The Greatest Sh*t-Talking Quotes in Sports History

In honor of Muhammad Ali's 73rd birthday, we take a look at the greatest trash talking quotes in sports history.

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Complex Original

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There are very few people who have ever existed on this planet who have been as good at anything as Muhammad Ali was at boxing. However, Ali himself happened to be one of those people as he was able to surpass his own skill of concussing opponents with his before-its-time-ability to verbally dazzle crowds. Today, which just so happens to be Ali's 73rd birthday, it seemed appropriate to celebrate that expertise by highlighting the legend along with a cast of others who've made it their business to entertain us both on the field and through the press. Some call it "bulletin board material." Some call it "classless." But who cares? It's entertaining. Here's the Greatest Shit-Talking Quotes in Sports History.

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com

The Start of the Modern Era of Trash-Talk

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Iron Mike Fails to Match Ali's Eloquence

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Mamba Versus the POTUS

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Mike Hart Gets the Last Last Laugh for Michigan

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Martina Navratilova Gives Sarcastic Answer to Bogus Question

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Steve Spurrier Digs Kentucky's Special Teams

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Steve Spurrier Can't Help Himself

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LeBron Disses DeShawn Stevenson and Soulja Boy

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Spoken by: LeBron James

Spoken to: DeShawn Stevenson

Line: "It would be like Jay-Z responding to Soulja Boy."

DeShawn Stevenson called LeBron "overrated," so LeBron called DeShawn Stevenson "Soulja Boy," (kind of, see above). Later on down the road, in need of a job, Stevenson asked LeBron to join the Heat.

Whether or not he was serious is kind of hard to tell.

James Harrison Sounds Off

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The Mailman Chokes

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Bill Belichick Makes a Rare Break From Character

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Michael Jordan's Closed-Eye Free Throw

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Richard Sherman Celebrates the 2014 NFC Championship

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Babe Ruth Tells it Like it Is

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The Origins of Shannon Sharpe's Mouth

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Spoken by: Shannon Sharpe

Spoken about: The New England Patriots

Line: "I'll call the President. President, we need the National Guard! We need as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! So call the dogs off! Send the National Guard, please!"

Here's Shannon Sharpe explaining to USA TODAY where he first learned to trash-talk and, surprisingly, it had nothing to do with growing up as a boy named 'Shannon':


"I was in the third grade and I had to go to speech class because I talked with a really heavy lisp. The teacher would have us read and when we got to a word we couldn't pronounce, she'd want us to sound the word out.


"I won't say the guy's last name, but the kid's first name was Johnny. And he's reading, gets to a word and she said, 'Johnny, it sounds like?' And I said, 'It sounds like Johnny can't read.'


"She threw me out of the class. So I had to stand outside for 30 of the 40 minutes. That was the first time I trash talked. And she threw me out because the other students started laughing. Then, I realized, 'OK, instead of them talking about the way I talk, I can get on them so they forget that I have a deficiency."

Lesson learned. If you're different and you're getting picked on, just find somebody else who's even more different and pile on.

Larry Bird Calls His Game-Winning Shot

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Multiple Choice

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