Tiger’s tomfoolery has been well documented in the media this week, with the biggest shock being that a squeaky clean golfer could act like an NBA player in his free time.  So now that Tiger has pushed golf onto the sports scandal map, let’s take a look at other athlete-related events from the past 20 years that received way too much press coverage.

We’ve broken the scandals into 3 different groups based on severity.

Tiger Cubs

Comparatively minor incidents that Tiger would happily trade for.

Charles Barkley – DUI & then some

Sir Charles was arrested for DUI in December of 2008, but this wasn’t your standard athlete “I’m invincible” drive home.  When the cop approached the car and asked Barkley what he was doing, he admitted that he was trying to hurry home to get a BJ.  The report says it all:

“He told me that he ran the stop sign because he was in a hurry to pick up the girl I saw get in the passenger seat.”

The officer continues: “He asked me to admit that she was ‘hot.’ He asked me, ‘You want the truth?’ When I told him I did he said, ‘I was gonna drive around the corner and get a b**w job. He then explained that she had given him a ‘b**w job’ one week earlier and said it was the best one he had ever had in his life.”

Maybe this straight talk was (unsuccessfully) used as a diversion from the fact that he had a gun in the car.

Andre Rison – Crazy Pyro Girlfriend

Rison and TLC rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes (RIP) had a tumultuous relationship in the early 90s, but there was one night when her anger/revenge/desire for warmth went too far.

She put all of Rison’s shoes in the bath tub, lit them on fire, and ended up burning his entire house down.  Fortunately no one was hurt, but Rison was never able to get another pair of original Jordan III’s.

Cheetahs

See what we did there?  Tiger just joined their fraternity.

Isiah Thomas

Was accused of sexually harassing Madison Square Garden employee Anucha Browne Sanders, which led to a record $11.6 million ruling in her favor.

Alex Rodriguez

Cheated on his wife with a stripper and skeletor, each keeping New York media busy for months.

Michael Jordan

Jordan is a known ladies man and there wasn’t a particular incident or lady that led to his divorce, but it’s worth noting that his ex-wife Juanita got a whopping $168 million in the settlement.  Elin Woods is about to cash in!

Kobe Bryant

Bryant admitted to having sex with Colorado hotel employee Katelyn Faber in 2003, but she claimed it was rape.  Clearly just after money, the case never went to court and Kobe’s reputation was momentarily damaged.

Uncle Scars

OK, so the bad guy from The Lion King is the best we could think of for the category of worse off than Tiger.

Pete Rose

His gambling led to a permanent ban from baseball.  Tiger may look like a sleaze, but at least he can still play his sport professionally.

Michael Vick

Running an illegal dog fighting ring and executing numerous dogs led to a 23 month prison sentence for Vick, ending a once-promising career with the Atlanta Falcons.  He has since resurfaced with the Philadelphia Eagles, but is yet to make an impact as a backup and Wildcat QB.

Mike Tyson

Iron Mike has never shied away from trouble, but his biggest bump in the rode was his 1992 conviction of raping Miss Black Rhode Island Desiree Washington.  He returned to the ring after serving 3 years in Indiana prison, but was never the same dominant fighter the world knew.

OJ Simpson

Let’s hope that there’s never an athlete that tops OJ’s criminal record.

Other links you’ll like:

• 14 Craziest Sports WAGs
• Tiger Incident Through China’s Eyes
• Fatty Gets KO’d
• Tons of sports hilarity

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