30+ Unfortunate Times Coaches Badly Failed Their Athletes

Darren - May 20, 2022

30+ Unfortunate Times Coaches Badly Failed Their Athletes

Darren - May 20, 2022

3. Teofimo Lopez Sr.

Lopez Sr. won a lot of praise when his son defeated the legendary Vasily Lomachenko. However, he suffered a shock defeat to George Kambosos in 2021. Kambosos knocked Lopez down early and dominated the fight. But Lopez Sr. refused to accept the result.

He showed a lack of class as he said that everybody knew that his son won the fight. This was delusional and disrespectful. It also didn’t help his son because he made Lopez Jr. appear arrogant in defeat. Coaches should protect their athletes and instill humility (via SBNation).

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2. Edmond Taverdyan

Olympic judo medalist Ronda Rousey became a superstar as she dominated the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Her coach, Taverdyan, took a lot of credit for her success. But he failed to help her evolve and adapt to different fighting styles. He also encouraged her to throw her hands in a fatal error (via Sportskeeda).

She fought Holly Holm in a title defense that went badly wrong. Holm lit her up on the feet in an electric display. But Taverdyan infamously told Rousey that she was doing well and encouraged her to box. Remember, Rousey was an Olympic medal-winning judoka. After the fight, Rousey never won in the UFC again and much of that blame was placed on Tarverdyan.

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1. Bobby Petrino

First, we acknowledge that Petrino took over the Falcons at a difficult time. Atlanta lost their star quarterback Michael Vick after news broke of his dogfighting scandal. This completely derailed their season but it also won Petrino a grace period (via The Spun).

Despite his bad results, his job remained relatively safe. But he continued to flirt with the Arkansas job, despite denying this when the media asked him about links. Finally, he quit the Falcons and joined the Razorbacks. He said goodbye to his athletes by leaving notes in their lockers.

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30+ Unfortunate Times Coaches Badly Failed Their Athletes