Sports Scandals

by Laura Finley; Jeffrey J. Fountain Peter Finley

  Rocker never had another season like 1999. He remained with the Braves only through 2001 and then was traded to the Cleveland Indians, then the Texas Rangers. In 2003 he played a few games for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but was released from the team. In an ironic twist, Rocker ended up trying to scratch out a paycheck in minor league baseball with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in 2005. While with the Ducks, he reflected on his comments, saying, ''I don't have any ill feelings [toward New York], and it would be nice to think that the New York people can be as mature as I think I am now and bury the hatchet and move on.''41 He was released from that team after only two months.

  Rocker currently promotes the Speak English Campaign, which seeks the ''sustainment of the American heritage and American culture.'' In 2007 Rocker was implicated in a steroids scandal when his name showed up on the client list of Applied Pharmacy, a company raided in connection with a nationwide investigation into illegal steroid sales. The pitcher, who had been amazingly muscular throughout his career, denied any knowledge of an illegal prescription. The story is ongoing.

  ESPN HIRES RUSH LIMBAUGH-EMBARRASSMENT SOON FOLLOWS

  Fans of the National Football League across the country recognized the quality of play and leadership that Donovan McNabb brought to the field as he led the Philadelphia Eagles to consecutive National Football Conference Championship games in 2001 and 2002. In 1999, in recognition of his ability, he had become the first rookie to start for Philadelphia since 1991. He earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in 2000 and 2001. By 2003 fantasy football gurus, who care more about stats than skin color, were touting him as one of the finest quarterbacks in the league. Thus, it was shocking that ESPN's newly hired football analyst, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, would claim that McNabb was, in essence, a fraud who was propped up by a supportive media. It was September 8, 2003, on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, that Limbaugh said, regarding McNabb and the Eagles making consecutive trips to the NFC title game: ''The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team.'' He would go on to say that McNabb hasn't ''been that good from the get-go,'' and that the credit he received was due to ''a little social concern in the NFL.''42 Limbaugh's cheap-shot comments came at a time when the Eagles had started the season 0-2, with losses to the defending Super Bowl champions (Tampa Bay) and the eventual champions (New England), and McNabb nursing an injured thumb and still recovering from a broken leg.

  Limbaugh's comments were particularly preposterous considering the media has been far more likely to subject black quarterbacks to greater scrutiny than white quarterbacks, and has never been known to give them a free pass for poor play. USA Today columnist Ian O'Connor wrote, ''Imagine that. For decades young black athletes had been told they couldn't run the huddle, couldn't manage the offense, couldn't lead the team, and here was Limbaugh decreeing that black quarterbacks had an unfair advantage over their white peers because the media had been ''very desirous'' of evening the field.''43

  McNabb chose to take the high road regarding the Limbaugh comments.

  He didn't have to say much, as the firestorm that ensued demonstrated that many commentators and football fans were itching to respond for him. Limbaugh would resign his position with ESPN almost immediately. Meanwhile, McNabb let his play do the talking. He led the Eagles to twelve wins over the remaining fourteen regular season games, and a playoff win over the Green Bay Packers before losing to Carolina in the NFC Championship.

  Limbaugh's comments certainly did not represent the first challenges that Donovan McNabb faced as a black quarterback. As a high school player he was heavily recruited by colleges, but not to play quarterback. McNabb's coach at Mount Carmel High School, Frank Lenti, tried in vain to convince recruiters that he could throw the ball, but they wanted him as a wide receiver, running back, or multiposition player. Stereotypes that black players could play speed positions but not lead the team as quarterback had persisted throughout the history of football, in spite of some success earned by those granted the opportunity to pursue it. ''When those recruiting analysts said Donovan was a fine athlete who couldn't play quarterback in college, that really upset him,'' Lenti said.44 All the recruiters ignored Lenti, in spite of his nine state championships and head-coaching record of 228-36-except for the recruiters from Syracuse and Nebraska, that is. Those schools had the foresight to offer McNabb a scholarship and the chance to play quarterback. McNabb chose to attend and star at Syracuse based on their strong communications program.

