By Sean Evans (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: June 6, 2012
Sports have the power to bring out the very best and worst in people; thousands riot and murder over soccer games and nations come together around a team. Sports mean a great deal to people – so much is at stake. Money, fame and the lure of pushing to the next great accomplishment have led many athletes to break the rules. When they get caught, all hell breaks loose. We love it, because it brings them down to our level. These are the top five infamous cheaters, in my humble opinion.
Spanish Paralympic Basketball Team:
At the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, the Spanish basketball team won gold. Following the close of the games, Carlos Ribagorda, an undercover journalist, blew the cover off of one of the biggest scandals in sports history. Of the 12 members of the Spanish team, 10 were not at all disabled. Players were required to return the gold medals and were shunned by the international community.
The 1919 Black Sox
The Black Sox? Well, that’s what people were calling them, because the owner of the White Sox, Charles Comiskey, was too cheap to pay for the uniforms to be cleaned – forcing the players to do it (and we can guess how that worked out). The players hated Comiskey, and when they made it to the 1919 World Series, eight members conspired to throw the series just to spite their boss. When news got out, all eight players were banned for life, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the best players in baseball history.
The French Judge
We are all probably familiar with this one. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in the pairs figure skating competition, the Canadians skated near perfectly. Everyone watching knew that they had sealed up a gold medal. That’s when the numbers came in. They had lost to the Russians, all due to one suspiciously low score from French Judge Marie Reine le Gougne. When she was questioned, she broke down and admitted that she had been pressured by the French Skating Federation to give the high score to the Russians in order to secure a medal for the French Ice Dance team. Canada was outraged, but in typical Olympic fashion, everyone was a winner – both the Canadians and Russians got to keep their gold medals.
Rosie Ruiz’s “Marathon”
In 1980, Rosie Ruiz won the Boston Marathon, destroying 26.2 miles in a record time of 2:31:56. Following some investigation, however, it was discovered that Rosie had simply registered for the race and then jumped in near the finish line, after making herself look like she had just run a marathon, of course. Well, at least she was creative about it.
Ben Johnson
At the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, Canadian Ben Johnson set a world record, running 100 metres in 9.79 seconds. Canada was proud, sitting atop of the world of running – for approximately 9.79 seconds. Immediately following his victory, Johnson tested positive for anabolic steroids and was stripped of his gold medal, which was then awarded to American rival Carl Lewis. Ironically, 15 years later it became clear that Lewis was allegedly using steroids at the time.
