A Brief History of T-Shirt Trolling in Sports

Are Yasiel Puig and the Log Angeles Dodgers the ultimate sports T-shirt trolls?

Back in 2011, former NFL wide receiver Derrick Mason called commissioner Roger Goodell "a joke" during a radio interview, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports, and later wore a T-shirt that had "a joke" printed on it.

Was Mason the original sports T-shirt troll? Probably not, but he was part of a movement that only seems to be gaining steam with time. From Mason to Puig to LeBron James' "Ultimate Warrior" shirt, the following represent a sampling of 12 trolling T-shirts from over the years. The best ones manage to be hilarious but not offensive. And the worst, well, don't.  

From bad to meh to fantastic, here it is: a brief (albeit incomplete) history of T-shirt trolling in sports.

'Roll Tears Roll'

Alabama crushed USC, 52-6, to open the 2016 college football season, and it wasn't a surprising result. What was surprising was this T-shirt, sold by the USC bookstore ahead of the matchup:

Alabama fans have a history of producing some pretty wicked troll shirts, and the savage (and one might say, inappropriate) clapback to the "tears" shirt was no exception. (It's worth noting that shirt, like a lot of fan-produced apparel, was not affiliated with the university.)

'These O's Ain't Royal'  

First rule of T-shirt trolling: Try not to be overtly insensitive, profane or offensive. (Right, LeGarrette Blount?) Former Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie missed the mark on that one when he wore this to a press conference during the 2014 American League Championship Series:

The phrase was a play on lyrics from Chris Brown's "Loyal" that aren't exactly respectful to women. Guthrie later apologized.

'VT 35, NAT'L CHAMPS 21'

Rule No. 2: Try not to be weak. During Ohio State's run to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, the Buckeyes lost one game—to the Virginia Tech Hokies in September. Even though their team went on to a disappointing 7-6 record, a few VT fans found their victory over the eventual champs worth noting on a T-shirt. Not terrible, but also not the strongest play:

Note: If you're going to troll using scores and/or records, this is the way to do it it:

Shaq and the 'Unaminous' MVP

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was named the NBA's first unanimous MVP in May, prompting Shaquille O'Neal to later don a T-shirt with an unfortunate (or possibly intentional?) misspelling:

This one is hilarious either way because, well, it's Shaq. But in general, a misspelling will pretty much stop any T-shirt troll job in its tracks.  

Alright. Let's get into some that are actually good.

'Duck Hunt'

College football fans can be pretty clever when it comes to trolling their rivals with apparel. Notre Dame fans have been doing it for years. But kudos to this Nintendo-inspired shirt sported by a few Cal fans during a 2014 game against Oregon:  

Cal lost the game, but still, good show. What kid in the 1990s didn't love Duck Hunt?

2009 NBA Draft

At a March game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs, one fan (apparently intent on bumming out Wolves fans) wore this:

…a sour reminder that the team passed on drafting two-time MVP Stephen Curry, twice. Brutal, yet awesome.

Charles Barkley and Jump-Shooting Teams  

NBA great Charles Barkley once said, "I don't like jump-shooting teams. I don't think you can make enough jumpers to win four series in a row," per Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. When the Golden State Warriors (a jump-shooting team, in case you're unaware) won the NBA title in 2015, this was made for Barkley:

Barkley wore it like a champ, too, achieving something like reverse trolling/trolling himself. Hilarious.

Floyd Mayweather and the Philippines Flag

Ahead of his highly anticipated May 2015 bout against Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather took to peddling some merchandise. Check out this T-shirt, sold on his website and at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, per Boxing Junkie:

Pacquiao is from the Philippines, and that sure looks a lot like the country's flag. Ouch.

'Hit the Ball Before the Ball Hits You'

In 2014, Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit .286 with 32 home runs and made his first All-Star team. He also managed to hit himself with a lot of baseballs, or, as Matt Snyder of CBS Sports put it, "Rizzo has shown the uncanny ability this season to get hit by pitches that he swings at." Apparently a few of his teammates used good, old-fashioned T-shirt humor to rib the guy:

'Stay Classy, Philly!'

In further proof that lighthearted humor is fantastic, behold, Philadelphia Flyers supporters. In April, fans lashed out after a playoff loss by throwing giveaway bracelets onto the ice. According to Nick Schwartz of Fox Sports, public address announcer Lou Nolan urged fans to cease (unsuccessfully). At a subsequent game, fans wore this:

That's Nolan, by the way. Fans trolling themselves—now that's glorious.

'Don't Look at Me' 

In September, San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner and Puig got into a little tiff that resulted in empty benches. The exchange apparently went something like this, according to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times: 

A day later, Puig and a few other Dodgers players wore these:

Absolutely savage.

'Ultimate Warrior'

But the king of T-shirt trolls is, incidentally, the King. James' Cleveland Cavaliers stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, and here's what James wore on the flight home:  

James claimed the obvious implication was a coincidence, as he explained to Business Insider's Alyson Shontell. Hmm. Also, that Kermit hat, though. Long live the king.