Top 10 Cheats of All Time

Everyone wants to win, and for every clean athlete who wins, there is a dozen of other athlete’s attempting different methods of cheating to be the best. At the Puttdown we have narrowed down the list of cheaters to what we think is the top 10 cheaters of all time.

Honourable Mention
This goes to the one and only Shooter McGavin. Not only did he hire a man to torment Happy Gilmore at a pro-am tournament, but he also hired a man to run him over in an attempt to stop him from winning the coveted gold jacket.

10. MLB Steroid Era

Coming in at number 10 is the MLB steroid era. It would be easy just to pin this on Barry Bonds, after all, he was probably the most successful but there was so many of them that the whole era gets in at number 10. It was so bad that many players including Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriquez were summoned in 2005 to testify in front of Congress about the issue. Bonds continue to this day to be shunned entry to the baseball hall of fame even though he holds the record for the most home runs in a single season and the most career home runs with 762.



9. Marion Jones

At number 9 is Marion Jones. Jones won 5 medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 3 gold and 2 bronze. She was however stripped of those medals after admitting to steroid use. Outside of sport, she was involved in a check-counterfeiting scheme that led to criminal charges against her. She was then sentenced to 6 months in prison for her involvement in the check fraud case and her use of performance-enhancing drugs. Not the best decade for Marion.

8. Antonio Margarito

I bet you didn't expect Antonio Margarito in this list, but here he is sitting at 8th.  Margarito was banned from boxing for a year (only a year!) after he was found to be loading his gloves before a fight with Shane Mosely. Had the fight gone ahead he could have done some serious damage. It also emerged that he had similar stains on his gloves in a previous fight against Miguel Cotto, which led to a rematch between the two in which Margarito got his ass whooped.

7. Australia Cricket

Imagine cheating in a gentleman's sport like cricket. It would be like cheating in golf (cough cough Patrick Reed cough). In 2018 Australia cricket team were caught ball-tampering. They were caught on TV using a piece of sandpaper to rough up one side of the ball to make it swing during delivery. Not only was this cheating but they did it during the game, on TV, for everyone to see. 3 of the players were banned including the captain Steve Smith who admitted to knowing about the plan in advance. Not the best showing for the sport.

6. Calciopoli (Italian Football)

Imagine the embarrassment of being one of the biggest football clubs in Europe, if not the world, and being relegated to play in the second tier of your respective countries leagues. This is exactly what happened to Juventus. What happened in Italy could easily be the events transpiring in a movie directed by Martin Scorsese, match-fixing that started at the very top. Telephone recordings were uncovered between team managers and referees organisations during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, accused of selecting favourable referees. The result of the fall out led to champions Juventus being stripped of their league title and relegated. It also involved several other teams including AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina.

5. Saracens Rugby

If you were a member of the Saracens Rugby team you might have been wondering why it was so easy to assemble a squad with more quality than the rest of the league combined. Well, it helps when you skirt the salary cap with such effortlessness. For three seasons Saracens cheated their way to success, winning trophy after trophy. Due to the RFU's lack of appropriate punishment, they kept the trophies and league title. Only to be hit with a fine for an undisclosed amount, and relegation to the second tear of English rugby, which barring a spectacular exodus of players, will no doubt have any problem winning. You could say that the punishment will have been worth the reward in a few years.



4. The Houston Astros

More than likely Atros first entry into a top 10 of cheats. The Astros were caught using a sophisticated sign-stealing operation during 2017 season and beyond. It was so successful that they went on to win their first world series in franchise history. They were caught and fined, however, they were allowed to keep their title and championship rings, with no players receiving suspensions. Another cheating scheme that was worth the risk. There have been cries coming from the baseball world that the punishment was not enough, calling for their title to taken away from them and players be suspended.

3. The Whole City of Boston

Yes, you did read that correctly. The whole city of Boston is coming in at 3rd. Teams or people within the city are constantly getting caught, so let's just make a list. Starting with the New England Patriots who are probably the most prolific within the Boston cheating scene. Firstly, the Patriots have had numerous players caught using PEDs, most recently Julian Edelman in 2018. They have also been caught illegally spying on other teams, most recently in 2019 filming the sideline of the Cincinnati Bengals, who by the way, were the worst team in the league at the time. If they are filming the worst team in the league, it is more than likely they were filming everyone else. The famous Deflategate, involving the allegation that New England and Tom Brady had ordered the deliberate deflation of game balls during a playoff victory against the Indianapolis Colts in 2014. Brady was suspended 4 games and the team fined $1million.
On to the Boston Red Sox. They were recently caught cheating during 2018 baseball season. Just like the Astros, they were caught sign-stealing but were able to avoid a big punishment. Not long before that, they were caught using Apple Watches in the dugout.
Do you remember 1980, Rosie Ruiz won the women's division of the Boston Marathon, but of course, she didn't. Having only run a portion of the race, jumping into the race towards the end and going on to win (Turns out she is from New York, but it still qualifies).
Do you remember the card counters who won millions playing blackjack and inspired the film '21'? They went to MIT. Lets also not forget the Boston tea party...



2. The Sport of Cycling

Maybe you were expecting to see Lance Armstrong here but think again. Armstrong did cheat, don't get me wrong, he was, in fact, the best cheater. It would seem harsh from my point of view to just call him out, considering literally every other cyclist was cheating. The guy who came 30th, he was cheating, the guy who came 77th, he was cheating, they all were, for years. The reputation of the sport was again down the toilet in 2018 when Team Sky and British rider Bradley Wiggins were accused of using performance-enhancing drugs back in 2011 and 2012. No official sanctions came down from the World Anti Doping Agency, however, the team and rider came under huge scrutiny from the UK's digital, culture, media and sport select committee. It's hard not to ignore any accusations of cheating that come from the sport of cycling. A sports reputation that is in a tatters from years of cheating.

1. Russia

Coming in at number 1 are Russia. The country devised a state-sponsored doping programme during the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi. The operation involved members of the intelligence service replacing dirty urine samples with clean urine in the dead of the night. The process even included breaking 'tamper-proof' bottles, passing them through a hole in the wall, to be ready for testing the next day. At the time, none of the athletes was caught and Russia went on to win the most medals at the games. They were caught thankfully and Russia was banned from international competition for 4 years. It doesn't change the fact that many athletes were unable to stand on top of the podium and listen to their national anthems as they collected their medals, many suggesting that the punishment is not harsh enough.





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