Who are the nicest athletes?

I was friends with SF Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum when he was still in SF. Nicest most down to earth guy you’d ever meet…funny, sweet, cute, smart, would give you the shirt off his back. Always had a bit of a crush on him.

Lincecum cute? Ew

Anthony Rizzo. Chicago's loss, NY's gain. One of the nicest, most generous sports figures around.

I understand DL fave Sidney Crosby is very nice but dumb.

^^^Brit ex-footballer and current pundit/gameshow personality Jamie Redknapp is nice but dim. He prefers to cry and whinge and cuddle and flirt his way out of upset, in lieu of getting angry like most men. It’s the low-testosterone, you see.

Earl Campbell.

Walter Payton. Called Sweetness because of his sweet moves and his sweet personality.

Gary Fencik, played on the Bears in Payton's time. A grad school classmate grew-up with him.

Bob Golic, played for the Browns, had a short odd career as an "actor" playing himself. No Einstein but a nice guy. Well known where I grew-up. I knew one of his brothers.

I’m a respectable gay man, I don’t follow athletics. Although I do appreciate pics of hot baseball players, but I don’t know their names.

Wow R8, Gary Fencik. I believe it. Great football player. He seemed real nice off the field, and was a very good looking man, to boot.

Gronk for sure!

Calvin and Grant Hill.

Jack Grealish.

The loveliest bimbo chav you could hope to meet, and a magic touch on the ball (behave!)

John McEnroe. Had the opportunity to be at a dinner party at my client's place when John walked in with his wife, Patty Smythe. He was engaging, incredibly smart, and had a good sense of humor. I talked to him off an on all night about music, and the music business. I wanted to talk tennis with him desperately, but figured everyone probably does that with him.

Lewis Hamilton was kind enough to let me give him a reacharound.

Billie Jean King - smart, funny, friendly.

Martina Navratilova - despite her sometimes serious demeanor, she’s a very gracious woman and really quite charming.

Chris Mazdzer seems very chill.

R16 sistren keeping it classy ofc👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

Chris Evert is a really nice woman. Have met her many times (although I haven’t seen her in 20 years) she was always really friendly and down to earth.

Luiz Gonzalez. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

R16 have you ever met Emma Radacanu, and if so how do you like her?

They're all ego. I know someone who used to represent athletes and he said they're all assholes either overtly or passive aggressively. Said only African distance runners are truly humble.

I've met some football players over the years, and they've been surprisingly nice. Baseball and basketball players tend to be douchebags.

I met Venus Williams at an interior design event thing my then-partner was organising, and she was quite breathtaking and charming. I think I was taken aback by the height and stature of her, she's an odd mix of *VERY* regal but also goofy, quite a commanding presence.

She was there with a non-Serena sister and a former NFL player friend actually (the name escapes me, Brian something? not a romantic partner) but they were very silly, laughing together a lot, dancing to the music (everyone else was so uptight at those things) and all three were really kind to the 'little people' who were working the event.

Brian Piccolo?

I don’t know about “nice” but the ones who would let you blow them are Aaron Rogers and Rob Gronkowski.

R25 after a lot of googling and Instagram searching, I think it was Bryant McKinnie. I was missing the 't' of his first name (and probably did call him Brian on the night, oops).

Hi R21, wish I some dish on her but I’ve never met Emma, sorry!

[quote] She was there with a non-Serena sister

I know what you meant but reading "non-Serena sister" made me laugh because I imagined Venus asking herself, "Whom do I go to this event with? Should I take my fabulous Serena sister or one of the non-Serena ones?"

Old school football athletes:

1. Terry Bradshaw. My friend worked at a hotel where he stayed & serve TB room service. Said TB was very nice.

2. John Elway. Met someone who drove limos who said Elway was very nice.

I've met Jackie Joyner Kersee a few times in a professional capacity and she has always been lovely, kind, charming and an absolute pleasure to deal with.

I had always been a fan and was actually dreading meeting her in case she turned out to be an evil bitch or something. Fortunately she was very courteous, professional and warm.

I've had bad luck with my other favorite Martina Navratilova though. Met her four or five times and every single time she was rude, irritable, demanding and a complete pain in the ass. I still love her as a tennis player but would not want to ever deal with her again!

Doug Christie is really sweet. He used to play basketball for the Sacramento Kings.

