What's Love Got to Do With It?

In light of Ron Artest's latest fiasco, I thought I'd put together a list of all-star wife beaters!

O.J. Simpson
Need I say more? *there is a bad joke in here about pulp, but I’ll refrain*

Ike Turner
EAT THE CAKE, ANNAMAE!! Remember Ike? He beat Tina up with his boot and smacked her for not eating the cake and told her "if you die. i will kill you". 30 some years later, he said about his fiancee, Jeanette, who tours with him "I don't hit this girl here. But I have said to her, 'you do that again, I'm getting in your ass.' And then she never forgets. But with Tina, you can't talk, that was the only way. There may have been another way but I was too busy trying to pay bills, I had 26 people depending on me for a living." (Quote from September 27, 1993 issue of Jet Magazine)

James Brown
This is a man's world . . . singer James Brown was arrested and charged with criminal domestic violence for allegedly shoving his wife, Tomi Rae Brown, to the ground and threatening her with a chair. In 1988, Brown was charged with assaulting his then-wife Adrienne, but the charges were dropped when she refused to testify against him.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
WWE wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, turned himself in to police on charges of assaulting his wife, fellow WWE performer Debra Williams.

Sugar Ray Leonard
This was disappointing. I used to love Sugar Ray! He smacked his wife around with his fists and threw her about the house on more than one occasion and threw lamps, mirrors, etc at her.


Jose Canseco
Rammed his first wife’s car with his own, then five years later was back in court after hitting his second wife. Let's say it together now, "roid rage"

Riddick Bowe
Police arrived at the Bowe house on Long Island and found Riddick’s wife, Terri Bowe, “suffering from cuts and bruises”. Bowe was arrested again after that incident on a domestic violence charge of second-degree assault, less than a week before he was scheduled to begin serving a prison sentence for abducting his first wife, Judy, and their five children.

Barry Bonds
After a game one afternoon, Mrs. Bonds wanted to hang out with some friends but Barry told her that she could not leave the house “until the children were fed their dinner.” Soo, she fed the kids and went out. She came back home that night only to face the major league slugger. According to police reports, Barry threw his wife against the car, grabbed her around the neck and strangled her, then threw her down the stairs.

Charlie Sheen
In June 1997, actor Charlie Sheen pleaded no contest to physically abusing his former girlfriend.

John Singleton
In July 1999, movie director John Singleton pleaded "no contest" to charges of battering his girlfriend.

Rod Strickland
As part of a plea bargain, basketball player, Rod Strickland, was sentenced to 30 counseling sessions for hitting his girlfriend.

Dana Stubblefield
In October 2000, Washington Redskins football player Dana Stubblefield was arrested on charges of assaulting his wife, Kim. He explained the incident as a run-of-the-mill lovers’ quarrel, “Nobody got hurt…Nobody was drinking. Nobody was doing anything out of the ordinary. It was just one of those normal arguments you get in with your wife”. He’s prolly got a lot of issues because he was teased all his life for having a poontang of a name, and beating up on girls makes him feel manly.

Mike Tyson
During a television interview that aired in May 2003, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson denied that he raped Desiree Washington in 1991, but stated, “I just hate her guts. She put me in that state, where I don’t know…I really wish I did now. But now I really do want to rape her.” I think it was payback for all the times his back pu$$y was violated in prison – he’s never been the same since.


Al Unser
Two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser was arrested for punching his girlfriend, Jena Soto, and then forcing her out of their car and leaving her on the side of the highway.

Mykelti Williamson
Actor Mykelti Williamson, who starred as Bubba in Forest Gump, was arrested in 1998 for allegedly stalking his ex-wife and stabbing her friend.

Jim Brown
Former NFL-er Jim Brown vandalized and defaced his wife’s, car and made a terrorist threat to kill her during an argument.

Rae Carruth
In January 2001, Rae Carruth was found not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Cherica Adams, but guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. So he never physically laid a hand on her, but paid people to kill her.


Billy Dee Williams
Actor and malt liquor drinker, Billy Dee Williams, beat his live-in girlfriend and tried to prevent her from calling the police in 1996.

Joe Frazier
In February 2004, former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier was arrested and charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment for assaulting his girlfriend, Sherri Gibson. Gibson and Frazier have a 12-year-old son, who was present during the assault and tried to protect his mother by threatening Frazier with a baseball bat.

Allen Iverson
NBA star player Allen Iverson allegedly broke into his cousin’s apartment with a gun and made threatening statements while searching for his wife, Tawanna Iverson, following a domestic dispute. Reports claim that, after fighting with his wife, Iverson threw her out of their house. Some reports claim she was naked or in her underwear at the time.


Jason Kidd
He was arrested during a domestic dispute with his wife, Joumana. But now he claims she was the abusive one.

Glenn Robinson
NBA player Glenn Robinson was arrested after assaulting his ex-fiancée, Jonta French. The couple has a child, who Robinson wanted to visit. Once French let Robinson into the house, he reportedly began to hit her. During Robinson’s bond hearing, prosecutors said he told French that he was “ready to die and we’re both going to die”.

Dennis Rodman
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was arrested in January 2003 after an unidentified woman accused him of assaulting her. The woman called police from a payphone near Rodman’s house in Newport Beach. She suffered from a “small swelling to her upper lip…and claimed to have a bump on her head”.

Lou Rawls
In January 2003, Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery for assaulting his companion, Nina Inman. According to a police report, Rawls grabbed Inman’s hair and threw her to the floor during an argument.


Steven Adler
Drummer Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses attacked two women he had dated.


Courtney Alexander
UVA basketball star Courtney Alexander hit, choked and kicked his girlfriend. Alexander claimed the incident was a “misunderstanding.”

Rick Allen
Def Leppard drummer assaulted his wife in 1995.

Pedro Astacio
Colorado Rockies’ pitcher Pedro Astacio faced deportation by INS because he pleaded guilty to an assault charge of punching his estranged wife.