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Michael Vick, Tiger Woods among US's most disliked athletes

Michael Vick has helped the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles get to the playoffs. But Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, and other athletes are some of the most disliked pro athletes in the US, according to a recent study.

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Matt Slocum/AP/File
In this file photo, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick walks on the field before an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Philadelphia.
  • By Pat Murphy Staff

Even after winning the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award and getting the Philadelphia Eagles in playoff contention the past two seasons, quarterback Michael Vick is disliked by over half of those asked in a Nielsen/E-Poll endorsement score poll.

The results of the poll were published in Forbes magazine. Those who took the poll could respond to each athlete with a vote of "dislike," ”dislike somewhat” or “dislike a lot."

Vick earned a 60 percent dislike score to lead the group of professional athletes. Poll respondents still remember Vick's guilty plea and jail sentence for running a dog-fighting ring out of his home.

Tiger Woods also registered a 60 percent dislike vote from those polled. But the PGA golfer, who's playing in this week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, comes in second due to fewer 'dislike a lot' votes.

Third on this list at 56 percent is New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress, followed by Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh at 51 percent. Suh was suspended during the just-completed NFL season for stomping on a Green Bay Packers offensive lineman on Thanksgiving Day.

Number five on the most disliked athlete list, at 50 percent, is center Kris Humphries of the NBA's New Jersey Nets.

How about the most beloved athlete? Forbes didn't say, but a poll last month from ESPN offered an answer: Tim Tebow. Three percent of Americans named the Broncos quarterback as their favorite sportsman, placing him above Kobe Bryant (2 percent), Aaron Rodgers (1.9 percent), Peyton Manning (1.8 percent), and Tom Brady (1.5 percent).

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