Jose Reyes and the Most Cowardly Acts in Sports

How did you feel about Jose Reyes’ decision to bunt his way to a batting title?

The baseball world is up in arms over his decision to bunt his way to the title.

It got me thinking, what are some of the most memorable moments in sports that leave you thinking: “Wow, what an a-hole”. 

Players that put themselves before the team in such a blatant way it makes you wonder how they can sleep at night. 

There is no sport spared in this list and every single slide should leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth.

Because that’s the point of this…I want you feeling as sour as possible.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

10. Floyd Mayweather: Questionable KO vs Victor Ortiz

The most recent entry on the list, Ortiz had just head-butted Mayweather and felt bad about the illegal hit.

The two touched gloves and Ortiz felt the need to show his sorrow with one more quick hug. Mayweather took this opportunity to blast Ortiz with a two vicious punches that ended the match.

It wasn’t illegal…but it was far from something you could call “gamesmanship”.

You could make the case that his constant waffling in the whole Pacman fight is worthy of a spot on this list as well.

9. Jay Cutler: 2011 NFC Championship Game

The whole NFL world was watching.

The Bears and Packers had played a highly competitive half of football with a Super Bowl birth on the line.

Raw emotion of the players was at an all-time high…well everyone but Cutler.

He missed the entire second-half with a sprained MCL and looked completely disengaged from the rest of his teammates. He didn’t try and help the backups and really didn’t even look like he was in any pain.

Finding the exact play where he suffered the injury was impossible to do.

His team lost and over half of the NFL began to question if Cutler really did care about winning.

The same questions people still have about the QB.

8. Tonya Harding: Nancy Kerrigan Fiasco

“Whhhhhhy?”

It’s a video clip that will forever live in on.

Harding never has admitted to getting a goon to club Kerrigan’s leg, but the overwhelming evidence points in that direction.

The two figure skaters were both competing for a gold medal and Harding thought she needed some help. America was robbed of seeing the best figure skating competition in the ’94 Olympics because of it.

You can now watch Harding in the boxing ring or on Tru TV commenting on dumb criminals.

7. 2010 French Soccer Team

The 2010 World Cup didn’t get off to a great start for France and the team stuck true to stereotypes and decided to quit on their country.

Striker Nikolas Anelca was booted from the team for allegedly getting into a clash with the team manager. They even ended up losing to South Africa, one of the worst teams in the field. The team refused to practice between matches and acted like a bunch of whiny schoolgirls that missed their mommies.

The embarrassing part is that the entire team quit, not just a select few.

6. Bobby Petrino: Quit Falcons with 3 Games Left in Season

Petrino had no idea Michael Vick was going to go to jail before the season starts, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to just pickup and abandon your team with three games remaining.

He essentially just left his players and staff a note saying “I can’t take this, I’m going to Arkansas”.

You see this move in the collegiate ranks from time-to-time (think Brian Kelly), but never at the NFL level.

5. Jose Reyes: Bunting for a Batting Title

He had everything figured out. Get a quick bunt single in the first inning and take a seat.

A batting title would follow.

It worked perfectly, forcing Ryan Braun to go 3-for-4 later in the night just to tie him for the best batting average in the National League.

Fans booed when they realized what had just happened, and it’s hard to blame them. It’s proof that players really do only care about their stats and the team comes second.

Sure it was the last game of the year and nothing was on the line, but it’s almost like it’s a slap in the face to the baseball record books. Ted Williams is rolling over in his grave.

It’s a bush league move that should always be brought up when talking about his 2011 batting title.

4. Manny Ramirez: Abrupt Retirement from Rays

It was supposed to be a revival of the idiots of the ‘ole Red Sox teams.

Ramirez was pairing up with Johnny Damon to revitalize the Rays. Instead, Manny was busted with PED’s and was facing a 100-game suspension.

Instead of sucking it up and taking the ruling like a man…he retired.

He had gone completely incognito from the public eye before reappearing in the news for allegedly hitting his wife.

Talk about a guy whose career went down in flames in a hurry.

3. Mike Tyson: Biting Evander Holyfield’s Ear

The beginning of the end for Tyson, he bit Holyfield’s ear not once…but twice before referees disqualified him from the fight.

Tyson never regained his dominant form of earlier in the decade and the ear biting move was the incident that KO’ed him.

I think the worst part of this whole situation was the fact he did it twice. Once and you can play it off as an accident, twice and you are incredibly desperate…and really hungry.

2. Randy Moss: Lifetime Achievement Award

The only player on this list to quit on three different teams, Moss is not a good actor.

When Moss isn’t happy with his situation, he lets you know…right away.

From refusing to go over the middle in New England, to half-heartedly running routes in Minnesota to flat-out giving up in Tennessee this guy is an all-timer when it comes to giving up.

His actions have essentially blackballed him from the NFL. Moss has nobody to thank but himself for that.

1. Scottie Pippen: Quits in 1994 Eastern Conference Finals

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semis was tied at 102 and head coach Phil Jackson thought the best play was to give the ball to Toni Kukoc for the final shot with 1.8 seconds left.

With Michael Jordan striking out in minor league baseball, it was Pippen’s team and he wasn’t too happy with Jackson’s decision.

Pippen was furious and refused to take the court as he watched the Bulls win the game from the bench.

It was an all-timer when it comes to “me first” moves.