Antonio Cromartie Takes on Union, Ray Lewis: The NFL's 10 Most Shameless Players

The NFL compiles the best football talent and displays it on the field every Sunday in the fall to millions and millions of fans.

Football, as a game, is just the best sport there is.

These players aren't perfect. They make mistakes like all of us, but sometimes they fail to own up to them. They use their stardom to get out of things, and it truly is a shame.

NFL players have been the best athletes since high school football. They have been given anything and everything to them, and sometimes they don't know how to handle situations.

For as good as they are on the field, most of them are just as bad off of it.

The fact is that this list could probably be expanded up to 100, but I chose hear to just list 10 of them.

10. Nick Fairley

I know he is not in the NFL yet, but he soon will be after he gets taken in the NFL Draft this upcoming April.

Gene Chizik just calls him a football player, and some claim he is unblockable.

Granted he is a great football player, and the Panthers, Broncos, or Bills are going to have a great addition to their team.

But Nick Fairley is a thug, and he is a dirty football player. I know I am a Georgia fan, but just watch the video on this slide and you will see what I am saying.

9. Chad Ochocinco

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CINCINNATI - NOVEMBER 21: Chad Ochocinco #85 of the Cincinnati Bengals watches the final minute of the Bengals 49-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Paul Brown Stadium on November 21, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

I was going to attempt to write this in 140 characters, but a lot more needs to be said.

Chad Johnson, Chad Ochocinco. Can you make your mind up?

Do you not know that it is against the rules to tweet during games?

Why do you continue to do it?

Chad Ochocinco has little respect for this game and he shows it with his lack of discipline with Twitter, and although I love most of his touchdown celebrations, they disrespect the game of football.

But according to Ochocinco, he does nothing wrong.

8. Michael Vick

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 09: Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs down field against the Green Bay Packers during the 2011 NFC wild card playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 9, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chr

I believe that Vick is truly sorry for his actions, but I think the only reason he thinks that is because he got caught.

Vick was able to use his stardom to help finance this operation and because he got caught he lost a lot of money.

Now, Vick is on the road to redemption and he is doing a great job in repairing his image.

He's a great athlete, and I think that he is on the right track now, but as a Falcons fan, there still is some anger with what he did to that franchise.

7. Ben Roethlisberger

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 23: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers turns to hand the ball off against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2011 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The

I don't believe that Ben Roethlisberger has truly learned his lesson.

In 2008, Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting Andrea McNulty in a hotel room in Lake Tahoe

In 2010, Roethlisberger was investigated for sexually assaulting another female in an unrelated case in Milledgeville, Georgia.

I am not saying that Roethlisberger is guilty in either case, but something has to be said of him putting himself in these situations.

If you have a drinking problem, going to the bar isn't your best bet. If you have trouble somewhere it is best that you don't go near that place.

Roethlisberger was punished and he said that he is a changed person, but like most NFL players, I just believe that they feel sorry because they were caught.

6. Brett Favre

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LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 28: Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings scrambles against the Washington Redskins at FedExField November 28, 2010 in Landover, Maryland. The Vikings won the game 17-13. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Note: This is not the Brett Favre and Retirement, but moreso the Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger situation.

Because Brett Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, that means that he can refuse to cooperate with the NFL in an investigation.

Just tell the truth. If you took a picture of yourself, and then you sent it to someone, be honest about it.

I know that this is something that is hard for NFL players to do because of the repercussions, but I just wish more of them had better character.

I don't personally have a problem with the whole Brett Favre retirement talk. Mainly because I am not going to rag on a guy that wants to play football.

Something has to be said though about the fact that he has a difficult time making up his mind. He doesn't seem to feel sorry for anyone, even though he affects a lot of people's jobs with the decisions that he makes. For the most part, it's all about Brett Favre.

5. Antonio Cromartie

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FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 16: Antonio Cromartie #31 of the New York Jets runs back a kick by the New England Patriots during their 2011 AFC divisional playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 16, 2011 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Image

All you have to do is read what he just said.

"To me, you need to stop bitching about it," the New York Jets cornerback said. "And if you wanna say you're gonna get into a room and meet and greet, and say you're gonna do what you need to do, then do it. Don't just talk about it."

"I don't give a who about Ray Lewis or [Darnell Dockett] talking about what I said," Cromartie posted on Twitter. "There's 10's of thousand ppl who will lose jobs. They taking our healthcare away and for players that have surgery can't even get rehab once March 3rd gets here."

Considering the fact that this is a guy with nine kids by eight women that reside in six states, he should not be the one talking. He should shut up and thank God that he's not in jail.

I'm all for players criticizing what is going on, but it's all about doing it in a respectful way.

4. Plaxico Burress

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LEBANON - JANUARY 14: New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrives at the Lebanon County Courthouse January 14, 2009 in Lebanon, Pa. Burress is scheduled to appear in a civil trial in a dispute with an automobile dealer over what he owes in dama

Okay, so here's the situation.

You own a gun, and it's against the law in New York City to carry an unregistered firearm. Not only am I going to bring a gun to the nightclub, but I am going to forget I don't have the safety on. Long story short, I am going to reach for it in my pants, and shoot my self in the leg, literally.

Burress now has a long time to think about what he did, and once he gets out, hopefully he will be a changed man.

I think that he will be, and hopefully he doesn't put himself in those situations. Only then, will you know if he truly is sorry for what he did.

But at the end of the day, it's still pretty hard to feel bad for him.

3. Brandon Marshall

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MIAMI - NOVEMBER 18: Receiver Brandon Marshall #19 of the Miami Dolphins runs as safety Charles Tillman #33 of the Chicago Bears defends at Sun Life Stadium on November 18, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

With a rap sheet longer than a line of Auburn fans at a Walmart waiting to take a picture with the National Championship trophy, Brandon Marshall is lucky that he has only been suspended for one game.

Just look at his rap sheet, from Wikipedia:

According to Orlando-Orange County public records (case 48-2004-MM-012392-O), on Halloween 2004, while a student at UCF, Marshall was arrested in Orlando on charges of assault on a law enforcement officer, refusal to obey, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.

On January 1, 2007, Marshall was present at "The Shelter," a nightclub in Denver, Colorado, along with teammates Javon Walker and Darrent Williams. The trio was attending a birthday party held for and by Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin. As the players were leaving the club in a limousine, Williams was fatally shot in the neck after an unknown assailant opened fire on the vehicle. Willie Clark was later charged with the murder. Walker has stated in interviews that the shooter was likely a nightclub patron whose motive was retaliation after being involved in an altercation with Marshall's cousin earlier that night.

On March 26, 2007, Marshall was arrested in the Highlands Ranch suburb of Denver on suspicion of domestic violence after his girlfriend reported that following a domestic dispute, Marshall prevented a taxi she was in from leaving his house. Charges from the incident were later dismissed on May 25, 2007, after Marshall completed anger management counseling.

In the early morning of October 22, 2007, Marshall was arrested in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area at the intersection of 14th and Blake St. for driving under the influence of alcohol. A trial was scheduled for September 16, but Marshall instead agreed to a plea bargain four days earlier; he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of driving while ability impaired. He was sentenced to one-year probation and 24 hours of community service.

On June 12, 2008, Marshall was ticketed for an illegal lane change, then found to be without his license and proof of insurance. The case was eventually dropped as part of a plea bargain for the October 22, 2007 driving incident involving alcohol.

According to an article published in the Rocky Mountain News on July 28, 2008, Douglas County deputies fielded "about 11" calls to Marshall's home since January 2006. The article stated that one call resulted in Marshall being arrested (the March 26, 2007 domestic dispute), and some did not involve him at all.

A September 17, 2008 article on CompleteColorado.com stated that the solicitor's office in Fulton County, Georgia filed misdemeanor battery charges on September 10 for an alleged incident on March 4, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia. Marshall was booked on March 6, then released the next day after posting a $1,000 cash bond. The case was assigned to Judge John Mather in Georgia state court. On August 14, 2009, a jury in Atlanta found Marshall not guilty.

On March 1, 2009, Marshall was arrested in Atlanta for disorderly conduct after allegedly being involved in a fight with his fiancee, Michi Nogami-Campbell. Marshall was released on a $300 bond. The charges were dropped the following day.

Again, he has to feel luck that he's only been suspended for one game

2. Albert Haynesworth

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GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 02: Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth #92 of the Washington Redskins in action during preseason NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 2, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardina

Haynesworth is an NFL player. How can he not be conditioned to play this great game and refuse to apologize for it?

Why does he refuse to play in a 3-4 defense?

Haynesworth has a great reason, "I'm just not that good at it."

At least you're being honest about it, that has to count for something, but come on, this is the NFL. You do what your coaches tell you. I was taught that in pee-wee ball. I didn't make excuses.

You play in the NFL. You stomp on other players, you aren't conditioned properly when you know that you are going to take a conditioning test.

Oh, and remember when he did this.

1. The Majority of The Players in The NFL

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 23: (L-R) Calvin Pace #97, Bryan Thomas #58, Jason Taylor #99, Antonio Cromartie #31 and Jamaal Westerman #55 of the New York Jets celebrate after an interception by Thomas against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2011 AFC Cham

These players get to play football for a living. Most of us played up until high school, a few reached college, but these players are now making money playing this great game.

But sometimes they just think they are better than everyone else. They use their stardom to get past things and most of them think that they are invincible.

There are some good guys in the NFL, there are some players that own up for their actions, but the majority of the players just don't.

Just look at the tweets and comments from some of the players in regards to when Jay Cutler went down with an injury. Those players showed disrespect to one of their own, one of the players in the league.

NFL players are great on the field, they go out and produce the greatest game on the face of the planet, but off the field, most of them are an embarrassment to society. 

So who did I leave out?

Is there anyone on this list that I should not have included?