The Most Criticized Sports Stars of the 2000s

While most envy the lives of rich and famous sports stars, not all elite athletes have it easy. In fact, whether fair or unfair, some are forced to endure relentless, brutal and sometimes life-altering criticism.

In baseball, for example, fans and players both in and outside of New York endlessly ridicule Alex Rodriguez.

And in football, guys such as Tony Romo and Jay Cutler are bashed in similarly ruthless ways.

Tennis champion Serena Williams is vulnerable to critical and frequently cruel commentary.

With these athletes in mind, we’ve compiled a list spotlighting the most criticized sports stars of the century.

In doing so, it’s worth noting, we only considered athletes who are or were criticized for sports-related reasons, essentially eliminating guys such as Michael Vick, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Jameis Winston from the discussion.

That said, we nonetheless had plenty of athletes from which to choose, as the 21st century has provided us with an abundance of superstar punching bags.

Joe Thornton

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Joe Thornton needs a Stanley Cup title to silence critics.

Over the last 15 years or so, while suiting up for both the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, Joe Thornton has unquestionably stood out as one of hockey’s elite players.

His immense talent and on-ice accomplishments, however, serve as the nesting grounds from which nearly all of the center’s criticism emanates. Simply put, the mammoth 36-year-old is a six-time All-Star who has won both the Art Ross and Hart Memorial trophies. But, more importantly, he hasn’t captured a single Stanley Cup title.

And for a player of the caliber of Jumbo Joe, playoff success, or in his case, failure—in 131 career outings, he has recorded just 100 points—quickly becomes the sole measuring stick.

Worse yet, after leading San Jose to the fourth-best record in all of hockey in 2014 and then missing the playoffs altogether in 2015, it doesn’t seem like Thornton is getting any closer to silencing his critics.

Tony Stewart

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Tony Stewart's ego and temper have made him easy to criticize.

No athlete is as critical of their sport, its fans and analysts as Tony Stewart, so it’s only fitting the whiny complainer takes plenty of criticism in return.

One source of Stewart criticism is the driver’s weight. In a sport where competitors are frequently disregarded as athletes, most drivers like to differentiate themselves from the out-of-shape Stewart, while some even mock their robust competitor.

Most frequently, though, the elite driver has been criticized for his volatile disposition and excessive temper, to which a whole collection of drivers—such as Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski—can certainly attest.

Luis Suarez

Doug Benc/Associated Press

If, like Luis Suarez, you bite numerous opponents, expect criticism to follow.

Though our list is home to numerous cheaters and poor sports, it can claim only one perpetual biter.

His name: Luis Suarez.

Suarez wasn’t the first and won’t be the last biter in sports. What makes the Uruguayan so unique, however, is the shocking regularity with which he bites players on the other team.

In 2010, he lost his mind and took a bite of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal’s neck.

In 2013, he struck—or quite literally, bit—again, this time giving Serbian meat a taste.

Then, at the 2014 World Cup, with the entire planet watching and after most assumed he had learned his lesson—don’t play soccer on an empty stomach—Suarez did the unthinkable and proved us wrong again.

And even though all the biting generated more than enough criticism to land him on our list, we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention that Suarez is a cheater and was found guilty of racial abuse too.

Man, he sounds like fun!

Carmelo Anthony

Associated Press

Carmelo Anthony hasn't played meaningful basketball in years and has been criticized accordingly.

For sports fans and analysts alike, the love affair with Carmelo Anthony came to a crashing end in 2011, when the discontent ‘baller demanded a trade from Denver to New York.

To those who believe contracts should be honored and leaders should lead rather than leave, Anthony’s departure from the Nuggets was seen as reprehensible and weak.

At the time, his goal was to be like LeBron James and team up with another superstar—in this case, Amar’e Stoudemire—and just like with James, people lost respect for Anthony in his shameful search for greener pastures.

More importantly, since arriving in the Big Apple—his dream destination—Anthony has actually done nothing but lose.

