Image via Complex Original
The leaked celebrity nude photo phenomenon is nothing new. Over the years there have been a number of athletes — both male and female — who have had nude photos of themselves leak out online. Some had their photos released without their consent by ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends, while others were exposed by groupies. Either way, it's rarely a good thing for an athlete when he or she is making headlines as a result of a NSFW photo.
Most recently, nude photos of Tigers ace pitcher Justin Verlander and U.S. Soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo popped up on the 'net as part of a massive leak that sprung on Reddit earlier this week that also featured nude photos of celebrities Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, among others. It's an unfortunate situation all around for the celebs involved, but we couldn't help but remember all the athletes—big and small—who have fallen victim to the unsolicited release of naked pictures. From Brett Favre to Metta World Peace to Paul George, here's A Recent History of Athletes' Nude Photos Leaking.
Laure Manaudou
Year: 2008
The three-time Olympic gold medalist got caught up in a scandal back in the mid 2000s. The swimmer broke up with her country France and her coach in 2006 to train and be with her boyfriend Luca Marin in Italy. "Between Italy and France," she said in an announcement, "I have chosen Luca Marin, the love of my life. I want to live with him and have a baby."
It didn't exactly work out like that, though. Manaudou eventually got kicked off the French team and split with Marin in a very public way during the European championships in 2007. The two got caught fighting in front of their teammates and the media one day and she dramatically threw her engagement ring into the pool. And then, nude photos of her leaked a short time later. Marin denied taking part in the photos leaking, but he clearly wasn't worth breaking up with an entire country for.
Santonio Holmes
Year: 2008
The Bears wide receiver probably isn't one of the first people that comes to mind when you think about these types of leaks, but a nude image of him in the shower was once discovered on xesalley.com, a site that's sort of like visual sex talk for the ladies. What's not known is how exactly the photo got on the site, but it caused quite a stir when it was first unearthed.
Brady Sizemore
Year: 2009
Sizemore's girlfriend Brittany Binger had her computer hacked, which led to a number of scandalous photos of the Phillies outfielder hitting the Web. The good news was that Sizemore was not fully nude in the shots. The bad news? In one shot in particular, Sizemore was seen covering his groin with nothing more than a coffee cup. So the pictures were still pretty embarrassing for Sizemore, even though he wasn't completely naked in any of them.
Brett Favre
Year: 2010
At the end of his NFL career, the legendary quarterback got caught up in what probably was one of the most embarrassing situations of his life. In 2010, he was investigated by the NFL for allegedly sextingNSFW photos to television personality JennSterger. Favre was fined $50,000 for not cooperating with the investigation and his legacy took a pretty sizable hit.
Brandon Spikes
Year: 2010
While using the Chatroulette online chat service a few years ago, the Bills linebacker decided to broadcast video of himself receiving oral sex. That turned out to be a very poor decision as someone grabbed screenshots of the video and put them out into the world. "It's an embarrassing situation for Brandon," his agent said later. "It certainly didn't reflect the kind of person that he is."
Martellus Bennett
Year: 2010
You never want to see your name and the word "NEKKID" in a Media Takeout headline, but that's what the Bears tight end saw one day when his then-girlfriend leaked nude photos of him after she found out that he was allegedly cheating on her.
Greg Oden
Year: 2010
The former NBA player's leaked photos came out at a time when he was also dealing with the death of his cousin and the death of his blind dog that fell out of a window. It obviously wasn't one of the better years of his life.
Evan Longoria
Year: 2010
Sending unsolicited nude photos is rarely a good approach to trying to pick up women. Yet that's exactly what the Rays third baseman allegedly did when he sent a woman named "Jenna"—a Barstool Sports writer—nude photos through email along with the caption, "Like that babe?" She apparently didn't and put together a post called "Hey Evan Longoria, Stop Sending Me Pictures of Your…" We'll let you finish the rest.
Metta World Peace
Year: 2011
Back when he was still with the Lakers, World Peace exchanged a series of text messages with a woman that he met on Twitter. Their exchange was innocent enough at the beginning but, at some point, he decided to send her an unsolicited photo of his penis. It ended up in a story that the woman put together for Deadspin a short time later.
Andrew Zollner
Year: 2013
You'll have to do some digging to find most athletes' nudes on Google if you only type their names into the search box. Not the case when you type in "Andrew Zollner," as news about his nude photos is just about the only thing you'll find on the first page of search results. He's a champion pole vaulter, but he's best known for his nude photos that leaked out last year.
Mark Sanchez
Year: 2013
Fortunately, Sanchez wasn't fully exposed in the Vines that one of his female friends put up on the Internet at the beginning of last summer. But he did show off his backside on one of the short clips and didn't seem to be on-board with the idea of the videos of him dancing making their way onto the Internet. There there were, though, for the entire world to see.
Marcus Jordan
Year: 2013
Last year, Michael Jordan's son tweeted out a photo of his penis on Twitter. He later tried to say that he had been hacked, but the photo that was sent out continues to be associated with him. And because he's been involved with more than a few Twitter scandals in the past, people didn't give him the benefit of the doubt when he threw out an excuse for why he had tweeted out the photo in the first place.
Geno Smith
Year: 2014
At the tail end of the 2013-14 NFL season, Smith experienced a "Welcome to the NFL!" moment when a girl went on the site Baller Alert and revealed that she had had a sexual relationship with him, despite the fact that he had a girlfriend. She also put out several photos of Smith, including one that allegedly featured him showing her his penis during a FaceTime chat. Certainly a tough way for him to end his rookie campaign with the Jets.
Davone Bess
Year: 2014
The former Browns wide receiver experienced a series of mishaps earlier this year. The first came when he posted a photo of weed on Twitter. The next came when he got arrested the following day for allegedly assaulting a police officer. The final one came when he posted another controversial shot to Twitter— his bare backside. The third strike was clearly a sign that he needed some kind of help.
Paul George
Year: 2014
In the midst of a breakout season this year, PG endured a scandal involving nude photos. Initial reports said that George had been catfished by a gay man named "Paul" who received naked shots of the Pacers star and posted them online. But later, George himself said that he knew the female who had leaked the photos and claimed that she had made up the story about the alleged catfishing. Either way, it wasn't a great look for him.
Hope Solo
Year: 2014
As of right now, the soccer star hasn't responded to the nude photos that hit the internet as part of the large Reddit leak that took place in August 2014, but several of the photos included in the leak appear to be of Solo. The nude photos coupled with the recent domestic violence charges made against her have hurt the reputation of one of the best female players in U.S. soccer history.
Justin Verlander
Year: 2014
Several of the photos that were leaked on Reddit recently featured Kate Upton, but one in particular also included what appeared to be the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and her long-time boyfriend Verlander taking a naked selfie. Only Verlander's backside can be seen in the shot, but we're guessing that, if it's real, it's not a shot he wanted people to see.