Does Locker Drama Matter?

Is there a betting edge in knowing about the dirty laundry?

Back from winter break, and to kick off the new year, an excellent query from SportsPredict Ace Sid Kali:

Hope you had a good holiday stretch and got some downtime with the family. Something from this past week got me thinking and I wanted to throw it your way.

The Harbaugh situation resurfaced a question I’ve been chewing on: locker-room dysfunction as a prediction edge. Obviously these storylines are catnip for talking heads, and once murmurs evolve into widespread roars, it’s usually priced in. But even when it’s just rumblings, I find it hard to back those teams. At some level, I want to believe that winning at the highest tier of team sports requires real chemistry — necessary to get through adverse moments in a game or season.

A few recent examples that went in different directions: