Sports are filled with heroes and villains. And before his admission to injecting steroids, Alex Rodriguez was the fair-haired boy who represented everything that was good about sport. Now that his career is forever tainted, does he qualify for villain status?
While Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco wore the black hats (and with pride, I might add), Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken gave us the warm fuzzies with their boyish enthusiasm and zeal for the game.
What about A-Rod, the admitted steroid user? He was definitely a pretty boy hero in Seattle when he was paired up with Griffey earlier in his career, but once he signed that 10-year, $252 million contract with Texas in 2001, the haters began to assemble. Rodriguez was a hero to most, even if he failed to turn around the state's weakest major league sister. That started to change in 2004 when he signed with the Yankees, the most popular franchise in sports and also the most hated. Under the intense microscope of the New York media, Rodriguez's pristine hero image began to take a hit.
The tabloid photos of the married hero with women other than his wife and rumors of a dalliance with pop star Madonna didn't help. Add that awful .244 batting average with only four home runs in 24 postseason games with the Yankees, and even some of the Bronx faithful turned sour.
The steroid confessions have raised the possibility that Alex Rodriguez has actually — excuse me for using a professional wrestling term here — turned heel. His apology seemed sincere even if he seemed to be hiding something. Recent allegations that the steroid he claims his cousin brought from the Dominican Republic wasn't even available in that country in the time frame he mentioned have moved him even closer to the black-hat line.
But as far as all-time villains are concerned, Rodriguez doesn't even come close to the list in the major sports.
Here are my top five sports villains of all time:
O.J. Simpson
Easily the biggest villain in sports history. From the Heisman Trophy to a prison cell in 40 years. What a turnaround. Simpson had the world at his fingertips at one time, but that seems like a long time ago. It was.
Along with Muhammad Ali, he ushered in the era of black men getting endorsement opportunities. Now he's a pariah in this country and believed to be a murderer, despite the acquittal in 1995. My generation grew up idolizing Simpson, the USC speedster who became the first NFL running back to rush for over 2,000 yards in one season. To this generation, none of those accomplishments matter.
Barry Bonds
When the federal government decides they hate a baseball player enough to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to prosecute him for perjury, then he has to be mentioned. Bonds has remained as arrogant and dismissive as he was before the steroid allegations began, and it just adds to his villainous appeal.
Bonds owns baseball's most hallowed record, the career home run mark, with 762. At one time, Rodriguez represented baseball purists' hopes of one day reclaiming the home run mark. Now that he has admitted being dirty, the purists hate Bonds even more.
Mike Tyson
He became the youngest heavyweight champion in history, but his life outside the ring was a nightmare.
This guy bragged about beating up old ladies so he could steal their groceries during his youth. That was one of many examples of a person in need of therapy. His credentials are too long to list in their entirety, but here a few of the lowlights:
Former trainer Teddy Atlas says Tyson molested his niece before he became famous.
He admitted hitting ex-wife Robin Givens.
The rape conviction and subsequent arrests for drunken driving, including one two years ago where he admitted a cocaine addiction.
He threatened to eat Lennox Lewis' kids (Lennox did not have children at the time).
He tried to eat Evander Holyfield's ear.
Cassius Clay
Today he is adored by millions, a beloved figure who is struggling mightily against the Parkinson's Disease that has all but silenced that voice that earned him the nickname the Louisville Lip. Many reviled him for his arrogance in the ring, so much that many hoped that then heavyweight champion Sonny Liston — a bad man with ties to the mob — would knock his block off.
After he upset Liston and announced his official allegiance to the Nation of Islam by changing his name to Muhammad Ali, he went from loudmouth to militant and served time in jail because of his refusal to enter the military.
Who would have believed 40 years ago that the day would come when we would see a trembling Ali lighting the Olympic torch in Atlanta and be moved to tears?
John Rocker
He was a bad guy. The 2000 Sports Illustrated article in which he insulted the many cultures that make up New York gave you an up-close and personal look at hatred, pure and simple.
He was as unpopular as football's Ryan Leaf, except he actually enjoyed some success in the majors. It's hard to imagine a baseball player who was more hated than Rocker, whose subsequent return to New York's Shea Stadium was treated like a head of state visiting enemy territory as game security was reportedly increased from 60 to around 700. A-Rod thinks he has PR problems? He should call Rocker.
So there you have it. And just in case you're wondering who missed the cut, here's the dishonorable mention: Bob Knight, Ty Cobb, Tonya Harding, Al Davis, Pete Rose, John McEnroe, Michael Vick, George Steinbrenner, Terrell Owens, and Jerry Jones.
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