America’s Most Disliked Athletes

Fans give these ten pro athletes the biggest thumbs down, according to recent survey results from Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research. Scores are derived from the total percentage of fans that claim their view of an athlete is “dislike”; “dislike a lot” or “dislike somewhat.” The field is limited to those registering at least 10% awareness with the general public.——

Three days after leading the New York Giants to another Super Bowl title, Eli Manning is one NFL player who’s liked by many Americans—at least non-Patriots fans—at the moment. That’s certainly not the case for an NFC East rival quarterback whose team fell well short of its “Dream Team” goals in the 2011 NFL season.

That would be the Philadelphia Eagles’ Michael Vick, whom Forbes magazine ranked No. 1 on its top 10 list of America’s Most Disliked Athletes. Vick is tied with golfer Tiger Woods in being disliked by 60 percent of sports fans.

To paraphrase the old song, keep away from Ndamukong Suh. (AP Photo)

Vick has plenty of unwelcome company from his NFL brethren. New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress, a former Giant, is No. 3 (56 percent), right ahead of Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (51 percent). Even through he’s currently playing for the Indoor Football League’s Allen Wranglers, we’ll also count unemployed NFL receiver Terrell Owens (eighth, at 45 percent).

While Vick and Burress aren’t a surprise because of their off-field issues, Suh is clearly there for a perceived dirty persona on the field. It didn’t help that his stomping incident against the Green Bay Packers was seen by a national audience on Thanksgiving.

Owens’ diva-like qualities don’t help him, especially when he’s out of the league, likely for good.

The rest of the list is dominated by NBA players, as the Nets’ Kris Humphries (50 percent) the Heat’s LeBron James (48) and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (45) go 5-6-7, right before Owens. Rounding out the top 10 are the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez (44 percent) and NASCAR driver Kurt Busch (42).