Athletes on Reality Shows

SI Staff | Feb 26, 2013

Athletes on Reality Shows /

Athletes on Reality Shows

Jacoby Jones

With news that Jacoby Jones, Aly Raisman and Dorothy Hamill will be on the next edition of Dancing with the Stars , which premiers March 18 this year, here's a look at some other appearances by athletes on reality shows.

Hines Ward

The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver began hosting his own show, The Hines Ward Show , in September 2006. During the 12th season of Dancing With the Stars he subdued his ego to beat out 10 other contestants and win the reality show's crown.

Sugar Ray Leonard

The co-host of NBC's reality show The Contender was a contestant on the 12th season of Dancing With the Stars . Traditionally, boxers have not fared well on the show; the highest one has finished is third overall. Leonard finished ninth.

Chris Jericho

WWE superstar Chris Jericho was featured on the 12th season of Dancing With the Stars opposite Cheryl Burke. The pair opened the season dancing to the Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go and wound up in seventh place.

Carmelo and La La Anthony

Soon after Anthony's trade to New York, VH1 announced its newest reality show -- La La's Full Court Life -- which chronicles the couple's life in the big city.

Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco

Reality veterans Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco teamed up for The T.Ocho Show on the Versus Network. The show received a 0.1 rating for its debut and was cancelled in 2011.

Evan Lysacek

The 2010 Olympic gold medalist showed he had some moves off the ice too, finishing second overall in the competition's 10th season.

Freddie Mitchell

Former NFL wide receiver Freddie Mitchell made an appearance on Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker in January 2011.

Natalie Coughlin

The Olympic medalist competed in the ninth season. She was eliminated in the fifth episode.

Michael Irvin

The former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver was the ninth contestant to be eliminated in Season 9.

Terrell Owens

Before inking a new deal with the Bills in 2009, the football star inked a deal with VH1 for his own reality show. For 30 minutes every week, fans watched him and his two model friends deal with issues such as his ailing grandmother and his complicated relationship with his father.

Chuck Liddell

MMA fighter Chuck Liddell was sent packing in Week 4 of Season 9.

Shawn Johnson

In one episode, Johnson was congratulated for her "killer instinct" as a ballroom dancer and the pint-sized gymnast waltzed her way to the top prize in the eighth season of the show.

Eddie George

The former star NFL running back made an appearance on Survivor: Tocantins, where his wife Taj was going for the grand prize.

Warren Sapp

Who says a 300-pound former football player can't be graceful? Sapp made it to the finals of Dancing With The Stars in December 2008 before losing to Brooke Burke.

Eric Snow

The former NBA guard turned NBA TV commentator appeared with his wife, Deshawn, on The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2008.

Dennis Rodman

After retiring from the NBA, Dennis the Menace has made a career as a reality TV star. Before appearing on Celebrtiy Apprentice, he had his own show, The Rodman World Tour. He won the $222,000 main prize on the 2005 edition of The Celebrity Mole, participated in the U.K.'s Celebrity Big Brother and hosted Geek to Freak.

Herschel Walker

The former Heisman winner wasn't tough enough to avoid the Donald's most famous words on the Celebrity Apprentice: He was fired during an appearance in the 2009 season of the show after failing to sell a new recipe to a frozen food company.

Natalie Gulbis

The pro golfer was fired by the Donald on The Celebrity Apprentice after she picked jewels that did not sell well at an auction.

Scott Hamilton

The former figure skating champion was fired from The Celebrity Apprentice in 2009 for failing to control Dennis Rodman's outbursts.

Ty Murray

Murray went from dancing with the bulls to dancing with Chelsie Hightower on Season 8.

Helio Castroneves

The IRL's Castroneves won Dancing With the Stars in 2008. Among the hottest topics was a rumored romance with his dance partner, Julianne Hough, which he denied in an interview with SI .

Laila Ali

Ali fought through knee pain to reach the semifinal round in 2007.

Monica Seles

The tennis Hall of Famer was voted off in the first round in 2008.

Barry Bonds

In 2006, ESPN followed Bonds for a reality show aptly titled Bonds On Bonds. The show was meant to give viewers an inside look at one of baseball's most controversial figures. Despite being signed for 10 hours of TV time, Bonds On Bonds aired for only 5 1/2 hours.

Misty May-Treanor

The volleyball star had to leave Season 7 after rupturing her Achilles tendon.

Lennox Lewis

Lewis fought his way to the semifinals of Celebrity Apprentice. The Donald fired him for being too laid back, saying, "I have to say, Lennox -- you're fantastic, but you're fired."

Tito Ortiz

Despite being paired up with Stephen Baldwin and Omarosa, MMA's Ortiz was the weakest link according to Trump. He was the eighth person fired in the first season of The Celebrity Apprentice.

Jennie Finch

The Olympic softball pitcher was the fourth candidate fired from The Celebrity Apprentice in 2008.

Nadia Comaneci

Comaneci was the second celebrity fired from the Celebrity Apprentice's second season after she failed to speak up on a crucial decision.

Jason Taylor

The All-Pro defensive end broke convention by participating on the show while still an active NFL player. One of the favorites throughout the competition, Taylor made the final three.

Deion Sanders

Fans cauht a glimpse of Sanders' personal life in his own reality series Deion and Pilar Sanders: Primetime Love.

Kristi Yamaguchi

The Olympic figure skater translated her grace and light feet onto the dance floor to reach the final three.

