Football fans absolutely hate these 40 people
People sure do love football... and they sure do love to get super angry about football. We're not just talking about your average rivalries, here. Players can get people all riled up, too, and not just because they win or lose too much.
In 2018, SportingNews tried to answer the question of who the most-hated players in NFL history are. They set some limitations on themselves. There's a reason, for example, why O.J. Simpson isn't No. 1 on this list. Players convicted of murder, such as Rae Carruth and Aaron Hernandez, were left off, as was Simpson, whose crimes came after his playing career ended. Ray Rice, who was publicly flogged for punching his eventual-wife in 2014, was also left off the list because the incident ended his playing career. In other words, the list was limited to only including players who were hated while they were active in the NFL.
(Written by Steven Taranto)
40. Marshawn Lynch
Not everyone finds Lynch's free-spirit style to be funny.
Beast Mode's tenure in Seattle featured his signature runs, but certain trademarks such as his crotch grab and refusal to speak to the media weren't looked upon kindly by every fan. Thank you for asking.
39. Rob Gronkowski
Like Lynch, not everyone laughs and enjoys Gronkowski's frat-bro demeanor.
Success, and the No. 69, breeds contempt.
38. Rodney Harrison
Harrison had already gained notoriety for being a dirty player with the San Diego Chargers. Then he joined the Patriots dynasty of the 2000s and gave his detractors all the more reason to dislike him.
Harrison was fined more than $200,000 for his playing style during his career.
37. Odell Beckham Jr.
After having to watch his signature catch time and time again, people began to tire of Odell Beckham by his sophomore season.
His diva antics, combined with the fact that his New York Giants went up against the large fanbases of the rest of the NFC East, have earned him plenty of hate.
36. Lawrence Taylor
On the field, Lawrence Taylor was completely out of control and couldn't be stopped. His personal life was much of the same. Taylor was suspended for 30 days in 1988 after testing positive for cocaine and has had a laundry list of issues with drugs and other legal problems in his post-playing days.
LT was hated by many outside of the Meadowlands, and even Giants fans will admit that the team swept plenty under the rug for their greatest player ever.
35. Jim McMahon
The punky QB attracted plenty of hate during his career for his antics. He drank beer during press conferences, openly defied both coach Mike Ditka and commissioner Pete Rozelle, and mooned a helicopter.
McMahon was even hated for things he never said, such as comments on the people of New Orleans that were attributed to him before Super Bowl XX. To this day, McMahon is still one of the NFL's most notorious characters.
34. Richard Sherman
The outspoken leader of the Legion of Boom, Sherman attracted plenty of hate during the Seahawks' Super Bowl run with his penchant for trash talking, which culminated in an interview after making the game-winning play in the NFC Championship Game that rubbed many the wrong way.
The backlash from that, however, has not stopped Sherman from speaking as his mind.
33. Ricky Williams
Most of the hate for Williams comes from Saints fans who didn't reap the benefits of his career after coach Ditka mortgaged the team's entire draft just to take him fifth overall in 1999. Outside of the Big Easy, Williams was plenty controversial, as he became the poster child in the early 2000s for marijuana use among NFL players.
For this transgression, Williams was suspended for the entire 2004 season. He finished his career with 10,009 rushing yards.
32. Keyshawn Johnson
Johnson's book Just Give Me the Damn Ball says everything you need to know about the wide receiver's attitude. "Me-shawn" was traded away by the Jets after just three seasons, and lost whatever support he had in New York when he bashed popular player Wayne Chrebet in his book.
Despite winning a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, Johnson was deactivated from the roster in 2003 after constantly fighting with coach Jon Gruden. Ultimately, Johnson's attitude resulted in burnt bridges and him bouncing around from team to team during his career.
31. Mark Gastineau
The leader of the New York Sack Exchange, Gastineau attracted much hate both during and after his career. He had a sack dance that so infuriated Rams offensive tackle Jackie Slater that it was banned in 1984. He cost his team a chance to win a playoff game against the Cleveland Browns in 1986 because of a bone-headed roughing the passer penalty.
Gastineau was never trusted by New York or his teammates, which came to a head when Gastineau crossed the picket line during the 1987 NFL Player's Strike.
30. Bryan Cox
Cox was a downright nasty linebacker.
