Recently Forbes magazine put out it’s yearly list of the most disliked people in sports. And lost in the fact that Mike Vick topped the list for the 2nd year in a row was that he was followed on the list by Raiders Managing General Partner, Al Davis.
According to the poll they took, 66% of Americans dislike Al Davis (Vick was at 69%).
While coming in 2nd on this list may come as little surprise to most people, especially Raider fans, it may surprise you that he didn’t even make the list last year. So when you consider suddenly he comes in even ahead of Ben Roethlisberger and his recent run-ins with the law, it does seem a little bit out of nowhere.
Here is the blurb Forbes uses to describe Davis:
“A football owner who’s always walked to the beat of his own drum. Davis has signed renegade players and yanked his team back and forth between Oakland and Los Angeles, spurring lawsuits and run-ins with the league. And his ‘Just win, baby’ mantra hasn’t been working in recent years.”
Most of Al Davis disdain from people comes from past disgressions as they point out here. The signing of renegade players hasn’t been part of the equation for a long time and the moving of the team to LA was nearly 30 years ago.
Sow why the sudden leap to second in line behind a guy who tortured and killed man’s best friend? I think it is the Raider fans themselves. Last year was a breaking point for the fans the likes of which I had never seen. The Raider Nation is strong in it’s love for the Raiders and their players. But the fans also seem united in wanting Davis to step down. So much so that even after a great draft and offseason, many fans are giving little or no credit to Davis. Unless of course, there is credit to be given for him actually letting the coaches and scouts do their jobs.
So, while in years passed, Davis’ dislike was offset by much of the Raider Nation, that is just not the case anymore. The fans want him to preserve his legacy and what is left of his dignity and step down.
With that said, here is how the rest of the list shakes out:
Ben Roethlisberger- Two cases of sexual misconduct. The second one the most damning.
Tiger Woods- America hops on their fidelity high horse.
Jerry Jones- This one makes little sense to me really. He is not well liked but come on.
Mark McGwire- McGwire is a hitting coach now so he is in the running again for hatred.
Terrell Owens- Bat S#*t crazy can be a reason to dislike a guy.
Alex Rodriguez- He has reserved a spot on this list. But he is lower on it. He was 3rd last year.
Allen Iverson- How did he get voted onto the All-Star squad if he is so disliked?
Gilbert Arenas- Classic case of simply being in the news for negative reasons equals dislike.
Not making this list from last year: Manny Ramirez(2), Kobe Bryant(5), Isiah Thomas(7), Stephon Marbury(8), Nick Saban(9), and John McEnroe(10).
ALSO SEE some better mentions:
Nnamdi Asomugha grabs another award
Quentin Groves becoming fast friend with Raider Nation
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