Sometimes things just don’t work out like we all had hoped for. Sometimes things start off great, but then somewhere down the road everything becomes very disfunctional and becomes very dramatic between player and coach or the organization itself. Sometimes a life without a certain player or coach can be pretty bitter and very unpleasant.
If you are one of those people that won’t be alone on Valentines day, good for you, bud. With Valentines Day coming up this Saturday, there is obviously love in the air. But there isn’t always love being exchanged throughout the sports world. If you are one of those people that are single or just recently had a breakup with your significant other and are a sports fanatic, maybe this little diddy will cheer you right up.
When there is a breakup between player and coach/organization or coach and organization, it appears to be really dramatic and bitter sweet for the most part. Breakups in the sports world tend to get ugly and escalate very quickly. A lot of these breakups tend to be very memorable and they tend to stick in the back of your mind like it happened just yesterday when it happened 10-20 years ago. Here are some of the most memorable breakups throughout the sports world.
LeBron and Cleveland: How could you not have a list like this without this being mentioned first? LeBron was loved in Cleveland from his high school years and into his professional years at Cleveland when he first graduated high school. LeBron was a dominating force in Cleveland by putting up insane numbers game in a game out. During the 2007 postseason, he led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, but would lose to the San Antonio Spurs. When LeBron became a free agent in 2010, he held a televised show called The Decision to announce that he would leave Cleveland to join the Miami Heat. He got severe backlash from Cleveland no matter where they were by burning his jersey and Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert expressed his fustration towards LeBron via letter.
However, since this happened, LeBron and Cleveland fans have gotten back together and all is good in Cleveland as LeBron has come back to Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers once again.
Rich Rodriguez leaves WVU for Michigan: As a Mountaineer fan, this breakup sticks out the most to me. I am over this whole incident, but I can guarantee you that most of the Mountaineer nation still hates Rich Rod with a passion. Just some time after the devastating loss to Pitt back in the 2007(I’m sure most Mountaineer fans want to forget that evening), Rich Rod packed his bags and left in the middle of the night to take the opening coaching gig for the Michigan Wolverines to succeed Lloyd Carr.
His resignation from West Virginia University came just four months after renegotiating his contract which included a $4 million buyout clause. Speculation of his departure stems from a conflict of interest with new WVU president Michael Garrison. His contract states that he would have to pay his $4 million buyout if he had left the program within a year of his new contract. WVU filed a lawsuit against Rodriguez in which was later settled.
Bobby Petrino and Arkansas: Man, was this breakup ugly. Petrino had built the Arkansas football program from the ground up. Arkansas had become a force to deal with in the SEC during his tenure. However, a motorcycle crash changed all of that.
On April 1, 2012, Petrino was involved in a single motorcycle accident and hospitalized for it. He made a full recovery, and showed up to a press conference two days later. It was later revealed that he had a young female who had just been hired onto the Razorback football staff with him that night and it was later revealed that she was having an affair with Petrino. With Petrino’s rep in total shambles, he was forced to leave the program shortly after the incident.
Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers: This breakup probably still stings to Edmonton Oilers fans to this day. In a surprise move, the Oilers traded “The Great One” to the Los Angeles Kings for draft picks and cash. Gretzky delivered the Oilers 4 Stanley Cups before his departure. Gretzky never saw the success with the Kings like he had with the Oilers.
Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers: How could you replace one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time? Well, the 49ers seemed to have done that in 1993.
Joe Montana was plagued with injury after injury. Steve Young took over as quarterback over Montana and proved himself that he was now going to be the “face of the franchise”. A rift in the locker room later developed, and Montana requested a trade. The Kansas City Chiefs would eventually pick him up, but by the time he got to Kansas City, Montana’s career was pretty much over.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neill: These two had built a dynasty together out in LA by winning three titles together in the early 2000s. Eventually their egos collided, and eventually had a falling out. Shaq would eventually go on to join the Miami Heat after losing in the NBA Finals back in 2004 to the Detroit Pistons . After their falling out, both of them had no problem with publicly calling out the other.
As of right now, both of them have cleared the air, and have made up.
Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers: Favre seemed to have so much trouble handing over the reigns to now quarterback Aaron Rodgers after Rodgers pretty much kicked Favre to the bench. It seemed like Favre wanted to get back at the organization for it when he decided to sign a deal with their rival in the Minnesota Vikings. It seems as if the wounds are beginning to heal for Packers fans but this will always have a stain on Favre’s Hall Of Fame Career.
Lance Armstrong and Everybody: Lance was once loved by, pretty much, everybody throughout the world. He was the only professional bicyclist that anyone has ever heard of. Just after overcoming testicular cancer, Lance would go on to win seven straight Tour De Frances.
Eventually, allegations broke out that Lance was taking PHDs during those seven straight wins. In 2012, the USADA would investigate these claims and accused Armstrong of doping based on blood samples in 2009 and 2010.
In an interview in January 2013, Armstrong admitted to doping with Oprah Winfrey, and all seven of his titles were stripped from him and he was banned from professional cycling.
Armstrong just recently made headline news when he had done a hit-and-run on two cars, and he let his girlfriend take the fall for it. Chivalry will not die as long as there are guys like Lance around.
Jimmie Johnson and the Dallas Cowboys: Jimmie Johnson served as head coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 through 1993. The reason for the departure was due to the fact that Johnson and Jerry Jones could no longer work with each other.
It all started when Jerry Jones wanted more say into controlling the football team on the field, Johnson wasn’t open arms about this idea. Just after the Cowboys won their first Super Bowl with Johnson, Jones told the media that any coach could have led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl that year. This infuriated Johnson. Another incident happened when Jimmie expressed interest in coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones told the media that he would now decide Jimmie’s future with the team. On March 28, 1994, they they agreed to part ways just after the Cowboys won their second Super Bowl under Johnson.
To this day, Johnson is not on the Dallas Cowboys “Ring Of Honor”. When asked in the summer of 2014 why Johnson was not in the ring of honor despite his two Superbowl victories as coach of the Cowboys, Jones stated: “Disloyalty … I couldn’t handle the disloyalty.”
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