While sports and the athletes involved in sport generally try to live by ethical standards of fairness and integrity, many sports stars often fall short of these ambitions. There are times when controversies dominate the headlines (rather than outstanding performance) as questionable or even illegal actions sully the good name of a sport or a particular sportsperson.
Take a look at some of the greatest sports controversies:
Lance Armstrong dopes his way to 7 Tour De France titles
In his heyday as a professional cyclist, Lance Armstrong won an unprecedented 7 consecutive Tour de France titles in a row (from 1999 to 2005) and was one of the most widely celebrated and beloved sportspeople in the world.
That image of greatness all came crashing down in 2012, as Armstrong was found guilty by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of instigating “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen." Armstrong had faced persistent allegations of doping throughout his career, but until 2006, no official investigation had been undertaken. Armstrong subsequently confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout much of his career, including all 7 Tour wins, during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey on January 13, 2013 (broadcast later in 2 parts).
These revelations essentially destroyed Amstrong’s image as an outstanding athlete who achieved sporting greatness despite the odds of having to overcome cancer. Now, most sports fans generally perceive Armstrong as a cheat who sullied the sport of cycling.
Ben Johnson’s 100 m record victory that wasn’t
For a short while, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson made headlines as the star athlete at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, as he won gold in the 100-metre final in a world record time of 9.79, seconds, beating favourite Carl Lewis, who won silver.
This glory was short-lived, however, as the Olympic Doping Control Center found that Johnson's urine sample contained stanozolol, and subsequently, he was disqualified 3 days after the race. Johnson later admitted that he had taken steroids on previous occasions, including when he ran his 1987 world record, leading to the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) to rescind that record as well.
Johnson, who never reached lofty heights in athletics again, was one of many cheaters in the 1988 100 m final, which is often dubbed "the dirtiest race in history,"- only 2 out of a total of 8 runners in the race remained clean throughout their careers.
Proteas Cricket Captain shocks a nation with Match Fixing
After assuming the leadership reign in 1994, Proteas cricket captain Hansie Cronje was considered a national treasure. He was young, dynamic and seen as a model of integrity in the new South Africa. That image came crashing down though in April 2000, when Cronje admitted accepting between $10,000 to $15,000 from a London-based bookmaker for "forecasting” results during the recently-held one-day series in India.
Cronje then attended a Commission of Inquiry into Cricket Match Fixing and Related Matters, with Judge Edwin King serving as chairperson. During the King Commission, it was revealed that Cronje had offered $15,000 to opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs to score less than 20 runs in the 5th ODI at Nagpur, and $15,000 to bowler Henry Williams to concede more than 50 runs in that same match. Ultimately, neither received the $15,000, as Gibbs scored 74 off 53 balls and Williams injured his shoulder and couldn't complete his second over.
Cronje also admitted to receiving 2 amounts of money (R30,000 and R20,000) together with a leather jacket from bookmaker Marlon Aronstam to engineer a result in the rain-hit 5th test at Centurion between South Africa and England and receiving $50,000 from bookmaker Mukesh Gupta in 1996 for team information. Cronje was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life and was subsequently killed in a private plane accident in 2002.
Ice Skating Slides into Controversy
American figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding were involved in a scandal in 1994 that was so big, it was later turned into a movie, I, Tonya. On January 6, 1994, as Kerrigan walked down a corridor in Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, she was struck on the lower right thigh with a baton by assailant Shane Stant. She had been practising skating on an ice rink in the arena shortly beforehand.
It later emerged that Jeff Gillooly, who was the husband of fellow American figure skater Tonya Harding, and his co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt. had hired Stant and his uncle Derrick Smith to carry out the attack. Both Gillooly and Eckardt claimed that Harding was involved in the attack and had knowledge of it beforehand.
While Harding initially denied all knowledge of the attack, she soon accepted a plea deal where she admitted to helping cover up the attack after the fact. Subsequently, a grand jury and a disciplinary panel from the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) discovered further evidence of Harding's involvement during the planning and execution phases.
The attack was planned to prevent Kerrigan from taking part in the 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships as well as the upcoming 1994 Winter Olympics. While Kerrigan couldn’t compete in the US Championship. she recovered to compete in the Winter Olympics, where Harding competed as well. Harding was later banned for life from USFSA figure skating events.
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