15 'SMH' Sports Stories in 2015

Sometimes in sports, an instance occurs that leaves fans shaking their heads at the ridiculousness.

It could be a play call (hey, Indianapolis Colts trick play), an ill-advised tweet (Russell Wilson might want to be 1-0 before tweeting "1-0") or a heinous officiating blunder. Really, there are almost too many officiating mistakes to name, but not to worry. That topic will get its due attention.

The following are 15 such sports stories from 2015. Fans saw a play or read a headline and couldn't help but look down, shake their heads and think, "Get it together, man."

As an important note, a lot of serious issues are top-of-mind in sports right now, not the least of which is domestic violence. Those stories will be left out because, frankly, that subject matter goes beyond a simple #smh hashtag.

Lil B's Curse on James Harden

This year in sports, a rapper placed a "curse" on an NBA player for "stealing" his signature move.

After big plays, Houston Rockets guard James Harden started doing what Lil B calls the "cooking dance," a move the rapper says he originated. The Rockets even gave away a Harden bobblehead doing the dance.

Now, stealing is wrong, for sure, but the hype this story got (and continues to get) was ridiculous.

Why Isn't Serena Williams Smiling?

In September, Serena Williams defeated her sister, Venus, during the U.S. Open. After the match, a reporter asked her why she wasn't smiling.

On top of falling into the questions-never-asked-to-a-man category, this one was just fluffy and ridiculous, anyway.

Luckily, Williams crushed him. Per the official transcript on the U.S. Open website, she said, "It's 11:30. To be perfectly honest with you, I don't want to be here. (Laughter.) I just want to be in bed right now. I have to wake up early to practice."

Kansas State Band

Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

As far as anyone can tell, the Kansas State marching band had no intention of creating an explicit image during a September performance. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. 

In its Star Trek-themed halftime show, the band moved into a formation that was supposed to resemble the Starship Enterprise. Instead, the whole thing looked a lot like a NSFW image involving the ship and the Kansas Jayhawks mascot. 

The band issued an apology for the pretty massive "oops" moment.

All the Fines

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Sports leagues have policies, and those policies should be adhered to and respected. Still, some of the fines in 2015 have called the rules into question.

Several NFL players were fined for violating the league's uniform policy in the name of honoring noble causes. Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams, for instance, was fined for promoting breast cancer awareness on his eye black.

Williams' teammate, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, was fined for honoring his late father on his eye black.

Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman wore red, white and blue cleats to honor America at his team's Salute to Service game. He was fined because the cleats also featured the words "proud" and "brave."

The policy against personal messages on uniforms does make some sense, but at what point are these instances causing more harm than good for the league?

Colts Fake Punt

To say the Indianapolis Colts had a rough start to the 2015 NFL season would be an understatement. Still, the team was 3-2 heading into its Week 6 matchup with the New England Patriots.

Down six and facing a 4th-and-3 in the third quarter, the Colts lined up to punt from their own 37-yard line. Then, inexplicably, almost every Colt on the field sprinted to the right side. Two players, neither one a center or quarterback, were left to snap the ball. Confusion ensued, the Colts ended up losing and the Twittersphere was, of course, merciless.

Litany of Ill-Advised Tweets

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Ill-advised tweets are a staple in sports (and really, society at large). There have been too many to name in 2015, but a special shoutout goes to Russell Wilson, who tweeted "1-0" prior to the Seattle Seahawks' Week 1 matchup against the St. Louis Rams. The Hawks lost, obviously; otherwise this tweet wouldn't have been so ill-advised. 

Or what about the Vancouver Canucks? In a seemingly sincere effort to support the Toronto Blue Jays, the team tweeted about that time they lost the Stanley Cup. Fans were not pleased. 

Litany of Ill-Advised Comments

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

The cousins of ill-advised tweets are ill-advised comments. There were plenty of those in 2015, too.

How about when a Fox News reporter called golfer Rory McIlroy a "leprechaun" on air? Or the time ESPN analyst Joey Galloway made a crack about female drivers? And what in the world was going on with that Kevin Garnett puppy analogy? SMH.

Girlfriend Blaming

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When the Seattle Seahawks lost a game in September, some fans blamed Ciara, the celebrity girlfriend of quarterback Russell Wilson.

