5 Athletes Who Have Repaired Their Images After Scandal

Star athletes have it all, the money, the fame, the women, the list goes on and on. But some athletes like to abuse that power and see just how far they can go with it.

There are many things that can hurt a stars image, especially in this media world we live in now. If you do something, we hear about it and it is often magnified.

Repairing your image may be one of the toughest things an athlete will ever have to do in his or her career. But fans love to give second chances and always enjoy a good comeback story.

Here are five athletes that we have learn to forgiven or are in the process of.

Ray Lewis

In Ray Lewis fifth season in the NFL a fight broke out following a Super Bowl party in year 2000. Two men ended up stabbed to death. Lewis was one of three men that were indicted on murder charges.

The murder charges were later dismissed and Lewis plead guilty to obstruction of justice. He was fined $250,000 by the NFL and sentenced to 12 months probation. 

There is no question Lewis got lucky but his reputation took a major hit. He was looked at as just another thug in the NFL that didn't deserve the privilege to play this game. 

Fast forward 11 years from now and Lewis is looked at as a leader on and off the field. We all know about the hall of fame resume on the field with almost 2,000 career tackles, 30 interceptions and somebody who makes clutch play, after clutch play. But Lewis is also a guy who leads his team, mentors young kids, and does endless charity work.

Since the incident in 2000, Lewis went on to win a Super Bowl, make the cover of the Madden video game and appear in numerous television ads like the ones for Old Spice.

Lewis's life could have ended up much worse on the night of January 31, 2000 but instead he will be remembered as one of the greatest defensive players ever and will be enshrined in the NFL hall of fame.

Kobe Bryant

It was the summer of 2003, and Kobe Bryant was arrested in connection of sexual assault in a 19 year old hotel employee. The young girl accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room. Bryant admitted sexual encounters with the woman but denied any sexual assault.

In 2004 the charges were dropped because the young girl refused to testify during the trial.

Kobe Bryant's reputation took a major hit from being called a rapist at away games to losing big endorsements. The situation also nearly ended his marriage.

Eight years later, most people have forgotten about the whole incident. Although there are still lots of fans that don't like Kobe Bryant, most of that is out of respect for how good of a player he is.

Since 2003, Bryant has went on to win two more championships, a NBA MVP award, and several more all star appearances. He also went on to win an Olympic good medal in 2008. 

No question Kobe Bryant could be in a lot worse shape than he is now if he was found guilty. Instead he is still considered one of the top players in the league today and will forever be considered one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Michael Vick

We all know the story that has been brought up over and over the last couple of years. In 2007 Michael Vick was arrested on felony charges of operating an unlawful interstate dog fighting venture. Vick plead guilty to funding the operation and sharing proceeds. He also admitted to drowning or hanging dogs that didn't perform well in the ring.

Vick was sentenced to serve 23 months in a federal prison. 

Out of all the players on this list, Vick lost the most. His 130 million dollar contract with the Atlanta Falcons was gone, his endorsements were canceled, and he had to file for bankruptcy in 2008.

When Vick was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, he had to prove himself again as a football player. In 2010 he had the best season of his career, throwing for over 3,000 yards, rushing for 676 yards and 30 total touchdowns.

Vick has proven himself on the football field and is trying to repair his image off it by working with the humane society and doing public speaking.

Vick has secured the starting quarterback position for the Eagles and was even picked up by Nike again in July of 2011.

Although he is still reminded by the horrible things he took part in, there is no question he is trying to put that all behind him and is heading in the right direction.

Ben Roethlisberger

Roethlisberger has been a headache ever since he came in the league. Involved in a motorcycle accident in 2006 that nearly took his life. He was not wearing a helmet and ruptured a major blood vessel in his mouth and was minutes from dying.

He has also been involved in two sexual assault allegations. The first one was in 2009, were he was accused of sexual assaulting a woman in a hotel room at a celebrity golf tournament. The case is still ongoing.

In 2010, Roethlisberger was once again accused of sexual assault, this time it was a 20 year old inside the women's restroom of a nightclub. The case was later dropped because there was not enough evidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. He was later suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season.

Roethlisberger still has plenty of work to do to help fix his image but his case is a little different than the others. This may just be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He is constantly giving back to charity and has founded the Ben Roethlisberger foundation that gives back to police and fire departments.

Roethlisberger is just a young guy that sometimes gets too caught up in the fame and is still a little immature.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods seemed to be the perfect athlete. He was at the top of his game and never really got into any trouble. He had almost every endorsement imaginable and was the richest athlete on the planet. The poster boy for sports.

That all changed in 2009 when over a dozen women claimed they had had affairs with the golfer, including one that lasted two-and-a-half years. Woods later admitted to infidelity, offered an apology and announced he would be taking a hiatus from professional golf. 

Woods has since lost his marriage and tons of endorsements over the incident. On the golf course, he also hasn't been the same since, not winning a single tournament.

Although it's only a matter of time before he gets back in the swing of things on the golf course, Tiger remains the highest paid athlete, earning $110 million over the last 12 months. He was the highest paid sports figure for the eighth straight year.

Though Tiger has already gotten some of his endorsements back, PGA ratings are down now that he is on his break from golf. 

He will never again be the poster boy with this on his résumé, but fans have learned to forgive and are just hoping that Tiger is able to bounce back on the golf course.