When scandal breaks out, it seems like it’s in layers. One layer is the innocent version. Then, the truth comes out many layers later and it blows your mind.
NFL scandals seem to take on a whole new level of their own. That might be because these guys are dealing with more money than they ever had and they don’t know what to do with. But also, it could just be they took one blow in the head too many and it knocked them senseless.
Joe Namath
The first one on our list is the most innocent one. But, it was embarrassing for Joe Namath when he went in for a kiss during a sideline interview with ESPN’s Suzy Kolber. They cut away from the shot to show the play and Joe says several times that he wanted to kiss her. Of course, Joe had been drinking all day and the footage of his behavior helped Joe realize he had a drinking problem.
Ben Roethlisberger
Then comes Big Ben. During a celebrities golf tournament, A Harrah’s casino employee by the name of Andrea McNulty accused Ben of sexually assaulting her. Even though he settled out of court with her, Roger Goodell further punished Ben by suspending him for the first four games of the 2010 season. Other women came forward after that, but no charges were filed. Sometimes, people are just out for money and scandal helps them feed their pockets.
Brett Favre
Jenn Sterger was the media host for the New York Jets while Brett Favre played for the team. The fact that Jenn is also a model might have something to do with Brett’s crazy behavior. When he got a hold of her cellphone number, he sent her all kinds of things including pictures of his genitalia. His lewd voicemails and texts were enough for the NFL to fine him $50,000 for not cooperating with their investigation. While his wife was battling breast cancer and they had just lost their home in Mississippi to Hurricane Katrina, the sympathy his fans had for him quickly turned to disgust. But, only for a short time until he started winning with the Minnesota Vikings.
Barrett Robbins
In a weird story, the Pro Bowl center for the Oakland Raiders disappeared just before the 2002 Super Bowl. He had failed to take his meds and was off having visions that his team had already won the Super Bowl. The fact of the matter was they lost horribly, 48-21 to Tampa. Then, he tested positive for steroids the following year and he never played another game in the NFL after Oakland released him.
Eugene Robinson
In a very embarrassing incident, Eugene Robinson was set to play in Super Bowl XXXIII. The day before, he had been awarded the Bart Starr Man of the Year Award for integrity and character on and off the field. Then, that night he went out to get some strange from a hooker. He ended up soliciting an undercover cop and was arrested.
Plaxico Buress
It was about the dumbest thing anyone could do. But, the penalty was pretty huge. Plaxico was in a nightclub with a gun shoved down his pants. He felt it start to fall down his jeans so he went to grab it. That’s when he shot himself in the leg. He only did harm to himself, but he ended up getting two years in prison. He was released by the Giants. But after prison, he went on to play for the Jets and the Steelers until he retired.
Tank Johnson
This guy is full of scandal. He was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm in a nightclub. Then, he was charged with assault as well as resisting arrest while on probation. He had more illegal firearms in his home when it got raided. He violated his probation when he was on house arrest. He finally ended up going to jail and being released from the Bears. He did come back to football after serving his time, but he just wasn’t the same. He runs a company now that actually helps other athletes from ruining their careers.
Adam Jones
He once called himself Pacman. He started getting a reputation when he was reported fighting with Geno Atkins on the sideline and then he was caught on film slapping a woman around. But then, he was at a nightclub and he was throwing money at the dancers along with the rapper Nelly. When the girls went to pick up the money, Jones assaulted one of them and then he threatened the bouncer. Later, a guy in his pack came back and fired into the crowd. In a final blow, a drug dealer put Jones’ business out there that he was betting on college games. He finally calmed down, but not until a separate shooting incident in an Atlanta nightclub.
Michael Irvin
The scandal included more players than Michael Irvin, but his name seemed the biggest. His cocaine habit was documented and his many sexual exploits were noted. In one embarrassing situation, he was caught in a hotel room with cocaine all over him and strippers were doing all sorts of things to him. But, the biggest part of the scandal involving Michael Irvin was the flophouse that was being run so players could take women there and throw parties. When it was found out what was actually going on there, that’s when it all blew up.
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor has a live large kind of life philosophy. Do it big on and off the field. He has admitted to cocaine use. He was no stranger to the sex worker industry either. But one time, he went a little too far when the hooker was actually a 16 year old girl. Now, LT is a registered sex offender.
Stanley Wilson
It’s tough to watch a great career go downhill, especially when it had so much potential. Like Michael Irvin and LT, Stanley suffered from cocaine abuse. He ended up being suspended in 1985 and 1987 because of it. A third strike came in 1989 just before Super Bowl XXIII. He was left off the roster, didn’t get to play in the Super Bowl, and then kicked out of the league. He couldn’t drop the habit and started stealing. He is currently serving 22 years in prison for crimes related to him supporting his habit.
Janet Jackson
No, Janet Jackson didn’t play football. But, she did perform at Super Bowl 2004 with Justin Timberlake by her side. That’s when her boob popped out of her bustier and started an uproar in what has been coined a “Wardrobe Malfunction.” Some people say it was planned and the artists themselves say it was an accident. But, the action only lasted a millisecond despite the fact that activists all across America have totally blown it out of proportion.
Jonathan Martin
It seemed odd at first that Jonathan Martin was accusing a teammate of bullying. Richie Incognito had been harassing Jonathan and had made threats against his family. Even though it seemed odd, activists made sure it was taken seriously. Jonathan quit the team and was picked up by the 49ers before going on to play for the Panthers. Incognito was suspended from the Dolphins and went on to play for Buffalo in 2015.
Paul Hornung and Alex Karras
This is probably the NFL’s first major scandal when Paul and Alex were suspended for betting on the NFL. The incident has been compared to Pete Rose, only they handled it differently. They came clean and talked candidly about making mistakes. They were both reinstated a year later and went on to play many more games. That’s a lot different than how Pete Rose handled it.
Buddy Ryan
Some people call it a performance bonus. But when it’s connected to pain and injury, money offered for performance can be considered a bounty. Jimmy Johnson accused Buddy Ryan of placing a bounty on kicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman, two former Eagles players. In fact, Zendejas was taken out of the game. Buddy denied that he was paying a bounty, but the scandal blew up and fans have not forgotten.
Ray Lewis
Of course, most people are familiar with the scandal Ray Lewis was involved in. But, the myths keep circulating even to the point where some say Ray was involved in murder. The facts of the case are that Ray was not involved in the murder. He was initially charged with the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar. But, the charges were dismissed when he took a plea bargain to testify against Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting. Some people also like to stay the murders were never solved. They actually were. The prosecution made a case against Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting who actually did the stabbing. But, they were found not guilty on the grounds of self defense.
Jovan Belcher
In an evening full of drama and violence, Jovan Belcher brings us a scandal that’s hard to believe. He and his girlfriend had a daughter between them. They used to fight, but it seemed they always got over it. That is until one evening, Jovan pumped nine bullets into Kasandra, killing the mother of his child. Then, he drove to the practice facility where he blew himself away in front of the GM, the head coach, and the linebackers coach. This incident made the NFL look harder into mental health issues caused by repeated blows to the head.
Eddie Debartolo
In a strange twist of events, this scandal involves Eddie losing his team. In seemingly unrelated events, former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards extorted $400,000 out of Eddie for a river boat casino license. Then, Eddie plead guilty and was fined $1 million for failing to report a felony. The investigation that was prompted created an entirely separate legal battle in which Eddie was forced to give up his ownership of the 49ers. He ceded control to his sister and Denise DeBartolo York has owned it ever since.
Donté Stallworth
In one of the more heartbreaking scandals, Donté was drinking and driving when he actually killed a man. The footage shows that Mario Reyes tried to dart out in front of the car and would have been struck anyway. Stallworth’s defense team tried to convince him he had a good chance of getting off his charges. But, Stallworth felt it was the right thing to do to accept a plea bargain and come to a financial agreement with the Reyes family.
Josh Brent
Josh Brent already had one DUI when he got his second one in 2012. He was doing 110 in a 45 mph zone. But, that wasn’t the worst part. He actually ended up killing his passenger and teammate Jerry Brown. He served 6 months in jail and was eventually reinstated by the Cowboys.
Bill Belichick
The name Belichick almost seems synonymous with the word scandal. In 2007, the Patriots were caught videotaping the Jets’ coaches during the game. They had cameras setup on their own sideline and I guess that’s not allowed despite all the other cameras around the stadium. Belichick himself was fined half a million. The team was fined a quarter of a million and they were docked their first-round draft selection. Not only that, but they were given the reputation of being cheaters because they always seem to be caught up in something.
