15 of the Most Cold-Hearted Moments in Sports

Competition is by it's very nature, cold-hearted—maybe not for those on the same team, but certainly when it comes to the relationship between two opponents. In sports, the competitive aspect is only one essential element. For pro franchises the business of being profitable often leads to decisions that are the very antithesis of compassionate; for varsity and collegiate athletics, the need to find the most talented athletes and get most out of them can being just as calculating.

And sometimes, cold-hearted things are cold-hearted for their own sake—or the result of pure chance. Now, this isn't to say that those moments in sports that seem like some of the coldest, aren't fair, or even funny—it all depends on the circumstances and how people perceive it. Money, the desire to win and humanity itself, are perfect ingredients for the cold-hearted.

These are 15 of the most cold-hearted moments in sports.

Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators Love the "Blackout"

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Entering their critical November matchup with the SEC East rival Florida Gators in 2001, the South Carolina Gamecocks were ranked No. 14 and feeling good about themselves. Then-head coach Lou Holtz urged fans attending the clash to "Blackout the Gators" by wearing all black.

Unfortunately for Gamecocks fans and Holtz, the team was facing a Gators team ranked No. 4 in the nation and coached by Steve Spurrier—an especially lethal combination for a team hoping to pull off a nationally televised upset.

Not only did the Gamecocks lose, they were brutalized 54-17—in spite of the team's faithful embracing the "Blackout." Worse still? After the game, Gators quarterback Rex Grossman told The Associated Press (h/t LA Times), "It was fun. It was like they weren't even there. They were blacked out. Then we drove them out, they left."

Jaromir Jagr Toys with Penguins Fans

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Paired with Mario Lemieux, future NHL Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr helped lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup victories in 1991 and 1992. But the Czech winger seemed somewhat aloof and never seemed to embrace the franchise and city (and vice versa) the same way as Lemieux.

When Jagr bolted the Pens for the Washington Capitals in 2001—after requesting a trade—Penguins fans did the opposite of declaring, "Water under the bridge." They were cheesed. As with the city's other two major sports, Penguins fans saw the move as a personal affront.

So, when the aging, limited star dangled the possibility of returning to the Cup-contending Pens in 2011, it only makes sense that fans descended into near hysterics over the opportunity to bring Jagr back 'home.' And both the Pittsburgh sports- and social-media spheres spiraled into a chaotic rumor mill (with its own hash-tag: #JagrWatch.)

But in the end, Jagr proved once again that second to scoring goals, he's a masterful tormentor of Pens fans—not only did he not sign with the team, he signed with the hated Philadelphia Flyers. Colder still? It's happening again.

Bill Belichick Cuts Player Day Before Super Bowl

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Roster moves in the hours leading up to the Super Bowl are a rare phenomenon. And when they do happen, either it's due to an injury or some other extraordinary circumstances. So, even if you're a player not likely to see any action on Super Bowl Sunday, you probably don't expect to get released on Saturday.

In 2012, former New England Patriots wide receiver Tiquan Underwood learned that not even shaving the team's logo into the back of your head precludes the merciless calculus of head coach Bill Belichick. 

The day before the Patriots' clash with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, the likely inactive Underwood was cut to make room for likely inactive defensive lineman (and practice squad player) Alex Silvestro—because...Belichick.

At least Underwood could take solace in the fact the team was upset, again, by the Giants.

Bumgarner Crushes the Royals' Dreams

Elsa/Getty Images

The Kansas City Royals have long been the kind of club that isn't supposed to be playing in Game 7 of the World Series. Since George Brett and the Royals won the team's only World Series championship in 1985, it's long been an example of a small-market club that struggles to compete against bigger-spending American League rivals.

Yet, here they were in the 2014 World Series, locked in a Game 7 battle with the antithetic San Francisco Giants—the Royals were a feel-good story and a team that seemed destined for a happy ending.

