We’re talking the most cringe-worthy sports injuries ever. These are bizarre moments that the athletes involved would like us to forget. Too bad we’re not one of those believers in karma. Here are 7 embarrassing sports injuries you’ll never forget (we wouldn’t let that happen).
1. Sammy Sosa
An injury from sneezing? Oh yes. Baseball player Sammy Sosa managed to sprain a lower back ligament and get on the disabled list for a month after two violent sneezes in the clubhouse. The horror, the shame, and the snot of it all. It’s a much less glamorous moment than his race to beat Roger Maris’ home run record.
2. Plaxico Burress
It was just another night out at a New York nightclub for Burress. Well, it was until he shot himself in the leg accidently. That smooth move took the NFL superstar from the field to the prison cell. We can’t make this stuff up
3. Bill Gramatica
A case of too much celebrating? More like celebrating without a sense of balance. Remember when the Cardinals kicker jumped up during a 2010 game against the Giants to celebrate a field goal? He didn’t land right and tore his ACL in the process. Number of kickoffs by Gramatica for the rest of the game? Zippo. Ouch.
4. Dustin Penner
Perhaps Penner just wanted to be the king of the pancakes. The LA Kings player took himself out of the lineup by sitting down incorrectly to eat a plate of homemade pancakes his wife had made him. You’d think that given his big salary he’d have learned how to sit properly.
5. Joel Zumaya
Poor Zumaya. All the Detroit Tigers player wanted to do was play Guitar Hero on his PlayStation. Turns out he played a bit too much and had a sore wrist afterward. He backed out of the 2006 ACLS due to this injury. Hero status? Not so much.
6. Glenn Healy
Did you hear the one about the goalie who cleaned his bagpipes? That was backup goalie Glenn Healy of the New York Rangers. It appears he didn’t clean them right because he cut his hand and required 40 stitches. Was it more embarrassing the way he got this sports injury or that he plays the bagpipes?
7. Gus Frerotte
This headbutt back in 1997 may have made him a butthead, actually. When quarterback Gus Frerotte headbutted the wall of the Kent Cooke Stadium after his touchdown, he suffered a sprained neck and got a concussion. Brutally bizarre.
These are undoubtedly 7 of the most embarrassing sports injuries ever. We know about bad luck, but this is worse than the time you said you were going to get hammered and got hit with a real hammer. It’s hard to one up Sammy Sosa and the other athletes here, but we’re sure it can be done. We look forward to adding more names to this list soon.
