Top 10 Most Embarrassing Arrests
By Sarah Spain
Love of Sports Correspondent
This past Saturday, Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was stopped for BWI — boating while intoxicated — on Lake Travis in Texas, then furthered his troubles by allegedly resisting arrest.
In the days following Benson’s third (yes, third) arrest, writers took jabs at the struggling running back.
“Police pepper sprayed Benson … [they] apparently didn’t know that the quickest way to get Benson to the ground is simply to make contact,” wrote Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune.
“Several police officers reportedly were needed to drag the Bears running back to the squad car. It is not clear if the car was more than 3.4 yards from the dock or if Benson used second effort to avoid capture. The multiple tacklers were, however, a record — the previous high being one,” joked Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times.
All the ribbing got me thinking about other athletes who went from making stat lines to punchlines. I give you my Top 10 Most Embarrassing Athlete Arrests.
10. Dick Williams
The former MLB left fielder, third baseman and three-time World Series manager was in Fort Myers, Florida for the World Series of Fantasy Baseball Camp in January of 2000. Police were called to the 70-year-old’s hotel room after guests complained of a man walking around naked and masturbating outside his room. The (aptly named) septuagenarian pleaded no contest and spent just one night in jail, but for years many believed the arrest, which came just a few weeks before the Hall of Fame voting, yanked Dick from the list of that year’s Hall of Fame shoo-ins.
9. Michael Vick
After “Ron Mexico” and before the dogfighting, there was the water bottle incident. On January 19, 2007, Vick reluctantly surrendered a suspicious-smelling water bottle to security at Miami International Airport. The water bottle had a hidden compartment and reportedly smelled of marijuana. While the incident wasn’t all that embarrassing on its own, it was both incredibly stupid and the impetus for one of my favorite “Weekend Update” segments of all time on Saturday Night Live.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1794/saturday-night-live-weekend-update-michael-vick-really
8. Joe Cullen
Yet another case of a coach under fire for a “uniform violation.” On August 24, 2006, the Detroit Lions defensive line coach was arrested for obscene and indecent conduct after he took a little late-night drive in the buff. Wearing not a stitch of clothing, Cullen rolled up to a Wendy’s drive-thru window and calmly ordered a burger, fries and a drink. (No word on whether the cashier asked him if he wanted to “supersize it.”) Cullen was asked to pull over and wait for his meal, at which point the manager on duty called the police. Less than a week later, the nudie foodie was arrested again. This time he was clothed, but driving under the influence. A year later, Lions QB Jon Kitna caused a stir when he showed up at a teammate’s Halloween party dressed as Cullen, with his wife dressed as the red-braided “Wendy.”
7. Pedro Guerrero
The four-time NL All-Star and 1981 co-World Series MVP was arrested in 1999 for his alleged involvement in a cocaine-trafficking deal. While agreeing to pay an undercover informant for a $200,000 shipment of blow and being friends with O.J. Simpson are both heinous crimes, Guerrero makes the list for his acquittal, not his arrest. After all, drugs and athletes go together like weed and the offseason ... right, Josh Howard? After four hours of deliberation, a jury found Guerrero innocent after his attorney argued that his low IQ prevented him from understanding the crime he was committing. Guerrero’s lawyer, Milton Hirsch, told of how he dropped out of the sixth grade in his native Dominican Republic, had an IQ of 70 and was unable to do everyday tasks like writing a check or making a bed. Lazy husbands everywhere took note.
6. Eddie Griffin
In March of 2006, then-Minnesota Timberwolves center caused a minor car crash outside a Minneapolis store. Griffin claimed he was reaching for his cell phone when he slammed his Escalade into a parked car, but video of the accident scene shows a disoriented Griffin telling witnesses he was masturbating to an adult movie playing on his dashboard-mounted DVD player when he rammed into the parked Suburban. Court documents cited “Anal Action” and “Privates” as the two films he used that evening to work on his ballhandling skills. Sadly, just over a year later, the oft-troubled Griffin was killed when his SUV collided with a freight train.
5. Kenyatta Jones x 2
The former Redskins and Patriots player was on the dance floor at The Blue Martini nightclub in Tampa, Florida, when he decided, right then and there, that he’d perhaps had too many martinis. Jones attempted to urinate on the dance floor until security dragged him away. Heck, when you gotta go, you gotta go. He was eventually charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Back in 2003, he was arrested for pouring scalding hot water on his roommate while he was sitting on the toilet. He later described the second and third-degree burn-causing incident as “a prank gone awry.” One would be wise to stay away from Jones when warm liquids are involved.
