Many of us have heard of various scandals and allegations in different categories, but many don’t know of the famous cheating scandals that contributed to sports history. The three biggest scandals involve baseball, bicycling and figure skating.
In 1919, one of the biggest cheating scandals in the history of baseball made headlines: the Black Sox scandal. Eight players for the Chicago White Sox had been bribed to lose the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. According to Britannica, “The court records suggest that the eight players received 70,000 to 100,000 for losing five games to three.” After the series had ended, allegations had spread about cheating by sportswriters, who gathered that something seemed off. But eventually, the rumors faded away, and the 1920 baseball season began. But in September, a jury had been called to investigate allegations that spread regarding gamblers in baseball. Later on in the month, four White Sox players admitted to taking a bribe if they threw the game, which resulted in all of them standing before a jury and being permanently kicked off the team. Although nothing else happened to them because evidence has suspiciously disappeared, their names will forever be forgotten.
Lance Armstrong used to be a household name. He built a reputation for himself by beating cancer and continuing his successful cycling career, inspiring people everywhere. Although many people admired him, many thought that Armstrong’s performance in some of his races in the Tour de France had been too good to be true. In 2010, Armstrong claimed it would be his last race. That would’ve been normal except that his former teammate, Floyd Landis, had recently sent emails saying that he, along with Armstrong and their teammates, had used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong denied all claims but eventually admitted that he had cheated, resulting in all seven of his Tour de France titles being ripped away from him.
One of the most disturbing and tragic instances in history occurred in January, 1994. After practice, ice skater Nancy Kerrigan had been struck in the leg with a baton, preventing her from performing in the national championships that took place the night after. The person who hit Kerrigan had been hired by a friend of the ex-husband of Tonya Harding, who had been a longtime rival of Kerrigan. Jeff Gillooly organized the whole plot; Harding’s ex-husband denied all claims of being involved, which left the attacker, Gillooly, and two of his friends to take the blame.
Scandals can occur in every topic known to man, but the three above marked sports history as being some of the most iconic and devastating scandals. Even after many years have passed, these scandals stand out as the most memorable and devastating.
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