Angela Ruggiero

Ruggiero was a member of the gold-medal-winning 1998 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Her Olympic medal was not enough to impress Donald Trump, who fired her on the Apprentice: L.A.

Mark Philippoussis

The former tennis pro had to choose between the twentysomething "Kittens" and the over-40 "Cougars" in this Bachelor-like format. He selected 25-year-old Amanda Salinas, a hockey team dancer for the Nashville Predators.

Christian Okoye

Okoye played for the Chiefs as a running back from 1987 to '92, but on this show he was more like an Oakland Raider as part of the crew that sought lost treasures in the Caribbean. The crew played the role of the turk, cutting the Nigerian Nightmare loose in the second episode.

Apolo Anton Ohno

The Olympic gold medal speed skater stood tall on the podium again, winning the Season 4 competition with help from partner Julianne Hough.

Mallory Snyder

Before launching a career as an SI Swimsuit model, Snyder was a shy girl from the Midwest who gave up her soccer scholarship at Iowa State to participate in The Real World. She also took part in Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno in 2004.

Jesse Palmer

The former Florida Gators and New York Giants quarterback selected Jessica Bowlin, a 22-year-old California law student, from the 25 women competing for his affection on the fifth season of this show. He chose not to propose to her on the show, however, and a few weeks later they broke up.

Jose Canseco

A self-admitted steroid user (Canseco), Sandi Denton of "Salt n Pepa," Caprice, Bronson Pinchot, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth and a three-legged dog all shared the same house for season five of this series.

Sugar Ray Leonard

The former Olympic gold medalist and world champion co-hosted this on-air tournament in which young fighters competed against each other. Peter Manfredo Jr., who lost a super middleweight title bout, is one of the alums.

John Rocker

After washing out as a major-league closer, Rocker took part in season one of this show, in which former athletes took on the weekend warrior types. Other former stars included Jim McMahon, Jerry Rice, Clyde Drexler and Bo Jackson.

Chris Young

Young and five other members of the Diamondbacks' organization were profiled as they fought their way through the minor leagues on the way to the majors.

Emmitt Smith

The NFL's all-time leading rusher is used to winning -- his Cowboys won three Super Bowls -- so it shouldn't have come as a surprise when he partnered with Cheryl Burke to beat out actor Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff in the Season 3 final.

Jerry Rice

The greatest wide receiver in NFL history, Rice partnered with Anna Trebunskaya in Season 2. They placed second.

Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

HBO followed the two fighters as they prepared for their championship fight in May 2007. The show was a huge success and was credited with drumming up record sales for the pay-per-view fight -- a reported $120 million of revenue -- which Mayweather won by split decision.

Clyde Drexler

Former NBA All-Star and Olympic Dream Teamer Drexler partnered with Elena Grinenko, but they became the fourth couple to be eliminated in Season 4.

Evander Holyfield

Holyfield was the first retired athlete to appear on this show, but he didn't last long. Holyfield and partner Edyta Sliwinska were the second couple voted off in the first season. At least he didn't get his ear bitten off.

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaq helped kids lose weight as a way to draw attention to the growing problem of childhood obesity in the United States.

Gabrielle Reece

Retired volleyball pro Reece was among 12 celebrity drivers who partnered with six of stock car racing's up-and-coming drivers to learn to compete for the checkered flag. The series, which also starred John Elway, Jewel, William Shatner, Tony Hawk and John Salley, among others, premiered in 2007.

Venus and Serena Williams

The tennis queens were profiled in a six-part series in 2005 about their daily lives off the court.

Gary Hogeboom

Years after he had been sacked by the Bears' 46 defense, Hogeboom took on an alias -- "Gary Hawkins" -- for Survivor: Guatemala. Unfortunately for him, one of the other contestants was Danni Boatwright, a sports radio talk show host from Kansas City who recognized him and ended up taking the prize.

Shaq and friends

So what does Shaq do in the offseason? In this new reality show he challenged other athletes, including Oscar De La Hoya and Ben Roethlisberger, in their own sports.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Paired with dancer Karina Smirnoff, the boxing champion was the fourth contestant booted from the fifth season.

Maurice Greene

Greene was featured in the seventh season, but it wasn't his only foray into reality TV. He had also previously appeared on the NBC game show Idenity and the reality show Blind Date .

Louie Vito

Before finishing fifth overall in the 2010 men's Olympic halfpipe, Vito finished behind contestants such as Michael Irvin, Donny Osmond and Joanna Krupa during the ninth season of Dancing With the Stars .

Chad Ochocinco

No stranger to reality TV, Ochocinco appeared on the 10th season of Dancing With The Stars alongside two-time champion Cheryl Burke. Despite Burke's pedigree, Ochocinco couldn't crack the final three.

Lawrence Taylor

After honing his acting skills in movies such as Any Given Sunday and The Waterboy , Taylor appeared on the eighth season of Dancing With the Stars . He was the seventh contestant eliminated from the show.

Rick Fox

Following his retirement from the NBA in 2004, Fox launched an acting career that included stints on Ugly Betty , Oz and The Big Bang Theory . In 2010, he tried his hand at dancing, appearing opposite Cheryl Burke. The pair finished in sixth place.

Kurt Warner

The first player ever inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame, Warner didn't set the world on fire as a Dancing With the Stars contestant. The former Arizona Cardinals quarterback finished fifth, one spot ahead of Rick Fox.

Published Feb 26, 2013

SI STAFF