Top 20 Times Athletes Ruined Their Career

While Michael Phelps was getting all the attention for his dominance, Ryan Lochte was right behind him, carving out his own legacy. But then, the 2016 Summer Olympics happened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lochte, along with three other members of the USA Swimming team, announced they had been robbed. However, inconsistencies in Lochte’s story soon emerged. In the end, it turned out he had lied; they’d actually gotten drunk and vandalized the bathroom at a gas station. Afterward, they were confronted to pay for the destruction. Lochte was barred from competing for 10 months, and he was dropped by sponsors, while the other athletes received a 4-month suspension. This incident, plus a doping scandal in 2018, resulted in Lochte struggling to return to his former glory.

Tensions were high when the Vancouver Canucks faced off against the Colorado Avalanche on March 8, 2004. The Canucks targeted Avs player Steve Moore for a questionable hit on their captain Markus Naslund that went unpenalized the previous game. In the third period, Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi sucker punched Moore and pushed him to the ice and a bench clearing brawl erupted. Moore was left seriously injured with three fractured vertebrae and a concussion. The injuries were so severe that Moore would never play again. Although Bertuzzi would return to the game after multiple court hearings, suspensions and fines, any attempt at a comeback was simply out of reach. His production decreased, he bounced around different teams and was constantly booed and heckled by opposing team’s fans. Things were never the same for Bertuzzi after this ugly incident.

Hardy was living the dream as a Carolina Panthers defensive end, receiving praise from all sides of the NFL for his amazing work. But during the off-season in 2014, the wheels came off his rise to stardom when he was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend. Hardy was initially found guilty of assault, but the case was ultimately dismissed on appeal because his former partner largely went quiet. Needless to say, people were far from happy that he was still in the league following this. After attempting a football comeback with the Dallas Cowboys in 2015, Hardy switched sports and began an MMA career.

You expect someone nicknamed “Johnny Football” to do big things in the NFL, but this athlete’s personal life and excessive amounts of partying got in the way. While he had some run-ins with the police in his college days, the quarterback was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014. But Manziel's excessive behavior off the field continued. In 2015, he was pulled over for a fight in the car with his partner. While he had been drinking, the officers believed he was under the legal limit, and nothing came of the incident. But subsequent dishonest behavior, combined with a domestic violence charge, led to Cleveland cutting him in 2016. Though the case was dropped in 2017 after Manziel agreed to counseling, Manziel hasn’t played in an NFL game since

When the Baltimore Orioles visited the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, a called “strike three” on Roberto Alomar made him go absolutely ballistic. He proceeded to take his rage out on plate umpire John Hirschbeck. When Alomar continued to mouth off at Hirschbeck, the latter tossed him out of the game. Alomar was so furious that he went right up to him and literally spit in his face. Alomar claimed that Hirschbeck had used racist remarks, and the former even made insensitive comments regarding Hirschbeck’s family history. Fortunately, the two would eventually make amends, shaking hands before a game months later. They even became friends afterwards.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary during a tennis match between Mikhail Youzhny and Nicolás Almagro in the third round of the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. But after having lost a point, Youzhny went berserk. Instead of striking his racket into the ground like most players often do, the Russian pro repeatedly hit himself in the head. This resulted in him sustaining a wound, causing him to bleed everywhere. He was clearly embarrassed at his self-inflicted injury as he attempted to wipe the blood away. It even required medical treatment. But somehow and some way, Youzhny found a way to come back from the ordeal and won the match.

Described as a team player with a great attitude, Odom was part of the dominant LA Lakers for part of the 2000s, and became even more well-known after his marriage to Khloé Kardashian. However, substance use affected the basketball star’s career, and soon it became impossible to ignore. In 2013, he was arrested for impaired driving. Two years later, things reached a boiling point: he was found in a coma in Nevada, with various illicit substances in his system, resulting in several heart attacks and strokes, among other things. While it was a long road to recovery from this near-death experience, Odom regained his health, but admitted that his drug use cut his basketball career short prematurely.

