About this time last year, I looked at the “Idiot Of The Year” list from the moronic, liberal rag of a website called Deadspin. It was honestly the most fun I’ve had writing because I got to pick apart a bunch of moron writers with a glowing political bias. Well, the site is back in 2022 with their updated “Idiot Of The Year List” and I’m here to analyze and dispute it.
Notes From 50-11
Look, as much as I wish everyone at Deadspin would be fired and the site would wither away, they’re not completely wrong about everyone on this list. Some of them they’re way off on though. Actually, most of them, but they do have their moments of clarity.
48. New York Jets Quarterback Zach Wilson
This is one I don’t agree with because there’s no good reason for Wilson to be on here. Their main reason was that he said a loss wasn’t his fault, which clearly was after he went 9-22. Yeah, that’s kind of stupid, but I don’t constitute this as an “Idiot Of The Year” candidate. They also added “And the pouting! Oh, the pouting. He’s mostly here because of the pouting.” What? I’ve seen little to no pictures or moments of Wilson pouting this season even after being benched.
46. New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick
Belichick is only on here because he has Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in prominent positions on his staff. That and because he went to a Super Bowl watch party at Trump’s golf resort Mar-A-Lago. If you have any hint of republican thought in your brain, Deadspin HATES YOU.
45. Golden State Warriors Forward Andrew Wiggins
As we delve further into this list, you are going to see more and more anti-vaxxers. During Covid-19, being against the vaccine made you a Republican instead of a free thinking American. This doesn’t seem like a hot take, but if a physically fit 27 year old got a disease that killed less than 1% of the U.S. population and he’s not vaccinated, he’s not going to die. Or, he may not even show symptoms. We’re going to get repetitive soon with all the anti-vaxxers on the list.
44. Business Analyst Darren Rovell
Maybe Deadspin’s not that bad. I’d venture to say that 99.9% of people who are aware of Darren Rovell will say that he sucks. Everyone knows what the “I have black friends” card is insinuating, and Rovell pulled it. He tweeted to his 1.9 million followers “I have one of the largest Martin Luther King Jr. collections in the world and some of my closest friends are Black.” WHAT? I think 44 might be a little low for this loser Darren Rovell.
42. Michigan Football Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
Alright, we’re getting back-to-back good points from Deadspin. This is rare. While Harbaugh has had a great season with the Wolverines going undefeated and making the playoffs, he made one of he most out of pocket things of the year. “I’ve told [pregnant women] the same thing I tell my kids, boys, the girls, same thing I tell our players, our staff members. I encourage them if they have a pregnancy that wasn’t planned, to go through with it, go through with it. Let that unborn child be born, and if at that time, you don’t feel like you can care for it, you don’t have the means or the wherewithal, then Sarah and I will take that baby.” You can’t be serious.
Whether you’re a pro-life MAGA republican or a pro-choice double masking liberal, I think everyone can agree that advising one of your players with a pregnant partner to keep their baby so he can raise it is absurd.
41. ESPN Analyst Emmanuel Acho
Someone pinch me because Deadspin is like Jordan between 1994-1996. They’re repeating with three good points. Emmanuel Acho is a dog shit analyst. His claims that Justin Herbert was a “social media quarterback was disputed by anybody and everybody, but he will never conceive that he’s wrong. In addition, Acho is a grade A race baiter. Not to the level that Jemele Hill is, but it’s notable. Deadspin doesn’t agree with me on that, but I do credit them for putting Acho here.
37. Former Florida Gators Commit Marcus Stokes
Stokes said the N-word on video. Deadspin is 100% right. There isn’t much more to unpack here because using that word as someone who isn’t African American is just unacceptable. Stokes is an idiot.
27. Washington Commanders Defensive Tackle Jonathan Allen
Robert Downey Jr. famously said in Tropic Thunder “You never go full r******.” I have a similar saying; “You should never reference Hitler.” A fun question to ask is “If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?” The question becomes less fun when someone responds with Hitler. That’s what Allen did when having a Q&A session on Twitter. Allen picked his grandfather first which is a nice pick, then Hitler. The Pro Bowl defensive lineman called Hitler a “military genius”. What are you doing? One thing that got lost in this whirlwind of madness was he also picked the pedophile king of pop, Michael Jackson.