Then World Series MVP pitcher Madison Bumgarner entered the game to start the fifth Inning, with the Giants up 3-2; this just 48 hours after he threw 117 pitches in a Game 5 shutout. Instead of wilting under pressure or giving into fatigue, Bumgarner capped his historic postseason by coolly pulling the plug on the Royal's Cinderella season.

LeBron James Gives Kid 'Dunk Face' Lesson

Before NBA superstar LeBron James returned to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 and became all vulnerable and frustrated, he was Darth Vader leading an Evil Empire known as the Miami Heat.

And there is no better example of King James of the Dark Side than when he brutally dunked on a poor, unsuspecting kid at a youth basketball camp in 2011.

LeBron James Rips out Cleveland's Heart

Now that LeBron James has returned to where his NBA career started, in an encore performance with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his original departure almost seems like ancient history. And while the city and the team's fans put aside any hard feelings once James made it clear he was coming back, his "Decision" in 2010 will echo forever across the sports universe.

Frustrated with the team's inability to add the talented players needed to truly contend for an NBA championship, he turned the penultimate moment of his free agency into televised ESPN spectacle called The Decision.

Though few were surprised when James announced he's be leaving Cleveland to join Dwyane Wade and a host of stars with the Miami Heat (where he won consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013), the way he did it set a new standard for cajonés.  

'Refrigerator' Perry Adds Insult to Injury

Mike Powell/Getty Images

The New England Patriots really didn't stand a chance in Super Bowl XX. Facing a Chicago Bears defense considered to be one of, if not, the greatest of all time, the Patriots looked hapless and were already down 23-3 at halftime.

And late in the third quarter, now leading 37-3 and on the Patriots 1-yard line, former Bears head coach Mike Ditka lined up mammoth defensive lineman William "Refrigerator" Perry in the backfield (a role he occasionally played in the regular season.) So, a big, fat guy who's paid to be a wall plunged into the end zone for what would be the last score by the offense in the 47-10 destruction of a Patriots team that obviously had better days ahead. 

The question is—what was colder, handing the ball off to a 350-pound defensive tackle on the goal line, or not giving it to your future Hall of Fame running back, Walter Payton, who didn't score a single touchdown? 

Mike Vanderjagt Taunted by Middle Schooler

DARRON CUMMINGS/Associated Press

Is there any job in sports that is more lonely and thankless than being an NFL kicker? So little is expected of them over the course of four quarters, but in those moments when the game is on the line, the margin for error is zero. Bad kickers rarely redeem themselves before their young career is declared dead, and good kickers can erase a great career with a single shank.

Former NFL kicker Mike Vanderjagt falls into the latter category, which means that he lives in a world the will never forget...his choke-tacular shank with the Indianapolis Colts against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2006 playoffs.

And in 2012, he heard about it—not from a middle-aged man or woman on the street—but a middle school student who taunted Vanderjagt with, "Wide left, wide left!" For added effect, the kid used a improvised megaphone created from rolled up poster board.

But, you can tell Vanderjagt doesn't let the haters get to him, because he allegedly grabbed the student by the throat. If he could play it cool, he should have pointed at the little jerk and said, "It was wide right, idiot."

Pitt Dumps Dave Wannstedt, Todd Graham Dumps Pitt

John Beale/Associated Press

The University of Pittsburgh's football program was not in a good place in 2011, after six-year head coach Dave Wannstedt (who essentially called Pitt his dream job) "resigned" following a disappointing 7-5 season that began with the Panthers penned in as the favorite to win the Big East.

Pitt initially thought it had found its man in Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood, but shortly after he was hired, Haywood was arrested for domestic violence. The school quickly pulled the plug on the new hire and then found—for real this time—the man to lead the program, Tulsa coach Todd Graham.

After a single, lackluster 6-6 season, Graham jumped on the opportunity to fill the vacancy at storied football powerhouse, Arizona State—calling his decision to take the job at Pitt as a "mistake" and his time there a "struggle" (among other unflattering statements).

Seahawks Coach Thinks We're All Dumb

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

You would think that a play call so monumentally inexplicable that it transcends transcends gender, level of interest in football and knowledge of how the game is played, would render the perpetrator powerless to be anything but contrite. Well, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has proved otherwise.

