6 of the Biggest Meltdowns in Sports History

While the intense, one-on-one nature of singles tennis leads to a fair share of on-court tantrums, none were as iconic as the one John McEnroe unleashed at Wimbledon in 1981. Early in his first-round match against Tom Gullikson, McEnroe blasted what looked to be a picture-perfect ace down the middle, only to realize the serve was called out.

“You cannot be serious!” he bellowed at umpire Edward James, adding that referees of his sort were the “absolute pits of the world.” Although McEnroe went on to win the match and, eventually, the tournament, the outburst became a legacy-defining moment for the combative tennis great. You Cannot Be Serious ended up as the title of his 2002 memoir.

George Brett had just walloped a ninth-inning home run in a July 1983 game against the New York Yankees. The Kansas City Royals All-Star then waited as the umpires examined his bat to ascertain whether the pine tar—a sticky substance used to improve grip—exceeded the maximum allowable length of 18 inches. Determining the answer to be yes, home plate umpire Tim McClelland pointed at the Royals dugout, raised a fist to signal the out and watched a disagreeing Brett charge at him, eyes bulging and arms flailing.

It took a few minutes to calm the irate ballplayer, a few more days for the league president to rule that the home run should count and another few weeks for the game to be finished at Yankee Stadium. Of course, Brett wasn’t around to participate, as he was ejected for his tirade. He later revealed he watched the uneventful final few outs on TV from a restaurant in New Jersey.

Players aren’t the only ones so invested in performance that they lose control of their emotions, as demonstrated by legendary Indiana University men’s basketball coach Bob Knight in a February 1985 game against Purdue University. Frustrated by the slate of early fouls called against his team, Knight suddenly picked up his sideline chair and sent it sliding across the court as Purdue’s Steve Reid prepared to shoot a free throw.

Amazingly, the outburst failed to produce an immediate ejection for the irate coach, though that soon transpired after he continued to berate officials. Knight later jokingly provided additional context for his actions in an appearance on “Late Night With David Letterman,” noting that he was merely offering his chair to an elderly woman on the other side of the court.

Sometimes, a meltdown manifests in ways beyond an expletive-filled, equipment-throwing tirade. Such was the case with boxer Oliver McCall, who clearly wasn’t putting much effort into punching or defending himself by the third round of his 1997 WBC title fight against Lennox Lewis. McCall also bizarrely refused to return to his corner after the third round and burst into tears after being escorted there at the conclusion of the fourth.

Although McCall insisted that he wanted to continue, referee Mills Lane astutely waved an end to what had become a dangerously lopsided match. It was later revealed McCall was struggling with a series of arrests for drug possession and mental health challenges. However, he managed to bounce back to forge a lengthy boxing career.

It was brief compared to other outbursts that erupt in the heat of competition, yet the ramifications were enormous. With France and Italy knotted in a 1-1 tie in extra minutes of the 2006 World Cup final, star French midfielder Zinedine Zidane suddenly turned and rammed his head into the chest of Italian defender Marco Materazzi over an alleged comment about Zidane’s sister.

The referee had no choice but to eject “Zizou,” leaving France without their captain for Italy’s triumphant penalty shootout, and marking a sad end to Zidane’s otherwise storied playing career.

Just because a guy is in the minors doesn’t mean he’s incapable of a big-league tantrum. Upon learning that one of his players had been ejected in a March 2010 American Hockey League game against the Hamilton Bulldogs, Abbotsford Heat head coach Jim Playfair responded by climbing the team bench and smashing a hockey stick to splinters against the side boards. He then removed his jacket in the forceful manner of the Incredible Hulk, scaled the bench again and obliterated a second stick between choice words for the referees.

Although the outburst was described as “out of character” for the normally level-headed coach, Playfair shrugged it off as an incident that didn’t warrant much of an apology or explanation.