Top ten sporting scandals to date
Published: 2013 March 02 12:28:46 (3806 Views)
As the world continues to reel from the details of how Paralympic “Blade Runner” hero Oscar Pistorius shot dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at the runner’s South African home, here is a look back at 10 previous sporting scandals that rocked the world
1. Mike Tyson’s rape conviction and ear-biting horror
“Iron” Mike’s rise from a troubled childhood to youngest heavyweight boxing champ at the age of 20 was the stuff of dreams but he later served a three-year jail sentence in the early 1990s for rape and bit off a section of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a 1997 bout.
2. Lance Armstrong and cycling’s doping shame
Having triumphed over cancer, he won an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles and campaigned tirelessly for charity.
But after years of allegations he finally confessed, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, to using performance-enhancing during all seven of his Tour de France wins.
3. Hansie Cronje: Match-fixing scandal
The god-fearing hero of South African cricket famously fell from grace in 2000 when he was banned for life by his country’s United Cricket Board after he admitted taking money to fix matches.
Sadly, just two years after his tearful apology and before he had any chance to rehabilitate his reputation, he died in a plane crash.
4. Shergar and the £2m kidnap plot
Racehorse Shergar was revered as the greatest Derby winner in history then, on February 8, 1983, the horse was snatched from the Aga Khan's Ballymany Stud.
Despite a £2m ransom demand the horse was never seen again.
Rumours persist that the horse was killed by the IRA after the attempt to extort cash for weapons was bungled.
5. Tonya Harding and the Nancy Kerrigan attack
Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were ice skating rivals when on January 6, 1994, a mystery man in black smashed Kerrigan on the knee with a wooden baton.
It then emerged that Harding’s ex-husband and her bodyguard had hired a hitman to injure Kerrigan’s knee.
In the 1994 Olympics Kerrigan won silver while Harding trailed in eighth.
6. OJ Simpson and that murder trial
Multi-award-winning American football star Simpson's name will forever be synonymous with the murder trial of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, who were found dead outside Simpson’s home.
He was eventually acquitted, but a civil jury later unanimously found him liable for the wrongful deaths of the pair, and ordered him to pay $33.5m damages.
7. Lester Piggott’s tax dodge shame
After riding his first winner, aged 12, in 1948, Lester Piggott’s career took in nine Derby wins and he went on to ride more than 4,000 winners in total.
But he was jailed in 1987 for £3m tax fraud, and was stripped of his OBE.
8. 1919 Baseball World Series – from White Sox to Black Sox
Eight of the Chicago White Sox were paid by a group of gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Although they were not found guilty of fraud in court the accused players, received lifetime bans from the sport. The team would forever be re-christened the “Black Sox” by an unforgiving public.
9. Penn State child sex abuse scandal
In the high-powered world of college American football, Penn State was a force to be reckoned with but their golden reputation was tarnished in 2011 when retired coaching assistant Jerry Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys.
Sandusky was sentenced to 30-60 years jail time and the team was hit with $60m fines.
10. Tiger Woods’ fall from grace
An infamous 2009 car crash revealed a string of sexual infidelities and led to a tearful TV apology from the world’s highest-paid sportsman.
A divorce from Elin Nordegren ensued, reputedly costing him an eye-watering $110m, and his star has never shone so bright since – either on or off the golf course.
- Wales on Line
1. Mike Tyson’s rape conviction and ear-biting horror
“Iron” Mike’s rise from a troubled childhood to youngest heavyweight boxing champ at the age of 20 was the stuff of dreams but he later served a three-year jail sentence in the early 1990s for rape and bit off a section of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a 1997 bout.
2. Lance Armstrong and cycling’s doping shame
Having triumphed over cancer, he won an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles and campaigned tirelessly for charity.
But after years of allegations he finally confessed, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, to using performance-enhancing during all seven of his Tour de France wins.
3. Hansie Cronje: Match-fixing scandal
The god-fearing hero of South African cricket famously fell from grace in 2000 when he was banned for life by his country’s United Cricket Board after he admitted taking money to fix matches.
Sadly, just two years after his tearful apology and before he had any chance to rehabilitate his reputation, he died in a plane crash.
4. Shergar and the £2m kidnap plot
Racehorse Shergar was revered as the greatest Derby winner in history then, on February 8, 1983, the horse was snatched from the Aga Khan's Ballymany Stud.
Despite a £2m ransom demand the horse was never seen again.
Rumours persist that the horse was killed by the IRA after the attempt to extort cash for weapons was bungled.
5. Tonya Harding and the Nancy Kerrigan attack
Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were ice skating rivals when on January 6, 1994, a mystery man in black smashed Kerrigan on the knee with a wooden baton.
It then emerged that Harding’s ex-husband and her bodyguard had hired a hitman to injure Kerrigan’s knee.
In the 1994 Olympics Kerrigan won silver while Harding trailed in eighth.
6. OJ Simpson and that murder trial
Multi-award-winning American football star Simpson's name will forever be synonymous with the murder trial of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, who were found dead outside Simpson’s home.
He was eventually acquitted, but a civil jury later unanimously found him liable for the wrongful deaths of the pair, and ordered him to pay $33.5m damages.
7. Lester Piggott’s tax dodge shame
After riding his first winner, aged 12, in 1948, Lester Piggott’s career took in nine Derby wins and he went on to ride more than 4,000 winners in total.
But he was jailed in 1987 for £3m tax fraud, and was stripped of his OBE.
8. 1919 Baseball World Series – from White Sox to Black Sox
Eight of the Chicago White Sox were paid by a group of gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Although they were not found guilty of fraud in court the accused players, received lifetime bans from the sport. The team would forever be re-christened the “Black Sox” by an unforgiving public.
9. Penn State child sex abuse scandal
In the high-powered world of college American football, Penn State was a force to be reckoned with but their golden reputation was tarnished in 2011 when retired coaching assistant Jerry Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys.
Sandusky was sentenced to 30-60 years jail time and the team was hit with $60m fines.
10. Tiger Woods’ fall from grace
An infamous 2009 car crash revealed a string of sexual infidelities and led to a tearful TV apology from the world’s highest-paid sportsman.
A divorce from Elin Nordegren ensued, reputedly costing him an eye-watering $110m, and his star has never shone so bright since – either on or off the golf course.
- Wales on Line
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