The Most Hated Athletes on the Internet

Image via Complex Original

Career years: 1996-present

There are plenty of Laker Nation reps and Kobe stans to drown out the hate, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. As loathed as he is loved, Kobe Bryant remains one of the most polarizing players in the NBA going into his 18th season. He's getting up there in years and his body seems to quit on him every season as his career winds down, leaving blood in the water for Kobe haters to flourish off of.

Career years: 2006-present

Imagine Luis Suarez but without the international notoriety—that's basically what you have in Diego Costa. His spitting incident with Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos is YouTube legend, and it made him a known nuisance around La Liga and European footy circles. On the pitch, he's a constant agitator, always kicking and clawing at defenders just to get under their skin. Costa is a true nuisance and a pariah to fans and players alike, and his recent decision to play for Spain (where he's played since 16) over in Brazil (where he was born) in international matches has drawn the ire of the Canarinho.

Career years: 2006-present

Don't you just feel weighed down when you watch Jay Cutler play? Your eyes droop, your shoulders slump, and you suddenly have the urge to smoke a cigarette even though you've never touched those deathsticks in your life. That's how Cutler makes the average man feel—imagine what it's like to be a Bears fan. Second in the NFL in "Douchey Facial Expressions" and "Heads Hung in Shame" to Eli Manning, and always among the league leaders in interceptions and sacks, at least one "Cutler being Cutler" social media post is guaranteed every Sunday.

Career years: 1998-present

How many people do you know who are racist and homewreckers? None? You must keep good company, but now meet John Terry. He once called an opponent a "fucking black cunt" on the pitch, but only before having sex with the wife of an ex-teammate. He's since been stripped of his captaincy of England's national team, and is generally viewed as a shitty person and a disgrace to English football. John Terry, great all-around bro.

Career years: 2005-present

When fans describe how you play, "soft" is never a good adjective, especially in a sport like hockey. Compound that with the fact that he's the NHL's poster boy, and you've got a big problem. Fans have no problem taking to Twitter to voice their displeasure of Crosby's toddler-like toughness levels, even though their frail 130 pound bodies would be crying for their mothers after five seconds of an NHL shift.

Career years: 2008-present

Brad Marchand is one of the NHL's leading villians. Named "Nose Face Killah," or more bluntly, "Rat Boy," Marchand takes shit for his purposefully dirty style of play, and, you guessed it, his pelican-like nose. Bruins fans love his blue-collar chops while the rest of the NHL would probably like to see Marchand wiped off the face of the Earth.

Career years: 2004-present

Eli's struggling right now. As the face of the 0-5 Giants, the buck stops with him when it comes to accountability. Right now, his QB rating, TD:INT ratio, and completion percentage are the worst they've been since his first two years in the league. Although he's not necessarily the root of the Giants' problems (poor offensive and defensive line performances, a no running game, and inconsistent wide receiver play all affect Manning negatively), his own individual decision-making and leadership haven't been up to par either. The Giants had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season, so an 0-5 start is fucked on nuclear holocaust levels for them. As such, the social media hate has been unrelenting. Sorry Eli, but it sucks to suck. *cues the Manning face*

Career Years: 2002-present

Ah, the curse of greatness. Like many other athletes on this list, Cristiano Ronaldo is cursed by footballing awesomeness. People naturally grow to dislike great players, and will take any part of their game/life and use that as a catalyst for brewing up batches of Haterade. Whether it's Ronaldo's large Adam's apple, his gelled hair, his cocky attitude, or his reputation for diving/making a meal out of every challenge, he's a prime target whenever he's out in public. Much of the online hate comes from Premiership fans who are still sick from his dominant years with Manchester United and from Messi stans, who are oddly insecure about their man's "best player on the planet" title.

Career years: 2009-present

The most slandered back-up quarterback of all-time, Mark Sanchez is a living meme at this point in his career. Forever immortalized by the butt-fumble, the turnover-prone quarterback is representative of every single bit of the Jets' historic futility. He's made an ass of himself to the extent where NFL fans will find any way to turn Sanchez into the butt of a joke. With Sanchez's season-ending shoulder surgey happening this week and Geno Smith looking sharp at quarterback, the Sanchez Era may be over for the Jets, and as fans of not only the NFL, but also comedy, we're sad to see it end.

Career years: 2003-present

Although we think that hatred of LeBron is irrational, petty, and from a place of jealousy at this point, haters just keep on hating. No other player in their prime has been hated more and respected less despite their accomplishments than LeBron. Was Jordan, Shaq, Magic, or any other of the game's greats ever treated this way, in such a senseless manner? For every bandwagon Heat fan, you'll find at least two intense LeBron haters on the internet. Haters have been reduced to making played out hairline jokes, because there's little to grasp onto now. But hey, whatever helps them sleep at night, right?

Career Years: 2010-present

"I will jump that fence and fight every n***er here, bro!" Those 11 words took Eagles wideout Riley Cooper from a little-known wideout taken in the 5th round by the Eagles to "that racist white athlete who loves him some Kenny Chesney." From Marcus Vick putting a bounty on his head to Average Joes calling for the Eagles to release him, the hate for Cooper has been very real over the last few months.

