2000: Allen Iverson

In 1999, Charles Barkley said (in SI) of Allen Iverson: “I can’t stand that guy. … He’s showing no respect to anyone, least of all the game.” A.I. responded, “And I can't stand his fat ass, either. … What has he done? … He’s nobody, man.”

His Public Enemy status was assured by 2000, when Iverson—referred to in the Star-Ledger that year as having earned the reputation of “the most malignant star”—dropped “40 Bars,” a tame track by actual rap standards but decried as near-smut for a professional sports star. An elite scorer and poster boy for mainstream handwringing, he was the quintessential antihero.

2001: New York Yankees

Here was the story of a classic Public Enemy No. 1 given a two-month reprieve. The 2001 Yankees went from villains to heroes, so take their inclusion here as demonstration of how fickle fans can be.

By the fall of 2001, the Yankees and their insufferable fans seemed destined to parade a fourth straight World Series trophy. But then came September 11. Jim Caple wrote in an ESPN.com column, “Those Yankee Stadium regulars who crudely jeer and shower opponents with garbage suddenly seem to embody the city's remarkable strength, defiance, resiliency and spirit.”

And so on Nov. 4, there were mixed feelings among non-New Yorkers at seeing Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off blooper against Mariano Rivera to steal the Series title for the Diamondbacks.

2004: Kobe Bryant

You can’t extricate Kobe Bryant’s 2004 from the fallout of an alleged sexual assault. With his personal life in turmoil, he still helped lead the Lakers to the Finals. Then came an offseason in which he was blamed for breaking up the Lakers dynasty. The perception was that, lording his free agency over the organization, Bryant sent the Zen Master and Shaq Diesel packing.

Kobe even admitted as much last year when talking to Bleacher Report: “I wasn’t going to play with Shaq anymore after that. That just wasn’t going to happen. Things he had said, criticism from the media in saying I can’t win without him. Look, I put that individual s--t aside to win championships, and now I’m getting criticized for it. Now I’m going to show you f--ks what I can do on my own.”

2005: Terrell Owens

It didn’t have to be this way for T.O. He was coming off a special year in his first season with the Eagles. It wasn’t just the 14 touchdowns in 14 games; it was also the inspiring comeback from a late-season ankle sprain and fractured fibula in time to play in Super Bowl XXXIX.

It could have been his heel-to-hero moment. But...nah. The Patriots hung on to win, and things only continued to spiral from there for Owens and the Eagles.

First, there was the knock on Donovan McNabb (suggesting he was “the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl”). Then Owens hired heel agent Drew Rosenhaus and demanded a new contract in the T.O. Driveway Press Conference.

By the middle of the 2005 season, Owens was tussling with retired Eagle Hugh Douglas in the locker room. The Eagles, apparently having had enough, suspended and then deactivated T.O.

2007: Floyd Mayweather

Before Floyd Mayweather Jr. took Oscar De La Hoya’s light middleweight belt—and a $25 million purse—in May 2007, “Pretty Boy” Floyd was a pound-for-pound favorite of clued-in fight fans. But he was a nonentity to the public at large.

The nascent “Money” Mayweather was smart, though. De La Hoya remained the only true draw in a fading sport—a machine-washed star aptly nicknamed the “Golden Boy.” Floyd started to call him “Golden Girl” and took to an obnoxious, garish brand of behavior on the press tour and on HBO’s 24/7 that would have made “Rowdy” Roddy Piper blush.

“Bad press, good press, bad stories, good stories, it doesn't really matter what you write about me. Just write about me,” he’d say years later per USA Today.

2009: Steroids

There was the 2005 congressional hearing and then Barry Bonds’ controversial record chase in 2006 and 2007, when the Mitchell Report dropped. By 2009, the American public’s steroid fatigue was past exhaustion. That didn’t keep the year from beginning with a Sports Illustrated report detailing Alex Rodriguez’s testing positive for anabolic steroids in his MVP season of 2003 (the New York Post headline was simply “A-Hole”).

Months later, in the summer, when all eyes are on the sport, the New York Times released a string of reports revealing the names (many high-profile) of players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003. For a sport so rooted in romanticism, it was a scandal that just wouldn’t end.

2012: Tebowmania

When it comes to establishing the Public Enemy peak of Tebowmania, what sets 2012 apart is that when the Broncos traded Tebow to make way for Peyton Manning, it sent Tebow to the media capital of the world with the Jets. A controversial GQ feature asked fans, “Have You Accepted Tim Tebow As Your QB and Sunday Savior?”, and the hype and culture-warring didn’t stop.

His fans were delusional, hysterical and ardent. His detractors were vicious, resentful and acerbic. For everyone with no dog in the race, this combination of culture war and media fixation was the most annoying thing in sports.

2015: Roger Goodell

Things weren’t going too well for the $34 Million Dollar Man heading into 2015. What could he possibly do for an encore after his bungling of the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson cases? Not to mention the damning concussion reports.

Well, it wasn’t long into 2015 before the NFL commissioner saw his reputation sour further thanks to Deflategate.

After months of investigation ended with an official report many chided as anything from speculative to flimsy, Goodell suspended Brady four games for what amounted to obstruction of justice...only to have that suspension thrown out by a U.S. District Court judge.

Puppet for powerful owners or the head of an evil empire—show us a Roger Goodell fan...we’ll wait.