Professional athletes are not known for having good style. So, when the annual awards show honoring the greatest sports stars rolls around, I’m always skeptical about what they’ll be wearing on the red carpet. This year, my cynicism was put to shame by some very well-dressed athletes at the 2009 ESPY awards.

I honestly don’t know where to begin. I was so pleasantly surprised when I was checking out the red carpet photos, looking at one stylish athlete after another. Ok, let’s begin with the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus. These buff tennis stars have never quite mastered the art of dressing their athletic physiques…until now! I literally didn’t even recognize Venus, she was a statuesque Boho queen. Serena was all Grecian goddess in a teal gown. Both looked amazing!

I usually ignore the men on the red carpet. Like I’ve said before, there isn’t much that can be done with a tuxedo without going overboard into crazy David Arquette territory. But the men on the ESPY red carpet really turned it out. NBA champ Kobe Bryant looked dapper in a gray jacket with black pants and tie. Too bad I can’t say the same thing about his wife (more on that later). Carmelo Anthony stood out in a snazzy teal linen jacket and Wyclef Jean (not an athlete, I know) rounded out the best-dressed men with a white quilted tux jacket with black trim.

Now, back to Kobe’s wife (er, escort), Vanessa. She looked like a high-priced call girl in a really ill-fitting dress. Cleavage is one thing….complete indecency is a whole other thing completely. Not only were her boobs almost completely exposed, but the cutouts on the sides of her dress showed off another kind of cleavage, stomach pudge.

All in all, the athletes dressed to impress on sports’ biggest night. But, next year, Kobe, leave your wife at home.