4. Anthony Merino
A quarterback for the semi-pro Empire State Titans, Merino was arrested after security guards found him having sex with the corpse of a 92-year-old woman in the New Jersey hospital at which he was a lab technician. In October of 2007, Merino asked a security guard for access to a refrigerated area next to the hospital’s morgue. Moments later, the guard returned to find hi, exploring the mysteries of rigor mortis. Reps for the semi-pro football league were quick to point out that all press is not, in fact, good press.
3. Eugene Robinson
The morning before Super Bowl XXXIII, the Falcons free safety was awarded the Bart Starr Award for “high moral character” by Athletes In Action, a global sports ministry. That very same night, Robinson, nicknamed “The Prophet” for his strong religious beliefs, left his wife and children at their hotel and headed to a seedy area North of downtown Miami, where he solicited oral sex from an undercover female police officer posing as a prostitute. While that evening didn’t have the happy ending he desired, the next day he finally got smoked ... on an 80-yard touchdown by the Broncos’ Rod Smith. The Falcons lost 34-19, partly due to that blown coverage.
2. Fred Smoot & Co.
In October of 2005, members of the Minnesota Vikings chartered two boats on Lake Minnetonka during a bye week. The cruise was halted soon after it began when the lewd and lascivious acts taking place on deck frightened and disgusted the boats’ employees and owners. Four Vikings were charged in the incident: Fred Smoot, Daunte Culpepper, Moe Williams and Brian McKinnie. Included in the court papers were detailed accounts of these players receiving lap dances from and performing sexual acts on prostitutes, then later trying to convince the boats’ waitresses to join them. Smoot reportedly paid for the boat and hired the prostitutes, but it was his use of “props” that solidified his position as lead man in the Sex Boat Scandal. The dirty details are easy to find on the web, just suffice it to say that “Smooting” is now a generally accepted verb in the vernacular of 20-something football fans.
1. Najeh Davenport
In July of 2002, the Pittsburgh Steeler rookie fullback was arrested for burglary and criminal mischief; charges stemming from an incident that took place in April of that year. Late one night, Davenport, a former standout at the University of Miami (rated the No. 2 fullback in the draft) snuck into a dorm room at nearby Barry University. A woman sleeping in the room awoke around 6:00am to find Davenport leaving an extra load in her laundry hamper. “Dookie” was sentenced to roughly 100 hours of community service for defecating in the woman’s closet, but continued to maintain his innocence, arguing “Where’s the evidence? Where’s the manure?” After the trial, his lawyer said, with a straight face, “Najeh wants to put this behind him.”
Now, I know I must have missed some, so go crazy in the comments.
Comments
Ruge on 05/09 at 04:01 AM
Ah yes, Smooty and the boys. Let’s not forget the equally infamous excuse put forth by one of the Purple and Gold’s finest in defending his participation:
“We didn’t think there was anything wrong because we were in international waters.”
...yeeeeaaahhhh....
steve on 05/09 at 04:33 AM
sorry but i dont read the newspaper much,that comment about not needing to pepper spray benson and to only make contact is hillarious.
Scott on 05/09 at 04:33 AM
In light of Najeh’s arrest I thought a great nickname for him would have been “The load"…
lester on 05/09 at 04:47 AM
Davenport actually was drafted by the Packers not the Steelers. The Steelers only decided to pick him up after he was potty trained.
hatecowboys on 05/09 at 04:49 AM
Lets not forget about Leon Lett getting busted with about 500 pounds of weed
Tough Love on 05/09 at 04:52 AM
I forgot about Leon!! Is he in jail?
Stéphane on 05/09 at 05:00 AM
MAJOR OMISSION: Ryan O’Byrne of the Montréal Canadiens being arrested in Tampa for stealing a woman’s purse!!!
Brink on 05/09 at 05:03 AM
How does Denny Neagle not make this list? He’s #2 at least!
Bill on 05/09 at 05:07 AM
Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s arrested after getting a BJ from a tranny. http://www.dodgerblues.com/content/features_moments.html#stewart
bored on 05/09 at 05:13 AM
who got caught with the whizzinator?
Clyde on 05/09 at 05:18 AM
Amen on Denny Neagle. He definitely belongs here.
Hatecowboys is an idiot on 05/09 at 05:21 AM
It wasn’t Leon Lett, it was Nate Newton, he is out of jail now (he was busted twice). If you’re going to bash someone, get your facts right.
adam on 05/09 at 05:31 AM
it was 173 pounds of pot. come on!
