The most beloved living American athlete is...

Dale Jr.

Or Lance Armstrong

 

If you believe the ESPYs: Caitlyn.

 

Junior is good, but NASCAR doesn’t have the following it did just 10 years ago, and it’s too much of a niche sport.

 

Dale Jr. is a solid, solid choice.

 

Or Richard Petty.

Again, 'beloved.'

 

It would have to be a football, baseball or basketball player. Hockey, tennis, auto racing and Olympic sports are way too niche. So out of those --

Not Ripken. Maybe he was in the late 90s but it feels like his star has fallen. A lot of people view the streak as more selfish than gritty, like he was glory-chasing to the detriment of his team and using his power and profile to stay in the lineup when his manager would have wanted to sit him. You also hear that he was kind of a lousy teammate. Not Dr. J -- nobody under 40 remembers him as a player and few under 40 outside Philly have probably even heard of him. At one point maybe, but he's been eclipsed by the likes of Jordan, Bryant, Lebron and others. I guess maybe Magic or David Ortiz? Kids seem to know who Magic Johnson is. Ortiz is recently retired so kids remember him and everybody liked him -- huge, lovable personality and really big moments.

Among the over 40 set, I guess it would have to be Hank Aaron. Maybe Ken Griffey Jr.? Is there anyone who didn't love Junior?

 

IIRC, Griffey had a bit of reputation as a diva for at least part of his Cincinnati years. It seemed to be long forgotten by the time he hit the later stage of his career, though.

I had never heard that criticism of Ripken. Maybe some suggestions from the media that he should sit in the early 90s, but not that he was flexing his muscle in the organization to chase the record.

 

Petty is a good one. There are a lot of folks south of the Mason-Dixon line who, if given the choice to take a bullet for him or whoever the current president is, would happily choose The King.

 

He was a very good power SS.

He was not a power 3B.

Plus, his streak was interrupted thanks to Kevin Costner and a mysterious Camden Yards power outage.

 

Allegedly.

 

It's hard to find a current or recent athlete to fit this category because of this being an age of widespread social media and the "Gotcha!" attitude that comes with it, there are always going to be non-flattering tidbits coming over the news, no matter how petty or exaggerated they may be. I think Hank Aaron seems to be the best example right now. I've heard some people describe him as prickly at times, but that's about the only negative I've heard.

He's no longer living and he played his entire career in a smaller media market, but I remember Tony Gwynn had a mostly positive reputation. I say "mostly," because he did have a few former teammates accuse him of a supposedly selfish attitude. Of course, three of his most notable critics were Jack Clark (a well-deserved reputation as an asshole), Garry Templeton (once flipped off the St. Louis crowd during a game after hearing some boos), and Jim Leyritz (seemed to wear out his welcome everywhere he played), so consider the sources there.

 

Re: Shaq being beloved. Look at how many players named Shaq on college football rosters across the land.