  Given the immense pressure faced by black players (and certainly quarterbacks), a group of former black NFL quarterbacks, including Warren Moon and Doug Williams, started a group called ''The Field Generals'' to act as a support system for current players. According to Williams, who was the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, ''As a quarterback-I don't care who you are-there's going to be some of those days. As a black quarterback, sometimes they're a little tougher.''45

  DON IMUS TAKES CHEAP SHOT AT RUTGERS BASKETBALL PLAYERS

  Can the word ho be a term of affection? Is ''nappy-headed'' a derogatory way to describe black people? More than a public debate over semantics, the comments shock-jock Don Imus made about the Rutgers University women's basketball team in 2007 prompted national discussion over the limits of free speech.

  The Rutgers women played for the NCAA national championship in April 2007. One day later, Imus was talking with his producer on air during his Imus in the Morning radio show about Rutgers' loss to Tennessee. The Rutgers players were referred to as ''nappy-headed hos.'' Imus also snickered as executive producer Bernard McGuirk, drawing on the Spike Lee movie School Daze, compared the women's title game to ''the jigaboos versus the wannabes.''46 A storm of criticism emerged from around the nation. Imus issued an apology two days later. Rutgers president Richard McCormick called the comments ''unconscionable.'' Initially, Imus was suspended for two weeks from WFAN and MSNBC. Amidst calls from the National Association of Black Journalists, as well as black leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, CBS fired Imus. In addition, program sponsors, including General Motors, Procter & Gamble, and American Express, announced they did not wish to be associated with a show that spewed racist and sexist comments. Imus accepted his punishment, saying, ''I've been dishing it out for a long time. Now it's my turn. I get that.''47 He also met with the team and its coach, C. Vivian Stringer, to issue them a more personal apology. One of the players, Kia Vaughn, described how Imus's words impacted her: ''I'm a woman. I'm someone's child. It hurts.

  It hurts a lot. Unless they have given this word a new definition, this is not what I am.''48 Vaughn filed a suit against Imus and NBC Universal, CBS Corporation, and others, citing slander and defamation. She later dropped the suit, saying that she desired to concentrate on her studies and basketball training.

  Anita DeFrantz, an Olympic medalist, president of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, and chairperson of the International Olympic Committee's Commission on Women In Sport, commented, ''Here we go again-a prominent media person using sex and skin color to insult an innocent group of women. As an African-American, the message I got from Imus' words could not have been more clear: The Rutgers athletes didn't deserve to be on the floor. They were subhuman, after all, because their skin is dark. Things white and light are always right; this is the message that is constantly being given through the media in this country. It's time for us to seriously consider why. And it's time for it to stop.''49 Other female sports leaders expressed that Imus's comments reflected a broader problem with the media: when there is coverage of female sports, it is often either highly sexualized or trivializes the participants.

  Imus's defenders claimed he was simply exercising his right to freely speak, and that the nature of his show was to inflame the public. They claimed Imus was an ''equal-opportunity'' offender, not a racist or sexist, because he ha
s always been willing to insult pretty much anyone.

  Imus pursued a wrongful termination suit against CBS, seeking the remaining $40 million on his five-year contract. He claimed that the language of the contract demonstrated that he had been hired to be irreverent and to provide controversial programming. The suit was settled in his favor. Imus's absence from the radio would be short lived. After settling with CBS, he sought a new contract and opportunity to return to the air. Imus found a new home with ABC and returned to the air in December 2007.

