Sports Bromances That Broke Up
Breaking up is hard to do. Stories of sports bromances can be fun, hilarious and heartwarming, but things don’t always work out. Even the best of bros part ways now and then, and it’s not always pretty.
Sometimes there is no choice but to break up—management decides to release or trade someone, and the relocation is hard on everyone.
Other times, there is bad blood or criticism. Michael Jordan apparently didn’t like what Charles Barkley had to say about his management style. Alex Ovechkin reportedly punched his friend’s agent at a club.
Whether because of a trade, voluntary departure or some not-so-nice words, these bromances all broke up. Dudes were friends, and then they weren’t—they were very close, and then they grew apart. The uglier the aftermath, the worse the breakup.
Honorable Mention: Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal
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This one gets an honorable mention because the two weren’t exactly bros to begin with.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal won three straight championships together with the Los Angeles Lakers. Even if they weren’t ever friends, they were certainly a dynamic on-court duo.
Then an ongoing public feud finally led to O’Neal leaving the team in 2004 via trade to Miami.
The duo broke up, and the Lakers didn’t win another championship until 2009.
Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder
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This one is just sweet. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder were the best of pals together with the Detroit Tigers. In 2012, the Tigers signed Fielder to a nine-year deal worth over $200 million—the plan was for Fielder to hit behind Cabrera and provide some protection.
In 2012, Fielder hit .313/.412./.528, and Cabrera won the Triple Crown. But Fielder’s numbers dropped off in 2013, and he was traded to the Texas Rangers in part to help free up some financial options.
Tom Brady and Wes Welker
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There was a time when Wes Welker was Tom Brady’s go-to guy on the football field. But in 2013, Welker signed with the Denver Broncos when the New England Patriots failed to re-sign him. Now he’s one of Peyton Manning’s go-to guys.
At his introductory press conference with his new team, Welker said, via Boston.com, “Yeah, that was definitely probably the hardest part was leaving Tom.”
The two have remained friends, but that didn’t stop Brady from brushing off questions about Welker’s alleged drug use at the 2014 Kentucky Derby.
“That's Wes' situation, and their team. Obviously, I've got plenty to worry about with this week and this team. As a friend, you always hope the best. But, this is not friend time,” Brady told the media at a postgame press conference, via the Boston Herald.
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Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden
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Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden were the Oklahoma City version of the Big Three…until they weren’t.
Harden won the Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Thunder and helped them reach the 2012 NBA Finals alongside Durant and Westbrook.
After that, the Thunder traded Harden to the Houston Rockets when they couldn’t agree on financial terms of an extension.
Later, in an interview with ESPN, via CBSSports.com, Harden said of the trio: “I thought we were going to be together forever.”
Durant and Harden did say they miss playing together. Harden told Bill Simmons on the Grantland Channel that playing in OKC was like a “brotherhood,” and that he and Durant still text and check on each other’s stats.
So they’re still friends, but texting isn’t the same as playing together.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy
5 of 13Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy filmed a hilarious Nike commercial together in 2013, and in 2012, CNN reported that their friendship had “blossomed” over the course of the year.
Fast-forward to September 2014 when McIlroy told reporters at the Tour Championship that Woods and Phil Mickelson are "just getting older," via Golf.com. As for a response, Woods “thought it was funny.”
With McIlroy as the world’s No. 1, it’s hard to say whether he and the ultra-competitive Woods can keep the bromance alive.
Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett
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Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett played together on the Boston Celtics for six years—they won a championship together.
Garnett and Rondo were particularly close. Of Rondo and the Celtics team, Garnett told Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com, “We came in as strangers and bonded as brothers.”
But when Garnett and Pierce were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013, Rondo said it did not affect him one bit.
Gary Dzen of Boston.com reported that Rondo told reporters during a team media day, “It wasn't difficult at all. I didn't feel anything.”
Not to worry—Rondo apparently became fast bros with Celtics head coach Brad Stevens.
Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter
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Back in the day when they were both new to MLB, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were bros. Keyword: were.
Of course the tight-lipped Jeter has never said much on the subject, but Rodriguez told reporters in 2007, via ESPN and The Associated Press, “People start assuming that things are a lot worse than what they are, which they're not. But they're obviously not as great as they used to be. We were like blood brothers.”
Rumor has it that the relationship soured when A-Rod downplayed Jeter’s talents in a 2001 interview for Esquire.
Even though the two later became teammates with the New York Yankees, it’s hard to imagine anyone describing their relationship as a “bromance.”
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
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LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade had a three-way bromance going on with the Miami Heat, until James up and left them.
James decided to go back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, making an announcement to that effect in July 2014.
The reaction from his former teammates hasn’t exactly been heartfelt. Bosh predicted that playing with LeBron will be challenging for Kevin Love, and Wade said that last season wasn’t fun in Miami.
To be fair, Wade also said he’ll continue to be friends with James, and the two shared a reminiscent embrace after their preseason matchup in Brazil. But it still seems as if these friendships, especially the one between James and Bosh, will never be the same.
Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons
9 of 13Chandler Parsons lobbied to bring Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets back in 2013, and the two developed a friendship, as evidenced by many bro-y Instagram posts.
But when Parsons signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks in July 2014, Howard publicly said that the Rockets won’t miss him. James Harden also chimed in to say that he and Howard are the “cornerstones” of the Houston team.
Steve Smith Sr. and Carolina
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If it’s possible to have a bromance with a team, then Steve Smith Sr. had one with the Carolina Panthers.
The wide receiver had played his entire career with the Panthers, and he is the franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
After some reported turmoil leading up to the 2014 season, including the belief of Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman that Smith had become a “distraction,” the team released the veteran.
Smith recently told WFNZ radio in Charlotte, via ESPN.com, “Yes, it was personal with me and Dave Gettleman. Obviously, I did something that got under his skin.”
Smith still has kind things to say about the organization as a whole, but in general, the bromance is over. A newly minted Baltimore Raven, Smith took it to his old team, catching seven balls for 139 yards and two touchdowns when the teams met in September.
Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Braun
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Aaron Rodgers considered Ryan Braun such a good friend that he publicly backed him when the slugger faced PED accusations in 2013.
At the time, Rodgers tweeted that he’d bet his salary on Braun’s innocence.
Well, turned out that was a bad bet. Braun came clean about his PED use and served a 65-game suspension imposed by MLB.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported that Rodgers said in July 2013, “He looked me in the eye on multiple occasions and repeatedly denied these allegations and said they were not true. ... It doesn't feel great being lied to like that, and I'm disappointed in the way it all went down.”
The friends also co-owned a restaurant in Brookfield, Wisconsin, but the ownership group cut ties with Braun after the scandal.
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley
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Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan, two basketball legends, were once very close friends. Barkley told Graham Bensinger of Yahoo Sports, “Michael has always been like a brother to me.”
But in recent years, Barkley—not exactly known for restraint when it comes to his opinions—has said some critical things about Jordan’s work as an executive and owner of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets.
In terms of the erosion of their relationship, Barkley told Bensinger, “I think that Michael was upset by some of the things I said about the Bobcats.”
Barkley reiterated that while he loves Jordan, he’s still going to be honest and do his job. He said that Jordan “took it personally.”
Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin
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Russian hockey stars Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin were once friends and roommates at the Olympics.
But things turned south. Ovechkin told Brett Forrest of ESPN The Magazine that he once punched Malkin’s agent at a club in Moscow, and that started a feud between the two. There appeared to be at least one instance of Ovechkin hitting Malkin intentionally on the ice in 2009.
Following the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Malkin claimed that the two were friends again, but whatever the case is now, that was still one nasty breakup.
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