Stephen A. Smith recently reported that Kyrie Irving’s trade request being publicized may have actually been a result of Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James leaking the news.
According to Smith, the request had initially been made weeks ago by Irving’s camp with nobody outside the Cavs management circle knowing about it. Smith continues to explain that Irving’s camp now believes that when the Cavs superstar found out about the request he was “put off and leaked it”. If this report is true, it would likely be the official snapping of an already extremely bent relationship.
Teams generally try to keep good relationships between their players, but sometimes the intensity and competitive nature of athletes end up making waves in organizations. Here is a look at some of the high-profile rifts that have happened between athletes bearing the same colours.
Shaquille O’Neal vs. Kobe Bryant
This is one of the most covered rivalries to stem out of the same organization of all-time, and it started right from the get-go. When Bryant came into the league as a confident 18-year old it didn’t sit very well with an impatient Shaq. He told the Lakers organization that “he didn’t want to babysit” and went on to opening talk about Bryant’s playing style to be selfish. When asked to make an attempt to mend the relationship, O’Neal was ultimately not willing. While the duo still remained successful on the court, winning three straight championships between 1999 and 2002, Bryant and Shaq still seemed to have a strained relationship.
Years following the three-peat saw disappointing results from the Lakers and an increasingly sour relationship between their two superstars. This included multiple media shots at each other, making the feud more open than ever. Eventually O’Neal was traded away to the Miami Heat, officially ending the duo’s time as teammates. The following years would see the two continue to cast shade onto each other, refusing to say the other’s name in interviews and not acknowledging each other on the court when facing off. While the on-court years were trying, both Shaq and Kobe seem to have put their past differences aside. Both players have praised the other’s abilities and there seems to be a genuine mutual respect and, dare we say, friendship between the two.
Peyton Manning vs. Mike Vanderjagt
Peyton Manning is basically the poster-boy of NFL quarterbacks. Drafted first overall, Manning enjoyed a long career of success that has ultimately solidified him as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play. One attribute that is associated with Manning is his intense preparation, planning, and adaptability. Nearly everything Manning did was calculated, and it often seemed like he was one step ahead of his opponents. Despite his composure both on and off the field, an interview regarding Colts’ kicker Mike Vanderjagt showed a fiery, candid Manning rip into his teammate.
That must be a record for how many times you can call someone an idiot in one response. Manning was rightfully ticked off after Vanderjagt followed a 2002 playoff loss by questioning Manning and Colts’ coach Tony Dungy’s ability to lead the team to a championship. Vanderjagt was one of the best kickers in football at the time, but a few years later he would miss a potential game-tying field goal during the 2005 divisional round, ending one of the greatest seasons of the Manning era Colts and prompting the man they call “The Sheriff” to turn away with an incredulous smile and a head shake.
Bryce Harper vs. Jonathan Papelbon
This feud could almost have been predicted. At the time of the altercation, Papelbon had established himself as one of the more reliable closers in the league, even being called upon to close out the clinching game of the 2007 World Series. He has an attitude that reflects no-nonsense, hard work, and team play. Meanwhile, Harper was a young, fiery newcomer to the league. While his talents as a player were undeniable, the way he conducted himself on the field and to the media could be seen as arrogant. When he hit a shallow fly ball to left field against Papelbon’s old team, the Phillies, and casually walked back to the dugout instead of running to first, it didn’t sit well with Papelbon. The veteran closer exchanged words with Harper before ultimately grabbing him by the throat and throwing him up against the wall.
While Papelbon and Harper have told the media that they worked out their differences and that they are back to normal, we don’t totally believe they’re the fondest of each other.
Jeff Kent vs. Barry Bonds
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds formed one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches to ever take the field. They proved to be terrific for each other’s stats, combining for 454 home runs, 1,348 runs batted in, and three MVP awards. Despite their on-field heroism, they couldn’t seem to get along as teammates. Other players within the Dodgers’ organization would say that they would hardly say a word to each other. Kent, who was never shy to tell it exactly how it is, explained to Sports Illustrated that he didn’t care about Bonds, and that Bonds didn’t care about him. It all came to a head in June of 2002 when the two got involved in a shoving match during a game. After the incident, Kent explained that it wasn’t the first time the two had become engaged in a physical altercation.
Kent eventually would turn sour towards the Giants organization, leading him to sign with the Houston Astros. While his official reasoning was that it was closer to his family’s ranch, living in the shadow of a man you despise probably didn’t hurt the matter.
D’Angelo Russell vs. Nick Young
While some of these relationships are differences in personality or a deterioration of friendliness, the Russell/Young feud stemmed from a particular moment – the moment Russell pressed upload on an ill-advised video post.
The video showed Nick Young, appearing to be unaware that Russell was filming him, talking about the infidelity he had committed without his then-fiance and pop-star Iggy Azalea knowing. In the video, Russell prompts Young by asking the age of the girl his teammate had met at a nightclub. The news quickly spread and Russell was suddenly on the outside looking inwards to a tight Lakers squad. Reports began surfacing that Russell was being “isolated” by the team, and that players would ignore any attempt at Russell trying to make amends. Recently. Russell was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets, marking the end of Russell’s Hindenburg relationship with the Lakers.
Lewis Hamilton vs. Nico Rosberg
This feud is a little more understandable. While Hamilton and Rosberg were both on the Mercedes F1 team together, they still competed against each other in races every week – often very directly. During a time that Mercedes dominated the F1 world, Hamilton and Rosberg stood out as the shining stars. 2014 and 2015 had seen Hamilton win his second and third World Drivers’ Championship, with Rosberg finishing as runner-up both years. Needless to say, a little jealousy may very well have set in for Rosberg. The German driver caused a bit of a stir after throwing a championship hat back to Hamilton after the finale of the 2015 season.
Things got even more personal the following year, as Rosberg entered the final race, the Abu Dhabi needing just a third place finish to win his elusive first World Drivers’ Championship. Hamilton, who was trailing Rosberg in the standings and would have personally benefitted from his teammate coming in fourth or lower, found himself in the lead during the season’s final race. As a teammate, Hamilton should have paved the way for Rosberg to cruise into a second place finish while securing him a World Drivers’ Championship. Instead, Hamilton appeared to slow down, allowing two cars to catch up to the Mercedes teammates and challenge Rosberg for his position. If Hamilton’s plan had worked, the two drivers would have passed Rosberg and secured a third straight Championship for Hamilton. Five days later, Rosberg would announce his retirement from F1 racing, thus ending a trying relationship chalked full of finger-pointing, inter-team crashes, and verbal shots exchanged between the two passionate teammates.
