Compared to people in other professions, your regular Tom, Dick, and Harrys, sports stars live one hell of a privileged life. They’re famous, they are doing what they love to do, are adored by the masses, have an ability to influence a lot of people and brings tons of people joy, they have the fortune, but somehow, a lot of them manage to screw it all up. It really is amazing just how many shady characters, real sleazebags, professional sports breed. You’d think they’d know better, having all that responsibility, but when they step out of their court, field, or whatever arena they apply their trade in, they let loose and some do truly abhorrent things.

It seems to be part of the whole lifestyle. Some athletes get swept up in that lifestyle and make seriously bad choices. Money and fame ruins a lot of people if you don’t know how to handle it, and these are just some individuals who’ve had it all and then lost it– perhaps not all, but at least a significant amount of respect and admiration – as a result of their, let’s say questionable, antics.

The term “sleazebag” is used to describe a disgusting individual, an immoral and dishonest character, mostly when it involves their dealings with the opposite sex. It’s an apt word to describe all of the people on this list, and you’ll certainly agree – and think of stronger words to use to describe some of these individuals – when you read about what they’ve gotten up to over the years. Here they are: 15 sportsmen who’ve engaged in seriously lowly activities, earning them a place on this list of the 15 biggest sleazebags in sports.

Marlon King - Arrest 14 Times

Soccer striker Marlon King spent his entire career playing the beautiful game on English shores, but English football probably wanted less of him. He was a decent striker without being spectacular, but everything that was happening off the pitch clouded over any of his goal scoring achievements on it. The guy’s been arrested 14 times for a ton of different stuff, including: handling stolen goods, DUI offences, theft, assault, fraud, and the most serious conviction of them all, sexual assault. He’s been done for sexual assault, and for physically assaulting two young women who rejected his advances. He really is a douchebag of epic proportions, and it’s amazing clubs were still willing to sign him up and pay his wages after everything he’s been convicted of over the years.

He's been described as being the footballing version of Iron Mike Tyson – who incidentally is also on this list – which just goes to show how bad he was thought of in footballing circles.

Tiger Woods

Once one of the greatest golfers on the planet, Tiger Woods’ fall from grace has been remarkable. He was winning tournaments and breaking golf records for fun, but then in 2009, his life fell apart. Tiger was basically found out. He’d been having affairs, with several mistresses, and eventually more than a dozen women came forward and said they’d had affairs with the golfing superstar. He’d been found out and there was nothing else for him to do other than to come clean, which he did – embarrassingly in front of his mother – and admitted he was a sex addict and that he was going to rehab.

Tiger might not seem like a sleazebag when doing his professional duties, but away from golf he’s one of the biggest sleazebags out there. Now the world knows it, his reputation’s been tarnished for good, and he’s still recovering from the fallout. His life is seemingly still unravelling at the seams.

Josh Lueke - Multiple Rape Allegations

Pro baseball relief pitcher Josh Lueke has had a seriously checkered past, and a legal history that would make most people weep.

He’s known for being the man about town, but hasn’t always done so when both parties have consented. In 2008, allegations began to surface that he had raped a woman, police did their investigations and subsequently charged him. He was innocent until proven guilty, as is always the case, but it became clear that Josh was hiding something pretty much as soon as the police began to interrogate him. He lied when he said he had even had any sort of sexual contact with the woman in question, and then backtracked when DNA revealed they’d been doing more than just holding hands. Then he pleaded no contest to the charges and did jail time. When he was later asked about that night, he said it was "a freak-accident kind of thing." Yep, as if he accidentally took off his pants, got a woman by his side and began doing the dirty without her consent – of course it was a freak accident.

Wayne Carey - Assault, Harassment, Drugs, And More

Sleazebag is one of many choice words that can be used to describe Wayne Carey. Firstly, let me tell you all who the hell he is, because I doubt he’ll be popular to American audiences. He’s a former Aussie rules footballer, and a major celebrity across the other side of the world on Australian shores. He’s regarded to be Australia’s greatest player ever, but off the pitch he’s a bit of a lady’s man – or thinks he is – and is all about women. But he’s made some pretty dirty and disgusting moves which have seriously tarnished his reputation.

Wayne’s career has been plagued with scandals and controversies – here we go, his long list of indiscretions involving members of the opposite sex. In 1997, he grabbed a random woman’s breasts and allegedly said "Why don't you get a bigger pair of t*ts?" A lawsuit was filed against him but he settled out of court. A few years later he was done for assault. He’s also been charged for assaulting police officers, and numerous other drug and alcohol related issues. But 2006 is when he really became a hated figure, the lowest of the low in many people’s eyes. He left his heavily pregnant wife for model Kate Neilson, who later alleged he’d been violent towards her.