After the Seahawks seemed to take a probable Super Bowl XLIX victory and choke it away by not doing the one thing the whole world (including his own team) seems to agree should have been done—give punishing running back Marshawn Lynch the ball near the goal line—Bevell chose to pin the blame on receiver Ricardo Lockette.

Saying Lockette, "[C]ould've done a better job at staying strong through the ball," not only did Bevell stop one step short on the logic ladder, but he dumped the agony of his bad decision on the existing agony of losing the young player is already shouldering.  

50 Cent Says Floyd Mayweather Jr. Can't Read

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

There was a time in the past that rapper/entrepreneur 50 Cent and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. were friends; one of those celebrity-athlete pairings that was tight enough that two were photographed regularly at various places and events. Then the two had a falling out in 2012, due to reasons too convoluted for a single, simple explanation—though money seems to be the biggest culprit.

Well, if there was any hope for a reconciliation, it was killed when a ratcheting war of words between the two and their crews culminated in 50 Cent basically accusing Mayweather Jr., a high school dropout, of being unable to read.

Accusations of illiteracy is some next-level smack-talk, and the star boxer didn't find humor in 50 Cent challenging him to "read a full page out of a Harry Potter book out loud without starting and stopping or f-----g up" with a $750,000 charitable donation at stake.

Girls High School Basketball Team Obliterates Opponent 100-0

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

In 2009, the Covenant School of Dallas' varsity girls basketball team pasted Dallas Academy (which entered the game on a four-season losing streak) 100-0, a score that requires a mind boggling number of shots taken and an equally astounding shots made.

Head coach Micah Grimes was unapologetic for dropping 100 on another team that was essentially less of an opponent than the air itself and despite not breaking any rules, was fired by the school. Regardless of whether he was right or wrong—or the school overreacted—the squad still beat the living daylights out of an opponent that would have tapped out, if tapping out was possible.

US Gymnast Jordyn Wieber Misses Cut for All-Around Final

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Olympic gymnasts spend countless hours training for a one-week competition that either validates the years of tireless dedication and pain or squanders it. For the elite of the elite, this means being prepared to perform nearly flawlessly in the finals—qualifying is just part of the process.

For then-reigning all-around world champion, U.S. Women's Gymnast Jordyn Wieber, the unthinkable happened at the 2012 London Summer Games: She failed to make the cut for the all-around final. Wieber finished third and ensured that competition would not feature the favorite to win it.

No person, or entity, was needlessly cruel—Wieber simply wasn't her best in that moment and nothing is as cold-hearted in sports than when you fail for no reason beyond not being good enough at the worst possible time.

The Colts Don't Understand What's a Legit Excuse

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Indianapolis Colts don't need to explain why they have buyer's remorse over running back Trent Richardson's price tag. The team gave up a first-round draft pick for the underachieving Richardson and took on his first-round valued rookie contract. What did the Colts get from Richardson? Almost nothing as he couldn't even produce enough to make it onto the field by the end of the 2014 season.

However, instead of cutting their losses and releasing him, the Colts are trying to avoid paying the $3.8 million remaining on his contract by saying Richardson had an unexcused absence from practice and the team's flight before the AFC Championship Game.

What situation simply didn't meet the Colts' lofty standard for an excusable absence? A medical emergency suffered by his pregnant girlfriend that required Richardson to rush her to the hospital. 

Art Modell Sneaks a Beloved NFL Franchise Out of Cleveland

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

In the 1980s and early 1990s the Cleveland Browns—the franchise of Jim Brown and Otto Graham—were struggling to win and struggling to bring in enough revenue to become a consistent winner. And after years of saying the team needed better facilities (turning down the offer of a new stadium in the process), owner Art Modell suddenly moved the franchise to Baltimore in November 1995.

The Browns became the Ravens—and outraged fans faced the indignity of watching their former franchise win a Super Bowl just five years later.