Rashard Mendenhall and the Dumbest Tweets in Sports
140 Characters or Less: Rashard Mendenhall and Dumbest Tweets in Sports
Our right to free speech is one of the many reasons why America is a great country. Everyone has an opinion, and the ability to voice those opinions is something we shouldn't take for granted.
There are some athletes, however, who have stretched those boundaries.
And while I'll never be one to say that athletes should be banned from social media, we also have the right in this country to criticize people for their opinions (like some of you might to me in the comment section).
This is a list that will undoubtedly grow as social media becomes bigger and bigger, but let's run down the dumbest tweets we've seen in sports.
Steve Johnson, Buffalo Bills
1 of 12
""I praise you 24/7!!! And this how you do me!!! You expect me to learn from this???How??? I'll never forget this!! Ever!! Thx Tho."
"
Following a 2010 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnson took to Twitter to voice his opinion on who was responsible for his late-game drop that cause the Bills to lose the game.
Whether you believe in God or not, Johnson's emotionally-charged tweet was something he should have kept to himself.
Spilling those kind of thoughts just isn't a smart move.
Courtney Forston, Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball
2 of 12
""Im gettin it at workouts like a dude who doesnt understand the word no from a drunk girl lol."
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Forston's tweet was bad enough by itself, but it also came on the heels of rape accusations against other members of the Arkansas basketball team.
But even without that history, this tweet was a terrible attempt at making fun of a terrible act and crime.
Forston was likely only trying to draw a laugh, but he didn't succeed in the slightest.
Kareem Jackson, Houston Texans
3 of 12
"“Look at all these people that be at these chicken fights, you would think its a college football game.”
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This tweet came along with a picture of Jackson at a cock fight in the Dominican Republic.
And, as you'll likely recall, it was just a few years removed from Michael Vick dog-fighting trail.
While legal in the Dominican Republic, Jackson's admittance of his attendance at the fight showed a complete lack of understanding of the situation he was in.
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Rashard Mendenhall (No.1), Pittsburgh Steelers
4 of 12
""Anyone with knowledge of the slave trade and the NFL could say that these two parallel each other."
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Mendenhall caught the most heat for the second tweet about Osama Bin Laden (which we'll get to), but this one came off almost as ignorant.
Following up on Adrian Peterson's equally-stupid claim that the NFL was like modern-day slavery, Mendemhall backed his fellow running back by saying that they "parallel each other."
Is that so? I'm not sure it's even worth my time to write or your time to read to breakdown how wrong that statement is.
Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
5 of 12
""think bout a clever diss then that wit ur *** pic. Christopher street boy. Is what us east coast cats call u."
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Back when he was a member of the Chiefs, Johnson typed out this wonderfully-crafted and thought out tweet using gay slurs.
But not only did he use homophobic language, he also directed it at his fans and Todd Haley, his head coach at the time.
That's certainly not a way to become a fan-favorite or see the field. Not surprisingly, Johnson was waived in November of that same year.
Todd Reynolds, NHL Agent
6 of 12
""Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender "marriage". Legal or not, it will always be wrong."
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Reynolds attack on gays was a recent tweet, but it was flooded out of the media by the constant criticism of Mendenhall's bin Laden comments.
Even so, Reynolds' opinion on the matter was insensitive and shouldn't have voiced through social media.
I won't get into the politics of the issue, but Reynolds should have kept this tweet to himself.
Rashard Mendenhall (No.2), Pittsburgh Steelers
7 of 12
""What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side—We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."
"
Finally, we get to the mother-load of dumb athlete tweets.
Mendenhall can think whatever he wants about what happened on 9/11, but the timing and language of the tweets couldn't have been worse.
And while he can be a conspiracy theorist if he so-pleases, the day after the United States military took down the world's most notorious terrorist wasn't the appropriate time to do so.
Jaz Reynolds, Oklahoma Sooners Football
8 of 12
""Hey everyone in Austin, tx.......kill yourself #evillaugh."
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Like so many of these athlete tweets, this one combines a terrible choice of words with an even worse sense of timing.
Shortly after the deadly shooting on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Reynolds—an Oklahoma receiver—popped off with a violent tweet.
Saying this at anytime is completely inappropriate, but following such a tragic event in Austin made this one of the dumbest tweets of all-time.
Cappie Pondexter, New York Liberty
9 of 12
""What if God was tired of the way they treated their own people in there own country! Idk guys he makes no mistakes. u just never knw! They did pearl harbor so u can't expect anything less."
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Mendenhall's tweet was bad, and so was Reynolds, but Pondexter might have topped them both.
Shortly after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, Pondexter made this terrible assumption.
The only funny thing about this tweet is that you've likely never heard of it because you've also likely never heard of Pondexter.
LeBron James, Miami Heat
10 of 12
"“Crazy. Karma is a b****. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!”
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While you can probably see where Lebron is coming from, this tweet ended up making him look pretty foolish.
The city of Cleveland certainly gave James a tough time for leaving the Cavs, but I'm not sure a 112-57 loss to the Lakers was "karma" for their boos.
If it was, the Cavs returned the karma in March when they took down the Heat, 102-90.
Brian Ching, Houston Dynamo
11 of 12
"“Ref in seattle just cheated the dynamo. What a joke. Not even close. Ref is a cheat.”
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A professional athlete in any sport better think long and hard before he ever wants to use the words "ref" and "cheat" in the same sentence.
Obviously, Ching didn't think that through.
Whether you think a referee or official had a bad night or not, tweeting that he is a "cheat" is not the way to go about voicing that opinion.
Antonio Cromartie, San Diego Chargers
12 of 12
"“Man we have 2 have the most nasty food of any team. Damn can we upgrade 4 str8 years
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the same ish maybe that’s y we can’t we the SB we need.”
Where do you even start with this tweet?
First of all, is this even English? It's almost incomprehensible.
But not only is it a terrible attempt at writing the language, Cromarite's tweet is also a slap in the face of his franchise.
The Chargers fined him $2,500, then traded him a year later.
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