The Most Uncomfortable Sports Interviews Ever

Sports interviews aren't known for their depth or interest. In fact, almost 70% of Joe readers think sports stars shouldn't be forced to do post-match interviews. One reader said, "When was the last time a post-match interview actually interested you? The last time a manager, player, or coach said something genuinely explosive, the last time they revealed even a modicum of raw emotion?" 

The Guardian's Stephen Bierly was similarly scathing about the state of sporting personalities, lamenting that television "squeezes the magic and the theatre out of most sport and reduces everything to the banal" and criticizing athletes who do the bare minimum to "give a little bit of their cosseted life over to the fans." 

However, sports interviews are not always dreary monologues about "games of two halves." Sometimes, athletes and journalists do not stick to the script. Here is a selection of sports interviews that were rude, explosive, and downright weird. They may be uncomfortable to watch, but they certainly aren't boring. 

In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Bob Costas described his 2001 meeting with Vince McMahon as 28 minutes of "unremitting tension." Costas interviewed the wrestling mogul on HBO's "On The Record" and discussed two main topics, McMahon's fledging XFL football league and the provocative content of WWE, which was then called WWF. 

Costas opened with hard facts, drawing attention to the XFL's dismal ratings, "XFL ratings are down 75% from week one, they now rival the lowest ratings ever in primetime, not just for a sports program but any television show." McMahon was professional in his response, highlighting how the XFL was still young and needed time to develop. However, the tone soured when Costas discussed the notion of McMahon and the WWF lacking "prestige," adding that the XFL was a "low rent" version of the National Football League. The simmering exchange truly boiled over when McMahon leaned forward in his chair, pointed his finger, and said, "You want to let me finish for a second here, pal? Shut your mouth and let me answer the question, alright? You've got a situation that you don't know what you're talking about." 

Years later, McMahon shared a humorous statement with Piers Morgan, who was hosting Bob Costas on his CNN show. It read, "I used to think Bob Costas was a pompous, arrogant, self-absorbed, pseudo-intellectual little twerp. I used to think that. But now, 12 years later, I've come to realize he's not really a twerp. LOL."

This interview from 2012 became an instant awkward classic. Veteran sportscaster Larry Merchant criticized Floyd Mayweather for exploiting the "protect yourself at all times" rule against Victor Ortiz, whom Mayweather knocked out during a lull in the fighting following an illegal headbutt. Mayweather grew angry and said, "You never give me a fair shake, HBO need to fire you, you don't know s*** about boxing." Merchant replied, "If I was 50 years younger I'd kick your a**."

It was just one exchange in a long line of awkward, confrontational interviews with Mayweather. In 2009, the Michigan fighter spoke with Brian Kenny and within 30 seconds was insulting the commentator, "I already forgot who I'm talking to, I'm talking to Brian Kenny, a guy who has never laced up gloves a day in his life, who don't know nothing about boxing." Kenny smiled and said, "Oh, it's good to have you back in top form already!"

Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is infamous for his blunt interview style. So infamous, in fact, that "Saturday Night Live" aired a skit mocking the swimmer's rather vacant manner of speech. Of the many goofy answers Ryan has given over the years, such as, "The reason I love swimming is because ... racing," perhaps the most awkward interview came in 2012 during the London Olympics, and it wasn't entirely his fault. 

According to CBS News, Ryan's mother Ileana "Ike" Lochte had told Today that the swimmer, "goes out on one-night stands. He's not able to give fully to a relationship because he's always on the go." Ryan responded in a follow-up with Today, "I know what she meant by it. What she meant is that I'm not in a relationship so I do go on dates. It's not that negative part ... She had nothing negative."

Ike responded in turn, continuing a bizarre public dialogue about the swimmer's love life, "All I wanted to say is that he's so sensitive about not wanting to hurt a girl dating, so he just goes and dates and takes out a girl for maybe one or two dates and doesn't have a relationship because he doesn't have [time] and it's not fair to the women." Having your mother draw media attention to your love life would be mortifying for most people, but Ryan seems such an easygoing dude that he probably shrugged it off.

Ever confrontational, Jim Rome asked NBA Commissioner David Stern if he was guilty of rigging the NBA draft lottery. Angry, Stern replied, "I have two answers for that. I'll give you the easy one, no, and a statement, shame on you for asking." Undeterred, Rome said it was his duty to ask tough questions, which prompted Stern to call him ridiculous and ask, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" 

To be clear, this wasn't a serious accusation from Stern. Sportswriter Matt Norlander tweeted, "Stern was mock-asking the Q to state his point: his beat-your-wife quip, to him, was as ludicrous as asking if lotto was rigged." Still, quip or not, Stern's question made for very awkward listening. 

According to the Washington Post, Stern expressed regret over his response on Mike Wise's 106.7 The Fan radio show, "I understand what's happening. My only objection at the time was, your question phrases it in a certain way. But if you said to me directly is the lottery fixed, you would be implying that you believed it was fixed. Because you don't need to make it part of the question. And so I sort of reacted, maybe overreacted. So I understand that. But a guy's allowed to have some fun."

MMA fighter Chuck Liddell appeared on "Good Morning Texas" to promote the movie "300," which was produced by Warner Bros., one of Liddell's sponsors (via SuperHeroHype). As the host opened the interview, it was clear that something wasn't right with Liddell. His speech was slurred to the point of incoherence, causing the Good Morning Texas host to ask, "You okay, Chuck?" The fighter said that he was alright, and the host's question seemed to wake him a bit, but Liddell's speech was concerning. 

According to MMA Fighting, UFC president Dana White said about the incident, "This dude was fighting his ass off. He was ruling the world ... but as much of a rock star as he was inside of the sport, he was outside the sport, too. Ended up in the infamous interview he did down in Texas, where I don't know, he was out partying all night."

However, Liddell pushed back against notions of partying, "Actually, that night I didn't go out. I hadn't gone out cause I was sick from going out. I took Ambien. My buddy gave me Ambien. I was having problems sleeping. I don't know how they woke me up. They didn't wake me up mentally, but they got me to that show somehow. I don't know how."

As mentioned before, Mike Tyson could have an awkward interview list of his own, so he had to feature here twice. On January 16, 1999, just over a year before his infamous Lennox Lewis tirade on June 24, 2000, Tyson was interviewed by UPN9/WWOR New York's Russ Salzberg in the build-up to his fight with Francois Botha, the brawny South African heavyweight. 

When asked about the odds and whether he had any concerns about the fight, Tyson said, "I don't know anything about that. I know nothing about numbers. I just know what I can do, kill this motherf*****." The tense exchange concluded with Salzberg asking Tyson about his language, at which point the interview got personal, with Tyson saying, "I'm talking to you the way I want to talk to you. If you've got a problem turn off your station." Salzberg decided to wrap it up, but Tyson managed to call him an "a**hole" and tell him to "f*** off" in the closing moments.

Tyson took that anger into the ring, knocking Botha out in the fifth round after a rather ugly fight. According to the New York Times, Botha accused Tyson of trying to break his arm, saying, "Mike grabbed my arm, he was trying to break my arm, to twist my arm." When Tyson learned of these accusations, Iron Mike said simply, "He's correct."