In a recent poll posted by Qscore.com, the six most disliked sports personalities were revealed to be all African-Americans.
Ranging from Lebron James, to the obvious Mike Vick, the list covered most of the major sports and most of our major athletes as well.
Does this list show however that America is racially biased towards Black athletes?
Have there not been white athletes who have acted or participated in crimes far worse than some of our athletes labeled below?
Take a look at the list below as we examine if Black athletes are favorite to be disliked more than white athletes.
Most Disliked Athletes:
1. Eagles QB Michael Vick
2. Golfer Tiger Woods
3. Bengals WR Terrell Owens
4. Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco
5. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant
6. Heat forward LeBron James
As we look at some of the names below it is quite obvious why some of the players have made the list, especially the top 2.
At number one, Mike Vick, who no matter how hard he tries to change and better himself will always be one of the most hated athletes period.
Tiger Woods however is catching up with Mike after cheating on his “beautiful” and “supportive” white wife, of course Tiger is the most recent public enemy number one in America. Although these two do have justifiable reasons to be hated the rest of the list is questionable and quite frankly ridiculous.
As we look at teammates Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, it starts to seem that this list may be targeted to African Americans who are simply in the limelight more often and have slightly egotistic characteristics.
Both known for their idiosyncratic and sometimes over the edge antics on and off the field, I can see why some may not be fond of the two, but is it fair for them to be number 3 and 4 on the list?
Never have these two ever hurt anyone and have done anything detrimental to the NFL.
While some may not like the history of these two’s touchdown celebrations or even attitudes, guess what people?
IT’S ENTERTAINMENT!!!!
The NFL makes its money by endorsements and by fans like you filling the seats.
Just because Chad and T.O. are a bit excessive sometimes doesn’t mean they should be some of the top hated athletes.
Both on and off the field antics by these two spark controversy and entertainment for the NFL which leads to more money, and with both of them just finishing their first seasons of their own reality show, it’s obvious that the entertainment industry sees the potential money makers these two are.
So, is it okay to hate on athletes based off of their attitudes?
What about white athletes like Ben Roethlisberger who has been accused of rape twice just within the last year alone.
Is that not a situation that would make a fan not like someone?
Just imagine how the fans of Pittsburgh feel right now, with their franchise 2 time Super Bowl winning quarterback having to sit the first 4 games due to a suspension, both embarrassed as well as worried of the future for their team.
What about someone like Roger Clemens who not only lied to everyone about using steroids, but also lied to Congress about it and is now under investigation to receive jail time for it. Does that not hurt the integrity of the MLB?
As we move on down the list we see Kobe and Lebron with the number 5 and 6 spot.
While Kobe can be argued for different circumstances, why is Lebron on this list?
According to Qscore, before leaving Cleveland for Miami in free agency this summer James had been the most positively viewed athlete in The Q Score Company history.
However, many athletes have done this before and have not been one of the top disliked athletes.
Brett Favre was the face of the Green Bay Packers for 16 long years, in the process winning a championship and multiple MVP’s.
However, once Brett retired he only came back to the league to play for the division rival Minnesota Vikings, and specifically only wanted to play with them.
It is obvious that the fans are not fond of Brett Favre but why isn’t the rest of America?
In fact, Brett ranks in as one of the most liked athletes.
Is this not a similar situation to Lebron’s?
I am not saying that everyone on this list should be liked, nor am I saying that there should be White athletes on this list, but I do feel that some of our most well known and prospective athletes are being disliked for the wrong reason.
While people like Nascar driver Kurt Busch, who was considered to get dropped by his sponsor even AFTER he won the championship because of his horrible attitude and sportsmanship, are being overlooked. people like Ocho Cinco are being targeted for bringing a spark in the NFL.
So I ask you, do you feel that African-American athletes are more desirable to hate on?
