17 Athletes Who Don't Take It Easy on Kids

Regardless of whether someone is playing a pickup game of basketball at the YMCA or just inked his first pro contract, he's expected to play “to the whistle.” Playing hard, win or lose, is often seen as something more than just good sportsmanship—it’s seen as a character trait.

But one person’s ability to find that killer instinct is another’s overkill.

One line very few athletes are willing to cross, as competitors, is going all out against a child—there’s really nothing to prove against an opponent who is far smaller and not yet old enough to vote, much less put up a fight. However, some men and women simply can’t turn it off, and therefore some kid gets owned, regardless of whether they asked for it or not.

Call it collateral damage. Call it often hilarious in its absurdity. 

Here are 17 athletes who don’t take it easy on kids.

(*Ed. Note - We know that most, if not all, of the athletes involved are having fun.)

Nerlens Noel

Since he was drafted out of Kentucky No. 6 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013, the professional career of Nerlens Noel has been rather rocky at times. He missed the entire 2013-14 season recovering from knee surgery as a result of a torn ACL suffered the previous March. When Noel finally got on the court last season, he didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but he definitely made some progress.

It seems the former Wildcat has carried over some of that intensity into the summer, and at least one very small kid from Camp One basketball camp can attest to that. Shooting hoops with a group of kids in June, Noel didn’t just dunk on the kid who was barely waist-high—dude ran him over on the way to the basket! That was just cold!

Jahlil Okafor

Drafted No. 3 overall out of Duke by the 76ers in the 2015 NBA draft, Jahlil Okafor has obviously been taking notes from Nerlens Noel this summer. Considering that Philadelphia has finished 14th in the East the last two seasons, perhaps Noel warned the rookie to take any win he could possible get his hands on.

While victory has remained elusive for the Sixers, at least Okafor has some recent wins to get him through the lean years. Coming off a national championship season with the Blue Devils in April, Okafor recently brutally blocked a kid’s shot during the team’s Beach Bash.

Cardale Jones

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

After Ohio State lost Braxton Miller in August 2014 and J.T. Barrett in November 2014 with season-ending injuries, third-string quarterback Cardale Jones really received a trial by fire. His first game came against Wisconsin for the Big 10 Championship, the second was against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and the third was against Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

With two of the three wins already under his belt in early January, Jones joined his Buckeyes teammates when they visited a children’s hospital in the days prior to the championship. Maybe it was because nobody had taken it easy on him, but Jones was feeling anything but charitable when he beat down a kid at NCAA Football, blowing him out 98-35.

Michael Jordan

If someone told you that back in his playing days, Michael Jordan took it easy on a high school basketball player at his annual Flight School camp, you probably wouldn’t even believe them. Regardless of the age or size of the opposition, His Airness only had one speed.

At one point Jordan crossed paths with Bucks shooting guard O.J. Mayo, who was the only high school player in a camp full of college freshmen. According to MJ’s account, the young buck was a little too big for his britches, with Mayo talking trash to a living legend and daring him to keep up.

Said Jordan: “I finally said, ‘Look, you may be the best high school player, but I’m the best player in the world. From this point on, it’s a lesson.’” And a lesson it was, indeed. “He never won a game. I posted him up. I did everything. If I could ever show you that film.” In the video above, Mayo shares his version of events.

Jerry Stackhouse

Former NBA shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse may have retired in 2013 after nearly two decades in the league, but in May a bunch of high school students learned the hard way that the 40-year-old still has some gas in the tank.

Stackhouse offered kids at the Adidas Nations Camp the opportunity of a lifetime: to go one-on-one with a pro. Not many of the campers took the bait, but those who did got absolutely worked by Stackhouse, who gave them the full-court press.

The Young Bucks

Just recently, IWL wrestling tag team superstars The Young Bucks gave an eight-year-old superfan the best birthday present ever—the opportunity for him and his dad to go toe-to-toe in the ring with two of the biggest heels in the game today.

According to TMZ, TYB spent quite a while practicing the moves with both father and son, “taking extra time to specifically get their famous Superkick move down perfectly so no one got hurt.” The father-son team put up a fight, but in the end TYB reigned supreme.

Dikembe Mutombo

The first of two moments on the list that aren’t exactly reality-based, retired big man Dikembe Mutombo’s epic performance in this Geico commercial from 2013 is just too good to overlook.

Although most of his blocking and trademark finger wagging in the spot is directed at adults, one unsuspecting little boy gets the Mutombo treatment. Poor kid will probably never be able to buy cereal again.

Peyton Manning

Since we teased it in the previous slide, it's not fair to make you wait for what is, without a doubt, the most hilarious display of inappropriate child-directed callousness ever seen from a professional athlete. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning filmed the United Way short while hosting Saturday Night Live back in 2007, not long after winning the only Super Bowl of his career with the Colts.

Decked out in a crisp collared shirt under a smart sweater and rocking his trademark mom jeans, initially Manning looks every bit the mentor, an image that careens quickly off the rails. On the field he expects the kids to raise their game to his level, not the other way around, berating each of them as they fail to successfully execute his offense.

Manning teaches them a few choice life lessons off the field too—like the dangers of snitching.

