Nothing is more captivating than a fall from grace that happens on a national scale. Humanity is innately drawn to seeing someone lose it all after they seem to have it all. It’s an unfortunate reality for those in the limelight. Once you achieve greatness, people no longer root for you to keep it, but rather to lose it. The world of sports has produced some of the most infamous scandals ever. The love of sports is universal, and so is the hatred for those that defile the sports we love. These three sports scandals are the worst of the worst.

Before his doping scandal, there was not an athlete with more support than Lance Armstrong. In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs, lymph nodes, abdomen and brain. Armstrong vowed that he would not go down without a fight, and he stood by his word. In 1999, he won his first of seven consecutive Tour de France championships after his cancer diagnosis. A feat like this had never been accomplished in professional cycling. Armstrong’s unheard-of success, coupled with being a cancer survivor, made him an American hero overnight. “Live Strong” wristbands could be seen everywhere and became a universal signal for the fight against cancer. 

That all changed in 2009 when Armstrong’s teammate, Floyd Landis, accused him of doping. Doping, or blood doping, is when an athlete reuses their red blood tissue. The addition of red blood cells enables increased transfer of oxygen to muscles, which boosts endurance and performance. Not only was Armstrong cheating, but it would later come out that he was pressuring his teammates to cheat as well. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency described Armstrong’s actions as “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” Consequently, Armstrong went from an American hero to the ultimate sporting disgrace.

In 1919, baseball was the most popular sport in the U.S. Due to the sport’s unrivaled popularity, the World Series was the year’s biggest sporting event. The 1919 World Series featured the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. What happened changed how professional championships would be seen forever. The “Black Sox Scandal” was centered around eight White Sox players that intentionally lost the World Series for money. 

Big-name gamblers reached out to the players and agreed to pay them $100,000 to purposely lose the World Series. Halfway through the series, some players tried to get out of the deal. Allegedly, threats were made by the mob against the players’ families, so the players continued to sabotage the game. The losses the team had already endured were too significant and the Cincinnati Reds would eventually win the series. 

All eight White Sox players later admitted to federal prosecutors that they had taken money in exchange for intentionally losing the World Series. The players were indicted on nine charges of conspiracy by a grand jury. During the trial, the sworn confessions made by the players disappeared under mysterious circumstances, with no criminal charges brought against them. They were, however, banned from playing baseball for life by the Major League Baseball Commissioner. Their reputations forever tarnished, they became known as the players who sold out America’s pastime to the mob for a paycheck.

Finally, the most infamous sports scandal ever did not take place in a sporting field or arena. OJ Simpson was one of the most popular football players in the 1960s and 1970s. The Heisman Trophy winner and Hall of Famer played for ten years in the NFL before he retired and became a sports broadcaster for ABC. He even co-starred in the famous “Naked Gun” series in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Simpson seemed like a normal former football star who transitioned smoothly into being a B-list TV celebrity. 

That perception changed forever June 12, 1994. On that summer evening, Nicole Brown, Simpson’s ex-wife, and her friend Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death outside of her condominium in Los Angeles.  Simpson was a prime suspect in the case, and after a warrant was issued for his arrest, he hid in the back of his friend Al Cowling’s white Ford Bronco. He told Cowling that he had a gun and forced Cowling to avoid the police in a low-speed chase on the highway that lasted for over an hour. 

Simpson was eventually convinced to put away the gun and was taken into custody. The event was nationally televised, and over 95 million Americans watched it live. Simpson formed a “legal dream team” to defend him in court with the likes of Robert Kardashian (Kim Kardashian’s father) and Johnnie Cochran, who coined the phrase, “If it does not fit, you must acquit.” Simpson’s primary defense was that the gloves found by the murder weapon did not fit his hands, so he could have never committed the crime. Simpson would eventually be found not guilty of the murders in one of the most famous criminal cases and sports scandals in U.S. history. These scandals have etched themselves into history, and for better or worse the respective sports are different as a result.

