Memorable Rise & Fall Stories For Athletes

[Mitch Henessey]

When I think about athletes, who were on top of the world, and when said athlete hit rock bottom from a financial standpoint or the perception for their public image after a scandal, Tiger Woods is a name that instantly pops into my mind.

Woods had everything to be the ideal role model. He's clean cut, humble, well spoken in interviews, successful, and dominant. But when the stories of Woods and his infidelities broke, and all the text messages were released, the shocking fallout was something to remember, because out of all the major sports stars, Tiger was the last person you would expect to be in the middle of a scandal. All the endorsements, all the commercials, and the guy had his own brand of Gatorade.

So with that said, what are your picks for memorable rise and fall stories involving athletes?

 

[Mustang Sally]

Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees.

On one hand, you've got to give grudging admiration to that S.O.B. of an agent of his (Scott Boras) for prompting A-Rod to admit to a small amount of steroid use years before, figuring that admission would stop any further investigation into his usage of forbidden substances and learning the big picture.

Fortunately, though, his lies were eventually uncovered and he was banned in disgrace from playing baseball last season. If only the Yankees had the chance to see all this when the greedy bastard opted out of his contract on '07, deciding that the $25 million/year he was getting wasn't enough; he figured he could get $30 million. In hindsight, how much better things would have been for the Yankees and major league baseball if no one took A-Rod's opt-out offer and left him without a team.

The fact is, though, the guy needed his steroids; without them, his power and endurance were missing.....plus, he's suffered wear & tear injuries that might have been overcome by juicing. Plainly, the Yankees hate that they have to have this guy on the team in 2015, and I wonder if they're considering buying out the remaining $67 million left on his contract and telling him to get lost. On the surface, that seems ridiculous, yet keeping him around seems intolerable, too.

Time will tell.

 

[OYDK]

Well, there can't be a Rise and Fall thread without mentioning Lance Armstrong. Here's a man who completely transcended the sport that he was in, which very, very rarely happens. Lance Armstrong was a true A-list celebrity. He was the only real megastar to come out of cycling, and that holds true even to this day. People would watch cycling events simply to see if Lance Armstrong could keep on winning.He battled back from cancer in his brain and lungs to win an astounding, 7 Tour de France titles and was considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. No wonder people got behind him... he was a modern day Iron man.

And than he was accused of using illicit PED's. Two years after his retirement, and one year after he was charged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for using performance enhancers, he appeared on Opera (making a complete fool out of himself in the process) and admitted to using throughout his career. Armstrong was banned from ever competing in cycling again, and his name was stricken from the record books; All of his titles after 1998 were taken away including his 7 Tour de France wins. The greatest name to ever compete in the sport was blackballed and his name was ruined. To this day, I have no clue what he's doing or what happened to him, and it really is sad to think about.

 

[L@RISANO]

Not exactly the same type of fall but a huge fall nonetheless is the one of Brazilian Superstar Footballer, former Barcelona sensation, Ronaldinho.

Going into the 2006 World Cup on the back of a brilliant UCL and La Liga campaign, he then basically partied and drank his way into mediocrity. Quite how he managed to fall from a mountain top he was on, given his immense ability is huge travesty.... nevertheless, it resulted in the rise of Leo Messi.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Bit (pun intended) surprised that 'Iron' Mike Tyson hasn't gotten any mentions - from the guy who could have decimated every record in boxing to a sex offending, spouse beating, ear chewing thug who came up shy every time he faced quality opposition; leaving a question mark against how good he ever truly was!

 

[L@RISANO]

http://www.givemesport.com/499211-is-fernando-torres-fall-from-grace-the-worst-in-football-history

The article above talks about soon to be former Chelsea striker, Fernando Torres, who was at the top of his game with Spain and Liverpool, until that ill-fated 50mil move to Abramovich's Chelsea, where the decline he has shown from that first season itself until now is simply put, baffling. Even this season, he has been warming the bench on loan at AC Milan with only a single goal to his name... you would never think this guy was at one point, standing on a Ballon d'Or podium with Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo...