Decades ago, athletes such as Mark Gastineau, Dikembe Mutombo, Ickey Woods and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson made sports celebrations into performance art.
In recent years, however, in an effort to outdo one another and perhaps earn a few seconds of time on the nightly highlights, athletes are putting themselves at risk. Even golfers.
Recommended Stories
Consider Thomas Levet. After winning the French Open on Sunday and an accompanying berth in next week’s British Open, the 42-year-old Frenchman jumped into a lake off the 18th green. Just one problem — it was less than two feet deep. He suffered a broken shin and is out of the British Open.
“The wonderful memory of winning my national Open will definitely keep me going through my recovery,” Levet said.
But what about the long-term effects of joining an ever-growing list of sports boneheads? Where will Levet rank on the list of memorable sports celebration injuries?
9. Dottie Pepper » Levet wasn’t the first golfer sidelined by a jump into a pond. Pepper was out for a month with a bacterial infection after her 1999 leap following her win at the Dinah Shore.
8. Chris Coghlan » The Marlins outfielder suffered a torn MCL when he gave a teammate a celebratory cream pie.
7. Ted Ginn » After Ginn returned a kickoff for a touchdown, an Ohio State teammate tackled him from behind, spraining his ankle and knocking him out for the rest of the 2006 BCS Championship game.
6. Gus Frerotte » The Redskins quarterback lives in infamy for his head-butt of a cement wall after a 1-yard touchdown run against the Giants that resulted in a neck sprain in 1997.
5. Lindsey Vonn » The skier missed the giant slalom in the 2009 world championships after slicing a tendon in her hand on a broken champagne bottle.
4. Lauro » The Brazilian soccer player suffered a torn ACL celebrating a goal earlier this year.
3. Bill Gramatica » His over-zealous celebration of a 42-yard field goal — in the first quarter of a game — resulted in a torn ACL for the Cardinals kicker in 2001.
2. Paulo Diogo » The Swiss soccer player climbed a fence to celebrate a goal. His wedding ring got stuck in the fence — and so did his finger.
1. Kendry Morales » Suffered a broken leg celebrating a walk-off grand slam when he jumped on home plate. The Angels first baseman remains sidelined 13 months later.
