Shamail Ahmed

8 most controversially absurd sports photoshoots Magazines are often used to convey news with the mass audience. In these issues, the fans get to have a closer look at their favorite personalities. How they live their lives, their future projects and all the other things they should get excited for. Similarly, the magazine’s cover shoots are planned to appeal to as many people as possible. so it is a given that most of the time they’ll go overboard. You can expect your favorite celebrities and models to comply with the vision of the magazine studios but for professional sports personalities, you will think otherwise. So let's get to it, here are the 8 most absurd and controversial sports athletes photoshoots. N8 Leo Messi The G.O.A.T. This is something I would have expected from cristiano ronaldo but never from leo messi. In 2018, Lionel Messi, who is considered by many except Ronaldo as the Greatest of all time actually posed with an actual goat for a photoshoot with Paper magazine. In the same magazine interview, he clarified that he does not consider himself the best. What a way to clarify things “right”. N7 Emily Didonato SI Racist Sports Illustrated has a long history of getting famous for all the wrong reasons. May it be their focus more on business than sports or particularly their swimsuit stories which is often just absurd. In 2013, another issue of victoria secret swimsuit arrived and this time, the theme was the seven continents. Now I don't know if any of this was considered poetic by the sports magazine but several shoots from this issue caught fire for being intentionally racist. One of them being the one where model Anne V is sitting on a traditional raft and she is being piloted by an old Chinese man in traditional Chinese clothing. In another shoot, model emily didonato is seen in namibia wearing swimwear and holding a spear alongside a native who is in a tribal look. N6 Denise Rodman Milk In the 90’s Denise Rodman was one of the sports celebrities who had everyone's attention whenever he did anything. Whether it was his on court controversies or off the court affair. His fashion choices were also something that had everyone guessing. One of the most famous ones being his shoot for Got Milk campaign. While plenty of A-listers got photographed for this campaign, Denise’s shoot was the one that stood out for all the fun reasons. N5 Tiger Woods Vanity Fair Undoubtedly, Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. He has won more trophies than any other player and has been dominant mostly throughout his career. But the man had serious issues outside the sports. And the worst thing for him was that it all became public right in front of our eyes. Watching his affairs with several mistresses unfold while he was married to Elin Nordegren was difficult to digest. In vanity fair’s 2010 cover, the magazine depicted a new version of the famously lovable golfer. This time presenting him as a tough guy, shirtless, carrying dumbbells like he is about to move into jail. Although the cover shoot didn't get much of the attention, the story itself did. N4 Paige Spirinac SI Paige Spirinac has been regarded as one of the most beautiful golfers in the world. And it's something that nobody is proud of because an athlete wants to be best regarded for their work in their sports. To her credit she had a great start in 2016 when she was playing in the amateur circuit but couldn't cultivate her success in the professional career. Although what worked out for her was her social career, where she still pursues as a professional golfer. In the 2018 swimsuit issue, Paige was one of the sports personalities included that year. Her photoshoots grabbed all the negative attention online. She became the target for online hate, threats and harassment. Fortunately she used all that to her advantage and her campaign against online hate. N3 Lebron And Gisele for Vogue In 2008, vogue celebrated their latest issue noting that this the first time a black man has graced the cover of vogue. Where everything seemed to be going in the right direction, many sports commentators called out the magazine for its racist depiction of the cover. According to the critics, lebron james was posed in a gorilla like position, baring his teeth and an arm around bundchen's waist. Resembling quite like the pose in king kong movies. The theme was also labeled as “Size and Shape” Although Lebron James supported the issue and stood against such criticism, it is important to know that magazines just don't do shoots like these just for the sake of a photoshoot. They want attention and there is a researched approach that takes place in the planning of these shoots. N2 CR7 and Drogba very close Whenever the football world cup gets close, it is a given that all the brands, media and personalities are going to chip in and make a strong buck out of it. Similarly was the case during the FIFA world cup of 2010. Throughout all of the crazy marketing stunts, what stood out to me was this crazy photoshoot of cristiano ronaldo and didier drogba for vanity fair. Even Though CR7 has been involved in some crazy photoshoots, I don't know whose idea it was to do this. To stand 2 of the best players in the world side by side just in their underwear. The players were make to wear underwears which represented the color of their nations. And Don't worry CR7 and Drogba were not the only A-lister for the shoot. There were plenty more which included Samuel Eto’o, Sulley Muntari, Buffon, Stankovic, Cole, Ballack, and KAKA. Crazy time that was. N1 Gigi Hadid and Ashton Eaton It is quite common when a top model stands alongside a male athlete for a sports magazine. It gives the magazine alot to talk about and creates a fine chatter online with the fans. But there is something that one needs to consider when arranging these photoshoots. That there are so many great female athletes that could have gotten recognition if they were placed in the photoshoot alongside their male counterparts. This is a sad reality of athletic sports. Unlike other sports which gets yearly attention because of leagues, sponsorship deals and media coverage, athletic sports mostly get recognized whenever there's a new Olympic event. Such was the criticism that caught this Vogue shoot which included model Gigi Hadid and Ashton Eaton, an Olympic athlete. The photoshoot was heavily criticized for being disrespectful for other female athletes. All the sport fans wanted was to see their favorite female athletes represented alongside Ashton Eaton. This would have brought positive coverage towards the female side of this sport. Thanks for reading. Be sure to comment on what you thought about the list and if you have any topics for me to cover.