In the history of tennis, there is perhaps no one who’s become more infamous or known for his outbursts on the court than John McEnroe (perhaps Nick Krygios is well on his way there, but that’s another story.) McEnroe’s most infamous incident occurred during his match against Tom Gullikson at Wimbledon in 1981. At one point, McEnroe disagreed with the umpire’s decision on his return of a serve being ruled out. He famously yelled the now iconic line: SB [“You cannot be serious!”] Another notable outburst occurred in 1984 at the Stockholm Open semifinal match against Anders Järryd, which saw McEnroe continue his trademark umpire bashing by calling the one officiating his game a jerk. He proceeded to use his racket to hit a tray of drinks among other items. He was fined $2,100.

Late in the 2010 NFL season when the Arizona Cardinals were taking a beating from the San Francisco 49ers, quarterback Derek Anderson Anderson was seen on camera laughing with teammate Deuce Lutui [h]during a timeout. When a reporter asked the quarterback about the incident, he bizarrely erupted and claimed he wasn’t laughing. Then, he descended into a curse-word-filled rant at the poor reporter. Anderson progressively got angrier as the journalist mentioned the footage. After the dire interview, Anderson claimed he was getting abuse from a fan behind him at the game, and Lutui made a joke about it, causing him to laugh.

Near the end of a 2004 game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly Ron Artest) fouled center Ben Wallace. Wallace didn’t appreciate the gesture, and let it be known by attempting to confront Artest. Players, referees and coaches tried to defuse the situation, but it soon took a bizarre turn when Sandiford-Artest decided to lie down on the scorer’s table. But all hell broke loose, when a cup of beer was thrown directly at Sandiford-Artest. The moment that water bottle hit him, an inescapable shadow would be cast on his career. Upon being hit, he instantly ran to the stands attacking the first person he could get his hands on. Chaos between fans and players ensued, and the event became known as the “Malice at the Palace”. Sandiford-Artest was suspended a year, and although he later continued to excel as a defensive player and even went on to win a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, his career would never be the same.

In 1994, quarterback Jim Everett was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the New Orleans Saints. Instead of focusing on that, Jim Rome liked to mock Everett for not being able to take a hit. So, when the NFL player appeared on his “Talk2” show, he called him “Chris Everett” as a sexist reference to legendary women’s tennis player Chris Evert[j]. Everett dared the host to say it one more time. He did, and the NFL star exploded. He threw the table aside before pushing Rome to the floor. Quickly, production staff arrived to separate the two. Both men apologized for what transpired, but neither seemed sincere.

After signing a hefty 5-year contract and winning the Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, life was pretty good for this running back. Well, at least that’s what it looked like on the surface. In 2014, he and his partner, Janay Palmer, were visiting New Jersey’s Revel Casino. The two got into an intense dispute, which culminated in him assaulting her - much of which was caught on tape. But since the athlete took part in a Pretrial intervention program, the case was ultimately thrown out. When he was later suspended indefinitely and released by his team, the NFL star sued the Ravens for back pay. The case was settled out of court in 2015, and Rice hasn’t played pro football since.

During the 2006 World Cup final match, Zizou was constantly jawing with Italian player Marco Materazzi. Eventually, the trash talking came to a head, literally. After an exchange of words, Zidane proceeds to headbutt Materazzi’s chest, knocking him to the ground. Zidane was subsequently handed a red card and sent off. Italy would go on to win the game after outscoring France during the penalty shoot-out, where Zidane’s presence and scoring ability was clearly missed. Although Zizou still had an illustrious career, it’s this very incident that will forever be etched in our memories. This was probably the last way anybody expected the French team captain Zinedine Zidane to end his career.

