Tough Competition

This week, I have researched the Harding/Kerrigan Scandal. Nancy Kerrigan, and Tonya Harding were both American, championship level skaters during the 1990s.

Before the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, in Detroit, Michigan, Harding along with her ex-husband plotted against Kerrigan to gain an edge over her opponent. A man named Shane Stant, whom was connected to Harding and her ex, clubbed Kerrigan in her right knee with a police baton after the practice session. The attack was caught on camera, and was broadcast internationally.

After the attack, Kerrigan could not compete in the event, as damage was done to her, and Harding went on to win the event. Although she was unable to participate in the championship, she was still chosen as one of the two American spots on the Olympic team, the other was filled by Tonya Harding. Kerrigan had a speedy recovery from her knee injury, and seven weeks later she won the silver medal in the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Harding on the other hand, plead guilty to conspiring, she received three years probation, 500 hours of community service, and a $160,000 fine. She was also forced to withdraw from the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships. In my opinion, she's lucky she didn't have to serve time in jail. Some people are desperate to win in professional sports and it is sickening. You go Nancy Kerrigan. 

Sean Payton: A Real Life Vader

I decided to go with one of the less popular sports scandal this week for my post, as I have chosen the "BountyGate" Scandal. This scandal involved the NFL team the New Orleans Saints, particularly their head coach Sean Payton. Players on the team were paid "bounties" or bonuses to injure players on the opposing team throughout the 2009-2011 seasons. This is somewhat analogous to Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader puts a bounty on Han Solo's head. Boba Fett, a bounty hunter captures Solo and gets the reward from the Empire. (as shown below).

And Solo is frozen in carbonite.

The analogy continues with Payton and Vilma, one of the Saints team captains

And their "bounty" Aaron Rodgers

The Effects
The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009, the same year allegations of bounties being made within the team. This scandal taints their Super Bowl win over the Indianapolis Colts (my favorite team at the time). Head coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis, and two other members of the Saints' organization were suspended from the NFL. The entire organization was also fined $500,000 and were stripped of their second round draft picks in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Also, I believe the Saints lost a lot of fan support after their tactics were revealed to the public. I see them as breaking unwritten rules of football. However, some people still remain loyal to them to this day. Any thoughts, questions or sarcastic remarks can be left in the comments section. Also, if you want to learn more about this sports scandal you can visit here.

The Original Scandal

Professional sports nowadays are plagued by scandals. Either this athlete took performance enhancing drugs, or that coach payed players to injure opponents. Every sport has it's own versions of these stories. The most recent event, DeflateGate,  has gained a lot of controversy in the last month, mostly because it involved an AFC Championship Game.

Deflated American Football- Mike Lupica

However, from this event I began to wonder what other scandals in professional athletics had occurred in the past. I mean like way back. 

One of the most famous scandals took place during the 1919 World Series, it is called the Black Sox Scandal. The series was between the highly favored Chicago White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds. Eight players from the White Sox were paid by gamblers to intentionally lose games. The players that took the bribes were nicknamed "Black Sox". And although they did lose the World Series, they altogether were payed a nice paycheck, around $100,000 which was worth a lot more back then.

reddit.com

The most famous player involved in this incident of "selling out baseball" was "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. He admitted to accepting $5,000 from teammates to "throw" the games. Even though he took the money, some people, along with myself believe that he was not guilty like the other players. Jackson had a very good performance in the World Series batting with a .375 batting average which is higher than his season average of .351. He was the only player in the 1919 World Series to hit a home run, and he had 6 RBIs. He also fielded 30 plays in the outfield without a single error in the series. If a player that I liked had that kind of  performance in an important game, I would be very satisfied. 

The eight players deemed as Black Sox were acquitted of any charges that were pressed on them, however, the Major League of Baseball permanently banned all eight players from playing in the league again.

I believe Jackson was innocent, and was easily tricked by the technicalities of the law due to the fact that he was illiterate and probably relied heavily on his lawyer. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson never played another game in the MLB after the 1920 season. This scandal could be argued either way. What do you think? Was Jackson innocent, or was he rightly removed from the league?