Worst Current Sports Scandal

[lleeder]

There have been some major sports scandals lately in the news. Which one do you think is the biggest headache for its respective sports commissioner and/or owners?

[Reephdweller]

There have been some major sports scandals lately in the news. Which one do you think is the biggest headache for its respective sports commissioner and/or owners?

I think the NBA scandal has the potential fo the biggest problem for the sport itself. Michael Vick is a huge issue, but I'm sure just yet if it really will have an effect on the NFL.

[oh_kee_pa]

the thing w/ the michael vick issue is that as human beings we care more about dogs being killed then humans...

it's wierd but true

[sailor]

mike vick. and it's not aboot not caring if humans are killed, it's that football is much much bigger than wrestlin'. if a baseball player killed his wife and kids it would be much bigger than the benoit story. also, the fact that he's dead and not around to stand trial removes a ton of heat from that story.

[Snacks]

without a doubt its the nba gambling scandal. when an official can make false calls to help another team win or cover a spread then it gives credibility to every player, fan, owner who thought games have been can be fixed fixed. Not everyone has a problem with what Vick did (they should) some cultures may even agree with it. The Benoit murder suicide is huge but wrestling is a nitch entertainment its not a sport. So the coverage wont make as big especially with all the other scandals going on.

I voted for nba but I think I hit the nfl by accident b/c of this stupid website and flashy mouse problem. ie7pro did not work.

[cougarjake13]

i went with vick b/c his situation is the most high profile and the most easily affiliated with
most people have dogs as pets

the ref in nba is a nobody and didnt hurt anyone

bonds didnt hurt or kill anyone

beniot isnt a big name outside of the wrestling community,killedhis wife and kid which is horrible, and now with vick and the nba thing he is all but forgotten

[KnoxHarrington]

In terms of which one horrifies and sickens me the most, it's definitely Ron Mexico. In terms of which one's truly the more important story, it's the crooked ref.

[babybagadonuts]

mike vick. and it's not aboot not caring if humans are killed, it's that football is much much bigger than wrestlin'. if a baseball player killed his wife and kids it would be much bigger than the benoit story. also, the fact that he's dead and not around to stand trial removes a ton of heat from that story.

sailor is a smart smart man

[cupcakelove]

Benoit, because it actually involved people dying. Vick is a pretty sick fuck, but what he did is not as bad as killing your wife and kid.

[PapaBear]

I picked the Vick thing. There's a good chance it will end his career. The Benoit thing is more tragic, but WWE isn't a sport.

[babybagadonuts]

I picked the Vick thing. There's a good chance it will end his career. The Benoit thing is more tragic, but WWE isn't a sport.


that's exactly where i was gonna go with that. it's the biggest "sports" scandal, not "grown up drama club acting group" scandal. wrestling is like watching a play. everythings scripted and they're just actors

[BoondockSaint]

It's the NBA ref. The entire integrity of the sport is called into question.

[babybagadonuts]

It's the NBA ref. The entire integrity of the sport is called into question.

that's good too, people always say the reason they can't watch the nba is because of the officiating being so bad. it always seems like they try to make the game close after letting them play hard all game and this kinda backs up that argument

[spoon]

I think the NBA scandal has the potential fo the biggest problem for the sport itself. Michael Vick is a huge issue, but I'm sure just yet if it really will have an effect on the NFL.

I'm with ReeFdweller on this one (even though he's killing that ph joke to death). The NBA thing brings huge potential issues with the league, the law and the government investigations. The same goes for the steroid/drug issue linked to the serious murders in the WWE.

In terms of history and personal ethics I despise Bonds and how MLB has handled it, but unfortunately nothing will come of it and it will continually be ignored by the league to protect itself and scar MLB even more in my mind. The Vick thing is on him and the league won't suffer at all. The new commish has set up his league now to be tough on guys like this and i'm sure as soon as he's convicted he'll be in deep shit outside and inside the NFL.

In terms of trouble for the league: 1-WWE 2-NBA 3-MLB 4-NFL
In terms of personal politics/ethics: 1-WWE 2-NFL 3-NBA 4-MLB

[spoon]

i went with vick b/c his situation is the most high profile and the most easily affiliated with
most people have dogs as pets

the ref in nba is a nobody and didnt hurt anyone

bonds didnt hurt or kill anyone

beniot isnt a big name outside of the wrestling community,killedhis wife and kid which is horrible, and now with vick and the nba thing he is all but forgotten

Just getting to the rest of the posts here but how can this question, "Which one do you think is the biggest headache for its respective sports commissioner and/or owners?", be answered in order of popularity? The last three answers listed above and including this post quoted changed the very point of Lleeder's question/poll. If it was which will make bigger headlines then fine and I agree with most of what was said. Yet it isn't what's being debated here.

And how does a ref changing games not hurt anyone? What about the guys playing, the coaches, the legal betting on the game and more? If you mean physical harm I see your
point but I'm sure someone got knee-capped in there based on a bet gone wrong that would have been different.

[King Hippos Bandaid]

The NBA ref, Thats some fucked up shit, I voted for this

Id bet on Dog Fights if I was Rich and living the Life of Ron Mexico

Benoit Murder-Suicide was fucked up but it was roid rage, it was gonna happen sometime

Bonds is gonna make history, good for Him, Aaron was a Dick to Ron, so FUCK HIM

:king:

[El Mudo]

Has to be the refs thing....HAS to be


For YEARS people have been complaining about how bad NBA refs are....this is their smoking gun...this has the potential to be MASSIVE, especially because of the degree the NBA has gone to in the past to protect the integrity of their officials....First Joey Crawford, now this guy....

[KnoxHarrington]

that's good too, people always say the reason they can't watch the nba is because of the officiating being so bad. it always seems like they try to make the game close after letting them play hard all game and this kinda backs up that argument

I think that the NBA is even more vulnerable to a scandal like this than the other leagues would be because there's this perception that the league is shady and fixed. This seems to confirm many things that have been said about the league, and that's really dangerous for them.

[oh_kee_pa]

mike vick. and it's not aboot not caring if humans are killed, it's that football is much much bigger than wrestlin'. if a baseball player killed his wife and kids it would be much bigger than the benoit story. also, the fact that he's dead and not around to stand trial removes a ton of heat from that story.

yea, i understand what you're saying... and in my point i wasnt trying to compare it to benoit, although it came out like that... but look at hte Pac Man Jones situation. I haven't heard about that in a couple weeks and he was indirectly responsible for that guy being shot. Thats where I was trying to go w/ my point.

Look it up, animal shelters and donations for pets receive more money every year then place like World Hunger Year and things that keep people from dying of starvation (obviously take your state and federal taxes out of the equation for welfare)

[Friday]

I think the NBA scandal is a lot harder to pinpoint in terms of involvement and corruption, so it has the potential to spread a lot wider than the others.

The other incidents are more isolated, and will all have consequences but the sport itself will not suffer... people will not think any differently about the NFL or the WWE as an organization.

The NBA has alot of damage control ahead.

[spoon]

I think the NBA scandal is a lot harder to pinpoint in terms of involvement and corruption, so it has the potential to spread a lot wider than the others.

The other incidents are more isolated, and will all have consequences but the sport itself will not suffer... people will not think any differently about the NFL or the WWE as an organization.

The NBA has alot of damage control ahead.

With the WWE it's either going to open the doors to wide drug testing and government investigations and the end of the league as it is today, or (and most likely) it'll be ignored and left to fade out as the WWE truly hopes. But if you ask me, all the deaths stemming from all different forms of drug abuse (directly or indirectly) makes this the biggest issue for it's sport if you truly care for your people and the kids they influence. Comparing a betting scandal (every sport has multiple a year) to drug induced deaths and spreading impact just doesn't add up to me. And I'm no WWE fan here, it's just real life versus internal league dynamics/politics.

[TheGameHHH]

im going with the NBA scandal too.....the Vick thing is gross and terrifying, so is Benoit. However, this ref impacted the entire sport with what he did. the worst part about all of it is it will take the spotlight off of Vick.

[JimBeam]

I voted for the ref because I think it calls in to question the entire sport more than any of the others.

The Vick thing does have an impact because it'll set a precedent if they suspend a league star. While the Pac Man Jones/Chris Henry/Tank Johnson were high profile this is so much bigger.