Career years: 2000-present

Unless you're a Giants fan, you really hate Tom Brady. If you're a Giants fan, you hate him, but less so, because he bombed two Super Bowls for you. There's just so much to hate about a highly successful, handsome, former underdog NFL quarterback with millions of dollars and one of the hottest wives on the planet. Right now, he's getting the bulk of the hate from fantasy owners, who just shouldered the burden of his zero TD, 1 INT, 197-yard performance last Sunday. Yuck.

Career years: 1995-present

Similar to Brad Marchand, KG is a classic "I hate him, but I'd want him on my team" player. If you're not rooting for him, then you're most certainly rooting against him. His shit-talking, over-the-top, and downright disrespectful on-court antics makes him the NBA's No. 1 bad boy (still).

Career years: 2012-present

Johnny Football, Money Manziel, OVO Manziel—it seems like whatever nickname he earns just garners more hate. "Johnny Football? He doesn't represent college football well, fuck that." "Money Manziel is right, what an immature idiot for taking money for his autograph." "OVO Manziel? What a pussy Drake fan." Manziel gets hate for being cocky, immature, stupid, and for partying like a normal college student, but his defiance of the NCAA's broken authority and consistent trolling of ESPN makes him, for better or worse, a legend. Once you get built up, there are always plenty of people champing at the bit to tear you down.

Career Years: 2007-present

Here's a guy who could use Olivia Pope's help. Maybe Ryan Braun's been watching too much Scandal, because he loves to lie, but hates getting caught when it's more trouble than it's worth. Doesn't he know that the best thing to do is always come clean (literally), face the truth, accept the consequences, and move on? There are plenty of Major Leaguers who've seen their careers stained by PEDs, but have also repaired their image within the game and to the fans. Nobody cares, or even remembers that Andy Petitte and Jason Giambi were juicing. Hell, even A-Rod was on the path to redemption from his 2009 steroid admission before this Biogensis shit.

Braun, on the other hand, fought his positive drug test like no other player has before, was acquitted on a technicality, said "Ha-ha, I told you so" to the world, and then got busted this past summer. It's tough to be an asshole, a liar, and a rich guy at the same time (on second thought, those three things usually go together pretty well), but Braun has managed to become all three, and baseball fans online have been reminding him of it all year.

Career Years: 2004-present

Dwight Howard must have trouble choosing between paper or plastic at the grocery store. Seriously, his indecisions have driven NBA fans crazy. He broke the hearts of Nets fans, drove Magic fans up a wall, and unleashed the wrath of Laker Nation and Kobe Bryant stans the world over. Along the way, he's never ceased to annoy the average basketball fan. You won't see people lining up to give Lakers fans sympathy, but Howard's diva-like attitude hasn't sat well.

Part of us still thinks that he could've worked out with the Lakers had he bought into Kobe's championship-tested idea of a winning team, rather than pushing for the Buss family to get rid of Kobe and anoint Howard the King of L.A. He's on his third team in three years, which just isn't something that normally happens with "franchise" players. Who would be surprised if he demanded a trade nine months from now?

Career years: 2005-present

Whenever Tony Romo "chokes" or "doesn't show up" the Twitter slander is *real tears* worthy. Even when he's not playing, the guy can't catch a break. Take this weekend's NFL games for instance. After Romo threw that awful 4th quarter interception to hand deliver the W to the Bronocs, the words "Romo being Romo" instantly came to mind. And in Monday night's Jets-Falcons game, when Geno Smith led a game-winning drive for the Jets, the Internet was more wrapped up in using that moment to cast Romo in an even worse light. People were thinking about Romo, not the Jets or Smith. The idea that melting down in big games or screwing up in late-game moments when everyone is watching now has a face—Tony Romo's—may be unfair to him, but it's hilarious for our timeline.

Career years: 1994-present

Do A-Rod's children even love him? He's the most hated man in American sports right now, and for good reason. He's a cheater in his profession and his marriage (which has been over for five years), and has about zero redeeming qualities—unless you're a Yankee fan of course, because the team can still use whatever bat he has left. He's the Lance Armstrong of baseball, and whenever he opens his mouth (whether it's to issue a fake apology or claiming to be the victim of a "witch hunt"), the vitriol on social media comes down hard and heavy.

Career years: 2005-present

Luis Suarez has done plenty to warrant all the bad lip he's gotten. Since coming to Liverpool, he's been suspended for flipping off fans, calling Patrica Evra a "negrito," and for biting another player on the pitch. Not only that, he agitated Liverpool for a transfer to Arsenal all summer. (His name nearly became synonymous with Fernando Torres', which is never a good thing for a current Liverpool player.) For that, his reputation on virtual Merseyside has been irreparably tarnished, and his image outside of Liverpool has never been worse. While footy fans are willing to recognize his brilliance—26 goals in his last 35 EPL appearances are lethal stats—they're quick at the draw. The target? Luis Suarez and his "horse-toothed," "cheating," "diving," "disgraceful," and "racist" play.

Career years: 1996-present

Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be 45-0 and one of the richest athletes on the planet, but he still hasn't earned the respect of many boxing fans. Why? Well, who has he fought? A Manny Pacquiao super fight never happened, giving fans the sense that Mayweather purposely dodged his greatest competition just to maintain an undefeated image. His last fight against Saúl Álvarez only fueled his critics further, as Mayweather spent the fight eating Álvarez's punches on his left shoulder than going on the offensive and attempting a knock-out. Was that tactically intelligent or a bitch move? Depends on if you're a Mayweather hater or not.