This isn’t the first time a rando has tried to extort an athlete, on account of most athletes having much moneys. Robert Griffin III, Mark Jackson and Ronnie Belliard are just a few recent examples.

Pro athletes gain a ton of fame and fortune at a young age, so it makes sense they wouldn’t all be humble heroes. And indeed, sometimes they try to exploit that fame… with mixed results. After the jump, nine sports figures whose influence wasn’t quite what they thought it was.

Hines Ward has joined NBC Sports as an analyst for Football Night in America and college football games. He’ll also appear on the NBC Sports Network. More, after the jump.

The web roundup for Tuesday, March 13th, 2012. Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See anything that should be on SportsGrid? Send it to tips@sportsgrid.com. Our starting five, after the jump.

Leaving a Facebook status update after a breakup is risky business. If you’re emotional, you might put something ugly out there that you later wish you could take back. Luckily, Hines Ward’s final Facebook message to Steeler Nation was a classy one: the 35-year-old receiver, who will soon be released by Pittsburgh, thanked the fans, Steeler ownership, and his teammates and coaches for his fourteen seasons in black and gold. But he also made it clear that leaving Pittsburgh wasn’t his decision. The full message, after the jump.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will reportedly release wide receiver Hines Ward, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Ward has been a Steeler for his entire career (he was drafted out of Georgia in 1998), and he’s the team’s career leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown receptions.

From Fox News: Prosecutors have dropped DUI charges against Pittsburgh Steelers receiver and Dancing With the Stars winner Hines Ward. In lieu of the DUI charge, Ward instead pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was given a year on probation, a $2,000 fine, and 80 hours of community service.

The newest trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises has hit the web, and in addition to getting a closer look at Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, there’s someone else you may recognize in there as well: Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward.

Filming of Christopher Nolan‘s much-anticipated third Batman movie is officially underway in Pittsburgh. On Saturday, 10,000 black-and-yellow-clad fans packed Heinz Field not to cheer on the hometown Steelers, but the Gotham Rogues.

It would appear that Hines Ward is “once again shining the spotlight on Pittsburgh”…but not in the way he (or anyone else) would have wanted.