10 Athletes That Shamed An Entire Nation
10 Athletes That Shamed An Entire Nation
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for ten athletes who brought shame to their nation due to their actions, performances, or wrongdoings.
Diego Maradona - Argentina
There’s no denying the impact that Diego Maradona had on the sport of football - especially in his home of Argentina. But despite his many successes on the field, his constant struggles with substance use were a major factor in his post-retirement life, and in some cases, his playing career. During the 1994 World Cup, Maradona played two games before testing positive for the banned substance ephedrine. At first, Diego claimed that it was an energy drink that caused the ephedrine to end up in his system, before later saying that he had a deal with FIFA that allowed him to use the substance for weight-loss. Either way, without their talisman, Argentina were swiftly knocked out of the tournament. He retired from international football shortly after.
Tonya Harding - USA
Figure-skater Tonya Harding was on her way to finish her career as a decorated and well-respected athlete. As a two-time Olympian, this should have been the story of her run in figure skating - but in 1994, Harding was involved in a controversy that would define her life. Her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, was attacked during her preparations for the 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships - struck over the leg with a baton. As it turned out, Harding’s husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated the assault in order to give his wife the edge. Whether Tonya herself knew exactly what was planned or not is up for debate, but she was found guilty of covering for her husband in the aftermath. She received a life-time ban for her wrongdoings.
Paolo Rossi - Italy
The late, great Paolo Rossi is a beloved figure in Italy - mainly for his efforts in leading the country to World Cup glory in 1982. As a prolific goalscorer for Vicenza and Juventus, he also made a name for himself domestically. But in 1980, Rossi was involved in a match-fixing scandal known as Totonero - a large operation involving multiple Serie A clubs and players. Game outcomes were pre-determined in order to facilitate big-money betting - and when the scandal came to light, clubs like AC Milan and Lazio were relegated from the top-flight - and Rossi, despite denying all wrongdoing, was banned for 2 years. He did return in time to win a World Cup for his country, but his integrity as a player will always be tarnished.
Hansie Cronje - South Africa
Hansie Cronje was the captain of the South African cricket team and seemingly one of the country’s standout athletes of the 1990s. But when it emerged that Cronje had been accepting bribes to influence the outcomes of his and his teammates’ performances, his reputation took a nosedive. Cronje had repeatedly accepted sums of money and also offered his money if they doctored their statistical output in a match. He denied all wrongdoing when confronted, but eventually, he received a lifetime-ban from the sport. He died in a plane-crash at the age of just 32. Despite this, he was still voted by the general public to be the 11th greatest South African of all-time on a national television show - despite being regarded as a disgraced athlete.
Sun Yang - China
As a three-time Olympic gold-medalist and the first male swimmer to win Olympic and World Championship gold at every distance between 200m and 1,500m - there is a good argument to be made that Sun Yang is the greatest freestyle swimmer of all-time. But the public’s perception of him took a major u-turn. In 2014, he tested positive for the banner-substance trimetazidine. Then, in 2018, upon giving a blood-sample during a random drug-test, he refused to cooperate further, accusing the testing-team of not having proper credentials. He and his entourage supposedly tried to intimidate the officials before then smashing the vials containing his blood. All of a sudden, the world got a better look at the man behind the athlete - and people were not impressed.
Ben Johnson - Canada
Ben Johnson was a superstar-runner in every sense - seen as the fastest-man alive during his peak season in 1988 - where he broke his own 100m record with an astonishing 9.79-seconds. However, his moment in the sun would not last long, as it was revealed that he had tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug stanozolol. He later also admitted that his original world-record, set in 1987, was also helped by steroid-use. In fact, the 1988 100m race has since been called the ‘dirtiest race in history’, with only two of the eight runners avoiding some form of PED guilt in their career. But Ben Johnson remains the poster-boy for cheating in the sport and unsurprisingly, he was stripped of his gold-medal and world-record.
Lance Armstrong - USA
Lance Armstrong was a hero to so many for so many years - becoming an icon of athletics due to his dominance in cycling. He won the Tour de France a record seven times-in-a-row, he survived cancer during the peak of his athletic career, and raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer-research. And whenever the question of doping was put to him, he would always vehemently deny it. Armstrong was a model-athlete… or so we thought. As it turned out, he was a good liar. Armstrong has been doping for the majority of his career - shocking the world with a very blunt confession that called his entire life’s work - and the legitimacy of drug-testing in cycling generally - into question.
Oscar Pistorius - South Africa
Oscar Pistorius was a six-time Paralympic gold-medalist and often referred to as the fastest man alive with no legs. He eventually became the first person with a double amputation to compete in the Summer Olympics - and at this time, he achieved crossover success, becoming an inspiration to athletes with a wide variety of disabilities. However, this all changed when he was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp - shooting her four times through a locked bathroom door. Oscar maintained that he believed that she was an intruder, but most people were not convinced. Pistorius was widely believed to have murdered her in a fit of rage - although he was released from prison after serving just 8.5 years on a murder charge.
O.J. Simpson - USA
The O.J. Simpson murder trial was one of the biggest cultural-events of the 1990s - a totally inescapable saga that held the attention of the entire world. Simpson was already an NFL-legend by the time 1994 came around. But when he was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown and her friend, Ron Goldman, his life descended into chaos. Not only did he lead the police on a car-chase that 95 million people tuned in to watch live - but when he was brought to trial, the eight months that followed were more widely discussed and followed than any sporting event that year. Simpson was eventually declared not guilty, but public scepticism was overwhelming. His reputation never recovered - even after his death in 2024.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.
Maria Sharapova - Russia
Pete Rose - USA
Ryan Lochte - USA
Tiger Woods - USA
Michael Vick - USA
Chris Benoit - Canada
Once seen as one of the hardest-working and intensely committed pro-wrestlers of all-time - these days, any mention of the name ‘Chris Benoit’ brings about an undeniably-bleak feeling. Between June 22 and 24, Benoit murdered his wife and his 7-year-old son, before eventually taking his own life. The news of this brutal crime shook the world to its core. What could drive a man to such horrific acts? Well, the murders certainly shone a light on the dangers of CTE and general trauma to the head, with reports that his brain resembled that of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient due to all of the hits he took in the ring over the years. Either way, Benoit’s legacy remains in tatters - and it’s not hard to understand why.
What do you think was the biggest fall from grace in sporting history? Let us know in the comments.
