Image via Complex Original
Good news, sports fans: This past week wasn't anywhere near as bad as last week as far as fails were concerned. Last week, everything from some unexpected baby mama drama to a scandalous police report that involved an NFL player allegedly masturbating in his car outside of a Target sidelined folks in the sports world. It was one of the worst weeks in recent history for a lot of sports people. But this week, all of the hoopla surrounding Richard Sherman and his now-infamous post-game interview with Erin Andrews overshadowed a lot of the sports-related fails that took place and made them seem pretty insignificant.
That's not to say that everyone in the sports world had a great week, though. As usual, there were more than a few sports people who experienced some struggle over the course of the last seven days. From a former NFL player who was finally forced to declare bankruptcy after dealing with financial issues for the last few years to a college basketball recruit who tried to eat a bunch of weed when he got pulled over in order to avoid getting into trouble with the law, these are the 10 Sports People Who Had a Worse Week Than You.
NaVorro Bowman
Date: 1/19/2014
During the NFC Championship Game last Sunday, the 49ers linebacker made a play that should have been the play of the game. He recovered a fumble by Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse. At least, we thought he recovered a fumble. But during the play, Bowman tore both his ACL and MCL and, at the bottom of a scrum, ended up losing the football. So even though instant replay showed that he had clearly recovered the ball, the referees awarded possession to the Seahawks, and the play could not be reviewed. To make matters even worse, Bowman then had to be carted off the field and got hit with popcorn as he made his way back to the locker room. What a rough night.
Warren Moon
Date: 1/24/2014
A man named George French Jones approached Moon's agent recently and asked him if the former NFL quarterback would be interested in buying a five-percent stake in the Miami Heat. Moon thought about it and decided that, yes, he would like a share of the Heat. Smart investment, right? Wrong. As it turns out, Jones is a scam artist who doesn't have an ownership stake in the Heat to sell. But before Moon realized that, Jones made off with $200,000 that Moon wired him in exchange for some Heat floor seat tickets that were—you guessed it—all part of the scam. The FBI and NBA are now investigating.
Lolo Jones
Date: 1/24/2014
Jones made the U.S. Olympic bobsled team this week! So this week should have been great for her. Only problem? Several of the other bobsledders who were trying to make the team felt like Jones only qualified for the Olympics because she will help improve ratings. Furthermore, there are some sports columnists out there who believe that NBC—the network that will be broadcasting the 2014 Winter Olympics—played a role in Jones getting selected to the team. So even though she made it, she's had to spend the entire last week hearing people criticize her selection.
Vince Young
Date: 1/22/2014
The former NFL quarterback is officially broke. Young has been having money troubles for quite some time now. But he made them official recently by going to court and declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Guess all those $6,000 bar tabs at T.G.I. Friday's finally caught up to him, eh? Sigh. It's a real shame to see Young go down like this.
Radamel Falcao
Date: 1/22/2014
The Colombian striker was supposed to play a big role in the 2014 World Cup this year. In fact, many tabbed him as one of the players to watch at the Cup. But he suffered a torn ACL during a French Cup matchup this week and will not be able to participate in the World Cup as a result of it. It's a big blow to Colombia—and an even bigger blow to the soccer world as a whole.
The Oakland Raiders Management
Date: 1/22/2014
Are the Raiders better at winning in the courtroom than they are on the football field? We're about to find out. Their own cheerleaders just filed a lawsuit against the team, claiming that the Raiders don't pay the "Raiderettes" in a timely fashion and often withhold money that is supposed to be paid out to them. The lawsuit includes both former and current players and could change the way that cheerleaders all across the league are paid. The Raiders will have their day in court. But if what the Raiderettes claim is true, the team is probably going to take an L.
Andrea Bargnani
Date: 1/23/2014
On Wednesday night, Bargnani attempted to dunk over two 76ers players during a game. The result was, well, not pretty. And things got even worse for "Air Bargs" the following day when the Knicks ruled him out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his left elbow. So Bargnani's failed dunk attempt is the last highlight we're going to have of him for awhile.
Chipper Jones
Date: 1/22/2014
Did you almost start a forest fire this week? No? Well, the former Braves great did after he tried cleaning out his fireplace. It required a trip from some local firefighters and…HOLY $^%&, LOOK AT THAT FIRE! Seriously, it was bad. Real bad. Thank God no one got hurt.
Cinmeon Bowers
Date: 1/21/2014
Bowers isn't the first college basketball recruit to ever get in trouble for using marijuana. And he won't be the last. But he is one of the only college basketball recruits ever to get busted for eating weed rather than smoking it. The Chipola College player and two of his teammates were arrested for trying to hide marijuana from police by eating it during a routine traffic stop in Marianna, Fla. And as a result of the infraction, Bowers could lose the basketball scholarship offer that he accepted to Florida State late last year.
Ryan Leaf
Date: 1/20/2014
Leaf is in jail right now serving a seven-year sentence on felony burglary and drug possession charges. So every week sucks for him. But this one was particularly rough, because his former agent Leigh Steinberg released some excerpts from a new book that he just wrote that paint Leaf in an unflattering light. Specifically, Steinberg claims that Leaf didn't want to be drafted by the Colts in the 1998 NFL Draft and missed a meeting with the team in order to ensure that Indianapolis would select Peyton Manning over him. And of course, that made Leaf the butt of a lot of jokes this week (Leaf over Manning?! HA!). Even in jail, this guy just can't find peace.
