# Most popular athlete who was a jerk **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 15, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357 "2009-12-15T14:34:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nande](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/258eb7/32.png) [@nande](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nande)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/81 "2009-12-21T11:14:47Z")
Uhh i didnt know that golfers are also called athletes, anyways Tyson was at some points obviously when he bit the ear off and stuff =\ ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/82 "2009-12-29T03:29:41Z")
I wouldn’t say he was a jerk per se, but F1 racer Alain Prost had a reputation for being a very sore loser - moreover, it was never his fault when he did. His teammate would have screwed up somehow, or the car wasn’t tuned up right, or the pit stop mechanics didn’t change tires fast enough, put too much fuel in his tank, or the winner had been driving dangerously/unsportingly etc… ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/83 "2009-12-29T04:14:06Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I don’t know, was Ali a jerk. Everything I’ve heard about him indicates he’s an all-around nice guy, if a little show-offy and full of himself. Against Joe Frazier, Ali went beyond showmanship, and was just plain cruel to the man. He turned their fights into a racial issue. Frazier had a lot of anger towards Ali for a time. Frazier has said he no longer has a problem with Ali. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/84 "2009-12-29T05:08:26Z")
Marvin Harrison is universally considered a good guy because he didn’t showboat and played the game “the right way.” Of course, we really don’t know anything about him, and there’s at least a fair chance that he shot a guy, then later had him murdered to put an end to the wounded man’s lawsuit.\* - –\> The second bit is more of a reckless speculation than the first. Still, it’s pretty damn fishy, and if years of watching police procedurals have taught me anything, it’s that once you’ve found the guy with a motive, you’ve found the guy who’s guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/85 "2009-12-29T06:27:50Z")
How about **John Smoltz**? He is still worshiped as a god here in Atlanta, but from every first-hand account I’ve heard he can be quite a jerk in person. ---
**Author:** ![Albrecht\_Durer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ccd318/32.png) [@Albrecht\_Durer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albrecht_Durer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/86 "2009-12-29T18:27:32Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I wouldn’t say he was a jerk per se, but F1 racer Alain Prost had a reputation for being a very sore loser - moreover, it was never his fault when he did. His teammate would have screwed up somehow, or the car wasn’t tuned up right, or the pit stop mechanics didn’t change tires fast enough, put too much fuel in his tank, or the winner had been driving dangerously/unsportingly etc… Speaking of F1, how atrocious of a person must you be to intentionally crash into another driver to preserve your World Championship, a la [Michael Schumacher.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schumacher#Controversy) I dread seeing his return to Formula 1. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/87 "2009-12-31T02:32:08Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > […]A lot of that bio was from an NPR interview where they were asking him about how he felt about his grill being a tool for the homeless to cook for themselves, and he was touched and inspired to tell his interviewers about how much that meant to him because of his experiences growing up hungry and deeply angry as a child.[…] It’s hard to imagine a homeless person carrying around their George Foreman grill with them, looking for an electrical outlet to plug it into. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/88 "2009-12-31T02:53:57Z")
> [@Albrecht\_Durer](#): > > Speaking of F1, how atrocious of a person must you be to intentionally crash into another driver to preserve your World Championship, a la [Michael Schumacher.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schumacher#Controversy) I dread seeing his return to Formula 1. True, but as far as I can tell (never been much of a sports guy) that was a one time thing. For most of his career he was considered more of a cold fish and an emotionless winning machine than an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![mookieblaylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@mookieblaylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mookieblaylock)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/89 "2009-12-31T03:06:11Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > As a British football fan, it’s got to be Diego Maradona. I believe he’s still quite popular in Argentina :). I was in the same room as him once. We were told not even to go up to him. He wouldn’t acknowledge us if we did because he hates Americans. Plus he blatantly cheated in the World Cup. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/90 "2009-12-31T04:16:58Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > All of the above plus Roger Clemens. Clemens has done some good things through Roger Clemens Foundation. I used to watch the reno show _While You Were Out_. Roger’s foundation gave a condo to a father & son. The son had to undergo an emergency liver transplant two years earlier. The While You Were Out team made furniture, decorated and painted. Roger pitched (heh) in and helped. > **[Videos](https://www.howstuffworks.com/videos)** > > HowStuffWorks explains hundreds of subjects, from car engines to lock-picking to ESP, using clear language and tons of illustrations. I realize that’s also a public appearance. I always wondered what Clemens was really like. I was disappointed when the steroid charges came up a couple years after he was on _While You Were Out_. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/91 "2009-12-31T04:20:09Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > One player can and does make a difference. If you don’t think so, watch Willie Stargell in the 1979 series. He literally put that team on his back and carried it to a title. > > True, he didn’t pitch, he didn’t catch all the balls. But at the plate, he took care of business. > > Bonds, on the other hand, had a long reputation for failing when the pressure was the greatest. He blew three straight playoff series in Pittsburgh in the early 90’s, and he failed to throw out Sid “I’m running on bone because the cartiledge in my knee is long gone” Bream scoring from second base on a single at home plate from short left field. (ok, I’m still bitter) > > These are things the stud player does. Derek Jeter makes that diving catch in the stands. He makes the flip to Posada to get the runner at home. He has clutch hits when the pressure is on. That’s what I’m talking about. > > Bonds has incredible numbers, no question about it. He was one of the most feared hitters of all time (especially in his late 30’s, when he discovered HGH and 'roids.) But he never delivered a championship anywhere. I understand he can’t do it alone, but a clutch hit, a defensive play, whatever, makes all the difference. I’d take Jeter any day over Bonds. Bonds choked everywhere. I think he had a good WS with San Fran, but they still lost in 7. > > (yes, I hate Barry Bonds. What a prick) > > And it’s good to hear that Steve Carlton is a decent guy off the field. That was the first story I heard about him that was positive. Maybe he just doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. Correction Barry had a GREAT WS with the Giants..and if the moron doesn’t blow the save the Giants win and he would have been MVP I never cared that the MEDIA hated bonds or Jackson.. thats their problem.. i rmember Jim Murray of the LA times bitchin about Abdul Jabbar.. so what.. whiny ass media member always want to make you hate the guy they don’t ;like.. Bonds crushed the ball.. was the greatest player of his generation.. Jackson was the straw that stirred the drink.. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/92 "2009-12-31T04:42:35Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > He certainly was in his youth, by his own admission. He grew up so poor in Houston’s 5th Ward that he’d go to school hungry and find an empty greasy paper bag on the way so he could pretend that he’d already eaten his lunch. Growing up in hunger and poverty made him angry and mean as hell so that he took to brawling, and by age 14 he was mugging and robbing as well. In his early career he wasn’t the beloved “Big George” he is now; he was a scary, firebreathing mankiller from the streets. Age and wealth have supposedly softened him into a pretty nice guy now. I taught at the school that Foreman attended as a middle schooler, many years after he went there - this was in the mid 90s. While she initially thought I was scum, I eventually earned the favor of the school registrar. One day I was in the hall and she was chatting with some folks about some of the “bad kids.” Foreman’s name came up, and I laughed because of course I only knew him from the grill commercials and guest appearances on _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_. She opened a file and showed me his discipline file. It was the size of one of those accordion files. About 5" thick. :eek: He’s been a great citizen of the school, though, and a pair of his autographed gloves resides in a glass case in the library. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/93 "2009-12-31T19:06:12Z")
