Settle Down: 10 Recent Exaggerations in Sports
Tom Brady's suspension is like jail? James Harden is going to run away with the NBA MVP?
Folks in sports—as they do in life—have a tenancy to exaggerate once in a while. The following are 10 times in the not-too-distant past sports figures may have gone just a bit too far out there. Their comments rank from minor embellishments to gross overstatements.
One name that perhaps comes immediately to mind is Ryan Lochte. The American swimmer's tall tale about his nighttime experiences at a Rio gas station have gotten him in a heap of hot water with USA Swimming, his sponsors and fans.
But Lochte's was an incident too serious for today's purposes. No, the following statements are, generally speaking, on the lighter side and can be reduced to a single quote.
Who has been sports' biggest exaggerator this summer? Let's find out.
Patrick Beverley on James Harden
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"MVP and leading us to the Finals. Simple."
— Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley on what to expect from teammate James Harden in 2016-17, per Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders
No disrespect to Harden. The shooting guard is a four-time All-Star, and he finished second to Stephen Curry in the 2014-15 MVP voting. It's not outrageous to suggest the 27-year-old could contend for the award again. His 2015-16 numbers were on par with 2014-15 (29 points and 7.5 assists per game vs. 27.4 and 7.0, respectively).
And yet, his defense has been heavily criticized. Even teammate Corey Brewer acknowledged Harden's defensive shortcomings and told ESPN's SportsNation (via Ananth Pandian of CBS Sprots), "We're going to let the past be in the past. It's the future Rockets, man. James is going to play defense this year."
Also, with guys like Stephen Curry and LeBron James running around, it's tough to say anyone is a surefire MVP.
Cyborg on Rivalry with Ronda Rousey
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"Me and Ronda have a novella together, and you have to finish a novella. Everybody wants to watch this fight. If you ask all the fans who they want to see, I think they want to see Ronda Rousey and Cyborg."
— UFC fighter Cris "Cyborg" Justino on her desire to face former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, per TMZ (h/t Scott Rafferty of Rolling Stone)
Cyborg and Rousey do have a long history of trash talk. For instance, in 2015, Rousey suggested Cyborg took steroids, and Cyborg said she felt "sorry for" Rousey in a Facebook response. Cyborg also suggested Rousey had a "weak mind," after Rousey talked about suicidal thoughts on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (h/t Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow).
And yet, to call their situation a "novella" (a short novel) seems a bit of a reach, particularly since there hasn't been much traction on the trash talk front lately.
And if "novella" isn't enough of an overstatement, Cyborg also added, per TMZ, "I'll kill her. I put everything she said about me in my hands."
Mike Leach on Washington State's 0-2 Start
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"We have the atmosphere of a JC softball game. I mean, that's what we are—a JC softball team. As long—it's not whether you win or lose, it's like the team that wins is the one that has the most fun. Crap like that. All that stuff that's contaminated America where they give every kid a trophy, and they don't keep score in little league anymore. I think that entire thing is retarding the competitive spirit of America."
— Washington State head coach Mike Leach on his team's 0-2 start, per Evan Closky of KREM (h/t Andrew Joseph of For the Win)
First of all, what did JC softball ever do to Leach?
Second, in his impassioned presser rant, Leach went on to, in a roundabout way, blame the culture of youth sports in America for his team's losses to Eastern Washington and Boise State.
Sure, sometimes frustration breeds exaggeration, but that's a bit much.
For what it's worth, the rant included several other statements that may or may not have been exaggerations, but they sure sounded like them. Per Kevin Gemmell of ESPN.com:
- "I've got receivers running routes that don't even resemble anything we teach."
- "We run out of bounds more than any team in the country."
- "We're the easiest team in the country to tackle."
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Michael Bennett on Jay Cutler
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"Worst quarterback in the NFL."
— Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett on Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler, per Mina Kimes of ESPN The Magazine
Bennett and his brother, Martellus—a tight end for the New England Patriots—were the subjects of a profile by Kimes in August. Cutler certainly wasn't the only NFL player to get roasted—the brothers got their jabs in on Eli Manning and Sam Bradford as well. But is Cutler really the worst QB in the NFL?
The brothers are certainly entitled to their opinions. Martellus—who played with Cutler in Chicago for three years—also said, "I'd be open and he'd throw into double coverage," per Kimes. Personal experience could absolutely affect those opinions.
And yet, here is what the numbers had to say:
In 2015, Cutler ranked 19th among NFL QBs in total yards with 3,659 and 17th in touchdowns with 21. His passer rating (92.3) was a career high and better than that of Oakland's Derek Carr, Minnesota's Teddy Bridgewater and Baltimore's Joe Flacco.
Statistically speaking, Cutler was definitely not the best, but he wasn't the worst either.
Conor McGregor on UFC 200
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"They didn't put me on the card—that's OK—and the card bombed. I was ringside."
— UFC fighter Conor McGregor on UFC 200, sans him, per GQ (h/t Damon Martin of Fox Sports)
No surprise on McGregor's inclusion here—the Irish fighter is pretty well known for making outrageous statements.
