The Winter Olympics start up on February 9th, and the hype couldn’t be higher.
As tension simmer around the world, one actually relieving deescalation has been the negotiations
between North and South Korea in advance of the games in Pyeongchang.
But that doesn’t mean that some other twists and turns aren’t in store, so hit that subscribe
button and let’s look back at the top Olympic Scandals in the history of the games!
Ross Rebagliati's "Performance Enhancing Drugs"
Back in 1998, snowboarder Ross Rebagliati became the first ever to win an Olympic Gold
medal for Men's Snowboarding.
However, that medal was stripped from him after his drug test returned and showed that
he had Marijuana in his system, with a small amount of weed was also found in his travel
bag.
However, in a completely out of character move for the IOC, the move was overturned
and he got his Gold Medal back.
Because the active agent in Marijuana—THC—wasn’t on the list of banned substances for the Olympics
it did make sense for the IOC to overturn their decision but it has been argued both
then and since that the calming effects of THC can really help chill nerves before big
events like, you know, the Olympics.
That could've given the Canadian snowboarder an unfair advantage, but regardless of where
you stand on the matter it was a great career move for Rebagliati, who became an instant
celebrity and marijuana businessman.
Russian Figure Skating Judge Does the Impossible
Back during the Scandal plagued 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City (see number eight on this
list), people who follow figure-skating were enraged when the reigning world champions
Jamie Sale and David Pelletier ended up "winning" a Silver Medal despite the fact that they
had skated a perfect routine.
Beyond that, considering that the Russian's were the team that "beat" them and ended up
with the Gold, people (rightfully) smelled a cheat.
The day after the event, when the outrage only seemed to be growing, French judge Marie-Reine
Le Gougne said that she had voted for the Russians the way she did because she felt
pressure from the French Skating Federation (which makes little sense).
In a move that we may never see again, Sale and Pelletier were awarded the Gold in addition
to the Russian figure skaters, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.
You'd have to think that there was more to it than this, as well, especially considering
it was the Russians that benefited, perhaps Robert Mueller can look into it!
Angel Matos Kicks a Ref
If you're a fan of any sport, there has undoubtedly been a time in your life where you've wanted
to do harm to a referee or two.
Imagine that feeling times a million or so as an athlete who has trained his or her whole
life only to feel like you've been treated poorly by the person there who is supposed
to remain as objective, neutral as possible, the referee or umpire.
That tension apparently boiled over for one athlete, Cuban taekwondo athlete Angel Matos,
who was disqualified after he fell and took too much time over the alotted one minute
designated for medical attention.
After being disqualified he walked over to the referee and kicked him in the face, a
move that could've easily killed him.
For this Matos was banned from the World Taekwondo Federation for life which means that he can't
coach or participate in anything that is officially sanctioned for the rest of his life which
seems like an awful penalty for a split second decision but again, considering that he could've
killed that ref it may have been too lenient.
The Badminton Scandal
The 2012 Olympics were held in China and one of the most popular sports (at least one where
the Chinese especially dominate) is Badminton.
While it seems like the backyard game for children, the matches in the Olympics can
be incredibly drama-filled and amazing, as the players seem to play at an increased speed
that seems almost too fast for human beings.
The stakes are clearly incredibly high and because of that no stone is left unturned
by the players or coaches for each country.
Back in 2012, multiple teams realized that because of the way seeding worked in the build
up towards the medal games, you could essentially benefit from losing a game here or there.
By doing so, the teams thought that they'd end up playing a weaker opponent in the next
round and so multiple teams ended up losing on purpose.
Those teams, from China, Indonesia and two from South Korea were disqualified from the
games for throwing their matches and while there is probably a rule against throwing
a game, it doesn't seem like they were really doing anything illegal by losing.
Sure, it's bad sportsmanship and that's something that the Olympics wants nothing to do with,
but when it comes to the Olympics, athletes will find any and all advantage possible and
it seems like in this case they were too smart for their own good.
Jim Thorpe's Pro Career
After the 1912 Olympic Games Jim Thorpe was dubbed the "Greatest Athlete in the World"
by the King of Sweden, King Gustav V. While that's not really a title you can take away
(outside of some sort of doping scandal), you can take away one's medals under a number
of circumstances.
One of those circumstances is based on the idea that the Olympics are supposed to be
games for amateur athletes, even if professional athletes are more and more becoming a part
of the games (both Summer and Winter).
That was the case back in 1912, where Thorpe won two gold medals in the pentathlon and
decathlon.
It was discovered after the fact, though, mostly thanks to Thorpe's newfound celebrity
that he had actually been a professional baseball player for teams in Fayettesville and Rocky
Mount, North Carolina.
While he did die without that order being rescinded he was posthumously re-awarded his
medals in 1982 after the (then) president of the United States Olympic Committee ended
up pleading his case to the International Olympic Committee.
He leaned on a letter that Thorpe had written to Olympic officials back in 1913 that admitted
wrong doing and regret and because of that (and the increase in professional athletes
in the games), Thorpe is now and forever considered an Olympic champion.
Good for him.
The Salt Lake Bribe
It's been debated more and more in recent years whether or not actually hosting the
Olympics is a boon or bust for the city that lands the Olympics.
