The 15 Most Spectacular Falls From Grace

15 Most Spectacular Falls From Grace

By Johnny Goodtimes, Xfinity.com Sports

Manny Ramirez was arrested two weeks ago, charged with hitting his wife. A few years ago considered one of the most enigmatic and entertaining players in baseball, he became a folk hero in Boston and later in L.A. But after failing a drug test in 2009 and again in 2010, he retired from baseball in disgrace. This arrest won’t help his already tarnished legacy. Who are some more athletes who once were on top of the mountain only to come crashing down? Here is my top 15.
(AP Photo/Broward County Sheriff's Office)

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The 15 Most Spec... By Johnny Goodtimes, Xfinity.com Sports

Manny Ramirez was arrested two weeks ago, charged with hitting his wife. A few years ago considered one of the most enigmatic and entertaining players in baseball, he became a folk hero in Boston and later in L.A. But after failing a drug test in 2009 and again in 2010, he retired from baseball in disgrace. This arrest won’t help his already tarnished legacy. Who are some more athletes who once were on top of the mountain only to come crashing down? Here is my top 15.
(AP Photo/Broward County Sheriff's Office)

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15. Mark Chmura He was the proud Republican tight end of the Packers in the 1990s. He refused to go to the White House after the Packers won the Super Bowl in part because he didn’t respect Bill Clinton. But, in 1999, the 31-year old decided to attend a prom party, and after partying with several high school girls in a hot tub, went with one of the girls to a nearby bathroom. The end result was a rape charge that Chmura eventually beat, but not before his name was dragged through the mud, and his NFL career was finished. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Andy Manis)

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14. Roger Clemen... When he retired in 2007, he was in the discussion of greatest pitchers in baseball history. Less than 5 years later, he is seen as more of a delusional cheater, a man who can’t come to grips with reality, and his once imminent pass to the Baseball Hall of Fame is now very much in doubt. In 2008, he told a Congressional hearing that he had never used steroids. After a book came out in 2009 detailing his steroid use in his playing days, he was put on trial for perjury and obstruction of Congress. Though it ended in a mistrial, Clemens came through the trial with very few supporters left, and instead a nation that thinks that the best hitter (Barry Bonds) and best pitcher (Clemens) of the past 25 years were both steroid users. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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13. Michael Vick He was the most electric superstar in Atlanta Falcon history, a 3-time Pro Bowler, and the face of the franchise. And then the horrific news came out that he financed a dog fighting ring. The only thing that matched the horror was the stupidity of the whole thing. He was signed to a $100 million contract, and he had decided to invest in dog fighting? He was arrested, and spent two years in prison. A few years ago, he probably would have been No. 2 on this list, but his subsequent comeback has been almost as spectacular as his fall from grace. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

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12. John Rocker In 1999, John Rocker was one of the best closers in baseball. The Braves left-hander saved 38 games with an ERA of 2.49. The young lefty looked like he’d be the closer in Atlanta for years to come. And then he opened his mouth and revealed how mind-blowingly stupid he was, and the fallout was quick and severe. He mocked foreigners, New Yorkers, homosexuals and people with AIDS. He called teammate Randall Simon "a fat monkey." The brushback was severe, as he became the most hated man in baseball. He was taunted mercilessly when he traveled to road games, and had to get heavy security every time he pitched in New York. He continued to pitch well for the Braves, but the unwanted attention he brought to the team got to be too much to handle PR-wise, and he was traded to the Indians in 2001. His career in the American League was a disaster, as he had an ERA over 5 in both Cleveland and Texas. This loudmouth's career ended quietly in 2003 in Tampa, where he had a 9.00 ERA in two games. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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11. Tiki Barber Tiki was still at the top of his game when he retired at the end of the 2006 season. He was poised to step into the next phase of his career as a TV star. After numerous channels vied for his services, he was signed by NBC to be a correspondent on the Today show and NBC’s Sunday Night Football. In 2009, he co-hosted the opening of the Golden Globes. But in 2010, he was let go by NBC. At the same time, it came out that he had left his pregnant wife for a 23-year old intern at the network. The bad press apparently killed his TV career, so he tried to make an NFL comeback this past offseason to no avail. Not a single team inquired about his services —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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10. LeBron James He hasn’t had any run-ins with the law, any tawdry affairs that went public or had any fiery press conferences where he threw his teammates under a bus. No, his only crime was behaving like a horse’s ass, but it was more than enough to take him from one of the popular athletes in sports to one of the least popular. By airing a “Hey everybody, look at me!” press conference to deliver the news that he was leaving Cleveland for Miami, he showed a startling lack of class. Then, when he arrived in Miami, he was part of the type of spectacle that is usually reserved for winning something, not merely signing a contract. He became the equivalent of a face that turns heel in wrestling, stabbing his home city in the back to join a Dream Team of sorts, and in the process angering many of his fans. He is now probably the most loudly booed athlete in sports. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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9. Brett Favre Not all of Favre’s fall from grace was his fault. Part of it was the incessant fawning the national media insisted on thrusting upon him like a smitten teenager seeing Justin Bieber. Interceptions were seen as heroic examples of his "gunslinger mentality." It got old, quick, and soon there was a Favre backlash. Furthermore, his annual retirements kept fans and teams in limbo, fueling the flames. Then, after throwing the "heroic" interception that cost the Vikings the NFC Championship game, he kept the team in limbo for a few months while he made his decision about whether or not to return to the NFL. He did return, and during a disastrous final season it was revealed that he had sent a lewd text to a former Jets employee when he was QB there. He retired in disgrace... and for good. Maybe. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Jim Mone,File)