It's been three seasons since an Anthony-led team has made a postseason appearance and even longer since one has mattered—the last time the former No. 3 overall pick made it out of the first round occurred all the way back in 2009.

Amid all the losing, the forward’s stat-driven game—which often makes sacrifices in areas such as defense and selflessness—has become a target for hate to the point that even his former coaches feel the need to be heard.

At this point, the titleless Anthony really can’t win; some even questioned the way he decided to deal with his recent season-ending injury.

Sidney Crosby

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

Despite all the winning he does, Sidney Crosby is still criticized for being "soft."

Not all criticism is justified, and in the case of Sidney Crosby, that’s certainly the case.

People love to hate on and poke holes in the beasts on top, and as the most decorated player in ice hockey, Crosby is just that. He’s won the Art Ross Trophy twice, the Lester B. Pearson Award three times, the Hart Memorial Trophy two times, is a five-time All-Star and a Stanley Cup champion.

And as if all the winning wasn’t enough ammo for haters worldwide, he is also mocked for being a “soft” whiner who dives and is disrespectful.

Jay Cutler

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Jay Cutler is regularly bashed for failing to live up to expectations.

It isn’t exactly hard to find the source, or sources, of Jay Cutler criticism.

For one, his perceived talent—regardless of accuracy—has never translated to the wins everyone expects, and his preparation has occasionally been questioned as a result. Most recently, Cutler engineered a Chicago-sized meltdown, quarterbacking the Bears to a miserable 5-11 campaign in 2014, which included a five-game losing streak to end the season.

But the criticism Cutler receives isn’t solely about all the Ls on his resume; it’s all a bit subtler and more abstract than that.

On the surface, Cutler’s a moper. Worse yet, he’s a moper who plays quarterback—football’s most visible and important position—in one of America’s most blue-collar cities.

When you add arrogance and an overall lack of accountability to an equation that’s already filled with depressing failure and letdown, the result is a monsoon of overwhelming criticism and hate.

Just ask former teammate Brandon Marshall!

Johnny Manziel

David Richard/Associated Press

Johnny Manzie's issues with arrogance, alcohol and entitlement have made him as easy target.

When it comes to Johnny Manziel, there’s an entire catalogue of reasons to criticize him. From disrespecting the Mannings, to NCAA investigations, run-ins with the law and flipping off opponents, Johnny Football has stoked just about every sports fan’s fire.

His arrogance, too, has at times been overwhelming. He’s tried to trademark numerous nicknames—including Johnny Football, the House That Johnny Built and Johnny Cleveland—and also infamously coined one of the most trite and obnoxious celebrations in all of sports.

Because of it all, Mr Football has received an avalanche of justifiable verbal bashing.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

John Locher/Associated Press

Even at 48-0, people criticize Floyd Mayweather for dodging opponents.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has received plenty of criticism over the years. When you consider he nicknamed himself Money Mayweather, that isn’t all that surprising.

While he’s managed for the most part to back things up with his fists—Mayweather is a perfect 48-0 in his professional career—Money’s brash personality and over-the-top bravado fuels many a fire.

Just ask Larry Merchant!

Until recently, he was also criticized for dodging Manny Pacquiao. In May, when the two finally fought, he still didn’t pacify all his critics; after all, Mayweather waited until Manny was 36 before meeting him in the ring.

It isn’t all about Pacquiao, as some have hassled Junior for ducking many others.

Finally, and most importantly, even when Mayweather takes on the toughest of competition, his defensive style of fighting is simply boring to watch.

Dwight Howard

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Many consider Dwight Howard both whiny and soft.

The case of Dwight Howard is a unique one, as he’s one of the few athletes who quickly transformed from affable to unlikeable right before our eyes.

To be precise, Howard bashing began in earnest in 2012, when he preached loyalty only to turn on the Orlando Magic a matter of months later by demanding a trade and crushing the team’s leverage in the process.

