The top 5 villains of sports

I wonder why people do drugs, when they can get a similar adrenaline rush, a sense of high and the feeling that the world is their oyster from flinging a ball into the stands. Sports have the capability to make a man out of a boy. But sometimes that man is better left hidden. Various sports have generated sportsmen who could not handle the fame and pressure that came as a packaged deal with their profession. They buckled under the hassles they faced and vented their reactions through roguish side of their persona. This countdown is dedicated to the much talked about villains of sports! They are-

5. Andrew Symonds, Australian Cricketer

Andrew Symonds is the winner of ‘Bad Boys of Cricket’ countdown and therefore is bound to feature in the overall list. His much publicized altercation with Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is the primary reason of his gaining notoriety in India. Since then, he has been involved in many scandals of the ilk. Symond’s nasty temper and his alacrity to attract trouble have always helped him grab headlines of the dailies and in this case, spot number 5 in the countdown.

4. Tiger Woods, Golfer

Wood’s story is the saddest among all the contenders for this countdown. World’s No. 1 golfer who had the world at his feet was thrown off his game when the news of him being a sex addict broke out along with a catalogue of women who were ready to bare their hearts and what-not regarding their liaisons with the shunned golfer. Following this fiasco, he became the court jester for quite some time as nobody could take sex addiction as a ‘problem’. Woods is at number 4 for his transition from a player to a ‘PLAYER’, if you know what I mean.

3. Tonya Harding, Ex-Figure Skating Champion

This countdown cannot be completed without the official mention of at least one woman and many would agree that Tonya Harding is the uncrowned queen of all that is evil in sports. She took the whole ‘bring your competitor down’ theory to a completely new and unimaginably terrifying level. She is believed to have masterminded the attack by a hit man on her rival Nancy Kerrigan’s leg forcing her to withdraw out of the national figure skating competition. She herself, somehow, escaped out of being convicted and other accomplices had to bear the brunt. She was stripped of her title. She later attempted a career in boxing that only enhanced her wicked image. Harding is at number 3 for her inability to come across as kind, ever.

2. O J Simpson, Footballer

You simply cannot define ‘bad boy’ without referring to Simpson. He faced a whole lot of music when his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend were found atrociously slaughtered in 1994. He was charged with the double homicide and his whole image came crashing down like a house of cards. Although, he was later acquitted but he again kicked up the dust when he released a book describing how he would have actually committed the murders (He most definitely would have topped the countdown for ‘Sportsmen with absolutely no PR skills’!) Simpson spiralled down to his nadir when he finally landed behind the bars for armed robbery. All these appalling facts have fetched number 2 spot for Simpson in this countdown.

And drum-rolls please, the winner is-

1. Mike Tyson, Boxer

He became the household name for terror as soon as he showcased himself inside the ring. It appeared as if nobody could stand his proximity due to the plethora of emotional and mental problems he suffered. He lashed out with equal vigour at his opponents as well as proponents. He was apprehended on rape charges and subjected to three years of rigorous imprisonment. The highlight of his disdainful side was when he chewed off his opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear, literally. When Holyfield eventually defeated Tyson and tasted vindication, it was deemed by most as the victory of good over evil. Tyson wins the competition hands down for taking ‘bad’ to a completely new level.

Those players who missed by an iota-

S. Sreesanth, Indian Cricketer

Our local bad fella deserves a special mention here. Getting slapped on national television to slapping weird break dancing moves on the spectators in the middle of the stadium, Sree has been-there-done-that. Always criticized for his antics on the field, Sreesanth is the prime example of letting five minutes of fame go straight to his head and bloating it completely. Sree could not grab a spot in the countdown, because let’s face it, nobody takes him seriously!

John Rocker, Pitcher

John usually had a knack of rocking the apple cart with his comments. His not-much-of-a –silver-tongue was considered to be highly racist and misogynist. His comment about the Times Square crawling with foreigners garnered a huge number of scowls. Apart from being implicated in a steroid ring, he was generally found to be involved in racist scandals often caught mocking Asians, women and referring to his black teammates as fat monkeys. Rocker fails to make a place for himself in the countdown as of now because we believe his worst is yet to come.

Ty Cobb, Baseball player

Ty Cobb can certainly be declared as the undisputed villain of baseball history. He had the most erratic behaviour which can be attributed to being an alcoholic. He once even throttled a groundskeeper at Tiger Stadium. Cobb was always on the lookout for getting into drunken brawls and finding one way or another to let out his frustration through violent means. Cobb could not make the cut because of worse pieces of villainy mentioned in the countdown.