Image via Complex Original
Badass or jackass? Like beauty, the distinction is often in the eye of the beholder. One man's "Hey lookee, he's doin' the River Dance! Badass!" is another's "How dare he besmirch the virtue of the National Football League! What a jackass!" As you can imagine, the Miami Dolphins' new wideout Chad "The Artist Formerly Known as Ochocinco" Johnson is just such a player.
He's got seven 1,000 yard receiving seasons, he's also got one 276-yard one (catching balls from Tom Brady no less). He's one of the few athletes to truly get Twitter and he's started his own news network (of sorts); he's also tried to make a Basketball Wife a housewife. In short, he's had his share of moments that scream "Badass!" and his share of moments that scream "Jackass!"
With HBO's Hard Knocks set to debut tonight and chronicle Johnson and co. at Dolphins training camp, we're taking a look at the controversial wide receiver's career, and submitting him to our thoroughly subjective, highly unscientific study of Badassdom vs. Jackassery. Chad Johnson, this is your life. Are you a badass or a jackass?
Jackass: Failed Partnership with T.O.
Two's better than one right? Well at least that was the idea when Chad rallied for the Bengals to sign his friend and almost equally polarizing Terrell Owens for the 2010 season. They listened to their star but the results indicate that Ocho should stick to soccer or dancing or tweeting or even porn rather than make football personnel decisions. The team went 4-12 and T.O. outperformed him on the field, leading the Bengals to clean house that offseason. You can't be Batman and Robin and let the Joker (Roethlisberger) and his homies stomp you out and take over the city.
Badass: "The List"
Back in '05 Chad was a young monster receiver with the bravado of a Deion Sanders, so he decided he'd do the analysts' job for them and create a list of all of the defensive backs he played and whether they could cover him or not. The list officially named "Who Covered 85 in '05" had a who's who of corners he destroyed en route to one of his best seasons ever, and he made sure to let the world know. It's one thing to be great on the field, it's another altogether to do that and openly point out who you killed after every game.
Jackass: Disappearing in New England
After an up and down run in Cincinnati, Chad was ready to make a change and wanted to play for a contender. Enter the ideal situation with the New England Patriots. What did Chad do with that ideal situation? Fifteen catches for 276 yards and one TD. If Ocho was ever going to defeat the "you're not a winner" claims, last season was his time to do it. Yes, there was a lockout and he had less time to learn the playbook, but Chad is an above average receiver who finally got a shot on a really good team and he straight up dropped the ball. They even beasted without him and made it to the Super Bowl. What did he do after Gronk got hurt? One catch in the big dance for 21 yards. Don't wonder why he's on the Dolphins now.
Badass: Taking on Skip Bayless
LeBron's not the only guy Skip Bayless loves to hate on; Ocho had been the target of some Skip rants for a while until he decided to have a face to face debate on First Take back in '09. Their often scrutinized relationship soured after Bayless' countless jabs that Chad was more about himself than his team at the time, the Cincinnati Bengals. Johnson however, didn't take too kindly to that and hit Skip with some legit facts and knowledge to combat those claims. Way to not make an ass of yourself and play the whole "Nobody cares about what you say" card Chad. Always wins when it comes to Skip.
Jackass: Dancing With The Stars
At first glance this may not be a huge jackass moment; after all Emmit Smith did it, so did Jerry Rice, Jason Taylor, and Hines Ward. What's so wrong with that? Chad's dancing ability and weird ass interactions with his partner make this oh so horrible. Yes, he made it to the final four, but for his football predecessors that should be considered somewhat of a failure. Plus the one-way sexual tension coming from Chad led to an extremely awkward pairing that rivals Chief Keef and Childish Gambino's interview session a few weeks back. Sorry Chad this was a fail.