And the mammoth center didn’t exactly rebuild goodwill when he fled from Kobe Bryant—who calls Howard “soft”—and L.A.’s lofty expectations just one year later.

Throughout it all, Howard’s whiny on-court antics have only added to the critical onslaught.

“All the time,” said Vince Carter when asked about Howard's complaining, per CBS Sports. “He’s always talking about how I'm a crybaby. I was like, ‘Yo, you're the biggest crybaby I know.'”

Mark Sanchez

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Since 2010, Mark Sanchez has been the opposite of a fan favorite.

When your college head coach publicly criticizes you for leaving school too early, you know it’s going to be a long—or short—professional career.

And on the topic of Mark Sanchez, Pete Carroll couldn’t have been more right.

After what was actually a pretty decent start to his NFL career—which included postseason appearances in 2009 and 2010—Sanchez regressed significantly over the next three seasons, playing embarrassingly bad football before getting run out of New York.

It didn’t help that he was fed to the Big Apple’s most critical wolves straight out of college. And neither did all-time bad plays such as this.

As expected, the combination of the two made the QB a lightning rod for criticism and mockery.

But even when quarterback whisperer Chip Kelly gave Sanchez another chance in 2014, he was a disaster in Philadelphia too.

Terrell Owens

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Terrell Owens was justifiably criticized for feuding with quarterbacks, among other things.

Throughout his 15-year pro football career, Terrell Owens was criticized plenty and for a number of different reasons.

Most notably, Owens drew the ire of onlookers for his quarterback-killing ways, laying waste to nearly every signal-caller with whom he played.

He first unnecessarily feuded in San Francisco with Jeff Garcia—which boiled over when the wideout implied the quarterback was gay—and then fell out of favor in Philly when he, for no apparent reason, turned friend Donovan McNabb into an outright enemy.

Next up, Owens burned bridges in Dallas, alienating himself from the affable Tony Romo even though the Cowboys sported one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL.

At every stop, without fail, Owens managed to wear out his welcome and was criticized accordingly.

TO’s prima donna ways, on-field spectacles and far-too-frequent drops didn’t help his cause, either.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Hrant Khachatryan/Associated Press

Cristiano Ronaldo has given people plenty of reason to criticize.

Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t just one of the best soccer players in the world; he’s arguably one of best to ever play the game.

That, however, hasn’t stopped fans and analysts from frequently attacking the polarizing striker.

For starters, his good looks and slicked-back hair have contributed to a persona that seems to frequently induce nausea among soccer fans worldwide. Just ask famous actor and diehard San Lorenzo fan Vigo Mortensen, who not too long ago called Ronaldo out for being a pretty boy who has “frequent poor performances in the big games.”

And beyond his somewhat “soft” image, the Portuguese goal scorer is regularly criticized for his selfish and arrogant ways—both on and off the field—and his recent red-card producing tantrum did nothing to dispel such opinions.

Piling on, former English forward and current Sky Sports analyst Terry Gibson says Real Madrid should sell the volatile forward, arguing that his “obsession” with goals actually hurts his team. And while one could argue that Ronaldo’s job is precisely to be obsessed with goals, it’s increasingly hard to argue that isn’t, especially after this recent embarrassment.

Of course, the list of Ronaldo critiques goes on…and on.

According to former coach Jose Mourinho, Ronaldo is a know-it-all who is essentially uncoachable—which doesn’t exactly run counter to the whole notion of Ronaldo selfishness—and rumors from February claimed that some of the goal scorer’s teammates happily skipped out on his 30^th birthday bash. Then again, he was also criticized for having the party to begin with, which makes plenty of sense considering it took place just hours after his team was drubbed, 4-0, by Atletico Madrid.

At the end of the day, people simply like to dislike Cristiano Ronaldo, and it's hard to blame them.

Lance Armstrong

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

In 2012, Lance Armstrong went from loved to hated, and with good reason.

From hero with seven Tour de France championships to cheat with absolutely nothing, Lance Armstrong has encountered an endless flow of criticism over the last 10 years or so.

