Question

[MUEng92]

Has any player (in any sport) ever trashed his reputation (at least the general public's view of him) as much as Brett Favre has in the last 2 years without committing a crime?  There has to be some other examples, but I haven't been able to come up with any on my own.  I am sure there are cases where the public opinion of someone has turned negative, but has anyone who started out as high as Favre ever sunk so low?

If you read any of the reader comments after virturally any Internet article about Favre, the negative to positive posts have to run nearly 10 to 1 against (and I am not even counting my own!).  Granted, that isn't a true gauge of public sentiment, but I don't think it is too far off in this case (at least outside of MN).

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Sammy Sosa.  Did it in about 2 months.

[MUEng92]

Good suggestion.  Although his was mostly due to at least the appearance of breaking the rules.    Then again a good portion of his problem was how he handled the situation.

[MU B2002]

How about Roger Clemens or TO.

[PBRme]

Dennis Rodman

[StillAWarrior]

For the record, most athletes who have allegedly (ahem) used steroids did commit a crime (the original post was about athletes who trashed their reps without committing a crime).  Most of them are not getting their supply from a doctor pursuant to a prescription.  They're getting them from illegal sources and using them illegally.  Perhaps not the type of crime the original poster was talking about, but a crime nontheless.

As for the initial question, I can't think of anyone who has fallen quite as far as Favre without doing anything other than basically being an attention-seeking, annoying jerk.  I think Favre was at the very top of popularity (even with non-GB fans like me), but has fallen quite a long way.  That said, I think history will be kind to him.

[mu_hilltopper]

Has any player (in any sport) ever trashed his reputation (at least the general public's view of him) as much as Brett Favre has in the last 2 years without committing a crime? 

Ah, but in 6 short months, when Favre throws 4 TD passes to lead the Vikings to their first Superbowl victory (and 19-0 season), your thesis will be entirely incorrect.   

Then he'll retire for good, on top, cementing his awesomeness for all history, and you'll be thinking how no player in history has ever been so awesome!

[MilTown]

Pete Rose. I don't consider gambling on sports to be a crime. Well, I guess tax evasion is a crime, but didn't he say he only had gambling losses.

I don't really buy your assessment that the public has turned on Farve. The guy wants to play football, what's the big deal. I blame the media for blowing this way out of propotion. I compare this to what happened with Jordan. Everyone speculated that his stint with the Wizards would tarnish his legacy. Give me a break. This will all blow over in a few years and you will see Brett Farve back at Lambeau for a ceremony in a few years.

[MilTown]

How about OJ!

Ray Lewis, Fuzzy Zoeller, Isiah Thomas, John Rocker

[LON]

Mark Chmura...

/he was acquitted

[MUEng92]

John Rocker actually did occur to me.  But he never really had the upside.  He pretty much let everyone know he was a complete idiot right from the start.

[mosarsour]

How about OJ!

Ray Lewis, Fuzzy Zoeller, Isiah Thomas, John Rocker

I'll second Isiah Thomas. I used to be a huge Thomas fan...now I cringe everytime I hear his name in the news.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

What about Pitino?
We haven't seen how hard/far he's going to fall yet, but it certainly could get worse.

Shawn Kemp - I don't remember if he's ever been arrested, but he was dominate, then got fat, and then all of the paternity issues came out. He went from a bright young star to a fat has-been in a hurry.

Pippen - The pouting in Chicago. The trade to Houston to team up with Barkley that ended badly, and then the trade to Portland. Post career Pippen's finances have been a mess.

I think Favre has certainly done some damage to his squeaky clean reputation. However, he was just "sportsman of the year" 2 years ago and everybody was on his jock. Did he have a big ego back then? Probably. Was he a saint back then? Nope.

He's essentially the same guy now, but some poor PR decisions by him and his agent has made him look pretty bad.

Winning football games and time can heal most of those wounds though. Some hardcore fans are still going to dislike him, but the avg. football fan will forgive... especially if he plays well.