The Benoit thing was a tragedy and while wrestling has a huge following it'd be no different if a D-movie actor had committed the same scrime.

The " Bonds " issue is no issue. Still to this day he hasn't been proved to have done anything at all wrong with regards to the game of baseball. From a legal stand point he didn't pay his taxes and will be punished in some way for that. How about we call it the Jason Giambi Steroid issue because he's the only high profile guy still playing that was actually in some way caught or admitted, in his own half-*ssed way, that he did something wrong.

[cougarjake13]

Just getting to the rest of the posts here but how can this question, "Which one do you think is the biggest headache for its respective sports commissioner and/or owners?", be answered in order of popularity? The last three answers listed above and including this post quoted changed the very point of Lleeder's question/poll. If it was which will make bigger headlines then fine and I agree with most of what was said. Yet it isn't what's being debated here.

And how does a ref changing games not hurt anyone? What about the guys playing, the coaches, the legal betting on the game and more? If you mean physical harm I see your
point but I'm sure someone got knee-capped in there based on a bet gone wrong that would have been different.

ya i was going with the physical harm aspect for the ref

[babybagadonuts]

I think that the NBA is even more vulnerable to a scandal like this than the other leagues would be because there's this perception that the league is shady and fixed. This seems to confirm many things that have been said about the league, and that's really dangerous for them.


ding, ding, ding!!

you are correct, sir <ed mcmhahon>

[Snacks]

In terms of which one horrifies and sickens me the most, it's definitely Ron Mexico. In terms of which one's truly the more important story, it's the crooked ref.

It amazes me that more people are horrified about dogs being killed then a man killing his wife, kid and then himself. I have had many dogs and love them dearly but in no way is their life worth or more important then a humans.

Benoit, because it actually involved people dying. Vick is a pretty sick fuck, but what he did is not as bad as killing your wife and kid.

someone who sees it for what it is.

I voted for the ref because I think it calls in to question the entire sport more than any of the others.

The Vick thing does have an impact because it'll set a precedent if they suspend a league star. While the Pac Man Jones/Chris Henry/Tank Johnson were high profile this is so much bigger.

The Benoit thing was a tragedy and while wrestling has a huge following it'd be no different if a D-movie actor had committed the same scrime.

The " Bonds " issue is no issue. Still to this day he hasn't been proved to have done anything at all wrong with regards to the game of baseball. From a legal stand point he didn't pay his taxes and will be punished in some way for that. How about we call it the Jason Giambi Steroid issue because he's the only high profile guy still playing that was actually in some way caught or admitted, in his own half-*ssed way, that he did something wrong.

exactly. Bonds has never admitted, failed a test or anything. The grand jury has been trying to indite him for 4 years and have found no way to do it. B/C there is no proof of him doing anything. People want to believe he did something b/c his personality is shit and he has broken every record. To be honest even if he had a press conference and admitted to doing steroids I still wouldnt care.

[DonInNC]

To the original question - the steroid scandal is a huge headached for Bud Selig and Baseball in general. Long standing records were or are about to be broken by players who are strongly suspected of using. The whole thing is a huge mess that will be what defines this era of the game.

With the possible exception of the NBA point shaving, The other scandals are isolated incidents that will likely be mostly forgotten about over time.

[kdubya]

the thing w/ the michael vick issue is that as human beings we care more about dogs being killed then humans...

it's wierd but true

That is very true. If my wife and I are watching TV and 100 people are gunned down in a war movie she doesn't bat an eye. If one dig is kicked she makes me turn it off.

I agree with many folks on the NBA ref story really just adding fuel to the fire about bad calls and games being fixed.

Some other stories may be more tragic or sick, but the NBA is really going to have a tough time with this one. I wouldn't be surprised if Stern resigns before this all settles.

[cougarjake13]

To the original question - the steroid scandal is a huge headached for Bud Selig and Baseball in general. Long standing records were or are about to be broken by players who are strongly suspected of using. The whole thing is a huge mess that will be what defines this era of the game.

