-
(#10) Michael Jordan Was Actually Hungover During The Flu Game
Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals was one of Michael Jordan’s most legendary performances in a career full of them. Fighting a nasty flu bug, Jordan scored 38 points and led the Bulls to a decisive win. But did Jordan actually have the flu? His personal trainer claimed Jordan actually had food poisoning, caused by a dodgy pizza delivered in the middle of the night.
Meanwhile, NBA commentator and former player Jalen Rose claims Jordan was actually hungover from a night of partying, and that the NBA cooked up the flu story to cover for Jordan. The circumstantial evidence doesn’t point in that direction (indeed, Jordan looks like he's in agony when he's not on the court), and Jordan has never wavered from the fact that was simply battling a bug.
-
(#4) Patrick Ewing And The Frozen Envelope
Long one of the most popular rumors in NBA history, the Patrick Ewing frozen envelope theory has the league rigging their draft lottery (long thought to be crooked) to get the biggest college star to the team in the biggest market, a flailing franchise that desperately needed a superstar.
Then NBA Commissioner David Stern has always laughed off the rumor that his league fixed the lottery, and New York getting the first pick in 1985 is just one of many longshot draft lottery happenings – all of which are next to impossible to prove.
-
(#18) Tyson vs. Douglas Was Fixed
Mike Tyson was the most accomplished, most feared, and most powerful heavyweight boxer on the planet in 1990. And yet he lost a title fight to Buster Douglas, a guy perceived as an overweight tomato can that Tyson would destroy. Obvious candidate for a fix, right? Boxing experts agree that while Tyson went into the bout as the superior fighter, he was under-prepared and took his win for granted, not counting on running into an opponent who trained maniacally and would have the night of his life.
Douglas never repeated his success, and once he got a huge payday for fighting Evander Holyfield, faded into obscurity.
-
(#9) Sonny Liston Took A Dive For Muhammad Ali
It’s long been thought that Sonny Liston took a dive for Muhammad Ali (then still fighting under his birth name of Cassius Clay) when they fought for the second time in 1965. Ali’s “phantom punch” knocked Liston down in the first round, despite barely connecting with the fighter. There were rumors of some kind of mafia involvement, or possibly that Liston was deep in debt and bet against himself.
No investigation ever proved that anything untoward happened, and everyone involved denied the same. At worst, Liston might have realized Clay was going to beat the stuffing out of him, and wanted no part of it.
-
(#16) Super Bowl III Was Fixed
Super Bowl III, in which Joe Namath guaranteed victory for his upstart New York Jets, was a pivotal moment for the NFL. They had just merged with the AFL, but the NFL teams had proven themselves far superior. Another Super Bowl win by an NFL team might have proven the AFL to be inherently inferior, and driven fans away. So did the league arrange for the team it needed to win to, in fact, win?
That was the opinion of Baltimore Colts player Bubba Smith, who theorized that the league rigged the game to allow the more lucrative AFL team to beat his Colts. While the Jets, who were an 18.5 point underdog, pulled off an unthinkable upset, it was just as likely due to the Colts playing poorly and underestimating the Jets, rather than shenanigans by the NFL.
-
(#1) The 1972 US Basketball Team Got Robbed
One of the most controversial endings in sports history, the US Men’s Basketball team lost to the Soviet team in the Finals of the 1972 Olympics, with Russia getting three chances to score a winning basket.
A combination of unclear rules, seemingly random clock stoppages and bizarre referee decisions gave the Soviet team enough chances to win 51-50, kicking off 40 years of accusations and denials, with the American team never having accepted their silver medals.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
Whether it is the NBA, the NFL, or other leagues, there have been a lot of conspiracy theories related to sports, most of which are rumors that the lottery companies control the games, or the league or organizers confirmed the winners. These conspiracy theories are usually justified and even citing evidence. Moreover, the penalties of many games are indeed bizarre, making these conspiracy theories more true.
Over the years, lots of sports fans said that they watch any games like watching WWE. Indeed, there are more and more commercial sports competitions. What real sports needs are fairness and justice. You will find random 21 of the biggest sports-related conspiracy theories, the generator shows more information.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.