The Most Bizarre Cheating Scandals in Sports History
Sports should be about skill and fair play. But some athletes and teams end up taking shortcuts for the win—whether through high-tech espionage, elaborate doping rings, or straight-up fraud. Some got caught immediately. Others fooled the world for years. Ready to learn about some of the wildest cheating scandals in sports history? Let’s go!
Lance Armstrong’s Doping Empire (1999-2012)
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Lance Armstrong built an entire system around doping. This athlete stayed discrete for years. He used performance-enhancing drugs and bullied teammates into silence. He continued to fool the world. But when it was finally time for his downfall, the truth came out: he lost his seven Tour de France titles and was banned for life. It remains cycling’s biggest scandal to date.
The Houston Astros’ Trash-Can Code (2017-2018)
Credit: IMDb
The Astros made sure to break all of baseball’s unwritten rules. They used a camera to decode catchers’ signs and banged on a trash can to tip off batters, which helped them win the 2017 World Series. The scheme was eventually exposed, and it became one of the biggest scandals in MLB history.
The Fake Paralympic Basketball Team (2000)
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Spain’s Paralympic basketball team won gold in Sydney—but it turned out that most of the players were not disabled. An undercover journalist exposed that 10 out of 12 athletes had faked their conditions. The scandal led to a massive overhaul of the Paralympics’ verification process and remains one of the worst cases of sports fraud.
The Black Sox Scandal (1919)
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In 1919, money talked, and eight Chicago White Sox players listened. They took bribes from gamblers to throw the World Series. They were all banned for life after being acquitted in court. The scandal forced baseball to introduce its first commissioner to clean up the sport’s image.
Tom Brady and the Squishy Footballs (2015)
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During the AFC Championship, the Patriots’ footballs were found to be underinflated, which potentially gave Tom Brady a better grip. After an NFL investigation, Brady was suspended for four games. Some fans insist it was overblown, but the scandal remains one of the most debated in football history.
The Boxer Who Removed His Gloves’ Padding (1983)
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Luis Resto’s punches were doing too much damage. After he brutally beat Billy Collins Jr., Collins’ father shook Resto’s hand and felt something was off. Investigators found that the padding had been removed from Resto’s gloves. He and his trainer went to prison, and Collins’ career was ruined.
The Patriots’ Hidden Cameras (2007)
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Before Deflategate, there was Spygate. The New England Patriots secretly videotaped the New York Jets’ defensive signals. When the NFL caught them, head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, and the team lost a first-round draft pick. The league destroyed the tapes, which further fueled endless conspiracy theories.
Maradona’s “Hand of God” Goal (1986 World Cup)
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Diego Maradona punched the ball into England’s net and got away with it. The referee didn’t see it, and Argentina won the match. Later, Maradona called it the “Hand of God.” His second goal in the game—a dazzling solo run—was one of the greatest ever, but the first remains soccer’s most infamous handball.
The Olympic Figure Skating Fix (2002)
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At the Salt Lake City Olympics, Canada’s Jamie Salé and David Pelletier skated flawlessly but lost gold to Russia. Turned out that a French judge was pressured to favor Russia in exchange for support for French ice dancers. She even admitted to it later.
Russia’s Olympic Doping Machine (2011-2015)
Credit: X
Unlike the other scenarios, this scandal didn’t involve an athlete or two but the entire government. Russia’s labs swapped urine samples and manipulated results to boost Olympic performance. The scandal cost them dozens of medals and led to a ban from multiple international competitions.
Juventus’ Match-Fixing Scandal (2006)
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In Italy’s Serie A, wiretaps exposed club executives pressuring referees to favor certain teams. Juventus took the hardest hit by losing two league titles and getting relegated to Serie B. Other clubs also faced penalties, but Juventus’ fall from grace remains one of soccer’s biggest scandals.
An NBA Referee Betting on His Own Games (2007)
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NBA referee Tim Donaghy gambled on games he officiated and allegedly influenced calls to manipulate betting lines. Investigators caught him, and he served 15 months in prison. The NBA insists he acted alone, but his actions raised doubts about officiating fairness in professional basketball.
Rosie Ruiz: The Marathon Winner Who Took a Shortcut (1980)
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Rosie Ruiz “won” the Boston Marathon with a record time—but no one remembered seeing her on the course. Turns out, she jumped into the race near the finish line. When investigators looked into her past, they found she had also cheated in the New York Marathon by taking a subway.
The Fishing Weight Scandal (2022)
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Cheating in fishing? Believe it. At an Ohio walleye tournament, Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyan stuffed their fish with lead weights to make them heavier. When officials cut open the fish, they found the weights, and the video of their exposure went viral. The duo faced legal consequences.
The Festina Cycling Doping Bust (1998)
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Lance Armstrong wasn’t the only cyclist bending the rules. In 1998, police stopped a Festina team car and found it packed with performance-enhancing drugs. Nearly the entire team admitted to doping. The scandal forced the Tour de France to crack down on banned substances.