A Brief History Of Sport’s Most Unsporting Moments
Athletes, whether we want to believe it or not, are people just like the rest of us. Despite their near physical perfection, the pressure to perform or perhaps the dizzying effects of stardom at times cause even the best of them to behave inappropriately.
Bad sportsmanship is common enough, at times it rears its ugly head in even the most friendly of matches, but it is very rare to see it at its worst. For at its worst, unsporting behavior can evoke such revulsion that it can change the way that a game is played from that point forward. It can redefine what we consider acceptable behavior and permanently sully the public’s memory of otherwise great athletes.
Whether due to violence, unfair play or rudeness, the athletes in the events featured in this article have earned reputations for unsporting behavior. Today, we look at the worst moments and the impact of the most glaring examples unsportsmanlike conduct in a range of different sports in an effort to understand precisely what it was that caused mere seconds of play to be etched in the memories of fans around the world.
Ice Hockey: Retaliatory Hit Leaves Player With Broken Neck
Three weeks after a questionable call that injured Vancouver Canucks team captain Markus Näslund (the league’s leading scorer at the time) by Colorado Avalanche center Steve Moore, the Canucks were looking for revenge. With Colorado up 8-2 late in the third period, Todd Bertuzzi began following Moore down the ice and trying to get him to fight. When Moore didn’t give him the time of day, Bertuzzi, behind Moore, grabbed the Colorado player’s jersey and punched him in the side of the head and took him down to the ice face first.
After lying on the ice for several minutes, Moore was finally removed on a stretcher. According to Wikipedia, “he suffered three fractured vertebrae in his neck, vertebral ligament damage, a grade three concussion, stretching of the brachial plexus nerves, and facial cuts. To date, Moore has not appeared in another professional hockey game.”
Aftermath: The aftermath of the Bertuzzi-Moore incident began immediately after it took place and continues to this day. Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely, fined $500,000 and faced criminal charges that saw him sentenced to a year of probation.
Bertuzzi was allowed to reenter the league for the 2005-2006 season, but faced civil action from Moore, which is presently ongoing. Moore’s lawyers are seeking a total of 18 million dollars and Moore’s parents are seeking a further $1.5 million for “negligent infliction of nervous shock and mental distress.”
****For the latest odd,weird and unique news, subscribe to our full news feed or have it delivered to your inbox. Always free. Always unique.****
Soccer: Maradona’s Hand of God
The infamous “hand of god” incident occurred in a match between England and Argentina in the World Cup of 1986, for years after the two countries had clashed in the Falklands War. Emotions were high and there was no love lost between the two teams. Referees failed to spot that Diego Maradona scored the first goal of the match by striking it with his hand. Later in the match he would go on to dribble past five English players and kick the second goal of the match, which was later voted the goal of the century.
Aftermath: Argentina was not penalized for the handball goal and won the match 2-1 and went onto win the 1986 world cup. Maradona was on the field for every minute of every game. Maradona maintained that the goal was, “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God” until a BBC interview in 2005.
Maradona’s later life has been plagued with health problems that likely stemmed from years of substance abuse and obesity. Following a massive heart attack in 2004, he stopped using cocaine, but had further problems due to alcohol. He attended a treatment center in 2007 and in 2008 became the coach of the Argentinian soccer team.
American Football: Unprotected Head Stomp Results In 30 Stitches and Lengthy Suspension
On October 1, 2006, in a game between the Tennesee Titans and Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Cowboy’s center Andre Gurode fell to the ground and had his helmet removed. As Gurode lay on the ground, Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth attempted to stomp on his head, but missed. His second stomp attempt did not, the metal cleats on Haynesworth’s shoe opened a severe wound on Gurode’s forehead, narrowly missing his right eye. Initially, a 15-yard penalty was issued for unsportsmanlike conduct. Haynesworth, however, was promptly ejected from the game when he threw his helmet to the ground in disgust. Gurode received 30 stitches around his right eye.
Aftermath: On October 2, 2006, Haynesworth was suspended for five games without pay by the NFL, the longest in NFL history for an on-the-field incident. Considering Haynesworth’s base salary of $646,251, the suspension cost more than $190,000. Gurode’s vision remained blurry for the rest of October, 2006. At present, both players continue to play football.
