12 Athletes Who Hear Everything You Say About Them
In these days of social media, it's hard for any athlete to ignore comments made about him/her, but some athletes are more dialed-in than others.
If you’re a reporter, member of the media or just general human with a Twitter account, be careful what you say. These athletes will catch wind of it, and their reactions might not always be positive.
These athletes are so in tune with what is being said about them because they do not shy away from attention in general. They relish attention from the media and fans, and that is why they are inspired to respond to it.
Media members should be cautious about how they portray Brandon Marshall or Robert Griffin III. General Twitter users might want to think twice (or not, in the case of the Roddy White bet) about tweeting directly at athletes.
Here are 12 athletes that you can’t get anything past.
Honorable Mention: Matt Barkley
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I’m not sure how into social media Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley really is, but it looks like if you tweet about his flame-throwing skills, he’ll get at you.
Roddy White
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If you say something about Roddy White’s Dukies, he’ll hear about it, and he’ll make a bet with you.
Or, at least, he would have, before he hopefully learned his lesson.
Some dude on Twitter apparently knew that White was a Duke fan and tweeted at him during the 2014 NCAA tournament: “Mercer gonna beat em in the first round!”
White tweeted back that he would give the guy season tickets if that happened.
Well, you know what happened next.
White initially refused to pay up, but he eventually gave in.
J.R. Smith
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J.R. Smith maybe dated Rihanna briefly? Maybe not. Either way, RiRi suggested via social media in 2013 that hangovers might be the cause of Smith’s poor play.
Smith obviously heard about this and commented to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, “I'm not worried about Instagram, I'm worried about the playoffs.”
Later that same year, Smith was fined by the NBA for posting threatening tweets to Brandon Jennings of the Detroit Pistons.
And of course, the one that made him most infamous...also known as the "pipe incident."
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Brandon Marshall
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Brandon Marshall is not happy about how ESPN portrayed him in a 2014 production on him for E:60, and he let the world know about it on Twitter.
Marshall is no stranger to the media. In fact, he signed on to be a part of Inside The NFL on Showtime, despite his status as an active NFL player.
Hope Solo
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Hope Solo is no stranger to fame or controversy.
In addition to dealing with various legal issues, Solo finds time to blast fellow soccer players on Twitter.
During a U.S. national team game in 2012, Brandi Chastain commented during the broadcast (via USA Today), “As a defender, your responsibilities are to defend ... win the ball, and then keep possession. And that's something that Rachel Buehler actually needs to improve on in this tournament.”
Solo was not a fan of the comments and tweeted to Chastain, “Lay off commentating about defending and gking until you get more educated @brandichastain.”
A little ragey for some simple game analysis, which, I might point out, was Chastain’s job.
Oh, Solo smack-talked Julie Foudy on Twitter too.
Richard Sherman
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If there was anyone who didn’t know Richard Sherman before the 2013 NFC Championship Game, everyone sure knew him after.
The Seattle Seahawks cornerback became a media sensation—his Super Bowl media day was one of the most highly anticipated ever, and he relished the attention.
Sherman knows what the media is saying, and he knows what other athletes are saying about him too. In February 2014, he and Darrelle Revis engaged in some Twitter battling over who is, in fact, the best corner in the league.
ED. - *AFC changed to NFC.
Terrell Owens
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No one loves media attention more than Terrell Owens, and he especially loved it in his playing days.
He famously cried defending Tony Romo from the cruel criticism of the media in 2008.
Back then, Owens was very in tune with what the media had to say about him. In fact, in 2012, he blamed the media for his inability to get a job with an NFL team.
He’s still certainly not shy—he has appeared on several reality television shows, written a few books (?) and signed with a modeling agency.
Robert Griffin III
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Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has received his fair share of media attention.
But in 2013, it got to be a bit too much.
Griffin accused the media of attempting to “character assassinate” him when rumors spread that he didn’t want any of his less-than-stellar plays displayed to the team during film review.
Griffin is also active on social media, regularly defending himself against those who may doubt him.
Lolo Jones
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Lolo Jones is more often the one instigating things than she is the one reacting to them, like that time she blasted both Drake and Rihanna on Twitter.
Jones has had her boo-hoo moments as well, though.
In 2012, when she came just short of winning Olympic gold in the 100-meter hurdles, she said the media “ripped her to shreds” in the preceding days and commented on how upsetting it was.
Oh, also, she got really upset over her elimination from Dancing With The Stars, and she really wants people to stop teasing her.
Deion Sanders
10 of 13This one is an oldie but a goodie.
Back in 1992, Deion Sanders, a two-sport athlete, was pretty irked at Tim McCarver.
McCarver had criticized Sanders for playing in an Atlanta Falcons game the day before an Atlanta Braves playoff game.
Sanders purposely sought out McCarver during the locker room celebration after a Braves victory and doused him with water several times.
Lesson: Be careful what you say about Deion Sanders.
Floyd Mayweather
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Floyd Mayweather is constantly in the media spotlight—hanging out with celebrities, engaging in Twitter beefs and concerning himself with public opinion.
Most recently, 50 Cent insinuated that Mayweather is illiterate via Twitter, and very public virtual jabbing ensued.
Kyrie Irving
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Kyrie Irving is clearly someone who pays attention to what the media says about him—or at least he did when rumors of his unhappiness with the Cleveland Cavaliers were all the rage (pre-LeBron homecoming, obviously).
Irving took to Twitter in April 2014 to address all the media speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
And it wasn’t just the media. Irving blasted Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon as well after he made comments about possible negativity in the Cavaliers locker room.
Dwight Howard
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One of the things celebrities often say about Twitter is that it’s a great way to interact with their fans.
Well, Dwight Howard was definitely in tune with what Los Angeles Lakers fans had to say regarding his departure in 2013.
He was very active on Twitter, and when fans attempted to engage him, he obliged.
It’s probably better not to pay attention to every little tweet a fan sends you, since some of them are bound to be negative and critical.
Some of Howard’s responses certainly weren’t the way of the high road. One woman told him he'd never win a ring, and he responded with, "with that face ion think u getting one either lol." Burn.
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