Some of the world’s biggest athletes have fans from every corner of the globe because people admire their skills. While some never get involved in controversies, others eventually get in trouble. Some athletes quickly recover from everything, but there are people who have problems even today.
Speaking of athletes and controversies, www.centralproam.com has prepared an interesting article about some famous people’s criminal/court records. Some cases are very serious, and people will never forget about them, whereas others have been long forgotten. Yet, it’s interesting to go through both, so let’s dive in.
O.J. Simpson
We start with one of the most famous cases in sports: O.J. Simpson’s criminal proceeding. Known as The Juice, Simpson was an American football player who was famous for a lot of things. Besides his sports and acting career, he became popular because of the criminal case related to the murder of Nicole Simpson (his ex-wife) and Ron Goldman.
- This case took place in 1991, and it was extremely popular not only in the US but all over the world. Following a long legal battle, the court eventually found Simpson not guilty, but the jury in the civil trial thought he was responsible for what happened. Consequently, O.J. Simpson had to pay around $33.5M. Keep in mind that these events happened in 1997, so if we take into account inflation, this amount is probably over $100M at this point.
- It is safe to say this is among the most controversial criminal cases related to an athlete. What’s interesting is that was not the only time when O.J. Simpson got in trouble with the law. The police arrested him in 2007 in Vegas and charged him with kidnapping and armed robbery. Unlike the last time, however, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 33 years in prison, and he had to wait 9 years to get paroled.
Sadly, O.J. Simpson died in 2024 when he was 76 years of age.
Mike Tyson
There are several sports athletes that will be remembered forever, and no one can deny that Mike Tyson will be one of them. One of the most iconic boxers in the world continues to be very active even today. Although he hasn’t fought in a while, Tyson will actually take part in an upcoming fight. The Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson boxing match will be broadcasted on Netflix and it is supposed to be among the biggest sports events of 2024.
Besides his upcoming boxing match, however, Mike Tyson is famous for a lot of controversies. He has been accused of physical violence in 1998 and charged with sexual assault in 1991. These are just two of the many lawsuits he has had to deal with over the years, so it’s safe to say that Tyson is an interesting person.
Another memorable case was when Tyson was caught in possession of narcotics and DUI. After that case, the boxer got 24 hours in jail, 3 years probation, and 360 hours of community service.
Shoki Kasahara
Although he may not be as famous as Tyson, Shoki Kasahara had many fans during his baseball career. He played for the Yomiuri Giants, a team in Japan’s professional baseball league.
Unfortunately, Kasahara is one of the many players who is more famous for his criminal records than for his performance on the pitch. According to the information, he was involved in different gambling scandals. In fact, he personally wagered more than 4.5M YEN on baseball and even helped run a gambling ring.
Following the discoveries, a criminal procedure was initiated against him that ended in 2016. Kasahara received a 14-month sentence and was suspended from baseball for 4 years because of his gambling-related charges.
Aaron Hernandez
The NFL is home to many world-class footballers, including Aaron Hernandez. Although he was a promising player with the New England Patriots, his career was short-lived.
Hernandez has had his fair share of controversies over the years, but the tip of the iceberg was in 2013. Following the death of Odin Lloyd, the police decided to search Hernandez’s home because they believed he was involved in the murder.
Despite the fact that he assured Patriots’ coach and owner that he had nothing to do with the accident, in June of 2013, the police charged him with first-degree murder. Two months later, Hernandez was found guilty and received life in prison without the possibility of parole.
What’s interesting in this murder case is that the motive behind it was never revealed. The player was released from his NFL club as soon as he was charged with first-degree murder.
Tiger Woods
When most people hear about golf, they associate this sport with people like Tiger Woods. He is among the most popular professional athletes, but he has also been involved in several significant controversies over the years.
- One of the things that some people will remember about Tiger Woods is when he was driving under the influence of different substances. According to the report, Woods was arrested because there were 5 different drugs in his system. The player said that this was caused by painkillers that he needed because of the pain he had in his back.
- Although his lawyer wanted Woods to plead not guilty, the golfer decided to do the opposite. According to the deal, Woods will spend one year on probation. Moreover, he had to pay a small fine (alongside the court costs), and do 50 hours of community service. Woods also got to participate in a diversion program that allowed him to have a clean record after completing it.
Boris Becker
Everyone knows that tennis is not one of the sports that people associate with controversies. Nevertheless, there have been several notable cases over the years of professional tennis players who got in trouble with the law. Boris Becker has to be among the most popular ones.
Boris Backer is famous for a lot of things, one of which is his tax evasion conviction. The events took place in 2002, but they involved Becker’s activity as a professional tennis player in 1996. The prosecutors accused him of tax evasion because they believed he lied about living in Monaco when, in reality, he spent more time in Munich.
- After it became clear Becker couldn’t win this case, he admitted to living in Munich between 1991 and 1993. There were some attempts by Becker’s lawyer to prove that the tennis player paid more than he owed, but the prosecutors wanted the court to sentence him to 3 years and 6 months in prison.
- Lucky for him, the judge decided to give him 2 years’ probation, and he had to pay $500,000 in fines.?
- Besides the tax evasion, Becker was once again involved in a legal battle, but this time, he was charged with illegally failing to hand over certain assets to repay debt caused by his bankruptcy. This case occurred in London, and he was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- The tennis star was released from prison 8 months after that, and the UK deported him to Germany.
Jos Verstappen
F1 fans know the name Verstappen because Max Verstappen is among the best pilots in the world right now. What some may not know is that his father, Jos Verstappen, was also an F1 pilot. His career was definitely not as impressive as his son’s, but the F1 pilot will go down in history for his criminal record.
- The first time he got in trouble was in 1998. It seems like he and his father were involved in an assault at a karting track. After the assault, a man had a fractured skill, which led to Jos Verstappen receiving a 5-year suspended jail sentence. What’s interesting is that he got that after a settlement that took place outside of the court.
- Jos’s second clash with the law happened 10 years later, in 2008. He went to court in Belgium after Sophie Kumpen, his ex-wife, accused him of assault. He was not found guilty of it, but he was found guilty of threatening her over texts and not following a restraining order. This resulted in a 3 months probational sentence.
Aside from that, Jos Verstappen was involved in several other accidents over the years. Perhaps the most serious one is from 2012 when the police arrested him because they thought he tried to kill his ex-girlfriend with his car. There were also accusations that he attacked his own father, but the latter withdrew the complaint.
Conclusion
As we have seen, even some of the world’s wealthiest and most famous people have been in trouble with the law. Some have done much worse than others, which explains why they ended up in prison.
Unfortunately, not everyone can handle having so much fame and money. Some people get caught up and think they can do everything, but this is not the case. Unfortunately, a lot of them find themselves in situations where there is no way back.