To say Wayne Carey is a sleazebag would actually be the understatement of the year. Drugs or no drugs, what he’s done is truly abhorrent, and he earns a deserved place on this list.

Josh McNary - Rape Accusations

American football linebacker Josh McNary, currently of the Jacksonville Jaguars, spent a couple of years in military service, so you’d have thought that a former US Army Lieutenant would’ve learned some basic values. But no, these values – well, not even values just basic common sense and human decency – seem to be lacking where Josh is concerned. It’s landed him in plenty of hot water over the years, and it’s all been his own doing. In 2014, Josh was charged with felony rape. His accuser said she’d gone to various bars with him in downtown Indianapolis, and he’d then taken her back to his place, and you know what happened next. When the police managed to track Josh down, he had his bed sheets by the washing machine, which apparently, he was leaving for the police, as evidence. He was found not guilty by the jury, but there have been numerous other incidences over the years where Josh has been caught in uncompromising situations with members of the opposite sex.

“Fast Eddie” Johnson - Banned From NBA For Life And Molestation

Former NBA player "Fast Eddie" Johnson Jr. played for a decade in the NBA and had a pretty successful run, too. But due to everything that had been unravelling in his life off the court, no one’s going to remember his basketball achievements or look back on his playing days with any type of fondness.

Eddie’s playing career came to an end when he was found to be a cocaine addict. He was suspended several times, before eventually checking himself into rehab, but he didn’t attend his subsequent counselling sessions, and that was the end of Eddie’s career as he was banned from the NBA for life.

Eddie’s been arrested over 100 times, but the worst thing by far on his rap sheet has got to be the sexual battery and molestation of an eight-year-old girl. He was charged with this while still being investigated on charges for raping another woman. Eddie was charged in 2008 and is currently serving time at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Lawrence Taylor - Drugs And Sexual Misconduct

Know your NFL and you’ll know that Lawrence Taylor is one of the greatest linebackers in American football history. The guy spent his entire career with the New York Giants, and on the field, he was a colossal figure for them, but off it he was nothing but a sleazebag.

Firstly, during his career, it became evident that he had a drug problem. He’s failed a number of drug tests over the years, and his drug issue worsened when he walked away from NFL. He was caught trying to buy cocaine from undercover cops, not just once either, but the worst misdemeanor on his extensive rap sheet has got to be him trying to solicit an underage girl to have sex with him. He pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute and was sentenced to six years’ probation.

He’s also been pretty candid about what he got up to during his playing days, which involved paying for prostitutes, spending the night with call girls, and arriving at a team meeting the next day in handcuffs, and just being, well, a sleazebag.

Ruben Patterson - Domestic Abuse And Attempted Rape (On The Nanny!)

Former pro basketball player Ruben Patterson was hardly a trailblazer on the court. He was a guy who was known for being solid, decent, but nothing more. He wasn’t known for being particularly spectacular in any way. His off-court antics, though, were spectacular, but not in a good way. He’s gotten into plenty of hot water over the years with the law, and that includes plenty of legal issues when it comes to sex crimes. In 2000, he was charged with attempting to rape his child’s nanny, and pleaded guilty to the offences a year later. He’s also been arrested for abusing his wife, and got into a lot of hot water after trying to abscond and get out of putting his name on the sex offender list, for which he was ordered to pay a fine, and of course, still had to register as a sex offender. He’s also been arrested for DUIs and a ton of other stuff – a sleazebag if ever there was one.

Trevis Smith - Failed To Disclose HIV Positive Status

Not only did this ex-football linebacker sleep around with multiple women, he basically adversely affected their lives forever. It’s one thing to sleep around, but it’s another thing entirely to do that while knowing you’ve got HIV, and failing to disclose it. In 2005, Trevis Smith slept with two women, but failed to tell them he was HIV positive. Sure, it’s not something you really want to shout about, but knowing it can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, disclosing HIV-positive status is something that’s got to be done. He had unprotected sex with both of them, and was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault. When out on bail, he then violated his bail conditions, landing him in plenty of hot water and a five-and-a-half-year stint in jail. This all happened in Canada, and as soon as he was released from jail, Canada wanted none of him, deported him, and made him the United States’ problem.

Darren Sharper - Raped 4 Women In 24 Hours

Former American football safety Darren Sharper is today known more for his criminal convictions than for any of his accomplishments on the football field. It’s a shame because he’s one hell of an athlete, but he only has himself to blame for some truly despicable acts. The guy’s a sexual predator – that’s all you can really call him. There have been police reports filed against him regarding him drugging and raping women – 16 women, to be exact– over the years. All of these reports follow a similar pattern: he drugs them, sexually assaults or rapes them, and then does a runner. Within 24 hours on January 14 2014, Sharper allegedly raped four women in two different states. He had a predatory pattern, and a somewhat sophisticated method of satisfying his sick urges. But thankfully for women across America, the pattern’s been broken, as he’s now where he rightfully belongs, staring at four walls in federal custody.

