10 Sports Figures Who Proved That Time Heals All Wounds
The old notion "time heals all wounds" is especially relevant in sports. Athletes make mistakes. They're human beings, just like the rest of us.
One glaring difference is that fanbases tend not to forget, creating villains in the process.
But not all athletes suffer a Darth Vader-like fate. Some are able to admit their mistakes, or rectify them without directly acknowledging a prior offense, proving time does indeed heal all wounds.
Let's now explore those names that popped up on the final list.
Honorable Mention: Becky Hammon
1 of 11
Becky Hammon has gone from playing for Russia in the 2008 and '12 Olympic Games, despite being born and raised in the United States, to a surging figure in the world of men's basketball.
It's easy to forget now, as she is busy carving out a career as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, that Hammond once chose Russia over the United States Olympic squad.
Hammon built a career in Russia and the States. She was given a chance to thrive in Russia and took full advantage. At the time, the decision received as hefty amount of flack, as ESPN's Jim Caple touched on.
"U.S. coach Anne Donovan questioned Hammon's patriotism, calling her a traitor for playing for Russia, as if we still were fighting the Cold War and Ivan Drago was playing in the low post."
The Games have come and gone and Hammon remains a stalwart of American basketball's progressive ways. As part of Gregg Popovich's staff, she has built a resume worthy of becoming an NBA head coach.
Jerry Jones
2 of 11
You're telling me, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones actually owned up to one his mistakes? That can't be true. Can it?
If you take the comments Jones made radio station KTCK-AM 1310 (h/t Jean-Jacques Taylor at ESPN.com) seriously, then yes, he did. Talking about his fractured relationship with former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, Jones was candid about how he should have handled the situation.
"I probably should have had a little more tolerance with Jimmy Johnson. Seriously."
If you recall, Jones fired Johnson in 1994, then replaced him with former Oklahoma lead man Barry Switzer. The Cowboys went on to win one more Super Bowl before Switzer left the team on his own accord in '97.
We'll never know what could have been if Johnson had stuck around Dallas. At least Jones now has taken the time to admit he deserves a lot of blame for Johnson's Lone Star departure.
Mark McGwire
3 of 11
Mark McGwire chase to become Major League Baseball's home run king in 1998 took over the sports world. For fans of the game, the race between him and Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa made for outstanding television.
Years after the chase ended with McGwire belting a then-record 70 home runs, steroid allegations swept through Major League Baseball, effectively destroying the long-ball era so many people fell in love with growing up.
It took until 2010 for Big Mac to admit he was an offender. His days as baseball's home run Hercules were long gone.
Instead of casting him into the abyss, the Cardinals' fans embraced his admission. In April 2010, McGwire received a standing ovation when he took to the field at the team's hitting coach.
Six years later, he's now with the San Diego Padres as a bench coach. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Tribune even talked about McGwire wanting to manage in the majors: "Mark McGwire has acknowledged his interest in being a manager someday."
From steroids to potentially managing his own club. It's been a crazy career arch for McGwire.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
LeBron James
4 of 11
If time doesn't heel all wounds, an NBA Championship certainly will.
LeBron James' decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 for the Miami Heat has been well documented at this point. He went from being a hometown hero to a villain of Earth-shifting proportions.
James won two NBA titles in South Beach and played in four straight NBA Finals. Cavaliers fans watched on as their King took his talents elsewhere and thrived.
Forgiveness came in the summer of 2014, when James reversed course and returned to his throne. Coming back to Cleveland was a chance to ratify his earlier choice. James took the Cavs to back-to-back NBA Finals, winning the latter one thanks to a historic performance.
King James' greatness cannot be overlooked. His three NBA titles are merely the tipping point for how brilliant he has been.
Josh Hamilton
5 of 11
Josh Hamilton's career in baseball is, without question, one people will never forget. As the former No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 MLB draft, Hamilton was put in a position to take control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
A lengthy and horrific battle with addiction derailed his career in the mid-2000s, as Mike DiGiovanna's piece for the Los Angeles Times detailed: "It was Oct. 1, 2005, and Hamilton was a ghost of the player who would become a five-time all-star and 2010 American League most valuable player with the Texas Rangers."
Life turned around for Hamilton and he became a driving force for the Texas Rangers, winning an American League MVP in 2010 and signing a five-year, $125 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in 2013.
We don't know what his future holds—Hamilton had returned to Texas in 2015, before suffering a threatening knee injury. All we do know is getting clean and finding redemption is a great example of time healing all wounds.
Hamilton is an inspiration for many people out there, and rightfully so.
Michael Vick
6 of 11
Admitting mistakes doesn't always happen with free-agent moves or coming back to one's home city. In Michael Vick's case, his world was turned upside down by an illegal dog-fighting ring.
Vick's involvement destroyed his status as the Atlanta Falcons franchise quarterback and evaporated endorsement deals along the way. He also served a 23-month prison sentence, which was stunning at the time, considering he was an NFL superstar.
