25 People Sports Social Media Hilariously Called Out, Part 1

D'Angelo Russell has suddenly found himself on the losing end of Internet jokes, all because of a leaked video and possible bro code violation.  

The Los Angeles Lakers rookie is not alone. Really, what sports figure hasn't been the subject of Internet ridicule at one point or another? 

The truth is, in the age of social media, almost every public figure has dealt with a mocking tweet at one time or another. Some have even been unfortunate enough to become memes. Today, let's take a look at a few of the more current examples (aka 2016 only), and let's keep it light and fun.

Obviously the Internet blew up at Curt Schilling over the Hillary Clinton stuff and when Novak Djokovic starting talking about female hormones. But isn't it more fun to laugh about Andy Dalton's lost luggage or weigh in on the latest LeBron James soap opera drama?

These are examples of Internet ridicule of your more lighthearted variety, but take them as a cautionary tale, folks. If your hair almost pokes someone's eye out, you will face Internet mocking. 

Honorable Mention: Chris Christie

Chris Christie gets an honorable mention because he's not really a sports person—just a person who attends sporting events. 

The New Jersey governor and former presidential candidate attended an NCAA tournament game in March. Some delightful human captured a photo of Christie pouring the contents of an M&Ms bag into an M&Ms box. Twitter did not disappoint:

Christie later provided an explanation to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and his eagerness to defend himself just made the whole thing even funnier.

Yoenis Cespedes

New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes looked like a boss through most of spring training (if you think showing up to the park in a new luxury vehicle every day is boss).

Once on the field, however, things didn't go quite so well, at least not during one game against the Houston Astros.

Cespedes basically ignored a fly ball that sailed over his head and landed near the outfield fence. Apparently he thought it was unplayable? Um, it wasn't. The result was an inside-the-park home run that luckily didn't count in a real baseball game.

Social media reaction example:

But for real, what was that?

Mike Krzyzewski

Granted, it's not as if Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is universally beloved outside North Carolina, but his latest notable incident brought out a surge of disdain from social media.

Oregon bested Duke by quite a bit in their Sweet 16 matchup. At the end of the game (because the shot clock was expiring), Oregon star Dillon Brooks launched a prayer three that actually went in.

After the game, Coach K appeared to scold Brooks for the move. He denied it, but USA Today brilliantly consulted a lip reader, who confirmed Coach K had, in fact, reprimanded Brooks.

Per A.J. Perez of USA Today, Brooks recalled, "He just told me that I'm too good of a player to be showing out at the end."

One, don't be a crotchety old man. Two, don't lie about being a crotchety old man:

Ed Werder

Ed Werder is no Cam Newton. Then again, everyone and their mother was dabbing ahead of Super Bowl 50, so you can't really blame the guy.

The ESPN reporter did his best dab on air ahead of the big game. His rendition was so abysmal, Twitter had no choice but to mercilessly mock him. Behold:

"

Seeing Ed Werder do the dab made my eyes & head hurt

— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) February 10, 2016"

Jim Harbaugh

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is generally the aggressor when it comes to social media ridicule. That said, he walked right into an obvious onslaught in February:

Harbaugh was referencing the SEC's opposition to Michigan football practices in Florida.

He must have forgotten he's notorious for throwing hissy fits on the sidelines. It's cool. Twitter reminded him:

Alex Rodriguez

New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has gone from one of baseball's most revered players to the butt of many, many jokes. So, it should be no surprise to see his name here. What has he done this time, you ask?

No. 1: A-Rod announced he would retire after the 2017 MLB season and then said he might not. Twitter reaction example:

No. 2: A-Rod reportedly began dating Anne Wojcicki, the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, which is his own business but obviously incited tweets like this because, well, he's A-Rod:

At least Barry Bonds has his back. 

Bill Murray

You might be thinking, "Bill Murray is not a sports person." But come on, he totally is. He's a huge fan, father of a coach and has starred in sports movie classics like Caddyshack and Space Jam.

He also made the face that may or may not succeed Crying Jordan as the quintessential image for sadness in sports.

After Xavier lost in heartbreaking fashion to Wisconsin during the NCAA tournament, Murray, whose son Luke is a Xavier assistant coach, looked positively forlorn. Of course social media pounced on it: 

OK, this will never be the Crying Jordan meme, but it is on par with Crying Bengals Fan, right?

Blake Griffin

In January, Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin broke his hand during an altercation with a team equipment manager (SMH).

Griffin received a four-game suspension as punishment, plus the aforementioned busted hand, which cost him two months of playing time.

Matthew Rothstein of Uproxx put together a collection of Twitter reactions. Here's just one example. (Note: SportsCenter did not actually tweet the original here):

Perry Ellis

Remember when Greg Oden played basketball at Ohio State and everyone in the sports world thought he looked like a 40-year-old college kid?

Meet Perry Ellis of Kansas, the new Greg Oden.

Apparently, folks on social media think the dude looks old, and they let him know it the only way they know how:

The nice thing about this Twitter barrage has been it appears to be all in good fun.

Matt Harvey

A week before Opening Day, New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey came down with a mysterious ailment. Cue apocalyptic-level panic in New York. As it turned out, Harvey had a bladder infection, and he was deemed good to go for Opening Day.

So the big hullabaloo was about a bladder infection? For what it's worth, people should not make jokes about any type of medical ailment, but spoiler! Jokes were made.

The regular ol' media was actually most at fault here—the New York Post was a particularly egregious offender. Still, social media got a few kicks in:  

In case you're wondering, Harvey didn't find any of this funny. 

Cleveland Browns and RG3

To say social media "turned on" the Cleveland Browns and Robert Griffin III when the downtrodden team signed the even more downtrodden quarterback would not be entirely accurate. After all, social media didn't exactly show either party a lot of love before that.

Still, things got even worse when the two-year, $15 million deal was signed:

It wasn't all bad. Keep up the optimism, Cleveland!

Jim Boeheim

Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange made the Final Four as a No. 10 seed in a tournament many thought they weren't even supposed to be in. Let's let the man enjoy it, eh?

Nope, that's not the way of the Internet. The Cuse coach made the mistake of wearing his Final Four hat a little too high up on his head, and since social media can't let anything go, there were comments:

To be fair, at least a few people seemed to dig it.

Peyton Manning

Social media would never completely turn on retired Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, of course. And yet, his post-Super Bowl moment with Papa John brought out about as much ridicule as possible:

Manning is, of course, a longtime Papa John's endorser (and franchise owner), and the social media ribbing seemed to be all in good fun. 

Stay tuned for Part 2.