A Recent History of Athletes Caught Speeding at More Than 100 MPH

Image via Complex Original

Speed Recorded: 101 mph
Speed Limit: 65 mph
Car: '08 Mercedes-Benz
Location: Ohio 

In January 2008, when King James was still a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he got caught driving fast—real fast—down Interstate 71 in Ohio. He paid a $259 fine the following month and downplayed the entire incident. "I was on my way home to go to sleep," he said. "It's not a big deal. You just have to abide by the rules. I made a mistake, and I have to live with it." But James was also quick to point out that, while he was wrong to be going so fast, his 2008 Mercedes was actually capable of going 200 mph. Hmmm…We're not so sure he learned his lesson.

Speed Recorded: 109 mph
Speed Limit: 55 mph
Car: BMW
Location: Minneapolis 

Shortly after AP got pulled over on Highway 62 in Minneapolis in November 2009 and given a citation for driving too fast, the Minnesota Vikings running back told reporters that he got "a little speeding ticket." But there was nothing "little" about it, as AP was clocked going 54 mph over the speed limit. He later pleaded guilty to going 99 mph, because he likely would have lost his license if he was found to have been going over 100. But he didn't learn his lesson. Just 11 months later, he got caught speeding again, though he was "only" going 53 mph in a 35-mph zone that time. Hey, AP, SLOW DOWN.

Speed Recorded: 104 mph
Speed Limit: 60 mph
Car: Audi R8
Location: Minnesota

Adrian Peterson wasn't the only Minnesota Vikings player who got busted for speeding over 100 mph in 2009. Just a few days after AP got caught doing 109 mph, Berrian got busted for going 104 mph in his Audi R8 on Interstate 694 in Minnesota. The wide receiver later pleaded guilty to speeding and was given a $300 fine as a result of it. Were the Vikings players that anxious to get away from the team facilities back then or what?!

Speed Recorded: 165 mph
Speed Limit: Unknown
Car: Mercedes-Benz AMG
Location: Washington D.C.

During an interview in July 2008, the Washington Capitals star admitted that he once got caught doing 165 mph—not far from the White House, no less!—because he was "late to the team's training." Amazingly, though, he didn't get a ticket, because, according to him, the police recognized him and let him go with a warning. However, in the same interview, he also admitted that he has received several tickets in the U.S., though he didn't specify how much they have cost him. He even said in an ESPN E:60 segment to doing 180 in his SL 65 AMG once. From the sound of things, he's incapable of doing the speed limit.

Speed Recorded: 104 mph
Speed Limit: 50 mph
Car: Lamborghini Gallardo
Location: London

The Chelsea left back was pulled over on the M62 in London in November 2008 while he was driving his black Lamborghini Gallardo after he got clocked going well over 100 mph. His excuse? He told police that he thought he was only driving 80 mph (which still would have earned him a ticket) and that he was trying to outrun some paparazzi. They didn't buy his excuse, though, and he was later banned from driving for four months. He was also fined and told that he could face jail time if he chose to drive during his suspension. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, after all that, the paps ending up catching up to him and snapping photos of him while he was pulled over anyway.

Speed Recorded: 125 mph
Speed Limit: 55 mph
Car: Ferrari
Location: Broward County, Fla. 

Almost every single athlete on this list ended up paying a huge fine for speeding. Not Plax. The former NFL wide receiver actually managed to weasel his way out of a crazy ticket after he got caught going 70 mph over in Broward County, Fla. in October 2012. It was looking like he was going to be facing a $1,000 fine for the infraction, but he went the way of Ryan Braun. His lawyer found an error on his ticket and the ticket was dismissed. Way to beat the system on a technicality!

Speed Recorded: 107 mph
Speed Limit: 55 mph
Car: 2013 Porsche Panamera
Location: Oregon

The Trail Blazers forward managed to hit triple digits on I-5 in Oregon in October 2013 while driving his four-door Porsche. Apparently, he felt really, really bad about it, so he took to Twitter a short time after he received a ticket and a $1,150 fine to apologize for the incident. "Apologies for that speeding ticket rip city," he wrote on Twitter, "gotta be more careful with watching the speed limit my first and last one tho for sure." Rip City hopes so.

Speed Recorded: 127 mph
Speed Limit: 55 mph
Car: Audi
Location: Ohio

Little is actually lucky that he's alive right now. In April 2013, the Cleveland Browns wide receiver crashed his Audi into a guard rail and a light pole while he was racing his car on State Route 176 in Ohio. He was forced to pay a $350 fine after police discovered that he had reached speeds of up to 127 mph while racing just before the crash. Unfortunately, he didn't learn his lesson after that accident.

