GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 08: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before a game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on January 08, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Over the years, we have built up a healthy list of athletes that we hate as Detroit sports fans. Some people played a sport 30 years ago and we still hate them for it. We, as the good people that we are, have continued the storied tradition of hating million dollar athletes for either not living up to our standards or being too good against us. Detroit has an interesting history with bad luck against our football team that feels like a movie script. It also features Some of the best players’ career being launched because some of our teams pushed them so hard.

We’ve had players like Derek Jeter or David Ortiz who seemed to always perform exceptionally well against Detroit. Tom Brady is another player who never had much trouble winning games in the city of Detroit holding a career 5-2 record. Brady gets less hate here in Michigan than others considering he was the Michigan Wolverines’ star Quarterback back in the 1990’s. It’s only fair, even though he played much of his career for a widely despised franchise in the New England Patriots. But Brady is not alone. We’ve had several ex-players become enemies of Detroit for one reason or another. Ndamukong Suh is one of the first that come to mind for me. While a great player during his time in the Motor City he had a rather disgruntled departure from the team when his contract was up.

To put it simply, some athletes catch balls, and some drop them. Others score 40 points per game against our team, or decide to attack our fans in the stadium. Basically all the events in Detroit sports history have created this cesspool of hate that contains these players. Some belong to us, others we’d prefer that they moved to Russia. Scroll down to find out which 7 players made the cut for our city’s most hated!

Ron Artest and The Entire 2004 Pacers Team

Ron Artest is known for being an instigator and a dirty player during his time in the NBA. He along with several players put that on full display during a regular season game between Detroit and Indiana in 2004. Artest fouls Detroit Center Ben Wallace and gives him an unnecessary shot to the head in the process. Wallace took exception and shoved Artest. The events that followed became known as “Malice at The Palace” and would revolutionize the rules that had to be followed during a professional sporting event by both players and fans.
Sidney Crosby
COLUMBUS, OHIO – APRIL 13: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on during a stoppage of play in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on April 13, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. We hate Sid the Kid because he is skilled and a poor sport. He also couldn’t grow a proper beard apparently.

It’s been about 15 years since the Stanley Cup winning Red Wings held off Sidney Crosby to secure the title. Crosby was the biggest contributor when the Wings beat the Penguins but also when Pittsburgh flipped it the next year and won it all on Detroit’s home ice. In all reality we hate Crosby for a few reasons, he’s an excellent player, he whines about calls a lot, and he opted out of giving our players a handshake after winning. But the worst crime of them all? Sid ‘The Kid” couldn’t grow a respectable playoff beard!
Eric Ebron
DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 16: Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron #85 catches a touchdown pass over Chicago Bears inside linebacker Danny Trevathan #59 during the third quarter at Ford Field on December 16, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan.

37 Drops over 5 years may not seem like a lot, but for a NFL Tight End picked high in the first round, it’s madness. Eric Ebron is similarly hated to the next player on this list, he never should have been drafted as high as he was. It’s not his fault he’s mediocre, or I guess it literally is. Also featured is one of the few photos of Ebron actually catching a pass in the endzone!
Darko Milicic
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 29: Hated first round pick Darko Milicic #31 of the Detroit Pistons warms up before the game against the Washington Wizards on November 29, 2003 at the MCI Center in Washington, DC.

Darko Milicic is one of the most unfortunate scapegoats in NBA history. Darko was basically drafted because the Pistons general manager Joe Dumars wasn’t doing his job. If he had done the correct research before drafting, he would have realized the number 1 college player in the nation Carmelo Anthony, was the clear and obvious choice. Of course the Pistons still went on to win the NBA championship in 2004, but it was in no way because of anything Darko Milicic did on the basketball court.
Claude Lemieux
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 03: Claude Lemieux #22 of the Phoenix Coyotes looks on before a NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals at MCI Center on November 3, 2001 in Washington, DC.

Part of the 90’s bitter rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings. Claude Lemieux is still hated by Wings fans who were around to see him basically try to decapitate people on the ice. Back in the day when the NHL had real enforcers, Lemieux to his credit clearly made an impact on the opposing team with his antics. It’s why he’s on the list today! He was so despised by the city of Detroit, media outlets at one time had posters of Lemieux made into a wanted prison poster calling for his arrest and revenge to be taken upon him for the wounds he caused Kris Draper among others…
Michael Jordan
CHICAGO, IL – CIRCA 1990: Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls shoots over John Salley #22 of the Detroit Pistons during an NBA basketball game circa 1990 at Chicago Stadium.

Michael Jordan was so hated by Detroit fans and players back in the 80’s that the old Bad Boys created “The Jordan Rules”. Which was the secret formula for shutting down Jordan and winning the game. Essentially they would try to force Jordan to drive left and force a shot, and if he got to the rim, there would be 2 or maybe even 3 Pistons to physically meet him there and not allow any easy layups or dunks. In other words, they basically mauled him for 5 years. Until it didn’t work. In 64 career games against the Pistons, MJ averaged just about 30 points per game along with 6.6 Rebounds and 5.3 Assists.
Aaron Rodgers
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 08: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before a game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on January 08, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Possibly the most hated man on the list, Aaron Rodgers is hated for being a diva, a weirdo, and lastly really damn good at football especially against the Detroit Lions. Rodgers in his career has 18 wins and only 8 losses against Detroit. That means he has won almost 70% of the time against us! 6500 passing yards and 54 touchdowns thrown at our expense, including a last second Hail Mary win that still leaves some Lions fans in tears.