One of these years, they're going to learn, right?
This trash year offered up even more examples of how athletes and social media frequently make for a volatile mix. Too often we all get to witness the evisceration of reputations unfold in real-time. Usually, the posts that get these athletes into hot water and a million memes end up deleted, but fortunately Al Gore invented the screenshot and the interwebs so we're able to forever preserve every glorious dumpster fire post. Like the time the MVP's wife claimed the NBA Finals were rigged. Or that said MVP's teammates sent out a dick pic.
So for the second straight year we're excited to bring you some of our favorite—and exceedingly embarrassing—social media moments from the past 12 months. Social media is so closely intertwined with how we watch, interpret, and react to sports that many of these things feel every bit as relevant as wins and losses. And honestly, if you were some of these people, you would've gladly taken a real-life loss than the internet-generated L of getting rejected in DMs by a porn star or losing millions because your Twitter got hacked on the biggest day of your life. Be thankful you're not famous.
D'Angelo Russell "snitches" on Swaggy P.
Draymond Green's D makes an appearance on Snapchat.
During the NFL Draft, Laremy Tunsil's Twitter posts video of him smoking weed.
Ayesha Curry tells the world the NBA is rigged.
Date: June 17
Individual: Ayesha Curry
Incident: Just like any supportive wife, Curry was pissed watching her husband and his squad blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals (you heard about that one, right?). But she took it a bit far after suggesting that the Finals were rigged against the Warriors. Fans were quick to call her out and even photoshopped images of Kyrie Irving over Steph Curry’s face in a family portrait. Ayesha incurred the wrath of sports Twitter that night and regretted it immediately.
Aldon Smith allegedly smokes weed on Periscope, says his name while doing so.
Kurt Rambis likes great asses, daily.
The San Francisco Giants tweet like the alt-right.
Date: Sept. 19
Team: San Francisco Giants
Incident: No one’s going to accuse the Giants of being an alt-right organization, but the team's Twitter should have known better than to throw up to up three K’s in a row in an official tweet.
Chad Kelly gets exposed for his DMs at Mia Khalifa.
Date: Sept. 6
Individual: Chad Kelly
Incident: Athletes have this amazing relationship/obsessions with porn stars. They just can’t get enough of them. The Ole Miss QB and nephew of Hall of Fame Bills signal caller Jim Kelly couldn't keep himself from messaging Mia Khalifa on Twitter until she burned him by publicly sharing those messages. So much for being the BMOC.
Chris Collinsworth hits Bill Simmons with a Twitter knockout.
Date: Nov. 14
Individuals: Bill Simmons & Chris Collinsworth
Incident: When attempting to roast a broadcaster for their on-air performance, it helps to not be someone whose own show has been cancelled. Bill Simmons forgot this basic rule when he went after the longtime NFL commentator—who responded with the quickness and accuracy befitting a guy who was originally recruited to Florida as a quarterback. Hit him right in the (terrible) numbers.
Matt Hasselbeck takes a bad stance on sitting.
Date: Aug. 27
Individual: Matt Hasselbeck
Incident: The ESPN NFL analyst tried to clap at Colin Kaepernick for his protest against the national anthem, implying that his act wouldn’t fly when Kaepernick lined up under center on Sept. 11 The biggest problem with his tweet was the fact that the Niners opened the season on Hasselbeck’s network not on the 11th, but Monday, Sept. 12.
Marcus Vick tweets about LeSean McCoy and STIs.
Date: July 23
Individual: Marcus Vick
Incident: Who knew Michael Vick’s little brother had no chill when he flamed LeSean McCoy, accusing him of infecting his baby mama with herpes. We do know that Vick still has a great burst.
The NFL tells us Roger Goodell is dead.
Date: June 7
Individual: Roger Goodell
Incident: Some hacker managed to crack the NFL’s top-notch security and kidnap the Shield’s Twitter account one afternoon to send off a tweet that shook the sports world. For a few fleeting seconds, you may have thought the greatest commissioner ever to walk the planet, the man making more money to create more controversy than any other invidiual in sports—Roger Goodell—had met an untimely demise. And for a few fleeting seconds, a bunch of NFL players probably rejoiced.
Isiah Crowell shows his frustration with a dumb and graphic tweet.
Sportscenter catches heat for Castro baseball tweet.
Date: March 20
Organization: SportsCenter
Incident: The Worldwide Leader’s flagship show sent out a shortsighted tweet that low-key praised the now deceased Cuban revolutionary for his love of sports while conveniently forgetting to mention his track record of brutally oppressing his people and committing untold human rights violations while he ruled the island nation like a medieval king. But, you know, it’s tough to fit that in 140 characters or less.