Minnesota Vikings
This scandal is way out there. Short version is that several teammates went in on two houseboats and threw a huge party where it was reported that the teammates flew in hookers from Atlanta and Miami. But, witnesses say that the sex acts included just about any combination of people you could imagine. The cleaning crews who would eventually have to clean up the mess walked into a storm of used condoms, sex toys, and fluids of every bodily kind all over the place. The resulting investigation implicated quarterback Daunte Culpepper, Pat Williams, Mewelde Moore, Nate Burleson, Troy Williamson, Fred Smoot, Bryant McKinnie, Ralph Brown, Jermaine Wiggins, Travis Taylor, Kevin Williams, Lance Johnstone, Moe Williams and Willie Offord. Outside of the team, there were a total of about 90 people involved.
Gregg Williams
More bounty confessions. This one involves the target Brett Favre. New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wanted him knocked completely out of the game. When the footage was reviewed, the blatant attempts were so obvious that an investigation was prompted immediately. What came down was that a pay-for-performance fund was pretty common throughout the league and that the Saints did NOT cause more injuries than other teams in the 2009-2011 seasons. But, none of that mattered. Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season. The Saints were fined and lost their 2nd round draft picks for both 2012 and 2013.
Adrian Peterson
In a scandal that had a lot of parents and activists fired up, Adrian Peterson was indicted for reckless and negligent injury to his 4 year old child. He had bruises and slashes on his backside and his legs. Adrian told the court that he had been disciplined with a switch when he was a child and that’s the way he disciplined his own son. He was given probation, community service, and fined. But when the images hit the internet, the outcry became even worse.
Ray Rice
In footage from an elevator camera, Ray Rice knocked his fiance, Janay Palmer, completely out. Then, he dragged her off the elevator. The news was disturbing to the fans, but the video hadn’t been released yet. At first, Ray and Janay tried to downplay the incident and appeared on interviews where they were viewed by fans as happy together. They were quickly married. But then, the video came out and that’s when the fans went off. He was given a 2 day suspension and that was called into question quick. Other lesser charges were getting bigger suspensions, so Roger Goodell had to change his stance and suspend him for the entire season. It must suck when the fans hold commissioners and players accountable for their actions.
NFL Concussions
This has been going on for years. The NFL is a big entity that can fight legal battles and keep people’s mouths shut. But, activists kept fighting back on behalf of the players who were suffering concussions from being repeatedly hit in the head. Finally a lawsuit was brought forward and the NFL eventually settled for a $765 million settlement split between 4,500 former players. That comes to about $170,000 each. The grounds was that the NFL deliberately misled and withheld information about head trauma and the actual dangers of the game.
Michael Vick
The story that shocked fans to the core is the story of Michael Vick and his dog fighting ring. When the images hit the internet, the shock went even deeper. Michael Vick served time for his crime and he has gone on to play football. But, the fans will never forget and they don’t seem to have forgiven. Not in the slightest.
Rae Carruth
Rae is a sad case of being used by people. It appears he may not have known about birth control because woman after woman kept coming after him for child support. Then when his girlfriend at the time Cherica Adams told him she was pregnant, his mind completely snapped. He hired a hitman and he had her killed. He wanted the child killed too, but that was unsuccessful. The child lived, but he has brain damage because he was without oxygen for an extended period of time. Carruth is currently serving time in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2018.
Aaron Hernandez
This story actually has some star power. Fans actually knew who Aaron was and were shocked to hear that he was involved in a murder. Odin Lloyd was dating Aaron’s fiance’s sister when he learned about an incident in which Aaron was involved in the death of a few men who had bumped into him the wrong way at a night club. Before Odin had a chance to blackmail Aaron, Aaron had him killed. He didn’t pull the trigger, but that’s enough to put him behind bars for a long time. He might stay there too as he faces new charges stemming from those deaths Odin had found out about.
O.J. Simpson
Everyone knows about the O.J. Simpson scandal in which his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman were found dead. O.J. was charged, but he was not found guilty. After that, he lost a civil suit and that’s when the financial problems started. He made a series of bad decisions and is now serving time in prison for using a gun to retrieve what he believed was his stolen memorabilia. Robert Kardashian was one of O.J.’s attorneys in the murder trial and that’s how the reality stars got their start. Thanks O.J.!
Tom Brady
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without Deflategate. In the 2015 AFC Championship Game, it appears that Tom Brady’s balls were too big. So, they took some air out of them so he could throw them better. League regulations state the exact air amount that is supposed to be in Tom Brady’s balls and that’s what the scandal is about. Tom Brady is sitting out the first four games of the 2016 season. But, it doesn’t matter. The Patriots are doing just fine without him so far.
The post NFL Scandals That Shocked The World appeared first on Detonate.