With the possible exception of the NBA point shaving, The other scandals are isolated incidents that will likely be mostly forgotten about over time.

while thats true is steriods that only affects the players health while playing a game more scandolous and wrong than a guy who killed his wife and kid or a guy who may have been involved with the breeding and subsequent killing of dogs ???

lets look at it this way


bonds plays a game hallowed records in question no human life harmed, cept for the individual player

ref yet another game where records can now be questioned but no human life harmed

beniot another game/entertainment records are unimportant but human life was taken

vick another game/ entertainment, records arent affected but mans best friend is tortured and killed

so in terms of real life concerns it has to be either beniot or vick

[cougarjake13]

There have been some major sports scandals lately in the news. Which one do you think is the biggest headache for its respective sports commissioner and/or owners?

i see where spoon said we gotten off track in terms of lleeders original question


to answer lleeders original question whats the biggest headache ??

its gotta be either bonds/steriods or the ref/nba

b/c either one of them is calling into question the entire integrity of the game

[DonInNC]

while thats true is steriods that only affects the players health while playing a game more scandolous and wrong than a guy who killed his wife and kid or a guy who may have been involved with the breeding and subsequent killing of dogs ???

lets look at it this way


bonds plays a game hallowed records in question no human life harmed, cept for the individual player

ref yet another game where records can now be questioned but no human life harmed

beniot another game/entertainment records are unimportant but human life was taken

vick another game/ entertainment, records arent affected but mans best friend is tortured and killed

so in terms of real life concerns it has to be either beniot or vick

I was going with the original question. As far as which one is worse, it's easily the dude that killed his family. The Vick deal is also troubling.

[Tenbatsuzen]

The Benoit Murder-Suicide "roid rage" theory holds no water because as the WWE pointed out, these murders happened over days, not seconds. The only way the Roid Rage thing pans out is if Benoit was mentally on the edge, had a roid rage incident with Nancy and killed her, and that was enough to drive him over the edge mentally to kill Daniel and then himself. But with no note, no nothing, we can only go on theories. Which is why this story has no legs. Benoit was sick. It wasn't premeditated. He was out of his fucking mind, and the roids are just a subplot, not the cause.

The "wrestling deaths" are a combination of a lot of things. Drug abuse, physical destruction of bodies, and media spotlight. Not a good combination.

The Vick thing... PETA got 50 people to picket in NYC. 50. Sports writers will dig their teeth into it because of lot of sports writers are transparently racist, or at the very least, see the world through a different spectrum than the rest of us. Pacman Jones is a thug and he deserved to be scrutinized. But for Vick to be getting this much attention is insane. Athletes DUI all the time, but that seems to be standard operating proceedure now. But dogs? That's "barbaric". Yeah, it's pretty fucked up, but it's DOGS. I'm not saying that animals suck and I'm not trying to piss on people who are dog owners, but... they're dogs. He wasn't destroying peoples' lives like PacMan Jones allegedly was a part of in Vegas.

I think the NBA thing is the most dangerous. This guy pretty much has created a major, major dent in the credibility of the entire sport. EVERY call that is called into question will make people wonder. The NBA is one of the few sports where a few procedural calls can change the entire flow of the game. It's hard to have crooked umpires in MLB or the NFL. The NBA? The quality of the officiating is horrific. So this is really, really bad.

Steroids... whatever. Steroids saved the game in 1998, and now you think it's "bad". I don't care. You could be roided up but it still won't give you the bat speed or the eye-hand coordination needed to jack a 95 MPH fastball.

[cougarjake13]

I think the NBA thing is the most dangerous. This guy pretty much has created a major, major dent in the credibility of the entire sport. EVERY call that is called into question will make people wonder. The NBA is one of the few sports where a few procedural calls can change the entire flow of the game. It's hard to have crooked umpires in MLB or the NFL. The NBA? The quality of the officiating is horrific. So this is really, really bad.

.

i'd agree with the umpires in mlb

but a ref could have some affect on the outcomes in nfl, a phantom pass interference call or a fumble that doesnt happen b/c hes ruled down by contact and cant be reviewed

but yeh its worse in the nba

[Fezticle98]

Tour de France doping scandals. The entire sport of cycling will either be changed or will cease to exist because of it.

2nd place - NBA ref. Calls the legitimacy of the sport into question. Hurt a lot of people.