If you hate Top 10 lists your preaching to the choir, but if your reading this then the topic of this list caught your eye (sucker). While I’ve written my fair share of these things I’ve grown to resent them generally, but every once in a while my editor proposes an idea that even I can run with. The Top 10 most polarizing figures in Sports! That’s something I can read about! Hopefully that’s what you said when you came across this column. We’ve got a stellar list of goof’s, goons and straight up a-holes. Is everyone on our list a jerk or bastard? Yes and no, it really depends on your point of view. As always what we’re looking to do is get a good conversation started and maybe a knife fight. Enjoy.

Here are the first five most polarizing figures in Sports in no particular order.

George W Bush (Former Owner: Texas Rangers)

I know what you’re thinking, what did George W. Bush do to sports? Well if you were an Arlington Texas business owner, then you would know. Yes it’s true that Bush would make a general top 10 list for being a polarizing figure, it actually took a bit of reading for the sports angle.  You see, it all started back when W was getting set to run for the Governor seat in Texas.

It was decided by his newfound friend and lackey Karl Rove that owning a pro team like the Texas Rangers would be good for his resume, which at the time wasn’t too impressive. Looking back it seems like the stars were aligned for Bush to own the team, the previous owner was a family friend that really wanted to sell to Bush, and the league commissioner was a Bush Sr. supporter who wanted George W.  to have the team as well.

So after gathering a group of investors the deal to buy the team was approved, and Bush owned about 1.8% of the team. Here’s where it get’s suspect. Bush claims to have no recollection of a lot of these events but they did happen. The local taxpayers were talked into footing the bill for new stadium based on the promise that the owners would put up some 50 million. The only problem is the owners raised the 50 mill by raising ticket prices, therefore offsetting their financial obligations.

That would be bad enough but it gets worse. In an effort to maximize the profitability of the team and the new ballpark, the ownership group began buying out the local businesses that surrounded the ballpark because they wanted to improve the land (meaning that they wanted to put in more parking lots). The owners went as far as to create a dummy corp. called the Arlington Sports Facilities Development Authority to go about capturing the land they wanted. These jerks would come in and try and offer you way less than your land was worth, and if you didn’t agree they would take you apart in court.  The victims of these less than sterling practices finally had their day in court getting about 11 million but not until new owners finally addressed their issue. The Bush ownership group failed to pay the court awarded money’s all together.