It was very hard to pick who was the number 1 Most Shameful Athlete. But what Vick did made such a splash in the headlines. People have been hanging on every word of this story and they won’t soon forget it either. Vick will live in infamy for the rest of his life and definitely for the rest of his football career (if he still has one).

2007 Shameful Moments:

-Attending the Minxx Gentleman’s Club in Las Vegas, NV on February 19 when an early morning brawl broke out and three people were shot, leaving one paralyzed (the shooter was believed to be acting on Jones’ behalf)

-Las Vegas police recommended that Jones be charged with a felony count of coercion and misdemeanor counts of battery and threat to life in March

-The NFL announced that Jones would be suspended for the entire 2007 season without pay on April 10

-Stopped by police at 12:45 A. M. for going 79 mph in the 55 mph zone on May 7

-Sought by police for questioning on June 18 after a shooting in an Atlanta, GA strip club allegedly involving some of Jones’ cohorts (Jones was not present during the shooting)

-Las Vegas police announced on June 20 Jones would face 2 felony charges in connection with the triple shooting in February

-Surrendered to police on June 22 for the 2 felony charges announced just 2 days before and was released on $20,000 bail

-Cleared to appear on the TNA wrestling pay-per-view on August 12 and events thereafter on the condition that he wouldn’t touch anyone else in the show or be touched in an effort to prevent injury

-NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld his decision to suspend Jones for the entire ‘07 season and postseason if the Titans qualified on November 7 after the two met the week before in an effort for Jones to be reinstated

-Accepted a plea bargain on November 13 that suspended a 1-year sentence in county jail for a no contest plea to a charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct stemming from the February incident in Las Vegas (received 1 year of probation)

Jones was the leader in this category right up until the end. Vick just narrowly passed him after the 23-month prison sentence Vick received on December 10. Jones currently hasn’t served any real jail time. That was the biggest difference between the two. Jones definitely has to get creativity points for not being in the headlines for the same thing over and over again, though.

3. New York Islanders LW Chris Simon, NHL - slashed New York Rangers C Ryan Hollweg with a two-handed swing during the 3^rd period of their March 8 game giving Hollweg a gash on his chin, Simon was suspended for a record 25 games for the hit (no charges were filed) - received a match penalty and was ejected with less than a minute to go in their 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 15 when he tripped Pittsburgh LW Jarkko Ruutu and followed that by stepping on his leg with his skate, Simon was suspended for 30 games, breaking his own record in the same year (no charges were filed)

4. Track Runner Marion Jones, Olympics - had her five Olympic medals (3 gold, 2 bronze) stripped along with her results dating back to September 2000 after her guilty plea of lying to federal investigators and admitting to taking steroids, also has a chance of losing $700,000 in winnings

5. Chicago Bears/Dallas Cowboys NT Tank Johnson, NFL - plead guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge on April 30 for possessing six unregistered firearms while on probation, ordered to serve 45 days in jail and donate $2500 apiece to the Gurnee Police Dept. and the Gurnee Exchange Club’s child abuse prevention program, suspended for 8 games by the NFL for the guilty plea

These were all worthy competitors, but they were not match for the shame Vick and Jones brought on sports. Chris Simon’s slashing of Ryan Hollweg wouldn’t have been so bad if it was an accident, but video evidence (see Most Shameful Moment) shows how gruesome of a hit it really was and then he outdid himself by breaking his own suspension record in the same year. There’ve been countless athletes to be fingered for taking steroids this year, but none of the others had 5 Olympic medals. Tank Johnson had a good thing with the Bears and turned it upside down by breaking the law. The Bears haven’t been the same since (although Johnson may not have had everything to do with that).

2007 Shameful Moments:

-CB Jonathan Joseph was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on January 24

-WR Chris Henry plead guilty to charges of providing alcohol to minors on January 25 stemming from a spring 2006 incident and was sentenced to 90 days in jail (only served 2 days)

-LB Odell Thurman plead no contest to DUI on February 21 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but did not have to start serving it yet as another hearing was set for June 5 at which time the judge planned to reduce the sentence if Thurman behaved until then (also had his license suspended for a year and fined $250 and court costs)

-CB Deltha O’Neal plead guilty to reckless driving on March 9 stemming from a December 9, 2006 arrest which was originally a DUI charge (sentenced to a 30-day suspended jail term, 3 years of probation, fined $250, and ordered to donate $1000 to Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

-WR Chris Henry was suspended for the first 8 games of the 2007 season on April 10 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy

