Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (February 06, 2009)

ASSHAT ATHLETES!
If there's one thing all sports have in common, it's that there's no shortage of stupid, ignorant athletes saying stupid, ignorant things. But when the subject turns to gay issues, a lot of them go completely off the deep end and start wading in the low end of the gene pool (how's that for a mixed metaphor!).

For these ten athletes, they would have been much better off just keeping their eyes on the ball and keeping their mouths shut. (Thanks to Outsports.com for the details.)

John Rocker

Ask someone to name an athlete who made anti-gay comments, and odds are they'll mention former Atlanta Braves pitcher (tee-hee) John Rocker, who in 1999 caused a firestorm when he had this to say about playing baseball in NYC:

"Imagine having to take the 7 train to Shea Stadium looking like you’re in Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing.’’

Where he is now: After being released from the Braves, he played minor league ball for a while. More recently, he admitted to using steroids (exhibit A: his face in the above picture), and just last week was thrown out of an Atlanta hotel's grand opening after verbally assaulting a local broadcaster. You know, I like e'm big and stupid ... but even I have my limit.

Goran Ivanisevic and "special friend"

Like many tennis fans, I was thrilled when Goran Ivanisevic finally won his first and only major championship, at the 2001 Wimbledon tournament. At least until the press conference, when he let loose with this attack at one of the line judges:

"Then I hit another second serve, huge. And that ball was on the line, was not even close. And that guy, he looks like a faggot little bit, you know. This hair all over him. He call it. I couldn't believe he did it."

Then it came out that it wasn't the first time that Goran had let the f-bomb drop:

" Hey, sometimes I watch the TV, and then I see the guys when they throw the racquets. They throw it like a faggot, you know."

"Last year I played well here and played like a faggot at Wimbledon," Ivanisevic said. “Better to play like a faggot here and play well at Wimbledon. "

Where he is now: Retired, but last year, he was a practice partner for Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Roger lost in the final to Rafael Nadal.

In 2002, the Colorado Rockies pitcher Todd Jones looked deep into his heart, and made this statement about openly gay men in baseball:

"I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, Hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?"

Next page! Asshat athletes just keep on coming!