Sports scandals are nothing new to those who are ingrained in the sports world. After all, sports stars are only humans and they make mistakes just like the rest of us. They just have more money to make bigger mistakes. Scandals are widespread among famous people because we hold them to such high standards compared to the average person. They’re not just humans anymore. They’re larger-than-life, role models, etc. So, when a major scandal hits the news, it can really shake up the media scene for the industry as the world scrambles to explain why their favorite famous person just messed up so badly. Let’s examine the biggest sports scandals of the 1970s.
Due to the nature of the topic, there was a great risk of spreading harmful misinformation when writing this article. It was crucial to us that we sourced our information from reputable sources instead of repeating tired claims that were either not proven to be true or proven to be untrue. We did not want to publish a list of accusations against players that we could not verify as being true or plausible.
The Munich Olympics Massacre (1972)
Perhaps the most prominent scandal and tragedy of the 1970s sporting world, the Munich Olympics Massacre occurred in 1972 during the Olympics in Munich, Germany. During the event, eight members of the terrorist organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village and killed two athletes, taking several other athletes hostage. A rescue attempt was made but was unsuccessful, after which the hostages were killed.
The Munich Olympics Massacre is widely regarded as one of the greatest tragedies of all time in the sports world and raised a lot of questions about the security details at international sports events. The incident also resulted in large-scale overhauls to the structure and equipment provided to the West German police who had executed the botched rescue attempt. Five of the perpetrators were killed in the attempted rescue and the remaining three were eventually apprehended but eventually released in a negotiation following the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 615.
The tragedy at the 1972 Munich Olympics also came on the heels of the West German efforts to change the perception of Germany’s handling of the 1936 Olympics under Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The 1936 Olympics had been a major scandal in and of themselves and the West German government aimed to right the wrongs that had been committed to restore Germany’s honor in the sports world. The 2016 and 2020 Olympics both had demonstrations to honor the 11 athletes killed at the 1972 Olympics.
Muhammad Ali Refusing the Draft in 1970
During the Vietnam draft in the 1970s, the famed boxer Muhammad Ali was drafted into the U.S. military, or, at least, the government tried to draft him. Ali refused to join the military, even when drafted, citing his religious beliefs and anti-war stance as the reasons why he could not join. Ali was cited as saying, “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong” when asked why he was refusing to join the army. For this, Ali was stripped of his recently achieved heavyweight title, banned from boxing, fined $10,000, and sentenced to five years in prison for draft evasion. Ali never went to prison as he appealed his sentence and took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which eventually ruled in his favor in 1971.
The move didn’t just cause trouble in Ali’s boxing career. It also cemented him as an anti-war protestor and hero amongst those who opposed the war in Vietnam. Due to the overturning of his sentence, he was allowed to return to boxing. However, the authorities did not reinstate his heavyweight title, but they didn’t need to. He went on to win the title back fairly and take his place as a legendary athlete and protestor.
George Steinbrenner Scandals
New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, was the center of several scandals in the 1970s. One of the most prominent scandals of Steinbrenner’s 1970s era involved the Yankees’ manager Billy Martin. Martin and Steinbrenner clashed often and their feuds resulted in Steinbrenner firing and rehiring Martin several times during the 70s. The volatility of the relationships between Martin and Steinbrenner was the talk of the sports news media and outlets couldn’t keep their hands off the easy headlines they produced. Many thought that after the Yankees won the World Series, not once but twice, the relationship between Martin and Steinbrenner would eventually cool off and they would start to get along better. However, the era of peace between Steinbrenner and Martin never came to pass.
Following the Yankees’ second World Series win in the 70s, the team entered a period of high volatility between Steinbrenner and many people within the organization. The atmosphere for the team was more akin to that of a soap opera than a sports team at the time and Steinbrenner’s behavior was often so bad that he was disciplined by two separate Major League Baseball commissioners on two different occasions for his unpredictable and unsavory behavior towards his players and staff.
Pete Rose Gambling Scandal
The 1970s also saw the beginning of Pete Rose’s downfall within Major League Baseball. Pete Rose was a promising slugger whose record would have landed him in the Baseball Hall of Fame had this scandal not annihilated his career moving forward. The case wouldn’t come to a head until the 1980s, but rumors and allegations of Pete Rose’s gambling habit began to circulate in the 1970s, bringing disrepute to his career. Rose would later be banned from baseball for life for his gambling, which he denied vehemently until his 2004 book where he admitted to betting on his own team, always to win.
The South African Apartheid Sports Boycott
During the 1970s, protests against the South African policy of apartheid came to a head and entered the sports industry. In response to the continuation of the policy by the white minority South African government, the country was banned from competing in several international sports events, including the Olympics, rugby, and cricket. Additionally, several international teams refused to play against South African opponents or visit the country for games to protest the apartheid policy. Teams that did choose to compete with and in South Africa were heavily criticized by the public.
Rosie Ruiz Defrauds the Boston Marathon
While not strictly a 1970s scandal, during the 1980 Boston Marathon (which is early enough in the year for us to consider it), the winner of the women’s category appeared to be a woman named Rosie Ruiz. However, her win was not legitimate as Ruiz had entered the race late, close to the finish line, instead of running the entire race. The situation prompted many people to call into question the verification of not just the Boston Marathon but other marathon events as well, calling for more accurate and rigorous verification of winners to ensure that no one is entering the race near the finish line and not running the whole race.
Bart Starr’s “Dirty Play” Scandal
Green Bay Packer’s famous quarterback Bart Starr was accused of instructing his teammates to deliberately injure opposing players in 1974. The incident shook the football world as Bart Starr had previously had a very clean-cut and professional public image. Accusations against Starr surfaced after a particularly violent game in the 1970s, prompting an investigation into the Packers’ strategies and Starr’s involvement. Though Starr was a well-loved and highly respected player, the accusations were a major blemish on his image and they encouraged people to be more critical of aggressive plays and behavior during football games.
North Carolina State University Basketball Team Scandal
Another scandal that rocked the sports world in the 1970s was the discovery of improper remunerations for NCAA athletes on the North Carolina State University Basketball team. The players were discovered to have been given benefits not allowed by NCAA rules, such as monetary and other types of gifts, by the coach, Norm Sloan. The team was placed on probation for the scandal and the probation period caused the team to miss the NCAA tournament in 1973 despite being one of the best teams in the country. The next year, after the probation period ended, the team went on to win the championship. However, the scandal tarnished their reputation and image and exposed serious corruption in college sports recruitment.
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