18 of the most disgraceful moments in sports history

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Getty Images

Khabib Nurmagomedov should have been content to celebrate his stirring victory over Conor McGregor in Las Vegas Saturday night. However, the undefeated UFC star went wild, climbing over the Octagon to get to Bellator MMA fighter Dillon Danis, a friend of the vanquished McGregor. Adding insult to defeat, members of Nurmagomedov’s team jumped into the Octagon, one of them sucker-punching McGregor. Nurmagomedov then decided to get into a screaming match with UFC president Dana White, turning a tremendous victory into another chapter of sports’ most shameful moments.

10. Dennis Rodman kicks photographer

The mercurial NBA star had more than his share of embarrassing moments. In 1997, a low moment cost him 11 games and a $25,000 fine for kicking a cameraman in Minneapolis. Commissioner David Stern had his fill of the forward’s antics in announcing the punishment, “Until Dennis can provide meaningful assurances that he will conform his conduct on the playing court to acceptable standards — including not placing others at physical risk — his suspension will continue,” Stern said in a statement. ”During the period of Rodman’s suspension, he will be required to meet with a counselor designated by the NBA.” The ban didn’t deter Dennis Rodman from continuing to be one of the most colorful and controversial characters in all of sports.

11. Kermit Washington clocks Rudy Tomjanovich

12. Roberto Alomar spits on John Hirschbeck

More Articles About Sports History:

13. Juan Marichal hits John Roseboro with a bat

In August of 1965, the Giants-Dodgers rivalry added an ugly page. Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal hit Dodgers catcher John Roseboro over the head with a bat. Tensions were high already as Sandy Koufax and Marichal had thrown brushback pitches. In the third inning with Marichal at-bat, Roseboro dropped a Koufax pitch. Roseboro picked the ball up and threw it back to Koufax — right in front of Marichal’s face. Insults ensued and … “I was afraid he was going to hit me with his mask, so I hit him with my bat,” said Marichal, who was suspended for eight game days and fined $1,750. Roseboro received 14 stitches after the blow. He sued Marichal for $110,000 and settled for $7,500.

14. Latrell Sprewell attacks P.J. Carlesimo

The Golden State Warriors brought P.J. Carlesimo in to turn the franchise around in 1997, but it didn’t take long for things with star Latrell Sprewell to take a major turn. On December 1st, Sprewell choked Carlesimo during a closed door practice, was ejected from practice, and returned later to throw a punch at the coach. Carlesimo showed up to a press conference later with marks on his face, and it didn’t take long for the story to take off.

Sprewell was initially given a 10-day suspension, which was changed to a season-long suspension by the NBA a few days later. While he successfully challenged the length of that suspension, his time with Golden State came to an end. The Warriors would finish with 19 wins, and Sprewell would move on to the New York Knicks the following season.

15. Fuzzy Zoeller makes “Fried Chicken” comments about Tiger Woods at Masters

Tiger Woods shook up the golf world in 1997 when he won The Masters at age 21 by 12 strokes to get his first major victory. PGA veteran and 1979 Masters Champion Fuzzy Zoeller–who later claimed he was joking–said this to CNN during an interview about Woods’ play.

“The little boy is driving it well, he’s putting well, he’s doing everything it takes to win. So you know what you guys do when he gets in here, you pat him on the back, say ‘congratulations, enjoy it,’ and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it? Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”

Zoeller lost sponsorships and withdrew from the next week’s tournament in the aftermath of those comments.

16. Marty McSorley assaults Donald Brashear with a stick to the face

Infamous hockey enforcer Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins and Donald Brashear of the Vancouver Canucks mixed it up and fought earlier in a game on February 21, 2000. McSorley tried to get in other fights with Brashear for injuring the Bruins’ goaltender, and then, with only 5 seconds left in the game, unleashed a vicious high stick across Brashear’s face that caused Brashear to immediately fall to the ice and suffer seizures.

McSorley received an indefinite suspension from the NHL, was charged with assault, and found guilty. Thirty-six years old and a 17-year NHL veteran at the time, McSorley would never play in a game again after the Brashear attack.

17. Bobby Knight throws a chair

When the rival Purdue Boilermakers came to town in February 1985, Bobby Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers were in the middle of a down year. The volatile Knight was at his tipping point, and when some foul calls went against his team early in the contest (after already getting one technical), Knight reached for a nearby chair and chucked it across the court.

