In Contempt of Sport

It has been a busy day for Sports and the law…

First Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to 6 years for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and then Lionel Messi is sentenced to 21 months for his part in Tax fraud. But while appeals go through and in Messi’s case a suspended sentence handed out, what about the sportsmen who couldn’t avoid the book being thrown at them. Here are some of the most famous faces who got locked up!

Michael Vick

Vick was a superstar in the mid noughties and the face of the NFL for many. He was the first pick overall of the 2001 NFL draft and went on to lead the line for the Atlanta Falcons for 6 years. In 2007 he was arrested for funding and enabling a dog fighting operation on one of his properties. The sickening details lead to him being sentenced for 5 years, though he only served 21 months. As if that wasn’t enough he lost his sponsors, declared bankruptcy in 2008 and Atlanta Falcons cancelled his contract. He may have returned with Philadelphia Eagles in 2009, but he has never reached the same standards as before the conviction.

Joey Barton

The English bad boy of football Barton has always been in and out of the headlines for the wrong reason. In 2007, in Liverpool City centre, Barton was provoked and attacked a man and teenager. It resulted in a conviction of common assault and affray which meant he was sentenced to 6 months in prison. Almost straight after this in 2008 he was given a suspended 4 months sentence for assaulting his own Man City teammate Ousmane Dabo effectively ending his Manchester career. He was a promising England player too but after this he joined a long list of failed English players and now plays his trade in Scotland for Rangers

Mike Tyson

Tyson was never assumed to be a good boy, but in 1991 he took his reputation to an unforgivable level when he was arrested for the rape of an 18 year old in a hotel room. Sentenced to 6 years behind bars, he only served less than 3 and went on to make $96m on his return. He obviously kept himself in shape in prison, but it does not seem fair does it? Now known for his comedy Hangover cameos it should not be forgotten that he is technically on the sex offenders list.

Higuita

The famous Colombian goalkeeper is know for his eccentric style, hair and his scorpion saves. It is not the only eccentric part of his life though. In true Colombian fashion Higuita was involved in a kidnapping between drug barons Pablo Escobar and Carlos Molina. He acted as the middle man and was payed $64k for his services. Unfortunately profiting from a kidnap in any way is illegal in Colombia, and he went to prison for 7 months for the offence. His response when question was reportedly  “I’m a footballer, I didn’t know anything about kidnapping laws”.

OJ Simpson

He was part of one of the most famous court cases in the 1990’s, accused of the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. To rub salt into the wounds that case also gave birth to the Kardashians. A crime on this very earth. This case is not the reason why he makes this list though. In 2007 OJ Simpson entered a hotel and robbed two men at gunpoint of memorabilia. Despite his claim that the items were stolen from him he was charged with kidnap and armed robbery, which carries a potential life sentence. Instead he was given 33 years. Many people will claim karma’s a bitch. I would just say he is just a bad human.

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