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The world of sports has witnessed its fair share of darker moments. Throughout history, numerous cheating scandals have rocked various leagues and competitions, to the point where the achievement has been called into question or outright revoked. This list delves into the most notorious cheating scandals in sports history, offering a glimpse into the lengths some have gone to secure their place at the top, for better or worse.
26. Roy Jones vs. Park Si-Hun, 1988 Olympic Boxing
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Anybody who witnessed this gold medal bout of the light-middleweight division knew Jones, one of the best United States boxers in the history of the sport, pummeled the South Korean. However, fighting in his home country, Park won via split decision. It’s been reported that one judge admitted Jones was the victor but gave it to Park to please the home crowd. Two judges were ultimately banned for their roles in the scandalous decision.
25. 1972 Olympic Men’s Basketball Final
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Almost 50 years later and there’s still debate. The Soviet Union stunned the heavily-favored and undefeated United States team 51-50 on a last-second shot. However, the USSR had five questionable extra seconds put back on the clock in the crazy final moments of the game to pull off the upset. Exactly who did the cheating? Did the Soviets, perhaps, pressure the timekeeper or game officials? U.S. protests and appeals fell short, and to this day the silver medals are still sitting in an IOC vault in Switzerland.
24. Marion Jones
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We don’t often hear about women taking performance drugs or steroids, but Jones might be the most prominent to be busted. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the track star won gold in the 100 and 200 meters, as well as the 4×400 relay. She also took home bronze in the long jump and the 4×100 relay. However, after years of denying — including to two grand juries — her steroid use, Jones finally admitted she did. Jones was stripped of all five medals and spent six months in prison for lying under oath.
23. 1989 Chile National Soccer Team
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Some athletes will resort to injuring themselves in order to gain advantage. That might sound strange, but during qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, it happened. After a flare was thrown on the Brazilian pitch during a match between Brazil and Chile, Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas fell to the ground acting as if he was injured by the incident. In actuality, it was discovered Rojas cut his own head with a razor stashed in his kit, hoping the hosts would be forced to forfeit the match. Chile lost that game, was banned from the 1994 World Cup and Rojas given a lifetime suspension at the time.
22. University of Michigan Sign Stealing
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In 2023, the University of Michigan’s football program faced a significant scandal involving allegations of sign-stealing, particularly spotlighting staff member Connor Stallions. The controversy stemmed from accusations that Stallions and others used off-campus scouting and other methods to decode opponents’ signals, actions deemed against NCAA regulations. Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh, has been implicated due to his presence during suspicious activities, and has served his three-game suspension. The investigation, prompted by claims from competing teams, delves into the use of tactics like dummy signals by teams like TCU to counteract Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing.
21. “Spingate”
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There was plenty of scheming going on at the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 at the Richmond International Raceway. In a nutshell, Michael Waltrip Racing was penalized for manipulating the end of the race, by inducing cautions and questionable track moves, so that driver Martin Truex Jr. could reach the playoffs. Meanwhile, MWR was working with Team Penske to also get Joey Logano into the playoff, at the expense of rival Ryan Newman. In the end, MWR was fined $300,000, and Truex was out of the playoffs.
20. 1960-61 College Basketball Point Shaving
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College sports is no stranger to scandal, and when it comes to hoops, point-shaving has historically been a popular form of cheating. During the 1960-61 season, a total of 22 colleges and universities such as St. John’s, North Carolina State, and Connecticut, were said to have conducted point-shaving practices. Big names like Connie Hawkins were associated with the scandal, and Saint Joseph’s was stripped of its third-place finish in the 1961 NCAA Tournament.
19. “Spygate”
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This won’t be the last time we highlight the New England Patriots for trying to gain an unethical edge on its opponents. In this case, the Pats were caught videotaping the New York Jets’ defensive signals from an unauthorized sector of the field during a game in September of 2007. New England coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, the team $250,000 and the franchise forfeited its first-round pick in 2008.
18. 1951 New York Giants Sign Stealing
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Major League Baseball is not in the midst of its first sign-stealing scandal. While accusations of this practice have been thrown about for years, the 1951 Giants’ memorable NL Pennant run (Bobby Thomson’s home run) might have been tainted. The Wall Street Journal reported some Giants players saying they stole signs by using a military field scope from center field. If true, the Giants were technically ahead of their time.
17. Referee Tim Donaghy Bets on NBA Games
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An established and respected official most of his career, something triggered Donaghy to turn to the dark side and start betting on NBA games he officiated late in his tenure — specifically the 2006-07 season. Donaghy plead guilty to federal charges regarding an FBI investigation into those allegations surrounding him. Donaghy, who has done jail time, has said the issue of game-fixing by NBA officials goes beyond just himself.
16. “Deflategate”
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As promised, the New England Patriots were at it again. This time, star quarterback Tom Brady opted to have some lackey deflate footballs used during their win over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship Game. Brady liked the feel of a lighter ball, which was under the league-mandated weight, but such balls were used in this contest – and allegedly before by the team. While the Pats were again branded as cheaters and Brady was fined and suspended four games, which he ultimately did in 2016, it did not stop him or the team from achieving more success.
15. 2002 Olympic Figure Skating Judges
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Olympic figure skating is as competitive, and potentially cut-throat, as any sport around. And the judges aren’t exempt from participating in the shenanigans. At the 2002 Games in Salt City Lake (which were essentially corrupt well before the Opening Ceremonies), the Canadian pair of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier appeared to be the clear winners of the pairs competition. Instead, the judges gave the gold to Russia’s Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. However, suspicion arose almost immediately after the decision and it was discovered a French judge was pressured to side with the Russians. In the end, both the Canadian and Russian pairs were awarded gold medals.