Badass: Connecting with Fans Via Twitter
Twitter and other social media outlets have completely changed the way fans are able to interact with their favorite athletes and celebrities. If there were ever a person to look at to show you how to really do it right, it'd be Chad Johnson. Ocho retweets and tweets back to many of his 3.5 million + followers, sets up events for him to hangout with his fans on his own dime, has numerous contests, plays them on Xbox Live, and has developed an increasingly popular site for OCNN. Chad makes it a point to really give back and show his appreciation for the love he receives in an often hilarious manner, and we love it.
Jackass: Marrying Evelyn From Basketball Wives
No question Evelyn Lozada from Basketball Wives is a dime, but Chad actually wifed her up a month ago, seemingly disregarding any rhyme or reason. Here's a quick history lesson on Lozada if you didn't know: Dated former NBA baller Antoine Walker for ten years 'till he went broke and she left him, got on Basketball Wives and played the role of the gold digging mean girl effortlessly, started dating Chad, and latched on faster than a foster child. We really hope he had a prenup.
Badass: Trying Out for MLS Team During Lockout
During the NFL Lockout last offseason, Chad decided he had to test out some back up plans, and the biggest of them was a career in Major League Soccer. After boasting that the original football was his first love, Johnson was given a four-day trial with Sporting Kansas City of the MLS and tried to show off some skills for all to see. Not so shockingly he didn't make the squad, but it was clear he had the work ethic to get better and could potentially crack a reserve squad if he kept it up. LeBron where you at with your football tryout?
Jackass: "The Ultimate Catch" TV show
There probably isn't a single football fan alive who didn't expected Ocho to end up on a TV show at some point, but the NFL star doing a Flavor Of Loveesque dating show? Not too many saw that coming. Not too many watched it either, but who could blame them. We wanted to see Chad going swimming with dolphins or sky diving, not going for the all time record for impregnating groupies over the course of 11 episodes. Sadly and somewhat surprisingly though, it still had more to it than the T.O. Show. That was just hard to watch.
Badass: OCNN
Most athletes have their own websites or Twitter handles, sometimes even their own blog, but Ocho was like "Fuck that, I got my own news network!" A few years back Chad decided he'd start his own sports and pop culture network to compete with the big boys over at ESPN and it screams badass. OCNN repped hard at the past two Super Bowls when, alongside Gerald Mccoy and Darrelle Revis, Ochocinco asked some hard-hitting questions and gave us some entertaining press conference moments.
Jackass: Changing Name to Ochocinco
Oh you thought he was born Chad Javon Ochocinco? Ehhhh wrong answer. For all of you '00s Babies (wait, what are you doing on this website!?!), in 2008 Chad Javon Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Ochocinco in honor of his jersey number. If that's not a scream for attention, we don't know what is. (It's also a scream for some Spanish lessons; "ochocinco" is a made up word translating to "eight-five," not eighty-five.) It's like when a kid doesn't get his toy and screams at the top of his lungs to get adults to attend to his dire Spiderman action figure needs. #justsad
Badass: TD Celebrations
Before the NFL decided to go lame and restrict one of the most entertaining and spontaneous parts of their game, TD celebrations, Chad Johnson reigned supreme as the celebration king. He had the creative and ever popular river dance, the future H.O.F. jacket, the cheerleader marriage proposal, the winning golf putt, and the epic homemade "Please don't fine me" sign. Unlike a lot of other NFL players of his generation, Chad has relished the opportunity to be a true entertainer for NFL fans and has taken that role extremely seriously. Gotta love it.
Final Verdict: Badass
If we have to chose one for Chad Johnson, Badass or Jackass, we're gonna have to go with Badass. He's given us more good than bad, has brought it on the field, and has been an all around amazing figure in sports. The one thing you know about Chad Johnson is that you want to watch him, and you want to know what he's going to do next. Ocho's not an athlete who's going to hold his tongue or is afraid of people saying no, he's going to always be himself and do what he wants to do and we admire that. Yes, he's done some stupid shit; it's almost inevitable when you're a great athlete and you want to be a celebrity. But Johnson's never been arrested (unlike half of the Lions current squad), he's never been called a bad teammate, and he's never shunned his fans and lovers of the game. Can't ask for much more than that.