There is agreement among athletes, coaches, and sport researchers that leadership is one of the most significant factors when performing and operating in elite sport. There is, however, a lack of understanding of how the behaviors of coaches as leaders could be considered as destructive. The aim of this study was to explore elite sport athletes` perceptions and experiences of destructive coach leadership behavior. Informants in this study were a convenience sample of eight (four female and four males) current or former World Class/international elite athletes in handball and soccer, with an average of 12 years of experience at elite level. Using semi-structured interviews and conducting a reflective thematic analysis we identified three main categories of perceived destructive leadership behavior from the coaches described as: Active Destructive Behaviors; Passive Destructive Behaviors, and Incompetent Coach Behaviors. Recognizing these behaviors is the first step in attempting to eradicate them.
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