The Kardashians might just be the most hated family in all of America. They represent everything that’s wrong with the country: excess, vanity, greed, vapidity, and being famous for doing nothing (or, in Kim’s case, being famous for doing someone). For these reasons, people love to hate them. Mocking the Kardashians has become a sort of American institution and everyone likes to get in on the fun, including major celebrities like Jon Hamm, Joan Rivers, Reese Witherspoon, Daniel Craig, Joel McHale, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jonah Hill, Jeremy Renner, and so many others (but you can read about that here).
Many athletes have been known to bash the Kardashian clan, as well. And it’s no surprise, since Kim and her large-bottomed sisters seem to have dated half the athletes in all of professional sports (you could fill a lineup in just about any league with former Kardashian flings).
But dating a Kardashian apparently isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. In fact, some believe that it can actually be a curse on an athlete, one that’s worse even than the Madden curse, since many of the men who have dated a member of the Kardashian family have wound up having bad seasons or bad careers (some say Khloe even managed to sabotage an entire team’s season). And Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett recently joked on NFL GameDay that the only thing that could tarnish Peyton Manning’s legacy would be if he were to date a Kardashian.
With all this negativity toward the Kardashians, it’s no wonder that these 15 athletes expressed their hate for America’s royal family.
15 15. Jordan Spieth
To say that Jordan Spieth, one of the greatest young golfers in the world at the moment, hates the Kardashians might be a bit of an exaggeration. Even better than hate, though, Spieth once said that he didn’t even know who the Kardashians were. Sports Illustrated reported that a few years back Caitlyn Jenner once tried to set her daughter, Kendall, up with Spieth, but the golfer had no idea who she was (and that’s exactly how it should be).
14 14. Scottie Pippen
Okay, so maybe Scottie Pippen doesn’t hate the Kardashians—and there’s evidence to suggest just the opposite—but at least for one night he wasn’t too happy with a member of the Kardashian family. Pippen was caught on camera trying to make a move on Kourtney, but she shut him down, basically leaving him on the side of the street in a cloud of embarrassment surrounded by the paparazzi. This just goes to further prove that Pippen works better as a wingman than he does on his own.
13 13. Danica Patrick
Famous auto racing driver Danica Patrick joined a long list of people who publicly bashed the Kardashian clan and what they stand for. She didn’t come straight out and say it, but she certainly implied her distaste for the reality show stars, when, in an interview with ESPN, she said that “there are famous people out there who put it all out there and leave nothing to the imagination and leave no mystery whatsoever with so much documentation of their daily lives.” It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out whom exactly she was talking about.
12 12. The Entire Houston Rockets Organization
After a stellar 2014-2015 season, wherein they went 56-26 behind the leadership of MVP candidate James Harden, it seemed as though the Houston Rockets were destined to be contenders once again this season. But that hasn’t been the case, as they are a disappointing 16-17 as they near the halfway mark of the season. This has led many fans to speculate that the poor performance of the team has to do with the fact that James Harden is dating Khloe Kardashian, as they see her as a distraction. Although his points per game are up this season, Harden hasn’t been able to recapture the success of 2014-2015. The kurse of the Kardashians is real.
11 11. The Entire New Jersey Nets Organization From 2010 To 2011
Imagine being a member of the 2010-2011 New Jersey Nets when Kris Humphries was caught up in the middle of that whole fake wedding thing. That had to have been a pretty big distraction for his teammates. The Nets went on to have a terrible season that year, finishing 24-58, good for 12th overall in the Eastern Conference. Oddly enough, it was one of Kris Humphries’s best seasons, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the Kardashian curse.
10 10. Lamar Odom
While he might not hate them anymore, and he certainly didn’t always hate them, it’s fair to say that there was a time when Lamar Odom, former NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner, did not get along with the Kardashians. After a highly publicized split from Khloe Kardashian (as if there could be any other kind of split when you’re married to a Kardashian), Odom had to sit and watch as his wife was reported to be dating a number of famous men, including French Montana and fellow basketball player James Harden.
9 9. Reggie Bush
NFL running back Reggie Bush dated Kim Kardashian before it was popular for athletes to date Kim Kardashian (I guess that makes him something of a trailblazer). Their relationship spanned from somewhere between 2007 and 2010, which is pretty incredible when you consider how long her relationships usually last. Now, Bush has never explicitly expressed hatred toward Kim and her family, but you’ve got to think that there must be some resentment there, especially considering the fact that his career hasn’t exactly turned out the way he had hoped. Despite a couple good seasons in the NFL, Bush, like Kris Humphries, is likely destined to be known as one of the many guys who dated Kim Kardashian.
