Most egregious crime an athlete or celebrity has been forgiven for?

rhymes with blow-gay shrimp-son

Neither convicted nor forgiven, though.

It was the 85 Bears in the Parlor with The Super Bowl Shuffle.

Who was that (US) football gun nut who killed his chauffeur a few years back? He used to shoot his dogs when he got angry. Sports in general is full of sickening individuals.

that was a basketball player, jayson williams i think?

Sports in general is full of sickening individuals.

nothing like a gross over-generalization to get a thread going!

define "forgiven"

this is kind of a pointless question because in general rich people don't get convicted of egregious crimes

Sorry, I misunderstood the question. I didn't notice the "convicted" part, and replaced the word "forgiven" with "pardoned."

a better question would be "what's the most egregious crime an athlete or celebrity has been convicted of"

I can't even think of a single one that was convicted of murder

nothing like a gross over-generalization to get a thread going!

Maybe I shouldn't have said "full of," and limited it to "popular" sports, but seriously--how many murderers, rapists, dog shooters, steroid abusers, wife beaters, gay bashers, chronic gamblers, etc. have we heard about in the Sports world in recent years? Not to mention that some of them seem to think God is helping them win their fucking games.

I mean we all know OJ and Phil Spector and Robert Blake and Lana Turner and probably a handful of others actually committed murder but convicted? That doesn't happen.

This country is fucking full of disgraced celebs trying to rebuild their image, usually by appearing as a bumbling loveable contestant on one reality TV show or another. That said these are usually Tory politicians convicted of being a bit bent in one way or another.

In the UK, I don't think anything beats the cult of the old-fashioned East End gangster. You can take your pick of them really but Mad Frankie Fraser has done alright from turning himself into a professional former gangster.

most high profile egregious crime conviction I can think of is Mike Tyson... was he "forgiven"? He wasn't drummed out of the industry or anything.

how many murderers, rapists, dog shooters, steroid abusers, wife beaters, gay bashers, chronic gamblers, etc. have we heard about in the Sports world in recent years?

fixed

stencil otm; I doubt the percentage of choads in the sports world is higher than the percentage in the general population.

I know a dude who believes everything the OJ defense team laid down and tries to argue with you about it whenever he sees an opportunity!

Tyson's a good one - he certainly has been treated well for a convicted rapist (who then went nuts).

Rae Carruth - Carolina WR who got nailed for killing his wife/girlfriend and unborn child. Not forgiven, obv.

i live in the same city as OJ and my buds in the service industry tell me he is not welcome at any of their respective establishments (restaurants, bars, etc). UNFORGIVEN.

and those policies are by order of the owners

dood don't you know the glove didn't fit so they had to acquit

Yes, I forgot that steroid abuse can be found at equal rates in all professions.

Sid Vicious

was not convicted of Nancy's murder, if that's what you're thinking of

Barry Bonds

Elan, if you have solid information on OJ being denied access to public businesses, it's clearly your civic duty to pass it on to him, so that he can file a civil suit and then have the proceeds sent along to the Goldman family -- it's simple courtesy.

Steroid abuse may be a crime, but it doesn't seem particularly egregious too me.

But it leads to other crimes--see Chris Benoit thread.

what crimes were committed in the chris benoit thread?

rofl

i think he's referring to the fact that chris benoit wore spandex and also killed his family

James Brown?

waitasec, Bonds kept a mistress AND had a really bad ESPN reality show.

for that reason, he will be the worst athlete in the history of sports.

Elan, if you have solid information on OJ being denied access to public businesses, it's clearly your civic duty to pass it on to him, so that he can file a civil suit and then have the proceeds sent along to the Goldman family -- it's simple courtesy.

1) please & thank you
2) cover mouth when coughing
3) help OJ

3) help OJ help Goldmans and OJ's lawyers

I don't know that anything can help him -- I don't know what the civil result was, but it seems like he could drop dead on the links and Goldman would get his golf shirt. (That's not, like, a complaint.)

xpost
3) pay Rickey

kermit washington? (in the act of the game, anyway)

what the hell is OJ living off of these days, SSI?

don't knock it til u try it

I'm just curious - he is a total social pariah, welcome pretty much nowhere, and has no income due to the civil suit... so who's supporting his kids? where does he live/what does he eat?