Ben Roethlisberger - Trapped A Casino Host

Ben Roethlisberger aka Big Ben, is currently playing as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. But due to all of his indiscretions, it’s amazing that he is actually still a contracted NFL player. He’s yet another athlete who’s had numerous sexual assault allegations come his way. In 2008, while partaking in a celebrity golf tournament, he started chatting up a casino host, lured her to his room under the false pretence that his TV wasn’t working, and then stopped her from leaving, blocking her before he started to kiss her. The woman was so traumatized she had to have hospital treatment. There have also been rape claims against Big Ben, but there wasn’t enough evidence for a conviction to stick. Whether he did or not, we’ll never really know, but Ben is known for getting around a bit, and he did get himself into those situations, which makes him – and I’m sure lots would agree – a sleazebag in every sense of the word.

Adrian Peterson - Charity Fraud And Child Abuse

Adrian Peterson is currently with the New Orleans Saints in the NFL, and has, to an extent, revived his football career after a really dark period in 2014. He was handed a suspension for the 2014 season, and rightfully so.

Before that scandalous period, Adrian was known as a charitable man, donating vast sums of cash to his own charity, and putting it all to good causes. But what people didn’t know is that that money wasn’t going to charity. It was alleged that this money was being used to fund his own perverse antics, antics involving four women and two brothers – you can piece together the rest.

The suspension was also because he’d been found guilty of abusing one of his own sons. He’d beaten his son, who was four at the time, with a tree branch, leaving slash-like wounds all over the kid’s body. Adrian then justified his actions by saying that’s the type of punishment that was regularly handed out to him as a kid. Understandably people didn’t take too kindly to that pathetic excuse.

John Terry - Affair With Friend's Girlfriend

What Chelsea and England defensive stalwart John Terry did to his teammate Wayne Bridge, is probably the worst thing you can do to anyone. Both Terry and Bridge were playing soccer in the English Premier League, and both were playing in defence for Chelsea and England at the time of this incident. To be a great defender you need to have a great partnership, a great understanding with your fellow defenders, but obviously this all went to pot when everyone discovered that Terry and Bridge’s girlfriend were having an affair. Bridge was dating model Vanessa Perroncel, and they were pretty serious too, as they had a kid together. When the media got wind of this affair, Vanessa attempted to gag the press so the news wouldn’t be splashed all across the tabloids, but when the gag order was lifted, she and Terry were in trouble because that’s exactly what happened. It’s even rumored she had gotten pregnant with Terry’s baby, and he’d told her to have an abortion. Understandably after that incident, Bridge got the hell away from Chelsea and refused to shake hands with Terry when their teams met in future matches – can’t argue with that.

Chad Curtis - Took Advantage Of Teenage Girls

Chad Curtis is a felon, currently serving time in the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian, Michigan, and that’s all he’ll ever be remembered as. Forget his baseball career, because everything he did in baseball no longer matters when you put it alongside his criminal convictions.

In 2012, Chad was working as a weight training coach at a high school, but he was doing more than just training his pupils. Several girls reported him for inappropriate touching, and he was eventually found guilty of all counts, one of which was for sexual penetration. Apparently, he gave the girls – only girls – massages, taking them into a windowless room where he could do whatever he pleased. Chad accused the girls of lying, but the judge and jury knew better.

But what I’m about to say next just illustrates what an abhorrent individual Chad Curtis is. He told one of the girls he’d molested that they should stay in contact and actually get together to write a book. Why a book? His reasoning was to help other men not become seduced by teenage girls. The girl and her legal team told Chad where he and his book idea could go.

Mike Tyson - Abuse, Violence, And Infidelity

Mike Tyson had a troubled life, there’s no doubting that, but that’s still no excuse for what he’s done. He certainly lived up to his reputation of being “The Baddest Man on the Planet” but not just through his intimidatory boxing style – he was bad, some may say evil, to the core.

Tyson was once one of the wealthiest sportsmen on the planet, but he squandered pretty much all of his cash. What did he spend his money on? Pretty much everything, and that included lots of prostitutes and crazy nights spent drinking with costly female company. But during one of his darkest periods, he was convicted of rape, and spent three years incarcerated.

The guy’s also been married three times, and his first two marriage were marred by allegations of abuse, violence, and infidelity. While he was married, he’d think nothing of flirting with female reporters interviewing him, making a lot of them feel really uncomfortable. The women in Tyson’s life have had to deal with a lot over the years, because Tyson’s not only the baddest, but one of the biggest sleazebags on the planet.

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