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

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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