Not a celebrity per se (not before the crime, anyway), and not on these shores, but I would say that Issei Sagawa is the most horrid example I can think of.

William S. Burroughs

http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/images/shaq_kazaam.jpg

Roman Polanski

Polanski never "forgiven" really (he still lives and works in France you know). Burroughs was not convicted, and certainly his "celebrity" status at the time of the crime is highly debatable.

erm I guess Burroughs was convicted "in absentia" and then his term was commuted...? not sure how that worked.

http://www.affichescinema.com/insc_g/ghost_dad.jpg

where does he live/what does he eat?

wikipedia is your friend

OJ got thrown out of a restaurant in Louisville last Derby week. The Juice made some noise about suing the owner but I think it has come to pass.

"what the hell is OJ living off of these days, SSI?"

His football pension, I believe.

re: Polanski - there are a TON of '70s rockers and movie stars who could have headlined "To Catch A Predator" - I was actually shocked when I started reading about all the glam rockers and Zeppelin with the 13/14-year old groupies.

Sagawa reminds me of the crime author whose story was the basis of Heavenly Creatures - what was her name?

Do you think that Polanski lives and work in France because he's afraid of persecution or because he's afraid of prosecution?

Elan, if you have solid information on OJ being denied access to public businesses, it's clearly your civic duty to pass it on to him, so that he can file a civil suit and then have the proceeds sent along to the Goldman family -- it's simple courtesy.

-- nabisco, Monday, August 20, 2007 6:41 PM (54 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

he lives in miami, probably because under florida law you cannot seize a person's residence to collect on a debt.

restaurants and bars are private businesses, right? and they can deny service to people for whatever reason they see fit, such as "scaring away all the other customers."

dude was investigated for ecstacy trafficking about five years back, so i imagine his drug income dried up pretty quick. he probably lives off of his multitude of well-wishers.

i had friends who went to school with his daughter, they said it was weird.

OJ coming to pick the kids up at school, in the bronco.

OJ answering the door on Halloween with a knife

milo z., that was Anne Perry, she of the Victorian crime stories.

Polanski never "forgiven" really

"In May 2002, Polanski won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) award at the Cannes Film Festival for The Pianist, for which he also later won the 2002 Academy Award for Directing. He did not attend the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. After the announcement of the "Best Director Award", Polanski received a standing ovation from most of those present in the theater."

or murdering your mother in cold blood and lying about it to you for the rest of your life. weird.

Elan, businesses cannot deny services to people for "any reason they see fit."

You might recall there was much to-do over this point in the 1960s.

OJ lives in Florida because under Florida law his pension is protected from civil lawsuits. He has a very nice pension.

Bonds hasn't been convicted of anything yet so he doesn't qualify.

Mike Tyson has made millions as a felon. So has Don King. Does Don King count as a celebrity? He killed two people, one in self-defense.

don king doesn't count as a celebrity, nobody knows who he is.

(Less sarcastically, I'm saying "social infamy" or "criminal history" -- of which OJ has none, at least in this matter -- don't qualify as valid reasons to refuse service.)

(P.S. IT WAS JUST A JOKE ABOUT THE GOLDMANS GETTING ALL HIS EARNINGS)

(P.P.S. The civil turn-out makes me wary for some reason I can't even name, which has always bugged me! I can think of a million situations in which I'd be happy for anyone who couldn't get a criminal verdict but got a civil one, and then burden of proof with a civil matter is way less and that's the way the law is set up and fair is fair, plus also it was finessing the legal system that got OJ off in the first place, so why not finesse back to get a civil verdict against him -- and yet, and yet, there is something unsettling to me about the idea that you can be entirely and officially acquitted of a crime and yet still be made to pay, not for a lesser or related crime, but for the very crime the state and a jury of your peers have determined that you are not guilty of!)

re:Polanski I thought he raped a girl?

hstencil are you and I the only ones who know who Don King is? Man, I have some stories about that guy.

I'm with you on the civil case thing Nabisco.

Lots of people have heard of Don King - don't know how many could pick him out of a lineup anymore.

Polanski was busted on statutory rape.

Who doesn't know who Don King is?

The answer HAS to be Tyson.

I mean Tyson has to be the answer to the original question.

No, Tyson probably doesn't know who Don King is anymore.

There's a voice in my head that keeps repeating "blow-gay shrimp-son" and laughing maniacally over adn over again.