He was ejected from the game, exiting to raucous applause from the home crowd. He was suspended for one game by the conference, but otherwise faced no repercussions for the infamous incident.

Years later, Knight’s tenure at Indiana would come to an end when video emerged of him choking freshman Neil Reed at a practice.

18. Albert Haynesworth Stomps on Andre Gurode

In a 2006 game against the Dallas Cowboys, Albert Haynesworth lost his cool. On a touchdown run against his defense, Haynesworth saw guard Andre Gurode without a helmet and then stomped on his head with his cleat, opening a gash.

Haynesworth was immediately ejected, and received a five-game suspension from the NFL. He would come back and be named all-pro the next two seasons in Tennessee, which led to him signing an infamous $100 million contract with Washington.

2. Conor McGregor goes wild, gets arrested

Getty Images

No one will confuse the Notorious One with being angelic. In fact, much of the bad blood between McGregor and Nurmagomedov ignited from an April incident. McGregor and some of his posse threw objects at a bus full of UFC fighters at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. McGregor was arrested, and freed on $50,000 bail. He eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct as prosecutors agreed to drop two felonies and other charges and avoided jail.  

3.Malice at the Palace

Photo by Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images

One of the lowest — arguably the lowest — moment in NBA history occurred  on Nov. 19, 2004. The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons were playing when all hell erupted. Pacer players wound up in the stands led by Ron Artest (pictured), who wound up with a suspension that lasted 86 games. Eight other players were hit with bans from the wild brawl that happened with 45.9 seconds left in a game the Pacers led by 15 points. Multiple players were charged with assault and battery, which led to fines and probabtion.

4. Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding

VINCENT AMALVY/AFP/Getty Images

Another ugly moment that happened around the Motor City. Prior to the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in January 1994, Kerrigan was whacked on the leg with a baton following a practice session. What eventually became clear was Jeff Gilooly, Harding’s then-husband, and others were involved in planning the “hit.” Kerrigan recovered and went on to earn a silver medial in Lillehammer. Harding did not medal. The pair are tied together and Harding’s life was eventually depicted in the movie I, Tonya.

5. Mike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield’s ear

6. The Bowe-Golota riot

Polish powerhouse Andrew Golota and Riddick Bowe came to blows in a fight at Madison Square Garden in 1996. That was nothing compared to what happened after the heavyweight bout, which The New York Times described as “evoking the darkest evenings of boxing’s controversial past.” Golota was disqualified late in the seventh round, causing some among the 11,252 to riot. A dozen people were injured, and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani was ushered to a dressing room, law enforcement fearing for his safety.

7. Bruins fight fans at MSG

Another infamous night at MSG happened in 1979, when the Boston Bruins headed into the stands en masse after a game with the New York Rangers. The Bruins had picked up two points with a 4-3 win when the craziness occurred. Defenseman Mike Milbury hit a Rangers fan with a shoe in the incident that led to three players being suspended. The Ranger fan, John Kaplan, had incited the Bruins by hitting Stan Jonathan with a rolled up program at the end of the game. In all, 18 Bruins wound up in the seats with Milbury telling The New York Times years later, “If you watch the tape — and I can freely throw my teammates under the bus now after 30 years — people were throwing some serious shots down below us that were obscured by the fact that everybody was focusing on the idiot highest up in the stands hitting somebody with a shoe.”

8. Luis Suarez bites, bites, bites

The soccer star went Mike Tyson thrice better, having bitten a trio of opponents. Playing for Ajax in 2010, Luis Suarez was hit with a seven-game suspension for biting PSV’s Otman Bakkal on the shoulder. As a member of the Liverpool side in 2013, he was banished for 10 games after biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. And a year later, he received a four-month ban for taking a chunk out of Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup.

9. Woody Hayes slugs Clemson player

The legendary Ohio State coach was also well-known for his temper. And it finally got the best of him in the 1978 Gator Bowl. Ohio State was trailing 17-15 in the final moments of the game, when Clemson’s Charlie Bauman picked off an Art Schlichter pass. The lineman wound up near Hayes, who grabbed his jersey and punched him, sparking a brawl. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Ohio State was the least of it. The embarrassment from the incident wound up costing Hayes his job.