8 8. Metta World Peace
Some people keep their hatred of the Kardashians a secret, or they simply hint at it, but not Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest), former teammate of Lamar Odom. After Odom was hospitalized for a drug overdose, Peace blasted the family and held them at least partially responsible for the downward spiral of Odom, saying, “I was a little bitter towards the Kardasdians. I was bitter towards every single one of his friends in LA without knowing the situation, because there were reports that my buddy isn’t going to make it,”
7 7. Miles Austin
Miles Austin, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and 2015 Philadelphia Eagles benchwarmer, is one of the many athletes to follow in the suit of Reggie Bush and date Kim Kardashian. If Austin doesn’t hate the Kardashians then he should, because after he dated Kim in 2010 his career quickly went downhill. He went from 1,320 receiving yards in 2009 and 1,041 yards in 2010 to 579 yards in 2011, and he hasn’t been the same since, leading some to believe that his career was cursed after dating Kim.
6 6. Rashad McCants
Kim’s not the only Kardashian with a long track record of dating athletes. Khloe’s also dated her fair share of basketball players, including Rashad McCants. Don’t know who Rashad McCants is? That’s okay, only true basketball fans know him, since he wasn’t exactly an All Star during his short-lived career. After breaking up with Khloe, McCants claimed that their relationship was staged for Khloe’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality spinoff, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami. On an episode of the show, Khloe claims that McCants cheated on her, but he insists that she had made the whole thing up.
5 5. Lolo Jones
Lolo Jones is an American track and field superstar, having represented her country at several international events, including both the summer and winter Olympics. After being criticized by her fellow American athletes because of all the attention that she was receiving from the media, Jones took a jab at the Kardashians by saying that if she really wanted all the attention, she would have made an 'adult' tape like Kim. To be honest, though, taking a shot at Kim Kardashian might not be the best tactic to take when you’re trying not to attract attention from the media.
4 4. Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin was one of the greatest success stories of 2012. Against all odds, Lin, an undrafted basketball player out of Harvard University, had a breakout season with the New York Knicks, going on an impressive streak that caught the attention of the public and led to the nickname “Linsanity.” But perhaps Lin’s greatest accomplishment was when he shut down rumors that he had gone on a date with Kim Kardashian. After an ESPN reporter asked him about the rumors, he responded by saying, “I’m not that type of guy.” You can infer for yourself what he meant by “that type of guy.”
3 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He’s also a very smart man, having written best-selling books and contributed articles to magazines like TIME. So when he says something, you should listen, like when he criticized Kanye West, who married into the Kardashian family in 2014. In an article for TIME, Abdul-Jabbar called out West’s behavior at the Grammys, wherein the rapper said that Beck should “respect artistry” and give his award for best album of the year to Beyoncé. The basketball legend called West’s comments “misguided” and said that they did “a disservice to the very real struggle for racial equality.” He’s not the first prominent figure to criticize West. Back in 2012, President Barack Obama called the future Mr. Kardashian a jackass.
2 2. Ronda Rousey
If there’s one female athlete that you don’t want to have on your bad side, it’s UFC fighter Ronda Rousey (come to think of it, maybe Holly Holm’s the one female athlete you don’t want on your bad side). Rousey doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to her feelings about the Kardashian family, especially the top dog, Kim. She called the reality star, who became famous because of an 'adult' tape with singer Ray J, a glorified adult star and said that she would beat the crap out of her. In particular, Rousey takes umbrage with the fact that Kim K. didn’t have to work for her fame and fortune. And you can certainly see why Rousey would feel that way since she had to fight her way up from poverty to be where she is today.
1 1. Kris Humphries
This one should go without saying. After all, Kris Humphries, current member of the Washington Wizards, was married (if you can even call it that) to Kim Kardashian for a little over two months. Humphries has suggested that his marriage with Kardashian was nothing more than a fraud and a publicity stunt aimed at gaining viewers, and, because of this, he filed for an annulment rather than a divorce. Since parting ways with Kardashian in 2011, Humphries has tried to put the whole thing behind him, but it’s unlikely that he will ever be able to step outside the shadow of his time on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. He will likely go down in history as “that guy who married Kim Kardashian.” Averaging less than 7 points per game won’t help either.