Sports

30 Shadiest Individuals In All Of Sports History

Darren - June 4, 2021

Sports

30 Shadiest Individuals In All Of Sports History

Darren - June 4, 2021

12. Eddie Hearn

As one of boxing’s most visible promoters, Hearn is incredibly successful. He is one of the faces of British boxing and represents the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tony Bellew. Furthermore, he worked with Canelo Alvarez in 2021. Barry Hearn founded the Matchroom promotion and passed it down to his son. However, it’s impossible to work in the world of boxing without being involved along some of the sports’ shadiest figures.

While Hearn avoids personal controversy, he isn’t afraid of working with those standing knee-deep in it. He has relationships with cartel boss Daniel Kinahan and MTK. Meanwhile, he has led boxing to Saudi Arabia where Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman throws money at the sport. This is because Bin Salman wants to sports-wash his country so people ignore their horrendous human rights record.

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11. John Terry

Former Chelsea captain Terry became one of the most notorious players in the sport. One of his earlier and shadiest actions was his illegal tours of Stamford Bridge stadium. Terry earned well over $150,000 per week but still took cash to show people around the facilities. It was ludicrously petty and he received a fine for his actions. However, Terry proved that he was capable of even sleazier behavior.

Terry became embroiled in a massive scandal when it emerged that he had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of a former teammate. He began seeing Vanessa Perroncel while he was married. He was also a teammate of Wayne Bridge, Perroncel’s former partner. Then, there was the racism scandal, when he verbally abused Anton Ferdinand on the field. In sum, Terry is a piece of work.

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10. Greg Williams

Williams is one of the shadiest figures in the NFL. ‘Bountygate’ was a major scandal after it emerged that Williams rewarded players for injuring opponents. This occurred during his time as defensive coordinator in New Orleans. The NFL found out and suspended him indefinitely for his actions. Of course, he returned after just a year on the sidelines. It was heavily evil.

Allegedly, Williams ran similar schemes during his tenures in Washington and Buffalo. Both franchises denied this but the allegations haven’t gone away. Nor is it likely that Williams just came up with the idea during his time at his sixth franchise. Furthermore, he never coached a game for the Rams because of his NFL punishment. This was definitely one of the craziest stories in recent NFL history.

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9. Joshua Fabia

Fabia entered the MMA world in 2019 when he became Diego Sanchez’s coach, manager, and life mentor. Leader of the School of Self-Awareness, Fabia soon attracted criticism from media, fans, and UFC fighters. Everybody saw him as a snake oil salesman and accused him of taking advantage of Sanchez. Former UFC athletes Matt Serra and Paul Felder shredded him in verbal confrontations.

His relationship with Sanchez reached its disturbing zenith in 2021. Video footage revealed Fabia kicking and punching Sanchez as the fighter hung upside down from a beam like a punchbag. Meanwhile, he also cost Sanchez his job in the UFC after accusing the promotion of not caring about his welfare. Fabia is one of the strangest and shadiest personalities in the MMA world. He’s also ironically, quite devoid of the self-awareneww he claims to run a school of.

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8. Lane Kiffin

A long-serving college football coach, Kiffin only spent a season with the Tennesse Volunteers. However, that was long enough to assert himself as one of the shadiest figures in the game. Everywhere he goes he gets involved in some kind of unsavory incident. But his tenure in Tenessee brought this to the next level. For example, he used interns to contact high schools and try to influence their players.

Then there were the deflategate scandals and the jersey-switching incidents. Kiffin is a cowboy but he still attracts big-name schools. A student manager paid the price for the first incident, but everybody knows that Kiffin had a hand in it. College football is a ruthless game because executives and coaches exploit their athletes. Remember, while they receive benefits they don’t make money. Coaches such as Kiffin are constantly hustling.

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7. Joel Glazer

Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers love the Glazers now after they won the Super Bowl in 2021. However, the family maintains a very different relationship with their soccer team, Manchester United. They faced accusations of asset-stripping and allowing the club to decline. In 2021, they even tried to take the club out of the Premier League to join the new European Super League.

Hundreds of fans invaded the stadium field to show their anger and the Glazers backed down. Meanwhile, Old Trafford Stadium is rusting away and the team is failing to win trophies. The loss of head coach Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012 coincided with the team’s lack of competitiveness. Fans believe that they are pouring their attention into Tampa while allowing United to suffer.