When Armstrong was dominating cycling between 1999 and 2005, plenty of racing enthusiasts around the world questioned the integrity with which he was competing.

And as years passed after his final Tour de France victory in 2005, those murmurs continued to grow louder and louder.

Finally, when the roof was blown off Armstrong’s doping scandal in 2012—and he was subsequently stripped of all his prestigious titles—criticism climbed to an outright uproar.

Still, in the years since, as analysts and fans have had chances to revisit and review the scorched-earth method Armstrong used to defend his cause and ruin that of others, criticism of the athlete has shifted to something more akin to bitter hate.

Armstrong didn’t just let a nation down with his dishonest approach to sport; he personally and publicly assaulted others to hide his own shame.

As a result, he is, and will forever be, justly criticized for his unethical actions.

Brett Favre

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Between all the interceptions and the constant flip-flopping, Brett Favre gave critics plenty of ammo.

Retired one day and then back the next, Brett Favre’s final indecisive years—from about 2006 through to 2011—were filled with harsh criticism.

Whether it was his entitled skipping of training camp or just general media oversaturation, by the time Favre retired for good in January 2011, most were happy to see him go.

But even before then, when the gunslinger was known mostly as a Packer legend, Favre received his fair share of negative feedback.

Though he was an 11-times Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion, Favre was also one of the most mistake-prone quarterbacks in NFL history, holding the record for most career interceptions thrown, as well as for most interceptions thrown in a season.

Fittingly, his last great season—the 2009 campaign—ended with a loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship and, more specifically, with a boneheaded and equally crushing Favre INT.

Tiger Woods

Jon Super/Associated Press

As of late, Tiger Woods' game has given viewers nothing to do but criticize.

Let’s begin by addressing the elephant in the room: Tiger Woods’ philandering fiasco of 2009.

We won’t go into all the scandalous details—this is a sports column, not the National Enquirer—but needless to say, Tiger’s highly visible marital issues of the time didn’t exactly help his game or popularity. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a time when a superstar athlete was so critically dissected in the media.

Over the last six years or so, critics have mobilized to rip apart his game as well.

Whether it’s been the result of all the public embarrassment, his ongoing collection of injuries or some combination of the two, Woods has no doubt experienced a monumental decline.

And still just 39 years old, no one expected the once-dominant athlete to be down and out so soon.

Sure, he finished 2013 ranked No. 1 in the world, a spot he held onto until May 2014. But in the sport of golf—especially when we’re talking Tiger Woods—major championships are all that matter, and the legendary Woods hasn’t won one since 2008.

Worse yet, the guy most people were hoping to see pass Jack Nicklaus has been diminished to nothing more than a whole lot of excuses.

And worst of all, the formerly fierce competitor no longer seems to care.

Serena Williams

Adam Ihse/Associated Press

For various reasons, fans and analysts have forever given Serena Williams a difficult time.

There’s no denying the talent possessed by Serena Williams or all that she’s accomplished in the world of tennis.

At 33 years of age, she’s the oldest player to rank No. 1 in the world in WTA history, and her 36 major titles stands fifth all time.

Still, Serena’s bold and somewhat unpredictable personality has produced plenty of backlash.

For starters, she isn’t exactly tight with her competitors—she called Justine Henin a liar, per the L.A Times, critically dissected Maria Sharapova’s personal life, reported by ESPN.

As a result of all this, plenty of sports writers have taken her to task for both legitimate (Williams, at times, has let fashion and entertainment distract from tennis) and illegitimate (cue harmless celebratory crip walk) reasons.

No matter how much she wins or entertains, many were offended—and criticized her—back in 2009, when she was alleged to have threatened a line judge’s life, though Williams denied the allegations.

Tony Romo

LM Otero/Associated Press

Tony Romo's major mistakes in key moments have made him a lightning rod for critique.