Chris on 05/09 at 05:43 AM
I know this list is limited to American sports, but for the sake of hillarity, English soccer player Glen Johnson was once arrested for stealing a toliet seat from a department store.
Rude Boy on 05/09 at 05:48 AM
Didn’t David Cone get caught trying to snap one off while on a public sidewalk, passed out and then was found by two women?
JohnG on 05/09 at 06:05 AM
Michael Vick needs to earn a Lifetime Achievement Award for embarrassing arrests.
Tommy on 05/09 at 06:29 AM
I remember damon stoudamire getting busting at an airport for trying to go through the metal detector with weed packaged in tin foil.
MarkS on 05/09 at 06:35 AM
The Kitchen, Nate Newton, is a hilarious story cause he got arrested twice in 5 weeks - the first time for 213lbs of pot and the second time for 175lbs. Surprisingly, neither of these loads were for personal use, “It was all the fun the law would allow … and then some.” — Newton on an ESPN interview in 2006 reflecting on his side projects as a marijuana smuggler.
Wellman on 05/09 at 06:39 AM
Ummmmmm, speaking of non-US sports, another tranny is in the mix w/ Ronaldo.
Richard on 05/09 at 06:40 AM
I’d like to nominate the little place I call home, South Beach. Between draining one’s lizard in the middle of the street, to getting shot or tazed...it’s definitely a happening place. I mean, where else does such a small expanse of land have an arrest roster that includes the likes of Gilbert Arenas, Santonio Holmes, Dale Davis and Barret Robbins? And I won’t even get into the hometown guys that can’t stay out of trouble.
Wellman on 05/09 at 06:42 AM
Yep, another Viking with the Whizzinator, Onterrio Smith. (I thought he was going to be good too) I think we could find enough Vikings alone to make this list!
tourville on 05/09 at 07:02 AM
two of them to add:
ugeth urbina (sp?) he was a closer for the redsox is now in jail in some 3rd world country for tring to kill people with an axe and setting them on fire.
Sebastian Telfair tried to bring a gun onto a plane.
Richard on 05/09 at 07:11 AM
As a side note, does anyone think the media big mouths like ESPN will apologize for bashing on Benson without the facts? The more and more you hear, the more and more it sounds like a case of morons with badges...There’re even reports of third-party witnesses giving accounts that mirror Benson’s story. We’re talking people with zero vested interest...people that’re getting in trouble for speaking the truth...Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
WePoFoSho on 05/09 at 07:48 AM
Does anybody else wonder in regards to the Cedric Benson story why the young lady picked up her cell phone and called her dad and asked him to call 911?!?!?! She obviously had a phone and who would know better what was going on then her since she was there. Why didn’t she just dial 911 herself? Who needs immediate assistance and picks up the phone and calls somebody else to dial 911?
Paulie Knep on 05/09 at 08:23 AM
A couple of years again Michigan’s lineman Larry Harrison was arrested for repeatedly masturbating on girls’ porches at night.
Greg on 05/09 at 08:26 AM
I am not sure it gets much better than former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips trying to run down a group of teenagers in his SUV after Phillips’ team lost a flag football game in the park. Oh, he accused a couple of the kids of stealing from him, so that made it OK.
Thomas on 05/09 at 08:41 AM
How about Ruben Rivera? When on the Yankees in spring training, he tried to steal Jeter glove and Ebay it for $3500. Basically it lost him the job that would have paid $350,000.
Ted Stryker on 05/09 at 09:23 AM
What about the two Carolina cheerleaders getting busted in Tampa?
John on 05/09 at 09:33 AM
Can’t forget Albert Belle trying to run down some kids with his SUV in a Cleveland suburb on Halloween night
Andrew on 05/09 at 10:06 AM
Leon Lee, father of Derrick and at the time a Mets minor-league manager, got busted more or less for the same thing Dick Williams did, but without the apt naming.
Raider Eric on 05/09 at 02:07 PM
Don’t forget Dominic Rhodes, who got pulled over for a DUI last year and pissed himself in the back of the police cruiser.
Daryl Strawberry is also mysteriously off the list. From wiki:
On April 3, 1999, Strawberry was arrested in Tampa, Florida for soliciting sex from a police woman posing as a prostitute and for having a small amount of cocaine. On April 24, he was suspended for 140 days by Major League Baseball for the incident. On May 29, he pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 21 months probation and community service.
A Steeler on 05/09 at 02:41 PM
lester on 05/09 at 06:47 AM
Davenport actually was drafted by the Packers not the Steelers. The Steelers only decided to pick him up after he was potty trained.
Thank you for pointing THIS OUT!!!