I know people who've met Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez and both are very friendly and down to earth.

[quote] I've met some football players over the years, and they've been surprisingly nice. Baseball and basketball players tend to be douchebags.

Based on my experience with D1 athletes, football players are really team-oriented. There are 50+ guys on a team and they are acutely aware that success depends on them working together, so they tend to be nicer. Same goes for lacrosse. Basketball and baseball teams are much smaller and more personality-driven.

Mike Piazza was super nice to me. Met him at CBS,

I second R16 - Martina Navratilova. I've spoken with her twice, I know people outside of tennis who've become casual friends with her. She's very charismatic and friendly, and surprisingly short and average size. I was thought she was 5'10" and build like a linebacker before I met her.

O.J. Simpson for sure

Jeff Van Gundy (played basketball, but known as a coach) was super friendly. Saw him in an airport years ago.

Brett Gardner of the NY Yankees. Really sweet.

I wonder what Tim Tebow is really like in private?

Greg Louganis too. Met him at Santa Monica Pier with two big-ass Great Danes he was walking. He talked to me for about 20 minutes...got a hitting on vibe, I should have given him my number.

Teboq

I'm from the Pittsburgh area. A friend of mine waited on Troy Polamalu years ago and said he was a cool guy and a great tipper

[quote]Chris Evert is a really nice woman...

Be careful, R19. The Datalounge is NOT a Chris Evert friendly place. (Yes, that means you, Chris).

[quote] Doug Christie is really sweet. He used to play basketball for the Sacramento Kings.

I can believe this. I also think he's gay. He's married to Jackie Christie, of Basketball Wives. Jackie Christie is unattractive, emotionally unbalanced, and not very feminine. However, she did have her hilarious moments on Basketball Wives. I think she's a beard.

[quote]I've had bad luck with my other favorite Martina Navratilova though. Met her four or five times and every single time she was rude, irritable, demanding

R31 has an agenda, which, thankfully no one is falling for.

Anthony Recker has the nicest ass.

John McEnroe and his wife, Patty Smythe are both MAJOR ASSHOLES, even at a dinner party in someone else's home.

I've seen them in action, they both nasty.

I do think OJ Simpson murdered Nicole & Ron (but got acquitted). However, I think he (OJ) was/is friendly to his fans. If you ran into him in a public place, you could probably say hi to him. He'd probably say hi back & give you an autograph if you asked.

Btw, my parents met Mean Joe Greene back in the day and said he was a great guy

Ray Bourque has been warm and friendly on the occasions I've met him. I've seen him stay after hours at fan events making sure that everyone in a line thousands long got to speak with him.

[quote] Anthony Recker has the nicest ass.

Who is he?

Ball bump.

When he was a kid, my friend went with his dad to a tennis match John McEnroe was in. Being a kid, he didn't realize that talking could be a distraction, so he was talking to his dad. John yelled "Will somebody shut that kid up?!"

Shaq.

I was working in a fancy hotel in LA around 2000. Shaq was there a lot and everyone just loved him. He was so damn nice. I worked at the lobby bar and when he'd get a coffee or coke to go? Leave a hundred bucks. Every time.

(Oh, funny thing, as a huge Lakers fan, I was always a Kobe guy. Shaq irritated me on the court. But after having a bunch of dealings with him? I had no choice but to change my tune. He was that cool)

About 40 years ago, my sister actually met O.J. at a shopping center, when she was in college. She's always been a big sports fan, recognized him, asked for an autograph, said he couldn't have been nicer or more polite.

In case y'all are wondering, sis has never been a knockout, but not ugly. She's always taken good care of herself, exercised a lot, not been one to be a slob in public, etc. Plenty of single guys have tried to get somewhere w. her, but not O.J.

Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya has always been extremely patient and friendly w. fans.

Can’t believe I didn’t post this: Earl Campbell. Still lives in Austin, very lovely and friendly.

R57, I think Campbell is so incredibly sexy.

Novak Djoković

Derek Carr. Met him and his family. Down to earth and very nice.

R58 Go down the rabbit hole of watching his highlights - he was a stunning player: as strong as a locomotive but fast as a rabbit. Try to find the clip of him picking up a Rice defensive lineman and tossing him like he’s a paper cup.

Earl is so loved here in TX - when he and Willie go, the sun will be a bit dimmer, I know it.