7 Most Shocking Scandals in Sports History

Lance Armstrong

After years and years of denying doping accusations 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finally came clean and admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Before Armstrong's confession, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found "overwhelming" evidence that Armstrong used "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program." Not only was he stripped of his titles and but he was also forbidden to compete again. Armstrong was under pressure to name the specialists that assisted in his doping process. In addition, he had to pay back part of his $30 million sponsorship paycheck from the federal government. Also his Live Strong charity was completely uprooted and took a tragic downfall. Millions of people sporting the famous yellow armbands were upset over the scandal.

Pete Rose

Pete Rose is one of baseball’s all time hits leader and manager of the Cincinnati Reds was thrown out of the game for illegally betting on baseball. Many of those games, he bet on, were ones that the Cincinnati Reds played in. Rose was nicknamed "Charlie Hustle" and he played from 1963 to 1986 and then managed from 1984 to 1989. As a played he was known as a switch hitter and won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one MVP, two Gold Gloves, Rookie of the Year, and made 17 All-Star appearances.

In 1989, Pete was banished from the MLB and Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame refused to consider him for induction - voting him as permanently ineligible. In 2004, Rose admitted to the betting but still claimed he never bet on the Reds.

Baseball Steroid Era

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa will forever have asterisks associated with their baseball accomplishments. While they may have easily shattered Roger Maris' and hank Aaron's home run records, the use of steroids has shadowed their careers.

In July 2015, the criminal prosecution against Bonds was formally dropped by the Department of Justice. The jury was locked on three counts that accused Bonds of making false statements when he denied receiving steroids or human growth hormone or any substance requiring a self-injection from his trainer Greg Anderson. The accounts were originally dismissed in August 2011 but then were resurfaced. All in all, Bonds never denied taking steroids but said that Anderson advised him the items given were flaxseed oil and arthritic balm.