- 8 months ago
From costly fumbles to devastating decisions, these athletes paid a heavy price. Join us as we count down the most infamous moments that tarnished careers forever. One slip, one mistake, one lapse in judgment - that's all it took to rewrite their legacies and change how fans would remember them for generations.
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00:00Roberto was handed the chance to keep Italy in it.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 athletes who
00:12managed to do irreparable damage to their own careers after one bad day at the office.
00:22Number 20. Tony Romo
00:24When the Dallas Cowboys met the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wildcard round in 2007,
00:29it came down to the wire.
00:31Now you have to try to take the lead here with Gramatica.
00:34With the Cowboys in the hot seat, all Tony Romo had to do here was control the snap,
00:39and the win would have been in the bag. But in a truly bizarre fourth-quarter mishap,
00:43Romo totally fumbled the ball as he received it, messing up what should have been a routine play.
00:48His attempts to improvise and run for a touchdown were stifled by a truly excellent tackle.
00:53But all in all, he could never truly shed the impact this fumble had on his legacy.
00:58There is nothing automatic in football.
01:03Oh, the ball just slipped out of his hands. It was a good snap.
01:07And he went to put it down, and it just slipped.
01:10Sure, he had some bright spots, but there was a constant narrative that he was a choke artist.
01:15Number 19. Simone Zadza
01:17Simone Zadza might not deserve the blame he received for his stupidly theatrical penalty style,
01:22but in reality, a miss is a miss.
01:25And he's blazed it after an exaggerated run-up.
01:30When Italy met Germany in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals,
01:33Zadza was subbed in with a minute left in extra time specifically for his penalty-taking prowess.
01:38However, this turned out to be a total disaster.
01:42When Zadza's time to step up came,
01:44his ridiculously over-the-top trot towards the ball resulted in him missing the target spectacularly.
01:50Zadza himself maintained that his technique was not at fault and that everybody misses eventually.
01:55Took an ace to hit the ball. The ball hasn't come down yet.
01:59But the fans were not convinced. His career, unfortunately, never recovered.
02:04Number 18. Victor Ortiz
02:06Victor Ortiz is the proud owner of one of the most hilarious pieces of instant karma to ever play out in a boxing ring.
02:12Fighting a grinning Floyd Mayweather must be the most frustrating thing imaginable.
02:16Look at this. I mean, that time, Ortiz tried to explode and everything was smothered by the hands of Floyd Mayweather.
02:25However, Ortiz became so frustrated that he decided to blatantly headbutt Floyd as soon as he got up close and personal with him.
02:32This was very clearly an illegal move, and Ortiz was rightfully punished for it.
02:37But when he tried to overdo his apology to Mayweather, he made a crucial mistake.
02:41Instead of immediately defending himself, Ortiz went completely over the top.
02:46And so Floyd KO'd him for it.
02:48He's still out as he cries to the corner on a bonus.
02:51He got suckered in. Floyd Mayweather made it seem like he would embrace him.
02:56And then he clocked him twice.
02:57It was the biggest fight of his life, and he totally messed it up.
03:01Number 17. Ronda Rousey
03:03There might not be a fighter in combat sports history who handled a loss worse than Ronda Rousey.
03:08Ronda did not come out with that blitz that we've seen in the last few fights.
03:12Holly Holm might have had a legendary pro boxing background, but seeing her piece up the seemingly unbeatable Rousey over two rounds was wild.
03:20Ronda was utterly exposed for her incredibly one-dimensional game in this bout.
03:24So when Holm finished her with a brutal headkick in the second round, it was no lucky shot.
03:29It wasn't just Rousey's subpar striking skills that caused the fans to turn on her,
03:33or her pre-fight trash-talking of the modest and soft-spoken Holly Holm.
03:37No, it was the way she refused to even address the media in the bout's aftermath.
03:42I think I'd just rather not talk about that right now.
03:44Number 16. Ernest Beiner
03:45When a fumble is so disastrous that it's known simply as the fumble, you know that's a bad thing.
03:51Beiner had been turning in an otherwise excellent performance, but one key moment defined his career forever.
03:57Ernest Beiner.
03:59Fumble.
04:00Fumble the ball, and Denver has recovered.
