Sports

35 Bitter Teammate Feuds That Shook Professional Sports

Darren - June 1, 2020

Sports

35 Bitter Teammate Feuds That Shook Professional Sports

Darren - June 1, 2020

13. Darryl Strawberry vs. Keith Hernandez

1986 was a terrific year for the New York Mets as they won the World Series. However, behind closed doors, all was not well. Strawberry and Hernandez both had chips on their shoulder. In sum, Strawberry believed he was the most important player for the team, and his rivalry with Hernandez increased.

Things got worse over the next three years. In 1989, Strawberry had a tantrum because he wanted to sit near his friends during a team photoshoot. Hernandez went on to call Strawberry a “crybaby” because of both how he handled that situation and a contract dispute.

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12. Richie Incognito vs. Jonathan Martin

The antics of Incognito didn’t help the Miami Dolphins during a tumultuous 2014 season. The troubled offensive lineman had a terrible relationship with Martin. He bullied the younger man to the point that Martin got fed up and walked away from the NFL.

Incognito tried to pass off his actions as leadership but that didn’t stop the Dolphins from suspending him. After losing both players, the Dolphins went on to an 8-8 season. There really isn’t anything good to say about Incognito from all of this. It was an ugly situation with no real winner.

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11. LeBron James vs. Kyrie Irving

This one was a bit of a surprise. In one sentence, James just had no patience for Irving. After returning to the Cavaliers in 2014, he clashed with his teammate because of Irving’s attitude. When you’re totally focused on winning it’s difficult to respect somebody who doesn’t take the sport as seriously as you.

He felt that Irving was more concerned about his own statistics than those of the overall team. Eventually, Irving matured. But his relationship with James was nonexistent and he wanted out of Cleveland. Finally, he demanded a move and ended up moving to be the ‘man’ with the Boston Celtics.

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10. Michael Jordan vs. Scottie Pippen

One of the most discussed sports beefs as of late comes from two of the greatest teammates in the history of the NBA. It happened after Jordan’s biographical documentary series ‘The Last Dance.’ They’re not technically teammates now, but their names were synonymous with each other during the Bulls’ heyday.

To sum up, Pippen took a major issue with his portrayal in the show. Jordan called him selfish because he chose to have surgery during the regular season instead of the offseason. There were multiple reasons why and several other former teammates have called Jordan out after a very subjective representation in the documentary.

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9. Michael Westbrook vs. Stephen Davis

It’s difficult to remember when things were actually good for the Redskins but this is one of the most ridiculous incidents from the beleaguered franchise. According to Westbrook’s camp, Davis was a thorn in his side for a couple of seasons. He alleged constant abuse from Davis, including homophobic slurs.

However, this doesn’t justify Westbook assaulting Davis. The pair clashed during a 2007 training camp with Westbrook starting the fight. The Redskins fined him $50,000. Westbrook retired from the NFL shortly after. Then he went on to pursue a short career in MMA that didn’t end very well for him.

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8. Kevin Durant vs. Draymond Green

About halfway through the 2018/19 season, Durant announced he was leaving the Golden State Warriors. Nobody expected the on-court feud that erupted between him and Green in a game against the LA Clippers. Green came off worse because his team suspended him for his actions.

He confronted Durant after losing the ball and questioned him over his free agency. Green also called Durant a b**ch several times and the argument simmered over into the locker room. To rub salt into their wounds, Golden State lost to the Clippers in overtime. Durant ultimately signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

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7. John Terry vs. Wayne Bridge

Like all the best feuds, this one was over a woman. Terry was England’s star defender and captain of Chelsea. Meanwhile, Bridge was his England and former Chelsea teammate. The latter was in a relationship with Veronica Perroncel for five years before this scandal rocked the soccer world.

It emerged that Terry had secretly visited her house multiple times, violating Bridge’s trust as well as his own wife’s. It led to a massive scandal, which culminated with Bridge refusing to shake Terry’s hand when they faced off on the field. Finally, Bridge retired from international soccer.

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6. Barry Bonds vs. Jeff Kent

One of the most notorious feuds in baseball history, Bonds and Kent were part of a loaded Giants offense. In 2002, they combined for 83 home runs and 219 RBIs in 2002. However, behind the scenes, all was not well. They had feuded all season but suddenly, it erupted as their cold war turned hot.

It all spilled over when the pair of them started fighting in the dugout in the middle of a game. They tried to brush it off but their relationship was beyond repair. Finally, the Houston Astros came for Kent and he was able to get out of San Francisco. In sum, they weren’t on each other’s Christmas card lists.

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5. Bryce Harper vs. Jonathan Papelbon

In 2015, the Nationals looked very strong coming into the new season. Instead, they hovered around .500 and didn’t make the playoffs with one of baseball’s most talented rosters. This led to a boiling point with Papelbon taking it out on his younger superstar teammate Harper in one of the dumbest feuds on this list.

As Harper walked out to the dugout, Papelbon grabbed his throat and shoved him against the wall. The Nationals suspended Papelbon for the rest of the season because it was out of order. Furthermore, his former team, the Phillies, annihilated them in that game. Nats fans on Twitter offered to donate $100 each to a charity of the Nats’ choosing if it got rid of Papelbon.

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4. Shaquille O’Neal vs. Kobe Bryant

One of the longest-running teammate feuds in sports, this was a battle of egos. Looking back, Shaq is the one who comes out of it worse because he definitely felt threatened by the rapid rise of the Black Mamba. Both extremely competitive, it probably worked in the Lakers’ favor during the early 2000s.

However, the older Shaq’s body eventually started to break down and he went into decline. O’Neal’s abilities faded but his ego was as large as ever. In short, Bryant resented this more than ever as his importance stood out. Eventually, Shaq left LA on bad terms as he wanted Phil Jackson to return.

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3. Kieron Dyer vs. Lee Bowyer

One of the most iconic teammate feuds from soccer history was between these two men. They were playing for Newcastle United in the Premier League back in 2005. In short, Bowyer was furious with Dyer because he wouldn’t pass the ball to him. He squared up to his teammate which ended as well as you’d expect.

The next thing they were throwing punches at each other. It was a wild clash with both men taking shots to the face and Bowyer’s shirt ripped. The referee sent off both players. Then manager Graeme Souness made them sit next to each other and apologize in a press conference.

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2. Gilbert Arenas vs. Javaris Crittenton

This feud comes from their days in Washington. First of all, their rivalry intensified because of a high-stakes card came on a flight back from Phoenix. However, nobody could have expected it to escalate the way it did. Two days later, Crittenton brought a gun to practice and pointed it at Arenas.

The latter had threatened Crittenton with gun violence but nobody expected this kind of reaction. The NBA suspended both players for the rest of the season following the incident, while the Wizards released Crittenton, who hadn’t played a minute for them before this. Definitely not the best signing they’d ever made.

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1. Bill Romanowski vs. Marcus Williams

Probably the most vicious and one-sided incident on this list, Romanowski’s actions in this feud were despicable. In 2003, the former Raiders linebacker ended Williams’ career with one punch. He attacked the tight end during a scrimmage, ripping off his helmet and breaking his eye socket with a punch.

In 2005, a court awarded Williams 10 percent of the $3.4 million in damages he sought in a lawsuit against Romanowski. Williams claims that Romanowski was suffering from ‘roid rage’ and just erupted. Ever the charmer, Romanowski has had numerous run-ins with opponents and even been accused of racism.

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35 Bitter Teammate Feuds That Shook Professional Sports

35 Bitter Teammate Feuds That Shook Professional Sports

13. Darryl Strawberry vs. Keith Hernandez

12. Richie Incognito vs. Jonathan Martin

11. LeBron James vs. Kyrie Irving

10. Michael Jordan vs. Scottie Pippen

9. Michael Westbrook vs. Stephen Davis

8. Kevin Durant vs. Draymond Green

7. John Terry vs. Wayne Bridge

6. Barry Bonds vs. Jeff Kent

5. Bryce Harper vs. Jonathan Papelbon

4. Shaquille O’Neal vs. Kobe Bryant

3. Kieron Dyer vs. Lee Bowyer

2. Gilbert Arenas vs. Javaris Crittenton

1. Bill Romanowski vs. Marcus Williams

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