D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young and 5 Other Teammates With Trust Issues
Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell has become persona non grata in the locker room after a video he shot of teammate Nick Young – you know, Iggy Azalea‘s fiancé – talking about various infidelities went public.
It’s not clear how the clip leaked, though that’s beside the point: The bigger issues here are that Young didn’t seem to know he was being recorded (at least not until Russell told him before he stopped filming), and that Russell, whose maturity was recently questioned by head coach Byron Scott, violated the trust of a teammate – not a good look for the kid tasked with orchestrating the Lakers’ offense for the foreseeable future.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time a scandal like this has divided a locker room. Not even close. From Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson supposedly jousting over Toni Braxton to John Terry making headlines by carrying on with Wayne Bridge’s ex, here are five times the concept of team went right out the window.
Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes
In the most recent example, Matt Barnes traveled from far, far away to give former teammate Derek Fisher a piece of his mind – and, presumably, some of his fists – when he found out he was seeing his estranged wife, Gloria Govan. Barnes left Memphis Grizzlies training camp in California and drove 95 miles to “beat the shit” out of Fisher in the home the couple once shared. While Fisher has since penned his side of the story, the initial details from their scuffle were something straight out of a movie. The Internet has since had a field day with it, too, by turning it into a UFC fight that ended with Barnes kicking Fisher’s ass.
John Terry and Wayne Bridge
British soccer stalwart John Terry has always had a bad boy reputation, but cheating on his wife with former teammate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend certainly set the bar pretty high. The scandal created a sensation (and a legal injunction) in England, and the two haven’t buried the hatchet, either. When Manchester City played Chelsea in 2010, Bridge shunned Terry before the game by not shaking his hand with millions of fans looking on. As if that didn’t make his feelings crystal clear, he did it again in 2011.
Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson
It’s still impossible to separate the truth from the rumors when it comes to the beef between Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson, but it makes for one hell of a story. What started as a promising young Dallas Mavericks core of Kidd and Jackson quickly came to an end in 1996 when a pair of trades split them up because of Toni Braxton – according to legend, at least. When Braxton came to a hotel to pick up Kidd for a date, she allegedly left with Jackson instead, and that sparked tension between the budding stars that ended with trade demands. While Kidd and Jackson both deny that’s how it went down, Braxton will tell you she doesn’t kiss and tell.
Rick Manning and Dennis Eckersley
Back in the Seventies, Dennis Eckersley was a happily married man until his wife left him for Rick Manning. The awkward part is that Eckersley and Manning were teammates on the Cleveland Indians at the time, and the franchise supposedly traded Eckersley to the Red Sox once they caught wind of the scandal – although Eck denies the team knew until after they traded him. Whatever the case, Eckersley went on to have a Hall of Fame career while Manning didn’t. The Indians probably wish they could have that one back, huh?
Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich
This one is more bizarre than scandalous. In 1973, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich – who were teammates on the Yankees at the time and best buds for life – showed up at Spring Training and announced they were swapping families. No joke! Kekich parted ways with his girlfriend shortly after, but Fritz and Susanne are still going strong 40 years later. It’s probably safe to assume that we’ll never see anything quite like this again.