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Ray Rice and 15 Athletes Who Hurt Their Own Career

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By @jetleli

Ray Rice Leads 15 Athletes Who Ruined Their Own Career

Ray Rice ruined own career
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Ray Rice will likely never play another game in an NFL uniform because of the fact that he was caught on camera abusing his wife. By committing these heinous acts of abuse, Rice has joined these 15 athletes who ruined their own career.

15. Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez athletes who ruined career
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15. Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez career ruined
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Hernandez may yet be found guilty of the multiple murder charges pending against him, but the former New England Patriots star has nevertheless become a toxic name that NFL teams surely will permanently stay away from.

14. Gilbert Arenas

gilbert arenas career ruined
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14. Gilbert Arenas

gilbert arenas career ruined
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Arenas missed most of the 2009-10 NBA season after pulling out a handgun in the Washington Wizards' locker room, sparking off a precipitous drop in form that has resulted in the former NBA star now playing basketball in China.

13. Mike Tyson

mike tyson ruined career
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13. Mike Tyson

mike tyson ruined career
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Tyson was at the top of his game before being convicted of sexual assault in March 1992 and serving three years in prison. Tyson would come back to boxing after his stint in prison but never regained the unanimous status of best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

12. Latrell Sprewell

latrell sprewell ruined career
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12. Latrell Sprewell

latrell sprewell ruined career
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Sprewell actually survived choking Golden State Warriors head coach P.J. Carlesimo in 1998, but he ended his own career by turning down a three-year, $21 million deal from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005. The reason that Sprewell stated for turning down this deal was that it wouldn't give him enough money to feed his children.

11. Maurice Clarett

maurice clarett ruined career
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11. Maurice Clarett

maurice clarett ruined career
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Clarett first hurt his own career by attempting to enter the NFL Draft after one year at Ohio State. He then put the dagger in it by going to prison for three years after being released by the Denver Broncos.

10. Dwight Gooden

dwight gooden ruined career
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10. Dwight Gooden

dwight gooden ruined career
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Gooden was the best pitcher in MLB for much of the late 1980s, but he saw his career tumble in the early 1990s because of persistent drug and alcohol issues.

9. Richie Incognito

richie incognito ruined career
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9. Richie Incognito

richie incognito ruined career
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Incognito was given multiple chances to clean up his image in college and the NFL, but he likely will not gain another chance after a slew of abusive messages to teammate Jonathan Martin led to his release from the Miami Dolphins this spring.

8. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez ruined career
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8. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez ruined career
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Ramirez had a long and storied MLB career, but a second suspension for performance-enhancing drug use in 2011 effectively ended any chance of him playing in the big leagues again.

7. Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress ruined career
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7. Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress ruined career
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Burress was forced to miss two NFL seasons after being arrested on gun possession charges in 2009, and although he came back for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the wideout was never the same player.

6. Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho ruined career
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6. Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho ruined career
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Ronaldinho spent the last three seasons playing in Brazil and will spend the next few in Mexico, which is essentially career purgatory for a guy of his status. This happened because of his unwillingness to continuously work hard on the field and somewhat erratic behavior off of it.

5. JaMarcus Russell

JaMarcus Russell ruined career
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5. JaMarcus Russell

JaMarcus Russell ruined career
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Russell was released by the Oakland Raiders following the 2009 NFL season after seeing his weight rise to 290 pounds, and his reportedly woeful work ethic has scared off any NFL team from ever signing the former LSU Tigers star.

4. Marion Jones

marion jones ruined career
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4. Marion Jones

marion jones ruined career
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Jones had her track and field career thwarted by being linked to the BALCO scandal, which led her to play two seasons in the WNBA before being forced into retirement from sports.

3. Chad Ochocinco

chad ochocinco ruined career
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3. Chad Ochocinco

chad ochocinco ruined career
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Ochocinco is currently playing with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, a result of his outlandish ways off the field and sometimes lackluster effort on it.

2. Carlos Zambrano

carlos zambrano ruined career
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2. Carlos Zambrano

carlos zambrano ruined career
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Zambrano was one of the best pitchers in the National League between 2004 and 2008, but he has not pitched in MLB since 2012 because teams are wary of his noted temper and propensity to go off on anyone in sight.

1. Alexandre Daigle

Alexandre Daigle ruined career
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1. Alexandre Daigle

Alexandre Daigle ruined career
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Daigle was one of the biggest busts in NHL history, and this largely occurred because he was never known as an extremely hard worker. He even took off two years to try his hand in show business.

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