When Vick left prison in 2009, ESPN.com summed up where he was in life: "Michael Vick is out of prison and headed home, penniless and reviled for running a vicious dogfighting ring, but hopeful for a second chance at his once-charmed life as a star NFL quarterback."
His sense of redemption came with the Philadelphia Eagles. A rejuvenated Vick started 42 games over five seasons, throwing for 9,984 yards, rushing for an additional 1,998 and scoring a total of 72 touchdowns.
Even working with two head coaches, the one constant was Vick's ability to adapt. On a personal front, he also tried to mend broken fences.
Bill Simmons, writing for ESPN at the time, explained Vick's turnaround, while putting into context how certain individuals—and rightfully so—will never forgive him: "Even after I explained that Vick rehabilitated his life, renounced dogfighting and became a spokesman for the Humane Society, she shook her head in disgust."
Forgiving him is a personal choice. But for those willing to give him a second chance, Vick has never deflected blame, instead focusing on how to better himself as a human being.
Justin Gatlin
7 of 11
Justin Gatlin isn't Usain Bolt. Besides not having all of the accolades that Bolt does, Gatlin's past has been filled with controversy.
His career, despite being incredibly decorated in its own right—including a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games—is polluted with PED allegations. It's tainted his legacy, even worse, it has tainted his stellar rivalry with Bolt.
"I’m not a bad guy. I don’t want to be perceived that way," Gatlin told Flinder Boyd of Fox Sports. Performance-enhancing ways of life are tough to forgive. But Gatlin has paid the price.
"Gatlin received an eight-year ban, later reduced to four years for cooperation with authorities," Boyd wrote. As Boyd's article states, the standout American has now been tested since 2006 and always has come up clean.
Now that he's medaled in the 100-meter once again at the Rio Games—silver this time—will fans finally forgive his past transgressions?
Brett Favre
8 of 11
Brett Favre's decision to sign with the Minnesota Vikings prior to the 2009 NFL season still sends shockwaves down the spines of Green Bay Packers fans.
Favre turned the Vikings from NFC North pretender to a legit Super Bowl threat. It was crazy to watch No. 4 in purple and gold each week. And the fact he spent two years there—including one of the best seasons of his career—had to be even more challenging for the Packers faithful to accept.
Favre never fully admitted he made a mistake. The closest he got to seeking any sort of forgiveness was letting the world he know he picked Minnesota on purpose to enact revenge on the Packers, per Will Brinson of CBS Sports.
However, an estimated 67,000 people proved Green Bay was a forgiving town when Favre was introduced at a Packers Hall of Fame ceremony in July 2015. They stood up and gave their former quarterback a five-minute ovation, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
Favre was grateful for the reception, ending his weird standoff with the team he guided for 16 years.
D'Angelo Russell
9 of 11
If we're to believe D'Angelo Russell is the future of the Los Angeles Lakers, we first have to forgive him for his rookie mistakes.
Russell's initial year in the Staples Center was marred by Kobe Bryant's farewell tour and Russell's bizarre incident filming teammate Nick Young's private conversation. The video ended up on gossip web platforms, as Bill Landis of Cleveland.com mentioned.
The young Lakers guard did apologize—as Landis' article highlights—turning this internal Lakers drama into more of a life lesson. A majority of fans backed Russell from the jump, as ESPN's Jovan Buha wrote in April 2016.
As time moves forward, Russell should continue to become the focal point of the Lakers' offense. He remains a young, talented guard with his best days on the horizon. That's something this Lakers team needs in the absence of Bryant.
Andy Pettitte
10 of 11
Major League Baseball's PED war engulfed so many names it was hard to keep up. When former New York Yankees and Houston Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte saw his name get called during the Mitchell report, he acted fast.
At the time, Pettitte admitted to using human growth hormone for a two-day period in 2002. In 2008, he came clean again, this time discussing the issue and former teammate Roger Clemens' use of the substance.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wrote it was a "soul-cleansing" news conference. Pettitte talked about everything, asked for forgiveness and eventually he was granted such, when the Yankees announced they would retire his number in 2015.
Like many names on this list, choosing to forgive Pettitte's past transgressions is up to you. The one thing we can all agree is he went about it the right way, holding that presser in '08.
Reggie Bush
11 of 11
At one point, Reggie Bush was the best collegiate football player on the planet. He helped the USC Trojans achieve greatness, even capturing a Heisman Trophy in 2005.
When allegations surfaced about USC's misconduct involving Bush and former college hoops star O.J. Mayo, the team's '05 season was vacated. Bush handed back his Heisman shortly after, becoming the first player ever to do so.
He admitted to making a handful of mistakes, even offering to help the NCAA educate athletes on collegiate perils, per ESPN's Ted Miller.
Bush has since moved on, putting together an interesting and relatively successful NFL career, rushing for 5,493 yards and racking up an additional 3,508 in receiving.
He will be remembered for having a spectacular career in college, dazzling fans across the globe and giving back a Heisman Trophy. Regardless of his past transgressions, Bush remains the running definition of a highlight reel.
All stats, box scores and information via Sports-Reference.com, unless noted otherwise.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