04:02A heroic charge into the end zone was seemingly enough for Beiner to score a massive touchdown,
04:07but there was one problem.
04:09Denver Broncos defender Jeremiah Castile had managed to force him to fumble the ball,
04:13and so Beiner ran empty-handed into the end zone, sealing his team's doom.
04:18But the Ernest Beiner story would thankfully have a much more successful final chapter.
04:22A trade to Washington finally brought about a Super Bowl ring for him in 1991.
04:27Ernest Beiner went on to be a Super Bowl hero for Washington.
04:31Throws it in the near flat to Beiner at the 5, dies for the corner, touchdown!
04:35That erases a lot of those memories.
04:37But you know what? The fumble's still there.
04:40Number 15. Mitch Williams
04:42Mitch Williams was always seen as a bit of a wild card by Philadelphia Phillies fans.
04:46Although Williams picked up a save in Game 2 of the World Series against Toronto,
04:50it was clear to some that after 71 appearances, Wild Thing was wearing down.
04:56Poor judgment led him to throw a fastball right onto Joe Carter's sweet spot,
04:59contributing to his team's demise.
05:02Given that it was Game 6 of the World Series, Williams' reputation took a massive hit.
05:07All of a sudden, Williams was not trustworthy in big moments,
05:10and as you might expect, Phillies fans turned on him.
05:13I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for nobody. I just didn't get it done.
05:17If I suck, there isn't anyone that's going to tell me I suck worse than I believe it myself.
05:21He was traded shortly after.
05:22Though he tried to mount a comeback with other teams, his confidence never fully returned.
05:27That one pitch became his legacy, overshadowing a solid career.
05:31These days, whenever the name Mitch Williams is mentioned,
05:34this is always the first thing that comes to mind.
05:37Number 14. Patrick Steffen
05:39If you need proof of just how badly one moment can stain a player's legacy,
05:44look no further than the former number one draft pick Patrick Steffen.
05:47Patrick Steffen was taken first overall by the Atlanta Thrashers.
05:51But unlike so many number one picks of the past,
05:55Steffen didn't live up to the high expectations.
05:57And after six years in Atlanta, he was dealt to Dallas.
06:00Once seen as a major prospect out of Central Europe,
06:04his time in the NHL was derailed due to injuries, inconsistencies, and one truly unforgivable error.
06:10Missing an empty net like this is the type of mistake that can haunt you.
06:14But it was his casual demeanor and lackadaisical attitude that really sealed it.
06:18This, plus all of his other issues, caused the Dallas Stars to opt against renewing his contract,
06:31ending his time in the NHL.
06:33Hip problems then caused his retirement at the age of 27.
06:36To this day, he is considered a major draft bust.
06:40Number 13. Lindsey Jacobellis
06:42Was it ego that totally derailed Lindsey Jacobellis on the final stretch of the 2006 Winter Olympics snowboard cross final?
06:49Or was she simply trying to inject some fun into a tense competition?
06:53Well, with victory within reaching distance,
06:55Lindsey decided to cap off her performance with an ill-advised board grab,
06:59which ended up causing her to crash.
07:01She lost her pole position in this race,
07:03and understandably became the object of ridicule for years later.
07:07However, this story does have a happy ending.
07:0916 years later, she would somehow fight her way back to the top of the mountain,
07:14winning a gold medal at the 2022 Games in Beijing.
07:17Number 12. Brett Favre
07:19With age catching up with him, 2009 marked a real now-or-never season for the icon Brett Favre.
07:25His form was good all year, and his Vikings team was performing well.
07:29Pump fake! Touchdown, Minnesota!
07:32But in the NFC Championship game, Favre's resolve was put to the test in a huge way.
07:37The New Orleans Saints were bringing some real physicality to the table,
07:40nailing Favre over and over again with some incredibly rough and borderline illegal hits.
07:45Late in the fourth quarter, their intensity finally paid off.
07:49Favre threw a disastrous interception that lost the Vikings their best chance of sealing the game's result.
07:54Favre sprints to his right, throws back across the middle, and he's intercepted!
07:59Porter!
08:01The return by Porter, and he's brought down with seven seconds left.