It was the same story in Green Bay. The Packers lost three straight games, and some folks jumped to the conclusion it might have something to do with QB Aaron Rodgers' girlfriend, actress Olivia Munn.

Come on, people.

DeAndre Jordan Resentment

LM Otero/Associated Press

The offseason drama surrounding Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan started off OK. In fact, the emoji battle was pretty funny.

The ridiculous part came later, months later, as the Dallas Mavericks were apparently still not over Jordan's decision to renege on his promise to join the team in free agency.

The Mavs went as far as to show an animated video mocking Jordan at their home opener. The video, titled "DeAndre Jordan the Frightened Man-Boy," was supposed to be funny but instead looked salty, at best, and offensive, at worst.

An honorable mention in DeAndre Jordan news goes to Jordan himself for missing 22 free throws in one game. SMH.

Toronto Fans Throwing Trash on the Field

Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers was a wild one. Many will remember it for Jose Bautista's epic bat flip, but there was also some disconcerting fan behavior at the Rogers Centre worthy of a #smh label.

The decisive game was tied 2-2 in the seventh inning. During a routine throw back to the mound, Jays catcher Russell Martin hit the bat of Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. The ball bounced away, and Rougned Odor astutely hurried home from his position at third base.

It was weird—that much is certain. However, after consultation, the umpires ultimately allowed the run to stand, putting the Rangers up 3-2.

That's when fan behavior went awry. Jays fans erupted, throwing trash and just generally embarrassing themselves. Fans don't always get the call they want, but it's never an excuse to make a scene like that.

Miami vs. Duke Call

There are always going to be officiating mistakes—refs are only human. Still, it seems like there has been an absurd amount of blunders in football this year. One stark example that comes to mind involves the final play of the Miami vs. Duke game in October. 

Duke would have won the game, if not for an insane Miami return that lasted 49 seconds, included eight laterals and resulted in a touchdown. Even though there appeared to be at least one penalty on the play (and a knee down pre-end zone) a nine-minute review concluded the play should stand.   

The next day, the ACC suspended the entire officiating crew after revealing four mistakes were made on the play.

'Monday Night Football' Officiating Mistakes

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It hasn't just been college football. The NFL has had its issues in 2015 as well (a lot of issues, in fact).

How about that Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills? There was an inexplicable, absurd whistle during the middle of a pass play, but that wasn't even the worst thing to happen on the night.

With two seconds on the clock, Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins caught a pass and tumbled out of bounds, except the officials ruled he didn't. The game ended in a 20-13 Pats victory.

The NFL later admitted a mistake was made, and the Bills should've been allowed to run one more play.

Tom Brady's Suspension

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Can folks agree pretty much the entirety of the Deflategate saga was ridiculous? The fact that a "scandal" about marginally underinflated footballs enveloped sports news for nearly nine months is absurd. The courtroom sketch, the destroyed cell phone—it's all SMH material.

Still, perhaps the most ridiculous aspect was the four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Without commenting on what Brady did or did not know, it's still safe to say a four-game suspension without any actual evidence of wrongdoing was absurd. A judge agreed.

Adult Fans Stealing from Kid Fans

In more terrible fan behavior news, how about stealing pucks and balls from kids? Unfortunately, this has become a bit of a pattern as of late.

In October, Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson attempted to give a touchdown ball to a 12-year-old fan, but a mean old bully stole it away.

Just days later, Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma tossed a hockey puck to a young fan, but a rude adult jumped in to intercept the throw.

For what it's worth, both these kids ended up with even more team swag when the crimes against them went public, but still. For shame, old fans.

Super Bowl Play Call

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One of the most criticized moves of the year came in February, at Super Bowl XLIX.

The Seattle Seahawks, trailing the New England Patriots by four, had a 2nd-and-goal at the 1-yard line late in the game. They also had Marshawn Lynch, one of the game's most bruising running backs.

The Seahawks passed the ball, a perplexing decision even before the resulting interception sealed the game for the Pats.

Cindy Boren of the Washington Post called it "one of the worst play calls anyone could recall," which was pretty much the general sentiment around the nation.