Sidelined: Sports' Most Infamous Suspensions

A look at the most severe punishments handed out.

NFL Suspends Josh Gordon For Entire 2014 Season - The hammer came down hard on Josh Gordon on Wednesday, when the NFL suspended the Cleveland Browns wide receiver for the entire 2014 season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy yet again. Gordon's latest infraction came early last month, when he was pulled over for speeding in Raleigh, North Carolina and arrested for DWI. Prior to that, the star wideout was already on thin ice for failing at least his third drug test in May. The decision for a full-season suspension wasn't the first severe punishment a star athlete has received and unfortunately it won't be the last. BET.com documents more stiff penalties in Sports Most Infamous Suspensions. Grand opening, grand closing.(Photo: AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

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NFL Suspends Josh Gordon For Entire 2014 Season - The hammer came down hard on Josh Gordon on Wednesday, when the NFL suspended the Cleveland Browns wide receiver for the entire 2014 season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy yet again. Gordon's latest infraction came early last month, when he was pulled over for speeding in Raleigh, North Carolina and arrested for DWI. Prior to that, the star wideout was already on thin ice for failing at least his third drug test in May. The decision for a full-season suspension wasn't the first severe punishment a star athlete has received and unfortunately it won't be the last. BET.com documents more stiff penalties in Sports Most Infamous Suspensions. Grand opening, grand closing.(Photo: AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

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NBA Bans Donald Sterling for Life - NBA commissioner Adam Silver made a historic statement in late April, slapping Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a lifetime ban and a league-maximum fine of $2.5 million after an investigation unearthed that it was he who made racist comments on a recorded phone call. Silver also gave NBA owners the power to force Sterling to sell the team with a three-fourths’ vote. Silver wound up losing the franchise to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer via a $2 billion sale last month. (Photos from Left: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images, Danny Moloshok/AP Photo)

A Dangerous Choice - Over the years, the reputation of professional baseball has had its fair share of controversy as a number of high-profile players have admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). This week, Major League Baseball suspended Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun for the rest of the 2013 season over a violation of the league's drug policy. Keep reading for a closer look at PEDs, their risks and how some athletes are cheating the system. — Britt Middleton (Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

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Ryan Braun Gets Suspended for 65 Games for Positive Drug Test - After vehemently denying positive results for performance-enhancing drugs and successfully overturning a 50-game suspension in 2012, the shamed Milwaukee Brewers outfielder tested positive for banned substances in 2013 and this time couldn’t wiggle out of a 65-game suspension for the remainder of the 2013 season. Shame on you, Ryan!(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo, File)

A-Rod Threatens to Sue MLB - Alex Rodriguez is not going down without a fight. If the MLB does not withdraw its 211 game suspension on the Yankees third baseman, he plans to sue for a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players' union and the league, a source told TMZ.(Photo: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

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Alex Rodriguez Gets Suspended for 2014 Season - What did Alex Rodriguez get for being involved with performance-enhancing drugs once again? A 162-game suspension, the most severe punishment in baseball history for doping. Do the crime, do the time. (Photo: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Latrell Sprewell Suspended for Choking P.J. Carlesimo - An All-Star forward with the Golden State Warriors, Latrell Sprewell attacked then-Warriors’ coach P.J. Carlesimo during a December 1997 team practice, choking him before teammates restrained him and returning to punch the veteran coach and threaten to kill him. The NBA came down hard on Spree, suspending him for a full season before Sprewell took the case to arbitration and got the suspension reduced to 68 games. (Photos from Left: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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Latrell Sprewell Suspended for Choking P.J. Carlesimo - An All-Star forward with the Golden State Warriors, Latrell Sprewell attacked then-Warriors’ coach P.J. Carlesimo during a December 1997 team practice, choking him before teammates restrained him and returning to punch the veteran coach and threaten to kill him. The NBA came down hard on Spree, suspending him for a full season before Sprewell took the case to arbitration and got the suspension reduced to 68 games. (Photos from Left: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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Gilbert Arenas Charged for Illegal Fireworks - Former Washington Wizards baller Gilbert Arenas was charged with possession of dangerous fireworks without a permit. The charges come as a result of his June 27 arrest, in which he was pulled over in California and police uncovered 100 pounds of fireworks.(Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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Gilbert Arenas Suspended for 50 Games for Bringing Guns to Stadium - Then-NBA commissioner David Stern showed Gilbert Arenas and Washington Wizards' teammate Javaris Crittenton for bringing guns into the locker room for a home game in December 2009. The league hit Arenas with a 50-game suspension for the remainder of the 2009-10 season and Crittenton was suspended for 38. They were also hit with gun charges. And to think, Washington's franchise name used to be the Bullets. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Metta World Peace Fights Pistons' Fans - Front and center during arguably the most infamous stadium brawl in sports history, Metta World Peace, then-named Ron Artest and with the Indiana Pacers, was suspended for the remainder of the 2004-05 regular season and wound up missing 86 games — the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history — for his role in an unprecedented and wild November 2004 fight with Detroit Pistons’ fans in Auburn Hills, Michigan.(Photo: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

