A History of Sports Careers Ruined By Drugs and Alcohol

Athletes and drugs have never been a good mix. With how driven an athlete is in their everyday life—constantly dealing with their routines of training, nutrition, and more training—if they get a taste of something like cocaine or weed, sometimes they'll find that their personalities are just as addictive for the bad things as they are for the good. We all know the story: Famous athlete X could've been in the Hall of Fame if not for their dependence on illegal substance Y. It never gets any easier to read.

With the recent drug allegations surrounding former Los Angeles Clipper and Laker Lamar Odom, though, we're once again reminded of what happens when a pro athlete lets drugs get the best of them. Remember Roy Tarpley? Or Micheal Ray Richardson? How about Todd Marinovich? In order to give you a better idea of the dangers of athletes and addiction, we put together a History of Sports Careers Ruined By Drugs and Alcohol. If there's one thing we should learn from this list it's this: Cocaine is a helluva drug, guys.

RELATED: The Biggest Fall-Offs in NBA History

Spencer Haywood

Career stats: 20.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.8 APG
Years active: 1969-1983
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

A power forward/center out of Detroit, Spencer Haywood started his career in the ABA before playing for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics in 1970. From there, Haywood would earn four NBA All-Star selections and also helped lead Seattle to their first-ever playoff berth.

However, in the late 1970s, Haywood began shuffling around the league and eventually developed a cocaine addiction throughout his time in New York, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. After leaving Seattle, Haywood never earned another All-Star nod, and actually had to play overseas for two seasons after the Lakers decided that they didn't want to deal with him anymore. Though he averaged 20 and 10 in his career, it's still easy to believe that Haywood could've done much more with his time in the league had he stayed off of the devil's dandruff.

Marvin Barnes

Career stats: 16.0 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 BPG
Years active: 1974-1980
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine, Marijuana, Heroin

Let his nickname, "Bad News," tell you all you need to know about Marvin Barnes. While undeniably talented, Barnes was also an unbelievably awful decision-maker, and could never seem to get his act together, starting from high school. Barnes has admitted to not only using drugs during his career, but also trafficking them, and how this guy even managed to last seven seasons in pro basketball is beyond us. Because of his drug use, Barnes was cut by the San Diego Clippers during the 1979-1980 season. And let's be honest, you know that it's gotten bad when even the Clippers won't have you anymore.

David Thompson

Career stats: 22.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.3 APG
Years active: 1975-1984
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol, Cocaine

Former pro baller, David Thompson, could've been Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan had Thompson not been a product of the drug use that defined his era. Cocaine use was rampant during the '70s and '80s, and for a star in the spotlight like Thompson, avoiding that pitfall would've been nearly unheard of at the time. Like everyone else, Thompson abused the white powder but, unlike most others, he sacrificed a chance to be one of the all-time greats in basketball by doing so.

To give you a brief idea of his exploits, Thompson is only one of five NBA players to ever score 70 points in a single game, and was a four-time All-Star before a freak knee injury he suffered at Studio 54 would irrevocably damage his career. Granted, Thompson still ended up making the Hall of Fame in 1996, but there's no good reason that a man with as much ability as him was only able to play 10 years of pro ball. We'll only be able to wonder what more could've been with Thompson. With that being said, Michael Jordan still chose the Carolina native to stand next to him during his Hall of Fame induction.

Pelle Lindbergh

Career stats: 87-49 W-L record, .886 SV%, 7 SO
Years active: 1978-1985
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol

The first European goaltender in NHL history to win the Vezina Trophy, Pelle Lindbergh wowed the league during the 1984-85 season when he won 40 games for the Philadelphia Flyers, and was named a first-team All-Star. However, this would also be his last full season in the league. On Nov. 10, 1985, Lindbergh—well above the legal BAC limit at the time—lost control of his Porsche and drove straight into a wall of a New Jersey elementary school, leaving him nearly dead on impact. He was taken off of life support a few days later. Lindbergh was posthumously named to the 1986 NHL All-Star game, becoming the only player in the history of the league to receive the honor. The Flyers also created the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy in his name to recognize the most improved player on the team every year.