Just four months later, he was cited for speeding again for going 81 mph in a 60-mph zone on I-71 in Berea, Ohio. After that, it sounded like he had finally realized that he needs to slow the hell down: "It's obviously something that I've got to take very seriously and slow my speeds down and be cautious of others on the road," he said. "I could have seriously put my life and other lives in danger." Uh, ya think?

Speed Limit: 106 mph 
Speed Recorded: 65 mph
Car: 2008 Land Rover
Limit: Kane County, Ill. 

About two months before the Chicago Bulls made him the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Rose was pulled over for going 40 mph over the speed limit in Kane County, Ill. He was later ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and—get this—forced to attend traffic school for driving with a lead foot. We knew D Rose was quick on the court, but who knew that the mild-mannered star was quick off of it, too?

Speed Recorded: "More than 100 mph"
Speed Limit: Various speed zones
Car: Chevrolet Camaro
Location: Monroe, La.

Police never revealed exactly how fast the Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle was going in June 2013 when he got pulled over in Monroe, La. But it's clear that he was doing triple digits—and he was going that fast because the police were chasing him. What started out as a race between Peters and another driver quickly escalated into a full-fledged police chase thanks to a police officer who spotted Peters and the other driver racing on U.S. 165 in Monroe and attempted to pull Peters over. Peters didn't stop the Chevrolet Camaro he was driving immediately. But after it was clear that police were going to continue to chase him, he finally decided to surrender. He was charged with drag racing and resisting arrest and later paid a $656 fine.

Speed Recorded: 110 mph
Speed Limit: 55 mph
Car: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
Location: Los Angeles

Forget what we said in the intro for this list. Bynum does not like moving fast. At least, not on the court. Because of his hulking frame, he's actually not fast at all. But back in October 2010, the former Los Angeles Lakers star proved that he's got a need for speed off the court by doing 110 mph on a Los Angeles freeway in his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. He was also pulled over just one month later and charged with driving without a license plate (he must have lost track of all of those whips) and having illegally tinted taillights. Fortunately, though, it's been awhile since he's been pulled over—at least, to the best of our knowledge—so maybe Bynum finally learned how to use his brakes.

Speed Recorded: 118 mph
Speed Limit: 65 mph
Car: 2011 Nissan Altima
Location: Eugene, Ore.

Believe it or not, the speeding infraction was actually the least of Harris' concerns when he got pulled over in a Nissan Altima in June 2011 while driving near Eugune, Ore. with his Oregon Ducks teammate Darron Thomas and two other friends. In addition to getting a speeding ticket, he was also cited for driving with a suspended license. And someone in the car was also smoking marijuana shortly before the car was pulled over, so the cops asked him about that as well (it should be noted, though, that the police officer who pulled the car over did not charge anyone for that). Harris was eventually fined more than $1,600 for the multiple infractions. But since then, the NFL free agent has also been involved in a number of other traffic incidents. Maybe he should just stay off the road altogether.

Speed Recorded: 104 mph
Speed Limit: 65 mph
Car: 2005 Nissan Altima
Location: Oregon

What's with all of the Oregon college football players getting crazy speeding citations? Less than a year after Oregon's Cliff Harris got caught doing 118 mph, Oregon State football player Malcolm Marable was clocked doing 104 mph in a Nissan Altima (apparently the car of choice for speed demons?) on I-5 in Oregon and given a ticket for "exceeding the speed limit 100+." He was also given a warning because he did not have insurance or registration on him at the time.  As a result of the speeding ticket, Marable was suspended for a short time from the OSU football team and ordered to pay a $1,150 fine. The punishments seem to have worked, as Marable hasn't been back in the news since.

Speed Recorded: 103 mph
Speed Limit: 60 mph
Car: Bentley
Location: Fulton, Ohio

Most people don't thank the police officers who pull them over when they get caught speeding. But shortly after Cribbs got caught doing triple digits on Interstate 71 in Fulton, Ohio in April 2013, he actually sent out a tweet thanking the cops who busted him while he was whipping his Bentley. "Much Respect to the police officers who pulled me over!" he wrote. "I will lead better on the road now as well as on & off the field!!!" That may have helped him in the end, because he later pleaded guilty to driving 89 mph in a 60-mph zone and was only subjected to a $1,150 fine.

Speed Recorded: 130 mph
Speed Limit: 65 mph
Car: Mercedes-Benz S550
Location: Sacramento

The former Sacramento Kings guard was driving so erratically on a freeway in Sacramento—and the tints on his windows were so dark—that the California Highway Patrol actually approached Evans' car with guns drawn after he was pulled over in May 2010. In the end, he was cited for speeding in his Mercedes-Benz S550. But as you can see in this video, Evans was speeding like you've never seen anyone speed before. What in the world made him think that he could drive that fast and get away with it?