Athletes naked

Usually if you see an athlete naked, it's because someone made a furtive photograph in the team's locker room. Not so with these gentlemen. They're very willing to doff their clothes. Most do so as models. A few, such as the late boxer Rocky Graziano, don't model but don't mind being naked either.

Before we begin, one caveat: I had to resort to Wikipedia and other sources to learn more about the athletes' careers. I don't know a thing about sports, other than baseball is played in the summer and football starts in the fall. I hope the finished product meets with your approval.


CHRIS MEARS
An accomplished diver, Englishman Chris Mears isn't be shy about appearing nude in photo shoots. But first a little about his career: He won fifth place along with a teammate at the 2012 Olympic games and ninth in the individual competition. His awards also include a silver medal in the 2011 FINA Diving World Series and a bronze medal in the 2013 Diving World Series in Edinburgh. He also competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 European Championships.

Posed with his photographer, Dylan Rosser

ROCKY GRAZIANO
Rocky Graziano was considered on of the greatest boxers in American history, having the capacity to knock out an opponent with a single punch. Graziano was a troubled man, as both a youth and an adult. He spent time in reform schools and jails. He won a few welterweight championships after leaving the Army, then got scored an upset boxing victory in 1945. At one time he was middleweight World Boxing Champion, only to lose it after a rival battered him in the ring. After his retirement, he appeared in a number of TV shows and appeared as an ex-boxer in the 1967 film "Tony." He died in 1990. The photos were taken by Stanley Kubrick.

MATT HARVEY
Matt Harvey is a professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets. The Mets chose him in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. In the 2013 season, he had a win-loss record of 12-10 and an earned run average of 2.39. He struck out 261 batters. Unfortunately he suffered in injury to his pitching elbow and is expected to be out of service for the entire 2014 season.

DANELL LEVYA

Danell Levya is a Cuban-American gymnast who won the gold medal for the parallel bars at the 2011 world championships. He also won a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics and in the Men's All Around. Levya defected from Cuba to the United States when he was less than a year old. He is now 22 years old.

BRAD RICHARDS

Brad Richards is a Canadian professional hockey center and alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey Leage. He also has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. In 2004 he won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning and was named Most Valuable Player. Born in Prince Edward Island, He also plays golf, is a wine aficionado and donates to a children's  cancer charity and military service people.

JARL EPSEN YGRANES
Jarl Espen Ygranes, a former Norwegian ice hockey player, has been described as "The God of Ice Hockey" because of his sexual attractiveness. Unlike most athletes, he has partaken in full-frontal nudity during photo shoots. (Unfortunately I've been able to find clear photos of him). Ygranes was drafted as a defender for the Montreal 1997 National Hockey League draft after playing in the Norway national hockey team. He played six years in the NHL, retiring in 2005. In a few days he will mark his 35th birthday.

If you're interested in more naked pro sportsmen, you might want to check out rugby star Sean Lamont (August 27, 2013) or Toronto Blue Jays right-fielder Jose Bautista (December 29, 2103) and the Warwick Rowers (January 3, 2014).

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