10 of the Biggest Heel Turns in Sports
The proverbial "heel turn" in sports: It's when an athlete suddenly embraces the role of a villain in the eyes of sports fans.
Kevin Durant's recent decision to bail on Oklahoma City, per Durant's article on Players' Tribune, and join forces with the Golden State Warriors proves the heel-turn theory is still alive and well.
It's a theory that will always radiate pain.
Whether you choose to forgive these athletes or not, the following 10 heel turns rattled the sports world to its very core. These are definitely sour moments that fans won't soon forget.
LeBron James Heads for South Beach
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The NBA's most significant heel turn—prior to Kevin Durant's in 2016—belonged to LeBron James for leaving Cleveland for a new home in Miami.
James broadcast the announcement to the world in a television special dubbed The Decision. It was an awkward exchange with moderator Jim Gray that left many in Cleveland feeling betrayed, as James essentially eviscerated the franchise in a matter of minutes.
The King would go on to play in four NBA Finals with the Heat, winning two, before he reversed course and joined back up with the Cavaliers in 2014. Thankfully he went from heel to hero, as the Cavs took home an NBA title this past season.
Johnny Damon Hits New York City
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Johnny Damon's legacy truly started with the Boston Red Sox, despite having played for the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics prior to his stint in New England. The bearded center fielder was even part of the Red Sox's cursing-shattering World Series season in 2004.
A year later, Damon was donning pinstripes and securing a New York Yankees hat to his dome. The move was surprising, and it cost the Yankees $52 million to pull off, per ESPN.com.
"Damon said Boston did not attempt to match New York's offer," the article stated. Details of that being true or not are sketchy, as Red Sox owner John Henry has since refuted those claims.
Whatever went down behind closed doors, Damon's shaving his beard and going into full Yankees mode was definitely a curveball for Red Sox Nation.
Kevin Durant Links Up with the Golden State Warriors
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Following in the footsteps of LeBron James, Kevin Durant swerved everyone when he turned heel earlier this offseason.
Durant teamed up with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the Golden State Warriors, sparking feverish discussions about his character. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith was one of the first to comment, attacking Durant on Twitter.
The decision was ultimately KD's, and he chose to take up residence in the Bay Area. How fans feel, especially those of the Oklahoma City Thunder cloth, remains an open discussion.
All we know is that joining forces with a team that went 73-9 is a classic heel move that could result in many years of anti-Durant sentiment.
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Richard Sherman Chimes In
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Richard Sherman's heel turn didn't come by way of leaving the Seattle Seahawks. It came when he took the time at the conclusion of the 2014 NFC Championship to tell the world exactly how he feels.
Call it unwavering confidence or raw, unfiltered emotion, but Sherman's desecration of ex-San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree and proclamation he was the best corner in the galaxy made for a vintage heel promo. He controlled the crowd, the message and set himself up for tons of heat—especially from Crabtree himself.
This wasn't the first time Sherman took down an opposing NFL player. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady felt the brunt of Sherman's wrath when he yelled, "You mad, bro?" at the veteran NFL QB, as Chris Chase of For the Win reported.
Before the NFC title rant, Sherman was the cornerback who abused Brady. After it, he was Public Enemy No. 1 for a defense that would go on to terrorize the National Football League.
Dwight Howard Bails Once Again
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If you were to list the biggest heels in professional sports today, Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard would be near the top of the list.
Howard's NBA journey has gone from being the centerpiece of the Orlando Magic—a team he helped guide to the NBA Finals in 2009—to a guy who has recently moved to his third team since 2013.
There have been so many different times Howard's gone heel, like his bizarre exchange (warning: NSFW language) with former Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy after Van Gundy found out Howard was pushing for his termination. So picking one wasn't easy.
But if you were able to forgive him for all the turmoil in Orlando, his decision to bail on the Los Angeles Lakers after only one season was unforgivable.
"I just looked at both teams and I felt like Houston was going in one direction—they got a lot of young players, they got a good coach in Kevin McHale and I just felt like having him as a coach, he could really help me in the post and help me develop like I want to," Howard said at the time, per ESPN.
