Ah, sports. Where men come together like a band of brothers and wage war on the field, side by side. The ultimate expression of respect and teamwork. Sometimes.
Other times it seems like the field just isn’t big enough for two athletes. Thankfully, due to television, reporters, and social media we can all bear witness to the fued. Here are ten teammates who just couldn’t work together.
Other times it seems like the field just isn’t big enough for two athletes. Thankfully, due to television, reporters, and social media we can all bear witness to the fued. Here are ten teammates who just couldn’t work together.
- Brent Barry and Tony Parker: After becoming friends while playing together for the Spurs, their friendship came to an end after Parker cheated on his wife Eva Longoria with Barry’s ex-wife Erin Barry. Personally, we think he made the wrong choice for more than a few reasons.
- Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber: If you’re not first, you’re last, and Vettel and Webber are constantly trying to beat each other for first place – even though they race on the same team. Webber goes so far as to verbally berate his teammate after placing second, among other fights.
- Michael Westbrook and Stephen Davis: Although teammates together for the Redskins, Westbrook and Davis had numerous arguments, one of which has caused an all-out fist fight between them during a practice. He was fined $50,000 for the feud.
- Kobe Bryant and Smush Parker: Although one of the most celebrated NBA players of all time, Kobe always seemed to have a hard time getting along with his team. Parker called him a “ball hog” a bad teammate, and once said that Kobe told him not to talk to him during practice. When all is said and done though, Kobe, a notorious workaholic, is headed for the hall of fame while Smush has been cruising around the international leagues for the better part of the last decade.
- Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant: Oh right, let’s come back to this. The two had the worst rivalry in NBA history, beginning in 1998 and coming to a head in 2006 with Shaq making a rap song dissing Bryant who returned the favor. Time, age, and retirement seems to have mellowed the feud a bit with Kobe remarking that the two always had an athletic dislike for one another, but never a true dislike.
- Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton: A friendly game of poker between buds usually stays friendly, but when pro athletes are involved, a game can get messy fast. Because Arenas owed Crittenton money for a past game debt, the friendship turned ugly, with both bringing guns into the locker room and threatening each other.
- Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter: No one really knows why A-Rod and Jeter’s friendship devolved, but as two of the premiere shortstops in the game during the 90’s they two were very close. But when Rodriguez gave dirt to author Ian O’Connor for his book on the Yankees, Jeter didn’t take it well. The “breakup” started around 2006 and while the two continued playing as teammates for several years, things never really returned to the way they were.
- Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters: Irving and Waiters were both top-four picks for Cleveland, but it seems the two teammates would prefer to beat their chests instead of playing nice. In fact, following a public argument, Waiters received a stiff demotion. He spent some time with Oklahoma City before landing with the Heat this summer.
- Peyton Manning and Mike Vanderjagt: Although Manning is typically thought of as a fairly nice guy, he has nothing nice to say about Vanderjagt. After Vanderjagt publically questioned Manning’s passion, Peyton went so far as to call him an “idiot kicker” during the 2003 pro-bowl, which might be how “nice guys” insult people.
- Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent: While both Bonds and Kent were among the best players for the San Francisco Giants, they just couldn’t bury the hatchet. In fact, in 2002 they wound up getting into a fight in the dugout, leading to Kent leaving for the Houston Astros just to get away from Bonds.