> [@mookieblaylock](#): > > I was in the same room as him once. We were told not even to go up to him. He wouldn’t acknowledge us if we did because he hates Americans. Plus he blatantly cheated in the World Cup. WHats ironic is your screenname..my kids play in a league where your screenname’s kids play.. (I’m assuming this isn’t the diminutive no defensive playing point guard that choked against Danny and the Miracles LOL ) I was told by several people that the next time Mookie sees his kids play will be the first time.. luckily they are being tended to by their stepfather from what i understand.. Funny enough my son’s math teacher just told me the same deal about Mr Iverson.. IF you want to hate Pedro Gomez or tell Ed Werder to take a flying leap thats fine.. but ignoring your kids.. THAT to me is unforgivable.. who cares whether they tipped or smile for the pic u wanted to take.. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/94 "2009-12-31T19:45:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Clemens has done some good things through Roger Clemens Foundation. I used to watch the reno show _While You Were Out_. Roger’s foundation gave a condo to a father & son. The son had to undergo an emergency liver transplant two years earlier. The While You Were Out team made furniture, decorated and painted. Roger pitched (heh) in and helped. > [http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/wywo/specials/rocket/rocket.html](http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/wywo/specials/rocket/rocket.html) > I realize that’s also a public appearance. I always wondered what Clemens was really like. I was disappointed when the steroid charges came up a couple years after he was on _While You Were Out_. When an athlete signs a contract, he has agents, publicists and accountants go over it to maximize the appearances. Often a charity or foundation is part of the deal. They attempt to soften their image from the beginning. Whether they really subscribe to backing the charity is hard to tell, but some charitable donations will give enough tax breaks as to be practically free. Back before publicists and accountants, charitable works were more a reflection of the athletes beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/95 "2010-01-01T04:25:26Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I’d submit that being an incredibly hard worker is positively correlated with being a jerk. Only to people who don’t work hard. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/96 "2010-01-02T01:44:47Z")
> [@furt](#): > > From experience: Scottie Pippen was a lousy tipper. Did you start the nickname No Tippin’ Pippen? ---
**Author:** ![Eggerhaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@Eggerhaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eggerhaus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/97 "2010-01-03T16:19:06Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > That guy is an unrepentant asshole. Fuck him. Not only that, but Pete Rose has a really bad haircut. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/98 "2010-01-03T20:27:39Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Bobby Hull is his playing days was loved as a guy who would delay the team bus so he could sign autographs yet was a wife-beater at home (which was not made public). His son Brett is quite a dick too…I have met and waited on his table several times back in the mid 90’s…Prick and a BAD tipper. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/99 "2010-01-03T20:31:18Z")
> [@stuthehistoryguy](#): > > Stan Musial. Very TRUE…I also waited on him several times. He and his wife were frequent guests of Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick’s…“for a hole in your roof or a whole new roof” at a local fine dinning eatery. The St Louis crowd will understand that one…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357/100 "2010-01-04T18:16:14Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > True, but as far as I can tell (never been much of a sports guy) that was a one time thing. For most of his career he was considered more of a cold fish and an emotionless winning machine than an asshole. Disagree on both counts. First, I am a Schumacher fan (ever since '94 when Senna died, on the basis that I was a Mansell fan to begin with because he was British, when he retired after winning the title in '92 I followed his successor Alain Prost, when he retired after winning the title in '93 I followed his successor Ayrton Senna, and when he died in '94 I followed what looked like the heir to the throne, cravenly ignoring Damon Hill - what can I say, I was 9 years old at the time). Despite “supporting” him for 15 years, I have to come down against him here and say that driving Damon Hill off the road in Australia in 1994 was not a “one-time thing”, given that he tried a similar manoeuvre against Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 (which failed - I’ll always remember Martin Brundle commentating on the replay “No, Michael, that didn’t work; you hit the wrong part of him, my friend.”) My analysis is that both were heat-of-the-moment bad decisions, at least one of which he apologised for afterwards (possibly under some duress from his team). Secondly, though the above shows he was certainly ruthless, I don’t think he is emotionless - he recently appeared as the special guest on the UK’s _Top Gear_ TV show, and he was quite jokey and relaxed, as indeed he seemed to be in a few interviews with him I’ve seen. Anyway, I think he’s well down the list in terms of answering the OP, even though I cannot deny that twice driving into rivals is an assholish thing to do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-popular-athlete-who-was-a-jerk/521357.md?page=6)