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7 & 8. Sammy Sos... These two are basically one and the same. Two power sluggers who became the biggest heroes in America in 1998 as they both chased the home run title. But a few years later, it became obvious that they had cheated their way to the record. Sosa claimed he couldn’t speak English when they went to Congress, McGwire kept waiting for a hole to open up below him, and America saw that the home run era had all been a fraud. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photos/Gerald Herbert)

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6. Mike Tyson He was the most feared man on the planet. He was entering the discussion of greatest heavyweight champion ever, and his aggressive style certainly made him the most exciting heavyweight since Ali. And then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. The undefeated record, the aura of greatness, and within 2 years, his very freedom. A shocking loss to Buster Douglas sent Tyson reeling. He was jailed for rape, he bit Holyfield’s ear off and went bankrupt in 2003. He fought drug and alcohol dependence and got a tattoo on his face. There does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, however. He claims to have beaten his addictions, he’s gotten some high-profile movie roles and he hasn’t told anyone that he wants to eat their children in almost a decade. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Cheryl Evans, Pool)

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5. Pete Rose Baseball’s all-time hit leader was a lock to not only enter the Hall of Fame, but do so on the first ballot. Who in their right mind wouldn’t vote for a guy with 4,256 hits, 17 All-Star games and three World Series wins? But it was Pete who wasn’t in his right mind. In 1989, it came out that as manager of the Reds he had been betting on baseball games, including Reds games. Rose denied the charges, but there was enough evidence to have him permanently banned from the sport that he had played and managed for 25 years at the Major league level. He cannot enter the Hall of Fame. His No. 14 cannot be retired by the Reds. He is not allowed to attend Anniversary Events of the great Reds teams and the 1980 Phillies. One of the greatest hitters in baseball’s history is spending his twilight shunned by baseball, but welcomed by another "sport": Professional wrestling, where he has appeared at three Wrestlemania events. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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4. Gilbert Arena... Agent Zero was one of the NBA’s most exciting personalities. Charismatic, intelligent and funny, he seemed destined to not only a great NBA career, but possibly headed toward a career afterwards as an analyst. Then, in a matter of days, it all came crashing down. He and teammate Jarvaris Crittenden got into an argument over a card game, and things escalated to the point that they both brought guns to the locker room. As if that wasn’t dumb enough, after it was discovered, Arenas pretended to shoot his teammates with his fingers while in a huddle before a game. Suddenly, Arenas went from being charismatic and intelligent to being idiotic and obnoxious. He was immediately suspended by the NBA for the remainder of the season. The Wizards signed John Wall in the Draft, making Arenas expendable. They then shipped him to Orlando, where the former NBA superstar became a bit player, averaging just over 8 points per game. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt, File)

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3. Lenny Dykstra After his playing career was over, the former Mets and Phillies hero became an unlikely star on Wall Street, managing a stock portfolio, and even writing a column for Jim Cramer’s website. In 2008, he started a magazine for former players called Player’s Club and a high-end jet charter company. In 2006, he claimed his net worth was around $50 million. By 2009, he was living out of his car. After a 2009 article in GQ exposed his business as a disorganized mess, the cards began tumbling. He filed for bankruptcy in 2009, both of his homes were foreclosed on, and a number of women accused him of sexual assault. He was arrested for grand theft auto, cocaine possession and identity theft. He was forced to sell his World Series ring, and he appeared in Federal bankruptcy court earlier this year, charged with embezzlement, obstruction of justice and bankruptcy fraud. He could spend the rest of his life in prison. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

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2. Tiger Woods At the end of his career, Michael Jordan passed the torch to Tiger Woods, who became America's Most Beloved (and Corporate Friendly) Athlete. He was the greatest golfer of all time, and was cruising on his way to obliterating Jack Nicklaus’s record for most Majors wins, with 14 by the time he was 31-years old (Nicklaus won 18.) He was the No. 1 golfer for an astounding 623 weeks between 1997 and 2010. He was married to a stunningly beautiful Swedish model. But on Thanksgiving weekend of 2009, disaster struck for Woods. The National Enquirer posted a piece about his marital infidelity. Two days later, an argument between him and his wife spiraled out of control, and ended with him in a minor car accident on his property. Then, a San Diego cocktail waitress admitted she had had an affair with Woods. The floodgates opened, and over a dozen women admitted having an affair with Tiger. Several corporate sponsors dropped him as a spokesmen, his wife left him, and so did his golf game. He took a dramatic tumble in the rankings, and is currently ranked a humbling 49th. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Sam Greenwood, Pool)

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1. O.J. Simpson He was one of the players who made the seamless transition to life after football. He was a Hollywood star and lived in a post townhouse in Bentwood, Calif. But, in 1989, he pled guilty to a domestic violence charge; his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, filed for divorce in 1992. In 1994, his ex-wife and her friend, Ron Goldman, were murdered. Simpson was charged with double murder and famously fled from the law in a white Ford Bronco. Though he was acquitted, he was lated convicted of robbery and related charges and sentenced to 33 years in state prison. He'll eligible for parole in 2017. —Johnny Goodtimes
(AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, Pool, File)

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