Bizarre Sports Stories We Won't Soon Forget

Some bizarre things happened in sports in the past 12 months. A Heisman Trophy winner starred in a crab leg heist, a giant bear took over the Olympics and a former NBA star befriended a dictator.

To be bizarre, something has to be unusual. It has to make you go, “Uh, what?” Some of following stories were funny, but others were just plain weird. I mean really, another athlete accidentally shot himself? 

Let’s dive in. Prepare to be perplexed. 

Josh Shaw Lie

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

In August, USC cornerback Josh Shaw suffered a pair of ankle sprains. At the time, he claimed the injuries were sustained when he jumped out of an apartment building to save his seven-year-old nephew from drowning in a pool.

A lovely tale to be sure, but it turned out Shaw’s story was false. USC was not pleased with the negative backlash, and Shaw was suspended from the team.  

Richard Sherman Interview

By now, Richard Sherman’s January interview with Erin Andrews seems commonplace. But do you remember watching that in live time? I remember thinking it was one of the most bizarre interviews I had ever seen.

Sherman had just made an incredible defensive play to seal the NFC championship for his Seattle Seahawks. His postgame interview with Erin Andrews was aggressive, to put it mildly, and Andrews clearly didn’t know what to do with herself.

Notable excerpts include, “I’m the best corner in the game!” Also, “When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna get!”

Lance Stephenson Blowing

Lance Stephenson takes the cake for bizarre sports moment that inspired an Internet meme.

During the Eastern Conference Finals, Stephenson blew in LeBron James’ ear in an apparent attempt to distract him. LeBron was not amused, but the Internet was.

Snake in a Locker Room

In May, the Portland Trail Blazers were in San Antonio for the Western Conference semifinals. When the players arrived at the visitors’ locker room, however, they got more than they bargained for.

Thomas Robinson found a snake in his locker and later said, “I was scared. I ain't gonna lie, I was scared,” according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Apparently one player even jumped up on his chair, and trainers had to reign in the beast. The players also assumed the snake was big and poisonous. Other reports said the snake was not poisonous and only 18 inches long. Either way, a snake in a professional locker room is weird. 

LeBron's Hairline

David Liam Kyle/Getty Images

I know what you’re thinking—who cares about LeBron James’ hairline? Yes, it is weird to talk about an athlete’s hairline so much, but whatever was actually going on with the King's hair was also weird.

Balls Don’t Lie provided an excellent photographic chronology of James' 2014 hairline. From June to September, it seems to move forward, while in September, it was substantially less substantial.

The royal hairline was even a subject of mockery by Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley on this segment of Inside the NBA.

Wintson's Crab Legs

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is no stranger to the spotlight, but perhaps the weirdest story he’s ever been involved in was that crab legs incident.

In April, Winston was cited for stealing crab legs from a grocery store. Actually it was crab legs and crawfish worth a total value of $32.17. TMZ released a video of the incident, and Winston got community service for the stunt.

A Heisman Trophy winner shoplifting crab legs. Come on.

Sochi Opening Ceremony

The Winter Olympics in Sochi featured a pretty bizarre opening ceremony.

The festivities took viewers through a tour of Russia’s history. It was a spectacular show, to be sure, but there were some head-scratching components, namely, an obscenely large bear and a lighting malfunction.

The bear was nicknamed “Nightmare Bear,” and one of the Olympic rings failed to illuminate properly. Awkward.

A-Rod’s Pee

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Alex Rodriguez has been the source of much controversy over the last few years, but with a season-long suspension in 2014, he managed to stay mostly out of the spotlight.

That is, until a story broke about his, uh, urine in November. Carmen Sucart, the wife of A-Rod’s cousin Yuri Sucart, told the New York Daily News (via NESN) that A-Rod peed on her patio. This was apparently meant as a threat to the family to discourage them from outing his PED use.

Sucart also alleged that A-Rod made fun of his cousin’s weight and teeth. Now that’s just mean.

Jose Canseco's Finger

Susan Walsh/Associated Press

You guys remember when Plaxico Burress shot himself, right? Well, Jose Canseco provided the 2014 update to that wacko story.

In October, the former slugger shot his finger off while cleaning his gun. His fiancé told the Los Angeles Times, “I heard the gun go off and saw his middle finger hanging by a string.” Blech!

Canseco had surgery to reattach the finger, but then claimed it fell off at a poker tournament. There was a video and a bloody costume finger and everything. It turned out the poker tournament thing was a hoax, but still, the whole story was really weird.

Sochi Living Quarters

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Leading up to the Winter Games in Sochi, there was a lot of news about the living conditions over in Russia. The athlete accommodations were OK, although one American bobsledder did have to break through a bathroom door after getting locked in.

The media accommodations on the other hand, were not ready on time, and this led to a slew of bizarre anecdotes. There was the yellow drinking water, the toilets that wouldn’t flush toilet paper, rogue doorknobs and much more.

Kudos to the brave media members who made it through.

Luis Suarez Bite

Hassan Ammar/Associated Press

The 2014 World Cup brought us a bite reminiscent of Tyson/Holyfield. This time, the affected area was not an ear, but the shoulder of th­­e Italian Giorgio Chiellini. The offender was Uruguayan opponent and serial biter Luis Suarez.

During the second half of Uruguay’s group-play match with Italy, Suarez sunk his teeth into Chiellini’s shoulder while the two jockeyed for position. FIFA suspended Suarez for four months, and the suspension was upheld on appeal.  

As mentioned, this wasn’t his first biting incident—it was his third.

Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-Un

Kim Kwang Hyon/Associated Press

A former NBA star befriends a North Korean dictator. This has to be the most bizarre sports story of the year, right?

Rodman visited North Korea several times and organized an exhibition basketball game to happen on Kim Jong-Un’s birthday. He opened up to Lindsay Silberman of Du Jour Magazine about his controversial friendship with the leader. In the interview, Rodman said that Un is “just like everybody else” and contradicted reports that Jong-Un’s uncle had been executed.

Recently, in November, Rodman said that a letter he wrote to Jong-Un was the reason American Kenneth Bae was freed from imprisonment in North Korea.