Slippery Slope of Sleaze

With so much money, fame, and glamour at stake, sleaziness is a must to really get your way to the top of big-time American sports. I tried to narrow a list down to 10 but that was just too difficult so I am giving you all 12 of the sleaziest people in sports:

12. Mike Price

Who? Yeah, Mike Price, the former head football coach of the Washington State Cougars had outstanding seasons in Pullman and parlayed it into a job offer from the University of Alabama.

But before the season even got underway, Price was spotted at a strip club in Pensacola, Fla., and allegedly checked into a hotel room with one of the exotic dancers from the club!

Not only did Price sleaze it up at a professional level, bringing an afterthought program to a big-time bowl game then leaving them high and dry, but he also...

11. Clay Bennett

I know I haven’t gotten out of the state of Washington yet, but this guy was just too good to pass up.

Clay Bennett, an Oklahoma City native, purchased the Seattle Supersonics in 2006 from Howard Shultz amidst issues regarding the lease at Key Arena and renovations that “needed to be made.”

Bennett promised the city that he would do everything in his power to keep the Sonics in Seattle. However, Bennett went back on his word and before Washingtonians could feel the rain on their North Faces, the Sonics were headed to Oklahoma City.

Not only did Bennett move the team, but also through a private investigation it was discovered that his intentions upon purchasing the team were to indeed move them to Oklahoma City instead of keeping them in their birthplace of Seattle.

10. Bobby Petrino

The Michael Vick dog-fighting trial might have overshadowed this one-time Atlanta Falcons coach, but his sleaziness cannot be forgotten.

Petrino pushed a lackluster Louisville program into the national picture with his creative offensive schemes. After being wooed in the offseason by several other big programs and a couple of NFL teams, Louisville decided to lock up their man to a 10-year contract.

Less than a year after signing the deal, Petrino left the university for the seemingly greener pastures of the NFL. Petrino’s first season with the Falcons was not going as planned so he decided to leave the team with three games left on the schedule.

How did he let his players know he was leaving them? A classy note left in each player’s locker; now that’s downright sleazy!

9. Isiah Thomas

I know it’s tough to kick Zeke while he’s down, but it’s just too easy! Isiah Thomas single-handedly fueled the Bulls–Pistons rivalry in the early 90s and accused Michael Jordan and friends of “freezing” him out of the Olympic basketball dream teams.

Thomas carried this love for controversy into his golden years, with a salty departure from the Raptors in 1998, destroying the CBA, blaming Larry Bird for his decline with the Pacers, and last but not least, the entire Knicks fiasco.

8. Bud Selig

Now I bet I sound like a bully, going after an unemployed Zeke and a seemingly behind the scenes Bud Selig, but, like oil and water, true sleaze will always rise to the top.

After ousting MLB commissioner Fay Vincent, Selig took the helm in 1992, quickly acting as the right hand man to many owners who felt that the players union had gotten too strong.

Selig’s biggest accomplishment to date is turning a blind eye to an entire decade of steroid-enhanced fastballs and homers and then having the audacity to play dumb and pass the buck to the players.

Bud is the first one to reap the compliments and the first to hide behind the players when the bullets start flying.

7. Jose Canseco

Hold on! Canseco is only No. 7 on the list? This guy is one of the all-time sports slimeballs, but he isn’t in my top 5 because the stuff he talked of in his own book and interviews actually turned out to be somewhat truthful.

Canseco made the powder mullet fashionable in the early 90s and brought steroids to America’s national pastime.

6. Al Davis

No one is too old for my list; at the ripe old age of 79, Davis is the senior member of the list. Big old Al ripped the Raiders from Oakland in 1982 only to move them back 13 years later, realizing that there indeed is a reason why Los Angeles doesn’t deserve an NFL franchise.

Davis is also infamous for his handling (or lack thereof) of coaches and players, often times running a young coach out of time before he hits his prime (shout out to Mike Shanahan and hopefully Lane Kiffin).

5. Drew Rosenhaus

It’s hard to knock a guy who keeps getting T.O. second chances and got Willis McGahee drafted by an NFL team after getting his knee destroyed on national television in the Fiesta Bowl, but this guy is downright sleazy.

Rosenhaus is well-known for talking to clients of other agents, as well as turning his own clients into recruiters for his own firm.

4. George Steinbrenner

The Boss! Steinbrenner is one of the most notorious personalities in all of sports, from his endless wallet down to his priceless facial expressions during Yankees October collapses, George belongs on the Mount Rushmore of baseball owners.

Unfortunately, Steinbrenner has used less than stellar tactics over the decades to get what he wants.

The Boss has recycled managers and other personnel like none other. Steinbrenner went as far as hiring a private investigator to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield to release to the media; now that is sleazy!

3. Scott Boras

This super agent has negotiated some of the richest contracts in sports history; he is also to blame for many of the problems in baseball today. Many credit him to the widening of the gap between the spending teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc.) and the small market teams struggling to compete (Royals, Athletics, and Marlins).

Boras’ strong-handed tactics have also done damage to his own clients, several General Managers refuse to draft or negotiate with players represented by Boras. 

In 2007, Boras was even excused from the contract negotiations between Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees!

2. Alex Rodriguez

A-rod, also known as A-roid, is the reigning king of sleaze. He was once referred to as the new clean home run king, but this past off season it was discovered that he had indeed failed a drug test in 2003 and when cornered admitted to using between 2001-2003.

A-roid doesn’t just keep the sketchiness to his professional life, but lets it play to his personal life, while on a road trip in Toronto, Rodriguez was photographed with an exotic dancer holding hands entering a hotel.

Alex is one of the best baseball players of his generation but is light-years behind when it comes to public relations and how he relates to his teammates.

1. Roger Clemens

The Rocket is widely regarded as one of the best pitchers of all time, using an overpowering fastball and an unhittable splitter to get hitters out.

In his latter years, Clemens became popular for throwing broken bats at an unsuspecting Mike Piazza and sitting out spring training only to “unretire” just in time for a contending team to make a run at a pennant.

The Rocket’s largest moment was proclaiming his innocence in regards to steroid use; even his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, came across as a huge sleaze ball when it came to the denial.

Defending Clemens became a fad on Baseball Tonight until Brian McNamee’s story became increasingly believable.

Now, Clemens has seemingly faded into the background only to be harassed by federal prosecutors who once harassed fellow ‘roid monkey Barry Bonds.