It used to be that movie stars and entertainers were thought to be above and beyond the normal tragedies of the average person, but the reality of life is that celebrities, as well as elite professional athletes, quite possible encounter more tragedy than the average person, as they engage in many more interactions with the worl, and have more opportunities to encounter Hell on earth.

When you run the elite athletes through your head, almost all have been through life altering personal or career tragedies. Let's list some disasters, and also maybe try to identify the biggest sports star who has seemingly avoided a shocking personal career or life tragedy.
It doesn't matter if the tragedy/implosion was self inflicted or not.


Tiger Woods - One of the greatest implosion ever, both personally, and career wise....plus injuries.

Michael Jordan - Thrown out of the NBA for a few years due to gambling (consensus). And his father was killed at a rest area around that time, with many still believing it had something to do with Jordan's gambling.

Mohammad Ali - Legit prosecution risk for his political stance during Vietnam (No Viet Cong ever called me the n word). Gave up title due to that. Many hated him.


Michael Phelps - Most decorated Olympian of all time. Suicidal just a few years ago. No relationship with his biological father.

LeBron James - No relationship at all with father.


Tom Brady - Had child out out of wedlock with actress right as he met Giselle. Deflategate. Two of the all-time brutal Super Bowl losses to the Giants.

Kobe Bryant - People seem to forget that he almost went to prison for an alleged rape in the prime of his career.

Mike Tyson - went to prison on a dubious rape charge during the prime of his career. Nothing to show for the hundreds of millions he made.


Gretzky - You may feel that he has "skated" through without disaster...haha, but his wife got involved in a rather large gambling scandal, and do you really think he wasn't involved and at risk? And he had to really reign in Paulina a few years ago, as Paulina flaunted her wares online and in Vegas. Now, he has a box of rocks daughter matched up with a box of rocks potential son in law in Dustin Johnson...therefore box of rocks grandkids (two already).

Greg Norman - bad luck and choking combined to rob him of a likely legacy of being an all-time great. Nasty divorce, and eventful brief marriage to Chris Evert as Norman betrayed his best friend (Chris Event's former husband). First thing you think of when thing about Greg Norman is his blown Masters in 1996.

O.J. Simpson - one of the all-time crashes.



One who seems to not have a ton of negative is Jack Nicklaus. However.

Jack Nicklaus was initially despised by golf fans, as he was overthrowing Arnold Palmer, and he was called Fat Jack, and heckled, particular at the US Open at Oakmont, when he took down Arnold. And he lost a grandchild who drowned in a pool at home. He basically went broke in the 90's, stating that he had to essentially start over (not that he was broke...broke).



List some examples. Maybe we can also find the luckiest all time elite athlete.

Pretty sure Barry Sanders never got in trouble.

I would say you're stretching on the Lebron one.

You didn't mention a single athlete who died in or near their prime. It doesn't get much more personally or professionally tragic than death.

Lou Gherig, Dale Earnhardt, Roberto Clemente were veteran legends who died while still near the top of their sport.

Thurman Munson and Reggie Lewis are all-stars who died right at their prime.

The list of young potential greats who died before their prime is very long.

Len Bias was about to join the best team in the league

Clemente seemed like an awful miss. Plenty of others that died too young, Duncan Edwards had GOAT equity but for the Munich disaster

In the fall of 1991, I was working for the UMass-Lowell basketball team.

One afternoon, I was sitting on the sidelines with a couple players I knew well from high school when one of their friends came onto the court. He said something like "Magic is retiring. He has AIDS."

In 1991, an HIV diagnosis still felt like it was a death sentence. Just about everyone thought Magic would die in the next few years.

Magic surely dodged a bullet. If he had become infected a few years earlier, he probably would have died. Deaths from AIDS actually peaked in 1995 at 50,000.

Still, he lost his playing career at the age of 32.

Monica Seles is another candidate.