He spat at and flipped off fans, and was ejected from one game for a fight with Carwell Gardner — not exactly endearing qualities.
29. Vontaze Burfict
Despite Burfict's incredible talent, he has gained more notoriety for being a dirty player than he has for his skills.
Burfict has served multiple suspensions for his playing style and is mostly known for his signature game — the 2015 AFC Wild Card Game — where he cost his team the victory with a cheap-shot on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
28. Hines Ward
Ward was one of the best-blocking receivers of his time but became hated for his dirty style of play.
Ward's actions on the field were so disliked by his peers that hew as voted the NFL's Dirtiest Player by his contemporaries in 2009.
27. Jack Tatum
"The Assassin" was the perfect player for the Raiders' defenses of the 70s, with his ability to blast receivers into last week and make them wish they'd never set foot on the field. His most famous play came during a preseason game against the Patriots, where he hit receiver Darryl Stingley so hard that he was left paralyzed for the rest of his life.
To put his career into perspective, every hit he laid on opposing players would be illegal today. It fit in perfectly with Al Davis' "Just Win, Baby" mantra, which attracted plenty of hate from the rest of the league.
26. Cortland Finnegan
Finnegan was called everything from "dirty" to "crazy" during his prime.
The North Carolina native was so disliked in his time with the Titans that it was a cause for celebration when Andre Johnson threw down with him in 2010.
25. Chuck Cecil
Nicknamed "Scud" for his missile-style of tackling, Cecil was fined many times during his career for launching himself into opposing players and hitting helmet-to-helmet.
Sports Illustrated once asked if Cecil was "too vicious" for the NFL.
24. Chad Johnson
There's being a showboat, and there's legally changing your last name to Ochocinco.
Johnson outraged his detractors with his touchdown celebrations, such as when he put on a fake Hall of Fame jacket.
23. Brett Favre
History looks upon Favre kindly now that his career is over, but there was a time.
Everyone — including Packers fans — grew tired of Favre's act, between his retirement charade and his sending lewd pictures of himself to television host Jenn Sterger.
22. Tim Tebow
On the surface, Tebow seems like an impossible person to hate, but there was plenty of disdain for him during his time in the NFL.
Tebow was mostly hated for the hype surrounding him, but also drew scorn for being a devout Christian.
21. Cam Newton
Newton has been polarizing since Day One. His haters were left seething as he ran over the NFL in the 2015 season and let them know it.
And his haters expressed their schadenfreude after Newton was pulverized in Super Bowl 50 and promptly cut his post-game press conference short.
20. Deion Sanders
"Primetime" drove old-school fans nuts with his trash-talking, high-stepping style of playing cornerback.
Sanders attracted even more haters by bouncing around from team to team, jumping from the Falcons to the 49ers to the Cowboys.
19. Randy Moss
Moss knew how to piss plenty of people off. His fake-mooning of Packers fans was just the tip of the iceberg, as he drew criticism for doing things like leaving the field early and squirting a referee with a water bottle.
There was also the "straight cash, homey" incident.
18. Richie Incognito
Incognito was vilified with the Miami Dolphins for taking his hazing of teammate Jonathan Martin too far.
For his role in the bullying scandal, Incognito spent the entire 2014 season out of the league.
17. Johnny Manziel
Manziel was already hated for his "Johnny Football" persona at Texas A&M, but his continual embarrassment of the Cleveland Browns with his partying and problems with drugs and alcohol resulted in him being released after just two seasons.
Manziel, who's out of the league, will be persona non grata in QB-starved Cleveland for a very long time.
16. James Harrison
Harrison might well be the scariest player in the NFL, and it's been easy for fans to call him a dirty player.
Harrison is a throwback Steel Curtain Steeler, as he was fined more than $100,000 in 2010 for various dirty hits and bodyslams.
15. Conrad Dobler
The reason Dobler was hated by opposing players and fans was simple: He tried to hurt them and wasn't bashful about the fact that he was trying to do so.
Dobler was one of the nastiest offensive linemen of his era.
14. Albert Haynesworth
Prior to signing with Washington, Haynesworth was disliked for stomping on Cowboys center Andre Gurode during a game in 2006.