The trial against Nassar has uncovered a long history of secrecy at the school. From 1997 to 2015, seven women attending MSU went to various university representatives, from athletic trainers to coaches, with complaints of Nassar sexually assaulting or abusing them. However, MSU continued to allow Nassar to practice under claims that his practices were “medically appropriate.” The school, along with several other institutions that ignored claims against Nassar, is now facing a multitude of civil lawsuits. Last month, MSU’s president Lou Anna Simon resigned over the criticism of the University’s handling of Nassar going back over two decades. MSU’s Board of Trustees voiced their support for Simon last week, only to withdraw it later, stating that it would be best for the institution if she resigned. Bill Beekman, Secretary to the Board of Trustees, will temporarily take her place until a permanent replacement is found.

Former MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages also resigned after being scrutinized for defending Nassar. Athletic director Mark Hollis announced his retirement, as well. Another MSU physician, Brooke Lemmen, left last year after uncovering and throwing out several boxes of confidential treatment records from the school at Nassar’s request.

Members of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team have come forward, including Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney. These gymnasts’ claims against Nassar have engendered education and awareness around sexual assault. Maroney was one of the first victims to speak up about the abuse. USA Gymnastics tried to pay Maroney to keep her allegations against Nassar quiet. She expressed the claims of her abuse in a long statement at Nassar’s sentencing.

“It began when I was 13 years old and it didn’t stop even after the Olympics. It didn’t stop until I left gymnastics completely. I was told to trust him because he would treat my injuries and make it possible for me to achieve my Olympic dreams. But he abused me like so many other women,” Maroney said.

There have also been claims that young women approached Klages and various trainers with abuse accounts, but they were ignored.

Dozens of women have taken the stand in the Nassar trial to share their stories. Nassar has not been fully sentenced yet, but in December he was federally charged with 60 years for possession of child pornography. In January, a Michigan judge sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison to be served after his federal sentence. In February a Michigan judge will sentence Nassar for his guilty plea of three counts of sexual assault at Twistar’s gym in Eaton County, where he also provided medical services.

Photo courtesy of Fine Art America.

In addition, increased probing into team records shows that six of the country’s track stars with abnormal doping test results were allowed to participate in the 2012 London Olympics. The consequences of this vast conspiracy could span from lifetime bans for those involved to the revoking of two 2012 medals. Discussion has even begun to ban the Russian track team completely from participating in the 2016 Olympics. While no full decisions have been made, as accusations fly, the implications the scandal carries for Russia’s and other countries’ teams continue to heighten.

Suspicion of the Russian track team’s activities began with “Top Secret Doping: How Russia Makes Its Winners,” a documentary released in December 2014. The film, aired by German public broadcasting network ARD, alleged to have video footage from insiders displaying what it deemed as “systematic state-sponsored doping.” Just two days after the hour-long program reached German televisions, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ordered immediate action and investigation concerning its claims. After months of scrutiny from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), a 323-page report was issued Nov. 9 summarizing its findings and concluding that the Russian track-and-field industry has become a “culture of cheating.”

The matter of the scandal, according to the report, extended far outside the athletic world. Insiders reported that at one of the key anti-doping laboratories, covert agents under the FSB, successor to the Soviet KGB, posed as visitors and even workers. These FSB members allegedly tapped employee phones and bugged areas of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, creating an environment of pressure and fear. In addition, the lab’s director, Grigory Rodchenkov, ordered almost 1500 test samples to be destroyed days before a WADA inspection, later claiming to have misunderstood the organization’s instructions. Other alleged methods of covering up positive doping tests included bribery, false identities and intimidation, with some testers even reporting cases of smuggling and threatening phone calls.

Until further evidence is found to disprove the allegations or unless state-sanctioned doping is eradicated, WADA will continue to fight the Russian track-and-field team’s entry into the Rio Olympics, with report coauthor Richard McLaren labeling the incident as “worse than FIFA.” Currently, the Russian government has admitted only to destroying samples, with investigations being met with mixed reactions from its greatest authorities.

While Vitaly Mutko, its sports minister, has responded to the accusations with disdain, President Vladimir Putin has ordered a second investigation by Russian internal forces. The country promises that the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory will comply with accepted principles by March 2016, which will serve as the moment of judgment for acceptance into the Rio Olympics. In addition, WADA is now teaming up with INTERPOL, the world’s largest international police organization, to conduct a global doping investigation ensuring that all Olympic-participating countries are performing fairly.