Biggest Mutinies in Sports
In the United States Constitution, it states that the people may overthrow the government if the government is ineffective.
Perhaps athletes have taken advantage of this more than anyone.
Occasionally in the world of sports, a player or players with more power than the head coach himself will lead a revolt to overthrow and fire the head coach.
Other mutinies have included boycotts for reasons of racism.
Of all the player mutinies that have taken place, here are the some of the biggest:
Honorable Mention: Florida Freshmen and Urban Meyer
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Urban Meyer has been critical of the Florida Gators' latest recruiting class. Senior Mike Pouncey even said that the freshmen need to shut up and play.
One day in Gainesville, Freshmen Ronald Powell and Dominique Easley both skipped practice in rebellion. Meyer closed practice to the media for the rest of the season.
Just this week, Meyer announced his plans to step down as head coach. Coincidence?
20. Washington Redskins and Jim Zorn
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Jim Zorn was heavily criticized throughout the 2009 season as the head coach of the Washington Redskins.
He was fired two hours after the final game of the season.
Many point to a player mutiny, but players have often complimented their former head coach and Zorn says he holds nothing against the team.
19. Atlanta Falcons and Bobby Petrino
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This mutiny arose after Petrino betrayed the Falcons by leaving to take the head-coaching job at Arkansas before the 2007 NFL season even ended.
Players and other members in the Falcons organization relentlessly bashed Petrino.
Some of the team's biggest names in Lawyer Milloy, Warrick Dunn and Michael Boley were his biggest critics calling him gutless, a coward and a cancer.
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18. Dallas Cowboys and Wade Phillips
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Wade Phillips was fired this year after one of the most disappointing seasons in Dallas Cowboys history.
Jerry Jones seemed to be fully behind keeping Phillips as the head coach.
Many believe the Cowboys players quit on Phillips forcing Jones to give him the boot.
17. San Francisco 49ers and Mike Nolan
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After consecutive losing seasons and no improvement in sight, players began to get impatient with head coach Mike Nolan.
Alex Smith and Frank Gore both voiced their displeasure with the coaching staff to the media.
Nolan lost control of the team and was fired in the middle of the 2008 season.
16. New York Yankees and Yogi Berra
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As the tale goes, one long bus ride back to New York after a loss, infielder Phil Linz was apparently playing his harmonica too loud for Yogi Berra's liking.
Berra told him to stop, but Linz didn't hear him. Mickey Mantle told Linz that Berra said to play it louder.
Linz followed what he thought were orders to have Berra hit the harmonica out of his hands.
Berra was fired after the season. The owner claimed he had planned on firing Berra since midseason because he lost control of the team.
15. Michael Jordan and Doug Collins
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After a season where the Chicago Bulls actually didn't win a championship with Michael Jordan, head coach Doug Collins was fired.
Some say Jordan and Collins had a good relationship. Others are skeptical claiming Collins had a number of misunderstandings with Jordan and other players on the team.
14. Kobe Bryant and Del Harris
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During the year of the NBA lockout, Del Harris was fired 12 games into the season after the Lakers started 6-6.
Many believe Kobe was behind the firing. Current Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Kurt Rambis took over.
The Lakers players didn't respect Rambis and they pretty much coached themselves that season.
13. Allen Iverson and Chris Ford
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Ford was a disciplinarian. Allen Iverson hated discipline.
Iverson was suspended for missing practice, and fined for not attending a game because he was "sick" and not playing in a game where he was going to come off the bench.
Iverson got his wish as Ford was fired after just one season.
12. Stephon Marbury and Larry Brown
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Larry Brown was fired in 2006 after feuding with Stephon Marbury throughout the season.
Everyone knew about their bickering and it led to Brown's departure from the Big Apple.
11. Stephon Marbury and Isiah Thomas
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Starbury mutiny No. 2:
After Isiah Thomas took over as the head coach, he and Marbury got along just fine.
One year later, they were on the verge of fistfights and Marbury threatened to blackmail Thomas for benching him.
Once again, Marbury was the last man standing as Thomas was fired in 2008.
10. 1965 AFL All-Star Game
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For the 1965 AFL All-Star Game in New Orleans, a number of hotels and restaurants wouldn't let black people use their facilities.
Cookie Gilcrist led a boycott of the game.
The boycott was successful as the game was moved to Houston.
9. LeBron James and Erik Spoelsta
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When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwayne Wade in Miami it was supposed to be a cakewalk.
Instead, the Heat started off slow and someone needed to be the scapegoat. Erik Spoelstra has been rumored to be on his way out at the wishes of James, as Pat Riley waits in the wings to take over.
8. Penny Hardaway and Brian Hill
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After Shaquille O'Neal left the Orlando Magic, they weren't the same caliber of basketball team.
In 1997, impatient star Penny Hardaway led a mutiny against head coach Brian Hill.
Hill was fired by midseason.
6. Brett Favre and Brad Childress
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Brett Favre gets what Brett Favre wants.
On a talented football team that wasn't winning, Favre pointed out who he thought the weak link was: head coach Brad Childress.
After cutting Randy Moss combined with a string of losses, Childress was fired.
7. Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson
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Everything collapsed after the Los Angeles Lakers loss in the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat after Phil Jackson left the team.
Bryant is widely blamed for the breakup. In Jackson's book about the 2004 Lakers season he called him "uncoachable."
5. USF Dons 1951 Bowl Game
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The University of San Francisco Dons received a bowl bid after a 9-0 season.
In order to actually play in the game though, they had to travel without the two black players on their squad: Ollie Matson and Burl Toler.
The team declined the bid without hesitation.
4. U.S. Soccer Team and Steve Sampson
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In the 1998 World Cup, Steve Sampson's questionable roster moves led to a rebellion against him.
He cut team captain John Harkes from the squad as one of a number of decisions that weren't wise in hindsight or even at the time he made them.
After losing their final game of the World Cup, U.S. players openly criticized the coaches and blamed them for the loss.
Sampson tried to regain control of the team, but couldn't and resigned soon after.
3. Jason Kidd and Byron Scott
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Even back-to-back NBA Finals appearances weren't enough for Byron Scott to earn Jason Kidd's respect.
Kidd exploded at Scott after a game in 2003. Kidd's teammates on the New Jersey Nets sided with him instead of Scott.
Scott ended up getting fired a little later.
2. Magic Johnson and Paul Westhead
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In the 1982 season, Magic Johnson grew impatient with Los Angeles Lakers head coach Paul Westhead.
Westhead's scheme didn't take advantage of Johnson's fast-break ability. Johnson was open about his displeasure of the coach.
Jerry Buss later fired Westhead.
1. French Soccer Team and Raymond Domenech
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When star player Nikolas Ankela got into a fight at halftime of a game with head coach Domenech, Domenech kicked him off the team for the 2010 World Cup.
Ankela's teammates didn't take that decision very well. They refused to train after he was sent home.
France went winless in the World Cup as their team was in shambles.
David Daniels is an NFL Featured Columnist and Writing Intern at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him at One Yard Short.com or on Twitter
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