Ugliest Player-Team Divorces

What makes a relationship strong is both sides working together to put away egos and meet in the middle on various things, with both giving a little to get a little.

And, in sports, that same mentality applies.

Of course, as soon as a player or team feels disrespected, though, that's when one or both sides let their real feelings be heard, with an athlete blasting his or her former boss or a team giving info about why a player was really let go.

Since breaking up can be hard to do, here are the ugliest player-team divorces in sports history—with a few of them, thankfully, being patched up a little bit.

Honorable Mention: LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers

Prior to superstar LeBron James returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers after four seasons with the Miami Heat, there might not have been a more dysfunctional relationship between an athlete and his former team.

That's because, back when James left for South Beach in 2010, no one could have ever fathomed that he and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert could ever mend fences following Gilbert's infamous Comic Sans letter—which the team took off its website days prior to LeBron announcing his return.

With Bron talking about how the letter hurt, he also believed that the owner didn't truly care about him, making the two patching things up and James signing with the Cavs last summer all the more unbelievable.

Had that not happened, the final scene from James' tenure in Cleveland would have been fans burning his jersey and denouncing him.

Josh Hamilton and Texas Rangers

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It's hard to imagine why current Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton was so bitter toward his former team, the Texas Rangers, when he openly left them before the 2013 season

Rediscovering himself as both a player and person while on the Rangers, J-Ham played in two World Series with the club, won an AL MVP Award and played himself to a huge contract with the Angels.

But when he left town, Hamilton felt inclined to lay into the team and its fans, saying that Dallas "isn't a baseball town" and that the fans are spoiled.

For more than a few reasons, it's easy for fans to show their hatred for Hamilton whenever he makes a return to play the Rangers.

Landon Donovan and U.S. Men's National Soccer Team

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

You know that song by Tom Petty called, "Don't Do Me Like That"? After the way United States national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann treated Landon Donovan, the song could easily be the theme for how the player ended his tenure with the team.

The greatest goalscorer in U.S. men's history, Donovan was, shockingly, kept off of the 2014 World Cup team last summer by the manager, who chose younger players over him.

Making his final appearance after the World Cup in late 2014 with Team USA, Donovan's national team career ended bitterly, with him never agreeing with the decision of being left off of the roster last summer.

Keyshawn Johnson and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson was one of the most outspoken players in NFL history.

Hell, the guy wrote a book entitled, Just Give Me the Damn Ball!, so it's no surprise he spoke up when he thought things weren't going his way.

After three successful seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2000-'02—in which Johnson won a Super Bowl and totaled more than 3,200 yards receiving—Key and then-head coach Jon Gruden got into it on the sideline of a game in 2003.

Getting deactivated for the final seven games of the season afterwards, the team shipped him off to the Dallas Cowboys during the next offseason, leaving behind a strained relationship as he exited Tampa.

Ian Kinsler and Texas Rangers

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

With the aforementioned Josh Hamilton bashing the Texas Rangers as he left the team, I really don't understand the trend of doing so when a player departs, because Ian Kinsler did the same thing in 2014—although Kinsler had his reasons.

Following a trade to the Detroit Tigers, the four-time All-Star didn't take kindly to the news, feeling like he deserved better for the production he gave the Rangers.

Upset, Kinsler called his former general manager a sleazeball, even going as far as saying he hoped Texas would go winless last year.

I doubt the two exchanged holiday cards or call each other on their birthdays after all of this.

Eric Lindros and Philadelphia Flyers

DON HEUPEL/Associated Press

The relationship between former Hart Trophy winner Eric Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers might be patched up now, but for a long time, no one knew if it would ever happen.

After suffering a number of injuries during the 2000 season with Philly, Lindros embarked in a feud with then-Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke, who traded the player to the New York Rangers in 2001 after allegations of the team forcing Lindros to play without medical clearance.

While fans and Lindros always seemed to adore and accept one another, his stance on those in the front office was one of disgust—until he shook hands and spoke with Clarke at an alumni game in 2011.

Even after making good with Clarke, Lindros refused to thank the Flyers former trainer, John Worley, when being inducted into the Flyers' Hall of Fame, with whom Lindros had more than a few issues when the two were together.

Carson Palmer and Cincinnati Bengals

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When a player gives a team an ultimatum—trade him or he's retiring—that's never a good way to better a relationship.

Unfortunately for the Cincinnati Bengals, that was the proposal that quarterback Carson Palmer gave the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2003.