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Metta World Peace Fights Pistons' Fans - Front and center during arguably the most infamous stadium brawl in sports history, Metta World Peace, then-named Ron Artest and with the Indiana Pacers, was suspended for the remainder of the 2004-05 regular season and wound up missing 86 games — the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history — for his role in an unprecedented and wild November 2004 fight with Detroit Pistons’ fans in Auburn Hills, Michigan.(Photo: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

Plaxico Burress - Then-New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress spent a year and a half in prison from January 2010 to June 2011 for accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub. Considering the injury could have been much worse, Burress was lucky to escape alive even if he had to deal with prison time. Upon his release, Plax did apologize to the Giants' organization, his friends and family. (Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images) 

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Plaxico Burress Suspended, Imprisoned for Shooting Himself - The New York Giants suspended Plaxico Burress for the remaining four games of the 2008 NFL season after the star wide receiver accidentally shot himself in a New York City nightclub. And that was the more lenient punishment. Burress wound up doing nearly two years on gun charges before returning to the NFL in 2011. (Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

Michael Vick Suspended, Imprisoned for Dog Fighting - The Atlanta Falcons suspended their then-quarterback Michael Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after news broke that he had been running an illegal dog-fighting ring on his property. He then served 19 months in federal prison for his part in the vicious ring. (Photo: Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

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Michael Vick Suspended, Imprisoned for Dog Fighting - The Atlanta Falcons suspended their then-quarterback Michael Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after news broke that he had been running an illegal dog-fighting ring on his property. He then served 19 months in federal prison for his part in the vicious ring. (Photo: Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

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Muhammad Ali Banned From Boxing - In June 1967, Muhammad Ali was convicted of draft evasion for infamously refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and was subsequently banned from boxing for the next three years. When he returned in 1970…he was still The Greatest! (Photo: Clive Limpkin/Express/Getty Images)

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Pete Rose - Sometimes even numerous apologies can't deliver closure. Just ask Pete Rose. Major League Baseball's all-time hit king, with 4,192, said he was sorry for betting on baseball in 1989 on more than one occasion. And while many fans have accepted his apology, the MLB still upholds its lifetime ban against the former Cincinnati Reds outfielder, effectively barring him from being a Hall of Famer. Damn shame. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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Pete Rose Gets Lifetime Ban From Baseball - Major League Baseball’s reigning all-time leader in hits was banned for life in 1989 for betting on his own Cincinnati Reds team. The ban continues today, as Rose is still not a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Can a new MLB commissioner next year change that? Possibly. We know Charlie Hustle hopes so. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Lance Armstrong - The downfall of Lance Armstrong, once known as being among the best athletes in the world, will stand out in the history of professional sports. After winning countless titles and heroicly winning a battle against testicular cancer, seemingly coming back stronger than ever, it was revealed that Armstrong had been using illegal performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. In 2012, Armstrong was banned from professional cycling for good, losing all of his medals and his sponsors. Worst of all, the one-time all-American hero lost the respect of his fans.  (Photo: Lucas Jackson /Landov/REUTERS)

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Lance Armstrong Gets Lifetime Ban From Cycling - In 2012, celebrated, cancer-surviving cyclist Lance Armstrong was banned for life from the sport by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for his illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong vehemently denied ever using PEDs until finally admitting it after being banned.(Photo: Lucas Jackson /Landov/REUTERS)

Kermit Washington Knocks Out Rudy Tomjanovich - The knockout punch that Kermit Washington leveled Rudy Tomjanovich with during a December 1977 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets remains one of the most devastating, horrific on-court incidents in NBA history. Tomjanovich suffered a fractured skull and almost died because of the point-blank roundhouse punch. The league hit Washington with a 60-day suspension. In today’s NBA, that kind of punch could have cost him the season. (Photo: Ron Kuntz Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

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Kermit Washington Knocks Out Rudy Tomjanovich - The knockout punch that Kermit Washington leveled Rudy Tomjanovich with during a December 1977 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets remains one of the most devastating, horrific on-court incidents in NBA history. Tomjanovich suffered a fractured skull and almost died because of the point-blank roundhouse punch. The league hit Washington with a 60-day suspension. In today’s NBA, that kind of punch could have cost him the season. (Photo: Ron Kuntz Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)