08:07Sure, it didn't tank Favre's career entirely, but it was undeniably the beginning of the end.
08:12Number 11. Andres Escobar
08:14When Colombia entered the 1994 World Cup, they did so with a generational group of players at their disposal.
08:20Never before had expectations been so high, and yet it all came crashing down in a split second.
08:27In a crucial group game against the United States, defender Andres Escobar would botch an attempt at a block,
08:32inadvertently sending the ball into his own net.
08:35It's expected inside his own goal!
08:37This would give the U.S. the momentum they needed to win the game 2-1.
08:40Colombia couldn't recover sufficiently in Game 3 and subsequently failed to make the knockout stage.
08:45However, the real tragedy came just five days later when Escobar was shot and killed in the streets of Medellin,
08:52supposedly as retaliation for his grave error.
08:55He was 27 years old.
08:56Every time we remember him, we cried a lot.
09:00Because, I repeat, he was a good player, and he was an untouchable person.
09:05What a shame!
09:06An autobot can be done by anyone.
09:08He didn't have a solution.
09:09He didn't have a right to cover him life.
09:12Number 10. Mark Sanchez
09:14During a 2012 Thanksgiving game, the New York Jets trailed 14-0 against the New England Patriots in the second quarter.
09:22Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez seemed to be confused with what play they were running
09:26and, in desperation, ran straight into the butt of fellow teammate Brandon Moore, fumbling the ball.
09:32And it ends. Sanchez gets hit.
09:35The ball is loose, and it's alive.
09:37And then going into the end zone is Steve Gregory, who's had an interception, two fumble recoveries.
09:43Oh, my gosh.
09:45And a touchdown.
09:45And a touchdown.
09:46The Patriots would not only recover the ball, but score in the process.
09:50Mark Sanchez not expecting it, and it was the backside of Brandon Moore that knocked the ball out.
09:56A quarterback who was once meant to herald a new era and bring an end to the Jets' misery,
10:00the butt fumble spelled the beginning of the end for Mark Sanchez's career.
10:05I think the play was a microcosm of Mark Sanchez's career.
10:08He ultimately never mastered the most important element of playing quarterback in the NFL, ball security.
10:15Number 9. Luis Suarez
10:17During Uruguay's final group stage match against Italy at the 2014 World Cup,
10:23Uruguayan striker Suarez decided to bite down on Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.
10:29It looks to me, dare I say it, that he's had a little bite at Chiellini.
10:33Surely not again.
10:35This isn't Suarez's first time sinking his teeth into opponents.
10:38In fact, he's done it twice before.
10:40Something went on.
10:44And Suarez does. He does exactly that.
10:47Although he wasn't reprimanded during the game,
10:49FIFA later banned him from nine international games,
10:52as well as all football for four months,
10:55and fined him a total of 100,000 Swiss francs.
10:59The player Luis Suarez is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity,
11:04administrative, sport, or any other,
11:06for a period of four months in accordance with article 22 of the FIFA disciplinary Code.
11:13Interestingly enough, before the tournament,
11:15Suarez insisted he'd sworn off those antics,
11:18and didn't deserve his bad boy image.
11:21Well, this incident would not only prove that he does deserve it,
11:25but has earned it for life,
11:26in turn, casting a dark shadow over his career.
11:30In game one of the 1995 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets,
11:52Orlando Magic's Nick Anderson needed to make one shot after being fouled with 10.5 seconds left
11:57to give Orlando the series lead.
11:59Today, though, Orlando 12 of 15 at the line.
12:03And Anderson missing on both,
12:05but gets to the rebound,
12:06and again draws the foul.
12:08After missing both of his free throw attempts,
12:10he got another chance to make things right after the Rockets were charged with yet another foul.
12:15Instead, it was just another wasted opportunity.
12:18Yes, that's an effect, I believe, yes.
12:22And he misses, four straight.
12:24The Rockets take a timeout with five and six tenths seconds remaining.
12:30This mental break would prove costly,
12:33as Houston would send the game to overtime and eventually sweep the magic,
12:37en route to becoming repeat champions.
12:40Looking back, Anderson stated that,
12:42Having since been labeled Nick the Brick and Brick Anderson,
12:50his scoring and free throw percentage plummeted,
12:53and he was never the same player.