Cycling: Floyd Landis Tour de France Victory and Malicious Doping Defense
Floyd Landis, had an incredible cycling career that appeared to reach its zenith in 2006 when he won the Tour de France despite suffering from osteonecrosis, a deterioration of the hip ball joint. By stage 16, slowed by his severe pain, Landis’ chance of winning would have seemed hopeless, but a miraculous comeback at stage 17 silenced any doubters. He came from behind to take a breathtaking win, and then he returned a positive doping sample. It was all downhill from there.
Aftermath: Though his testosterone:epitestosterone ratio was 11:1, significantly higher than his maximum allowable 4:1, Landis vehemently denied the doping allegations. But it was a particular aspect of his defense that would cause a number of his supporters to turn on him. When fellow cyclist Greg LeMond testified against Landis, he also revealed that Landis’ friend and business manager, Will Geoghegan, had made a call to LeMond threatening repercussions if he testified. In particular he indicated that he would expose that LeMond had been sexually abused as a child, something that LeMond had confided in Landis.
In the end, Landis was found guilty and banned from competing for two years. He was also stripped of his Tour de France title and ordered to return the prize money.
Basketball: The Punch
It was a punch that changed the rules of the NBA. As an on court fight between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets was taking place, Laker Kermit Washington turned to see Rocket Rudy Tomjanovich running towards him. He reacted by swinging a powerful roundhouse punch that hit Tomjanovich with so much force that when he awoke he thought that the scoreboard had fallen on him.
Aftermath: The punch fractured his face Tomjanovich’s face about one-third of an inch (8 mm) away from his skull, leaving Tomjanovich unconscious and bleeding profusely in the middle of the court. The silence that followed was described by one player as, “the loudest silence you have ever heard.” Tomjanovich nearly died from the injury, the punch separated the bone structure of his face from his skull and caused blood and spinal fluid to leak into his skull capsule.
Washington’s suspension of 60 days (26 games) was the longest suspension ever handed out in the NBA for an on-court incident. In a civil action by Tomjanovich against the Los Angeles Lakers, the court found in favor Tomjanovich awarding him $3.2 million dollars. Washington was traded to the Celtics while still on suspension, as the management felt that to keep him would amount to a “public relations disaster”.
Tennis: John McEnroe’s Temper Tantrums
With so many examples of McEnroe’s famous temper in action, it is hard to choose just one. The video below is from a French television station and features Mac at doing what he did best, unloading on umpires with both barrels of his often foul mouth.
Warning, the video contains language that might offend people with more delicate sensibilities.
While many people no doubt thought that age and a new life as an art gallery owner would mellow him, unfortunately it only seems to have made his tantrums last longer.
Aftermath: While McEnroe lost a few points in his career and received numerous warnings for his outbursts, he was never seriously disciplined for his behavior.
Australian Rules Football: Tony Lockett Flattens Opponent’s Nose
In his heyday, the man affectionately known as Plugger was no stranger to rough play, as the video of some of his greatest hits shows. However, it was a 1994 incident in which he played for St. Kilda against his Sydney was most controversial. Opinions were divided as to whether the sickening clash that left Sydney Swans defender Peter Caven with a flattened nose and shattered cheekbone was intentional. Check out the incident at 1:11 and 2:09 in the video below.
Aftermath: While some members of the public held divided opinions, the Australian Football League tribunal did not. Tony Lockett would later go on to become better known for his football skills as opposed to his rough play and become one of the most famous members of the Sydney Swans team. Lockett remains ashamed of the incident and of his football career, preferring to remember himself as “a thug who could play a bit.”
Boxing: The Mike Tyson Ear Bite
The Holyfield-Tyson II fight of June 28, 1997, will go down in history as one of the dirtiest boxing matches of all time, thanks to the actions of Mike Tyson just before the second minute of the third round. When Holyfield grabbed Tyson in a clinch, Tyson responded by removing an inch from the top of Holyfield’s right ear with his teeth, which he then spat onto the floor of the ring. After a delay of several minutes two points were deducted from Tyson and the fight resumed, only to be stopped soon after when Tyson bit into Holyfield’s left ear.
