The most shocking sports suspensions of all time

Armstrong made people in the United States care about cycling! He turned rubber yellow bracelets into ubiquitous fashion items. Alas, Armstrong’s seven Tour de France wins were too good to be true. Apparently he had been doping the entire time, and all of his cycling wins were taken away from him, to go along with him being banned from cycling for life.

Johnson put Canadian sprinters on the map. He set the record in the 100-meter dash in 1987, before beating his own record during the 1988 Olympics. It turned out that Johnson was using steroids, though, leading to the loss of his records, and eventually he, too, was given a lifetime ban. Then he became Diego Maradona’s trainer, which somehow just feels right.

So much bad stuff has come out about Rose over the years that it almost feels like the fact his baseball ban has been overshadowed. Let’s remember that Major League Baseball decided to ban Rose after discovering he was betting on baseball. This was a problem, given that he was still employed in baseball at the time. Because of this, the (American) hit king isn’t in the Hall of Fame and maybe never will be.

While the man now known as Metta World Peace has calmed down in recent years, and even gave a shoutout to his therapist after the Lakers won a title, he will never fully live down the Malice at the Palace. Artest went into the stands to fight a fan, which caused a huge brawl that was considered a nadir for the NBA. For his part, Artest was suspended a whopping 86 games total.

Technically Jackson is just standing in for the entire 1919 Chicago White Sox team that got banned from baseball for throwing the World Series. Jackson just happens to be the most prominent name, given that he was considered one of the best players in baseball at the time. Like Rose, Shoeless Joe is not in the Hall of Fame due to his role in a massive baseball scandal.

Arenas always seemed like an odd but mostly harmless dude. Then it came out that he was storing unloaded, unlicensed guns in the Wizards' locker room. This was bad enough, and got him charged by the Washington police, but then he was seen mock-shooting his teammates prior to a game, which rubbed the NBA the wrong way (and would have been even more unacceptable in the modern climate). He ended up suspended for the bulk of the 2010 season.

It’s not unusual for players and coaches to exchange heated words. It’s extremely rare for said player to then choke his coach during a practice. That’s what happened when Sprewell and P.J. Carlesimo didn’t see eye to eye one day. Then apparently he took the time to shower, change his clothes and then try to pick up where he left off. Spree was originally suspended for a year, but arbitration got that down to “only” 68 games.

By this point, Harding is famous only because of the event that led to her being banned from figure skating for life. You know the story. Skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked and hit in the knee in an attempt to knock her out of an event. It turned out that Harding’s ex-husband was behind the attack, and Harding herself may have played a part. She did admit to hindering the investigation, which is what ultimately got her banned.

Pete Rose liked to gamble. Schlichter, unfortunately, was a compulsive gambler who never kicked the habit. Despite being the fourth-overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, the quarterback never got his career going because of his gambling issues and subsequent suspensions. It got worse from there, as Schlichter is currently in prison for his role in a sports ticket scheme and for violating probation.

Did you know science says that corking your bat actually makes you hit worse? Apparently nobody told Sosa. Despite being one of the best hitters of his generation, in 2003 it turned out that Sosa was using a corked bat in a game against, of all teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. While PED rumors have followed Sosa around, we do know he was suspended seven games for using a corked bat.

Cantona is a Manchester United and France legend as a soccer player. Pele named him one of the best 100 living players in the world. And yet when you say his name, many people will just remember one incident. Cantona was not happy with a Crystal Palace fan who had come down in the stands to disparage him, and he overreacted just a bit by leaping into the stands and delivering a kick straight into the fan’s chest. Many wanted Cantona banned from soccer for life — he was also charged with assault for his actions — but ultimately his suspension lasted eight months.

Regardless of everything, Rodriguez is one of the best players in the history of baseball. Any steroid or PED use doesn’t change that. Additionally, given that by the time he was suspended by MLB for being involved in the Biogenesis scandal, he had already admitted to using steroids when he was with the Rangers. It was still stunning, though, when A-Rod was given a whopping 162-game suspension. Despite his status as a living legend, Rodriguez missed the entire 2014 season due to his ban.

McSorley made his bucks in the NHL in what is now just about a dead role: the enforcer. As such, on-ice violence was very much his stock in trade. Yet there was one moment nobody was prepared for. Though the game was all but over, McSorley decided to deliberately hit Donald Brashear in the head with his stick causing Brashear to hit the ice and get a concussion. At first he was suspended for the rest of the 1999-00 season, but after he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, the suspension was extended to a full year. McSorley never played in another NHL game.

In some ways, Bertuzzi’s act of violence was even worse than McSorley’s. Bertuzzi was itching for a fight with Steve Moore to get “revenge” on Moore for a hit that had injured Markus Naslund. Moore didn’t want to fight, so Bertuzzi decided to grab him by the jersey, wallop him in the back of the head and then throw him to the ice. Moore was already out cold before he even hit the ice, and when he did he broke three vertebrae in his neck. Technically, Bertuzzi was suspended for 17 months but missed only 20 games due to the lockout.

