How the mighty have fallen.
These once-shining stars destroyed their careers and personal lives with terrible behavior
and deplorable actions.
From Lance Armstrong to Tonya Harding, find out which athletes ruined their careers in
one fell swoop.
Hope Solo
"I have a fighter in me kinda a fighting spirit and I embrace that because I'm passionate
about my sport and what I do."
Hope Solo's fall began in 2012 when she tested positive for a banned substance, according
to Us Weekly.
She claimed to not know the medication she was on contained the illegal drug.
Then, in 2014, things got even uglier for Solo.
Solo was arrested for domestic violence when she got into a fight with her half sister
and nephew, during which she was tackled to the ground - and threatened an officer while
cuffed.
Later at the booking station, when asked to remove a necklace, she boastfully told the
police officer that it was "worth more than he made in a year.
Then, in 2015, she was suspended by U.S. Soccer for her involvement in her husband Jerramy
Stevens' DUI arrest.
Most recently in 2016, Solo was slapped with a six-month suspension for calling Team Sweden
a "bunch of cowards," after the US lost to them in Rio.
"I am sorry.
I said it was a cowardly way to play and I've been lambasted in the media…
Terminated contract.
Effective immediately."
Until she saves her off-field behavior, Solo's career will never recover.
Lamar Odom
Despite a stellar 14-year career in the NBA, Lamar Odom has a long and bitter history with
drug abuse.
In 2012, Odom ended his run with the Dallas Mavericks.
As Mavs GM, Donnie Nelson, put it, "He's dealt with a lot of personal issues.
At this point, we need to be able to count on some things."
But the downward spiral continued when Odom was arrested on a DUI in August 2013.
Odom's most brutal fall from grace came in October 2015 when he was found unconscious
at a Nevada brothel after a drug binge, as reported by Us Weekly.
"I cheated death, and I had a lot of loss in my life,
In November 2017, Odom collapsed at a nightclub but insists it was due to dehydration.
But still, it was a nightclub.
At 2 am.
Ray Rice
NFL fans knew former Rutgers star Ray Rice as a powerful running back who delivered shots
to defenders, but when TMZ published footage of Rice dragging then-fiancée, Janay Palmer,
out of an Atlantic City elevator after an altercation, the rest of the nation knew him
on a completely different level.
Rice was indicted on third-degree aggravated assault.
In March that year, Rice avoided trial, and was accepted into a pre-trial intervention
program.
During that time, the NFL suspended Rice for a measly two games and fined the star athlete
$58,000.
By September, Rice made headlines again, with new footage of the elevator incident showing
Rice violently knocking Palmer unconscious.
The Ravens released him from the team, while the NFL suspended him indefinitely.
Rice later beat the suspension on appeal.
He told USA Today Sports in 2016 that he's owning his mistakes, and looking for a second
chance.
"This is what happened...for..
For everything that I had to gain back and it had nothing to do with fame and fortune
it had to do with making your wrongs right."
Lance Armstrong
One of sport's most decorated and celebrated athletes, Lance Armstrong shocked the world
when he was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles in October 2012.
According to ABC News, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency published a report with testimony from
11 of Armstrong's teammates stating he used illegal drugs.
Sponsors like Nike dropped him from campaign ads, but Armstrong continued to deny doping
— until a damning January 2013 interview with Oprah.
"Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?"
"...yes.."
"Did you ever blood dope or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling performances?"
… yes."
The fallout left plenty of people disappointed including his Livestrong cancer charity.
Armstrong was later stripped of his 2000 Olympic bronze medal.
Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson
NFL star Chad Johnson's career came crashing down after he was arrested for headbutting
his then wife, Evelyn Lozada in August 2012.
Johnson was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, spent one night in jail, and was
released on a $2,500 bond.
But less than 24 hours later, the Miami Dolphins officially terminated Johnson's contract.
Regarding the incident, he told Inside the NFL he takes full responsibility.
"I'm human, my time had come, I made a mistake."
"Chad has to go deep down inside and figure out where he went wrong at what point did
you lose focus on what's most important?"
Ryan Lochte
"What you see is what you get."
Ryan Lochte's career as an Olympic swimmer took a dive after he was caught in a ridiculous
lie.
Lochte claimed he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint on the way home from a party during
the 2016 Rio Olympics.
But the truth quickly unfolded to reveal Lochte and his buddies had drunkenly vandalized a
gas station bathroom, and were stopped by an armed security guard.
The swimmer ultimately apologized to fans and the city of Rio in an interview on Today
saying, "They put on a great Games.
And my immature, intoxicated behavior um.. tarnished that a little."
But the aftermath not only brought shame to the American team, the U.S. Olympic Committee
suspended Lochte from swimming for 10 months.
He also had stipends withheld, lost sponsorship deals, and was banned from visiting the White
House with Team USA, according to the the LA Times.
Tonya Harding
"The media had me convicted of doing something wrong before I had even done anything at all."
Tonya Harding's career as a figure skater was permanently put on ice after it was revealed
her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and a handful of other men allegedly carried out an attack
on skater Nancy Kerrigan's knee, just six weeks before the '94 Olympic Games.
Gillooly pled guilty, and all went to jail, except Harding, who eventually pled guilty
to hindering the investigation and confessed to knowing the details of the plot.
"Many of you will be unable to forgive me for that.
It will be difficult to forgive myself."
In total, she received three years probation, was ordered to complete 500 hours of community
service and pay a $160,000 fine.
Kerrigan would recover and go on to win silver at the games while Harding performed poorly.
Harding was ultimately banned from U.S. figure skating, for life.
"How do I get a fair shot here?"
"We also judge on presentation."
"suck my d---."
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