Micheal Ray Richardson

Career stats: 14.8 PPG, 7.0 APG, 2.6 SPG
Years active: 1978-1986
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

Micheal Ray Richardson was one of the most dynamic and exciting point guards of his era. Unfortunately, he also had something of a wild streak, and it was one that culminated in his eventual lifetime ban from the NBA in 1986. Richardson loved basketball, but he also took too much of a liking to cocaine during a period of time in the NBA when nearly everyone was doing it. Amazingly, the former Net ended up playing overseas into the late-2000s, and now coaches today, but for a guy that was once touted as the next Clyde Frazier, Richardson can never be looked at as anything else than a major disappointment.

Steve Howe

Career stats: 47-41 W-L record, 3.03 ERA, 328 Ks
Years active: 1980-1996
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol, Cocaine, Methamphetamine

Steve Howe set the rookie record for saves in 1980 en route to picking up the National League Rookie of the Year award during his time with the L.A. Dodgers. His successes would continue when he saved the World Series-clinching game for Los Angeles in 1981, and then earned an All-Star Game nod in 1982. However, in 1984, after a failed stint in rehab for alcohol and cocaine abuse, Howe found himself suspended for the entire season, starting a habit of suspensions that would dog him for the rest of his career. All tolled, Howe earned himself seven suspensions throughout his 17-year career, playing intermittently in the 1980s and for most of the early '90s.

Lewis Lloyd

Career stats: 13.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.9 APG
Years active: 1981-1987, 1989-1990
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

Swingman Lewis Lloyd was an essential piece to the success of the 1980's Houston Rockets but was also a big reason why the team had such a horrible reputation during the time. Along with Rockets shooting guard Mitchell Wiggins, Lloyd earned a two and a half year suspension from the league in 1986 after his hard-partying ways caused him to test positive for cocaine. Lloyd would later be reinstated in 1989, but only lasted two more seasons before it became clear that he just didn't have the talent to make it in the league anymore. We're sure he wishes he could have those two and a half years back.

Bob Probert

Career stats: 162 goals, 221 assists, 3300 penalty minutes
Years active: 1982-2002
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol, Cocaine

Former Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks left wing, Bob Probert, was a bruising, hard-partying, motorcycle-riding hockey player who also, unfortunately, had a taste for the nose candy for much of his life. Yes, Probert certainly wasn't without controversy, but the reason that his career was able to last as long as it did was that he would go to war on the rink for any one of his teammates. Despite this, though, the Red Wings released Probert in 1994, with Detroit's senior vice president Jim Devellano quoted as saying then that, "[In] my 12 years with the organization ... we've never spent more time on one player and his problems than we have on Probert." Certainly not the most glowing review a player has ever received.

Mitchell Wiggins

Career stats: 10.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.6 APG
Years active: 1983-1987, 1989-1992
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

After the Houston Rockets fell to the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Finals, shooting guard Mitchell Wiggins, along with his teammate Lewis Lloyd, tested positive for cocaine, earning himself a two and a half year suspension from the league. Though he would make a brief comeback after being reinstated in 1989, and would enjoy his best season in the league thereafter, Wiggins lost valuable years of his career, and crippled a team that could've once again contended for an NBA title if him and Lloyd had been able to stick around. Wiggins, the father of the highly touted Kansas freshman, Andrew Wiggins, now can only hope that his son will never blow the shot that he once had.

Darryl Strawberry

Career stats: .259 BA, 335 HRs, 1,000 RBIs
Years active: 1983-1999
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine, Alcohol

There's no doubt that Darryl Strawberry put together a solid resume during his 17-year playing career, but the question with Strawberry will always be whether his good career could've been a great one had he taken better care of himself off the field. Cocaine usage was frequent for Strawberry during his time in New York and, along with his poor work ethic, contributed to him gaining an unseemly reputation among his teammates during his tenure with the Mets. In 1999, when he returned to New York to play for the Yankees after stints in L.A. and San Francisco, Strawberry showed that nothing had changed when he was caught soliciting a prostitute in Florida and was also in possession of a small amount of cocaine. Though Strawberry's career was long, it was anything but smooth, to say the least.

