Top Ten: Scandals in sport
Harry Smith
Posted on: 10 February 2010 - 09:49
Sport.co.uk
If we can stick ‘gate’ on the end of a word and make it into a cool sounding scandal then it is our duty as good journalists to do so. We just love scandals, there’s no getting away from it. It gives us something to talk about. It keeps (a large proportion of) the media in business. But, more importantly, it reminds us that our sporting icons are only human and they too make mistakes. In the wake of the furore regarding John Terry’s private life and his recent dismissal as England captain, Sport.co.uk takes a look at some other scandals that have rocked the world of sport.
10) Spanish “Paralympians” (Basketball)
The Olympic Games is supposed to encapsulate the spirit of fair competition and goodwill but someone obviously forgot to tell that to the Spanish Federation for Mentally Handicapped Sports. Spain was stripped of their intellectual disability basketball gold medals for fielding a team that had a grand total of two handicapped members. Nice one.
9) Tour de France (Cycling)
To be honest it would be more shocking to have a year when cycling was drug free. But the 2007 Tour de France was particularly notorious because of the attention that it drew as a result of its copious doping scandals. Five cyclists failed drugs tests, including the race favourite and yellow jersey wearer, Alexandre Vinokourov. Proving not all publicity is good publicity as a large number of sponsors and media subsequently pulled out of the Tour that year.
8) Crashgate (Formula One)
Nelson Piquet Jr. was ordered by the Renault team to crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help his teammate, Fernando Alonso, to pole. As a result, Flavio Briatore, the current ham-fisted chairman of QPR, was banned indefinitely from all FIA-sanctioned events. But in January of this year a French Tribunal overturned the verdict and granted him €15,000 in compensation.
7) Bloodgate (Rugby)
Tom Williams thought he had pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes when he left the field with blood seemingly oozing from his mouth during a Heineken Cup quarterfinal. In acknowledgement of his skulduggery he winked at his replacement. Problem was, cameras were everywhere, as they tend to be at sporting events (funny that), and replays of his deception were broadcast to the nation. The fallout from this was a four-month ban for the winger and the resignation of Harlequins’ director of rugby, Dean Richards, who was also handed a three-year ban for his troubles.
6) 1919 Black Sox Scandal (Baseball)
The granddaddy of all sporting scandals set the benchmark for shame. After the 1919 World Series eight members of the Chicago White Sox were found guilty of match fixing and intentionally throwing the games against the Cincinnati Reds. This resulted in the culprits being banned for life from baseball, but the extent of some of the players involvement, including ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, has been hotly debated.
5) Ben Johnson (Athletics)
Johnson was at the pinnacle of his career during the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul having won gold in the 100m, setting a new world record in 9.79 seconds and beating his long-time rival Carl Lewis into second. But only three days after his most glorious achievement he was banned for testing positive for steroids. Johnson’s coach later revealed that the sprinter had been doping since 1981. Subsequently, his Olympic Gold and world record were retracted.
4) Tonya Harding (Figure Skating)
To be a winner takes dedication and commitment, or in Tonya Harding’s case, it takes a hefty man to beat the opposition into submission. Harding and her then husband, Jeff Gillooly, hired Shane Stant to “bring the pain”. The target was her main competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, who was attacked after a practice session during the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The tape of Nancy Kerrigan crying in aguish after the attack has gone down in infamy as an all time sporting low.
3) Serie A Match Fixing (Football)
In 2006 Italian football was rocked as a number of major teams in Serie A were implicated in match fixing through influencing the selection of referees to officiate games. Among the teams punished were A.C. Milan, Fiorentina, Reggina and Lazio. However, it was Juventus who were slapped with the heaviest punishment, stripped of their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B with a nine-point deduction.
2) Tiger Woods (Golf)
The man with the longest drive in the world, ah, em. It’s the usual story, a sportsman couldn’t keep it in his pants, gets caught having holed a few birdies he shouldn’t have, media frenzy ensues, general outrage and indignation followed by a sprinkling of pity. An assumed Mr Nice Guy is actually a sex addict...same old story.
1) Tyson Nibbling Holyfield’s Ear (Boxing)
The 1997 bout between two heavyweight greats ended in controversy when Tyson took a chunk out of Holyfield’s ear and then spat it out on the mat. As punishment for playing with his food, Tyson had his boxing license revoked, but a year and a bit later the Nevada State Athletic Commission made an about turn and gave Tyson his license back. Iron Mike never fully recovered from this ignominy, although his cameo appearance in The Hangover was hilarious, so, we forgive him.