$20 Athletes Who Aren\'t Fans of Talking to the Media$

20 Athletes Who Aren't Fans of Talking to the Media

By Timothy Downs

20 Athletes Who Aren't Fans of Talking to the Media

Marshawn Lynch — Some athletes just aren't built to handle the media and, for that reason, absolutely despise doing so and try to avoid it at all costs. Others end up getting into arguments and fights with them. Here's a look at 20 athletes who fall into one or both of those categories.

20. Randy Moss

Randy Moss

20. Randy Moss

Randy Moss — Moss had a few classic interactions with the media, including when he was with the Minnesota Vikings for the second time and he faced his other former team, the New England Patriots. After refusing to talk to the media early in the week, he was fined 25 grand and then in his next press conference declared that he will only attend press conferences that he is in charge of. But he said that while speaking to the media, so the media wins.

19. Milton Bradley

Milton Bradley

19. Milton Bradley

Milton Bradley — Bradley was undoubtedly a polarizing figure during his time in MLB, and got into plenty of negative situations. After being run out of Chicago a season prior, Bradley refused to talk to the Chicago media the next preseason while with his new club telling them "beat it" and "you ran me out of town." No, Milton. You did that all by yourself.

18. Dominik Hasek

Dominik Hasek

18. Dominik Hasek

Dominik Hasek — While with the Buffalo Sabres, Hasek once attacked journalist Jim Kelley after a playoff loss. Kelley had written an earlier column questioning Hasek's toughness and apparently Hasek felt the situation was beyond mediation. Hasek was a fantastic goaltender, but a bit of a jerk.

17. Michael Strahan

Michael Strahan

17. Michael Strahan

Michael Strahan — It's ironic that Strahan makes this list considering he is now a member of the media, but during his playing career, he clearly was not a fan. Strahan had plenty of unpleasant interactions with the New York media that typically involved dropping an array of four-letter words.

16. Brandon Phillips

Brandon Phillips

16. Brandon Phillips

Brandon Phillips — Phillips seems like a jolly guy most of the time, but in 2013, Cincinnati Reds reporter Trent Rosecrans angered him with a tweet about his on-base percentage which led to Phillips being caught on video completely cursing him out in order to intimidate the reporter.

15. Dave Kingman

Dave Kingman

15. Dave Kingman

Dave Kingman — Kingman was a great pure power hitter and probably had Hall-of-Fame talent, but he was disliked by many in the game and particularly by the media which didn't help HOF case. He also once played a prank on a reporter that did not go over so well.

14. Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rodgers

14. Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rodgers — In 2005 with the Texas Rangers, Rogers shoved two television cameramen prior to a game which resulted with one of them being sent to the hospital. He had major anger issues at times and even when he was on the Mets, I hated him despite being a fan of theirs.

13. Deion Sanders

Deon Sanders

13. Deion Sanders

Deon Sanders — Sanders once got into an unfortunate incident with legendary broadcaster Tim McCarver after a postseason baseball game. McCarver had criticized Sanders for playing for the Falcons during the day and the Braves at night, and apparently Sanders thought that was enough to confront McCarver and dump liquid on him rather than talking it out like men. Ironically, Sanders now makes a living doing to others what McCarver did to him.

12. Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla

12. Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla — Bonilla once challenged an NYC reporter to a fight in the clubhouse while nose-to-nose with him in argument. Bonilla was clearly the aggressor and was known for being a bit of a tool in general.

11. Santonio Holmes

Santonio Holmes

11. Santonio Holmes

Santonio Holmes — Holmes once told the New York media while with the Jets, “If you guys want to be, and this is for the New York media, if you guys want to be a part of our team and want to feel so important, be there to support us, not to try to break us down." Clearly he did not get the concept that he was interacting with people who are paid to critique him when he deserved criticism, not fellow teammates.

10. Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf

10. Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf — Leaf was an unmitigated disaster during his NFL career, particularly considering he was drafted the same year as Peyton Manning and there were some in the game who preferred Leaf. However, his game never translated with the San Diego Chargers which led to the quarterback going after reporters on a few occasions. Last I heard he was in a competitive handball league somewhere in the plain states. True story. At least there is no media around.

9. Arian Foster

Arian Foster

9. Arian Foster

Arian Foster — Let's be honest: Foster is about the most pretentious player in the NFL and it undoubtedly comes off in his interactions with the media. On one occasion while being questioned by the press, Foster answered every inquiry with the same exact line "I'm just trying to be the best teammate I can" in attempts to send them a message.

8. Jim Rice

Jim Rice

8. Jim Rice

Jim Rice — Rice was really rough on the media during his career despite being one of the best players of his generation, and it undoubtedly hurt him in the long run. Rice retired in 1989 and probably should have been elected to the Hall of Fame within 10 years, but it took the writers 20 to finally vote him in.

7. Sean Avery

Sean Avery

7. Sean Avery

Sean Avery — Avery was not only one of the most hated players on the ice in NHL history, but things did not change very much by the time he reached the locker room as multiple altercations with the media did not work wonders on improving his already tarnished reputation.

6. Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant

6. Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant — Bryant isn't one to get into much of a conflict with the media. But you can tell by his posture, facial expressions and his oftentimes comically short answers to reporters' questions that he really does not enjoy even a second of dealing with the press.

5. Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman

5. Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman — What's any list like this worth without Dennis Rodman? Obviously, Rodman was a bit outrageous in his career and on one occasion he kicked a cameraman. And, it goes without saying, he had his fair share of swearing matches with reporters as well.

4. Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch

4. Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch — Busch had multiple altercations with the media which led to fines and silly suspensions. He once told a reporter who alleged that he breached his media obligations, "That's what everybody says, don't they?" Yes, Kurt. Because that is what you keep doing.

3. Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong

3. Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong — Armstrong acted like reporters were scum when they questioned his integrity and involvement with doping. His condescending ways came back to bite him, however. When he finally had to admit he indeed did do PED's, the media had no issues dragging him through the mud. Could you blame them?

2. Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

2. Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson — I think most media members who covered Tyson's career are lucky that he did not want to "rip their hearts out" like he once told reporters he wanted to do to Lennox Lewis. Tyson went nuts two weeks ago on live television as a Canadian reporter said something he took as insulting. I think it's fair to say he does not particularly enjoy dealing with the press.

1. Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Lynch

1. Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Lynch — The effort Lynch puts in to avoid the press is awesome in its own way, but seems kind of silly. Clearly, he is the least interested athlete ever when it comes to answering the media's trivial questions.

Timothy Downs is a New York Giants writer for www.RantSports.com. You can add him on Google or follow on Twitter @Tidow1212.

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