12:55And the reaction of Nick Anderson knowing that if he had just made one of those,
12:59he would have given the magic a hammerlock on this game.
13:02Number 7. Zinedine Zidane
13:04Well, there's what preceded it.
13:07Matarazzi just put an arm around him.
13:09There was nothing more than an exchange of a few words.
13:15Well, what was said was ridiculous.
13:18This was probably the last way anybody expected the French team captain,
13:23Zinedine Zidane, to end his career.
13:24During the 2006 World Cup final match,
13:27Zizou was constantly jawing with Italian player Marco Matarazzi.
13:31Eventually, the trash-talking came to a head.
13:34Literally.
13:35After an exchange of words,
13:37Zidane proceeds to headbutt Matarazzi's chest,
13:40knocking him to the ground.
13:42Zidane was subsequently handed a red card and sent off.
13:45Italy would go on to win the game after outscoring France during the penalty shootout,
13:49where Zidane's presence and scoring ability was clearly missed.
13:52Although Zizou still had an illustrious career,
13:55it's this very incident that will be forever etched in our memories.
13:59You can't excuse that.
14:01Zidane's career ends in disgrace.
14:04Number 6. Chris Webber
14:05In the final seconds of the championship game at the 1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament,
14:12Chris Webber of the Michigan Wolverines suffered a couple of mental mistakes.
14:16After grabbing a rebound from a missed UNC free throw,
14:19Webber travels, runs up the court into a double team, where he calls timeout.
14:24Michigan will have to bring it.
14:26Oh, he walked.
14:26He walked in and referee missed it.
14:28Webber brings it into the front court.
14:30They have no timeouts remaining.
14:31Oh, he causes too many timeouts.
14:33That's a technical foul.
14:34He called a timeout.
14:35Michigan doesn't have any.
14:36Michigan had none left, however, and a technical foul was called,
14:41giving UNC two free throws and possession of the ball.
14:44This lapse in judgment put the game out of reach.
14:47Maybe in the rush of the moment, Jim.
14:49Going down there, trying to beat two men, realizing it was 11 seconds on the clock.
14:53He just blanked out and regarded the foul.
14:55While the blunder is still brought up, it didn't have a lasting impact on Webber's NBA career,
15:07as he would declare for the 1993 draft a few weeks later,
15:11where he was picked first overall and played nearly 15 seasons.
15:16Number 5. J.R. Smith
15:18When you're facing one of the most dominant NBA teams of the decade,
15:22make sure you know the score.
15:24Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for J.R. Smith in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals
15:29against the Golden State Warriors.
15:31After grabbing the rebound from a missed free throw,
15:34J.R. gave the Cavs a chance to win.
15:36Hill misses. Rebound goes to the Cavs.
15:38J.R. Smith brings it back out.
15:41Throws to the hill.
15:42Hill shot blocked.
15:44And will go to overtime.
15:46Instead, Smith ran out the clock.
15:49Much to the chagrin of a visibly frustrated LeBron James,
15:52before realizing the game was still tied.
15:55The Warriors would later not only beat the Cavaliers in overtime,
15:58but went on to sweep the entire series.
16:01To this day, many consider this blunder one of the worst gaffes in NBA history.
16:06You talk about a sleep at the wheel.
16:08I gotta tell you something right now.
16:10That is as inexcusable of a mistake as you can possibly make.
16:14Don't feel too bad, though.
16:16Smith did win a championship with the Cavs back in 2016,
16:19and another with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
16:22And that's it. It's over.
16:23This historic 2020 NBA championship belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers.
16:28The Lakers conquer the bubble,
16:31and banner number 17 will soon hang in the rafters.
16:35Number 4. Bill Buckner
16:36In 22 Major League seasons, Buckner had more than 2,700 hits.
16:41He won a batting title.
16:42But in most minds, his career was reduced to one moment behind the bag at Shea Stadium.
16:47If you ever hear someone say you Buckner'd it, it is not a compliment.
16:51With the game tied during the 1986 World Series,
16:54the Red Sox were one out away from ending the 10th inning.