14. Minnesota Basketball Academic Cheating
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In this case, the cheating went on in the classroom during the 1990s. With head coach Clem Haskins’ knowledge, Gophers players had papers written for them and grades changed – among other shortcuts – to maintain their eligibility. When the dust settled, Haskins, athletic director Mark Dienhart, and university vice-president McKinley Boston resigned, the program was put on four-year’s probation and its 1997 Final Four appearance and 1998 NIT title were vacated.
13. 1978-79 Boston College Basketball Point Shaving
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Everybody from small-time gamblers to mob-affiliate folks (most notably New York City’s Henry Hill) wanted to get in on a little hoops action. During the 1978-79 season, several BC players were paid to make sure the point spread was kept for various games involving their team. There were plenty involved and Eagles player Rick Kuhn served 28 months in prison for his involvement.
12. College Basketball Point Shaving (1949-51)
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A total of seven schools were reportedly involved with this particular point-shaving ring. However, at the heart of the scandal and investigation was the 1950 NCAA Tournament and NIT champion City College of New York (CCNY). Organized crime figures were also involved, and CCNY dropped from basketball prominence to a middling Division III program.
11. Russian Olympic Doping
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Russia was banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics after findings of its athletes doping at the Sochi Games were discovered four years earlier. The country also experienced a four-year international sports ban, and any athletes who qualified for the Tokyo Summer Games could not participate under the Russian flag.
10. Southern Methodist University football “Death Penalty”
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Illegal recruiting and payments from boosters are as intertwined with collegiate sports as March Madness and the Rose Bowl are. However, there has never been a more intricate, widespread, and unabashed example of both than at SMU in the late 1970s and into the ‘80s. The school and program were consistently violating NCAA recruitment rules, and the so-called “Death Penalty,” — in which the Mustangs were banned from playing the 1987 season — was instituted. Ultimately, the program was shut down before eventually starting up again with several lean years to follow.
9. Pete Rose Bets on Baseball
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Baseball’s all-time hit king said he did not bet on baseball, but MLB said he did. The former Cincinnati Reds player and manager reportedly placed bets on several games throughout his career — including games he managed in. Though Rose accepted a ban from baseball, and with it being kept out of the Hall of Fame, there was no formal decision made by the league of his guilt. To this day, Rose, and plenty of others, believe he should be reinstated for the chance to get his call to the Hall.
8. Major League Baseball’s Steroid era
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Jacked-up, muscle-bound superstars like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Jose Conseco, and, of course, Barry Bonds were clubbing baseballs out of the park at historic rates during the 1990s and into the 2000s. PEDs had plenty to do with it, and some of those aforementioned players even copped to using steroids during their playing careers. Bonds is the reigning home run king, but he and the rest — along with star pitcher Roger Clemens who is also tied to steroid use — are not in the Hall of Fame.
7. Ben Johnson (1988 Olympics)
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The track world did not want to believe that a guy like gentle Ben Johnson could cheat. Even after the Canadian speedster won the 100-meter dash with a celebrated world-record time of 9.79 seconds. However, a few days after the victory, Johnson’s title was stripped after it was found he used a banned performance-enhancing drug, and the international star was disgraced.
6. Houston Astros Sign Stealing
From banging trash cans to allegedly hiding buzzers on their uniforms, it appears the Astros cheated their way to a 2017 World Series title and kept the unethical innovation going during the 2018 campaign. While this scandal continues to overshadow their achievements — it was the further apparent lack in remorse that led to many fans voicing their displeasure even today.
5. Danny Almonte (2001 Little League World Series)
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Cheating is not limited to those on the professional, collegiate, or Olympic level. Following the 2001 Little World Series, in which the hard-throwing Almonte became a national phenomenon while helping his Bronx team finish in third place, it was discovered that he was 14 years old during the tournament – two years older than the age limit. As it turned out, league officials and Almonte’s family used the boy by deceiving the public of his age and, as later discovered, his actual residency. The team was stripped of its LLWS glory, with Almonte emerging as a somewhat unwitting patsy.
4. Lance Armstrong
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Armstrong went from one of the most beloved and respected athletes in U.S. history to perhaps the most disgraced. A cancer survivor and seven-time winner of the Tour de France, Armstrong’s hard-working image was shattered, and those titles were stripped, after he went from denying his PED use to admitting it in 2012. Furthermore, it was discovered that Armstrong was a major part of the most sophisticated and lucrative doping ring in cycling history.
3. Rosie Ruiz (1980 Boston Marathon)
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Give the late Ruiz credit, she managed to pull off a cheating feat most runners dream of doing. The Cuban was crowned the winner of the famed marathon in a record time of 2:31:56. However, victory was stripped when it was determined Ruiz cut the course through the on-looking crowd roughly a mile from the finish. Perhaps most impressive, is that Ruiz also cheated to get into the race by essentially doing the same thing at the 1979 New York City marathon, which she bypassed by taking the subway and claiming she was injured.
2. Tanya Harding (1994 Olympics)
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If there was a made-for-TV sports scandal waiting to happen, this was certainly it. Harding wanted the Olympic women’s figure skating gold medal so badly but knew she could not get it on talent alone. So, her ex-husband hired some goons to take out U.S. rival Nancy Kerrigan, famously clubbing her in the knee. Kerrigan still skated and finished second. Harding finished eighth, proving she could not even succeed while cheating.
1. 1919 Chicago White Sox
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The 1919 “Black” Sox, as they would become known, still represent the biggest cheating scandal in sports history. Eight players were bribed, allegedly by gambler Arnold Rothstein, to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds — who eventually did win. Among those ultimately banned from baseball due to the scandal was the great “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, whose involvement in the controversy remains up for debate considering he had 12 hits and six RBIs in the series.