Remember BALCO? If you followed sports in the 2000s, you probably do. A lot of athletes got swept up in the BALCO scandal, but Jones, an Olympic sprinter, was arguably the most prominent to be found guilty for her involvement. She lost all five of her Olympic medals for her admitted steroid use and was banned from competing in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Jones is better known as an actor now in films such as “Snatch,” but once upon a time he was a soccer “hard man" — so much so, he appeared in a video at the time called “Soccer’s Hard Men,” which championed violent soccer players and gave advice to young players who wanted to be “hard men” themselves. Jones got a six-month ban for “bringing the game into disrepute.” Of course, his play on the field didn’t change, and Jones would get suspended again for failing to show up for a disciplinary hearing, after which the Football Association of England told him simply to “grow up.”

Ali was never quiet about his personal and political beliefs, and he had the courage of his convictions too. Ali was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War, but he steadfastly refused to go. This caused him legal issues, of course, but he was also banned from boxing in every state, and his passport was taken away so he couldn’t travel. Right in the middle of his prime, from 1966 through 1970, Ali was unable to box. Of all the significant suspensions on this list, only Ali’s could possibly be considered a noble one.

You’d think the fact Burress had accidentally shot himself in the leg would have been punishment enough. Unfortunately for him it wasn’t, and to be fair he was carrying an unlicensed, loaded gun. The incident led to him being suspended for the rest of the 2008 season, but his legal issues were more serious than that.

“Manny being Manny” suggested a lot of things. It meant amazing feats at the plate, questionable defense and also that one time he went to the bathroom in the Green Monster during the game. Eventually, though, the fun ended when Ramirez got a 50-game suspension for PED usage. That was surprising enough, but then in 2011 while he was technically a member of the Rays, Manny was given a 100-game suspension for another PED violation. Instead of sitting out, Ramirez chose to retire, although he eventually tried to make a comeback.

Football is an extremely physical, often violent game. As such, if you commit an act of violence on the field that takes people aback you’ve really done something crazy. That’s exactly what Haynesworth did when he stomped on the head of Dallas' Andre Gurode during a game. Gurode’s head was split open, and Haynesworth got a five-game suspension. That may not seem like a lot, but at the time it was only the second-ever multigame suspension for something that happened on the field.

Punters are usually seen but not heard, and you wouldn't even recognize most punters if you saw them walking down the street. McAfee, though, has fashioned himself into a “personality,” making him arguably the world’s most famous punter. Early in his career, though, McAfee got busted for public intoxication after he was found drunk, shirtless and wet from purportedly swimming in a canal in Indianapolis. This got McAfee a one-game suspension, making him the rare punter to ever be punished as such.

It made sense when the NCAA suspended Pryor and a few other Ohio State Buckeyes five games for selling memorabilia. Sure, it was ridiculous because players should be able to make money off their image and name recognition. But that’s the NCAA for you. What was extremely strange, though, is that when Pryor was signed by the Oakland Raiders, the NFL suspended him five games for his NCAA suspension. Why the NFL thought that was its battle to fight, we don’t know.

There are a lot of ways to get suspended, but throwing lotion at a media member is probably not high on that list. However, that, along with some colorful language, is what got Augmon suspended for one game in 2005.

People are, simply put, weirded out by biting. Punch a guy, kick a guy, even hit him in the groin, and sports fans won’t look at you askance. Bite another player, though, and people flip out. That being said, it is a strange thing to decide to do. And yet Luis Suarez, undoubtedly one of the best soccer players in the world, has been suspended on multiple occasions for biting an opponent.

Rodman is a colorful character, and not just because of his hair. He was an odd fellow even before he started hanging out with the North Korean government, what with his stints as an actor and professional wrestler. On a couple of occasions, Rodman earned himself suspensions for his erratic behavior. When he got six games for headbutting a ref, that was bad. Then he got 11 games for kicking a cameraman, which was a real stunner.

Both of his names are things you consume, but Mayo’s problem has come from other things he’s consumed. He got the rare NBA suspension for PEDs back in the day, claiming the banned substance was from an energy drink he bought at a gas station. That 10-game suspension paled in comparison to the two-year suspension he got for violating the NBA’s pretty stringent drug policy.

Mayo wasn’t the first NBA player to get a massive drug suspension from the league though. Andersen, known for his “Birdman” nickname and colorful tattoos, might seem like the kind of guy to dabble in drugs. Indeed, Birdman got banned for two years for using a “drug of abuse,” a punishment that likely stems from the NBA’s cocaine issues in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Andersen was able to get reinstated, though, and continued his NBA career for several more seasons.

Howe was Rookie of the Year once upon a time, but sadly addiction issues plagued his career. The one-time All-Star abused both alcohol and cocaine, which got him shockingly suspended for the entire 1984 MLB season. It was the first of a whopping seven suspensions for Howe, though the later suspensions didn’t really qualify as surprising after the first one. Howe tried to get his life cleaned up, but he died in 2006 with meth in his system when he rolled his pickup truck.

And we end with a bit of recent news. Tyreke Evans, like Howe, was once his league’s Rookie of the Year. However, until this point he’s stayed out of trouble, had little issues on or off the court and played well when not dealing with injury. Thus, it’s surprising that Evans has now gotten a two-year ban from the NBA for testing positive for a drug of abuse. He’s only 29, so he may be able to restart his NBA career when the time comes.