16:58Mets batter Mookie Wilson hit the ball straight up the first baseline,
17:01and it rolled past Buckner's glove, resulting in a Boston loss.
17:05Little roller up along first.
17:07Behind the bag!
17:08It gets through Buckner!
17:10Here comes Knight, and the Mets win it!
17:12This forced a game 7, which the Mets would go on to win.
17:16Although it was no guarantee the Sox would have won the World Series
17:19had Buckner not misplayed the ball,
17:21the iconic moment added to the curse of the Bambino,
17:24and extended Boston's championship drought another 18 years until 2004.
17:30Fans at the time went so far as to send Buckner death threats,
17:33believing he cost them the title.
17:36Hopefully it's Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series,
17:39but he was a pretty good player.
17:41Leave it at that.
17:42Number 3. Roberto Baggio
17:44It's no easy feat making a penalty kick.
17:47But when you're premier Italian soccer player Roberto Baggio,
17:50you have to find the back of the net.
17:52The 1994 FIFA tournament final came down to a shootout,
17:56and it was up to Baggio to keep Italy's hopes alive against Brazil.
18:00All he had to do was make one shot.
18:02There was no reason to believe Baggio couldn't do it,
18:05considering his ability to pull through in the clutch,
18:07and the fact that he contributed to much of Italy's success during the World Cup,
18:10having scored five goals in their last three games.
18:13However, when it came time to shoot the ball,
18:15he sliced it way over the net,
18:17and with the miss,
18:19Brazil claimed their fourth championship.
18:27Arguably the best player of the tournament,
18:30it's this moment that would define his career.
18:33Looking back at the mishap,
18:34he stated that,
18:35it felt exactly as you would expect.
18:38This moment may well be the enduring image for many,
18:42but Baggio's five goals and majestic tournament performance
18:46had still done more than enough to make his nation proud
18:49and prove his ability on the world stage.
18:53Number 2. Marty McSorley
18:55It's something you never want to see in hockey, or any sport.
18:58In the closing seconds of a game between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks,
19:02Bruins enforcer Marty McSorley slashed Vancouver's Donald Brashear in the head.
19:07The brutal attack left Brashear unconscious on the ice with a grade 3 concussion.
19:11McSorley, for his part,
19:13claimed he was trying to tap Brashear on the shoulder to start a fight.
19:16A British Columbia judge found him guilty of assault with a weapon,
19:20and he was sentenced to 18 months on probation.
19:23The NHL suspended him for an entire year,
19:25and during that time, his contract lapsed.
19:28He never played another NHL game.
19:31But at the other side of that,
19:33I'm really comfortable with the fact that people want to view that
19:35or whatever that ended your career or what have you.
19:37I'm comfortable with the fact that I went out the same way I came in.
19:40On the other hand,
19:41Brashear returned to action a few months later,
19:43and continued his NHL career for another nine seasons.
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20:06Tensions were high when the Vancouver Canucks
20:08faced off against the Colorado Avalanche on March 8, 2004.
20:12The Canucks targeted Avs player Steve Moore
20:15for a questionable hit on their captain Marcus Naslund
20:17that went unpenalized.
20:19In the third period,
20:20Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi sucker punched Moore
20:23and pushed him to the ice,
20:25and a bench-clearing brawl erupted.
20:36Moore was left seriously injured
20:38with three fractured vertebrae and a concussion.
20:41And he wanted to send him a message,
20:43but I don't think this is the message Bertuzzi wanted to send him.
20:46The injuries were so severe that Moore would never play again.
20:50Steve, I just want to apologize for what happened out there.
20:55But I had no intention on hurting you.
20:58And I feel awful for you.
20:59Although Bertuzzi would return to the game
21:01after multiple court hearings, suspensions, and fines,
21:04any attempt at a comeback was simply out of reach.
21:07His production decreased,
21:09he bounced around different teams
21:10and was constantly booed and heckled
21:13by opposing teams' fans.
21:15Things were never the same for Bertuzzi
21:17after this ugly incident.
21:18Did we miss any examples of a truly dismal moment
21:21for any professional athlete?
21:23Let us know in the comments.
21:24This is the cardinal sin for any quarterback
21:26throwing back across the grain
21:28as you're rolling to your right.
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