And then, Haynesworth signed a $100 million deal with the Redskins and proceeded to steal that money, spending most of his two season with the team antagonizing his coaching staff and giving little-to-no effort.
13. Jay Cutler
Cutler is hated for his attitude — not because he has a particularly nasty streak — because he gives the impression that he just doesn't care.
Memes like "Smokin' Jay" and his final years with the Bears and Dolphins only added to this image.
12. Michael Irvin
"The Playmaker" became the poster child for people who hated the Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s, as his activities at Valley Ranch were well documented.
Irvin became so hated that he was booed by Eagles fans when he was carted off of The Vet with a career-ending injury.
11. Adrian Peterson
History may forget All Day's transgressions eventually, but the Vikings great earned an enormous deal of hate when he was suspended for most of the 2014 season. The reason for the suspension?
He pleaded to misdemeanor reckless assault after disciplining his son with a "switch."
10. Adam "Pacman" Jones
Through his NFL career, Jones rarely managed to stay out of trouble.
He was suspended for the entire 2007 season due to multiple off-field incidents, was fined $35,000 in 2015 for slamming Amari Cooper's head into his helmet, and was part of the Bengals' meltdown in the AFC Wild Card Game that same season.
9. Ben Roethlisberger
No matter what he does, Roethlisberger has had to deal with the baggage of sexual assault allegations that were brought against him in 2008 and 2010.
Outside of Pittsburgh, the Steelers' QB is not a popular person.
8. Bill Romanowski
Romanowski may have won four Super Bowls, but he didn't make many friends doing so.
From kicking Larry Centers in the head to breaking Kerry Collins' jaw to spitting in J.J. Stokes' face to throwing a football at Bryan Cox, Romanowski pissed opposing players and fans off everywhere he went. He even punched his own teammate, Marcus Williams, in the face.
7. Colin Kaepernick
Prior to the 2016 season, Kaepernick was already disliked for his cocky attitude on the field and his embracing the "swag" lifestyle off of it. The hatred for Kap took on a whole new dimension when he refused to stand for the national anthem in 2016.
The former Niners QB became so hated by fans around the league that he became completely unsignable after opting-out of his contract with San Francisco.
6. Ray Lewis
Early in his career, Lewis was charged with the murder of two men after a party in Atlanta. The charges were eventually dropped in exchange for testimony.
Lewis might have become a model citizen, but opposing fans still jeer him.
5. Tom Brady
Opposing fans still cry bloody murder over how Brady was bailed out by the "Tuck Rule," the Spygate Scandal and Deflategate.
As success breeds contempt, Brady's history of incredible victories and seemingly perfect looks and lifestyle also give people plenty of reason to hate him.
4. Greg Hardy
Hardy became the poster child of scorn for players accused of domestic violence in the aftermath of the Ray Rice hysteria of 2015, and the Carolina Panthers eventually cut ties with him.
He may have rehabilitated his image with the Dallas Cowboys, but he did little on the field. Hardy has shown little contrition, and has been out of the league since the end of the 2015 season.
3. Ndamukong Suh
Suh is an old-school defensive lineman, but that doesn't mean he has won favs over outside of the cities he's played in. Suh body-slammed Jake Delhomme, stomped Evan Dietrich-Smith, and stepped on Aaron Rodgers' leg.
For these transgressions, he has had to carry the distinction of being a dirty player.
2. Terrell Owens
"I TOLD YOU. THEY HATE TO LOVE ME!"
One of the most talented receivers in NFL history, Owens' incredible abilities were perhaps surpassed by his own neurotic behavior and narcissism. Owens burned bridges in San Francisco, torpedoed the Eagles' Super Bowl team by publicly feuding with McNabb, and ended up being shown the door in Dallas.
On his playing merit, Owens may have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but the committee waited until his third year of eligibility to induct the outspoken wide out.
1. Michael Vick
At the height of his fame, Vick was sentenced to prison for his role in a dogfighting ring, causing him to miss the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Vick returned to the league with the Philadelphia Eagles, but animal rights activists have continued to pursue Vick like Javert pursued Jean Valjean even after he quietly faded out of the spotlight.
Vick is now retired and has been officially recognized as one of the greatest Atlanta Falcons in team history, but a large segment of the population will never forgive Vick for his transgressions.