Chad Johnson, Hope Solo, Dwight Howard Among Top 10 Divas in Sports (Photos)

by NESN Staff on Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 4:43PM

Some people can’t stay out of the spotlight.

Chad Johnson was cut by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday after being arrested for head-butting his wife the day before. Hope Solo ran into trouble with her coach for trying to publish her autobiography during the Olympics.

For someone like Bill Belichick, this negative media attention — in fact, any media attention at all — would be viewed as an annoyance, a pesky mosquito to be swatted from the air. But for Johnson, Solo and others like them, it’s all part of the territory. These athletes have been known to use controversy — or to create their own trouble — to keep themselves in the spotlight, providing endless tabloid fodder with their antics.

What follows is a list of sport’s biggest divas — the anti-Belichicks, if you will. If one of these athletes is on your team, beware. Many of them offer prodigious talent, but any misstep, and it will feel like the circus is in town.

Click here to see the Top 10 divas in sports>>