CHECK YOUR FACTS SARAH SPAIN!!!
you probably a packer fan anyway
steveo on 05/09 at 03:11 PM
how did maurice clarett not make this list. the guy stole a cell phone and was pulled over with automatic weapons and a bottle of grey goose.
David on 05/09 at 03:17 PM
No mention of RB Ontario Smith and him getting caught at the airport with the fake penis/whizzinator?
Mike on 05/10 at 01:10 AM
What about Olden Polynice? He was guilty of impersonating a police officer.
Chip on 05/10 at 01:40 AM
didn’t Leon Spinks get arrested for trying to buy about $5 worth of cocain back in the early ‘80s?
chris on 05/10 at 05:10 AM
What about Ugeth Urbina torture isn’t bad enough to make your list
Jim on 05/10 at 05:20 AM
How about Derrick Coleman urinating in the middle of an upscale restaurant full of customers?
Johnny Pittman on 05/10 at 08:57 AM
Don’t forget about Byron Houston, the former Oklahoma State and NBA basketball player whose chronic public masturbation led to him being sent up the river.
K on 05/10 at 11:15 AM
Eddie Belfour Goalie for Dallas Stars. Busted for assault,resisting arrest and just being an idiot. Then bribing the cop with “one billion dollars to let him go.” Eddie the Eagle was a classic.
Cal on 05/10 at 02:54 PM
No Cincinnati Bengals?
No Pacman Jones?
steve perry on 05/10 at 02:56 PM
Damon Stoudamire walking through an airport metal detector with his weed wrapped in aluminum foil thats way better then pissing in public and doing some whores
Animal_Pleasurer on 05/10 at 07:21 PM
Dino Ciccarelli, former Min North Star walking around his neighborhood sans pants
Dave on 05/11 at 08:13 AM
What about Rae Carruth being found hiding in the trunk of his car?
Badger Tim on 05/11 at 08:40 AM
Yeah. Sarah Spain you really blew this article. There are 10 incidents alone in the comments of everyone that are better than your 10. Jees.
Badger Tim on 05/11 at 09:12 AM
Okay, revised list from this page alone.
10. Ruben Rivera’s bungled glove theft.
9. Najeh Davenport’s laundry defecation
8. Lawrence Phillips flag football retaliation
7. Joe Cullen’s (Lions coach) birthday suit cruise
6. Damon Stoudamire’s undetectable weed
5. Onterrio Smith’s fake penis
4. Dave Stewart’s ‘close enough’ BJ
3. Nate Newton’s “Fool me once, fool me twice”
2. Eugene Robinson’s alter ego (consider the circumstances)
and clearly the most ludicrous crime I’d never be able to show my face again after committing ...
1. Anthony Merino’s stiffy meets stiffy.
HungryCraig on 05/11 at 09:22 AM
Don’t forget that Davenport is following “The Bus” in Pittsburgh. Doesn’t “Dump Truck” work? Also missing is Ryan O’Byrne, the Montreal Canadien who stole a woman’s purse from a bar and, when confronted claimed it was his girlfriend’s...only he couldn’t tell the cops her name to match the id within.
joel on 05/11 at 01:28 PM
Mike Olowokandi being tazed at 3 am at an Indianapolis nightclub for refusing to leave after closing hours.
David A on 05/11 at 03:31 PM
Anthony Mason? That Atlanta strip club, Portland Trailblazers, corrupt refs, Stern forcing Jordan to retire… gotta love the NBA
mizam on 05/11 at 04:37 PM
cant forget about colt brennan, who apparently broke into a girls dorm room whipped it out and began masterbating
tweaks96 on 05/11 at 09:29 PM
what about bob probert who got arrested in palm beach for trying to pull a guy out the window of a car, and then while resisting arrest getting tasered multiple times, i heard the number 13 thrown around, and once they got the cuffs on him they refused to take them off for the mug shot, and for his alias he put “the bad one” now thats a character
Chris on 05/12 at 03:28 AM
What about that lineman from Kansas State that tried to attack a fast food employee through a drive-thru window and got STUCK! So after they freed him they arrested him.
Ben on 05/13 at 12:30 PM
Chris on 05/12 at 05:28 AM
The lineman that got stuck in the TBell drivethru was a Jayhawk, not a Wildcat.
Dan on 05/19 at 07:41 PM
Anthony Merino should definitely be #1 and how does the Wizonator not make the list? Other than that good list
Paul M. Banks on 05/25 at 09:22 PM
They picked this up after I reposted it on my site. check it out
http://www.cowboyspride.net/forum/showthread.php?p=118093#post118093
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