Robin Van Persie

In May 2013, Dutch footballer Robin van Persie hosted a youth soccer tournament in the Netherlands. The kids, who ranged in age between eight and 10, got to test their skills against pro players such as Karim Touzani and Tonny Vilhena, in addition to van Persie.

And, hard as they tried, it’s fair to say the kids didn’t quite measure up to the big boys. Van Persie and his cohorts dribbled the ball among themselves, effortlessly faking out the kids, who stumbled over their own feet in the most lopsided game of keep-away ever.

Dwight Howard

After riding roughshod over the collective spirit of two entire fanbases (one on each coast) in just 11 months, newly minted supervillain Dwight Howard signed with the Houston Rockets as a free agent in July 2013. Midway through his first season in Houston, it was clear the big man had settled nicely into the role.

Howard first displayed that the following January, when he used all 6’10" of himself to demonstrate his absolute supremacy over a teeny, tiny Wizards fan during a rain delay in Washington, D.C. A month later, Howard attempted to do it again, this time against a teeny, tiny Kings fan, but this one turned the tables, scurrying through Howard’s legs for the wide-open layup.

Novak Djokovic

The last 18 months have been exceptionally kind to Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who has won the first three Grand Slam events of 2015 and is favored to win again at the upcoming U.S. Open. With all the success he’s enjoyed, one would think The Joker would be all high-fives and hugs. And one would be wrong.

At the Miami Open in April, Djokovic got a little heated after losing the second set of the final to Andy Murray. He was screaming in Serbian at his coach, Boris Becker, as he walked to the bench prior to the final set. An unlucky ball boy found himself caught in the crossfire when he approached with a towel.

Djokovic continued to rage, snatching the towel from the hands of the visibly freaked out ball boy. Even though his barking wasn’t directed at the ball boy, it still wasn’t a good look for the guy who would go on to win the tournament. Djokovic recognized that and later posted an apology video to Facebook.

Alex Ovechkin

In April 2010, Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin generated more than a few headlines while on the road in Montreal. They had to do with a specialized greeting he gave one of the young Canadiens fans serving as flag-bearers on the ice during the pregame.

Prior to the home team’s entrance, Ovechkin stopped sharply in front of his own bench, intentionally spraying the kid with snow off the blade of his skate. Most seemingly saw it for the joke that it was, but with a general public hopelessly addicted to outrage, of course some people blew a gasket.

J.R. Smith

It’s no secret that J.R. Smith’s performance for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors was nothing short of terrible. It was so overwhelmingly bad that Smith decided to join in the chorus of criticism rather than futilely attempt to refute the charges.

With the stink surrounding him still feeling fresh two months later, Smith remains a free agent. That may be why he recently showed no mercy playing one-on-one against a kid at a basketball camp. The good news is that we’ve finally found a situation in which Smith excels.

Orlando Scandrick

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Two weeks before Christmas 2014, cornerback Orlando Scandrick joined his Cowboys teammates on one of their annual visits to Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas. Christmas came early for at least one hospitalized child, who got to go toe-to-toe with Scandrick in a friendly game of Madden.

Well, maybe “friendly” isn’t the right word. According to (then) teammate Justin Durant, who tweeted about the encounter, “Scandrick played a kid in Madden at Children’s Hospital and hit him with a surprise onside … He was winning and going for two.” Makes you wonder if he celebrated by telling all the kids the truth about Santa.

Holiday spirit be damned, Scandrick wasn’t the least bit apologetic about the drubbing, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com: “Nothing is going to be given to you, so I don’t think I should have gave him anything. I made him better if anything. … If they didn’t want you to go for two and to kick onside kicks, it wouldn’t be on the game.” Merry Christmas! 

LeBron James

Many have said that Cavaliers superstar LeBron James lacks the killer instinct that fueled Michael Jordan and, more recently, L.A. Lakers great Kobe Bryant. While that’s a debate that will surely rage on, back in the summer of 2011, James definitely showed he had a little killer in him.

Of course, as we all know, it didn’t happen during the NBA Finals—the LeBron-led Miami Heat were upset by the Dallas Mavericks in six games. James actually displayed his inner beast at a youth basketball camp. After missing a few jump shots, James charged an 11-year-old and dunked on the kid without mercy.

Jim Harbaugh

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Former NFL quarterback and current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh’s notoriously in-your-face competitiveness is a well-established reality at this point. The guy couldn’t hide it if he tried—it’s written all over his uncomfortably strained face—a face that may or may not be smeared in a player’s blood, which he once wore as war paint during his first year coaching at Stanford.

With that level of intensity, it’s no wonder that Harbaugh doesn’t always leave it on the field. In December 2014, he reportedly annihilated a 10-year-old kid at laser tag during his bachelor party in 2008. Harbaugh walked away with a landslide win, but “all his shots came against this kid. He just sat there, hunting this 10-year-old kid so he could win,” per one of the guests on hand, courtesy of Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com. That's just brutal. 

Kevin Durant

He may have missed all but 27 games last season, but Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant has been doing what he can to stay sharp over the summer. With his foot still healing after season-ending foot surgery, Durant has his own special way of working on his jumper.

On hand at Dave and Buster’s in Culver City to promote Nike KD 8 in June, Durant stepped up to the pop-a-shot machine to see if there were any takers. It turned out at least one kid was willing to offer himself up as a sacrificial lamb to the basketball gods. Naturally, KD destroyed him.