-LB A. J. Nicholson was arrested for domestic violence on May 18 after police responded to a call from a woman who had been hit next to her eye allegedly by Nicholson - the Bengals waived Nicholson hours after he plead not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge

-WR Chris Henry failed a court-ordered drug test on May 21 and was ordered to serve 88 days in jail after he reportedly tested positive for opiates (the state of Kentucky later reported that Henry didn’t fail the drug test and didn’t serve any jail time or game suspensions for this incident)

-LB Odell Thurman was sentenced to 6 days in an alcohol treatment program and 2 years of probation for his February DUI charge on June 1

-LB Odell Thurman and his brother were allegedly wanted for questioning as reported by ESPN on June 8 for assault in Georgia for the hitting of two men (charges were later dropped)

-A teenager told police in Florence, KY that WR Chris Henry and another man jumped from an SUV and assaulted him while WR Reggie McNeal was still inside the vehicle - the reports were later found to be fabricated

-RB Quincy Wilson was charged with disorderly conduct on June 18 for not leaving a weekend wedding party after police requested he and 13 other people leave a Huntington, WV bar at around 3 o’clock in the morning

-LB Odell Thurman was denied reinstatement into the NFL on July 26 and would be suspended for the entire 2007 season stemming from a DUI charge on September 25, 2006 while already suspended for 4 games for missing a drug screening - Thurman missed all of the 2006 season and all of the 2007 season

-CB Jonathan Joseph was suspended for 1 game on October 9 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy stemming from his January arrest

No other team exemplified shame like the Bengals. If there was a record for most shameful incidents by a single team in one year, the Bengals probably broke it. It also didn’t help that they finished 7-9 with those wins coming against teams with a combined 38-74 record (2 wins against Ravens). Their defense also allowed the 6^th most yards/game and the 9^th most points. But nothing was worse than having a squad full of degenerates. On the bright side, though, they did do something as a team.

2007 Shameful Moments:

-McLaren suspended engineer Mike Coughlan, a senior member of its technical staff, on July 3 when it was suspected that Coughlan received confidential information from a rival Ferrari employee in April - Ferrari had a press release saying they presented a case against Ferrari race and test technical manager Nigel Stepney and Coughlan concerning the theft

-A hearing took place on July 26 at the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) headquarters in Paris, France for the allegations - the FIA decided that McLaren was in possession of confidential information on Ferrari cars and was in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code but was not punished due to no evidence that they used the information to their advantage

-The FIA heard the case again on September 13 after new evidence emerged from McLaren driver Fernando Alonso and McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa - this time, McLaren was fined $100 million, banned from the 2007 Constructors’ Championship, and obligated to submit their 2008 chassis for inspection - McLaren did not appeal the decision

-FIA president Max Mosley was quoted on September 25 that the FIA would exclude McLaren from the 2008 championship if there were any Ferrari-inspired parts on their cars in 2008 (no such parts were found on the 2007 designs)

A Formula 1 team may seem a little strange for 1^st runner-up, but how many teams get fined $100 million? That was worse than any one suspension or arrest by all the other teams this year. Cheating in sports is unacceptable and the McLaren team was no exception.

3. Philadelphia Flyers, NHL - RW Steve Downie was suspended for 20 games for his vicious hit on Ottawa Sentaors LW Dean McAmmond during the 2^nd period of a preseason game on September 28 (6^th longest suspension in league history) - RW Jesse Boulerice was suspended for 25 games for his high sticking of Vancouver Canucks C Ryan Kesler during their game on October 10 (tied for 2^nd longest suspension in league history) - C Scott Hartnell was suspended for 2 games for his check to the head of Boston Bruins D Andrew Alberts in the 2^nd period of their 6-3 loss on November 27

4. San Francisco Giants, MLB - former Hall of Fame 1B Orlando Cepeda was stopped by police for going 83 mph in the 65 mph zone and was found to have marijuana and a suspected controlled substance in the vehicle - in the bottom of the 12^th inning with a 4-3 lead on the New York Mets on May 29, Giants closer Armando Benitez balked with Mets SS Jose Reyes on 2^nd allowing him to go to 3^rd, with 2 outs and Mets 1B Carlos Delgado batting, Benitez balked again allowing Reyes to come home and tie the score, Delgado hit his 2^nd home run of the game moments later to win the game giving Benitez his second blown save in 11 tries (Benitez was traded to the Marlins 2 days later) - OF Barry Bonds was indicted on 4 counts of perjury and 1 count of obstruction of justice in connection with alleged steroid use on November 16 (plead not guilty and faces trial in 2008) - had 13 players named in Mitchell Report released on December 13 as allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs

5. New York Mets, MLB - C Paul Lo Duca was suspended for 2 games and fined $2000 after being ejected in the 6^th inning of their 1-0 win over the Oakland A’s on June 25 after he argued with the home plate umpire while at bat for calling a 3^rd strike on an 0-2 count - OF Lastings Milledge was suspended for 3 games for arguing his ejection during the 7^th inning of their 8-7 10-inning loss to the Florida Marlins on September 20 after he complained about what the umpire was calling strikes and proceeded to complain about being ejected - the team finished their season out of the playoffs after giving up a 7-game lead with only 17 games left to the Philadelphia Phillies (this is the first time a major league team has had that big of a lead with so few games left and still failed to reach the playoffs) - had 17 players named in Mitchell Report released on December 13 as allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs (3^rd most players)

None of these other teams collectively had as bad of a season in- and out-of-game as the Bengals did. And none of the others drew quite as big of a fine as the McLaren team did. The Flyers held their own, though, to take the 3^rd spot by adding 2 players to the longest suspension list (Boulerice was tied for 1^st at the time it happened). The Giants had a little bit of everything as they were shameful on the field, off the field, and even with a historical figure. The Mets sent e-mails out to fans apologizing for their finish. ‘Nuff said.

No other quote was widely criticized in the world of sports this year like Imus’s quote. The conversation with his co-host Bernard McGuirk was much longer and more racist. However, this was the highlight and certainly deserved the award to go along with the notoriety that Imus earned.

Marbury’s quote received so much bad publicity that he recanted just a day or two later. Marbury probably got to thinking about how many shoe sales he probably lost by saying that. That’s the price you pay for speaking without thinking.

3. “My plans are to be back with the Falcons.”-former Atlanta Falcons and current Arkansas Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino less than a week before abruptly resigning from the Falcons to join the Razorbacks

4. “That was a lie, your honor.”-track runner Marion Jones in court on her denial of using performance-enhancing drugs to agents leading the BALCO investigation

5. "Sam is an idiot. I-D-O-U-T, idiot."-Miami Heat C Shaquille O'Neal in reference to a column written by Chicago Tribune writer Sam Smith that suggested that it's time for O'Neal to leave the Heat

It is a business, but Petrino’s quote just shows how little loyalty there is in sports. If Jones had been in a more popular sport than track, her quote would have probably been higher on the list. Thank goodness Shaq is good at basketball.

As if referees weren’t already some of the most hated people on the planet. Now one at the top of the ladder is fixing games. It is presumed that he probably won’t get 25 years in prison if he cooperates with investigators. Nothing, though, will get his dignity back in the sports world.

Simpson makes it pretty easy for news reporters to talk about him for a long time without ever mentioning he was a pro football player. Without a conviction, it was hard to vote him in the number 1 spot. There is a very strong possibility of it next year, though.

3. Isiah Thomas, New York Knicks coach - fined $50,000 on April 3 for criticizing officials for their treatment of Knicks G Stephon Marbury - settled a case with former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders who was suing Thomas and Madison Square Garden for sexual harassment by Thomas for $11.5 million on December 10 - Browne Sanders claims she was fired last year for accusing Thomas of using vulgar language before making unwanted sexual advances toward her - widely criticized for his poor GM decisions as well as his teams’ poor play (on pace for a sub .300 winning percentage)

4. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots coach - allegedly had a cameraman videotape the New York Jets defensive coaches giving signals during their September 9 win (fined the maximum amount of $500,000 while the Patriots were fined $250,000 and forced to give up their 1^st round draft pick if they reached the playoffs or their 2^nd and 3^rd round picks if they didn’t reach the playoffs)

5. Don Imus, radio personality - made racist and sexist remarks, along with cohost Bernard McGuirk, on his radio show on April 4 calling members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” among other thing (fired by CBS and received a settlement after he filed a wrongful termination suit)

Thomas has been given a lot of heat for his behavior this year, but it’s not undeserved. If the Knicks were playing good, it wouldn’t be nearly as bad. Maybe he can clean up next year. Belichick claimed he never used videotape to gain an advantage over the Jets and that he mistook what the rules said. It doesn’t take a lot of interpretation to know it’s wrong to tape the other teams signals, right? What Imus said was definitely noteworthy, but it didn’t have quite the volume that the rest of them had.