annual Tour de France. However, he overcame cancer to become a cheater and use performance-enhancing drugs while calling other people liars and throwing them under the bus. Not too many people are fans of the former cyclist.

4. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez

4. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez — Alex Rodriguez is a scumbag. One who no one likes because of the same reason that many other guys are on this list. Rodriguez has tested positive for banned substances and is still denying any use of performance-enhancing drugs even though the man that claims he injected A-Rod has come out with actual text messages.

3. Michael Vick, New York Jets

Michael Vick

3. Michael Vick, New York Jets

Michael Vick — Since the dog fighting incident, Michael Vick has been hated by anyone and everyone who has owned a pet in their lives. Vick was responsible for the deaths of dozens upon dozens of innocent animals.

2. Tiger Woods, PGA

Tiger Woods

2. Tiger Woods, PGA

Tiger Woods — Tiger Woods cheated on his wife with what seems to be dozens of women over the years and was caught in the act. His text messages were released to the media and Woods' reputation hasn't been the same since. He's no longer everyone's favorite golfer and a fan favorite -- although he does drive TV ratings.

1. Aaron Hernandez, Former NFL Player

Aaron Hernandez

1. Aaron Hernandez, Former NFL Player

Aaron Hernandez — No brainer. You kill a guy -- or two -- and you're No. 1 on this list.

Connor Muldowney is the Content Associate for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].

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