Aftermath: The initial aftermath was a melee between Tyson and Holyfield’s supporters. Following the fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Tyson’s boxing license and fined him $3 million plus court costs. His license was reinstated a year later, in 1998.
Cricket: The Underarm Incident
The “underarm incident” refers to a situation that occurred on the final ball of a match between Australia and New Zealand on February 1, 1981. New Zealand needed a six (obtained by hitting the ball over the fence without it bouncing) to win the game. Australian captain Greg Chappell ordered his brother Trevor to bowl the ball underarm along the ground to the number 10 New Zealand batsman, Brian McKechnie), thereby eliminating any possibility of a six and guaranteeing victory for the Australian team. The move, however, was seen as against the spirit of the game and drew the ire of many cricket fans on both sides of the Tasman.
Aftermath: The team was booed off the Melbourne Cricket Ground by their own fans and Brian McKechnie was censured for throwing his bat down in disgust. The Australian and New Zealand public were quite vocal in their distaste for the incident and it was criticized by a number of noteworthy individuals.
Rob Muldoon, the New Zealand prime minister called the act, “the most disgusting incident I can recall in the history of cricket”, and went on further to say, “it was an act of true cowardice and I consider it appropriate that the Australian team were wearing yellow”. The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, was a little less harsh calling the move, “contrary to the traditions of the game”. Former Australian captain and legendary commentator Richie Benaud, called the incident “disgraceful” and “one of the worst things I have ever seen done on a cricket field.”
Honorable Mentions
This list is by no means complete, but limitations of time and space mean that some topics are better left for another day. The people in the pictures below have had their moments under the spotlight. Who are they and what did they do (answers this time tomorrow)?
Answers (clockwise from left): Tonya Harding – covered up an assault on a rival skater organized by her ex-husband; John Daly – frequent public drunkeness; Zinedine Yazid Zidane – headbutted Italian soccer player; Chicago White Sox – threw a world series; Ben Johnson – set the world 100m sprint record (on steroids); Wessel Johannes “Hansie” Cronje – match fixing (cricket).
Acknowledgements
We tried to reflect the international nature of our site with the scope of this post. This was a team production and reflects the many and varied interests of not just myself, but also JeffG from We Interrupt Global Reports and Vic da Silva. In general, our sources for these documents have long since been forgotten, however, where appropriate, we provided a source link to the Wikipedia entries for either the athletes, or the incidents. Wikipedia proved invaluable for establishing the dates and finer details of each of the events.
« 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10View All»
Perhaps you should review what the term “clock-wise” means.
Rolling a cricket ball is worse than biting someone’s ear off?? Granted I know next to nothing of the English sport – but c’mon.
The sports were not in any particular order, of course I would rather have a ball rolled to me than my ear bitten off, but the rolled ball created a hell of a stink as it was seen as a cowardly play. It cast the Australian team in a bad light for many years after, even the Australian players on the field thought it was a gutless move.
How can they leave off Woody Hayes coming from the sideline to level an opposing player running for a touchdown??
I’m only a mere mortal, but that incident just might make the next list.
Two comments: ON Kermit Washington, I saw that game and did not then and still do not believe it was bad sportsmanship. You have skirmish going on adrenaline is high and a player from the opposite team is running at you. I dont know about anyone else but I think if you put yourself in the same shoes you are going to protect yourself and while some do it by running some tend to throw out a fist or kick.
Mike Tyson: During and after the first fight Tyson was complaining of headbutts from Holyfield, a number or other fighters also stepped forward and stated the same, Holyfield tends to lead and hit with his head. During the second fight Tyson again was complaining of headbutts. Holyfield is at least 6 inches taller than tyson why is his head hitting tyson on the forehead. bad sportsmanship on tyson but should also have been on Holyfield
Hmmm…like the list but if you’re going to call out dopers how about Roger Clemens ongoing boorish and deceitful behavior and taking the sportsworld and Congress for idiots with his own brand of sophistry. Also, throw in his bat throwing incident in the World Series and a professional philistine is complete.