Dwight Gooden

Career stats: 194-112 W-L record, 3.51 ERA, 2,293 Ks
Years active: 1984-2000
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

In 1984, just 19 years of age at the time, Dwight "Doc" Gooden became the youngest pitcher to ever take the mound at an All-Star Game. In that same season—his rookie year—Gooden also won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and put up more wins, a lower ERA, and struck out more batters than NL Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe. The next season, Gooden would absolutely dominate the NL, winning 24 games, fanning 268 batters, and posting a 1.53 ERA. Simply put, early on in his career, Gooden was a monster.

Unfortunately, drugs proved to be an even bigger one for Gooden. Doc tested positive for cocaine use at the beginning of the 1987 season, and would later fail another test in 1994, earning himself a 60-day suspension. As the years went by, Gooden's career declined further and further and, in the end, the once-surefire Hall of Famer would finish out his career as a mop-up reliever for the Yankees, just a shell of his former self.

Roy Tarpley

Career stats: 12.6 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.0 APG
Years active: 1986-1990, 1994
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine, Alcohol

A star at the University of Michigan during the mid-1980s, Tarpley was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the seventh overall pick in 1986, and entered the league with the ability to play at both the center and power forward position. However, the uber-talented big man had other things on his mind when his first NBA paychecks started rolling in. During his fourth and fifth seasons in the league, Tarpley was flagged for three separate violations involving drugs and alcohol, earning himself a ban from the league in 1991. Though he was later reinstated in 1994, Tarpley again blew his shot at redemption for drinking alcohol and violating the terms of his return. Some guys just never learn.

Chris Washburn

Career stats: 3.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.3 APG
Years active: 1986-1988
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

When we talk about all-time NBA draft busts, Chris Washburn is a name that comes up time and time again. The third overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft, Washburn came out of NC State with the expectations of being one of the league's next dominant big men along with Brad Daughtery. But while Daughtery would make a name for himself in the league, Washburn never came close. The Golden State and Atlanta center failed three drug tests in each of his three years in the league, and received a lifetime ban from the NBA in 1989, after failing to make any sort of impact for either the Warriors or the Hawks.

Len Bias

Career stats: N/A
Years active: N/A
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine

As they say, only the good die young. In one of the most tragic stories in sports history, former University of Maryland superstar, Len Bias, overdosed on cocaine shortly after being selected No. 1 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Draft. Bias was supposed to be the next face of the historic franchise; the up-and-coming superstar ready to take over the role once occupied by an aging Larry Bird. However, it was never meant to be. Bias died on June 19, 1986, having never played a single minute in the NBA, only leaving behind his legendary potential, and whole mess of "what ifs" for basketball fans to consider.

Shawn Kemp

Career stats: 14.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.2 BPG
Years active: 1989-2003
Substance(s) involved: Cocaine, Alcohol

The Reign Man may have made it to six NBA All-Star games during his 14-year career, but the thing that many fans will remember about him the most is the fact that he could've done so much more. Kemp was the type of player who always made great things happen solely on the strength of his athletic ability, and even when his weight ballooned to over 300 lbs during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he was still able to put up better numbers than most power forwards and centers in the league.

However, when Kemp got to Portland in 2000, things only went from bad to worse. He began abusing cocaine and alcohol during the lockout of 1999 and saw his numbers dip from 17.5 PPG in Cleveland to just 6.5 PPG during his first year with the Trailblazers. Ultimately, Kemp's career would never recover, and the greatest in-game dunker—once thought to be a lock for the Hall of Fame—spent the last of his playing days attempting one failed comeback after another.

