DC Sports History: Most Loathsome Athletes

[badinage]

Who are the most loathsome characters in sports in the history of this city?

Not management — players.

You can reserve your votes for acts on the field, or off it.

I’m sure some will bring up Gilbert. I wouldn’t; he wasn’t judicious, but that’s not the same as loathsome. Riggo was impolite to a Supreme Court Justice once; seems quaint now.

I’m having trouble finding anyone who comes close to approaching the absolute gall — the brazen ruthlessness — the sheer mafioso-like vindictiveness and pettiness — of Bradley Beal.

This is a stunningly ignominious exit.

Help me — is there anything else that goes on the list??

[gambitx777]

Who are the most loathsome characters in sports in the history of this city?

Not management — players.

You can reserve your votes for acts on the field, or off it.

I’m sure some will bring up Gilbert. I wouldn’t; he wasn’t judicious, but that’s not the same as loathsome. Riggo was impolite to a Supreme Court Justice once; seems quaint now.

I’m having trouble finding anyone who comes close to approaching the absolute gall — the brazen ruthlessness — the sheer mafioso-like vindictiveness and pettiness — of Bradley Beal.

This is a stunningly ignominious exit.

Help me — is there anything else that goes on the list??

I think he's probably the worst piff might remember someone doing something really bad in 1968 or something but man this has to be tops.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[queridiculo]

Out of pocket.

Put that energy where it belongs, hating Leonsis and his sorry ass.

[keynote]

Feel free to vent. As long as you acknowledge that this is irrational.

Once Beal and the Wizards decided to part ways, Beal did what was best for Beal. Before that, he never demanded a trade. He maximized his talent, given his lack of size and injury history. He's a 6'3" SG, and he's not an explosive condor like Mitchell. He started off as an off-ball shooter and built a dribble penetration game from scratch. Who does that -- ever?!

He put in work in the community. Tons of work.

I don't see how that puts him on a list that could include Dinwiddie, Jordan (for derailing the rebuild to buttress his vanity comeback tour, and for calling verbally abusing his fragile #1 overall pick and calling him a homophobic slur), or Haynesworth (who really did everything that fans falsely accuse Beal of doing), just to name a few.

There have been countless Wizards who received above market value deals from us, only to underwhelm and disappoint almost immediately.

FAs who left us high and dry. Ariza spurned us, even when we matched Houston's offer.

There have been players with questionable work ethic. Hot Plate. Isaac Austin. I'd include John Wall on this list.

Players with no dawg in 'em. Porter should've been more. So should Kwame (even with MJ hurling homophobic slurs at him in practice).

Players with questionable BBIQ. McGee and Young.

We've had Andray Blatche and Glen Rice Jr!

Crittenton killed a guy!!

And Beal's in the top of your list?

[daSwami]

Dino Cicirelli allegedly initiated the gang rape of a teenage girl. Yet somehow I hate Beal more rn.

[Benjammin]

Albert Haynesworth certainly should be on that list.

[montestewart]

Let’s put all this into perspective. You probably don’t have to go too far back into history to find DC baseball or football players who were openly racist. Hopefully everyone thinks that’s worse than anything Beal did.

[pancakes3]

Albert Haynesworth certainly should be on that list.

yeah this was who came immediately to mind.

maybe bryce harper but i'm not a baseball guy.

[Halcyon]

My sports history and knowledge of the DC area spans about the past 20-25 years or so. #1 is Albert Haynesworth by a long shot, I don't think anyone comes remotely close. Maybe if you consider the O's as part of the landscape prior to the Nats, then Albert Belle was a pretty terrible person, although I am not sure if he didn't anything in particular while on the O's (other than being overpaid).

[80sballboy]

Even though he was before my time, George Preston Marshall would be easy for most loathsome owner. Was a bit late when it came to integrating the Skins (very). I never really thought about most loathsome athlete. Never liked guys who underachieved. They had some talent but didn't work hard on their game, body or both. So Blatche would be near the top of my list. The Bullets drafted Kenny Green in the first round, but it wasn't his fault that they took him over Karl Malone.

I rooted for the WFT from around 1975-1996. I can't think of any athlete on that team that I hated. Joe T. wasn't the most well-liked because he never stopped talking, but he usually backed it up. I think defenseman Kevin Hatcher for the Caps was pretty hated. More on the ice for off.

I guess in terms of recency, I'd go with Spencer Dinwiddie. Doesn't seem like a bad guy, but a whiner who was right about some things, but he wasn't blameless about what happened here.

[Jay81]

beal isnt one of them....he has bee high character. He plays hard..worked on his game....improved his skillset. Nobody forced him to sign the max with a no trade clause.

[80sballboy]

beal isnt one of them....he has bee high character. He plays hard..worked on his game....improved his skillset. Nobody forced him to sign the max with a no trade clause.

Yeah, I don't get the relevance of the thread. Wall was more well-liked, but he also was more flawed off the court. Brad was a good dude, but I also didn't always see him live up to even his own lofty standards. Not at the end of games or on the defensive side. A lot of guys are overpaid. He is just one of many. Don't hate the player.

[AFM]

Javaris Crittenton shot and killed a single mother. Was just released from prison 2 months ago, somehow.

