1. Bill Gramatica gramatica
When your primary claim to fame as a professional athlete is the way in which you got yourself a major injury, you’re pretty much a lock to top a list like this. Such is the case with former Arizona Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica, who on December 15, 2001, kicked a 42-yard field goal in the first half of a game against the New York Giants.
So thrilled with this achievement was Gramatica that he started spontaneously jumping up and down with glee, and soon tore his ACL in the process. The entire affair played out like a Monty Python skit, with bewildered and bemused football fans watching on at home wondering exactly what the heck this tiny half-pint kicker was doing. Without a doubt, this is THE stupidest sporting injury of all time, bar none.
There are literally dozens and dozens of worthy candidates that could have been included on this list, from Padres pitcher Adam Eaton accidentally stabbing himself while trying to open a DVD, to Jaguars kicker Chris Hanson slicing open his leg with an axe that was being used as a locker-room motivational tool, to Spanish goalkeeper Santiago Canizares missing two World Cup games after dropping a bottle of aftershave on his foot and cutting a tendon. Which silly injury is your favorite? Log in and share your opinions with us now!
2. Gus Frerotte gus-frerotte
In 1997, Frerotte was the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins and coming off a Pro Bowl season. Washington was 6-5 coming into their Sunday Night game against the New York Giants on November 23, and Frerotte scored the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard dash in the second quarter. So how did he celebrate? By smashing his head against a cushioned cement wall near the rear of the end zone. He departed the game after the self-inflicted injury and was replaced by backup Jeff Hostetler. The game finished in a 7-7 stalemate, and depending upon who you ask, Frerotte either sustained a concussion or a strained neck as a consequence of the event. I don’t recall for sure, and I’m quite convinced ol’ Gus doesn’t either.
3. Joel Zumaya
joel-zumaya
As a rookie in 2006, Detroit Tigers pitcher Zumaya lit the league on fire with the incredible and consistent velocity of his fastball. However, he would miss three games during the American League Championship Series due to inflammation in his pitching arm. Makes reasonable, given how hard he throws, right? True, however that’s not why he got harmed. No, the true cause for the injury, it was subsequently determined, was an overdose of the Guitar Hero video game. While the club instructed Zumaya to stop and he was OK for the World Series, the reality is that this genius placed his team’s postseason triumph at jeopardy so he could sneak in a little more PlayStation time. Then again, who’s to say we wouldn’t have done the same thing? After all, Guitar Hero is a really kick-ass game.
4. Tony Allen
Basketball players want to show off. We all know that. But somebody, somewhere needed to tell Boston Celtics guard Allen that there’s a time and a place for everything. In January 2007, Allen was on the court playing in the dying minutes of a huge Boston defeat to the Indiana Pacers. The referee sounded the whistle, and Allen ran to the rim to slam down an incredible dunk. Of course, as he landed after his meaningless basket, he came down awkwardly and ended up ripping out both the ACL and MCL in his knee. Whoops. Fortunately for him, it didn’t wind up being a career ending injury, as Allen did see action for the Celtics in 2007-08 — which officially makes it right for all of us to point and laugh at the shear folly of his futile show of machismo.