Now situated with the Atlanta Hawks, as reported by Shams Charania of The Vertical, Howard's villainous status remains intact. His pursuit of an NBA title in Houston lasted only three seasons.
Understanding he's perceived as a heel, Howard took to Inside the NBA to try to clear things up. Whether that works or not remains to be seen.
Bill Belichick Resigns
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Bill Belichick has a long, complicated history with the New York Jets, as Josh Katzowitz of CBS Sports detailed.
He was essentially named head coach twice. The first time came in 1997, when it looked like Bill Parcells would remain with the New England Patriots. The second was after Parcells retired in 1999.
But Belichick wouldn't stay put for long. He would resign after a single day on the job, citing differences of opinion on where the franchise was headed—the Jets' were in the middle of an ownership change.
It wouldn't turn into a total heel move until Tom Brady emerged and the Patriots went on to reign supreme over the rest of the AFC East.
Today, every time he runs out of the opposing tunnel, Jets fans have to ponder what could have been if Darth Hoody didn't leave the Big Apple.
Roger Clemens Goes After Mike Piazza
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Roger Clemens' heel turn was presented in a few different forms.
For starters, Clemens spent 13 years with the Boston Red Sox. After developing a strong career there, he dipped for Toronto and followed that two-year stint up with the New York Yankees.
The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is automatically turn-worthy.
Clemens really embraced a villainous role when he hurled a piece of broken bat toward former New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series—and it wasn't the first time Clemens came after Piazza.
The broken-bat incident sparked a reaction from Piazza and the Mets bench. It was a surreal heel moment delivered by the longtime MLB ace.
Hulk Hogan Turns His Back on WCW
8 of 10Hulk Hogan essentially invented the heel turn on a national scale when he ripped the heart out of World Championship Wrestling in favor of forming the New World Order back in 1996.
You might not consider wrestling a sport, but Hogan's impact was enough to change the entire landscape of the business. His popularity as a longtime staple in pro wrestling was fading, and this move proved to be best for business.
As Donald Wood of Forbes explained, "In 1996, Hulkamania was almost dead, and Hogan had become just another older guy at the top of the WCW card. That all changed at Bash at the Beach when he turned his back on his remaining Hulkamaniacs to join the New World Order."
Wrestling continues to endure countless heel turns. However, none were nearly as significant as Hogan's leap of faith in '96. It remains the gold standard in sports for flipping the script on unsuspecting fans.
'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons Take On the World
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How can an entire NBA team be deemed heels? Ask the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons.
Virtually alone among all the superstar-infused NBA teams to win championships, the Pistons embraced the dark side of The Force. They were a physical team, as Benjamin Morris of FiveThirtyEight broke down. But per his research, they weren't light-years ahead of other NBA teams on the technical-foul front.
What gave the Pistons' a bad rap was the taxing style they used to battle flashier teams like the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. Chuck Klosterman, writing for Grantland, explained that further, mentioning that "the Pistons were uncouth and unpolished, and they couldn’t beat elite teams if they couldn’t pound them into the floor."
The Pistons didn't necessarily have a full-on heel-turn moment. Instead, they picked their spots, played with passion and always were perceived as NBA outsiders.
Art Modell Moves the Cleveland Browns
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Plenty of owners in sports could be considered heels. Perhaps no one on the ownership side of the ship has been branded with the label as much as Art Modell was in 1995.
Modell was the owner of the Cleveland Browns, a franchise famous for fielding the likes of Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar and Otto Graham.
There was history in Cleveland, and Modell ripped that away when he moved the franchise to Baltimore. Alex Reimer of SB Nation took a look back at Modell's decision, and explained why it went down: "Like almost every relocation story, Modell's dissatisfaction with the Browns' lack of revenue spurred the move to Baltimore."
Clearly, Cleveland fans weren't happy. "The city of Cleveland also partnered with fans in a lawsuit," Reimer explained. Modell was Public Enemy No. 1, and when his Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000, things got worse.
Luckily, the Browns came back to Cleveland in 1999, and the city once again had a team. Even so, Modell's heel turn was a powerful act of treason in the Buckeye State.
All stats, box scores and information via Sports-Reference.com, unless noted otherwise.
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