Which soccer star made the bold choice to rock a rat tail? Which athletes have mastered the art of the mullet? We've rounded up the absolute worst sports haircuts of all time.
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00:00Which soccer star made the bold choice to rock a rat tail?
00:04Which athletes have mastered the art of the mullet?
00:07Stick around, we've rounded up the absolute worst sports haircuts of all time.
00:12Posh Spice and David Beckham were undoubtedly the power couple of the late 90s and early 2000s,
00:19with their peak Y2K aesthetic becoming the stuff of pop culture legend.
00:23However, it's Beckham's hair that remains most notorious. Back in the day,
00:27every time Becks changed his hairstyle, it immediately became headline news.
00:31From his mohawk to his frosted tips, he was in no shortage of bad hair days.
00:35But perhaps the worst offender was his cornrows.
00:38Since the style was specifically designed for Afro-textured hair,
00:42non-Black people wearing the style is considered by many to be a form of cultural appropriation.
00:47Beckham has since expressed some regret over adopting the hairstyle back in 2003.
00:52Later, he admitted to People that the timing of his choice was particularly
00:56unfortunate. The reason? The soccer star had his braids in while meeting the venerable South
01:01African leader, Nelson Mandela. He told The Sunday Project that he felt deeply embarrassed,
01:06remarking,
01:07"'There I was with one of the greatest and inspirational men, and I've got cornrows!'
01:11In an interview with Shortlist, Beckham reflected on his decision to get the
01:15culturally insensitive hairstyle. He told the outlet,
01:18"'The cornrows were something a bit different. I was with a friend who's a hairdresser and
01:21who's very good at cornrows. So I thought, why not do that?'
01:25I think I'd had a glass of wine or two."
01:27Nowadays, Beckham isn't afraid to laugh about his cringeworthy former styles.
01:31"'I'm not ashamed of any of them.'
01:33"'Well, you should be ashamed of some of them.'"
01:36Dennis Rodman is a lot of things. He's an NBA legend, a friend of North Korean leader Kim
01:41Jong-un, and a purveyor of outlandish hairdos. In the 90s, the Chicago Bulls' power forward
01:47was one of the biggest basketball superstars around, but he was as famous for his hair
01:51as he was for his skills on the court.
01:53Rodman has donned everything from a neon orange Target to red and green streaks.
01:57In one particular notorious moment, Rodman was late for the opening of the Alamodome
02:02because he was busy bleaching his locks. Though he might have an appearance some would consider
02:06outrageous, Rodman's penchant for the unconventional is central to his status as a
02:11queer icon. At a time when homophobia and transphobia were commonplace, Rodman played
02:16by his own rules and always gave his A-game, while not all of his hairstyles may have been
02:21winners. There's no denying that Rodman and his hair have remained indelible symbols of
02:2690s pop culture. Maybe he can help his buddy Kim Jong-un let his hair down every once in a while,
02:31seeing as the North Korean leader reportedly banned mullets in 2021.
02:36Scotsman Peter Wright not only gives impressive performances as a darts player,
02:40but he brings a welcome splash of color to an otherwise stereotypically macho sport.
02:45Looking something like a combination of Johnny Rotten and Guy Fieri,
02:50Wright also dons prominent reptilian headpaint as an accompaniment to his motley python of a hairdo.
02:56The eccentric sportsman even once dressed up as The Grinch, complete with neon green hair and
03:00a matching beard. Chatting with the Daily Mail, Wright revealed that his wife, a professional
03:05hairdresser, is responsible for sculpting his impressive mohawk. Rather sweetly, he admitted
03:10that his daughter inspired him to bring some color into his life, saying,
03:14It's down to my daughter, because she's the one who has all different color hair,
03:18and I thought, I'll try that. No other dart players have tried it, and it just stuck.
03:22I class it as going to war with my war paint on ready for battle."
03:25With the exception of the bling King Bobby George,
03:28it's uncommon for darts players to be so outlandish in their personal style.
03:32Thanks to his array of dazzling defiant mohawks, though,
03:36Wright breaks the mold. A two-time winner of the World Darts Championship,
03:40Wright has perfected the game to a fine art, just like his hair.
03:43Though his mohawk may be often ridiculed, he knows in his heart that he's doing the right thing.
03:49Ah, the mullet. It conjures images of Kenny Powers,
03:52bad 80s photo shoots, and Tiger King Joe Exotic. With his luscious locks, we can't help but wonder
03:58why ice hockey player Yair Yagur decided to sport a mop top gone wrong. In the 90s,
04:04the Czech athlete was one of the biggest names in hockey, a prolific player second only to
04:09the legendary Wayne Gretzky. But for all his accomplishments on the ice, including two
04:13consecutive Stanley Cup victories with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Yagur's perhaps best known
04:18by fans for his infamous mullet. Hockey players aren't exactly famed for their fashion-forward
04:23sensibilities, which is why the sport is pretty notorious for terrible haircuts.