  Chapter 7

  POLITICS, COLLUSION, STOLEN VICTORIES, AND OTHER ODDS AND ENDS

  This chapter is dedicated to scandals that defy easy classification. It captures the wide variety of sports scandals and includes an array of problematic and shocking situations. The intersection of sport and civil rights, extreme forms of hazing, race and religious discrimination, false accusations, bribery, and questionable decisions by referees, judges, and coaches are all included. Some things hover between appalling and laughable, like when Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill castrated a bull in an attempt to motivate his team. Other situations are far more serious, such as the false accusations leveled against Richard Jewell for the bombing of the Atlanta Olympics and the hazing that occurred among hockey players at the University of Vermont. The lengthy and scandal-ridden career of basketball coach Bobby Knight is included as well. Even the most ardent college basketball fan will likely be surprised by the number of times Knight has been at the center of controversy on his march to the all-time wins record in NCAA Division I basketball.

  MUHAMMAD ALI VERSUS THE U.S. MILITARY

  As a child, Cassius Marcellus Clay was considered undisciplined and belligerent. Growing up in a tough neighborhood, he began to channel his aggression, which was matched by his verbal boasts, at age twelve, when a white Louisville policeman, Joe Martin, took him under his wing. Never stellar in the classroom, Clay devoted himself to amateur boxing. He appeared in 108 bouts between 1955 and 1960, winning six Kentucky Golden Glove titles, two National Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships, and two National Golden Glove titles. An especially notable win was the gold medal in the light heavyweight division of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. This win was different, as it showcased Clay on the international scene. It was also different because Clay returned from the Games a changed man.

  Clay expected to be welcomed as an American hero when he returned from the Olympic Games. Instead, he returned to bitterly segregated Louisville. According to one story, he was refused service at a Louisville diner, where he appeared wearing his gold medal. Enraged, he left the restaurant and threw the medal in the Ohio River.

  Not long after, Clay began his professional career as a heavyweight, winning a six-round decision over Tunny Hunsaker. He went on to win his next eighteen fights, fifteen of them by knockouts. On February 25, 1964, Clay fought Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship. Liston was a huge favorite against the twenty-two-year-old Clay. Never intimidated, Clay boasted to the media the week before the match and, delivering on all he promised, knocked Liston out in the seventh round.

  Within a short time of being crowned heavyweight champ, Clay announced he had joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Over the next two years, he defended his title in nine matches. He became an outspoken critic of race relations in the United States and an activist for black pride. Ali explained, ''We've been brainwashed.

  Everything good is supposed to be white. We look at Jesus, we see a white with blond hair and blue eyes. We look at all the angels; we see white with blond hair and blue eyes.''1

  In 1967 Ali's title was revoked when he refused induction into the U.S. military. When he appeared at the U.S. Veterans Administrative Office in Houston to hear ''Cassius Clay-Army'' announced, he did not move an inch.

  Outside, fans yelled, ''Draft beer, not Ali!''2 He claimed to be a minister of the Nation of Islam, and thus service would violate his religious principles.3 Ali's famous quote, ''I ain't got no quarrel with the VietCong.… No VietCong ever called me Nigger,'' perhaps best summed up his feelings. Ali also commented, ''I'm expected to go oversees to help free people in South Vietnam, and at the same time my people here are being brutalized and mistreated, and this is really the same thing that's happening over in Vietnam.'' At the time, blacks represented 11 percent of the American population but 30 percent of the casualties in Vietnam.4 He later explained, ''I never thought of myself as great when I refused to go into the Army. All I did was stand up for what I believed.''5 The leading sportscasters of the time, including Jimmy Cannon, Red Smith, and Arthur Daley, all denounced him for his decision. Many in the public were critical as well, although even if he would have served he would not have been on the battle lines. Ali had been offered a service position entertaining the troops with boxing exhibitions.

  Ali was sentenced to a five-year prison term and a $10,000 fine, which he had expected. In addition, state boxing commissions revoked his license to fight. He equated going to jail with the civil rights struggle, commenting, ''I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here.… I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I'll go to jail, so what? We've been in jail for 400 years.''6 His attorney's appeals, which ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, kept him out of a prison cell.Although the Supreme Court did not officially reverse his conviction for draft evasion until 1971, Ali began fighting again in 1970. The Supreme Court's unanimous decision held that the Justice Department was incorrect when it denied Ali's religious conviction and his conscientious objector status In the United States, applause was mixed with derision, as many saw Ali as a traitor to his country. Across the world, boxing fans celebrated. Others who felt the war in Vietnam was unjust rejoiced as well.

