Sports Scandals
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SPORTS SCANDALS SPORTS SCANDALS Peter Finley, Laura Finley, and Jeffrey Fountain Scandals in American History GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Finley, Peter S. Sports scandals / Peter Finley, Laura Finley, and Jeffrey Fountain. p. cm. — (Scandals in American history, ISSN 1942–0102) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978–0–313–34458–9 (alk. paper) 1. Sports—Corrupt practices—United States. 2. Sports—Social aspects—United States. I. Finley, Laura L. II. Fountain, Jeffrey. III. Title. GV718.2.U6F56 2008 306.4083—dc22 2008016095 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright C 2008 by Peter Finley, Laura Finley, and Jeffrey Fountain All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008016095 ISBN: 978–0–313–34458–9 ISSN: 1942–0102 First published in 2008 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10987654321 CONTENTS Series Foreword vii Preface ix Timeline: Significant Scandals in U.S. Sports xiii 1 Violence: Fights, Bites, Murder, and Mayhem 1 2 Drugs: Cocaine, Steroids, and an Asterisk 27 3 Gambling, Game-Fixing, and Shaving Points 41 4 Sex: Assault, Harassment, Cover-ups, and Accusations 71 5 Cheating, Academic Fraud, and Boosters Run Amok 89 6 Racist and Other Regrettable Commentary 117 7 Politics, Collusion, Stolen Victories, and Other Odds and Ends 131 Notes 157 Bibliography 173 Index 185 SERIES FOREWORD candal is a part of daily life in America. The evidence is everywhere, from the business world, with its Enrons, Ponzi schemes, and insider Strades, to the political arena, where scandals are so pervasive that, for shorthand purposes, we simply add ‘‘-gate’’ to each new one (Watergate, Trav- elgate, Spitzergate, and so on). Cultural phenomena that are designed to enter- tain, inform, and distract us—television, film, popular music, sports, media— have also been touched by the fickle finger of scandal. Even religion, the one area of life that is intended to uplift and guide Americans, has not been immune to the taint of scandal. Scandal, which can be defined as something that offends propriety or estab- lished moral codes and brings disgrace on anyone or any organization associated with it, is not a modern invention. It has been with us since the days of the Salem witch trials and Boss Tweed, and it resurfaces in many of today’s breaking news events. To bring this subject into the open and to offer a wider historical view of such a major and often overlooked aspect of U.S. history—one that is of abiding interest to students—Greenwood developed this series of reference works. These volumes examine the causes and impacts of scandal within key areas of American life—politics, sports, media, business, popular music, televi- sion, film, religion, and more. Prepared by field experts and professionals, the volumes are written to inform and educate high school and undergraduate col- lege students as well as to engage and entertain students and general readers alike. As reference tools, they place scandals within a wider social and cultural context. But as general histories, they are fun to read from cover to cover. The volumes have been carefully written and edited to ensure that a diver- sity of viewpoints surrounding each scandal is included. Because many of the issues that touched off scandals have never been resolved, the books in this series can be used to spark classroom debate as well as to examine the ethical issues that come into play. Each volume is enhanced with a timeline, illustra- tions, and a bibliography so that students can read further and in more detail about subjects that pique their interest, as well as to augment the reading and learning experience. PREFACE t could be argued that the history of the United States is rife with scandals. From the genocide committed by Christopher Columbus to Watergate to Ithe current debate over CIA-perpetrated torture of prisoners, one can learn a lot about the values and structures prevailing in the country by better under- standing its various scandals. Understanding what happened, who was involved, and the fallout from a scandal allows us to examine our cultural beliefs as well as critically look at our systems and institutions. But why sports scandals? Surely those are not nearly so important. ‘‘It’s just sport,’’ some might say, ‘‘intended to amuse and entertain, and not worthy of this type of serious examination.’’ We disagree. The sport industry is one of the biggest industries in the United States. At worst, it is the eleventh largest industry in the United States, and one estimate put it sixth. Second, sports receive a tremendous amount of media coverage. USA Today, the most widely read newspaper in the country, devotes one quarter of its coverage to sports. Third, there are few places where children are more likely to look for role models than the world of sports. Surely more high school students can tell you about their favorite sports stars than about a Supreme Court justice. Indeed, sports scandals are instructive for all the same reasons as other scandals. For instance, the current discussions about steroid abuse highlight the broader concerns about drugs in the last forty to fifty years. Although sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence have occurred throughout all of history, they were not problems that were discussed openly until the 1970s—thus the more recent coverage of cases involving athletes and coaches accused of rape, assault, or harassment. Learning about sports scandals also helps highlight social inequalities. For instance, the debate about whether shock jock Don Imus should have lost his job for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team ‘‘nappy-headed hos’’ is indicative of the competing attitudes about racially and sexually offensive commentary and the limits of free speech. Sports scandals can be used to teach history as well, in that they are many times in sync with other historical events. Learning about Tommie Smith and x Preface John Carlos raising their gloved fists at the 1968 Olympics can help people understand the civil rights struggle and the various responses to it. Likewise, Muhammad Ali’s struggle to attain conscientious-objector status during the Vietnam War demonstrates some of the competing perspectives about that war and about the struggle for rights at home. More recently, former NBA basket- ball player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s decision not to stand for the playing of ‘‘The Star-Spangled Banner’’ paralleled the debate about what it truly means to be a patriot in this country and how much freedom, exactly, an athlete could have in expressing himself and his religious faith. Like other scandals, sports scandals can prompt needed dialogue about and examination of institutions. Most often, they push sport teams and organiza- tions to examine their own policies, as in the case of penalties for steroid use or recruiting violations. Sometimes scandals even usher in discussion of public policy and law, like the Duke lacrosse case did with the judicial system when three players were falsely accused of rape in 2006. Sports scandals are certainly not unique to America. Although there are sports scandals in other countries, the focus here is on scandals involving American athletes, coaches, and teams, as well as leagues and events that are based here, such as the National Hockey League, Boston Marathon, and Little League World Series. Certainly there is no dearth of scandals that could be examined. In fact, each chapter of this text could be expanded into a book, and many of the individual entries could as well. However, the objective of this text was to present the essential facts of many scandals, with attention to including the ‘‘rest of the story.’’ We endeavored to present the impact of the scandals, including what happened to the people involved years after the story fell away from the front pages of the popular press. Deciding which scandals to include was no simple task. We examined the literature on sports scandals in order to discern logical categories. Then, using that literature, we selected the entries that received considerable attention in sources including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and the Associated Press. We selected some of the most important scandals in several categories. A total of eighty-six entries is included. We then selected between five and six- teen scandals in each area, emphasizing the diversity of cases and varying responses to similar situations. While undoubtedly there were plenty of scan- dals in previous centuries, the vast majority of entries in this book occurred in the twentieth century. Part of that decision was tied to coverage, since media has certainly paid more attention to scandals in the world of sports in more recent times. The book is divided into seven sections, examining sports scandals related to gambling, sex, drugs, cheating, violence, outrageous commentary, and odds and ends, for a total of eighty-six entries. It is our hope that readers not only learn about sports scandals, but enjoy the reading. We have tried to write in a Preface xi user-friendly and engaging style and provide ample coverage of the scandal, its immediate fallout, and its legacy. The authors all have a long history of involvement in sport, both personally as well as professionally. Jeffrey Fountain holds two degrees in sport adminis- tration and has helped run a large summer camp for several years.