Sports fans love a bad boy. The likes of Vinnie Jones, Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, John McEnroe; all have enjoyed cult like status due to their reluctance to play by the rules. Then there are the real bad boys of sport who make the former look like Mary Poppins. We’ve chosen five sportsmen that we wouldn’t want to get stuck in a lift with, but Sport.co.uk would like to hear from you on who are the true bad boys of sport.
1.) Mike Tyson
He’s one of the first names that spring to mind when talking about bad boys of sport, and not without good reason. Iron Mike’s list of misdemeanours reads like a rap sheet from The Wire. By the time Tyson was 13-years-old he had been arrested 38 times, mostly for petty crimes and fighting in the streets of Brooklyn. At just 20-years-old however, Tyson had channelled his aggression and became the youngest ever WBC heavyweight champion. He had the world, quite literally at his feet. Then came a messy divorce with accusations of domestic abuse and in 1992 he served three years after being convicted of rape. Tyson returned to the ring achieving moderate success, but will be most remembered for biting Evander Hollyfield’s ear off during their 1997 bout.
2.) Michael Vick
Michael Vick’s rise to fame could have been a classic fairytale of rags to riches. Born into a crime ridden housing project in Virginia, Vick used sport as a get out becoming the first African-American quarterback to be selected first in an NFL draft. However, in 2007 he was charged with hosting illegal dog fighting on the grounds of his mansion. The Atlanta Falcons subsequently terminated his contract, and after testing positive for marijuana while on bail, was finally sentenced to 23 months in federal prison. Due to his legal fees and the fact that he was no longer on an NFL salary, Vick was declared bankrupt in 2008. Now released from prison, Vick has most recently faced allegations of steroid abuse while paying for the Falcons, a claim he vigorously denies.
3.) Wayne Carey
Maybe not a household name to us Brits, rest assured Aussie Rules star Wayne Carey commands god-like status in his homeland. At least he did until he was caught emerging from the toilets at his North Melbourne teams party with the wife of best friend and vice captain Anthony Stevens. Carey was ostracised by his teammates and was forced to resign both his captaincy and his role at the club. However, this wasn’t the first or last time the player that many consider the greatest Aussie Rules player of all time had been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. In 1996 he pleaded guilty to sexual assault, while in 2007 he was accused of glassing his wife with a wine glass before assaulting a police officer in Miami. After being restrained and placed in the back of the cop car, officers reported a drunk Carey attempted to batter his way through the prisoner compartment, with his head. A sorry Carey has since asked for forgiveness, blaming an addiction to both alcohol and cocaine.
4.) Joey Barton
Poor old Joey. The misunderstood lad from Liverpool has been in trouble so much that it’s difficult not to have some sympathy. Then again. Barton’s temper first came to light (no pun intended) at Manchester City’s 2004 Christmas party. Dressed as Jimmy Saville, Barton took exception to a youth team player trying to set fire to his shirt by stubbing his lit cigar into the kid’s eye. Narrowly avoiding the sack, Barton apologised and was subsequently fined six weeks’ wages. Lesson learnt. Well not exactly. The following summer while on a pre-season tour of Thailand, Barton was sent home after allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old Everton fan. As his Man City career began to come to an end, there was still enough time for Barton to again assault a teammate, this time Ousmane Dabo who claimed to have suffered a detached retina from the attack. Barton was arrested, pleaded guilty and was given community service and a four month suspended sentence. Assuming his ambition was to see the inside of a jail cell, Barton finally achieved his goal in 2008 after being sent down for six months after yet another assault, this time on a night out in Liverpool.
5.) Mark Vermeulen
Sledging is all part of cricket right? Well just tell that to Zimbabwean opening batsman Mark Vermeulen. In 2006 when playing a game in Lancashire, after objecting to some choice words from the crowd, Vermeulen wondered over and hurled the cricket ball at them. Thankfully it missed, but Vermeulen hadn’t finished making his point. He proceeded to grab a boundary marker complete with metal spike and attempted to climb into the crowd. Cue teammates grappling with the fiery Zimbabwean and a subsequent ten year ban, later reduced to three with two suspended. However, the whole episode was simply a warning to the state of Vermeulen’s mind. In November of the same year, he was formerly charged with arson after setting fire to a Cricket Academy in the capital of Zimbabwe. Incredibly he had attempted to set fire to another cricket academy just days before. He was cleared on the grounds of mental illness.