23. Former Oklahoma Sooners Offensive Coordinator Cale Gundy
How many times does it need to be said, DO NOT USE THE N-WORD IF YOU ARE WHITE IN ANY CONTEXT. Marcus Stokes checked in at No. 37 for his usage of the word on tape and Cale Gundy earned the No. 23 spot for saying it in a team meeting. What I do find very humorous about Gundy’s situation was his explanation. Gundy got Ron Burgundy-ed. He claims the iPad he was reading from had the word on it. But then he said it multiple times according to Brent Venables. Yikes.
An issue I have with Deadspin is that they use two paragraphs to make good points against Cale Gundy being an idiot. Then they feel the need to add “His brother is Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, so he may not be out of work for too long, but even OAN fanboy Mike would have to think twice.” Why? It’s a Republican news network, but I just assume most college coaches are Republicans. I must have forgot that being a Republican is evil in the eyes of Deadspin and other liberal outlets.
20. Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones
This is a weird one because Jones is a scumbag. He was accused of sexual assault in 2018 and denied fatherhood of a woman who he later paid $375,000, which Deadspin does site. They then also use what I find to be an unremarkable fact as a cudgel against the Cowboys owner. Deadspin brings up a picture of 14 year-old Jones in 1957 at North Little Rock High School where a group of white students are blocking black students in an attempt to segregate the school. This picture would be a bigger issue had Jones been front and center…but he’s not. He’s looking on. Inherently, it’s a bad look, but Jones isn’t doing anything.
18. Tennis Player Novak Djokovic
Now, Novak Djokovic is a truly evil person. He took the heinous stance that he didn’t want to get the Covid-19 vaccine because he’s a 6’2, physically fit athlete that’d survive the disease if he got it: just like Andrew Wiggins. There is no other reason Djokovic is on Deadspins list than his stance on the vaccine.
14. Golfer Phil Mickelson
I’ve got to give Deadspin props here. I personally think Mickelson should be in the top five. He partnered with scumbags from Saudi Arabia and accepted millions of dollars in blood money to golf a few times a year as entertainment for oil tycoons and royalty. Mickelson knew how dangerous they were and Deadspin added the quote from Mickelson that states, “They’re scary motherfuckers to get involved with. We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.” He threw away his reputation for money. What an idiot.
11. Former Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach
Meyer is 100% a doofus and idiot, but it’s for actions that occurred in the past. Even Deadspin acknowledges that. They site Meyer not knowing who Aaron Donald is and the video of him grinding with co-eds at the bar following a loss. That all happened in 2021. Why is he on here and so high in 2022? Oh, it’s because Meyer went to Mar-A-Lago for a Super Bowl watch party. The same one Belichick was at. It’s just braindead to have him this high strictly for that.
Top 10
10. Former Utah Jazz Point Guard John Stockton
Let’s play a game of Guess Why They’re On This List. Did Stockton:
A. Murder his wife and kids.
B. Punch an orphan in the jaw.
C. Have republican views.
If you answered C, you’re today’s big winner. Stockton was a Covid-19 denier and wrote a letter on behalf of one of the January 6th protestors. His refusal to wear a mask at a Gonzaga game got his season tickets suspended. Yeah, Stockton’s an idiot, but in no way should he be above Marcus Stokes, Cale Gundy, or Darren Rovell.
9. Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers
As a Vikings fan, I loath Aaron Rodgers. But I have to defend him here. I think Rodgers can be an asshole sometimes, but he’s on here because he’s an anti-vaxxer. I’ve said it with multiple people on the list prior that this is just grand standing political bullshit and doesn’t warrant being on the “Idiot of the Year” list.
8. Washington Commanders Owner Daniel Snyder
Snyder is a massive prick and it’s baffling that he still owns the Commanders. He’s harbored a toxic work environment where he and others sexually harassed women, has expressed that he has “dirt” on other owners, and dragged his feet in the changing of the Redskins name. I’m very anti cancel culture, but I’d be fine if Snyder was forced to sell the Commanders because it wouldn’t be canceling him. He is a criminal.