He was the biggest star in cycling, at least until the truth came out. Throughout his career and many title winning victories, Lance Armstrong constantly denied using performance-enhancing drugs. It was hard to root against Armstrong, a survivor of testicular cancer and founder of the Livestrong Foundation, but the growing amount of evidence became too much to ignore. Armstrong ultimately confessed to Oprah and the rest of the world in a live interview in 2013. And with that confession, the beloved athlete who was once an inspiration to so many had tarnished his image.

This Atlanta Falcons quarterback was making waves and looked set to have a legendary career in the NFL. That changed drastically in 2007, when a disturbing story emerged. One of his properties in Virginia was found to have hosted dog fighting. He and some others had been leading this ring and engaging in animal mistreatment since back in 2001. One NFL suspension and a guilty plea later, he began serving jail time. Upon release, he began playing for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. But his reputation never really recovered from the horrific scandal.

Being an All-American when he was in Florida, people had high expectations for Hernandez when he signed with the New England Patriots. And he was on course to be one of the best tight ends around, despite being caught in various unlawful situations over the years. But then, in 2013, Hernandez was taken into custody for ending Odin Lloyd’s life, resulting in the Patriots cutting ties with him. In 2015, he received a life sentence without parole. Then, in 2017, Hernandez stood trial for the 2012 deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, though he was deemed innocent. However, he passed away in jail just a few days later, having taken his own life.

There was a time when Pistorius was among the most famous Paralympic sprinters around. All that changed after he attacked who he thought was a criminal in his home. The victim was actually his partner, Reeva Steenkamp. The South African sprinter was set to spend five years in jail as a result. The original conviction was then overturned in favor of a more serious charge. Though his prison term this time around was a year longer, prosecutors still didn’t believe that was enough, and appealed once more. They were successful in 2017, as Pistorius’ sentence was more than doubled, to 13 years and five months.

She was the first American woman to nail a triple Axel in a professional ice skating competition. Yet Harding’s career took an infamous nosedive in 1994. Nancy Kerrigan, a competitor of hers, was violently struck on the knees, and left injured. It was subsequently revealed that Harding’s ex Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckardt had planned the affair, getting two men to carry out their plan. Still, Harding, who maintained her innocence, was controversially added to the USA team for the 1994 Winter Olympics, alongside Kerrigan. Later on, Harding admitted to obstructing justice. In addition to receiving probation time and a substantial fine, she was permanently barred from practicing her sport competitively by the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

Mike Tyson was already seen as one of the wildest and most eccentric personalities in boxing, but nothing could prepare anyone for what was about to come during his rematch against Evander Holyfield in 1997. During “The Sound and the Fury” fight, Tyson didn’t only bite his opponent’s ear once, but twice! He was disqualified and later stated his actions were in response to Holyfield’s un-penalized head butting. Despite his accomplishments in the ring and the ferocious style which made him a household name in the sport of boxing, the ear bite would taint his career, although he doesn’t think so.

The world watched as Simpson ran away from the police in a Ford Bronco and was then acquitted of the slaying of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994. Yet in 1997, he found himself losing a civil case and was deemed responsible for their passing, with the combined penalty being $33.5 million. His acting and broadcasting career were effectively over at this point. And after all that, you might expect him to keep a low profile. But he didn’t. In 2008, he was in court for his role in a Las Vegas robbery, and was handed a 33 year prison sentence, being granted parole in 2017. He passed away due to prostate cancer in April of 2024.


Did we miss any infamous athletes who ruined their own careers? Let us know in the comments.

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[c]man-ZELL https://youtu.be/PQJZbS1QYb0
[d]ruh-BUR-toh ALLO-mar / AL-OH-mar https://youtu.be/0md-74w8kAk?t=1
[e]mick-KALE YOOZE-nee https://youtu.be/CEREg7Xr4B4?t=8
[f]luh-MAR OH-dum https://youtu.be/vDioVg03a-Q?t=4
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[h]doose luh-TOO-wee https://youtu.be/OQHvyXk7bic?si=m7h6e9g1Lph56BZD&t=43
[i]metta SANDA-ford arr-TEST https://youtu.be/QfIzenF5PwM?t=112
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