Todd Marinovich

Career stats: 8 TDs, 1,345 passing yards, 66.4 QB rating
Years active: 1991-1992
Substance(s) involved: Marijuana, LSD, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Alcohol

Known more colloquially as "Marijuanavich", former USC and Los Angeles Raiders QB Todd Marinovich was supposed to be the future of the quarterback position. Trained nearly since he came out of the womb by his militant, ex-professional football playing father, Marv, Todd is best remembered today as an example of micro-managing gone horribly, horribly wrong. Marinovich's first problems began to crop up when he arrived at USC, finally off of his father's leash, and followed by a swarm of media attention. He was referred to as the "Robo QB," and was widely regarded as a can't-miss prospect for the Trojans.

However, burdened by the expectations of his family and the public, Marinovich instead spent most of his collegiate and professional career acting out in the worst ways. The troubled signal caller cut classes, took LSD before games, smoked pot, was arrested for cocaine, and found nearly every way possible to take a bundle of dynamite straight to his career. After only two years in the NFL, and three failed drug tests, Marinovich was gone.

J.R. Rider

Career stats: 16.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.7 APG
Years active: 1993-2001
Substance(s) involved: Marijuana

Isaiah "J.R." Rider was a skilled swingman who will always be best remembered for the "East Bay Funk Dunk" that helped him win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest back in 1994. Rider was athletic, and was the type of spark plug player that any offense was sure to benefit from. However, Rider was also found to be in violation of the NBA's drug policy on more than one occasion.

In 1996, he was charged with marijuana possession in two separate incidents and this, coupled with the fact that he was becoming increasingly uncoachable, started to make more and more teams wary of putting him on their roster. Rider's final stop in the NBA came during a brief stint with the Denver Nuggets that ended when he was waived after just 10 games. Though he was only 30 at the time, Rider's attitude and the off-the-court behavior brought an early end to his talented but troubled career.

Vin Baker

Career stats: 15.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.9 APG
Years active: 1993-2006
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol

Vin Baker was selected to four consecutive All-Star Games during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Seattle SuperSonics before alcoholism eventually derailed his career. After the 1998-1999 NBA lockout, Baker—who had let his weight blow up to 300 lbs during that time—was never the same. Eventually, as his numbers began to take a turn for the worst, Baker admitted to his alcoholism during his time with the Boston Celtics, though, he was never able to recover from the issue. Baker bounced around the league before playing his final game in 2006, not even half the player he'd been during his heyday.

Keon Clark

Career stats: 8.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, 1.6 SPG
Years active: 1998-2004
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol

Selected with the thirteenth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, Keon Clark had wowed scouts and NBA executives during his time playing college ball at UNLV, but was never able to pull it together in the pros. This had much to do with the fact that, as Clark later admitted, he was a recovering alcoholic. In fact, Clark went so far as to say that he "never played a game sober" and that he had started his habit all the way back in high school. Unsurprisingly, Clark would only last seven years in the league, bouncing around with five different teams before every organization decided that they'd had enough.

Derek Boogaard

Career stats: 3 goals, 13 assists, 589 penalty minutes
Years active: 2005-2011
Substance(s) involved: Alcohol, Oxycodone

Known as the "Boogeyman" or "The Mountie" because of his fighting abilities, former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers left wing Derek Boogaard first developed his addiction to painkillers during his time with the Wild. First getting hooked on Percocet, and later moving to hydrocodone-based pills like Vicodin, Boogaard eventually had to take time away from the team in order to attend a rehab clinic in Minnesota. Later, as an unrestricted free agent, he signed with the Rangers.

However, Boogaard's stint in New York wouldn't last long. As he relapsed into painkillers, Boogaard also began abusing alcohol and started to fall into a deep depression. After a night in which he mixed alcohol with Percocet, Boogaard overdosed and was pronounced dead at just the age of 28. Boogaard was one of the most intimidating players in the NHL, but also one who, unfortunately, fell victim to his own demons.