Many great athletes have been announcing their retirements in recent months, including the legendary Kobe Bryant. However, some of these retirees are leaving the game a little early. White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche made very controversial headlines earlier this year by abruptly announcing his retirement, walking away from a $13 million contract and leaving the MLB for good. Many fans were quite upset over the announcement, especially since the reason for his early departure from the league is due to the White Sox organization requesting that he limit his fourteen-year-old son’s time in the team clubhouse. The very family-oriented LaRoche took this as an insult, as one of his requests when joining the White Sox was that his son be able to join him any time he wished, and decided that this was his time to leave. Some still question how long this “retirement” will last, though LaRoche has stated that his retirement is permanent.

Another retirement announcement shocked the world of sports recently as well. Conor McGregor, Irish UFC superstar and world featherweight champion, made his retirement statement over Twitter. This abrupt announcement from the 27-year-old fighter came after he was asked to depart from his training camp in Iceland to participate in a promotional tour for UFC 200, what would have been his next fight. After the higher-ups of UFC demanded he attend the tour, demands he vehemently refused, McGregor decided would “retire early.” Most if not all of his fans are irate at his departure from UFC, some even going as far as to call him a coward. Fellow UFC fighters including Nate Diaz, his would-be opponent at UFC 200, have also taken to Twitter, making mock announcements of retirement themselves. Some are still questioning whether this is just a clever marketing move, or if McGregor is really out of the fighting game for good.