The Most Unsportsmanlike Acts In Sports

Sports are full of respectful and beautiful moments, but disrespectful events also occur occasionally. You will even find some of the biggest star athletes’ names and the most famous scandals among the most unsportsmanlike acts too. 

The Most Hated Athlete in the Tokyo Olympics

Morhad Amdouni earned the title of the most unsportsmanlike competitor of the Tokyo Olympics. During the marathon, the thirty-three-year-old French runner deliberately knocked the bottles off the table next to the road, which prevented the other runners coming behind him from grabbing a drink and refreshing themselves. What made it worse was that it was a hot day, and the athletes ran in 30 °C, so the fact that they could not drink at one of the refreshment points affected their bodies and performance heavily. 

The recording of Amdouni’s act went viral on the Internet and caused a huge outrage. However, he achieved nothing with his lack of sportsmanship, as he only finished in seventeenth place. To his surprise, it was not enough that he finished in 17th place, the anger of the Internet also poured down on him. Unfortunately, he didn’t really feel that it would be better to keep quiet. He started making excuses on social media, but when he said he only did it for France, it had the opposite effect that he intended.

Mike Tyson’s Most Unsportsmanlike Act

Mike Tyson has always had a gift for getting into trouble and drawing attention. In 1998, Mike became the youngest professional heavyweight champion of all time, but one of his most memorable matches was against Evander Holyfield in 1997.

In the second round, he bit off a piece of his opponent’s right earlobe, and the judges disqualified Tyson. The part of the ear was found in the ring, and they planned on sewing it back in place, but they lost it on the way to the hospital, so Holyfield was fixed up with eight stitches. 

Later on, Tyson claimed that he was raging during the match, so much so that he wanted to kill him at one point. Holyfield tried to egg him on, but it backfired and resulted in Tyson losing his discipline and temper. After his famous bite, fifty people were trying to stop him, but he even fought with the police. If anyone said in 1997 that Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield would ever do anything together, everyone would have only laughed it off. 

Rightly so. After one of the most infamous and well-known sports scandals of all time, it was hard to imagine that the two legends would ever be by each other’s side. You sense a twist coming right? A lot of time has passed since then, and the two box stars have buried the hatchet and now embarked on a joint business. They launched an ear-shaped food called Mike Bites. Yikes. Check it out at online gambling sites in the US, and decide for yourself whether it’s a brilliant or a ridiculous idea.

Formula 1 Scandals

One of the most controversial events in Formula 1 was when Ferrari team boss Jean Tod called on Rubens Barrichello, the leader from the start, and who performed excellently throughout the weekend, to let Michael Schumacher go so that he could secure the championship as soon as possible.

Knowing that his place at Ferrari would be in serious jeopardy if he disobeyed, the Brazilian switched positions with his teammate at the last minute. The FIA, of course, imposed a huge fine on Ferrari, and they also modified the radio regulations.

The next story is also about the seven-time world champion. It happened in Monaco in 2006 when Schumacher was in the lead during the qualifying race, and there was only one chance for his rival, Alonso, to improve his time when Schumacher hit the brakes hard and ran into the walls.

They waved the yellow flags, and the others had to slow down, so no one could try for a better result. After the qualification, the stewards took the pole position away from him and sent him to the back of the grid. Since then, it came to light that Ross Brown and Michael Schumacher came up with this idea before the qualification, but Brown did not believe that the champion would go through with it.

Piquet Went to the Wall for Team Instructions

For a while, many believed that the most determined team in Formula 1 was Ferrari, but in 2008, Renault managed to go further. The qualifying session did not go as planned for the team, as their two cars only finished in 15th and 16th place.

Therefore, Pat Symonds, the team’s chief engineer, and team principal Flavio Briatore entrusted Nelson Piquet Jr. with the task of crashing into the wall in a way that the Safety Car had to be called in, thereby Alonso could achieve better results. 

Moreover, the plan turned out so well that Alonso won the race, even surprising himself. The truth only came to light when the team parted ways with Piquet a year later, and then the Brazilian admitted everything when his legendary father pressured him. Of course, a vast scandal arose from the whole thing, and the parties involved were banned for different periods. However, if you consider the previous story, what was taken away from Alonso in 2006, he got back in 2008. Crazy, right? Alonso is still an active car racer so you can follow his 2023 season at 1xBet Sportsbook!

Most Unsportsmanlike Acts in the Paralympics

At the Paralympic Games held in Sydney, the Spanish basketball team won the gold medal in the competition for intellectually disabled athletes, with players who pretended to be para-athletes.

The shocking fraud caused immeasurable damage to the movement, as the Spaniards dishonored the Paralympic idea. Of course, the Paralympic committee took away their gold medals. The key figure in the Sydney fraud was Fernando Martin, the Spanish president of INAS-FID, who was aware that the Spanish basketball team was sending players to the Paralympics who did not meet the eligibility requirements so that they were not mentally disabled.

Canny Fraud in 1904

The 1904 Olympics was in St. Louis when the first serious scandal of the modern Olympic Games took place, due to Frederick Lorz. The American long-distance runner got tired during the marathon run, and after 14 kilometers, he covered the rest of the distance in a car and then ran the last meters to the finish line again.

He won a gold medal but later admitted the truth and claimed it was all meant as a joke. It was not just cheating, it was disrespect toward the other competitors. The committee banned him, but a year later, they granted him amnesty, and he won the 1905 Boston Marathon without cheating.

The Most Unsportsmanlike Act Ever

Almost thirty decades ago, an unprecedented event shook the sports world. Olympic bronze medalist figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in an attempt to shatter her knee right before the Olympics. Based on the confessions, her biggest rival, Tonya Harding, was behind it, but she never admitted it, so her ex-husband and two hitmen took most of the blame. All this happened six weeks before the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, where Nancy Kerrington was Harding’s biggest rival. So she wanted to secure her victory. 

Even though she was not behind the attack directly, she knew about it. However, let’s mention that she had a troubled childhood, and her young adult life was no different. She was mentally and physically abused by her mother and later her husband. These are no excuses, but no one knows what went down behind closed doors. Eventually, the court sentenced her to 3 years of probation, a fine of $160,000, and 500 hours of community service. The two hitmen received 18 months, while the ex-husband got 24 months in prison and a $100,000 fine.

However, that was not all for Harding. The US skating association stripped her of her 1994 National Championship title, and they banned her from competitive skating for life. According to Kerrington, Harding never apologized to her, which was one of the most unsportsmanlike acts. There are several documentaries and an award-winning movie called I, Tonya. Check out other dramas in the Winter Olympics history! 

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