04:28Yagur won the esteemed honor of second-worst hockey haircut of all time in a ranking assembled
04:33by Bleacher Report, losing by a strand to Al Iafrate and his skullet. For all the flack he's
04:39received over the years, many have highlighted the merits of Yagur's notorious haircut,
04:44including plenty of his peers in the NHL.
04:46Describe Yagur Yagur.
04:50Good hair.
04:51Great hair.
04:52A mullet is undoubtedly a difficult do to pull off, and only few have the moves like Yagur.
04:59Of all the soccer stars who have sported some questionable dos,
05:02it's worth ratting on Rodrigo Palacio.
05:05The soccer player has represented Argentina in two World Cups,
05:09becoming renowned for his tactical abilities. He may be a highly gifted player on the pitch,
05:14but those skills don't seem to transfer to the bathroom mirror. At first glance,
05:18Palacio is an elegantly poised athlete, but just wait until he turns around.
05:22Even at the 2014 World Cup, a solitary strand of hair can be seen hanging from Palacio's
05:28otherwise shaved head. No, his barber didn't miss a spot. This rodent-like look was no accident.
05:34Palacio does indeed have the skinniest ponytail you ever did see, one that bears an uncanny
05:39resemblance to a rat tail. Inevitably, his scraggly strand made plenty of waves.
05:45Detailing his infamous rat tail's origin story, Palacio told Prima Sarata that,
05:51despite some negative backlash, he wouldn't dare cut off his peculiar pony because it's
05:55become his most defining feature. He elaborated,
05:58"'First I had long hair, but then I decided to cut it short and just leave the braid. Do my
06:03teammates ever tease me and tell me they'll cut it off?' Yes."
06:06To some, Palacio's haircut may look like a drowned rodent, but he certainly thinks he's the big cheese.
06:13At the height of his fame, NFL star Antonio Guerre was renowned for his quirky sensibilities.
06:19Guerre played as a nose tackle for his teams, including the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears,
06:24drives a Hello Kitty smart car, and has proudly sported some of the fanciest hair in NFL history.
06:29He's infamous for his intricate and colorful patterns,
06:32which have included everything from aqua blue zigzags to colorful polka dots.
06:36Despite any haters, Guerre tries not to let anyone get him down about his style.
06:41He told The Blonde Side,
06:42"'I'm just a guy with a good sense of humor. I don't take life too seriously.
06:46I take it for what it's worth. I think everyone should have a good time and laugh a little more."
06:51Guerre has even had eyes on the back of his head on multiple occasions.
06:55For Halloween in 2011, he shaved and colored a wild jack-o'-lantern into his scalp. In 2012,
07:01he paid tribute to the late junior Sayo, who died from suicide earlier in the year,
07:06in the way he knows best.
07:09NFL mainstay Jared Allen is famed for playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and
07:13Minnesota Vikings as a powerful defensive end. He's also renowned for his bizarre take
07:18on the mullet. His choppy haircut has even been paired with lines shaved into his head,
07:23making it look like he suffered in an unfortunate lawn mowing accident.
07:26Considering that Allen made a cameo in Jackass 3-D,
07:30we can't help but wonder if his look was the result of a stunt gone wrong.
07:34So most everything I do in life usually comes from like a bet."
07:38Regardless of Allen's initial reasons for getting the cut,
07:41he thinks of his mullet as more of a way of life. He told the NFL Players Association,
07:46"[The mullet isn't just a hairdo. It's definitely a lifestyle.
07:49You're carrying on a legacy. If I approach you from the front, it's like,
07:53wow, that dude is pretty serious. Then I walk away and you're like, damn,
07:57he likes to party. With two R's."
07:59It seems that Allen is something of a Jekyll and Hyde, if Hyde had a mullet.
08:03Tragically, however, a receding hairline led to the death of Allen's famous look.
08:08Hair today, gone tomorrow.
08:11French soccer star Paul Pogba has quite the repertoire of zany haircuts. He's showcased
08:16everything from a faux hawk to a mesmerizing bouquet of white and blue curls. Pogba's unabashed
08:22eagerness to embrace the unknown truly reflects his creative skills on the pitch. However,
08:26when he won the World Cup in 2018, scoring in the final against Croatia,
08:31Pogba was sporting an unusually conservative hairstyle for his standards.
08:36During an Instagram Q&A, he admitted that he went back to a natural look so he could
08:40be judged solely for his skills on the field. Even if it brings him some hate,
08:44Pogba goes where no other soccer star dares. Chatting with The Times, he took on hair critics,
08:49suggesting that he's only mocked for his aesthetics when his team loses. He elaborated,
08:54"'It's not a problem, and it's never a problem when we win. When we don't win,
08:58or we lose or I have a bad performance, it becomes a problem.'"
09:02In 2022, Pogba shocked fans by showcasing a completely shaved head. Whether this is the
09:08start of an even quirkier style, or the end of a zany era, Pogba has certainly left us
09:13with some hair-raising memories.