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6. Lance Armstrong

Armstrong put cycling on the map but also ruined the sport’s reputation. The American star won the Tour de France an incredible seven consecutive times. This included a victory after he recovered from cancer. However, World Cycling stripped him of all his accolades after one of the most shocking doping scandals ever. This was systemic cheating at the highest level and Armstrong was in the middle of it.

It wasn’t even a case of Armstrong cheating by himself. A court proved that he bullied teammates into using PEDs as well. In the end, he confessed to cheating and lost out on over $150 million. Furthermore, his reputation as one of the sports’ shadiest figures was embedded in stone. This scandal transcended cycling because he was a global figure. In the end, he became a figure of embarrassment.

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5. Daniel Kinahan

Irish courts named Kinahan as the leader of one of Europe’s most violent drug cartels. Responsible for almost 20 murders in Ireland and Spain, they a brutal force. Currently, Kinahan lives in exile in the Middle East, where he avoids extradition. Why does this matter? He is also a major influence in boxing because of his promotion, MTK. MTK insists that Kinahan is no longer affiliated with them But everybody knows the truth.

In 2020, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury made waves when he thanked Kinahan on Twitter. It was seen as an attempt to legitimize Kinahan and sports-wash his reputation. Kinahan maintains an advisory role with many fighters like Fury and Billy Joe Saunders. Meanwhile, his cartel allegedly deals drugs, launder money, and ruins the lives of innocent people. He’s definitely one of boxing’s shadiest figures.

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4. Rob Manfred

MLB commissioners are typically some of the worst in American sports. Bud Selig was dreadful but Manfred makes his predecessor look competent. Franchise owners love Manfred because he is their man. They are making more money than ever before but at the expense of baseball. Meanwhile, players and fans loathe him because he does very little to improve their experience. He’s been awful from beginning to end.

Firstly, his mealy-mouthed reaction to the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal was ludicrous. His justification for failing to strip them of their 2017 title win was that nobody had done it before. Then, he came into conflict with players after attempting to force them to take pay cuts and risk their health in 2021. Needless to say, this went down like a sack of potatoes. Overall, he’s as well-liked as a cockroach in a Big Mac.

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3. Don King

King literally killed people. This definitely makes him one of the shadiest people on this list. The boxing promoter is one of the most notorious figures in the history of the sport. He exploited fighters like boxing was going out of fashion. King’s legal team is always busy. This is because they’ve faced so many lawsuits down through the years. Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis, and Muhammad Ali all sued the promoter.

It all comes down to money because King sneakily attempted to underpay his fighters. Mike Tyson also sued him for millions of dollars and won the case against King. He also called him ‘vile’ and ‘greedy.’ Those words adequately sum up one of the shadiest figures in sports promotion. Historically, boxing has a terrible reputation but King is one of the worst offenders. It’s amazing he’s never spent time in jail.

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2. Dan Snyder

Snyder owns the Washington Football Team and is one of the NFL’s most notorious figures. Fans and pundits alike have criticized him heavily for his actions. First and foremost, Washington has a losing record since he took charge in 1999. At the end of the day, results on the playing field affect public perception like nothing else. If they were good, then many fans would overlook his other misdemeanors.

Then there was the controversy over the ‘Redskins’ nickname. Activists and Native American support groups advocated for a change for years. Finally, Snyder dropped the ‘Redskins’ name after sponsors threatened to pull out. In short, he didn’t listen to the fans but rather the money. Meanwhile, he recently faced sexual harassment allegations. Snyder was involved in some of the league’s shadiest shenanigans.

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1. Dana White

UFC President White is one of the most visible promoters in the world of combat sports today. He is also one of the shadiest characters out there. White is a serial liar. In sum, he has made millions of dollars off the backs of his fighters. Meanwhile, he has also had a ridiculous number of fallouts with his athletes. This is because his organization underpays them. They care more about profits than fighter welfare.

Whenever a fighter demands more money, White regurgitates the same tired old lines. He almost always says that they are ‘afraid’ of their opponent. Then, he makes out that they are being unreasonable. Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier have one thing in common. They have all had problems with the bald one in the past. but White is like a dictator in his Las Vegas castle.

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