Being a professional athlete is a privilege. Having such God-given talent is a gift. When we look at these athletes, sometimes we wonder what kinds of jobs they could do in the real world. Can some players work in an office? Can others be mechanics or do some other kind of trade? Then there are some athletes who we think would never be able to have a normal person's job. These are 20 examples of that.
20. Roberto Luongo
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20. Roberto Luongo
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Roberto Luongo seems like a really nice guy. His teammates have nothing but nice things to say about him. He even kept his mouth shut for the most part while the Vancouver Canucks kept his name in trade rumors for three years. The reason why he finds himself on this list is that he is a little out there. He has one of the best Twitter accounts in sports, but that is because he says whatever he feels like. He just goes by the beat of his own drum.
19. Tim Lincecum
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19. Tim Lincecum
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Tim Lincecum is another player who seems to go through life to his own beat. Again, he isn't a bad guy, but I don't think he would enjoy the real world if he wasn't an athlete. He seems to like the fact that he can have his hair the way he wants, can dress how he wants outside of a baseball game and can do mostly what he wants. When you are in an office, there would be too many rules for Mr. Lincecum.
18. Josh Gordon
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18. Josh Gordon
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Based on the fact that he can't even stick to the NFL drug policy, Josh Gordon likely wouldn't do well in the real world. He makes bad decisions too often and would probably have trouble keeping a real job. As of right now, he is having trouble keeping his job as an athlete.
17. Milan Lucic
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17. Milan Lucic
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When things didn't go his way in the Montreal Canadiens series this season, Milan Lucic said a lot of things he probably would like to take back. You can't say things like that in the real world and get away with it.
16. Hope Solo
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16. Hope Solo
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Hope Solo is starting to become one of those sad athlete stories. She has been in the news lately for mostly bad incidents. She got into a fight with her soon-to-be husband Jeremy Stevens, she literally fought her family members, and she has said things that put her foot in her mouth. We all hope the star goalie for the USWNT gets back on track, but a real job wouldn't wait that long.
15. Greg Hardy
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15. Greg Hardy
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Did you hear about the incident between Greg Hardy and his girlfriend? That kind of person can't survive in real life. He would have been fired for fear of what he would do in the workplace. He luckily plays a violent sport where they suspect things like domestic violence to happen (which is kind of messed up).
14. Shaun White
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14. Shaun White
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Shaun White is a very good guy. He donates his time to charities and works well with others. The reason why he wouldn't work in the real world is he would be way too bored with a normal life. He loves to be able to live this extreme lifestyle with his skateboarding and snowboarding. He is also the guitarist for a rock band. White lives the life.
13. Patrick Kaleta
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13. Patrick Kaleta
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The second someone makes Patrick Kaleta mad, he tries to fight them. That won't work in a real job. He has a short fuse, and that would eventually force a boss' hand.
12. Richard Sherman
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12. Richard Sherman
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Richard Sherman loves to talk. There are times when you have a real job that you need to keep your mouth shut. Sometimes you have to be quiet to appease an important person. I don't know if Sherman would have been able to do that.
11. Lance Stephenson
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11. Lance Stephenson
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Lance Stephenson loves to cause trouble. He did his best to get into LeBron James' head during their playoff series. It may happen like that in the real world if he was up for a promotion. He may send viruses to his co-worker's computers and play pranks on them to knock them off their game. That could hurt his ability to keep a job.
10. Ilya Kovalchuk
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10. Ilya Kovalchuk
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When times get tough, Ilya Kovalchuk gets going. The second things started to look bleak with the New Jersey Devils, he bolted to go home to Russia. Expect the same thing if things didn't go well at a job.
9. Tony Stewart
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9. Tony Stewart
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Tony Stewart is an eccentric driver who acts as the bad boy of NASCAR. He talks too much at times, and has said things he probably shouldn't have. You can't do that in the real world and get away with it. He has been better lately, but he may have burned too many bridges at this point.
8. James Harrison
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8. James Harrison
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James Harrison loves to hit people. It is what he is best at. I am not sure if he has skills in other things. He reportedly spends hundreds of thousands of dollars just to keep himself in shape for football. What could he do without the focus on the field?
7. Dwight Howard
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7. Dwight Howard
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Dwight Howard whined his way out of Orlando. Then when he went to Los Angeles, he complained most of the time he was there. He has been a good samaritan while he has been in Houston, but who knows how long that will last? The real world doesn't deal with that much complaining.
6. Usain Bolt
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6. Usain Bolt
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I feel like Usain Bolt does everything extremely fast. That causes you to be great when you are an athlete, but it causes you to make mistakes when you work in an office. I know many who type quickly, and they have to go back and see how many times they misspelled something. Bolt may miss these things. That wouldn't help him in this world.
5. Ryan Braun
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5. Ryan Braun
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Ryan Braun made a huge mistake when he pulled a Lance Armstrong and tried to ruin lives to keep his name clean. That works when you have a contract worth over $100 million. Lying about the mistakes you made just makes things worse.
4. Patrick Beverley
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4. Patrick Beverley
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Patrick Beverley is an agitator on the court. That doesn't work in the real world. If you get under people's skin at a job, then you end up getting fired.
3. Justin Blackmon
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3. Justin Blackmon
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Justin Blackmon's actions have caused him to get suspended for the entire 2014 season. His actions would make him a forgotten commodity in the real world. You can't continuously get DUIs and drug possession charges and keep real jobs. It looks bad on any business.
2. Cain Velasquez
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2. Cain Velasquez
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Cain Velasquez is a tough, tough dude. He loves to fight, and can beat people up. He doesn't seem like he can focus on anything else, which is how he became champion. He might also scare his co-workers with his looks alone.
1. Rob Gronkowski
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1. Rob Gronkowski
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Rob Gronkowski just wants to party. His nightlife may end up affecting his work life if he had a typical 9-to-5. Unless he ends up being like a DJ or a party planner, a normal job might not work for Gronk. Luckily, he gets to party all he wants and gets paid millions to be a football player. Heck, he probably gets thousands on the side just to make appearances at bars.
Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.
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