Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress among most-disliked athletes; will they become teammates?

Update: According to NBC 10 in Philadelphia, Plaxico Burress is interested in playing for the Eagles. Burress, whose one-year deal with the New York Jets is about to expire, will be a free agent.

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Forbes magazine has released its list of America’s most-disliked athletes, and the news isn’t good for Hampton Roads: Two locals made the cut.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick of Newport News is No. 1 for the third time in four years. Forbes noted that most casual fans only know him for his involvement in a dog-fighting operation.

A new entry at No. 3 is NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress of Virginia Beach. Burress is back in football after serving time for a gun conviction.

But there was a bit of good news. Former NBA player Allen Iverson of Hampton is off the list for the second straight year. Those who fell off the list this year include the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, Dallas Cowboys owner Jimmy Jones, former major league baseball player Manny Ramirez, former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, former Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, former college basketball coach Bob Knight and former NFL wide receiver Randy Moss.

Replacing them, in addition to Burress, are the following:

• Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who stomped on an opposing team’s player;
• NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, who had several well-publicized temper outbursts;
• New Jersey Nets forward Kris Humphries, who is better known for his brief marriage to Kim Kardashian;
• Miami Heat forward LeBron James;
• Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant
• New York Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Here’s the list, which also includes the percentage of survey respondents who replied “dislike”, ”dislike somewhat” or “dislike a lot” for each athlete. Ties were settled by giving the edge to the athlete who got more "dislike a lot" responses.

Forbes' most-disliked athletes

(Photos: Michael Vick by Lynne Sladky | The Associated Press; Plaxico Burress by Lynne Sladky | The Associated Press)

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