Though he’s coming off what was arguably his best season as a pro—he led Dallas to a 12-4 record and a playoff victory while pacing the NFL in completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating—most of the criticism aimed Tony Romo’s way is fueled by what he hasn’t done on the field.

For example, while Romo and the Cowboys managed to win a playoff game in 2014, it was also their first such win since 2009 and just the second of Romo’s career. They also lost the very next week.

In a bottom-line business, Romo’s playoff shortcomings began in his very first season—2006—with his infamous fumbling of the snap. As expected, the situation only grew more hostile the next year, when he couldn’t muster a single playoff victory out of a Dallas team that finished the season 13-3 and tied for the second-best record in the league.

The choke-artist reputation is all the more problematic for an athlete who is also perceived as a playboy partier, regardless of the fairness of that perception.

Add it all up and you get Tony Romo—one of the most criticized quarterbacks in NFL history.

LeBron James

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

The Decision, back in 2010, put LeBron James at odds with basketball fans everywhere.

It’s hard to believe the best basketball player on the planet is also on our most criticized athletes list.

But, in truth, the King has given detractors plenty of ammo.

After somehow living up to, if not surpassing, the absurd and unprecedented hype he generated as a high school star, James reversed all the goodwill in the summer of 2010.

Remembered simply as The Decision—which, to be exact, was a nationally televised special during which the elite free agent announced his intention to sign with the Miami Heat rather than stay in Cleveland—James publicly embarrassed the City of Cleveland and offended just about everyone else too.

The decision—and more importantly, the public manner in which James went about announcing it—was a slap in the face to all his native Ohioans, but it was also much more than that.  

By leaving his hometown to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh—two elite players in their own right—basketball purists believed James was taking the easy way out. 

And though five years later the two-times champion has mostly moved on from that infamous day, he hasn’t completely outrun critics.

Now, people question his underwhelming NBA Finals record, which is just 2-4 and includes his bizarre disappearing act against Dallas in 2011 and highly fortuitous win over San Antonio in in 2013.

When you’re held to the highest of standards, as James is and forever will be, criticism is bound to follow.

Tim Tebow

Barry Gutierrez/Associated Press

Even when he was winning in Denver, Tim Tebow was excessively criticized.

Tim Tebow’s inability to the throw the football—or more specifically, his “problematic” throwing motion—has received more criticism than maybe anything else in sports history.

Even when the former Florida Gator was saving a 1-4 Denver Broncos team by leading them to eight wins in their final 12 games—including a remarkable playoff victory on the road in Pittsburgh—Tebow was still the recipient of endless criticism.

It didn’t come from just the media, either. Less than a year after Tebow’s magical run, Denver management repaid the polarizing winner by shipping him to New York to play for the Jets.

As mentioned, the quarterback’s religious persona doesn't exactly endear him to some fans, either. His muscular physique has been shredded too.

Believe it or not, Tebow hate has at times become so absurd that some have suggested he’s actually criticized for being too good.

Alex Rodriguez

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Thanks to his cheating, contract and struggles, Alex Rodriguez has very few supporters these days.

Where should we begin? Let’s start with the most obvious: Alex Rodriguez's insanely prolific numbers, which—in conjunction with his admitted steroid use—are seen as an attack on baseball, its history and integrity.

His long-standing denial and the vindictive and spiteful manner in which he went about it simply emboldened his loudest critics.

There’s also the 10-year contract he signed in 2007, which was worth a ridiculous $275 million. At the time, it seemed like overkill, even for a guy who was the best player in the game by far. But now, when you consider A-Rod hasn’t hit above .286 since 2008 and hasn’t exceeded 62 RBI in almost five years or 35 homers in almost eight, the contract looks all the more laughable and only further incites his most harsh critics.

Even when he was performing at a truly historic level, he did exceedingly unlikable things such as slap Bronson Arroyo's glove and distract opponents.

We should also mention that he’s a criticized away from the field too, further distancing himself from all that’s acceptable with bizarre photo shoots and there’s-no-way-this-is-real portraits.

Really, need we say more?