Tennis player Nick Kyrgios’ recent on-court spat ranks highly among all-time sporting dummy spits. The Australian tennis player made headlines during the past week for his sledges and tantrums, but his behaviour isn’t close to the worst.
The City Journal has listed a few other outbursts by high-profile athletes that could give Kyrgios a run for his money.
TENNIS: McEnroe breaks down the walls of the tennis golden age
Share the Moment: John McEnroe coins “You cannot be serious”
In 1981 a disputed line call gave rise to the now-famous John McEnroe quote: “You cannot be serious”.SUBSCRIBE to The Wimbledon YouTube Channel: http://www.y…
American tennis legend John McEnroe kicks off the list with his timeless tantrum when one of his clearly-in serves was declared a fault by the linesman. McEnroe deserves a reprieve in this situation as he has a right to contest the poor call. Not only that, but the former world number one refrains from swearing or making any personal attacks. The sledge is one of the more respectful, but popular, in tennis history. The outburst came during the golden-age where crowds were not used to uproar or controversy, so the incident gained a lot of traction. One can only imagine what Nick Kygrios may have said to the umpire after this horrendous call.
GOLF: Daly makes a splash at a PGA tournament
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Professional golfer John Daly’s hope for victory wasn’t the only thing sinking after three consecutive woeful tees. Daly’s face turned a crimson red after each failed shot, as spectators could only speculate he was quickly reaching breaking point. Daly had hit two balls off the cliff and into the water below. After the third beach-bound hit, Daly hurled his golf club into Lake Michigan. The club went almost as far as the balls he was hitting, an effort that would make javelin professionals green with envy. Fortunately for Daly, a dad and his son in a boat collected the club from the water, and gained their own memento from the tour.
SOCCER: The hungry forward taking chunks out of the competition
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has almost bitten enough players to justify a compilation video. The controversial soccer player has received numerous suspensions for leaving teeth imprints on the skin of his opponents, but still he has not learnt his lesson. The most recent incident came in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, when Suarez collided with Italian defender Giorgia Chiellini while waiting for a cross. It wasn’t until replays highlighted the bite mark on Chiellini’s shoulder that people realised Suarez had grown a taste for the competition, and hurt his own teeth in the process. The third biting incident prompted calls for on-site catering in the Barcelona dressing rooms at half time.
AFL: Brian Lake takes North Melbourne’s choking habits literally
Lake, Petrie trade blows in ugly dust up – AFL
Brian Lake and Drew Petrie get into an ugly wrestle in Friday night footy. For more video, head to http://afl.com.au
Hawthorn’s Brian Lake garnered international attention for all the wrong reasons when he literally strangled North Melbourne’s Drew Petrie on the field. Hawthorn was down by four points late in the third quarter in a nail biter when the Hawthorn full back choked under pressure. Lake was suspended for four weeks because of the incident, a considerably lenient penalty in comparison to many other on-field assaults. Coincidentally, North Melbourne has been accused of ‘choking’ in many matches throughout the season, but Lake took the one-upmanship a step further when he showed the Kangaroo’s full forward what it really means to choke.
MMA: The post-fight sponsor-slam heard around the world
Former professional wrestler Brock Lesnar brought a lot of attention to the sport of mixed martial arts when he joined the UFC and won the heavyweight championship. Part of the skillset Lesnar brought over from his wrestling days was the ability to work a crowd – and he did just that after his victory over Frank Mir at UFC 100. Lesnar trash talked his rival after the fight, then slammed the UFC’s flagship sponsor Bud Light in a post-fight interview. The heavyweight champion said he was going to drink some Coors Light, because “Bud Light won’t pay [him] nothing”, before offering a crude insight of what was in store for him and his wife later that evening.
TENNIS: Williams lands a hat-trick of controversy after crossing the line, twice, at the US Open
Clijsters vs Williams US Open 2009
Meer tennis op www.leertennis.nlClijsters tegen Serena Williams op de US Open 2009, halve finale. Serena krijgt een tweede waarschuwing en daardoor punt aftr…
Serena Williams and US Open officials don’t have the greatest relationship. Williams has been embroiled in controversy at three separate events, but perhaps the one that takes the cake was her 2009 semi-final match against Kim Clijsters. Williams was down 15-30 in the final game of the match when a lineswoman called a foot fault on her second serve and took the point from her. An irate Williams would then cross the line for a second time, pointing her racquet at the lineswoman while screaming profanities, and even threatening to “shove the ball down [her] throat”. The outburst proved costly as officials issued her a final violation, ending the match and sending Williams packing from the tournament.
BOXING: Mike Tyson raises doubts that he’s ‘ear’ to stay
Heavyweight king Mike Tyson suffered his third career defeat by disqualification when he, like Suarez, got the munchies while in action. The boxer took a chunk of cartilage off opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear after biting him several times in a clinch position. Fortunately for the ears of other boxers, the incident led to Tyson’s license being revoked for more than a year by the athletic commission. The fight took place in 1997, but the beef between the two was not resolved for more than 12 years after the fight, on the Oprah Winfrey show of all places. Tyson went five wins for three losses following the incident – ending one of the greatest undefeated streaks in boxing. Perhaps Tyson bit off more than he could chew.
Featured image of Nick Kyrgios from mirsasha via Flickr
