From Avery to Artest: The Seven Craziest Athletes

Athletes have often been thought of as flamboyant or outrageous.

Today, they're just plain nuts.

From Terrell Owens getting his own television show on VH1 (the show is terrible, by the way) to the completely insane Tonya Harding. From a crazy Dennis Rodman to a crazier Mike Tyson, athletes today are just unpredictable and insane.

If you think I've left an insane athlete off, just leave me a comment. This article is a list, and in no particular order.

7: Tonya Harding

To this day, Tonya Harding denies any involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan assault.

But in the Court of Public Opinion, Harding is guilty as charged.

She will always be remembered for her role in the Kerrigan attack during the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships. Harding, the perceived mastermind behind the attack, was supposedly going to call the FBI to tell them what she knew about the Kerrigan attack, but her ex-husband threatened to kill Harding if she did.

She was later banned for life from skating. She then had a laundry list of law run-ins. She was abducted by strangers and assaulted numerous boyfriends. After the incidents were made public, the authorities (and the media) began to question Harding's sanity.

Since 1994, she has made very few public appearances.

6: Sean Avery

Avery is a total nut-job. In one of the toughest sports leagues on the planet, the NHL, Avery is constantly getting dirty. Not NHL dirty, but more like UFC dirty.

He's a dirty player, plain and simple. He's probably among the dirtiest in NHL history.

He's the league jackass. He makes comments about other players' girlfriends. And messes with goalies.

In the NHL goalies are freaking insane. You don't mess with them. He hit Tim Thomas in the back of the helmet with his stick, and illegally 'screens' goalies

You don't know who Sean Avery is? This is Sean Avery:

And this:

And this:

Yeah. Avery is a douche.

5: Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens has a plan: he wants to see if he can join every team in the NFL, then destroy it.

He's already done it in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas. And the process is underway in Buffalo.

He got his own reality show on VH1 just be being a pure loon.

He cried during a press conference, and almost killed himself on meds. He also spent $100,000 on earrings. That's right, freaking earrings. You have to be crazy to spend that much on earrings.

4: Ron Artest

From his insane hairstyles to his 'tribute' to Michael Jackson.

His tribute to MJ included the lyrics "Michael, Michael, Michael you're my ni**er" and "I know you're in heaven, I hope to see you next year."

Am I the only one saying: WTF!?!?!?

Speaking of his music, he was suspended for asking his coach for a month off after producing his album. He also applied for a job at Circuit City in his rookie season just to get the employee discount.

And the Dodgers' baseball hat thing isn't helping with the whole 'not insane' thing.

Plus, who could forget "Artest is in the stands!"

3: John Rocker

John Rocker is, to use a cliche, off his Rocker.

He is a racist, homophobic, sexist bigot. And I freaking hate him. He is known to have made a derogatory statement to every ethnic group in the United States.

He was public enemy No. 1 in New York after a 'Sports Illustrated' article quoted him to saying derogatory statements about the wide ethnic background in NYC. The sports media hated him.

He started a Speak English campaign against foreigners and defended Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen after Guillen made a homophobic remark about a reporter.

Someone should beat some sense into Rocker, because he clearly has none. How about my friends from Brooklyn! They'll do a great job beating the crap out of this douche.

You have to be insane to mess with New York. NYC showed it's true, tight nit side after 9/11. And New Yorker come to defense of other New Yorkers. So if you offend one New Yorker, you offend all five million of 'em.

2: Dennis Rodman

I remember Dennis Rodman as a guy with a ton of piercings, constantly changing color of hair and tattoos.

His on-court antics are crazy, too. He headed-butted referees and other players and kicking cameramen in the groin.

And he was insane off-court, too. He showed up in a wedding dress to promote his autobiography. He also married Carmen Electra while he was drunk.

People always used to say that 'Dennis the Menace' was different. They should've said that he was crazy.

1: Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson. He's mellowed out now that he's too old to continue boxing, but a decade ago, Tyson was a loose cannon. He's one of the great knockout artists of all time (and ear-biting artists of all time).

Along with the ear-biting incident, he also tried to break another boxer's arm during a tie-up. Oh, yeah, don't forget about the time that he threatened to eat Lennox Lewis' heart and children.

His sanity was further questioned when he admitted to taking Zoloft to keep himself from killing the media.

Tyson is the definition of crazy. If you look up crazy in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Tyson's half-tattooed face.