I don't follow boxing at all but even I know who Don King is. If his hairstyle has changed, I wouldn't be able to pick him out of a lineup though.

i was being sarcastic. the hair is enough to get him picked out of any lineup, anywhere, anytime.

Elan, businesses cannot deny services to people for "any reason they see fit."

You might recall there was much to-do over this point in the 1960s.

-- nabisco, Monday, August 20, 2007 7:57 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

restaurants and bars are private businesses, right? and they can deny service to people for whatever reason they see fit, ie "scaring away all the other customers." they only need to have a good cover-up for their prejudices.

"Statutory rape" is more or less what Polanski plead guilty to ("unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor"), but it does kinda soft-pedal what he was accused of, as pleas do. This was on the "drugging and assaulting a 13-year-old" end of the category, not the "I'm European and didn't realize I couldn't date a teenager" end.

xpost Elan, repeating the exact same thing you just said does not make it any less dumb! It doesn't matter how many people hate you -- if you're not doing anything to disrupt a business, you're entitled to service like anyone else. ("People don't like you" is not a valid disruption here.) Am I gonna have to ship you a copy of Eyes on the Prize, or something?

I read somewhere that Polanski's version of events was that it was a honey trap from the girl's mother, trying to blackmail him. Also that he'd been in a concentration camp in WW2 and couldn't handle the thought of being in prison as a result. Probably a mixture of truth, half-truth and lies I'd say. His adoring public don't really seem bothered, apart from that story about him trying to seduce someone on the way to Sharon Tate's funeral (didn't he sue for that?).

http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/restaurants-right-to-refuse-service.html

I'm not sure if being perceived to be a psychopathic murderer is subject to equal protection laws, but either since OJ wouldn't see a dime of any money he won, he ain't sueing anybody anyway.

I think Polanski is full of shit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6955083.stm

Footballer Lee Hughes released from prison yesterday after serving 3 years of a 6 year sentence for causing death by dangerous (i.e. drunk) driving. I suspect opposing fans (he's signed for Oldham) won't be very forgiving, just a hunch.

ARRGH OMG let's remember the original JOKE, which was that Elan should aid OJ in a JOKE civil suit in order to be courteous to THE GOLDMANS

you would have to find one hell of a scary court that would accept "nobody likes this guy" as a valid reason to refuse service

here is the restaurant's excuse for refusing OJ service: "Patrons accompanied by large groups of non-customers looking to sit in." it's that hard to come up with a reason to refuse service.

i was unclear when i said that restaurants could refuse service for any reason. they can't. but they will always have a good explanation for the courts.

http://z.about.com/d/crime/1/0/e/B/rkelly.jpg

http://www.nndb.com/people/817/000025742/

MICHAEL VICK'S HUMANE SOCIETY LET ANIMALS DIE AS NOBLE GLADIATORS-- GET THIS THROUGH YOUR THICK HEADS

http://www.nndb.com/people/033/000083781/

and wow, Matthew Broderick killed two women in N. Ireland?!

the issei sagawa thing is crazy!! he writes RESTAURANT REVIEWS?

as a food critic i am shocked

Wasn't 2Pac committed of participating in gang rape or something? Doesn't seem to have hurt his reputation that much, though of course him becoming practically a martyr has probably made it easier to forget his past.

In the UK you CAN refuse service for any reason you like. As long as it's not racist/sexist/homophobic (not sure about the last 2 but definitely the 1st one). But obviously if you did want to refuse service for someone you didn't like because you were a big racist you could just make up some other reason.

Leslie Grantham to thread.

Yeah I was just coming on here to mention Leslie Grantham.

Sports stars, or footballers at least, are NEVER forgiven for things like this. Except the case of Jonathan Woodgate for some reason, but then again he was never convicted.

Never forgiven for things like this over here, I mean.

Who was it who beat up Leslie Ash? Don't think the public ever forgave him, even though he wasn't convicted.

Lee Chapman

See also Stan Collymore beating up Ulrika Jonsson.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/Biggerfoot/toptenfeb2306.jpg

what about mark wahlberg

re: 2Pac, yes, as a society we seem rather forgiving of sexual assault by our celebrities

I guess there's Dre and Eazy kicking the shit out of that reporter, what was her name...

Dee Barnes?

That was just Dre.

But guys, Barry Bonds really...