7. Rapper Kanye West
There is a shocking amount of anti-semitism on this list. Kanye made idiotic comments about jewish people on more than one occasion this year. He tweeted out “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” Just a disgusting rant. When he was on Alex Jones’ podcast, he praised Hitler and even those comments shocked Jones who had no problem going after the parents of the Sandy Hook victims. As much as I love College Dropout and own a pair of Yeezys, West has made deplorable comments that are indefensible.
6. Fans Of The Cleveland Browns
I can’t even dispute this one because Browns fans have been scumbags. I really wish the Cuyahoga River Fire took out the entire city in the 60s because we could have avoided the fans antics of defending a rapist. Not only did Browns fans defend their rapist quarterback Watson, they essentially shamed the victims. They held signs saying he was innocent and even had displays stating “Happy Endings Are Not Illegal”. A true group of idiots.
5. Former Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver And Rapper Antonio Brown
Is there much to say here? In just this 2022 alone, Brown jerked off on video in the pool at a hotel in Dubai and got physical with a female and then got in a standoff with Tampa police who were trying to arrest him on domestic violence charges. Brown was once a great receiver and could have been one of the ten best pass catchers of all time. Now, he’s a shitty rapper that has a disturbing past filled with domestic abuse and sexual assault.
4. Former CEO Of The WWE Vince McMahon
It’s surprising how long it went before Vince McMahon was out of the WWE. (He’s actually back now which is wild). McMahon was accused by Rita Chatterton of forcing her to perform oral sex, and when she refused, he raped her. He sent three million dollars in hush money to a former employee and has a history of giving wrestlers steroids. I don’t know if I’d call McMahon an idiot as he’s more of a monster and an asshole. Nevertheless, I have no issue with this rapist being on here. I’d probably have him higher.
3. Brooklyn Nets Point Guard Kyrie Irving
More anti-Semitism. Irving has been a whacky conspiracy theorist his whole career, but he went too far in 2022. On October 27, he tweeted out the link to a 2018 film titled Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America. The film features denials of the holocaust, ideas that Jewish people worship Satan, and accusations that Jewish people control the media and controlled the Atlantic slave trade. He tried to create some good will by donating to Jewish charities, but let’s be honest: Irving still has these beliefs. No one can change their bigoted beliefs that quickly.
2. Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre
I can’t lie, Deadspin has kind of done a good job with their top ten. While Favre has allegations of sexual harassment in his past, what really made the idiot alarm go off is the Mississippi Welfare Scandal. It came out on September 13, 2022 that Favre orchestrated the diversion of federal welfare funds to non-welfare related causes. Money that was supposed to go to welfare related programs were being funneled by Favre to the University of Southern Mississippi so they could build a new volleyball facility. This is both Favre’s alma mater and where his daughter plays volleyball. Just a pure idiot and a criminal.
1. Former Dallas Cowboys Running Back Herschel Walker
While I think that Walker is here because he’s a Republican, I can’t really defend him. The former Cowboys running back turned Senate candidate came out strong against abortion. That’s generally a Republican stance to be against abortion, but Walker is a bit of a hypocrite. It was reported by The Daily Beast that in 2009, Walker sent a woman he had sex with money for an abortion. While that’s a hypocritical move, the most psychotic part of it is that he sent the women a get well card. This isn’t necessarily a funny thing, but I did laugh about the idea of a woman receiving a whacky get well card with a check that’ll be used to get an abortion.
Once this story by The Daily Beast was published, more women came out against Walker alleging he did the same thing to them. This move by Walker is essentially the same as Republican politicians like Larry Craig and Ken Mehlman, who were staunchly against gay marriage and then were later outed as gay. It’s the same thing. They tried to pass bills against something that they were actively participating in.
Now, if this were a Democrat politician in a flipped role, Deadspin wouldn’t put the politician on this list. That’s just the way that they work. I agree that Walker should definitely be on here, but none of the politicians that have been questioned regarding insider trading this year that are democrats aren’t on this list.
