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(#22) Justin Gatlin
- 37
The Fall: This gold medalist in the 100-meter dash has tested positive for banned substances multiple times, but he somehow continues to be able to represent America in various races. The strangest doping story happened in 2007 when he blamed a masseuse for rubbing a testosterone creme onto his buttocks without his knowledge.
What Happened After That: Even though Gatlin keeps getting caught with wonky substances in his bloodstream, he always seems to work with the investigative committees to get to the bottom of each scandal. In 2006, he received a ban from racing for eight years, although after an appeal it was cut in half. Despite that silver lining, it's still believed that Gatlin gave up millions of dollars in endorsements by maintaining his career of doping.
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(#4) Aaron Hernandez
- Dec. at 27
The Fall: Aaron Hernandez was a highly successful football player but ended up in jail for murder. In addition to being charged with a double homicide in 2012, a jury convicted Hernandez of the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015. Lloyd was a semi-pro football player. Hernandez shot and killed Lloyd in an industrial park about one mile away from Hernandez's house.
What Happened After That: About 90 minutes after Hernandez was arrested, the Patriots cut him loose from their roster and a wave of endorsement deals crashed down around him. CytoSport, Puma, and EA Sports all dropped their endorsements, and the University of Florida removed Hernandez's name and likeness from various locations at its football facilities. For his crime, he was sentenced to life in prison.
On April 19, 2017, guards discovered Hernandez dead in his prison cell. Hernandez had hung himself from a bed sheet earlier in the morning.
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(#5) Mark McGwire
- 55
The Fall: Mark McGwire is known for two things: setting the MLB record for single-season home runs with 70 homers in 1998, and following that up by publicly admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs for the majority of his career in 2010.
What Happened After That: Despite being in the middle of a league-wide doping scandal, McGwire never fully owned up to his drug intake. Even when he admitted to using steroids, he insisted that they were for healthy reasons rather than to increase his home run ability. No matter what the reason, there's always going to be an asterisk next to his home run record.
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(#15) Floyd Landis
- 43
The Fall: Landis is a Tour de France-winning cyclist who was caught doping in 2006 and stripped of his win.
What Happened After That: While Landis's cycling career isn't anything to write home about, his post-doping-allegation life became one of the most important pieces of professional cycling history in the 21st century. After being fired from his team and stripped of his wins, one of his best friends (who was essentially responsible for Landis transitioning from mountain biking to road racing) killed himself because of his knowledge of Landis's doping. Landis even said, "I'm not saying that's the reason he's dead, but without that, I don't see why he wouldn't still be here." Then, in 2010, he rolled over on everybody who was doping on the Postal Service's cycling team, including Lance Armstrong. Despite trying to return to cycling after the doping allegations were behind him, he was never able to find a team.
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(#18) Jason Giambi
- 48
The Fall: Jason Giambi began his storied career in the Moneyball era of the Oakland A's, but as time went on he succumbed to using performance enhancing steroids much like many other members of the MLB.
What Happened After That: After Giambi admitted to using steroids in 2007, he was dropped from lucrative endorsement campaigns by companies like Pepsi, Arm & Hammer, and Nike.
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(#19) Warren Sapp
- 43
The Fall: Even though Sapp is a Super Bowl champion with seven Pro Bowls under his belt, he still acts like a rookie when it comes to sportsmanship. But the NFL was okay with shenanigans as long as they were on the field. It's what he got up to after he was finished playing that got him into real trouble. Prior to the Super Bowl in 2010, Sapp was arrested for domestic battery, and five years later he was arrested for trying to solicit a prostitute.
What Happened After That: It's important to note that both times that Sapp got in trouble he was working for the NFL as a pre- and post-game analyst. So essentially anytime the NFL took Sapp somewhere, he would get crazy and beat someone up or try to hire a hooker. After the incident in 2015, the NFL finally gave up on Sapp and ended his contract.
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About This Tool
Sportsmanship is sacred to every athlete. But it seems that the rules of sportsmanship are only for athletes, their coaches, and even the national team they represent. Over the years, there is never a lack of disgraced athletes who regard sports as a cash cow and a way to create superstars and vicious competition. Prohibited drugs, sexual assault, violence, etc. are all kinds of scandals that have emerged in the sports world in recent years.
Compared with the way the business community treats scandals, sports stars are often punished severely when they are found to have violated the rules, ranging from a temporary suspension to the end of their career. The random tool collected the stories about random 22 disgraced athletes.
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