OPINION

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By Nicholas Chambers

Major sports have no shortage of passionate athletes from all over the world, not afraid to express their beliefs, opinions, and ideas on many issues within and outside the realms of their occupation. From political standings on current events to mind games used to instigate or create a tactical advantage over the opponent, these so-called villains of professional sports draw crowds that are often times larger than their hero counterparts. 

The emergence of these controversial figures in sports has become a common resurgence in the 21st century, in a day and age where social media’s algorithmic codes will have its users salivating over a player’s presence in the world today. Love or hate them, they love the spotlight and create necessary gossip over their respective sport that is essential to sports leagues’ marketing and advertisement success. 

When you think of controversial athletes, who comes to mind? Do you think of the intense, fervent player that is feared by many? Perhaps the Richard Shermans or Jalen Ramseys of the world, who break down their opponents with trash talk before attacking them with their play? Maybe the Draymond Green or Pat Beverley type of player, who will instigate physical altercations in order to energize their team? Or do you think of the more disputed athletes? Ones with controversial personal lives that cause fans to constantly detest? The likes of Antonio Brown, Kyrie Irving, and Conor McGregor fit this description. 

Whichever way you lean on the spectrum, there is no denying that athletes’ personas are constantly changing in the media.

Michael Jordan (middle) being swarmed by Piston Bad Boys James Edwards, Isiah Thomas, and Bill Laimbeer in an effort to enforce the “Jordan Rules” on the G.O.A.T. Photo credit: Zak Maoui via GC.

Take the NBA’s “Bad Boy Pistons” of the late 1980s and early 1990s, for example. Arguably the most feared sports team of the last 40 years, the Pistons, led by ringleaders Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, and Isiah Thomas, became known for their gritty, aggressive style of play that produced many brawls and some of the most physical basketball in NBA history. Pistons’ home games at the newly renovated stadium, The Palace of Auburn Hills, became a spectacle during their back-to-back NBA Finals runs in 1989 and 1990. According to Basketball Hall of Fame journalist Jack McCallum, “The Palace had about it an ambiance of manufactured excitement,” one that led to, in its first two seasons, “every one of the Pistons’ 102 games at The Palace being a sellout.” 

The emergence of these idiosyncratic personalities and alter ego temperaments bring an excitement to the game that is almost dreamt of by professional sports leagues and their commissioners. From a marketing aspect, having characters who are not afraid to say the uncomfortable and play with passions that exceed the ordinary automatically strengthen the growth of their league. Add in the fact that these controversial athletes are advertised on essentially every social media platform for their disposition, and team owners and league officials find themselves in a quintessential scenario. 

Sherman’s stunt after the 2013 NFC Championship Game is a perfect example of this fantasized blueprint being executed to perfection. Up by 6 versus rival San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks cornerback makes an immaculate, one-handed deflection over 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree, tipping the ball up into the air and into the arms of Seahawks defender Malcolm Smith, sealing the game and a trip to the Super Bowl for the city of Seattle. In a late-game frenzy, Sherman then delivered one of the most iconic postgame speeches of all time: 

“Well, I’m the best corner[back] in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna’ get! Don’t you EVER talk about me!” – Sherman’s post-game speech after “The Tip.” Photo credit: Jonathan Ferry via SBNation.

Obnoxious? Maybe. But that’s Sherman’s personality, something that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell benefitted from when Sherman singlehandedly broke the internet for his post-game antics. Criticize or praise the way Sherman handled himself, but you can’t deny that the NFL gained massive publicity from this moment. 

Barry Bonds. Home run king and steroid user. Perhaps Major League Baseball’s last true villain. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The public eye does not always shift to every sport, though. Major League Baseball, sometimes referred to as the “dying sport” out of all of the major sports, saw a “5.9% drop in attendance compared to pre-COVID 2019” and overall a “14% decline in attendance over the past nine seasons,” according to writer Colby Hopkins. One can blame the slowness of the game or the lack of media coverage on baseball as a whole, but perhaps this statistic is backed by the fact that Major League Baseball currently lacks that influential player who is world-renowned for being “hated,” bringing a new energy to the game that would ultimately drive more fans to the sport.

In a modern-day era, where “cancel culture” can take a five-second edited video and misconstrue it out of context for everyone on the internet to see, perception, now more than ever, means everything. 

More than any other sport in the last five years, combat sports like boxing, MMA, and UFC have embodied this formula and experienced arguably the most growth in that time span. With new iterations of “Celebrity Boxing” coming into effect in the late 2010s, combat sports have been able to attract audiences from all over the world to watch YouTube goliaths go against your favorite TikTokkers, and Disney Channel stars battle it out against ex-NBA players. Along with their skills in the ring, fighters’ outrageous verbal cues are what really fuel the Instagram Reels and TikTok For You Page monopolies, contributing to the “villain” personas of these characters.

KSI vs Logan Paul, Deji vs Jake Paul press conference promotional banner. Image courtesy of Logan Paul.

The poster children of the Celebrity Boxing movement include brothers Jake and Logan Paul and KSI, who before their sudden stints as villains in the ring, were beloved by many fans for their presence on social media. The trio familiarized themselves with the internet spotlight from a young age, before seeing their most success as influencers on Youtube about 5-7 years ago.

By 2018, the Paul brothers did a complete 180, transforming from the golden children of social media to the problem children of boxing, starting an internet beef with fellow YouTuber KSI and his brother Deji, as the entertainers agreed to box each other’s sibling counterparts on an iconic fight card. This was the first of many fights and many millions of dollars generated in revenue by Logan, Jake, and KSI, thanks to their already popular brands.

Social media’s impact on the popularity of these athletes will always be seen as an understatement, despite its critical role in painting the picture for viewers with attention spans at an all-time low. The ability to feed users with clips and highlights of these villains, on a daily basis, is only an advantage for professional sports leagues as they continue their quest to attract audiences to the games we all love.

It is “must-see tv” when the world’s best athletes collide on the same playing field with the sole purpose of entertaining the viewer. Better yet, when these players bring an unmatched energy and perspicacity to a game we all know and love, it is almost impossible not to tune in.

Feature image credit: Desiree Navarro via FilmMagic.