By the age of 19, she had won eight tennis grand slam titles (three French Open, three Australian Open, two U.S. Open).

Then, a crazy fan ran onto the court and stabbed Seles between her shoulder blades.

When she returned, she was able to win one more Australian Open and reached three more grand slam finals. But, she was never the same player.

Here nine grand slam titles puts her tied for 8th all-time. The top three are Margaret Court (24), Serena Williams (23), and Steffi Graf (22). Many think Seles could have challenged the record.

Seles was sad because her decline was generally accepted as 100% mental issues after the stabbing incident.

It wasn't an exhaustive list...I was starting a thread to see if anyone could come up with someone who managed to get through life on easy street. Listing names of those who had tragic deaths would miss the point of the thread entirely.

The gist of the idea is that almost all the legends have had devastating setbacks. I listed some quick names off the top of my head to get the thread rolling. People can list tragedies or charmed lives, and we will see how the thread goes.

Magic Johnson-HIV - or as Donald Sterling said in a 2014 interview.."those AIDS".

Seles WOAT on court screamer though.

lmao@including brady on this list
wow a kid out of wedlock the horror! and defaltegate give me a break

Lebron is a stretch as well.

Peyton Manning had his surgury but really has been pretty blessed since birth.

Greg Maddux would be another one.

Verlander.

Jeter.

1/3 USA#1 kids live without their biological dad. Adding that over Clemente or Earnhardt is a huge flaw in your list sprint, but I'm assuming you aren't from the greatest athletic country that has ever existed, so I'll excuse your ignorance.

Jose Fernandez dying at age 21, just doing what poor people do when they come into some money, and are in the spotlight of Miami. Also, arguably one of the players at his position. When he rode off into the sunset.

Somehow Tom Brady knocking up an actress on the way to banging his super model future wife and losing a few super bowls out of 9 (****ing 9!!!) doesn't seem all that much of a tragedy.

Mike Trout

Christian McCaffrey

Surprised Aaron Hernandez gets no mention here.

For Lebron, I think posters are forgetting how much people turned against him after The Decision. Bill Simmons said he would never forgive him. Some people described the scene in Cleveland upon his return as a klan rally, and still the consensus was that it was deserved. And then he choked big time in the 2011 finals. Dude could have gone sideways after that, but has been pretty awesome and clutch since.

What a joke. As much or more tragedy than a regular person- paraphrasing but good God man. You think some of these things are personal tragedy? These dudes have been blessed in a lot of ways, doesn't necessarily mean life has been perfect for them but a lot of the guys you listed hardly have had tragedy related to sports.

Isaiah Thomas losing his sister in a car accident at 22 years old in the middle of his greatest year of professional achievement? Tragedy.

Tom Brady choosing to have unprotected sex with his sexy as hell actress girlfriend? Certainly not a tragedy and that kid will live a life of riches - certainly not a tragedy

I've always thought Seles was going to be utterly dominant before that psychopathic loser succeeded in ruining her career. I took an irrational dislike to Graf after that, despite obviously not being to blame in any way.

Magic Johnson - got HIV and had to retire when he was like 32 years old.

Sales- superstar tennis player got stabbed on the tennis court during a match.

Aaron Hernandez - star NFL player gets arrested for murder.

Dale Earnhart - died on the race track.

Washington Redskins safety(taylor?) - killed when someone invaded his home to rob.

Michael Jordan- maybe got banned and father murdered bc of gambling, not sure.

RIP Steve Prefontaine

drove drunk (according to wiki) in his prime and died of traumatic asphyxiation

Aaron Hernandez axing someone is not a tragedy.

1)the consensus was wrong and idiotic
2)fans being pissed at you isn't some tragedy

Yes he had a bad 2011 finals. Having a bad series also not tragic.
King of funny how banging models and growing up without a dad get mentioned over young players dying, often in their prime.

it is for the guy he axed

not for him at least

I didn't realize Odin Lloyd was a great athlete.