Famous Teammates Who Couldn't Stand Each Other Off The Field

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Team work is essential while playing professional sports; it especially helps to have great camaraderie or friendships with teammates off the field, as well. Unfortunately, a lot of professional athletes let their egos get in the way — and tension ensues. In the particular case of former San Antonio Spurs teammates Tony Parker and Brent Barry ... we kinda get why this friendship dissipated. The two were seemingly fine, until Parker began "sexting" with Barry's wife Erin — all while he was still married to "Desperate Housewives" actor Eva Longoria. There were hundreds of salacious texts between Parker and the stay-at-home mom, which was said to be the final straw in Parker and Longoria's marriage. The two called it quits in 2010 after three years, and the Barrys' divorce followed shortly after (12 years married and two children for them).

The seemingly irresponsible behavior between Tony Parker and Erin Barry not only ruined both of their marriages but caused a major distraction for the rest of players on the Spurs. It was clear the gossip affected team dynamics and added a layer of awkwardness to the season, as well. While the team remained professional on the court, of course, the personal drama surrounding Parker and Barry was a significant talking point in the media and among NBA fans. Yikes. 

A source for Page Six claimed that they've all "moved on," and there was never any type of "physical relationship" between Parker and Erin. But we're Team Brent Barry and Eva Longoria for this one!

The feud between Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb began when Terrell Owens, a wide receiver, joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent. Owens was known for his skills on the field and charismatic personality, but had a reputation for being outspoken and controversial. After a 2005 Super Bowl loss and a tumultuous 2005/2006 season, Owens became passionate speaking to the media, and began to place blame on his teammate.

During an ESPN interview, Owens agreed with his interviewer, Michael Irwin, when he stated that Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers would be a better quarterback than his teammate, Donovan McNabb. "That's a fair assessment, I would agree with that," Owens stated back to Irwin. McNabb reportedly took these comments to heart — even alleging that "it was [a] Black-on-Black crime" as TO would rather play with Favre, who is Caucasian. He fired back, stating, "And to say if we had Brett Favre, that could mean that if you had another quarterback of a different descent or ethnic background, we could be winning. That's something I thought about and said, 'Wow.'" 

McNabb went on to say that he thought Owens was divisive and had an attitude, putting a strain on the team. In 2014, TO claimed to have moved on from his feud with McNabb, per TMZ; however, a video surfaced in 2021 of Owens claiming that he wants to "knock him out." Play nice, boys!

Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley are considered two of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. Off the court, Pippen and Barkley are known for their outgoing personalities. The two athletes both successfully transitioned from a career in the NBA to sports broadcasting- so no shortage of smack talk! Pippen and Barkley first began their "feud" when they were teammates on the Houston Rockets during the 1998-1999 season. Barkley remarked that he was "disappointed" in Pippen who left the Rockets after one year and went to Portland. Pippen responded and flipped the blame on Barkley, claiming it was because of him that he wanted to leave. "I wouldn't give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint. He can never expect an apology from me. He owes me an apology for coming to play with his fat butt." 

Decades later, the two still seem to dislike each other as they both talk badly about the other any chance presented. In a 2021 interview with GQ magazine, Pippen took an opportunity to bash his one-time teammate. "I never apologized to him, but I'll tell you what: He only got arrested for throwing some little white guys out of a window. I ain't never seen him fight a Black man unless there were referees around. He plays his role like he's tough." Barkley responded on ESPN Chicago via the NY Post, that "he's not Billy Badass, but he's tougher than Scottie Pippen."

Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent were once teammates on the San Francisco Giants. On the surface, they were heavily responsible for the team's success, but beneath their athletic abilities was a nasty feud that some would argue overshadowed the entire season that year. In 2002, it was well-documented that Bonds and Kent got in a literal shoving match on the field...during a live game. The Giants were playing the Padres, and Kent began to scream and show frustration at fellow teammate, David Bell. Bonds stuck up for Bell; and what started as a screaming match ended with Bonds' hands around Kent's neck against a wall. Can't make this up! Surprisingly, the Giants made it to the 2002 World Series that year, brawl and all.

In 2016, Kent did an interview with the SF Chronicle were he didn't exactly apologize for the scuffle. "Why do we have to be friends? Why is that such a big deal?" Kent asked. "We played well. We relied on each other on the field to win. That's all that matters: win." The infamous fight was named "Slugout in the Dugout" by the media, and is still talked about to this day. Bonds was later involved in other controversies off the field having to do with illegal steroid use.  Many have come to the conclusion that both players have large ego's and this is why it was tough for them to get along.

The John Terry and Rio Ferdinand feud is one of the most longstanding, well-known feuds in the history of English football. Both men are said to have been two of the top soccer players for England and were also known to be very competitive towards one another, despite once being teammates. The feud was said to have escalated in 2011 when Terry was accused of making racist remarks about Anton Ferdinand, Rio's brother. The remarks are indeed so offensive, we don't even want to repeat them. Terry received a four-game ban for this, and a six-figure fine from the Football Association, and was even under police investigation for these comments.

In 2022, the feud was reignited after Ferdinand, during an interview with BT Sports (via Fox Sports), stated that John Terry was the "fifth best centre-back" in Premiere League history. Terry did not take to being placed fifth kindly and hit back on a now-deleted Instagram Story that appeared to be a collage of his stats. The caption read, "Opinions are great but stats don't lie." Ferdinand decided to clap on Twitter this time with, "The moment one has to start pushing their own records and stats it's really time to start addressing the fragile ego.Your lucky I even put you in the top 5 after the racism case with my brother so be thankful you made it." We have very little hope that these two will ever kiss and make up.

Bill Romanowski took what should have been a regular Oakland Raider football practice in 2003, to a place of terrifying violence, chaos and injury. It's somewhat unclear how this said melee began, but reportedly, Romanowski's teammate Marcus Williams didn't properly block him on a running play; and thus he became visibly frustrated and enraged. The two came at each other and grabbed at each other's helmets '... when Williams' came flying off. Romanowski then proceeded with an upper cut to Williams' face, temporarily knocking him out and sending him down to the ground during the unexpected brawl. This left Williams with brain damage, double vision and a shattered eye socket, which lead to Williams taking Romanowski to court. 

Fellow Raiders teammate Ryan Prince testified at the trial claiming that when Williams' was out, Romanowski climbed on top of him and screamed, "Don't you ever f*****g hold me! Don't you ever f*****g touch me!" He also added that the upper cut sounded more like a crunch to the face, and Williams made an odd and concerning sound. It was widely known that Romanowski had used steroids in the past, which made him a very angry player. In the end, Romanowski was ordered to pay Williams $340,000 in damages to cover medical expenses and lost wages from the punch. Football can be a dangerous sport, but who knew the danger could be your teammate?