[GoneShammGone]

Javaris Crittenton shot and killed a single mother. Was just released from prison 2 months ago, somehow.

Guy served an entire prison sentence for murder while I've been reading this board. Makes me feel really old.

edit: probably shouldn't joke about that guy. Sorry.

[gambitx777]

I probably diss like Beal now more than any other sports figure in the towns history. Maybe not as much as Snyder but definitely more than just about any player.

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[pancakes3]

The only wizard that i truly dislike is probably Tim Legler but that's bc he went to a rival HS in Richmond and he talks sh*t about the zards unnecessarily. Don Maclean does this too. they'll say stuff like "some organizations are just bad, like the Wizards, and trust me, i'm speaking from personal experience" Yes, I understand that the organization was a mess of an organization when you were here, but new name, new owner, new management - the team is bad under a completely different set of circumstances, so shaddup.

a little bitter at the long list of bums that have graced the MCI/Verizon/Capital One center I don't loathe them. party john making $1.6M in 6 career games. the Areds and the Arvis's. the Dmacs, the Yi's, the Veseleys. Javale. Kwame. 2 career-ending injuries to 2 dynamic all-nba guards within the span of a decade. That all is part of the charm of being a fan of a cursed franchise. Nothing to loathe. Not the players to blame.

[TGW]

Where’s pineapple to put his vote in for Rod Strickland

That man hated Rod. I think it was the hotdog thing. For me, it’s Donovan Mcnabb.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

1. Crittendon (should be obvious)
2. Haynesworth (literally laid down on the field)
3. Harper. (Took the money and ran)
4. Jonathan Papelbon (prick who fought his own teammates)
5. Kieff Morris (fake tough. Phoned it in most nights)
6. Dino Cicarelli (I didn’t realize he’d done what was written about in this thread)
7. Rod Strickland. (No defense. Empty stats. No respect for the game - hot dogs and barf and such)
8. Kevin Durant (counted for growing up here. Could have won a chip here. Turned his back on the DMV and took the easy way out to GS. Sad to have him on the list cuz I loved him early in his career)

[payitforward]

I hope this pointless "hate" for Bradley Beal passes -- & quickly. It certainly doesn't make any sense to me. Let me see if I can turn it around -- drawing on my own business experience over many decades.

You may think e wrong, but I would ask that you consider seriously what I'm going to say here.

Michael Winger is a big-time business guy. He's experienced & tough. He would had no problem staring Brad down while saying, "It's just not in our interest to make that trade, Brad. Sorry. I guess you'll be with us another season. Let's see what you're willing to accept come the deadline, ok?"

After all, Brad was not in a position to trade himself, right? But, Winger didn't let Brad twist. Instead, he made a business decision to take the deal. I have no problem with that decision.

Why? Because Bradley Beal is vastly over-paid. Enormously. & he's guaranteed for 4 more loooong years at worse & worse levels of overpay. Brad's not one of the top 20, 30, or even 40 players in the league. Not any more -- if he ever was. Not a star. Certainly never a superstar. & obviously not going to get better in the next few years.

IOW, we just moved a vastly overpaid player. I wasn't sure it would be possible. & I was certainly dreading the miserable contracts we were going to have to take back.

After all, who in G-d's name would want to bring on a fully guaranteed, no-trade clause protected, $200m 4-year stint by a guy who, at this point in his career, is a somewhat better than average volume scorer. Period. Oh, & for how long will he be that?

Did you notice, btw, that there actually was no offer from Miami? For that matter, I was dreading the horrible contracts we'd have had to take back to trade him there: Tyler Herro sucks, & Robinson is even worse.

In short, so far from being a bad deal, this was a great one! & you know what made it possible?
Winger's smarts, to be sure. But, above all, the fact that right now the Suns are being run by an amateur.

IOW, Michael Winger found a patsy. Only an amateur would have traded for Bradley Beal at this point in his career with the burdensome contract he has (complete with a continuing no-trade clause!).

We just moved the worst contract in the league! & we got back a guy who is terrific value for his $$. Plus we got a bunch of R2 draft picks. This is something to celebrate -- not complain about! Michael Winger just demonstrated that he's a top-tier executive!

Oh, & why are all of you so p!xxed at Brad? -- I have no problem with Beal wanting that deal. Why would he live through a painful & thorough rebuild at this point in his career. I find that easy to understand.

So turn your vitriol on the idiots who gave him the no-trade clause! He didn't give it to himself, & he certainly would have signed the exact same contract without such a clause -- what option did he have? It was the richest contract possible. In fact, leaving the no-trade clause aside, Bradley Beal is not nearly a good enough player to have deserved the contract he got. Not close to anywhere near the remotest neighborhood of deserving the $$ he got for the years he got -- let alone the insane clause.

& if you think I mean Tommy Sheppard, think again. It absolutely had to be Ted Leonsis to make that call -- how not?

Main point? Stop b&tching & start celebrating! Oh, & get ready for a long-haul rebuild that turns the Washington Wizards into one of the best teams in the league! It'll be painful, but it'll be worth it!

[AFM]

Thanks, PIF. I think you're right for once.