Here are 10 of sports’ most heinous traitors.
10. Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs. Let’s just get these three out of the way, right off the bat. We would include Babe Ruth on this list too, but it’s not his fault the Sox sold him. And we’d include Jose Canseco, Mike Myers and Alan Embree but they sucked on the Yankees, so no one cares.
9. Butch Harmon. Yes, Tiger Woods once had a “swing coach.” The man known as the best golf teacher in the world was Woods’ coach early on in his career before the pair had a falling out in 2002. Now, Harmon is helping Woods’ bitter rival Phil Mickelson perfect his game. Let’s see if he can teach Lefty when and when not to use his driver.
8. Carlos Boozer. How do you get an entire city to hate you? How about stabbing a blind man in the back? Back in 2004, when the Cleveland Cavaliers held the rights to Boozer, the Cavs released him from his contract, with a verbal agreement in place for Boozer to sign for the full mid-level exception, only to see him go back on his word and sign with the Utah Jazz. It helped that the Jazz gave him $70 million in blood money.
7. Jon Gruden. Gruden went 40-28 in four seasons as the Raiders’ head coach, a stint that ended in 2001. Which do you think Raider Nation remembers more vividly – the 40 wins, or the one loss, of Super Bowl XXXVII, the very next year to Chuckie’s Buccaneers?
Â
6. Gordon Bombay. A fictional character, as some astute readers might note. But still one of sports’ most notorious traitors – the former childhood hockey star abandoned his Hawks in order to win the Minnesota peewee hockey championship as coach of The Mighty Ducks. Anaheim should call its NHL team the Turncoats.
5. Jered Weaver. Weaver might be the only pitcher in baseball history to steal a starting rotation spot from his own brother. Now that’s treason. Imagine Thanksgiving at the Weaver house…
4. Boston College. A founding member of the Big East, the Eagles were left reeling when Miami and Virginia Tech accepted offers to join the ACC. After initially committing to rebuilding their conference, the Eagles spurned the Big East too and accepted an offer to become the ACC’s 12th team. Take that, Seton Hall.
3. David Beckham. As much as America’s MLS is an improved league, it is no UEFA. America knows it, Europe knows it, and David Beckham certainly knows it. He didn’t move to LA to hone his footwork or win championships, but for money and press. Beckham and his spicy wife may have loved the attention of starring in their own NBC reality show, but they’ll have trouble explaining their reasons to the thousands of poor little European girls tearing posters off their walls.
2. Adam Vinatieri. The hero of New England’s three Super Bowl victories, Vinatieri was one of the most beloved Patriots ever. But after the 2005 season, he left to join the Colts as a free agent. The kicker was instrumental during the Colts’ Super Bowl run last season, which included a 38-34 victory over his former team in the AFC title game. Here’s to the Stephen Gostkowski era.
1. Benedict Arnold. Okay, so he has nothing to do with sports. But he is the greatest traitor of all time. You can’t deny it. And Rocket sorta looks like him, white hair and all.
Source:Â The TUFTS DAILY