Armour: Your guide to rooting for the bad guys

Alex Rodriguez seemed like a decent-enough guy until he didn't. Tiger Woods is foul-mouthed and surly — except when he's being warm and fuzzy. Lance Armstrong raised millions for cancer research and trained a much-needed spotlight on the disease. He's also a liar and a cheat.

It used to be that you could root for athletes guilt-free, their otherworldly skills and talents the only measure by which they were judged. Now we know too much, have seen too much, to be that naïve.

Sure, there are the Jordan Spieths of the world, who really are as polite, humble and decent as they appear. But most of our favorite athletes are flawed, at best. At their worst, they're shameful, perhaps even criminal.

And yet, we continue to cheer for all of them.

"People will find a way to compartmentalize (accomplishments and flaws) because they need to hold onto that association with their sports heroes," said Stanley H. Teitelbaum, a psychologist and author of Athletes Who Indulge Their Dark Side.

"People more and more are feeling alienated. Feeling alone. Feeling in need of a hero," Teitelbaum said. "The way to feel better about themselves is to feel aligned or connected to someone they feel is a winner."

Only you can decide who is worthy of your adoration — and why. But before you don that jersey, wave that foam finger or do laps around your living room to celebrate A-Rod's 660th home run, it might be helpful to review this handy cheat-sheet (no puns intended) of the not-so-good, the bad and the downright ugly in today's sports world:

TAINTED

Michael Phelps. The first DUI was bad, the second was inexcusable. All of those Olympic gold medals can't buy common sense, but they certainly could have paid for a driver.

Luis Suarez. Even 4-year-olds know better than to bite the other kids on the playground.

Hope Solo. The world's best goalkeeper would fare far better if her instincts and decisions off the field were as good as they've been on the field.

PERMANENT SMUDGE

Adrian Peterson. Sure, the Vikings running back was "disciplined" the same way when he was a child. But if you hit your 4-year-old son with a tree branch enough to leave welts and bruises, it doesn't take a Mensa candidate to recognize that's abuse.

Tiger Woods. His serial infidelity ruined his marriage and trashed his once-sterling image. For many, however, it's the audible swearing when cameras are trained on him that's most disturbing. Yes, he lets fly with a curse word now and then and has the occasional bout of petulance. So do a lot of other adults.

Ray Rice. He and his wife can swear the horrible incident in the elevator was a one-time thing. Once is still too many.

BEYOND REDEMPTION

Floyd Mayweather. His repeated abuse of the women in his life is, simply, sickening. The only place he should be throwing punches is in the ring.

Lance Armstrong. As if the lying and cheating weren't bad enough, Armstrong was ruthless in doing whatever it took to cover himself. He only 'fessed up after he'd been cornered, and even in exile, err, retirement, he has yet to learn how to take responsibility.

Alex Rodriguez. To think, there was a time when not being Derek Jeter was A-Rod's biggest sin. He lied — repeatedly. He threw people under the bus — repeatedly. And the Yankees still have to pay him gazillions of dollars

VERDICT IS STILL OUT

Jameis Winston. The likely No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft complained in an interview with ESPN The Magazine that people have tried to "dehumanize" him because of the problems he had at Florida State. Here's a tip from here on out: Don't put yourself in bad situations and there will be nothing to judge.

"We're just ballplayers," Barry Bonds, who may as well have a scarlet asterisk emblazoned on his chest for his own PED use, said when USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale asked what the appropriate response is for Rodriguez's future milestones. "We're not God. We're imperfect people. We're human beings."

And therein lies the quandary: As fans, we want heroes and there are very few of those to go around.

Follow columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.