{"id":78507,"date":"2022-09-29T21:16:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T21:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscroll.com\/?p=78507"},"modified":"2023-12-22T05:21:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T05:21:05","slug":"these-athletes-will-always-be-haunted-by-career-defining-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.sportscroll.com\/these-athletes-will-always-be-haunted-by-career-defining-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"These Athletes Will Always Be Haunted By Career-Defining Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Throughout their competitive lives, most athletes dream of reaching the pinnacles of their sports. They want to amass individual achievements and\/or bring team glory to their franchises. However, the reality is that many of them fall short, and some in unfortunately hilarious ways. The truth is that we remember many athletes because of their career-defining mistakes rather than their victories<\/a>.<\/p>\n So today, we’ll take a look at how these different elite athletes who were otherwise effective experienced career-defining errors. They’re remarkable stories that show the challenges they faced and continue to face as their careers<\/a> were defined by these mistakes. They can’t shake off these moments because they’re constantly replayed on TV and the internet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ‘Butt Punt’ was one of the most recent moments on this list. It happened in Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season<\/a> when the Dolphins faced the Bills. Miami’s Morstead punted the ball directly into the rear end of one of his blockers. The picture below shows how hilarious this moment was for everybody watching.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the end, Miami won the game against the Super Bowl<\/a> favorite Bills. This moment doesn’t feature higher because it didn’t affect the result but it’s still one of the great NFL mistakes<\/a>. Fans will reference ‘The Butt Punt’ for a long time because it was a ridiculous play that Morstead will never be able to forget (via Sports Illustrated<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sprewell enjoyed a productive NBA<\/a> career but he remained somewhat of a heel in the eyes of fans. He infamously broke his hand in a fight on a private yacht. More importantly, he received a massive suspension after he choked his former head coach, P.J. Carlesimo. But Sprewell made this list for an even dumber reason.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In sum, he grossly overestimated his value and priced NBA teams out of a contract<\/a>. Minnesota offered him a $21 million deal but he rejected it and claimed the offer was offensive. In the end, nobody offered him more because they didn’t think he was worth the money (via BVM Sports<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We don’t think much about NFL kickers unless they do something wrong. Occasionally they receive a chance to be a hero and win the game for their team. But usually, they’re only making headlines<\/a> because they missed a crucial kick. Gramatica kicked an infamous field goal against the Giants but made a career-defining error.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He celebrated after the 43-yard kick<\/a> and jumped in celebration. However, the landing had devastating<\/a> consequences because he tore his ACL. It was a terrible<\/a> moment because he missed the rest of the season. Furthermore, it made him a player fans made fun if because it was so ridiculous (via 12 Up<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Semin is a very strange and polarizing figure. The hockey player rubbed many coaches up the wrong way because of his attitude and lack of dedication. However, there was no denying his inherent talent even if it wasn’t always enough. But Semin wasn’t a great fighter<\/a> unlike some of his teammates.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n NHL fans<\/a> remember his weird clash with the Rangers Marc Staal because he behaved strangely. Instead of delivering a brutal punch, he appeared to play the drums on Staal’s chest. It was a confusing moment but indicative of the type of person Semin is (via CBS Sports<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aldo is arguably the greatest featherweight in MMA history. The Brazilian held the WEC and UFC<\/a> championship belts for over eight years with unprecedented success. However, one career-defining moment made everybody forget about his previous brilliance. This career-defining moment came when he fought Conor McGregor in 2015.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aldo and McGregor went on a long and grueling promotional tour that saw McGregor infuriate the King of Rio. Finally, the fight arrived and Aldo threw caution to the wind. He stormed<\/a> forward but McGregor caught him with a vicious left hook and finished him in under 15 seconds. It was an incredible moment that shocked the world (via MMA Fighting<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lett was a two-time Super Bowl winner<\/a> with the Dallas Cowboys but that’s not why fans remember him. He made two career-defining mistakes that made him a figure of ridicule. First, there was his infamous fumble against the Bills as he approached the endzone. Luckily it didn’t cost his team the game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then there was another embarrassing<\/a> incident during a Thanksgiving game. Lett bizarrely caused a ‘muffed kick’ in snowy and surreal conditions. Many fans don’t respect him because he made high-profile errors, but ultimately he was a winner with the Cowboys (via NPR<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Garciaparra was a top MLB player<\/a> and the Red Sox knew it. They offered him a massive four-year extension worth $60 million. But then they tried to trade him for the Rangers’ Alex Rodriguez. This infuriated Garciaparra and he rejected the new contract. Perhaps he should have swallowed his pride and put pen to paper.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Business isn’t personal and Garciaparra didn’t accept this. In the end, it cost him dearly as he signed up for one year with the Cubs. But they only paid him eight million dollars while he would have earned almost twice that per year if he signed with Boston (via BroBible<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ‘double doink’ remains one of the most infamous NFL field goal attempts ever. Parkey watched his life flash before his eyes after his kick. Somehow, he hit the bar for the sixth time that season. Meanwhile, the ball bounced off the upright onto the crossbar in an agonizing fashion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Parkey had a chance to be a hero had a successful kick won the Bears the game. This would have sent Chicago to the divisional round but that’s not what happened. Instead, Parkey experienced a career-defining moment because fans will only associate him with this notorious miss for the rest of his life (via The Guardian<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\nThomas Morstead<\/h3>\n
Latrell Sprewell<\/h3>\n
Bill Gramatica<\/h3>\n
Alexander Semin<\/h3>\n
Jose Aldo<\/h3>\n
Leon Lett<\/h3>\n
Nomar Garciaparra<\/h3>\n
Cody Parkey<\/h3>\n