Where Is My Respect?: The Most Disliked Sports Figures

The USA hoists some of the most superior talent. There is not one player in America — or around the globe — that hasn’t had the chance to succeed.

Really, this list was a response to all the negative feedback I'm seeing on these athletes.

You have proven athletes that are getting around more superior talent. As a result, their numbers fall and the media targets them.

It always seem like once a younger player does something good, the media claims them god and puts them before the veterans that have done more to deserve respect not disrespect.

Then you have coaches that have gotten something somebody wanted and they're instantly hated.

It seems like the more successful you get, the more people try to nit-pick at you until you finally get to the highest peak.

Here is a list of the most disrespected sports figures.

Shaquille O'Neal

Insert Dwight Howard into the dunk contest and let him go. He is 6'11'' with amazing leaping ability -that was fun to watch.

But what everybody remembers him for is the dunk with his superman cape on.

After that, everyone was crowing him the new superman.

Now hold on; just wait a second. Before Howard was even thought of in the NBA, I believe they were calling Shaq superman.

Shaq promoted the name and also felt much disrespected once everybody crowned Howard the new superman. Remember the argument they had about who was the real superman?

Well I'll end them now. Until Howard even gets a smell of what Shaq accomplished in his career, there is no new superman. He is still in Cleveland.

John Calipari

John Calipari, the most hated coach in all of college basketball. I think the hate goes deeper than the NCAA sanctions and rule violations that Calipari has been tied too.

I think most people are jealous of the talent Calipari pulls in every year.

It's a new trend in college basketball, and that's the No. 1 overall point guard goes to Kentucky and then has a successful NBA career. It has happen the past two years and most likely will continue in the next two.

Once Calipari touches a national championship or top-rated recruit, people will speculate that he has violated rules or regulations.

Lebron James

You either love him or hate him? Most people love him and nobody really hates him, but there are people out there that give him no respect for what he has done over his career.

LeBron James broke so many NBA records thus far. Not to mention, leading his talent-less Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals a few years back.

Or how about this: the fact that James is the youngest to score 15,000 points. Yes, younger than Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain.

But instead of praise, James gets slapped with the overrated or chocking tag every year his team doesn't win a championship ring. Similar to everyone else; nobody can do it by themselves. We all need help.

James is a game-changer, walking highlight reel, and one of the best players in the NBA. Until he receives that first ring, nobody will ever give him the respect he deserves.

Michael Vick

Not too long ago, Michael Vick was at the top of the NFL. He was the highest paid quarterback and arguably the most well known one.

Vick made virtually everything difficult for the opposing defense. They didn't know if he was going to torch them for 30 yards on the run or pass.

This was all before the dog fighting charges. Once Vick was found guilty and faced jail time for the charges, he was instantly the most hated man in all of sports.

Can anybody out there respect the fact that Vick is the only quarterback with NFL rushing records, or how about his career before the dog-fighting charges?

Vick is still a very good quarterback and it won’t be long before he will show you it once again.

Tiger Woods

Is there anyone out there that isn't more interested in golf since Tiger Woods returned? I'm not a big fan of golf, but once Woods decided to join the game of golf again, my television was tuned to watch the former No. 1 golfer tee-off.

Woods was a world icon. He was known by everybody across the globe. A ton of endorsement deals, a humongous fan base, and most importantly, the best golfer in the nation.

Now that he cheated on his wife and everyone found out, he is one of the most hated men in the world.

In fact, after he gave a public statement on his behavior, people still didn't believe that was enough. They wanted their questions answered, and since he didn't they still disliked him for that.

Terrell Owens

Okay, so you have one of the best wide receivers in the game without a job. Many suspect his history to be the main reason why he is still a free-agent and it's true.

Owens is without a doubt one of the greatest receivers in the history of the NFL. If you don't believe me, go look NFL history and see how many records T.O is a part of.

Owens is a selfish player with a horrible attitude. He sometimes runs his mouth too much and never backs it up. There are two things that Owens is consistent with, and that's his mouth and dropping passes.

But still, there is no reason why a legendary receiver is still looking for a job and the season starts in two months.

Ben Roethlisberger

It all started when he crashed his motorcycle bike. Every since then, Roethlisberger has been all over the news and media for reasons not involving football.

Now before I get into details of why people hate him, I would like to share with you what he accomplished before that. Roethlisberger, believe it or not, filled in for Tommy Maddox after being injured during the Ravens game his rookie reason.

After the 30-13 loss, Roethlisberger got his first chance at the starting lineup. He went on to 15 straight victories. This was his rookie year, and also during the year on Halloween he out-dueled Tom Brady. He has two Super Bowls rings, one in his sophomore season and one two years ago.

Now, the reason people dislike Roethlisberger so much is the fact he has been all over headlines for sexual assault charges. There were two counts, both college girls, but both dropped.

But still, that still touched fans across America the wrong way.

Just a note to remember: Big Ben is a two-time and youngest quarterback to every win the Super Bowl. With the past behind us, it's time to show some respect to a future Hall-of-famer.

Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather has always proven himself as the world’s pound-for-pound boxer.

Everybody thought Oscar De La Hoya had a chance to knock him out of the ranks of the unbeaten- including me - but that didn't happen and Mayweather won by decision.

Now since then, Manny Pacquiao has grown tremendously as a fighter. He has become, in many people's eyes, the fighter who can finally take down Mayweather or any other fighter in the game.

The two set up a fight of the century. Pacquiao — in his prime — and Mayweather both agreed to fight each other. But just when it started getting good, things started turning for the worse.

Mayweather suspected performance-enhancing drugs and asked Pacquiao to do Olympic style testing. As a result, everyone claimed Mayweather as a coward - including me - and now he is one of the most disliked men in America.

Want to know a way to win us back over? Fight Manny Pacquiao.