While it may seem invaluable to host tens of thousands of people over the course of
a month from all over the world in your city, the cost of hosting those people especially
with the cost of keeping those people safe from Terrorism only seems to increase with
every passing year.
Beyond that, very few cities can actually handle the amount of sports going on at once
and thus end up building countless structures to handle all the games, and after the games
are over those structures can end up abandoned and blighted.
Despite that, though, the process of landing the Olympics is still something that is extremely
competitive and that can lend itself to issues like bribery, something that happened when
two head organizers of the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, were indicted on charges
of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The men were accused of paying $1 million dollars to influence the votes of delegates
on the International Olympic Committee, as well as an United States Olympic Committee
official in the hopes that they would be able to land the Games for Salt Lake City.
Apparently it worked and by the time this was all found out it was too late to relocate
the games, so instead they appointed the most famous Utahan in former Presidential Candidate
Mitt Romney to lead the Olympic Committee in Salt Lake City and to bring "credibility"
to the games there.
If you add the bribery costs to the cost of hosting the games as a whole perhaps it's
just not worth it after all, especially if you consider the time spent in Federal prison!
Marion Jones Steroid Scandal
Outside of the Russian Doping Ban, the most recent scandal on this list is the lifetime
ban of United States sprinter Marion Jones thanks to her doping issues.
Jones actually owned up to her doping, though, which makes her case different from a lot
on this list as a lot of people don't own up to their mistakes (see Ben Johnson, for
example) and instead ride out their excuses until the end of time.
Jones was America's sweetheart for awhile, and is perhaps hoping that she can get back
in the good graces of the sport at least to make a living at it (as a coach or trainer),
which could happen as she did win five medals during the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.
Because her case involved a federal investigation, though, Jones ended up with criminal charges
and actual prison time (she received six months in prison followed by two years probation
for lying to federal prosecutors who were investigating her use of steroids) and beyond
that she was, again, banned for life from Olympic competition.
That was one of the more amazing falls from grace the Olympics have ever seen but beyond
her fault was the fault of her husband as well, who was also linked to the scandal as
a shot-putter.
The BALCO scandal, as it was known, also tarnished the careers of baseball greats Barry Bonds
and Jason Giambi and was probably the biggest scandal in sport ever.
Ben Johnson's Doping Scandal
In 1988 the Olympics were in South Korea also, but this time it was for the Summer Olympics
and in the capital of Seoul.
It was there that American Carl Lewis was heavily favored to win the 100-meter dash.
However, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson shocked not only Lewis but the world while running
the 100-meter dash in 9.79 seconds, which was a world record that easily beat Lewis'
time.
Because of the amount of time it took to receive the results of a drug screen back then, it
wasn't known until days later that Johnson actually tested positive for a type of steroid
called stanozolol.
Because of that, Johnson's gold ended up going to Lewis, who was robbed of his moment on
the podium by Johnson who somehow found a way to make it all about him, again, by saying
that to this day he can't watch the Olympics because of "what happened to him", not because
of what he did, but what happened TO him.
Sigh.
The Russian Doping Scandal
It's hard to really pinpoint when the Russian doping scandal began as it's been an open
secret that the Russians have attempted to circumvent the rules for the games really
since the USSR was in power and things like a country winning more Gold Medals (or reaching
the moon quicker) were super important to the world's two leading Super Powers.
Doping in Russia has essentially a year-by-year breakdown on Wikipedia, as well, which goes
to show you that doping in Russia is a state-backed enterprise that goes well beyond the individual
coaches or athletes in any particular games.
The Olympic committee investigated the most recent Winter Olympics (which took place in
Sochi, Russia) as well as the 2016 games in Rio and found that because the doping was
so widespread and complex that it had to be sponsored by the government of Russia itself.
Because of that, Russia will not be allowed to compete in this month's games, which is
a gigantic punishment that could seem unfair to the athletes that have trained their whole
lives to participate in a month's worth of games.
However, if an athlete has no connection to the previous doping scandals and can pass
drug screens they are actually allowed to participate under the Olympic flag as opposed
to the Russian flag.
They'd be an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) and the fact that the Olympic Committee has
gone this far shows just how serious they are about cracking down on doping and just
how corrupt Russia is.
Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding
As the recent award winning film "I, Tonya" showed, there was no bigger scandal or story
in 1994 (the year of the Games in Lillehammer, Norway) than that of Tonya Harding and Nancy
Kerrigan.
The two were the top two female figure skaters in the United States and were frenemies at
best (depending on who you ask and when you asked them).
What's in question is not even what Harding knew, but rather when she knew it, as on January
6th, 1994 Kerrigan was attacked after leaving the ice for a practice session before the
1994 Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.
She was hit in the knee by a "Club-like instrument" by a man named Shane Standt, who was in cahoots
with Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt.
They claimed that they had hired Standt to break Kerrigan's right leg so Harding would
have a clear path to the Olympic games while Harding claimed that she knew nothing of the
attack before it happened, but that she did find out about it afterwards and that she
helped cover it up.
The investigation wasn't conclusive enough to ban Harding from skating in the Olympics,
however, where she famously wept to the judges about her laces being broken and thus finished
without a medal.
Kerrigan, however, ended up being just fine and almost won the Gold Medal as she finished
with the Silver Medal and the story of a lifetime.
Are we forgetting anything?
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