Most Arrogant Athletes

[RossLT]

We have a running discussion here in the newsroom about what sport, at the elite level, has the most arrogant athletes. One of our Photogs and me think it is Track, others say baseball because of the "Frat boy Douche Bag Mentality". What do you all think?

 

[TheMethod]

The baseball guys I deal with are pretty cool, usually. There are some assholes on the college basketball team we cover (it's a major program), but I'm gonna give the nod to the NFL.

 

[joe king]

Baseball and it's not even close. The NBA has a large contingent of arrogant assholes, too.

Hockey is the best.

 

[Write-brained]

I think Ross was talking about preps ...

 

[RossLT]

No I meant overall at all levels.

 

[Write-brained]

So you think track athletes are more arrogant than the assholes in the NBA? Or do you think there are more arrogant assholes in track than the NFL?

 

[RossLT]

It seems like Track athletes are really into themselves and the few NFL guys I have dealt with were OK, granted they were not the elite players. I have never dealt with the NBA.

 

[spnited]

I have always found track athletes to be among the best to deal with.
Are they into themselves? Sure, because theirs is an individual sport, they can say, do and act as they want without worrying that some teammate is going to get pissed off.
They are, for the most part, more cooperative with the media, more open, more honest.
And yes, more arrogant but in an easier to handle way than the spoiled NBA, NFL and MLB multimillionaires who would just as soon not be bothered by the media minions.

 

[Tom Petty]

NBA

 

[ralph wiggum]

At the college level anyway, I've always thought soccer players (men's not women's) were pretty pleased with themselves. Never covered anything at the pro/world cup level, but I can't imagine those guys are much better

 

[Tom Petty]

At the college level anyway, I've always thought soccer players (men's not women's) were pretty pleased with themselves. Never covered anything at the pro/world cup level, but I can't imagine those guys are much better

i think mert will agree that all soccer players are pretty much dicks at heart. ;D

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

This one's easy: Any men's college basketballer who has transferred from an NCAA-1 school to an NAIA school for non-athletic reasons. Most of 'em think they deserve to be treated like Michael Jordan and that their past transgressions need to be whitewashed because they "didn't get a fair shake."

 

[GuessWho]

I have always found track athletes to be among the best to deal with.
Are they into themselves? Sure, because theirs is an individual sport, they can say, do and act as they want without worrying that some teammate is going to get pissed off.
They are, for the most part, more cooperative with the media, more open, more honest.
And yes, more arrogant but in an easier to handle way than the spoiled NBA, NFL and MLB multimillionaires who would just as soon not be bothered by the media minions.

What he said. I think track and field athletes might be my favorite people to cover.

In my limited experience around them (thank God), I've found many tennis players, with their country-clubbing sense of entitlement, to be insufferable.

 

[spinning27]

This is a waste of time. First of all, do you really mean arrogant? Or, do you mean, who treats writers the worst?

Having covered just about everything at the college and pro level, it's impossible to make those kinds of generalizations. People always say baseball, but it's way different for the regular beat writer than someone who pops into the locker room once a year looking for a story. There's good media guys and bad media guys in every sport; jerks, assholes and nice guys at all levels.

Everybody says hockey is the best, but when is the last time anybody besides Jeremy Roenick said anything remotely interesting.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

NBA

NBA players are 1,000X better to deal with than baseball players... On most baseball teams, if there are more than three or four players who are consistently pleasant (among the vets) you're doing well...

As someone else mentioned, hockey players are the best.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

1) Baseball. Has been, is now, and evermore shall be.
(a distant) 2) Tennis.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Baseball and it's not even close. The NBA has a large contingent of arrogant assholes, too.
Hockey is the best.

I once saw 18 of 20 Washington Capitals scoot out the back door after a playoff loss. That pretty much ended the "hockey players are the world's greatest people" thing for me.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

I liked covering baseball.

I vote for tennis, by a mile.

 

[hockeybeat]

Baseball and it's not even close. The NBA has a large contingent of arrogant assholes, too.
Hockey is the best.

I once saw 18 of 20 Washington Capitals scoot out the back door after a playoff loss. That pretty much ended the "hockey players are the world's greatest people" thing for me.

Not for nothing, but how many players in any sport stick around to answer questions after losing a playoff game/series?

 

[Tom Petty]

NBA

NBA players are 1,000X better to deal with than baseball players... On most baseball teams, if there are more than three or four players who are consistently pleasant (among the vets) you're doing well...

As someone else mentioned, hockey players are the best.

never had a problem with MLBers ... minor leaguers on the other hand, IMHO, are cocksuckers.