Kris Kinash and Nick Pelletier – columnists
The New England Patriots’ all-star tight end, Rob Gronkowski (a.k.a. “Gronk”) now joins the list of infamous athletes caught acting unprofessionally in the public’s eye. In light of this, here are the Top Ten Most Unprofessional Public Acts by Athletes Since 2000:
10. Patrick Kane and Cabbies
On Aug. 9. 2009, Patrick Kane was arrested in Buffalo, N.Y. for an incident involving Kane punching a cab driver for not having proper change for his fare. Kane pled guilty to non-criminal disorderly conduct charges and was pardoned, pending a year of good behaviour.
9. Gronk’s Night Out
After losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, the Patriots’ injured tight end, Rob Gronkowski, didn’t waste any time in enjoying the post-game celebrations in Indianapolis. Video released on the Internet displayed Gronk (who seemed nimble and energetic on his high ankle sprain) and fellow Patriots “party rocking” shirtless at LMFAO’s concert on Sunday night.
8. Hasbinboozin’
Edmonton Oilers’ goaltender, Nikolai Khabibulin was arrested for driving under the influence on Feb. 8, 2010. Khabby was initially pulled over for going 70 m.p.h. in a 45-m.p.h. zone. Arizona police officer B. Patterson submitted the Oilers’ goaltender to a blood test that he went on to fail. Khabibulin served 15 days in an Arizona jail before coming back to play for Edmonton.
7. Gisele’s Outburst
After all-star quarterback Tom Brady lost the Super Bowl last Sunday, Gisele Bundchen came to the defense of her husband, unfortunately at the expense of his team’s wide receivers. Gisele was quoted in a media scrum after the Super Bowl saying: “My husband can’t fucking throw and catch the ball at the same time.”
6. Bruised Tequila
All-star NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested on Sept. 6, 2009 for allegedly choking and restraining famous reality-TV star, Tila Tequila. Merriman and Tequila did settle out of court in 2010.
5. “I want to kiss you”
Former New York Jet and Hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Namath, was in the midst of an interview during a Jets game in 2003 when he replied: “I want to kiss you, I couldn’t care less about the team struggling,” to a question posed by reporter Suzy Kolber. He would go on to publically apologize the following day.
4. Phelps Flops
“What a dope!” read headlines on Jan. 31, 2009 when a picture surfaced of world swimming star Michael Phelps smoking marijuana out of a bong. Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and was subsequently suspended from the U.S. swim team.
3. Don’t Artest me bro!
During a game in 2004, Indianapolis Pacers’ forward Ron Artest was hit with a pop can during a break in the game. Artest went into a rage, and in unprecedented fashion jumped up into the stands and attacked the Detroit fan. Punches were exchanged in what was deemed the worst fight in U.S. professional sports history.
2. Shooting Gallery
In November of 2008, Super Bowl Champion and New York Giant, Plaxico Burress, shot himself in the leg at local nightclub in downtown New York. This resulted in a felony charge for illegal possession of a firearm and a two-year jail sentence, virtually ending his career in the NFL.
1. Tiger’s Triple Bogey
In 2009, Tiger Woods crashed his Cadillac into a fire hydrant outside of his estate in Florida. Reports of martial unrest began to filter out into the media as hundreds of women came forward with allegations of having secret sexual relations withWoods. His wife, Elin Nordegren (as well as a plethora of big name sponsors) abruptly divorced themselves from the former number-one golfer.
Comments are closed.