Unhappy with the team's inconsistencies and future direction, Palmer demanded a trade to the West Coast, getting his wish by getting shipped off to the Oakland Raiders in 2011.

In his return to the Queen City in 2012, Palmer was greeted by 50,000-plus booing him, not appreciating the way he, supposedly, quit on the team.

Dwight Howard and Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers

You have to give it to All-Star center Dwight Howard—he really knows how to make an exit, doesn't he?

The only athlete on this list who actually pissed off two teams by the way he departed, Howard's reputation took a serious hit on the way he positioned himself with both the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers.

Never seeming content in either place, Howard called out his Orlando teammates as "people who nobody wanted" when he got traded to the Lakers in 2012.

Upon his arrival in L.A., though, he clashed with fellow star Kobe Bryant and left the team after just one season for the Houston Rockets, talking about his displeasure with the franchise and Bryant the entire flight to Houston.

His leaving the Lakers didn't sit well with some of the franchise's all-time greats, either.

Roger Clemens and Boston Red Sox

TIMOTHY FITZGERALD/Associated Press

Roger Clemens may have won 192 games during his tenure with the Boston Red Sox from 1984-96, but that doesn't mean that fans appreciated the way he left Beantown for the Toronto Blue Jays before the 1997 season.

Although a few fans welcomed him back in his first return to Boston with the Jays, the love-hate with The Rocket began when he was still actually a member of the Sox, with Clemens never understanding the passion of Red Sox Nation.

And when the righty forced a trade to the hated New York Yankees in 1999, you'd better believe that the entire city of Boston loathed him, with Bill Simmons even writing a piece explaining why people there believed he was the Antichrist.

Luis Figo and FC Barcelona

If there's one thing we know about the rivalry between La Liga clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, it's that there's no love lost.

With the game between the two Spanish teams called El Clasico, the two have had some memorable moments that have given fans of both teams bragging rights until the outcome changes the next time they play.

So when a player goes from one club to the other, fans aren't going to take that lightly.

And when that player happens to be Luis Figo—one of the most beloved in Barca's history—it's a hell of a lot worse.

With Figo leaving for Real Madrid before the 2000-01 season in a then-record $60 million deal, his returns to Camp Nou were greeted with boos, bottles being thrown at him and, yes, a pig's head that someone tossed onto the field, delaying the match.

It's safe to say that the fans didn't forgive him.

Brett Favre and Green Bay Packers

One of the biggest wafflers in sports history, when Brett Favre failed to communicate with his former team, the Green Bay Packers, about his future plans, they wanted some insurance at the quarterback position, drafting Aaron Rodgers in the first round in 2005.

While Favre remained as the team's starter for three seasons, when he did decide to retire following the 2007 season, things began to get heated between the player and franchise.

That's because Favre was dealt to the New York Jets, where he continued to question his former team.

Rejoining the NFL North by signing with the rival Minnesota Vikings the following season, when Favre made his first appearance in Lambeau Field, fans were quick to let him know how they felt about the way he played things out, showering him in boos.

Oh, yeah, then there was this subtle, backhanded compliment he gave Rodgers after his Super Bowl win in 2010, saying he was surprised it took him so long.

Patrick Roy and Montreal Canadiens

One of the best goaltenders to ever play in the NHL, Hall of Famer Patrick Roy also proved that he wasn't about to let his name get dragged through the dirt.

Following a miserable performance against the Detroit Red Wings in 1995, where he was lit up for nine goals on 26 shots, Roy didn't take kindly to Habs head coach Mario Tremblay leaving him in there to be embarrassed.

When the coach finally did pull his netminder, Roy bypassed his coach on the bench and walked up to team president Ronald Corey on his way to the locker room, emphatically saying, "this is my last game in Montreal."

With tensions high, the team unloaded him to the Colorado Avalanche, where he won two Stanley Cup titles.

Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls

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While Michael Jordan won six NBA titles during his 13 years with the Chicago Bulls, don't think for a second that he and the team execs—owner Jerry Reinsdorf or general manager Jerry Krause—saw eye-to-eye through those glory years.

Hell, the reason MJ made the decision to walk away from the game and the, at the time, only franchise he ever knew was, in part, because of his sour relationship with the Jerry's.

When Krause once said, "organizations (not players) win championships," it was a clear sign that Jordan felt disrespected, eventually getting worn out and fed up with the ego struggle between the players and front office.

He's revered in Chicago and is never shy in showing up for tributes, but Jordan's time in Chicago ended uglier than casual fans might remember.