10 Sports Fails That Keep Happening

Why do sports figures continue to post ill-conceived tweets? Why do people keep talking trash to Ronda Rousey?

You'd think after a few people made the same mistake, it would stop happening. Unfortunately, that's not how it generally goes—in sports or in life.

Here are 10 fails that keep happening in the sports world, the repetition of which ranges from sort of understandable to outright baffling.

Fireworks Shenanigans

Independence Day 2015: There was not one but two unfortunate incidents involving NFL players and fireworks.

Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end for the New York Giants, had his index figure amputated after an accident involving fireworks. Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback C.J. Wilson experienced a similar injury and was forced to remove himself from the game altogether, a move that will likely be permanent.

After that, it might be natural to assume the words "sports" and "fireworks" would go back to their opposite ends of the language spectrum. But no.

Thanks to a Kardashian-sponsored birthday party for James Harden, fireworks are back on the sports media wire. Apparently, the party featured a loud fireworks display of questionable legality.

Enough already.   

Showboating

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

When has showboating ever really worked out for anyone in sports? Even if a disaster doesn't immediately result, it's still not a good look.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig built a reputation for showboating early on, and it wasn't a good thing.

In May, Neymar pulled an awesome (yet seemingly unnecessary) rainbow on a defender. The opponent did not take kindly to the perceived showboating, and Neymar ended up on the ground.

In June, MLB outfielder Junior Lake (now with the Baltimore Orioles) taunted the opposing bench on a home run trot and incited a brawl.

It's normal to be proud of one's abilities or accomplishments, but showboating has proved, time and time again, to be a bad idea in sports. 

Underestimating Greatness

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

When Peyton Manning missed the 2011 NFL season because of injury, many wondered if he was done for good. He went on to break the single-season passing records for touchdowns and yards in 2013 and win the MVP Award.

Despite Serena Williams' continued dominance, there are those who still doubt her ability to achieve a calendar-year Slam.

Kobe Bryant is arguably one of the most competitive and hardworking players in NBA history, yet the "Is he done?" question just keeps coming up.  

Sports chatter is never going away, but here's an idea. Maybe, if someone has established himself or herself as one of the great legends of a sport, he or she deserves the benefit of the doubt every now and again. 

Athletes Rapping

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Warning: Links contain NSFW content.

When it comes to rapping, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard actually has some talent, but he's an exception, not a rule. Most athlete forays into rap music have not been even remotely successful. 

A list, if you will: Jason Kidd, Floyd Mayweather, Kobe Bryant and, yes, Deion Sanders. Even with all the evidence that athlete-to-rapper is a tough transition, guys such as Juwan Howard and Clint Dempsey continue to forge ahead.

Social Media Feuds

Bob Levey/Associated Press

Let's be honest, here. Most of the time, no one really comes out looking great after a social media feud (unless, of course, the feud is intentionally hilarious).

You see these all the time. Free-agent tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. proposed an actual fight with New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie after a heated Twitter argument.  

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins burned Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall during a joint practice and later gloated over Twitter. Back-and-forth jabs ensued.

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside baited Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green into a little virtual tiff when he took a shot at NBA small ball.

The list could go on. The point here is this: Take the high road. Do your talking on the field/court.

Talking Trash to Ronda Rousey

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Speaking of trash talk, why would anyone direct it at Ronda Rousey? Not only is she dominant in the cage, but she's also proved to be a formidable opponent when it comes to verbal assault. (Just ask Floyd Mayweather Jr.)

Despite the undefeated UFC champion's track record, folks continue to opine they could possibly beat her—Laila Ali and an NFL cheerleader, to name two.  

Most notably, Rousey's recent opponent, Bethe Correia, made the mistake of talking a lot of smack leading up to their fight in Brazil. Rousey took just 34 seconds to defeat her.

Premature Tattoos

Why do sports fans insist upon getting tattoos indicative of game outcomes yet to be determined?   

Fans of the 2014-15 Kentucky men's basketball team, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Seattle Seahawks all got tattoos declaring their teams the champions—you know, before the championships actually happened. As you might've guessed (or known), none of these titles actually came to fruition.

Come on, people. Confidence in your team is great, but as any true sports fan knows, anything can happen on any given day. Stop with the crystal-ball tattoos.

Foul Ball/Home Run Embarrassments

What is it about a loose baseball that has the power to bring out the dark side of humanity?

Did you hear about the guy at a Philadelphia Phillies game who fought an older woman tooth-and-nail for a home run ball? Disgraceful. 

What about the young Tampa Bay Rays fan who stopped a ball from hitting his siblings as a man presumed to be their father cowered in fear nearby? Or how about those fathers who boast about catching foul balls with their infants strapped to their chests? It's like hey, maybe instead of trying to catch a foul ball heading straight for your baby's skull, just get out of the way.  

And we haven't even scratched the surface of all the wasted, spilled beer.

It's just a baseball, folks. And unless you make a sick bare-handed grab and immediately hand the ball over to a nearby kid, you're most likely going to look like a fool by trying too hard to obtain possession of it.

Celebrating Too Soon

Here's a hypothetical. You are an elite athlete—runner, football player, whatever.

You once saw Buffalo Bills running back Sammy Watkins celebrate a touchdown too early and blow his chance to score. Later, you saw this story about American runner Ben Payne reveling in victory at the Peachtree road race just a smidge too soon. Or perhaps you're familiar with DeSean Jackson or this Oregon track athlete.

Hypothetically, you're aware of at least one of those instances, yet you still manage to let the same thing happen to you. It seems unlikely, right?

Not for American distance runner Molly Huddle. Now, who knows if she was aware of any of the above examples, but still. After so many early-celebration fails, Huddle still committed the same offense. She cost herself a bronze medal in the 10,000-meter final at the World Championships simply by lifting her arms too soon. 

Awful Tweets

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Really, Curt Schilling?

Foresight is a virtue in today's digital age, but unfortunately, it's not always exercised. Sports figures have a long history of publishing regrettable tweets or Instagram posts—putting them out there into the Internet abyss, never to be taken back.

J.R. Smith and the Caitlyn Jenner tweet, Vanderbilt football and the "we don't need your permission" slogan, Colin Kaepernick and the Instagram post amid deadly storms in Houston—seriously, the list goes on.

So, why, oh why did Curt Schilling post a tweet comparing Muslim extremists to Nazis?