Yes, UFC 200 went without its highly anticipated matchup between McGregor and Nate Diaz. Martin wrote, "…what was supposed to be the biggest card of all time took a decided hit."
Still, to say the event "bombed" is an exaggeration. Amanda Nunes took down Miesha Tate to become the latest titleholder in the revolving door of women's bantamweight champions. Brock Lesnar made a much-hyped return to the UFC and notched a unanimous decision over Mark Hunt.
Jonathan Bradley of Fox Sports wrote, "UFC 200 lived up to the hype Saturday night, producing many memorable fights throughout the card and ending with back-to-back upsets."
Also, the event helped turn in a record viewership on FS1 for the weekend, according to Nielsen Media Research (via MMA Weekly). Hardly an epic fail.
Joel Embiid on Sam Hinkie
6 of 10"THE GOAT"
— Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, captioning an Instagram photo of former general manager Sam Hinkie
This appears to have been lighthearted, laced with possibly even a hint of a joke, but still.
The jury is still out on whether Hinkie's "process" will prove fruitful for the 76ers. The former general manager—who resigned in April after being "asked to take a reduced role," per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today—did set the wheels in motion for the team to land No. 1 overall draft pick and super-prospect Ben Simmons.
But the GOAT? If anyone is the GOAT of NBA executives, it would have to be someone like Jerry Colangelo (who, incidentally, was the man behind Hinkie's aforementioned "reduced role") or Pat Riley, right?
Kudos to Embiid for showing respect (or just being funny), but GOAT is not a term to be thrown around lightly.
Alexis Sanchez on His Abilities
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"I liken [my qualities] to Messi and Ronaldo. I have the same abilities as them."
— Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez on himself, per Spanish newspaper Sport (translated by and via ESPN FC)
It's not as if Sanchez is not talented. The 27-year-old Chilean scored 13 Premier League goals for Arsenal in 2015-16, and he has been a part of FA Cup and Copa America tournament wins.
And yet, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi have eight Ballon d'Or trophies between them. They have been, indisputably, the two greatest footballers in the world for years.
On Sanchez's potential to reach the upper echelons, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said, "He's ambitious and of course he is a guy who wants to win every game so it's good to have that kind of ambition to be the best. He has the potential and the quality, it's just up to him to show that," per George Bellshaw of Metro.co.uk.
Confidence is awesome, and good for Sanchez for keeping the bar high. Perhaps he simply meant what his manager meant, i.e. that he has the potential to reach Ronaldo or Messi-like heights.
Julian Edelman on Tom Brady's Suspension
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"I'm not going to lie, it's like one of your buddies going to jail."
— New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman on the suspension of his teammate, quarterback Tom Brady, per ESPN's Mike Reiss
Brady is currently serving a four-game suspension for his alleged role in Deflategate.
Is Brady's suspension unfair? Some would say yes. Some (like this writer) would even say it's a complete atrocity. Should the NFL players aggressively hit the negotiating table to ensure the commissioner doesn't have the type of overarching power that led to Brady's suspension in the future? Definitely.
Even so, Brady is suspended from football. He's playing catch with his wife and weighing in on his team's performance. He's not locked up.
To be fair, Edelman also added, per Reiss, "It's one of those type of things, and the whole situation is unfortunate, but it's happened and we have to move on."
Derrick Rose on New York Knicks
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"They're high. I mean, with these teams right now, they're saying us and Golden State are the superteams…"
— New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose on the expectations for his team, per Lang Whitaker of NBA.com
Folks call the Golden State Warriors a "superteam" because they stand to have four 2015-16 All-Stars in their starting lineup (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant), not to mention two NBA MVPs (Curry and Durant). If Miami's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh constituted a stacked roster, then the Warriors circa 2016-17 are mega-stacked.
The Knicks, on the other hand, do have a former MVP in Rose and one 2015-16 All-Star in Carmelo Anthony. Offseason additions Rose, Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee, along with second-year big man Kristaps Porzingis, certainly make the 2016-17 Knicks intriguing. But to put them on the same level as the Warriors is, um, a reach.
Rose doubled down on the comments in August, however, stating, "I still believe that," per Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Sister on His Euro 2016 Injury
10 of 10"But God is great and just as our savior Jesus Christ suffered on the cross for a better world for us, Cristiano cried in the pain of not being able to help his teammates and his beloved people."
— Cristiano Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro, on her brother's injury during the Euro 2016 Final, translated by the Independent (via Nate Scott of For the Win)
Um…well. This is a big one.
Ronaldo, Portugal's captain, went down with an injury during the first half of the Euro 2016 Final. His team eventually won, 1-0, on the strength of an extra-time goal by Eder, to secure Portugal's first major tournament victory.
Ronaldo's sister posted the above quote as part of an Instagram caption underneath a photo collage dedicated to her brother and Portugal's win.
This probably goes without saying, but comparing any athlete injury to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is absolutely, definitely, a gross overstatement.
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