Wasn't Mike Tyson at the peak of his career when they locked him up?
Maybe it didn't ruin his career but curtailed it significantly, I'm thinking.
Maybe it didn't ruin his career but curtailed it significantly, I'm thinking.
What is the best athlete that go their career ruined by off the field issues?
- Thread starter HawkeyeInCentralIowa
- Start date
Is WWII an "off the field issue?" I would submit no. I would argue that things like D-Day and Pearl Harbor and the Battle of the Bulge were on the field issues.
He won't qualify as the "best athlete" in this group, but as a Cubs fan, I'll add Addison Russell to the discussion. He was looked at as a potential future MVP, but instead he couldn't stop beating on his wife. He was never the same after those allegations first came out in 2018. The next season, he was dumped by the Cubs at age 25, 3 years removed from an All-Star season, in which he was also clutch in the World Series. He has since dropped off the face of the earth (actually, he's now in the Mexican League, but that's pretty much the same thing). Sad.
Meh. He was given plenty of chances by the Cubs and MLB. He just was a flash in the pan. Like Jerome Walton or Kris Bryant.
Was WW2 fought on the gridirons of the Midwest or the battlefields of Europe?
A few months back an ex-NFL’er (can’t remember who) was being interviewed on The Herd. The discussion was revolving around guys who had “it”/when you could tell they belonged in the league. Without hesitation, this guy said that Aldon Smith was by FAR the most talented player he’d ever seen. And this was a player who was in the league for a long time, and played with/against a bevy of HOF’ers.
First thing that came to my mind when I saw the thread was Deshaun Watson but that’s obviously still yet to play out so who knows will end up happening there.
Brandon Wegher would have left Iowa as the all time rushing leader in Iowa history.
Most of the names listed had some or even great success. Ben Wilson was never able to capitalize on his talent at all. Very sad.
A little surprised to not see a Kaepernick mention. Not an all-timer, but he certainly could have/should have had a long career as an nfl starter.
i dont want to get into the kneeling issue here, but he got blacklisted for reasons that had nothing to do with his abilities as a quarterback.
i dont want to get into the kneeling issue here, but he got blacklisted for reasons that had nothing to do with his abilities as a quarterback.
It kind of had something to do with his abilities. The pay he was demanding wasn't commensurate with those abilities, to my recollection.
You're right.
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His abilities, specifically the final two years, were replacement level.
Vick yes, but Winston? Dude threw for 5K yards and 30 TDs before going to the 'Aints. ...albeit a 1:1 TD to INT ratio, but that never stopped Favre. Dude's career isn't tanking due to off the field like Vick's did.
If you look at his stats his last year with San Francisco they actually aren’t as bad as people might think. Not great, but also not terrible.
and certainly if you look at other quarterbacks who started during that time it’s really hard to argue that it was because of his abilities. His salary is barely an issue, teams weren’t calling him because of the kneeling.
The kneeling may have had something to do with it, but wanting to be paid like a top 5 QB and actually performing like a bottom 12 QB is an interesting strategy.
My version of this is Howard Nathan.
Yes. He wasn't a bad QB, but he wasn't a top 5 QB on anybody's list but his own.
Edit: The "he isn't playing because he kneeled" argument doesn't hold water. There is a long list of other players who also kneeled that are still collecting paychecks in the league.
Lewis " Black Magic " Lloyd former Drake star...
A couple of my summer employees used to head to Des Moines every Friday after they got their paychecks to party with Lewis...
Lloyd, who starred at Overbrook High School before moving on to become a Drake University and NBA standout, was known for his sleight of hands trickery on the basketball court.
Many have lauded him as one of the greatest playground players of all time, and his name is mentioned in several books on basketball.
In high school, the Public League basketball championship was usually decided between the Overbrook High Panthers featuring Lloyd and the West Philadelphia High Speedboys featuring Gene Banks. The games were fierce and legendary.
“It was like Ali and Frazier,” said Banks, who went on to stardom at Duke University and the NBA. “He definitely brought out the best in me. You couldn’t play around with Lew.
Lloyd, a fourth-round draft pick of the Golden State Warriors in 1981, played seven season in the NBA. After two years with the Warriors, he signed with the Houston Rockets where he became a star.
In 1986, he and teammate Mitchell Wiggins, whose son Andrew was the first overall choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 NBA Draft, were banned for 2½ years after testing positive for cocaine.
A couple of my summer employees used to head to Des Moines every Friday after they got their paychecks to party with Lewis...
City coroner cites 'drug intoxication' in Lewis Lloyd's death
Lewis “Black Magic” Lloyd, one of Philadelphia’s most celebrated basketball players, died on Friday, July 5, 2019. He was 60.Lloyd, who starred at Overbrook High School before moving on to become a Drake University and NBA standout, was known for his sleight of hands trickery on the basketball court.
Many have lauded him as one of the greatest playground players of all time, and his name is mentioned in several books on basketball.
In high school, the Public League basketball championship was usually decided between the Overbrook High Panthers featuring Lloyd and the West Philadelphia High Speedboys featuring Gene Banks. The games were fierce and legendary.
“It was like Ali and Frazier,” said Banks, who went on to stardom at Duke University and the NBA. “He definitely brought out the best in me. You couldn’t play around with Lew.
Lloyd, a fourth-round draft pick of the Golden State Warriors in 1981, played seven season in the NBA. After two years with the Warriors, he signed with the Houston Rockets where he became a star.
In 1986, he and teammate Mitchell Wiggins, whose son Andrew was the first overall choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 NBA Draft, were banned for 2½ years after testing positive for cocaine.
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Considering all the other crappy quarterbacks that played while this went on, he absolutely was singled out. He was likely a league average or slightly better quarterback. Every football or money reason provided is false. i forget what contract he was looking for but I guarantee it could have been negotiated down had someone wanted him legitimately.
Sidd Finch
His biggest issue was he did not exist.
His biggest issue was he did not exist.
Imo it was partly the kneeling but more the distraction he would have caused. Certainly not his fault but any team that signed him would have been unbelievably over run with media. It would have been the biggest circus ever.
I believe Seattle was close to signing him at one point.
Then his girlfriend promptly started sending tweets equating NFL owners to slave owners, or something along those lines.
Also, none of those other crappy quarterbacks demanded top 5 money and came with so much baggage. You can't guarantee he would have taken less money and he never indicated as much.
It wasn't just about the kneeling and if he was singled out, it was due to his own attitude and actions. He absolutely was still a decent QB, but he was a shitty employee. The NFL has shown it will put up with some really shitty employees if they're good enough. He simply wasn't good enough to make up for his self created downside.
He already turned down pro football for law school. And then left law school for the Navy. We lost a likely political great but not a pro football great.