  Ali knocked out several opponents to gain the opportunity to fight Joe Frazier and regain his title, but suffered the first loss in his professional career when he dropped a fifteen-round decision. In October 1974 Ali regained the title in a heavily promoted fight in Kinshasa, Zaire, against George Foreman. He peppered the press with artful phrases predicting his win, including, ''Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see.'' In his fight against Foreman, Ali showed off his famous ''rope-a-dope'' move. He then defended his title ten times in the next four years, including a fifteenround revenge victory against Joe Frazier in the Philippines. On February 15, 1978, Ali lost the title to Leon Spinks, but then regained it from Spinks seven months later. He was the only fighter to win the heavyweight crown three times.

  Although Ali announced his retirement from boxing in June 1979, he challenged Larry Holmes for the title less than a year later. On October 2, 1980, Holmes dealt Ali the worst defeat of his career. He was, by one definition, ''far over the hill-several hills,'' when he signed on to fight twenty-seven-year-old Jamaican Trevor Berbick on December 11, 1981. Berbick won in a unanimous decision, and went on to win the heavyweight title.

  Ali is known as an innovator, not just for his quick hands, agile footwork, and ability to absorb punch after punch, but for his ability to enlist the media as a competitive strategy. According to one source, ''Ali elevated the language of ridicule into an art form.''7

  In 1988 a federal judge dismissed a $50 million lawsuit filed by the former heavyweight champ four years earlier, alleging he had been unlawfully denied conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War and was wrongfully stripped of his title in 1967. Ali alleged the government unlawfully arrested, detained, and seized him, and that his speech and expression were unlawfully restrained. The judge determined the claims should have been made years prior.

  Ali has suffered physically since his retirement. He is afflicted with Parkinson's disease, a neurological condition that causes tremors, loss of balance, memory problems, and confusion. Doctors have determined the Parkinson's is due to the repeated blows to the head he endured. These announcements have prompted many in the medical world, and even some in box
ing, to call for mandatory use of headgear or for the complete elimination of the sport.

  Despite these challenges, Ali went on to be a goodwill ambassador for the United States. He met with Saddam Hussein in 1990 in an effort to forestall the Persian Gulf War, and was a spokesperson for Operation USA in Rwanda in 1996. In 1996 he was selected to run the final leg of the torch relay to light the Olympic flame at the Atlanta Games.8 Today, Ali is held up as an icon, although many forget his importance as a civil rights activist.

  TOMMIE SMITH AND JOHN CARLOS-THE BLACK POWER SALUTE

  Although it was just one part of black athletes' movements in the 1960s, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos took the medal stand in Mexico City at the 1968 Olympics, their black-gloved fists raised, the nation was alerted to the fact that athletes too were involved in civil rights struggles. In fall 1967 amateur black athletes, led by professor Harry Edwards of San Diego State, formed the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) with the intent of boycotting the 1968 games. The OPHR had three basic demands: that boxer Muhammad Ali's title, stripped when he refused to go to Vietnam when drafted, be restored; that the U.S. Olympic Committee remove the current head, Avery Brundage, who was known to be a white supremacist; and that South Africa and Rhodesia be uninvited from the games in a gesture of black solidarity against apartheid. Edwards promoted the boycott, arguing that black Americans should refuse ''to be utilized as 'performing animals' in the games.''9 He commented, ''What value is it to a black man to win a medal if he returns to the hell of Harlem? They are only being used to further the racist attitudes of the U.S.A.''10 Fairly quickly, many athletes rejected the full boycott, contending they had worked their whole lives for the chance to compete in the games.