As 2007 ends, we will be looking back at some people and stories that dominated the sports world and our coverage at Outsports this year.
Our six “Jerks of the Year” nominees represent some of the worst memories of the year for many gay sports fans.
 | Tony Dungy The Super Bowl-winning coach used his bully pulpit in the months after his team’s championship win as, well, a pulpit. He preached about God and winning the right way; and he raised $75,000 for an anti-gay organization saying, “I embrace that stance,” pushing any gay Colts deeper into the closet. |
 | Sebastien Gacond The professional triathlete demanded that Outsports remove a link to a photo of him “because it’s a gay website.” When Outsports and other readers began finding Gacond’s professional Web site, he removed it from the Net. |
 | Richard Gasquet We’ve got no problem with people saying they are or are not gay. But the Wimbledon semifinalist claimed “it’s absolutely obvious” that he’s straight. If you’ve ever met John Amaechi or Esera Tuaolo, you’d say “it’s absolutely obvious” that they’re straight, too. |
 | Tim Hardaway The former NBA All-Star lost his coaching job, his NBA spokesperson job and certainly hours and hours of sleep after he said the now infamous line, “I hate gay people,” in response to John Amaechi’s coming out. Hardaway has started to make amends, and we’re hoping he can make it onto our good guys list at some point. |
 | Steroid-taking athletes Steroids, HGH, performance-enhancing drugs. For the second year in a row, the athletes taking these drugs, particularly in baseball, have taken center stage; and it’s just going to get worse. P.S. Did you know John Rocker is mentioned in the Mitchell Report? |
 | Michael Vick In January he was stopped in an airport for allegedly carrying illegal drugs with him. In April he was accused of operating a dog-fighting ring and quickly denied it. In July, he was indicted and by November he was in jail. Still better than being drowned, electrocuted and hung, which is what he did to those dogs. |
